Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 19:19:35 -0500 (EST) From: Spike Gronim <spork@dti.net> To: Peter Hutchinson <ph@phutch.demon.co.uk> Cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD newbie looking for tips Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980209191607.230C-100000@mental> In-Reply-To: <E0y2332-0006vW-00@post.eng.demon.net>
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On Mon, 9 Feb 1998, Peter Hutchinson wrote: > Hi > > Having worked with successive MSDOS and various embodiments of Windows at a > high level for many years, I would now really like to get started with UNIX. > I have some slight experience of an old XENIX box, although more in terms of > use rather than setup/administration. What I would ideally like to do is > install freebsd onto a new partition on an existing MSDOS/Win95/FAT16 disk, > and would appreciate any tips/annecdotes/important considerations before > beginning. I've read a lot of docs and readme-type stuff at www.freebsd.org, > and what I've seen so far looks encouraging. > > What I would really like to know is: > - what would you consider a reasonable partition size for a mid-range > freebsd installation ? (I have a 1.2GB IDE drive that is already pretty full > but am considering purchasing a second unit that I would probably run > exclusively as a single DOS partition, with the boot portions of DOS and > freebsd in its entirity remaining on the existing disk). The machine is an > AST P133 (Intel) with 24mb RAM, ATAPI CDROM, SiS video and ESS1788 > soundblaster-compatible soundcard. On a 1.2 GB disk, I had 450 M. > > - is the FIPS utility available on the ftp sites really any good at > shrinking an active, primary DOS partition without reformatting or > reinstalling ? Does Win95 cope with it and if so how well ? (I've heard it > can screw entire filesystems at boot on a bad day). What are the chances of > screwing the drive completely ? Is there a boot manager set up/provided by > either fips or the freebsd install ? First time using it, I fipsed my hard drive and winbloze ignores the new FBSD partitions. There is a perfectly functional bootmanager, BootEasy, that comes with the install and works fine. > > - is installing via ftp a practical possibility over a 28.8 analogue > modem line, or am I going to be paying the phone bill off for the next 20 > years ? It will take a while. It is quite possible that buying the CDROM from Walnut Creek would be less expensive than subsequent phone charges. > > - any good books or online resources you would recommend for someone in > my position :-) Go to http://www.freebsd.org/handbook, /FAQ, and whatever other documentation is on the site. If you are a first-time user and have the space, deffinetely install the docks. > > Thanks for any help/advice you can give. Also, sorry if this would be better > posted/mailed elsewhere ! > > > -- > Peter Hutchinson > ph@phutch.demon.co.uk > Cheshire <Win95, Access/VBA & Psion PDA programming> > United Kingdom <Demon Internet Beta Testing Group> > "Who is Fatal Error, and why is he reading my drive ?" > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe questions" in the body of the message > > -Spike Gronim sporkl@dti.net "I gonna wave my freak flag high." --Jimmi Jendrix To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe questions" in the body of the message
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