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ca46eee1 JH |
1 | |
2 | FreeBSD | |
3 | Freqently Asked Questions | |
4 | For Version 1.1 and above | |
5 | Please mail all suggestions and additions to FreeBSD-FAQ@freefall.cdrom.com | |
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | Last updated: Fri Apr 15 11:25:20 GMT 1994 | |
9 | ||
10 | ||
11 | ||
12 | Table of Contents | |
13 | ----------------- | |
14 | ||
15 | 0.0 Preface | |
16 | 1.0 Installation | |
17 | 2.0 Hardware Compatibility | |
18 | 3.0 Commercial applications | |
19 | 4.0 User Applications | |
20 | 5.0 Misc Questions | |
21 | 6.0 Kernel Configuration | |
22 | 7.0 System Admin | |
23 | 8.0 Networking | |
24 | 9.0 Communications | |
25 | ||
26 | ||
27 | 0.0 Preface | |
28 | ----------- | |
29 | ||
30 | Welcome to the FreeBSD 1.1 FAQ! This document tries to answer some of | |
31 | the most frequently asked questions about FreeBSD 1.1 (or later, unless | |
32 | specifically indicated). If there's something you're having trouble | |
33 | with and you just don't see it here, then please send mail to: | |
34 | ||
35 | freebsd-questions@freefall.cdrom.com | |
36 | ||
37 | Or, if it's a bug you wish to report, to: | |
38 | ||
39 | freebsd-bugs@freefall.cdrom.com | |
40 | ||
41 | Some of the instructions here will also refer to auxilliary utilities | |
42 | in the /usr/src/share/FAQ directory. CDROM purchasers and net folks who've | |
43 | grabbed the FreeBSD 1.1 `srcdist' will have these files. If you don't have | |
44 | the source distribution, then you can either grab the whole thing from: | |
45 | ||
46 | freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-1.1 | |
47 | ||
48 | Or you can grab only those files you're interested in straight out of the | |
49 | FreeBSD-current distribution in: | |
50 | ||
51 | freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/src | |
52 | ||
53 | Thanks! | |
54 | ||
55 | ||
56 | ||
57 | 1.0 Installation | |
58 | ---------------- | |
59 | ||
60 | 1.0.1: I just installed my system and rebooted. Now I can't find the | |
61 | extract or configure programs, where did they go? | |
62 | ||
63 | ||
64 | These two commands are just shell builtins. To get these back, either | |
65 | create a account [adding a user] with /.profile as its profile or | |
66 | boot FreeBSD with a '-s' at the boot prompt. | |
67 | ||
68 | ||
69 | 1.0.2: I want to install FreeBSD unto a SCSI disk that has more than | |
70 | 1024 cylinders. How do I do it? | |
71 | ||
72 | This depends. If you don't have DOS (or another operating system) on the | |
73 | system, you can just keep the drive in native mode and simply make sure that | |
74 | your root partition is below 1024 so the bios can boot the kernel from it. | |
75 | It you also have DOS/some other OS on the drive then your best bet is to find | |
76 | out what parameters that it thinks you have before installing FreeBSD. When | |
77 | FreeBSD's installation procedure prompts you for these values, you should then | |
78 | enter them rather than simply going with the defaults. | |
79 | ||
80 | There is a freely available utility distributed with FreeBSD called `pfdisk' | |
81 | (located in the tools/ subdirectory) which can be used for this purpose. | |
82 | ||
83 | ||
84 | 1.0.3: When I boot FreeBSD it says "Missing Operating System". | |
85 | ||
86 | See above (1.0.2). This is classicaly a case of FreeBSD and DOS or some other | |
87 | OS conflicting over their ideas of disk geometry. You will have to reinstall | |
88 | FreeBSD, but obeying the instructions given above will almost always get you | |
89 | going. | |
90 | ||
91 | ||
92 | 1.0.4: I have an IDE drive with lots of bad blocks on it and FreeBSD doesn't | |
93 | seem to install properly. | |
94 | ||
95 | FreeBSD's bad block (bad144) handling is still not 100% (to put it charitably) | |
96 | and it must unfortunately be said that if you've got an IDE or ESDI drive | |
97 | with lots of bad blocks, then FreeBSD is probably not for you! That said, it | |
98 | does work on thousands of IDE based systems, so you'd do well to try it first | |
99 | before simply iving up. | |
100 | ||
101 | ||
102 | 1.0.5: I have 32MB of memory, should I expect any special problems? | |
103 | ||
104 | If you have an IDE controller, no. Likewise, if you have a full EISA system | |
105 | with EISA disk controller or a working local bus controller (read further) | |
106 | you'll have no problems. If you have an ISA system, or an EISA system with an | |
107 | ISA disk controller then you will most certainly have problems with the upper | |
108 | 16MB of memory due to the ISA 24 bit DMA limitation (which ISA cards in EISA | |
109 | systems will also exhibit). If you have a local bus disk controller, and it's | |
110 | NOT a Buslogic Bt445S with a revision less than `D' (BIOS 3.36 or earlier), | |
111 | then you should be OK. Never fear, however, as all is not lost. | |
112 | FreeBSD-current (and the upcoming FreeBSD 1.2) have bounce-buffer support that | |
113 | make all of the above scenarios work with a full 32MB of memory or more. You | |
114 | are therefore advised to simply pull 16MB of memory out, install, and then see | |
115 | about upgrading to FreeBSD-current or FreeBSD 1.2 (when it comes out) so that | |
116 | you can put it back. | |
117 | ||
118 | ||
119 | ||
120 | 2.0 Hardware compatibility | |
121 | -------------------------- | |
122 | ||
123 | 2.0.1: What kind of hard drives does FreeBSD run on? | |
124 | ||
125 | FreeBSD supports MFM, RLL, ESDI, IDE and SCSI hard drives. | |
126 | ||
127 | ||
128 | 2.0.2: What SCSI controllers are supported? | |
129 | ||
130 | FreeBSD supports the following SCSI controllers: | |
131 | ||
132 | Adaptec AH-1542 Series (ISA> | |
133 | AH-1742 Series <EISA> | |
134 | Buslogic BT-445 Series <VLB> (*) | |
135 | BT-545 Series <ISA> | |
136 | BT-742 Series <EISA> | |
137 | UltraStor UH-14f Series <ISA> | |
138 | UH-34f Series <EISA> | |
139 | ||
140 | There is supposed to be a UltraStor 24f driver floating around, but we're | |
141 | not sure where (could someone please point us at it?). Note that we do | |
142 | NOT support `Future Domain' or `IN2000' SCSI controllers, typically | |
143 | the little $50 specials you get with some CDROM drives. You will have to | |
144 | buy a more mainstream (and capable) SCSI controller. | |
145 | ||
146 | (*) See section 1.0.5. | |
147 | ||
148 | ||
149 | 2.0.3: What CD-ROM drives are supported by FreeBSD? | |
150 | ||
151 | Any SCSI drive connected to a supported controller. | |
152 | Mitsumi LU002(8bit), LU005(16bit) and FX001D(16bit 2x Speed). | |
153 | ||
154 | FreeBSD does NOT support drives connected to a Sound Blaster or non-SCSI | |
155 | SONY or Panasonic drives. A general rule of thumb when selecting a CDROM | |
156 | drive for FreeBSD use is to buy a very standard SCSI model; they cost more, | |
157 | but deliver very solid performance in return. Do not be fooled by very cheap | |
158 | Mitsumi solutions that, in turn, deliver VERY LOW performance! As always, | |
159 | you get what you pay for. | |
160 | ||
161 | ||
162 | 2.0.4: What multi-port serial cards are supported by FreeBSD? | |
163 | ||
164 | AST/4 and BOCA 4/8 port cards. Some unnamed clone cards have also been | |
165 | known to work, especially those that claim to be AST compatible. Check | |
166 | the man page for `sio' to get more information on configuring such cards. | |
167 | ||
168 | ||
169 | 2.0.5: Does FreeBSD support the AHA-2742 SCSI adapter from Adaptec? | |
170 | ||
171 | No, FreeBSD does not. This is due to Adaptec's unwillingness to supply | |
172 | programing information under other than non-disclosure. This is unfortunate. | |
173 | ||
174 | ||
175 | 2.0.6: I have a XXXX bus mouse. Is it supported and if so, how do I set | |
176 | it up for XFree86? | |
177 | ||
178 | FreeBSD supports the Logitech, ATI Inport and PS/2 bus mice. You need to add | |
179 | the following line to the kernel config file and recompile for the Logitech | |
180 | and ATI mice: | |
181 | ||
182 | device mse0 at isa? port 0x23c tty irq6 vector mseintr | |
183 | ||
184 | ||
185 | 2.0.7: I have a PS/2 mouse (`keyboard' mouse) [Alternatively: I have a | |
186 | laptop with a trackball mouse]. How do I use it? | |
187 | ||
188 | For the PS/2 mouse you need to look in /usr/src/share/FAQ/programs/psm.tar.z, | |
189 | which is John Solhed's port of the Linux PS/2 mouse driver. | |
190 | ||
191 | Follow the directions in the package. You will also need to change your | |
192 | Xconfig file to point to the mouse. | |
193 | ||
194 | ||
195 | 2.0.8: What types of tape drives are supported under FreeBSD? | |
196 | ||
197 | FreeBSD supports SCSI, QIC-02 and QIC-40/80 (Floppy based) tape drives. | |
198 | This includes Exabyte and DAT drives. | |
199 | ||
200 | ||
201 | 2.0.9: What sound cards are supported by FreeBSD? | |
202 | ||
203 | FreeBSD supports the SoundBlaster, SoundBlaster Pro, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, | |
204 | AdLib and Gravis UltraSound sound cards. There is also limited support | |
205 | for MPU-401 and compatible midi cards. The SoundBlaster 16 and | |
206 | SoundBlaster 16 ASP cards are not yet supported. | |
207 | NOTE: This is only for sound! This driver does not support CD-ROMs, SCSI | |
208 | or joysticks on these cards. | |
209 | ||
210 | ||
211 | 2.0.10: What network cards does FreeBSD support? | |
212 | ||
213 | There is support for the following cards: | |
214 | NE2000 and 1000 | |
215 | WD/SMC 8003,8013 and Elite Ultra (8216) | |
216 | 3Com 3c503 | |
217 | And clones of the above | |
218 | AT&T EN100/StarLAN 10 | |
219 | Isolan AT 4141-0 | |
220 | Isolink 4110 | |
221 | 3com 3c509 (BETA) | |
222 | ||
223 | ||
224 | ||
225 | 3.0 Commercial Applications | |
226 | --------------------------- | |
227 | ||
228 | Note: This section is still very sparse, though we're hoping, of course, | |
229 | that companies will add to it! :) The FreeBSD group has no ties with any | |
230 | of the companies listed here but simply lists them as a public service | |
231 | (and feels that commercial interest in FreeBSD can have very positive | |
232 | effects on FreeBSD's long-term viability). We encourage commercial software | |
233 | vendors to send their entries here for inclusion. | |
234 | ||
235 | ||
236 | 3.0.1 Where can I get Motif for FreeBSD? | |
237 | ||
238 | Sequoia Communications provides commercial quality Motif 1.2.3 | |
239 | development kits for FreeBSD 1.1 (with full shared library support). | |
240 | Due to licensing restrictions from the OSF, and the fact that Sequoia | |
241 | needs to make a living, these are NOT FREE, but nonetheless quite reasonably | |
242 | priced in comparison to many other commercial Motif distributions. Send | |
243 | electronic mail to `info@seq.com' for further information. | |
244 | >>>> please make sure this is correct! | |
245 | ||
246 | 3.0.8 What about other commercial quality development systems for FreeBSD? | |
247 | ||
248 | ParcPlace Systems, Inc. provides their excellent "Object Interface & Object | |
249 | Builder" GUI development environment free of charge to FreeBSD users. Using | |
250 | OI, you can develop Motif or OpenLook compliant applications in C++ with all | |
251 | the benefits of a true GUI object hierarchy. This will be announced and | |
252 | made available as part of the FreeBSD distribution very soon. | |
253 | ||
254 | ||
255 | ||
256 | 4.0 User Applications | |
257 | --------------------- | |
258 | ||
259 | 4.0.1: I want to run X, how do I go about it? | |
260 | ||
261 | First, get the XFree86 distribution of X11R5 from XFree86.cdrom.com. The | |
262 | version you want for FreeBSD 1.1 and later is XFree86 2.1. Follow the | |
263 | instructions for installation carefully. You may then wish to read the | |
264 | documentation for the ConfigXF86 tool, which assists you in configuring | |
265 | XFree86 for your particular graphics card/mouse/etc. | |
266 | ||
267 | ||
268 | 4.0.1: I've been trying to run ghostscript on a 386 with no math-co but | |
269 | keep getting errors. Whats up? | |
270 | ||
271 | The problem here is due to the current FreeBSD math-emulator. You need to | |
272 | pick up the package in /usr/src/share/FAQ/programs/math-emulator.tar.gz | |
273 | ||
274 | Run the install program, recompile your kernel and install the new kernel. | |
275 | This is a port of an older Linux math-emulator. At some point, FreeBSD's | |
276 | default math emulator will be good enough to enable you to forget about | |
277 | having to do this. | |
278 | ||
279 | ||
280 | 4.0.2: If I want something like seyon, term, kermit, emacs or any one of | |
281 | hundreds of popular freeware utilities, is there a good place to | |
282 | search through first? | |
283 | ||
284 | Yes, the FreeBSD `ports collection' was put together for just that purpose. | |
285 | It contains some of the most often requested languages, editors, mail and | |
286 | news reading programs, network software and many many megabytes of other | |
287 | types of useful goodies. CDROM people will probably have the ports collection | |
288 | already in /usr/ports, other folks can get at the latest snapshot of the | |
289 | entire collection in: | |
290 | ||
291 | freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/ports | |
292 | ||
293 | Note that freebsd's ftp server permits getting entire directories as one | |
294 | (optionally gzip'd or compressed) tar file. Read the ftp welcome banner | |
295 | carefully for details. | |
296 | ||
297 | ||
298 | 4.0.3: I want all this neat software, but I haven't got the space or | |
299 | CPU power to compile it all myself. Is there any way of getting | |
300 | binaries? | |
301 | ||
302 | Yes. FreeBSD supports the concept of a `package', which is | |
303 | essentially a gzip'd binary distribution with a little extra | |
304 | intelligence imbeded in it for doing any custom installation work | |
305 | required. Packages can also be installed or deinstalled again easily | |
306 | without having to know the gory details. CDROM people will have a | |
307 | packages/ directory on their CD, others can get the currently | |
308 | available packages from: | |
309 | ||
310 | freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/packages-1.1 | |
311 | ||
312 | Note that all ports may not be available as packages, and that new | |
313 | packages are constantly being added. It is always a good idea to | |
314 | check periodically to see which packages are available. A README | |
315 | file in the packages directory provides more details on the care | |
316 | and feeding of the package software, so no explicit details will | |
317 | be given here. | |
318 | ||
319 | ||
320 | 5.0 Misc Questions | |
321 | ------------------ | |
322 | ||
323 | 5.0.1: I've heard of something called FreeBSD-current. How do I run it, and | |
324 | where can I get more information? | |
325 | ||
326 | Read the file /usr/src/share/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/FreeBSD.current.policy, it | |
327 | will tell you all you need to know. | |
328 | ||
329 | ||
330 | 5.0.2: What is this thing called `sup', and how do I use it? | |
331 | ||
332 | SUP stands for Software Update Protocol, and was developed by CMU for | |
333 | keeping their development trees in sync. We use it to keep remote sites | |
334 | in sync with our central development sources. | |
335 | ||
336 | To use it, you need to have direct internet connectivity (not just | |
337 | mail or news). First, pick up the sup_bin.tgz package from: | |
338 | ||
339 | freebsd.cdrom.com:/pub/FreeBSD/packages | |
340 | ||
341 | Second, read the file /usr/src/share/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/FreeBSD.sup.faq. | |
342 | ||
343 | This file describes how to setup sup on your machine. You may also | |
344 | want to look at `/usr/src/share/FAQ/other/FreeBSD.*.supfile', | |
345 | which are a set of supfiles for supping from freefall.cdrom.com | |
346 | ||
347 | ||
348 | ||
349 | 6.0 Kernel Configuration | |
350 | ||
351 | 6.0.1: When I compile a kernel with multi-port serial code, it tells me | |
352 | that only the first port is probed and the rest skiped due to | |
353 | interupt conflicts. How do I fix this? | |
354 | ||
355 | The problem here is that FreeBSD has code built-in to keep the kernel from | |
356 | getting trashed due to hardware or software conflicts. The way to fix this | |
357 | is to leave out the irq settings on other ports besides the first. Here is | |
358 | a example: | |
359 | ||
360 | # | |
361 | # Multiport high-speed serial line - 16550 UARTS | |
362 | # | |
363 | device sio2 at isa? port 0x2a0 tty irq 5 flags 0x501 vector siointr | |
364 | device sio3 at isa? port 0x2a8 tty flags 0x501 vector siointr | |
365 | device sio4 at isa? port 0x2b0 tty flags 0x501 vector siointr | |
366 | device sio5 at isa? port 0x2b8 tty flags 0x501 vector siointr | |
367 | ||
368 | You may also want to look at the multi-port serial FAQ in | |
369 | /usr/src/share/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/multi-port.serial.FAQ. | |
370 | ||
371 | ||
372 | 6.0.2: FreeBSD is supposed to come with support for QIC-40/80 drives but | |
373 | when I look, I can't find it. | |
374 | ||
375 | You need to uncomment the following line in the generic config file (or add | |
376 | it to your config file) and recompile. | |
377 | ||
378 | controller fdc0 at isa? port "IO_FD1" bio irq 6 drq 2 vector fdintr | |
379 | disk fd0 at fdc0 drive 0 | |
380 | disk fd1 at fdc0 drive 1 | |
381 | #tape ft0 at fdc0 drive 2 | |
382 | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ | |
383 | ||
384 | ||
385 | 6.0.3: Does FreeBSD support SYSV IPC, shared memory, etc? | |
386 | ||
387 | Yes, FreeBSD supports SYSV IPC. This includes shared memory, messages and | |
388 | semaphores. You need to add the following lines to your kernel config to | |
389 | enable them. | |
390 | ||
391 | options SYSVSHM | |
392 | options "SHMMAXPGS=64" # 256Kb of sharable memory | |
393 | options SYSVSEM # enable for semaphores | |
394 | options SYSVMSG # enable for messaging | |
395 | ||
396 | Recompile and install. | |
397 | ||
398 | ||
399 | ||
400 | 7.0 System Administration | |
401 | ------------------------- | |
402 | ||
403 | 7.0.1: How do I add a user easily? I read the man page and am more confused | |
404 | than ever! [Alternatively: I didn't read the man page, I never read | |
405 | man pages! :-) ] | |
406 | ||
407 | Look at Gary Clark's perl package "AddIt", which may be found in | |
2ac2e97a | 408 | /usr/src/contrib/adduser. |
ca46eee1 JH |
409 | |
410 | ||
411 | 7.0.2: I'm trying to use my printer and keep running into problems. I tried | |
412 | looking at /etc/printcap, but it's close to useless. Any ideas? | |
413 | ||
414 | Yes, you can pick up Andreas Klemm's apsfilter package from: | |
415 | ||
416 | ftp.germany.eu.net:~ftp/pub/comp/i386/Linux/Local.EUnet/People/akl/apsfilter-1.11.gz | |
417 | ||
418 | This is a compleate package for printing text, PS and DVI files. It | |
419 | requires ghostscript and dvips. For a smaller package where you just | |
420 | want to print simple text files and postscript or just plain want a | |
421 | simpler package, look in the file: /usr/src/share/FAQ/programs/printcap01.gz | |
422 | ||
423 | This includes a printcap for a epson printer and a filter for postscript. | |
424 | ||
425 | NOTE: We're looking for printcap entrys for all printers. If you have | |
426 | one, or a filter for one, please send it or mail us a pointer to | |
427 | FreeBSD-FAQ@freefall.cdrom.com. Thanks! | |
428 | ||
429 | ||
430 | ||
431 | 8.0 Networking | |
432 | -------------- | |
433 | ||
434 | 8.0.1: Where can I get information booting FreeBSD `diskless', that is | |
435 | booting and running a FreeBSD box from a server rather than having | |
436 | a local disk? | |
437 | ||
438 | Look in the directory /src/sys/i386/netboot for the file netboot.doc. | |
439 | ||
440 | ||
441 | 8.0.2: I've heard that you can use a FreeBSD box as a dedicated network | |
442 | router - is there any easy support for this? | |
443 | ||
444 | After a fashion, yes. There is a standard `router floppy' that you can | |
445 | boot on a FreeBSD machine to configure it as a network router. [>>>> put | |
446 | pointer to router floppy image here ] | |
447 | ||
448 | ||
449 | 8.0.3: Does FreeBSD support SLIP and PPP? | |
450 | ||
451 | Yes. See the man pages for slattach and/or pppd if you're using FreeBSD | |
452 | to connect to another site. If you're using FreeBSD as a server for other | |
453 | machines, look at the man page for `sliplogin'. | |
454 | ||
455 | ||
456 | ||
457 | 9.0 Communications | |
458 | ------------------ | |
459 | ||
460 | 9.0.1: When I do a set line in kermit it locks up, whats the problem? | |
461 | ||
462 | The problem here is that FreeBSD thinks it's talking to a incoming | |
463 | modem connection, and is waiting for carrier to come up on it before | |
464 | completing the open. To disable modem control, do an: | |
465 | ||
466 | stty -f /dev/ttyXX clocal | |
467 | ||
468 | (Where `ttyXX' is the tty port you're using). If you use a given port | |
469 | only for outgoing connections, you may wish to put this command in | |
470 | your /etc/rc.local to avoid having to do it every time you reboot | |
471 | your system. | |
472 | ||
473 | ||
474 | NOTE: Anyone wishing to submit a FAQ entry on how to get tip and cu working | |
475 | would have it much appreciated! We all use kermit over here! :-) | |
476 | ||
477 | ||
478 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
479 | If you see a problem with this FAQ, or wish to submit an entry, please mail | |
480 | us at FreeBSD-FAQ@freefall.cdrom.com. We appreciate your feedback, and cannot | |
481 | make this a better FAQ without your help! | |
482 | ||
483 | ||
484 | FreeBSD Core Team | |
485 | ||
486 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
487 | ||
488 | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: | |
489 | ||
490 | Gary Clark II - Our head FreeBSD FAQ maintanance man | |
491 | Jordan Hubbard - Janitorial services (I don't do windows) | |
492 | Robert Oliver, Jr. - Invaluable feedback and contributions | |
493 | The FreeBSD Team - Kvetching, moaning, submitting data | |
494 | ||
495 | And to any others we've forgotten, apologies and heartfelt thanks! |