[SOLVED]Freebsd 7.1 gnome trying to get it to work like if I was on linux

[nuBSDuser]

I'm trying to refraim my frustration as I can easily install a live cd and be up and running with gnome in a short time with all the compiz glitter and gold I weant to try outy FREEBSD or get some BSD experience it just dosen't make sence that gnome is so much trouble I followed the FAQ http://www.freebsd.org/gnome/docs/faq2.html#q3 and after I ended up with gnome 2.22 I started adding the gnome apps then relized it was 2.22 and not 2.24

I tried to follow the upgrade instructions but I don't have portupgrade or pkgdb installed it apears so it's frustrating having instructions that don't work when I installed the latest stable version

right now gnome is not stable at all and even when I get it uptodate I know my packages are going to be out dated firefox 2.0 whgats up with that? why isn't there a good update manager or package manager system why arn't there repositories to at least give me a option

What I want I want the latest stable version of gnome running with compiz grub-gfxboot so I can have a themed boot manager

I can't even get grub working yet got it installed but can't figure out how bsd uses it I am familure with how it works in linux basicly when I try to set my root then I have trouble and get error have tried to follow sevral instructions but there all diffrent and have not worked

the only thing that did work is I was able to install gnome 2.22 and configure it to use the gdm but it is really unstable

sure it would be alot eaiser to install something else I just wanted to get this working this gives me no positive feedback as far as freebsd and a desktop experience

I know this was a big rant without using spell check but just frustrated

[Brandybuck]

I think you're expecting a BSD version of Ubuntu, when FreeBSD is much more like Debian or Slackware. It requires time to learn, and hands on loving. Sort of like a puppy. At the beginning it will poop on your carpet, but a couple of years later it is your best friend.

There is stuff you'll need to do by hand. Such as configuring X.org, setting up GRUB, etc. (Speaking of GRUB, it's exactly the same GRUB as you use in Linux. But you need to specify partitions differently. See the GRUB docs for full info).

It would be nice of there were a current package repository that corresponded with the current ports tree. But there isn't. So if you want to stay current with your software you'll need to use ports.

[nuBSDuser]

yes I understand thats my main frustration with slackware also having to use the slackbuild of gnome everybody knows gnome is more widley used so I don't understand why bsd and slack still go with kde I prefer just blackbox or enlighenment over it but seriosly it's almost 2010 I like a cool flashy desktop and compiz and gnome provides that

I don't mind having to build it and install it when it works but its frustrating there's never consistent documentation on how to do anything

everybody has a different way on a different version and when I follow instructions they don't work on my system which should be a standard system with a standard install

and i guess repositories are the greatest concept since X because who wants to have to keep track of every time an update is available for a app sure I may not want to install it but I like to know about it

I don't mind building things when they work but I hate following instructions to a T that lean me knowwhere that has been my experience so far

like with grub when I try to do root(hdo,a) or even to try to find the image also when i built it it didn't even include a menu.lst I'm sure I will get it all going after swimming through a milliom forums and documentation but I guess

From an I stand point everything is about effiency and if I'm spending all my time with install and configuring of a base system I feel that time would be better spent doing other tasks that I would do once a system is already configured shouldn't take a week to get the system to your satisfaction

[nuBSDuser]

Can someone explain why I get this message

when I try this command it says command not found

# pkgdb -Ff

[DutchDaemon]

pkgdb is part of portupgrade, which is a port (or a package).

[nuBSDuser]

OK so maybe now I might be getting some where do I actually need to go and do make and make install pkgtools? are they not installed by default?

[DutchDaemon]

Chapter 4 of the Handbook.

[nuBSDuser]

I've already used pkg_add to add some of the gnome ports is pkg_add seperat from pkgtools?

[DutchDaemon]

pkg_add is part of the base system. Do not confuse (and do not try to mix) packages and ports. They're very different beasts.

[nuBSDuser]

so since portupgrade is part of the pkgtools package do I need to build the pkgtools before I can use portupgrade? I read through the chapter but amd looking for clarification...

[nuBSDuser]

I guess thats part of my frustrations is the instructions didn't tell me I had to make pkgtools before I could use pkgdb a simple this is in this and you have to do this first would have been helpfull

[DutchDaemon]

http://wiki.freebsd.org/portupgrade

[nuBSDuser]

ok install didn't work

===> Switching to root credentials to write /var/db/ports/portupgrade/options
Password:
===> Returning to user credentials
===> Vulnerability check disabled, database not found
===> Found saved configuration for portupgrade-2.4.6,2
=> pkgtools-2.4.6.tar.bz2 doesn't seem to exist in /usr/ports/distfiles/.
=> /usr/ports/distfiles is not writable by you; cannot fetch.
*** Error code 1

Stop in /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/portupgrade.
*** Error code 1

Stop in /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/portupgrade.


when I try to su I get a sorry also I thought i already fixed that

[nuBSDuser]

su and tring to login from root fail from a terminal is there a reason for this?

[DutchDaemon]

Is your user account part of the wheel group? You cannot su to root if it's not.

[nuBSDuser]

so I had to login as root I couldn't login as root from the console for some limitation I know I already added my user to the wheel group but wheel have to check again(who comes up with these names wheel group makes no seance is there a history behind this name) anyway I'm making portupgrade currently will keep you all updated and bless you all after my success and frustration deteriorates

[nuBSDuser]

I have now installed portupgrade but still get command not found when tiring to run pkgdb?

[DutchDaemon]

Type rehash or hash -r (depends on the shell)

[DutchDaemon]

As to wheel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_war and http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/big_wheel - FreeBSD is a true Unix spin-off and values that history. Welcome to that history. P.S.: read the docs. Eeveryone will keep pointing you to them.

[DrJ]

are they not installed by default?

On FreeBSD the only things installed by default are the kernel and userland (utilities like ls, cat, awk and so forth). Everything else is installed separately as a port (compiled on your system) or a package (a binary). You can of course install some packages from the release distribution, but please understand that this is a convenience only, and is not really part of FreeBSD proper.

FreeBSD of course sees to it that you can install many things beyond this, like xorg, Gnome, KDE, Apache, MySQL and a whole host of other tools (including portupgrade, for example). There are many people who work on this, and the result is the ports collection. You should install this if you have not already. Ports are ready-to-compile programs of unbelievable diversity; you install then by typing (as superuser) "make install clean" in the appropriate ports directory, and the program is installed. That is the equivalent of a Linux repository.

You can also install packages, which are binaries. There are a two major "respositories" that correspond the the release you are running and to the development version. So, if you are running FreeBSD 7.1, you can get the packages that are binaries of the ports available at that time. You can also get packages for 7-STABLE which are newer snapshots of compiled ports.

Some people use packages, more use ports. I personally use ports, simply because you can fix bugs more easily, as well as turn on and turn off debugging flags when you do find a bug. And there are many bugs in the ports in the newer versions.

For package management, look up csup, cvsup (this is a port), portmaster (a port too, I think), portupgrade (a port). The first two synchronize the list of ports with what is current; the other two are used to update installed ports and packages. The same tools apply to ports and packages -- this is the FreeBSD way to manage third-party applications.

The kernel and world ("userland") are handled separately. This is a difference from Linux, where everything that is not the kernel is a "port."

You may wish to find the articles by Dru Lavigne at onlamp.com. She has a whole series of tutorials that can be very helpful.

[nuBSDuser]

So yea I want to apologize for all the ranting, I know I need to read all the docs just haven't had the luxury of time and wanted to get up and running quickly

I want to have a full flavor of all os's so I will learn all the ins in outs of BSD in time.

[nuBSDuser]

As to wheel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_war and http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/big_wheel - FreeBSD is a true Unix spin-off and values that history. Welcome to that history. P.S.: read the docs. Eeveryone will keep pointing you to them.



it's funny I always thought a big wheel is what you rode as a kid and a big wig was a big head of a corporation or what not..

kinda funny about the English language

[nuBSDuser]

WOW so after trying this

How do I upgrade to GNOME 2.24?

The answer is relatively simple:

To build GNOME 2.24, you need to obtain the latest ports tree skeleton. This is most easily accomplished with portsnap(8) or CVSup. Simply obtain the latest ports tree, and you are ready to go. Then do the following:

# pkgdb -Ff
(Answer "yes" to unregister gail while keeping gtk20.)
(Answer "yes" to unregister fast-user-switch-applet while keeping
gdm.)

# pkg_deinstall -fO gtkmm-2.12\*
# portupgrade -aOW
# portupgrade -f gnome-session


it took about 4 days

I still have firefox 2.0 and gnome 2.22

[nuBSDuser]

I understand using this as a server but as a desktop I just don't see any point...and I really like Beastie....

[SirDice]

How do I upgrade to GNOME 2.24?
http://www.freebsd.org/gnome/docs/faq224.html

I still have firefox 2.0 and gnome 2.22
You didn't update your ports tree.

portsnap fetch
portsnap extract


Do realize GNOME will still be build with FF2. If you don't want that add to /etc/make.conf:

USE_GECKO=xulrunner

Then GNOME won't depend on FF2 anymore and you can build FF3 seperately.

I understand using this as a server but as a desktop I just don't see any point
I've been using Fbsd as a server *and* a desktop for about 10 years. I like the desktop, I like the way I have a choice what to build and how.

[gilinko]

So yea I want to apologize for all the ranting, I know I need to read all the docs just haven't had the luxury of time and wanted to get up and running quickly

I want to have a full flavor of all os's so I will learn all the ins in outs of BSD in time.

Compared to ubuntu(from where you are coming, i'm guessing) the "get it up and running" part differs greatly. For Ubuntu this is a desktop with gnome with all the bells and whistles that they have packaged, for FreeBSD it's the base system with no user land programs(X, gnome etc).

You really need to start reading the documentation if you want to use freebsd, which will take no more than 1 hour for the basic settings(The I. Getting started part). If you just want it up and running there are other options out there like PC-BSD or DesktopBSD which are based on FreeBSD but have an initial GUI environment(usually KDE) that probably will soften the initial step to a *BSD OS.

As for "package managers"/"ports manager" that you might be used to from ubuntu, they are listed in the handbook(portupgrade or portmaster or portmanager, yes you get to choose...). However they are based on being used in the console and not as a GUI. The .deb repository and functionality is a debian/ubuntu specific thing, not a common linux package distribution system.

[Brandybuck]

everybody knows gnome is more widley used so I don't understand why bsd and slack still go with kde

Hey now! You'll won't get as much help if you start a flamewar. A lot of distros go with KDE as a default because they prefer it, and even more offer both so the user can choose. Not everyone should be crammed into the same box.

[SirDice]

Hey now! You'll won't get as much help if you start a flamewar. A lot of distros go with KDE as a default because they prefer it, and even more offer both so the user can choose. Not everyone should be crammed into the same box.
Freebsd doesn't offer anything so you have even more choice :e

[Daisuke_Aramaki]

Freebsd doesn't offer anything so you have even more choice :e

Which is the way i want! I want complete control over what i need in my system, which is exactly the way it is with BSD, and a couple of flavors of Linux that i still use, Lunar and Sorcerer.

[Brandybuck]

Which is the way i want! I want complete control over what i need in my system, which is exactly the way it is with BSD, and a couple of flavors of Linux that i still use, Lunar and Sorcerer.

I want it that way too! It's not about being l33t, it's about being in control all the way down to the bolts. If all I wanted to do was read email and surf the web, I would be using a Mac.

[nuBSDuser]

I had did this and it said it was up to date

portsnap fetch
portsnap extract

[nuBSDuser]

I've tried many flavors not just ubuntu of linux

[Brandybuck]

I've tried many flavors not just ubuntu of linux

Have you used Slackware, Gentoo or Arch? They're much closer to FreeBSD in spirit than may distros.

One thing that FreeBSD does that most Linux distros do not, is not muck about with system settings when you install ports/packages. Using cups as an example, most Linux distros will automatically start the cups daemon if you install cups. But under FreeBSD it will put a startup script in /usr/local/etc, but won't actually turn it on. It's up to you to enable cups in /etc/rc.conf. Likewise, FreeBSD will not modify, brand or "improve" any third party software. Other than bug fixes, FreeBSD ports will be "vanilla" with no changes.

This is a very different philosophy from most Linux distros, and one that frustrates newbies coming from Linux. If it gets too frustrating, you might consider PC-BSD, which is 100% FreeBSD underneath, but smooths out some of these administration wrinkles.