Beginner with FreeBSD

H

HenkDrenthe

Hello everyone,

Today I made an account on this forum. Because I am new with FreeBSD. And I wanted to install it on VM Ware. I have the cd- and the dvd-version. I think I can better begin with installing it with the X Window system, the dvd-version. First I wanted it without that. But I think I don't know then how to use it.

First I want to say something. I have Windows 11 and Linux Mint. But for instance if I remove programs in Linux Mint, the system can become unstable. I think that is not the case with FreeBSD. I think you can FreeBSD put to your hand by installing the programs you want to use.

So maybe when I install FreeBSD, i do it step by step, because I am new with FreeBSD. For instance, can I install FreeBSD in Dutch?

FreeBSD is a personal thing. Looks like you build a house and you deside, how you want it.
 
HenkDrenthe said:
Today I made an account on this forum.
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Welcome.
HenkDrenthe said:
But for instance if I remove programs in Linux Mint, the system can become unstable. I think that is not the case with FreeBSD.
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Well, there are certainly several ways you could mess up your system, even with FreeBSD. There is a very distinct difference between the FreeBSD OS itself, and "third-party" ports and packages. The "base" OS itself will provide you with the console, terminals, networking, storage, etc. Everything else is installed on top of that base.

HenkDrenthe said:
So maybe when I install FreeBSD, i do it step by step, because I am new with FreeBSD.
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Step by step is the only way to get there, even for seasoned FreeBSD users.
HenkDrenthe said:
For instance, can I install FreeBSD in Dutch?
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Not entirely sure if the installer can be set to Dutch, I'm Dutch but I've been using FreeBSD (or any other OS for that matter) in English. You should be able to set various language settings to Dutch once you have a basic install up and running.
HenkDrenthe said:
Looks like you build a house and you deside, how you want it.
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The FreeBSD OS itself is more like the foundation to build your house on. You then add walls and windows, finish off with a roof. Then add some nice decorations here and there ;)
 
I have been using VMWare to virtualize FreeBSD desktop for a while, and I have found it to work better than the other type-2 hypervisors, at least when using Windows as the host. Since VMWare Workstation is now freeware, it allows for many more management options than the old "player" ever did. I have a few tips for installing FreeBSD on VMWare Workstation that will ease the setup.

1. Make sure that when setting up the VM, at the OS selection, set "Other" then "FreeBSD 14 64-bit." It seems to want to default to FreeBSD 10x, and this will not enable the UEFI.

2. Once you have installed the basic system, be sure to install the X11 drivers and the /emulators/open-vm-tools package.
pkg install xf86-video-vmware xf86-input-vmmouse open-vm-tools

3. Edit the /etc/rc.conf file, and add the following lines:
Code: 
vmware_guest_vmblock_enable="YES"
vmware_guest_vmhgfs_enable="YES"
vmware_guest_vmmemctl_enable="YES"
vmware_guest_vmxnet_enable="YES"
vmware_guestd_enable="YES"
vmware_guest_kmod_enable="YES"
Reboot the VM to enable all these options. It is probably best to do this before attempting to setup and configure your X desktop environment.
Some of these options may no longer be necessary, but I haven't encountered any problems with them listed.
 
Ok, thank you.

First when I am installing it, FreeBSD asks if I will "continue with default map". Do I have to choose that? When I choose to do that, FreeBSD askes if I want the base system. What do I have to choose?

And I have another question. If you want to use FreeBSD, do you have to know much about computers. Because I don't know if I have enough knowledge to use FreeBSD.
 
1) the "map" it asks about is the keyboard layout for the console - a keyboard in the US is different from a Norwegian keyboard, for example. You should choose one that match your physical keyboard.
2) FreeBSD has very good documentation - the Handbook has a chapter on installation. And if there is something else about computers you need to know, you can learn it. The search engines on the internet are a great help.
Just take it step by step, learn a little every day / every time you work with FreeBSD.
 
As you are using virtual machines, you could create several of them (if the host has plenty of memory to spare). You could set up one VM with a FreeBSD "Desktop", one as a server (perhaps a 'FAMP'; FreeBSD, Apache, MySQL, PHP) and maybe one to play around with ZFS (just add a bunch of virtual disks and experiment with mirrors, RAIDZ, etc).
 
kenrap said:
In terms of text editors for absolute beginners, ee(1) would be a better start once they spend time getting over the vi learning curve.
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If you add
Code: 
set verbose showmode
in /etc/vi.exrc, learn how to delete charachters && save+quit, you can pick it up pretty quick. Although i often do forget ee exists. In my opinion, once you learn ee, you should learn vi.
 
Or, install vim and then run vimtutor which runs a short tutorial giving you vim basics, most of which also work with vi.
The handbook has a pretty good guide to installing.
docs.freebsd.org

Chapter 2. Installing FreeBSD

Guide about how to install FreeBSD, the minimum hardware requirements and supported architectures, how to create the installation media, etc
docs.freebsd.org docs.freebsd.org

Much of the first few installs that you try will be fine if you just accept the defaults. (There's a lot of exceptions to that though) :)
 
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