General FreeBSD Setup (New User)

S

smellysoph

Hi, I'm a new FreeBSD user, coming over from years of Windows and minimal user friendly Linux distro use. I realize that I am severally out of my depth here, and I'm having to ask ai for like 90% of things if I want to do anything lol which isn't good because sometimes it's just wrong. I asked it to help me do something in terminal to make DWM start without me telling it to and loading my graphics card drivers. Didn't work. I'm posting this because I need help with that specifically, but also general tips on how to make the most out of my FreeBSD experience such as making my volume and brightness keys functional etc. I would also love to know how to properly customize my DWM because mine if basic af. The only 'hard' thing I have managed to do on here is set up mullvad via wireguard tools and that's about it.

Yes, I know I could just watch youtube videos on the topic, or ask ai, but I think I'd actually get helpful tips from people who daily drive FreeBSD and have used it probably longer than I've been alive for lol. Any tips and pointers would be greatly appreciated!
 
Go through vermadens tutorials on setting up a minimal openbox configuration. You don't have to use Openbox but the process involved applies to almost any minimal WM. Really pay attention to all of the configuration files involved and where they're placed. Due to FreeBSDs well design file system hierarchy, you shouldn't get lost. Most things will be stored in your home folder or /usr/local/etc/ for customizing your WM experience.

If you don't understand FreeBSDs filesystem hierarchy (and basic permissions); you should read the Handbook and understand that first before anything.
 
First at all, I know most of computer people are almost greedy for the very most newest version there is, no matter what, but for a beginner, especially the very start I wouldn't recommend to deal with some "still in development and not yet finished unreleased" state of the system, but chosing the newest RELEASE version, which would be 15.0.

Second, you need to learn a lot. AI is not useful when you don't know what you're using it on, because you cannot judge its results on your questions. You already figured that out.
Videos are very popular these days, because they are so comfy to watch. But they are no good to learn.
They can only deliver quickly a shallow overview over a new topic, but at the moment you want to dive a bit deeper - learn something really - you learn at least ten times faster when reading texts instead of wasting your time on watching videos. Apart from that only a small fraction what FreeBSD is all about and comes with it is covered by videos.

Your best friends are texts to be read, and things you learn by actually doing them with your system.

My advice was:
1. at least skim through the FAQs once - those are actually worth reading
2. read at least the first five Chapters of The Handbook - it's very good, very newbie friendly, and #1 docu on FreeBSD
3. the most important documentation on any unix[like] are the Manual Pages, which you will also find installed on your system (at least for the packages you have installed.) Those are very brief and a bit formal, so needing a bit to get used to them, since for some of the stuff you want to learn from them you need to read more than just one. They need a bit of knowing how to read them, but they are the full complete, and up-to-date documentation of the whole system, containing everything, which nothig else, no book, no video, no webpage can provide.
4. this forums are full of newbie and beginner questions and topics, and much more. It's highly unpropable you will not find your questions already answered here. Just dig it. It's a pure goldmine. Tip: using duckduckgo.com instead of the forum's internal search will deliver better search results most of the times.
5. Besides some FreeBSD user's webpages like others mentioned there are also a few books worth reading. When you click on my avatar you get to my profile, under "About" you will find some things that may be useful.
 
First thing you need is a reliable "forever" storage. I use lots of extermal disks and memsticks with my entire system and all programs on it.. It's not massive. 500GB for everything is enough by far.
The maintainance of such personal base is most important, to my experience.
Also have a few different computers with no dedicated function to try things that can destroy partitions and such. 😃
 
As others said:
Step 0, use a supported release version.
Step 1, read the handbook. Cover to cover. You can speed-read sections that don't apply to you, but you should afterwards have a general idea what is covered where.
Step 2, begin installation.
Step 3: never ever ask an AI. All they do is summarize text from the internet, without knowing whether the thing they're summarizing is right, wrong, or inapplicable. In particular, since Linux is much more common, the AI answers will be polluted with Linux knowledge. If you have a question, do a web search, and read the topmost articles or forum posts that are found. Evaluate each one to see whether it is trustworthy.
 
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