Other Mess up everything

I must reinstall the whole system since I don't want to fight with an install that reboots once and again.
But just for know, what could be the reason? I did almost everything in my previous install: I install Gnome3, don't get happy with that, I installed Xfce, and again, for finally mess everything, install i3 and modify some config files of the system just following the tutorial. Don't ask me for the warnings, because now I'm on a fresh install. If I could get the links of the tutorials, I'll put them here. And I could repeat it (on a VM), I'll post the warnings. I know that you all need the output, but I don't get it, and my memory (mental) is less than worst. If you could help me, thanks. If you can't, I understand it. Thanks.
Edit: this is one https://unixsheikh.com/tutorials/how-to-setup-freebsd-with-a-riced-desktop-part-3-i3.html
 
Code:
###############################################################################################
# REVERSIBLE PROCEDURE (ONE-STEP ONLY)!
###############################################################################################
# N:        counter
# state:    changed/changing => options, parameters, variable, values, defaults, etc.
# settings: changed/changing => local and global (system wide) settings and related data files.
###############################################################################################

System is working.
N=0

CREATE a text file FILE.TXT:
    [SECTION N]
    System is working.

_START:
I'm going to change something.

N++
Document current state of the system in the FILE.TXT:
    [SECTION N]
    Current state of the system

CREATE folder FOLDER.N and backup current settings in the FOLDER.N

Apply the changes.

IF "system is NOT working" THEN
    READ SECTION N and SECTION N-1 of the FILE.TXT
    Restore the previous settings from the FOLDER.N
    DELETE SECTION N
    DELETE FOLDER.N
    N--
    GOTO _START

N++
Document new state of the system in the FILE.TXT:
    [SECTION N]
    New state of the system

GOTO _START
 
Last edited:
i3 setup is simple, but customizing it is a little tricky. It takes time, it's not complicated. Take a look at this thread:
Also, I've tried to read that article. Frankly I don't like anything about that site, font, design, name, articles, etc. No more comment on that!
I'm a i3 user for many years. I find my way around with heuristics and now I have a working i3 for a long time. There's no need for such lengthy article.
The whole spirit of the i3 is simplicity. That article (you've mentioned) is a pile of peculiar complexity.
 
for a very minimal start (just a working i3) install x11-wm/i3, x11/i3lock, x11/i3status, x11/dmenu and your favourite terminal emulator such as x11/terminator
Make a directory: ~/.config/i3 and copy these to files /usr/local/etc/i3status.conf and /usr/local/etc/i3/config to ~/.config/i3

Make a few small changes to ~/.config/i3/config, at minimum:

~/.config/i3/config
font setting:
font pango:DejaVu Sans Mono 8

I'm using terminator instead of i3-sensible-terminal for terminal emulator:
bindsym Mod1+Return exec terminator

Setup i3status in ~/.config/i3/config
Code:
bar {
status_command i3status --config ~/.config/i3/i3status.conf
}

.
And finally add this line to the bottom of the ~/.xinitrc
~/.xinitrc
exec i3

It it works, start changing setting (one at the time)
 
  • Gnome3 is considered broken (in fact, the GTk toolkit is broken by design, but that's another story), reasonable alternatives are x11/mate or x11/cinnamon.
  • Many problems arise from the fact that users expect pkg(8) to apply the changes to configuration knobs needed for specific application automagically like it is done on Linux; but on FreeBSD, you have to that yourself.
  • The ports sysutils/desktop-installer & sysutils/mkdesktop try to cope with that. It's clear that they can not match up with each & every possible setup of hardware & ports versions.
  • If you have ZFS, you can create a boot environment (sysutils/beadm or bectl(8)) to easily revert your changes, or just use zfs snapshot.
Standard disclaimer:
  • install the docs: pkg install {de,en}-freebsd-doc, replace de with your native tongue, and point your favorite browser to /usr/local/share/doc/freebsd.
  • You can add to the ALIAS section of /usr/local/etc/pkg.conf message: "query '[%C/%n] %M'",, read through all pkg message|less and apply the requested settings.
  • Instead of less(1), you may find sysutils/most more user-friendly. Beginners will prefer edit(1) (ee(1)), editors/aee or editors/nano instead of vi(1).
Happy BSD'ing!
 
Not exactly on-topic, but I see a lot of new users saying "I reinstalled" or "a fresh install" while troubleshooting a window manager or desktop issue. Keep in mind that the base OS in FreeBSD has zilch to do with a desktop environment or window manager. This is not the chaotic land of Linux where software is all jumbled together with the operating system.

If you are having trouble with a window manager or desktop environment and want to start fresh, remove the appropriate packages, back out any system level configs (rc.conf entries that start a login manager for example), to get the system booting to a command line, as it should be, then start fresh.

You can certainly reinstall the OS if you'd like the practice but it is not necessary.
 
I had similar problems in the past. Because:
  1. Windows background:
    1. Installing news software => problem detected => Registry/DLL messed up => solution: reinstall the Windows.
    2. Windows bit rot. It's not a hoax!
    3. To be fair, DOS 5 to 6.22 was fine, mostly you had to know how AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS worked.
  2. FreeBSD configuration mistakes:
    1. Install program X, and changing/adding configuration files E(X).
    2. Install program Y, and changing/adding configuration files E(Y).
    3. Program X and program Y are sharing at least one identical change/add setting, reflected in configuration files:
      E(X) ∩ E(Y) ≠ ∅
    4. Remove program X, and changing/removing correspondence settings in/from the configuration files.
    5. Now program Y is malfunctioning.
    6. Unless you've already documented the changes, it's hard to detect the cause of the problem.
    7. You'll end up with reinstalling the whole base.
 
Well, except base is rarely the issue. New users tend to install FreeBSD and immediately add on a login manager, desktop environment, etc, including the configs to start the login manager, without ever checking to see if xorg even works. They automatically assume everything will just work. Sometimes it does and life is good but more often than not, it doesn't, and they assume they need to reinstall the OS, because with windows and Linux, that's what you have to do.

I have found that if I start with base, get xorg working with the appropriate drivers, then build from there, all is well. If you have to change some entries in rc.conf or fstab then you do that - much easier and less frustrating than a complete reinstall.

The problem I think is that some users are adventuresome and don't mind learning piece by piece, but others want their hand held and FreeBSD does not do that.

That's all I am saying.
 
One of the problems with a "clean install" is that you've now erased all the clues we could've possibly asked for troubleshooting the problem. It is very much a Windows thing, and I contend it's not necessary even in Linux.

I ran Gentoo Linux installs that were decades old (I moved hard drives to new systems, copied installs to new hard drives.) I even converted my original Gentoo install to Funtoo, and ran that for a few years. I currently have a Freebsd install that's 11 years old. While these are extreme examples, and perhaps not the best approach(*), the point is that with time and patience you can troubleshoot any problem in a Unixy system.

I'm getting ready to re-install Windows 7 on my gaming rig because it has started blue-screening inexplicably after years of stable operation. Microsoft actually gave up the game and started recommending people do "clean installs" in their official documentation sometime in the Windows Vista era. Even Redmond can't troubleshoot a truly screwed Windows install.

(*)I'm lazy in a different way than most lazy people.
 
Microsoft has made Windows so thoroughly complex that fixing a broken install takes more time than a reinstall, which is probably why they recommend it. I can't remember the last time I used Windows 7 - my gaming box runs Windows 10 but it is used for a single purpose only: to run World of Warcraft. Reminds me I need to figure out how to back up my game configuration...
 
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