Migrating from Linux Mint to FreeBSD

Hey guys. Long time, no see. I've got an old HP Pavilion a6410t that's been chugging away just fine on Linux Mint for the last couple of years. I'm okay running Linux, but I've really been getting a hankering for some BSD-style action and Arch Linux just won't cut it. Since my last stint with FreeBSD, I'm a little rusty but I think I can manage. The almighty FreeBSD Handbook will most certainly help out quite a bit.

My main problem will be with my video card. I have an Intel VGA card, and as far as I know, Intel cards on FreeBSD have relatively spotty support for hardware acceleration, and 3D desktop effects. The last time I tried to install FreeBSD 9.0 on my desktop computer, KDE didn't have the translucent taskbar (it was a solid grey bar) and animated desktop effects (like minimizing windows and such). I installed Flash the way the handbook described it and YouTube worked just fine, but some Flash objects were animated in a rather choppy manner. I'm not sure if it's an X.Org problem or if it's a problem with FreeBSD. lspci and lsusb return this.

I'd appreciate tips on how to migrate to FreeBSD with most if not everything working properly.

Code:
shaun@hp-linuxmint ~ $ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express DRAM Controller (rev 10)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31 Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 10)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR (ICH7 Family) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 01)
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 01)
02:00.0 Communication controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. Device 2f82
shaun@hp-linuxmint ~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 1737:0077 Linksys WUSB54GC v3 802.11g Adapter [Ralink RT2070L]
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 03f0:2a12 Hewlett-Packard 
shaun@hp-linuxmint ~ $
 
Since 9.1-RELEASE FreeBSD has an Intel KMS driver. If you put
Code:
WITH_NEW_XORG="YES"
in /etc/make.conf, you will also get the new X.Org ports (and the new xf86-video-intel). Any Intel GPU up to Ivy Bridge will work.
 
Back
Top