Problems installing 9.2

mabu · Oct 16, 2013

I burned a 9.2-RELEASE CD and installed the system on a server. Then I ran sysinstall and tried to do post-install configuration and installation of additional packages. Unfortunately two odd things are happening. First I continually get the message:

Code:

unable to retrieve GENERIC distribution from ftp.freebsd.org

I confirm I am connected to the net and everything is working. Also, I'm not getting a debug console on ALT-F2. I went into options and enabled it but I don't get any debug information, just a login prompt.

The system now boots up on 9.2 but I can't seem to install ports or any packages. I haven't messed with FreeBSD installs in a few years. Is sysinstall no longer working? There does not appear to be any network problems. Is the package name changed from 9.2-RELEASE or something?

wblock@ · Oct 16, 2013

Stop using sysinstall. Really. It is obsolete. The installer is new and different starting with FreeBSD 9.0. There is a whole new Handbook chapter on it: Installing FreeBSD 9.X and Later.

mabu · Oct 16, 2013

So does that mean sysinstall does not work?

mabu · Oct 16, 2013

Apparently I used bsdinstall to install the system on the hard drive - I looked through the manual and went through that entire process successfully (it doesn't seem to have any post-install options - I don't want to go back through partitioning the hard drive by running it again). I'm just wondering if I can use sysinstall to install additional packages and other stuff. It doesn't seem to work and I do not know why. Anyone?

I liked being able to use sysinstall to install and browse packages and things - is there still a way to do that?

jrm@ · Oct 16, 2013

mabu said:
I'm just wondering if I can use sysinstall to install additional packages and other stuff... it doesn't seem to work and I do not know why. Anyone?

As @wblock said, it's obsolete.

mabu said:
I liked being able to use sysinstall to install and browse packages and things - is there still a way to do that?

Try this instead. I think you'll like it.

# make -C /usr/ports/sysutils/bsdconfig
# bsdconfig

ShelLuser · Oct 16, 2013

mabu said:
I'm just wondering if I can use sysinstall to install additional packages and other stuff. It doesn't seem to work and I do not know why. Anyone?

I liked being able to use sysinstall to install and browse packages and things - is there still a way to do that?

Yes there is, because although it may be replaced by bsdinstall it's still part of the base system. So after you finished with the installation there's nothing stopping you from using sysinstall to handle all the rest.

It maybe obsolete where the installation process is concerned, but that doesn't mean it stopped being useful for some of the post-install tasks.

wblock@ · Oct 16, 2013

A lot of the things sysinstall(8) wants to do no longer work. If you know your way around it, there are parts that still work.

Devin Teske and Allan Jude have been working on sysutils/bsdconfig as an update, and all or part of that port is being integrated with bsdinstall(8) for 10.0-RELEASE.

mabu · Oct 16, 2013

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't bsdconfig just for setting up the initial install?

Is there any text/GUI for installation of packages or other post-installation content?

wblock@ · Oct 16, 2013

isn't bsdconfig just for setting up the initial install?

No. First there was bsdinstall(8), a new installer which lacked many of the functions of the old sysinstall(8), but had some new features and fixed some old problems.

To add back some of the functions, Devin Teske started working on a new program. I suggested it should be called "bsdconfig" as a partner to bsdinstall(8). It went into ports, and now will be in base in 10.0.

mabu · Oct 16, 2013

When was sysinstall broken? Maybe I'll go back to an earlier version of FreeBSD where it wasn't screwed up. The last version I used was 6.2.

So sysinstall doesn't work any more? Wow that sucks... how difficult is it to remove it then? What's the point of having broken software on the distribution?

wblock@ · Oct 16, 2013

sysinstall(8) was buggy for years, and difficult to maintain. Many people complained. Then there was bsdinstall(8). Many people complained. Attentive readers may notice a trend.

jrm@ · Oct 17, 2013

mabu said:
When was sysinstall broken? Maybe I'll go back to an earlier version of FreeBSD where it wasn't screwed up. The last version I used was 6.2.

So sysinstall doesn't work any more? Wow that sucks... how difficult is it to remove it then? What's the point of having broken software on the distribution?

Did you try sysutils/bsdconfig? In a recent study, 9 out 10 people preferred it to sysinstall, it has half the calories and it will put hair on your chest.

phillipsjk · Nov 29, 2013

I ran into a similar problem. Invoking bsdintall(8) without any arguments prompts me to reformat my disk(s).

Looking at the man page, I notice a jail option. Does than mean rebuilding world (as described in Section 15.4 of the handbook) is no longer required?

That would be useful to me since the primary use of the machine is a Bitcoin node running from a space-constrained SSD. I want to set up a jail so that somebody I am not on great terms with can dump 50 GB of data to the (preferably encrypted) spinning disk.