Total Newbie to FreeBSD: please help with GNOME

[rookiepirate]

Hi all, I am having problem installing GNOME. I have successfully install and boot into the FBSD FreeBSD command line. I want to install a GNOME environment but it won't let me do it. First I tried following the GNOME installation in http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... 11-wm.html. It can't work because there is still no GNOME booting up, it just boots into the terminal again. Then I tried following the advice in these links: http://www.unix.com/bsd/153719-installi ... eebsd.html, http://forums.freebsd.org/viewtopic.php?t=20827. Here comes the problem: when I try to do the pkg_add command, it says that command is not found. Then I read somewhere else that I have to change the order of the path? I don't know how to change the path. This is getting complicated for me as a total newbie :x . Running ls -l gives me

total 16
-rw-r--r-- 2 root wheel 969 Jan 17 2014 .cshrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 152 Jan 17 2014 .k5login
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 300 Jan 17 2014 .login
-rw-r--r-- 2 root wheel 257 Jan 17 2014  .profile

I am using the latest 10.0 free bsd FreeBSD. Please help. Thanks.

rp.

 

[pkubaj]

Re: Total Newbie to FBSD: please help with GNOME

First, dont' use GNOME for now. FreeBSD doesn't have GNOME 3 for now, only 2, which is essentially broken. Just use MATE or XFCE.

Second, you have to also follow http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... stall.html and http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... onfig.html. Don't use pkg_add, it's been replaced by pkg, which is a complete solution to package management. Tutorials you used were just too old.

 

[rookiepirate]

@@pkubaj: Thanks for the tips. Do I have to configure X.Org before installing KDE/MATE? Because I tried to install KDE and it returns the following errors:

Stop
Make [3]: Stopped in /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/pkg
***Error code:1

Stop
Make [2]: Stopped in /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/pkg
***Error code:1

Stop
Make [1]: Stopped in /usr/ports/x11/kde4
***Error code: 1

 

[pkubaj]

The error is not related to KDE, but to ports-mgmt/pkg, and if you posted it, folks here would probably provide a solution.

 

[fonz]

@rookiepirate: to elaborate: you only posted a few trailing exit messages, not the actual errors.

 

[jmcveigh]

Read (Do not peruse!) these sections of the handbook from start to finish :

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... intro.html
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... k/x11.html

gnome2 is a wonderful desktop environment

After successfully installing and configuring Xorg install the following binary packages :

gnome2
gnome2-fifth-toe
gnome2-office
gnome2-power-tools

Generally, I use Compiz Fusion as a Window Manager and Emerald as a Window Decorator.

This is a word-perfect article on the Compiz Fusion installation procedure for FreeBSD : https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/articles/compiz-fusion/

Are you having troubles configuring X.org ?

Warm regards,
Jason McVeigh