Why it's so complicated

Noob Noob

Noob Noob

Hello everyone :( Hello folks :( Hello people
For the last 3 days, I want to install FreeBSD on my machine but I can't I just can't install it I didn't even sleep last night
I'm noob, yes and I don't know almost anything about this OS, I'm a windows user and I start recently use Linux distro I try many distros even arch i install it once before they include the GUI
I try GhostBSD and it's so easy to install i like it but i feel it was slow and so laggy maybe the last iso have issues? i don't know (my CPU: i7 8700k GPU: GTX 1080 RAM: 16)
I like what i read about FreeBSD i try to install it from the handbook even i don't know what I'm doing but it should work right!
I try to follow tutorials from youtube but all doesn't work for me what I'm doing wrong ?
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzIWXdcrK5I&t=1072s

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZyW7oiAvvo&t=1273s

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjPha2bWvxs

I don't use VM and don't mention i have slow internet it takes 1.5/2h to download KDE5
FreeBSD dev u really need to make iso with GUI too for new users
 
Only answering the question in the title: „Why it's so complicated?“

In Germany we have a saying: „If it would be easy, everybody could do it.“ This inherits the answer, it must be complicated, so we can stay in business.

Anyway, there is another German saying, telling the whole secret: „Once you know how it works, everything becomes easy."
 
Here is yet another tutorial of a step by step installation of 13.0-RELEASE with Xfce on a machine with Nvidia GTX 1070:
https://nudesystems.com/install-freebsd-with-xfce-and-nvidia-drivers/

If your internet connection is slow you have to be very patient because all X11 and desktop environment stuff is loaded from the online repositories.

If you need base install with a gui you may give NomadBSD a try. The most recent version of 2021 is based on 13.0-Release (other than GhostBSD). It is meant to run as a live system from usb pen drive but it can be installed on hard disk, too.
 
Hello ?
Noob Noob said:
I want to install FreeBSD on my machine but I can't
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Installing FreeBSD is so easy. All you have to do is installing the X Window System, add a normal user, installing some applications and that's it!
Noob Noob said:
I didn't even sleep last night
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Go get some sleep and try again. You're tired now and you can't concentrate properly.

Noob Noob said:
I'm a windows user
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In windows everything is (next, next, install, finish)! FreeBSD isn't like that rather, it encourages you to study and learn.

Noob Noob said:
start recently use Linux distro I try many distros even arch
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So your job will be easier to install FreeBSD, because installing Arch is not so easy.

Noob Noob said:
I try GhostBSD
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Please don't use these derivatives. (with fully respect to their creators). They're just FreeBSD with some installed applications. They're usually made by one, two or three people who get tired of doing this one day and the maintenance process stops. Take a look at this list to see how many of these derivatives has stopped development. freebsd based.

Noob Noob said:
FreeBSD dev u really need to make iso with GUI too for new users
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Why they don't do that? Do you think this is difficult for them? No, They want, you to make exactly what you need! They respect your opinion and don't want to impose their opinion on you. Pre installed software are cumbersome. In addition, they want, you to understand how operating systems work from the lower layers. FreeBSD is like going to a computer store to buy a desktop computer and assembling every single piece of it by yourself instead of buying a pre built laptop!

Just be patient and follow the handbook. If you have any questions, ask here. Believe me it's definitely worth taking time.
 
Noob Noob welcome to FreeBSD Forums. FreeBSD is complicated at first, for just a short while, then mostly enjoyable.

If you already use Discord: you can find me, and other people, at the FreeBSD helpdesk.

Noob Noob said:
KDE5
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KDE Plasma can be installed without difficulty.

In your case: for now, you may ignore videos, long tutorials and the FreeBSD Handbook. Some things will certainly mislead you.


Start afresh, install FreeBSD alone. Choose 13.0-RELEASE. When you add yourself as a normal user, accept the invitation to add yourself to groups – type these three words then key Return or Enter:

webcamd wheel video

After the installation, restart the computer. At the command prompt, login as root. Carefully enter this one-line string of commands, exactly as written:

time pkg install --quiet --yes kde5 nvidia-driver nvidia-xconfig sddm webcamd xorg && sysrc cused_enable="YES" && sysrc dbus_enable="YES" && sysrc devd_enable="YES" && sysrc webcamd_enable="YES" && sysrc webcamd_flags="-H" && sysrc sddm_enable="YES" && sysrc kld_list+="nvidia cuse" && kldload cuse && kldload nvidia && nvidia-xconfig && service dbus start && service devd start && service webcamd start && service sddm start

(That's adapted from the second of five screenshots at <https://forums.freebsd.org/posts/559783> where a single string brings up SDDM, for Plasma, in a virtual machine.)

The commands will take time to complete. Be patient.


After completion, if SDDM does not appear after a few seconds (something like this):

Starting SDDM.png

– then try this additional command:

kldload nvidia-modeset && service sddm restart


If you prefer to follow the KDE-provided quick start for Plasma on FreeBSD:


Information about your NVIDIA graphics hardware and relevant software

Noob Noob said:
GTX 1080
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For convenience, <https://www.freshports.org/x11/nvidia-driver/#message> represents the package message that will appear on-screen after installation. You might find this easier to understand with highlights drawn, see the image at <https://forums.freebsd.org/posts/551939>.

For what's currently ported to FreeBSD, <https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/183579/en-us>:
  • confirms support for GTX 1080
  • should not be used to download the driver – ignore the DOWNLOAD button.


GhostBSD

Noob Noob said:
?… I try GhostBSD and it's so easy to install i like it but i feel it was slow and so laggy
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If GhostBSD felt slow, I doubt that FreeBSD will feel faster. GhostBSD is based on FreeBSD.

Noob Noob said:
maybe the last iso have issues? …
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I doubt it, but if you like I can take a look at the forums.


Postscript

Incorporated cuse and devd (see <https://www.freshports.org/multimedia/webcamd/#message>).
 
Or, keep it simple and just do the base install from the CD/DVD and then use the Skunk Installer. This offers you also to choose from and install the most popular software. And it saves you from the hassle of reading the handbook and to have to manually edit lots of configuration files etc. Downloading big stuff like KDE will inevitably take some time, though.

grahamperrin for nvidia <= 340, kld_list="nvidia" is the correct way, for the later drivers only load nvidia-modeset, it takes care of pulling in the nvidia module.

@ the others: imho having to read the handbook makes FreeBSD a specialist+enthusiast system. But most people need a turnkey system.
 
Noob Noob I give you a suggestion since I am myself a noob!

Start with a Virtual Machine (Virtualbox is just fine), follow the Handbook, try several setups and configurations. When you are satisfied with your setup you can try to replicate your usual workflow and see how much is compatible, then you can start finding alternatives and work-around!

Stick with the VM as much as you feel confident that the day you'll jump on the real hardware you will be able to deal with hardware issues.

Virtualized environment just works fine out of the box but real hardware can be problematic, for instance I haven't finished to setup the bluetooth (which basically work out of the box on any operative system but *BSD).

Most important document everything and then clean-up your notes, I convert all my documentation in Gemini pages that I share on internet later...
 
skunk said:
… for nvidia <= 340, kld_list="nvidia" is the correct way, for the later drivers only load nvidia-modeset, it takes care of pulling in the nvidia module. …
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Thanks. Open a bug report for improvement of the package message:
  • summary prefix x11/nvidia-driver
  • in the description, mention (exactly) bug 258264 comment 2
  • see also 258264 260183
– then please share a link to the report.

Postscript

<https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=258264#c12> noted with thanks.
 
grahamperrin said:
Thanks. Open a bug report for improvement of the package message [...] then please share a link to the report.
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The thing is not so simple. The correct way of loading the nvidia(-modeset) driver would be via /boot/loader.conf, but that fails in many cases due to insufficient available memory when using UEFI. Loading it via /etc/rc.conf is only a workaround, which in turn creates new issues that would be avoided if loading the driver correctly, e.g. via /boot/loader.conf. So I had to say this in my bugzilla comment. For this reason I feel unable to suggest some actually correct handbook changes, as it all depends on when/how the UEFI loader issues are being fixed.

Edit: This is one of the many little details the Skunk Installer takes care of. In case of UEFI, it puts the nvidia loader into /etc/rc.conf, otherwise it gets correctly placed in /boot/loader.conf.
 
skunk said:
… I feel unable to suggest some actually correct handbook changes, …
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  1. Aim to add four of five paragraphs, each one with relatively long sentences of more than forty words (no less than twenty-five), between the longest of the paragraphs you can add large visual punctuations to maintain the reader's train of thought
  2. a large visual punctuation might take the form of an information box (big ℹ for tourists), warning box (in other words, a yellow alert) or something big and red
  3. avoid use of footnotes, instead put everything into suitably enlarged spaces
  4. be historical, describe the journey to where we are today, begin around the turn of the century
  5. include at least two references to outdated academic papers, one of which should be available only in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
  6. if you must refer to a PDF, make it a scan that has not been subject to optical character recognition
  7. at the end of the journey to where we are today, without giving an example of a modern-day command, refer to a set of interlinked manual pages, one of which might lack suitable examples
  8. learn to put things in the context of Phabricator
  9. begin a six-month review process
  10. repeatedly refer people to the FreeBSD Handbook, which does not include the required changes
  11. generally, be repetitive in texts, if this proves difficult to achieve then take coherent chunks and break them into separate chapters
  12. use the glossary of the Handbook, which is detached from the book
  13. make a dozen or so complementary YouTube videos with thumping soundtracks, no speech, no closed captions, whooshing noises between the tracks and an animated star scape
  14. if you're not foreign, feign a foreign accent (or non-local dialect) when speaking about your next video
  15. fake Swedish accents are increasingly popular in the minds of non-Swedish UK residents who imagine that everything from there is sensible and arty
  16. speak Swedish with an English-up-north or Newcastle accent, your YouTube ratings will go through the roof, ja.

/s ?
 
grahamperrin said:
for now, you may ignore ... the FreeBSD Handbook.
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This is HORRIBLE advice!
grahamperrin said:
install FreeBSD alone.
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And how is he to do it without guidance?!

Common ground is the Handbook! Any problems installing from that will be minimal and everyone here will be familiar with it if he asks for help. Anything else might be a hodge podge of pulled together hints and kinks and who knows what.
 
Noob Noob said:
I like what i read about FreeBSD i try to install it from the handbook even i don't know what I'm doing but it should work right!
Click to expand...
Ah, nothing has changed from my 2.2.5 days.

The answer to this question is that FreeBSD users simply bang their heads on things until they figure it out and expect everyone else to do the same. That way we're all adept at knowing all the problems we'll run into and how just about everything works, even if we don't want to know. Sometimes, a nice thing will come along such as freebsd-update and people will complain about how it "dumbs users down" from knowing how to recompile a kernel.

Anyway, I'm sorry. It probably shouldn't be like this but it is.
 
I like your sense of humour :)

msplsh said:
… and expect everyone else to do the same. …
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… and people sometimes scramble over each other in their attempts to help, and so on.

I sometimes tailor guidance to suit what's requested by the user. In this case there's a wish for things to be as simple as:

        ❝ iso with GUI ❞

– from the outset.

Simply: that type of ISO is not provided by the FreeBSD Project. So, amongst other things, there's a suggestion to:
  1. use an available installer, which we know is already in the hands of Noob Noob
  2. run a command, or two, get a working GUI as quickly as possible.

Emphatically:

grahamperrin said:
for now,
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Diverse approaches to learning require diverse approaches to guidance.


msplsh said:
It probably shouldn't be like this but it is.
Click to expand...

Where there's intolerance of diversity: it certainly shouldn't be like that, but it is …
 
mendenlama said:
Here is yet another tutorial of a step by step installation of 13.0-RELEASE with Xfce on a machine with Nvidia GTX 1070:
https://nudesystems.com/install-freebsd-with-xfce-and-nvidia-drivers/

If your internet connection is slow you have to be very patient because all X11 and desktop environment stuff is loaded from the online repositories.

If you need base install with a gui you may give NomadBSD a try. The most recent version of 2021 is based on 13.0-Release (other than GhostBSD). It is meant to run as a live system from usb pen drive but it can be installed on hard disk, too.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply
This tutorial really good i like KDE more than Xfce am always stuck in step 4, I'll try for the last one and one question pls for the Nvidia driver 470 is already older than 510 why should i go with 340 like on the video tutorial
 
drhowarddrfine said:
Common ground is the Handbook! Any problems installing from that will be minimal and everyone here will be familiar with it if he asks for help. Anything else might be a hodge podge of pulled together hints and kinks and who knows what.
Click to expand...
I have to agree with that ? . Noob Noob, you still need to do a bit of planning ahead: Have your own username/password and root password prepared ahead of time.

If you have that, it takes about 10-15 minutes to install FreeBSD with just default settings (Takes me just 5 minutes).

Don't be afraid of doing it many times over - that's what it takes to learn. :)
 
Noob Noob said:
470 is already older than 510 why should i go with 340 like on the video tutorial
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Without watching the videos: I can think of no reason to use anything less than 470.86, which (according to NVIDIA) supports GTX 1080 on FreeBSD x64:

1647277693403.png


If a video shows an inferior version for identical hardware: assume that the video is outdated.

<https://www.freshports.org/x11/nvidia-driver/#packages> confirms 470.86 for FreeBSD:13:amd64 at the time of writing.
 
The x11/nvidia-driver works for my GTX1080, so a GTX1070 shouldn't be a problem. You only need to use the 'legacy' NVidia drivers if you have an older card, before GT760 I think. The GT520 in my Zotac box for example needs to use the legacy version.
 
SirDice said:
The x11/nvidia-driver works for my GTX1080, so a GTX1070 shouldn't be a problem. You only need to use the 'legacy' NVidia drivers if you have an older card, before GT760 I think. The GT520 in my Zotac box for example needs to use the legacy version.
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I have a GTX 650 TI Boost and it works with the last available nvidia driver, I think the last available nvidia driver for FreeBSD supports everything down to Kepler.
 
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