install comparison-slack, freebsd, mandrake(text)

[FoBoT]

this thread is a step by step documentation of the test, triple install, comparison, documented step by step
the objective is to compare the install process of the three OS's, not their overall qualities. the test will complete when i can post to LNO through lynx on all 3 boxes, or it gets too late and i have to go home, or i get fired and they kick me out of the building http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

little Deputy Grognard from Texas and his friend, student NGene from Turku both want to know how a freebsd install compares to linux (grognard has used mandrake, NGene asks about slack)
this is the source of this idea: http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/Forum22/HTML/004840.html

it would be nice to do the installs on three identical pc's, but i don't have 3 exactly the same. we will use compaq EP/SB series, very similar, main difference is the cpu, we have a Celery300, PII-266 and a PIII-450.

the C300 will get mandrake 7.2 downloaded from linuxiso.org
the P266 will get freebsd 4.2 downloaded from http://www.hadiko.de/ftp/dists/openbsd/ISO/
the p450 will get slackware 7.1 from www.cheapbytes.com (http://www.cheapbytes.com)
the selection was done randomly since i couldn't think of any other way to decide

each time i post, the first line will be what step i am on, ie [step1], [step2], etc

comments from the peanut gallery should be kept to a minimum (like i could keep you guys quiet http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif )
when i/if i get stuck i will post the question in the appropriate forum and place a link here to document the solution and who helped
too keep things kinda even, the mandrake install will be done through the text mode installer
there will be a slight delay to the start of the festivaties, because i took the mandrake cd home last night, so i have to burn another copy and my burner is only 2x http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/frown.gif

i will give each screen/step a rating, from 1 to 5 quacks (in honor of the honorable TLD).
1 quack means "newbie beware, you don't stand a chance!"
5 quacks means "my quadriplegic/blind grandma could do that!" (if anybody is offended, tell me the P.C. equivalent and i will edit that)

keep in mind that this is all from my perspective, a humble linuxnewbie. my background is in dos/winders/networking, no UNIX at all. i have previously done successful installs of mandrake 7.2(gui), red hat 6.2(text), debian potato (floppy), corel 1.1(gui)

Let the Games begin! http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif

------------------
FoBoT
Fixer Of Broken Things
Use the right tool for the right job!

[This message has been edited by FoBoT (edited 26 January 2001).]

[FoBoT]

[step1]


welcome screen. a few warnings about partitions, memory, mono monitor. looks like i have to partition myself. hmm.. 3 quacks



configuration menu. have to configure the kernel, yikes! that word might just scare off some newbies. does tell first timers to choose visual mode. 3 quacks because i don't think i can mess this step up



if you don't watch it on the first boot, the screen where you can choose the text install will flip past (that is probably a good thing for linuxnewbies).
shows different installers to choose from.
i pick text. 5 quacks

[FoBoT]

[step2]


better than the last screen, it says to either use cfdisk or fdisk to partition my hd. doesn't say which is easier. i know from my debian install that cfdisk is easier for newbies (me), so i pick that one. 4 quacks



this is the screen that scared me last time i started a freebsd install. says "active drivers" and "inactive drivers" and 7 conflicts (that doesn't sound good at all). not much explaination going on this screen. it does have in the corner "[?] Help", so i will try that first. read the help. says to "move drivers for devices i don't have installed from active list to inactive list, until there are no remaining parameter conflicts indicated at the top". ok. i hit network and it shows a bunch of ethernet adapters that i don't have, so since i know my hardware, maybe this won't be so hard. oh, well that got rid of the conflicts, but now i have no network adapter. do i guess or leave it out? uh,uh...my nic is 3com 3c509b. will check the freebsd web site. found this, am reading it now ( http://people.freebsd.org/~rpratt/41/index.html ). ok. good document. i think i am better off leaving out something i need at this point, so i will hit Q to move on. 3 quacks (i thought it would be 2 quacks at first, but that doc helped {RTFM Newbie!})



choose my language. ok. 5 quacks

[FoBoT]

[step3]


cfdisk screen. since i have used this before, i am feeling good. delete the winders 95 partitions and make 2 new ones. first is / and second is swap, keeping it simple. write the partition table. 4 quacks


[free]
main menu/install/config tool. just for fun i will RTFM, i choose Doc. TFM says to do a standard install if you are a newbie. it also says to RTFM. i see my nic in the hardware list ep0. good docs. i will now choose standard install. 5 quacks for good docs.
[\free]


license agreement. this doens't count as a step. accept. choose install class. recommended is best for newbies. new install or update? install. trying to keep them at about the same place so i will continue. choose my mouse. ps/2. ok. DrakX partitioning wizard asks if it can wipe out winders. yes. 5 quacks.



[This message has been edited by FoBoT (edited 26 January 2001).]

[FoBoT]

[step4]


says to reboot the system to ensure the partition table is correctly updated. put me at a # prompt. i will try 'reboot'. cool. i might be learning something after all. 3 quacks (i think some newbies would have cut the power, since it didn't actually say to type 'reboot')



message about partitioning. says to pick A for all to use the whole disk. hit A. confirm. message about the type of partition table i think. since i am not loading any other OS's i will pick No (but first a check of the FAQ). good call on RTFM ( http://www.freebsd.org/tutorials/formatting-media/index.html ). choose No. Q to finish. 3 quacks, we know that newbies never RTFM!



select size of install. i just want to get online, so i pick minimum. uh, 5 quacks i guess.

[FoBoT]

[step 5]


after re-boot i am at first screen. type root. don't need the network for installation so i choose setup. since i RTFM for freebsd, i will spend a little time on this doc also. oh, that part about being able to see install message with alt-4 is pretty cool. doc points out that setup won't partition for you, you have to do that yourself. points out that cfdisk is 'friendlier'. nice doc. ok now i choose addswap. alt-4 is http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gif . selecting target drive. only one choice. KISS. format the partition. default # of inodes. a newbie might need to lookup inodes, but the screen explaination is ok. done adding partitions to /etc/fstab. next is selecting source, choose installation media, cdrom. normal install. choose packages. everything is pre-selected except server development, so hit ok. menu top select prompting mode, one choice is full. i have big hd and it says it is faster, so full it is. 4 quacks, not bad.



need to create bsd partitions. says i can pick A for auto. yes that is good. Q to finish. choose distribution. i pick 'User' just want to post on LNO. something about ports collection, not clear what it means but it says it is advisable to say yes, so that is good. choose installation media. cdrom of course. warning page that it will now wipe your old data. yes . 4 quacks



configure local network. choose 3com 3c509. no extra for that driver, so i choose autoprobe. another nic? it asks, no i have only 1 nic. static or dhcp. i have dhcp server on the www.freesco.org (http://www.freesco.org) router box. host name? uh, i'll make somethin up and hope it works. 3 quacks



this is going better than i expected! of course that little bit of RTFM did help and the www.freebsd.org (http://www.freebsd.org) web site made it easy to do.

[FoBoT]

[step 6]


make bootdisk. a newbie would probably skip this, i will be blowing these OS's away later today, but i will make the bootdisk just to make sure it doesn't ask anything 'funny'. modem screen. no modem here. screen font config. yes. never mind, hit cancel. install Lilo. it isn't clear if i need to do this or not. i don't have other OS's so i will try to skip this. configure network. hostname. domain name. setup IP. select dhcp. probe for nic's. choose probe. it found my 3c509 ! http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gif . mouse config. ps/2. GPM config. no bus mouse so i will try yes. sendmail config. i will just hit ok to pick the default, i just want to post to LNO. choose the default windows manager. how about windowmaker (just because that is what sensei had on that laptop in that post with linuxgirl's picture). root password. setup complete. exit setup. doens't say what to do next http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/mad.gif , but i will try 'reboot' . good that worked. 4 quacks



congratulations, you have freebsd installed on your system. that is good right http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/wink.gif maybe there is hope for me after all http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif . configure ethernet. my nic is at the top of the list, very nice, ok. (note: hit says hit F1 for help, i will skip that in the interest of my lunch and i know a little about networking). IPv6 configuration? maybe i should have read that help, but i will say yes. this looks bad, looks like it locked up. it is beeping now. this IS bad! crap, locked up tighter than a drum. must not like my nic after all. had to hit the power button. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/mad.gif 0 quacks for you mister freebsd



choose timezone. set root password. add user. configure X. select monitor. no autologin. congratulations, installation is complete. reboot. 5 quacks



LUNCH!

[FoBoT]

first test post from the mandrake install, through konqueror. lynx is either not installed on the small install i chose, or something. now back to the slack and freebsd installs. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif

[FoBoT]

now posting from the slackware box through lynx
just had to figure out where to get lynx to use our WAN's proxy
http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gif
not sure the freebsd is going to make it today, maybe monday

[FoBoT]

after lunch, i had to do some work, and a meeting, etc, etc. now back to something important


[step 7]

well i guess i screwed myself on this one. i re-formatted the boot floppy i made before i re-booted the pc, that was pretty stoopid, i shouldn't even admit it. so how will i boot it ? cdrom back in, try to fix it by adding lilo, i guess. and RTFM, where is that slack web site? hmmm.. even better, i put the install cd back and booted and guess what? it says right on the screen how to get it to boot in a 'pinch'. guess that means i wasn't the first idiot. so i type vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 load_ramdisk=0 initrd=
success! got a message about the filesystem is already read-write, needs to be read-only, pretty good directions on how to fix it. login, yeah! WOW! http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/eek.gif it just made an Arkansas joke! that is funny. guess people in arkansas don't use slack http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
ifconfig. oh, yeah, i have got an ip address. ping google.com is successful! http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
ping my proxy server is good. how do you set lynx to use a proxy? try lynx --help no, not enough info. try man lynx. don't see proxy info. just to see i try lynx 192.168.1.1 and can see my www.freesco.org (http://www.freesco.org) router web page. essentially i am done, just need to find a get a browser running that can use my proxy server. will try google search on lynx. good, RTFM works. i found this ( http://lynx.isc.org/release/lynx2-8-3/lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html#lynx.cfg ) says go into options (duh http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif ), then there is a link showing the lynx.cfg file. it has a place to set the http proxy. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gif
this link ( http://lynx.isc.org/fom/cache/64.html ) has good instructions on how to set the proxy server. oh, yeah! i hit google.com now to LNO. ok, got that posted http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif 2 quacks



it seems to have re-booted ok, despite the lockup. # prompt. type root. Welcome to freebsd. ifconfig. hmm.... ep1 shows my MAC address but no ip address. lo0 shows the localhost ip is there 127.0.0.1 good.
better RTFM again. found the section in the freebsd handbook about dhcp. so i type dhclient. locks up. seems my nic isn't playing nice at all. hmmm... power off http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/frown.gif 1 quack

[FoBoT]

[step 7 continued]


login screen. choose KDE session (yeah, i was going for lynx, but it is getting late). ifconfig shows i got my ip from the router, very nice. ping google.com is good.
start konqueror. put in the proxy server ip address. try google.com. success! now LNO. yes. very good. i will now post a test post which will show up just above this post (of course). success! 5 quacks http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif



got to go home, i will try to get the nic in the freebsd box working on monday