Chapter 2. Installing FreeBSD
| IN THIS CHAPTER
Before you can use FreeBSD, you need to install it on your system's hard disk, just as you would install Windows or any other operating system. FreeBSD's installation procedure is a bit more complex and requires a bit more attention to detail than the average Windows installation, but following the procedure outlined in this chapter should get you through it without any mishaps. Depending on how fast your system and your optical drive run, the installation process will take anywhere from about 20 minutes to an hour or moreor, if you're installing over the network, several hours. Most of this time is spent copying files, so you will not always need to be sitting in front of your computer. I strongly suggest that you read this entire chapter before beginning the installation to familiarize yourself with the procedure ahead of you and plan for possible pitfalls. There are considerably more things that can go wrong in a FreeBSD installation than you might be used to in installing Windows, and it pays to know in advance what kind of information to give the installer and what the computer will be used for in its work environment. Refer also to Chapter 3, "Advanced Installation Tasks," for an overview of some procedures that may be necessary, including backing up your existing files and repartitioning your disk without losing data. Caution Make sure to pick a time to perform the installation when you will not be distracted. You will be performing actions during the installation that are potentially hazardous to existing data on your system if you make mistakes. Tip Now is a good time to look over the hardware compatibility list in Appendix B, "Hardware Compatibility Lists," to make sure your hardware is supported. You won't want to continue the install if you find out a key piece of hardware in your system is not supported by FreeBSD. |
