wendy-lebaron
Active Member
Where do FreeBSD community get people to test the operating system? On which computers? Must be older than mine. I have an HP laptop which is 12 years old, came with Windows8 originally, Intel Sandy Bridge 2-core CPU which doesn't look like it's Celeron. Some Linux OS report it has "MESA" graphics.
This is the first time that I have ever attempted to take a look at FreeBSD. Downloaded the fresh v14.0 RELEASE, in plain IMG file. Put it onto a 16GB USB disk with Linux
Next time I totally give up trying to boot via UEFI, try to boot via ordinary "32-bit" method. I break through to a screen which asks me if I want to install the operating system, or just "try Live CD" or go into a shell. But the keyboard and mouse do not work! I was forced to plug in a wireless keyboard. I choose "Live CD" then get asked for login. How am I supposed to know credentials of another user? Maybe this is obvious but I couldn't proceed beyond that. Choose "shell" and it's what it says. I know FreeBSD and Linux have different commands to do stuff, although "cp" and "rm" and a few others are almost universal for Unix. I don't know what would happen if I choose "Install". Why do I want to install something I'm not allowed to check out? Why do I want to install an operating system that doesn't let me use the laptop computer keyboard? In fact no Linux ever did this to me, leaving me without a keyboard and forcing me to plug it in.
NomadBSD forces me to plug in a mouse because it doesn't recognize touchpad but I don't think it was really derrived from FreeBSD. It's like two totally different worlds, like Jupiter and Mars. I really didn't know how convenient NomadBSD could be for people like me who really don't give an arse about FreeBSD and its relations unless it works properly. Now I'm afraid of NetBSD and OpenBSD. There is one other dressed up in MATE which might be an incoming disaster. That one has to be better than my attempt to replace Openbox with MATE on Slackel. :/
I was hopeful with this new release of FreeBSD. Maybe this is not for "enthusiasts" but I wanted to know how it was like. I expected to get something more or less like Arch Linux freshly installed -- a terminal but no D.E. nor even a minimal graphical environment. If I were able to get that far I would have been more willing to learn the way of another Unix descendant. But not anymore.
This is the first time that I have ever attempted to take a look at FreeBSD. Downloaded the fresh v14.0 RELEASE, in plain IMG file. Put it onto a 16GB USB disk with Linux
dd
command, then booted from that. Boot with UEFI, look at the installer menu for a moment and then it gets stuck, as if kernel panic. I try again, choosing "Single user" option from that menu, it doesn't react any differently. Next try I go change some boot options such as enabling verbose and "safe mode". I only get more messages than the previous two failures.Next time I totally give up trying to boot via UEFI, try to boot via ordinary "32-bit" method. I break through to a screen which asks me if I want to install the operating system, or just "try Live CD" or go into a shell. But the keyboard and mouse do not work! I was forced to plug in a wireless keyboard. I choose "Live CD" then get asked for login. How am I supposed to know credentials of another user? Maybe this is obvious but I couldn't proceed beyond that. Choose "shell" and it's what it says. I know FreeBSD and Linux have different commands to do stuff, although "cp" and "rm" and a few others are almost universal for Unix. I don't know what would happen if I choose "Install". Why do I want to install something I'm not allowed to check out? Why do I want to install an operating system that doesn't let me use the laptop computer keyboard? In fact no Linux ever did this to me, leaving me without a keyboard and forcing me to plug it in.
NomadBSD forces me to plug in a mouse because it doesn't recognize touchpad but I don't think it was really derrived from FreeBSD. It's like two totally different worlds, like Jupiter and Mars. I really didn't know how convenient NomadBSD could be for people like me who really don't give an arse about FreeBSD and its relations unless it works properly. Now I'm afraid of NetBSD and OpenBSD. There is one other dressed up in MATE which might be an incoming disaster. That one has to be better than my attempt to replace Openbox with MATE on Slackel. :/
I was hopeful with this new release of FreeBSD. Maybe this is not for "enthusiasts" but I wanted to know how it was like. I expected to get something more or less like Arch Linux freshly installed -- a terminal but no D.E. nor even a minimal graphical environment. If I were able to get that far I would have been more willing to learn the way of another Unix descendant. But not anymore.