Well, I’m impressed. This evening I tried installing PC-BSD on a Toshiba M30 laptop that’s been collecting dust since I switched to a Mac. Allow me to proclaim: FreeBSD is easier to install than Windows.
To start off, I downloaded the latest ISO from http://pcbsd.org and used the Apple Disk Utility to burn the image to a disk. Then I configured my laptop to boot from the CD-ROM drive, plopped in the disk, and away I went.
The installation process starts off looking like good old FreeBSD all the way, with defaults selected for you as the text flies by. After a while, you arrive at an installation menu which lets you set a few options or start the graphical installation. Choose to start the graphical installation: X starts up right away and you’re off and running (with mouse support).
First you have to choose a partition on which to install PCBSD. I wanted to see what the ‘sensible defaults’ would be if I let the installer have its way with the layout, so I chose “Use entire disk for UNIX”. Click the Next button.
Your computer needs to be bootable, so you have to configure a bootloader. If you wanted, you could configure a 3rd party bootloader here. I don’t plan on dual-booting, so I selected the default FreeBSD bootloader. Next.
The installer starts extracting files. Pretty pictures of boxes dance with arrows as the progress meter keeps time. This is easier than installing Windows, my friends. Even better. Instead of reading paragraphs of ad-speak while staring aimlessly and the installation screen, you get this:
Still want to use the traditional ports system? You can always populate the ports directory with the command:
cvsup /root/ports-supfile
Easy and educational.
When the extraction completes (which is fast), you’re prompted to set the root password and create a user account. Just a few easy forms and a next button. And no annoying butterfly music. The auto-login option is selected by default, so I clicked it off. If you want to be cool, you should too.
That’s it. You’re done. FreeBSD is installed. Honestly. Just don’t forget to take out the CD before you reboot.
Technorati: PC-BSD
