# FreeBSD 4.4 (VMware Workstation) not detecting NIC



## agreenbhm (Mar 9, 2012)

I'm attempting to set up FreeBSD 4.4 on VMware Workstation 8 to setup a JunOS lab.  I've seen numerous guides that show how to do so, however, every time I boot up FBSD FreeBSD after installation there is no "em0" detected.  I've verified that the NIC is set to be "e1000" in the .vmx file, so the hardware should be compatible with FBSD FreeBSD 4.4.  Running "*dmesg | grep em0*" returns nothing.

I've seen screenshots posted online of people running supposedly the same setup and FBSD FreeBSD 4 detects the NIC just fine.  It may be worth noting that I'm using the minimal CD, however, that's what everyone else used in creating their guides that I'm following.

I suspected perhaps the VMware hardware version (v8) was causing issues, however, changing the vHardware to v6/7 didn't help.

I'm at a loss for where to go from here.  I have no BSD experience but am an intermediate Linux user in addition to being a Windows pro.

Thanks for any help!


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## joel@ (Mar 9, 2012)

Why are you trying to install a version of FreeBSD released 11 years ago?


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## agreenbhm (Mar 9, 2012)

I'm installing FBSD FreeBSD 4 because that's what every guide (even ones created as recently as late last year) specify to install in order to install the Juniper JunOS.

Here's an update:  I downloaded the FBSD FreeBSD 4.11 minimal disc instead of the 4.4 minimal I had downloaded before and it appears to be working.  Is there any reason that support for a common NIC would be removed between 4.11 and 4.4?


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## adamk (Mar 9, 2012)

Ummm... 11 > 4, so FreeBSD 4.11 is newer than FreeBSD 4.4.  Support wasn't removed between 4.11 and 4.4, instead it was added between 4.4 and 4.11.

EDIT:  You will get minimal support here (and lots of hassle) for trying to use such an old, unsupported (and undoubtedly insecure) version of FreeBSD.


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## DutchDaemon (Mar 9, 2012)

Stronger still: I think the FreeBSD community should focus on supported versions only, and not waste resources on trying to troubleshoot this. We have work enough to do, and if all official support and security updates are long gone, there's not much end-users can do to keep it going. Using such an outdated version is irresponsible and should be discouraged.


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## agreenbhm (Mar 9, 2012)

Ok, I get it.  I confused the version numbering and thought 4.4 was newer.  I don't think I'll be using this much, so support shouldn't be an issue.  Sorry for the dumb question.


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