# Will FreeBSD run on my laptop?



## Gregarious (Jul 22, 2014)

I have a 5 year old Lenovo Z61t that I tried installing FreeBSD on.  I got it to come up with a prompt, but couldn't start a window manager. I got several Linux distros to run, including the window managers, but I really prefer using FreeBSD. I used it at a job I had 10 years ago, and was very impressed.

I'm running Windows 8, right now, and I HATE it!

Was the problem starting the WM machine related, or was I just being obtuse? I was installing it from a DVD, and using a book, but the book just jumped over how to start any x11 stuff, like it was automatic.

Thanks,

Richard Allen,

SLC, Utah, USA


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## SirDice (Jul 22, 2014)

There's nothing installed by default so getting a prompt is correct. If you want X and a Window Manager you will have to install them.

Chapter 5. Installing Applications: Packages and Ports
Chapter 6. The X Window System


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## Gregarious (Jul 22, 2014)

Dear *BSD Geniuses:

Thanks for the succinct answer to my question. Would someone please be a little more verbose and hint or explain how I can tell if it's compatible (It runs Linux WMs, so it HAS to run FreeBSD WMs? Is that right?) I already have 9.1 downloaded and on a USB drive.

So if I install it again, how do I compile and start a reasonable WM? I won't likely have a web browser to get on this forum, and the book is obsolete, and just jumps over the subject of, "How do I get a WM to start, after I get the prompt, and I need to write it down before I delete Windows!"


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## SirDice (Jul 22, 2014)

Gregarious said:
			
		

> Would someone please be a little more verbose and hint or explain how I can tell if it's compatible (It runs Linux WMs, so it HAS to run BSD WMs? Is that right? )


No, they are different operating systems. Being able to run one doesn't guarantee you can run the other.



> So if I install it again, how do I compile and start a reasonable WM?


Read the handbook links I posted.



> I won't likely have a web browser to get on this forum, and the book is obsolete,


Read the handbook. It's not obsolete, it's updated quite frequently. 

And stop shouting, it's considered rude.


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## asteriskRoss (Jul 22, 2014)

You can have a look at the hardware notes to check your laptop hardware is supported; graphics and network cards in particular (mentioned in section 2.2 of the FreeBSD handbook).  You certainly shouldn't expect to have working wireless networking out-of-the-box.


			
				Gregarious said:
			
		

> I need to write it down before I delete Windows


If you haven't already, I would recommend taking a backup of your Windows 8 installation and checking you can actually restore your system from it, including any other partitions your laptop manufacturer installed (mentioned in section 2.3 of the FreeBSD handbook).  The safest thing to do would be to buy a second hard disk, take out your existing hard disk and install FreeBSD onto the new one.  If you can't get FreeBSD running to your satisfaction, you can just swap your Windows hard disk back in.  I would also recommend borrowing another working computer to help you troubleshoot whilst you install FreeBSD.  It is possible your networking may not function straight away and sadly most modern websites aren't really designed for text-only browsing (I'll save my gripe about accessibility for another time) so you will save yourself a lot of frustration if you have an easy way to search the web.


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## wblock@ (Jul 22, 2014)

Gregarious said:
			
		

> Would someone please be a little more verbose and hint or explain how I can tell if it's compatible (It runs Linux WMs, so it HAS to run FreeBSD WMs?



No.  Or rather, I don't understand what you are saying there.  There aren't many Linux-only window managers.  What often confuses people is that FreeBSD does not install a graphic environment by default.  There are two ways to get there.  The first is to install PC-BSD, which sets up a graphical environment.  The second is to install X and the window manager of choice from ports or packages on top of FreeBSD.  The second method takes longer, and is described in the Handbook X chapter: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/x-install.html, http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/x-config.html.



> Is that right?) I already have 9.1 downloaded and on a USB drive.



FreeBSD 9.1 is an old release.  I'd recommend using FreeBSD 10, possibly even one of the latest snapshots.



> So if I install it again, how do I compile and start a reasonable WM?



An important thing to understand is that window managers are not part of the operating system.  Reinstalling FreeBSD is a waste of time when you are trying to install applications.  Just install the applications and be done with it.



> I won't likely have a web browser to get on this forum,



PC-BSD can run in a graphical live mode from the install media.



> and the book is obsolete,



Obsolete, how?  I'm interested in fixing it, but need specifics.



> and just jumps over the subject of, "How do I get a WM to start, after I get the prompt, and I need to write it down before I delete Windows!"



Installing and configuring X and browsers are shown in the Handbook.  But getting a standard desktop environment on bare FreeBSD can be challenging for new users, and PC-BSD handles that configuration.


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## bsdkeith (Jul 22, 2014)

Basically, the tripping point with X is having hal and dbus start up; these have to be added into your loader.conf file.


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## DutchDaemon (Jul 22, 2014)

bsdkeith said:
			
		

> Basically, the tripping point with X is having hal and dbus start up; these have to be added into your loader.conf file.



That would be your /etc/rc.conf file, and hald is not really required.


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## jrm@ (Jul 22, 2014)

DutchDaemon said:
			
		

> bsdkeith said:
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Neiter is dbus.


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## SirDice (Jul 22, 2014)

jrm said:
			
		

> Neiter is dbus.


Not for Xorg but additional software like Window Managers may require it. Even if they do not require or use HAL.


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## bsdkeith (Jul 22, 2014)

DutchDaemon said:
			
		

> bsdkeith said:
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Apologies, my mistake  :r , (I should have checked the correct file before posting like I normally do). I did (need to) add both to get X up & and running on my machine with Fluxbox though.


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## SirDice (Jul 22, 2014)

bsdkeith said:
			
		

> I did (need to) add both to get X up & running on my machine with Fluxbox though.


Xorg does not require HAL but is able to use it. Support for HAL is enabled by default. HAL is the one that requires dbus. Hence the need to enable them both if you use HAL. That said, I don't use HAL but I do have several Window Managers and Desktop Environments running that depend on dbus.


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## jrm@ (Jul 22, 2014)

SirDice said:
			
		

> Support for HAL is enabled by default.


Is it still?
`DIR=/usr/ports/x11-servers/xorg-server rmconfig && sudo make -C  $DIR rmconfig && make -C $DIR showconfig` tells me it's off.


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## SirDice (Jul 22, 2014)

jrm said:
			
		

> SirDice said:
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It may have changed recently. I think there have been some other changes too. I build with all sorts of options set like WITHOUT_HAL. I may have missed changes in default settings :e


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## wblock@ (Jul 23, 2014)

jrm said:
			
		

> Is it still?


It is here:
Makefile

```
OPTIONS_DEFAULT=AIGLX SUID HAL
```


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## jrm@ (Jul 23, 2014)

The reason it is off for me by default is because I have 
	
	



```
OPTIONS_UNSET=ASPELL CUPS DBUS HAL ISPELL KDE KDE4 MYSQL NVIDIA NVIDIA_GL NLS PULSEAUDIO
```
 in /etc/make.conf.


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