FreeBSD: FAQ
What is FreeBSD? Briefly, FreeBSD is a UN*X-like operating system for the i386 and Alpha/
What is the goal of the FreeBSD Project? The goal of the FreeBSD Project is to provide so
Does the FreeBSD license have any restrictions? Yes. Those restrictions do not control ho
Can FreeBSD replace my current operating system? For most people, yes. But this question
Why is it called FreeBSD? It may be used free of charge, even by commercial users.
What is the latest version of FreeBSD? Version 4.6 is the latest RELEASE version;
What is FreeBSD-CURRENT? FreeBSD-CURRENT is the development version of the operating s
What is the FreeBSD-STABLE concept? Back when FreeBSD 2.0.5 was r
When are FreeBSD releases made? The Release Engineering Team < re@FreeBSD.org > releas
Who is responsible for FreeBSD? The key decisions concerning the FreeBSD project, such as
Where can I get FreeBSD? Every significant release of FreeBSD is available via anonymous
How do I access the Problem Report database? The Problem Report database of all user chan
How do I become a FreeBSD Web mirror? There are multiple ways to mirror the Web pages.
What other sources of information are there? Please check the Documentation list on th
What good books are there about FreeBSD? The project produces a wide range of documentati
Is the documentation available in other formats, such as plain text (ASCII), or Postscript?
Where do I find info on the FreeBSD mailing lists? You can find full information in the
Where do I find the FreeBSD Y2K info? You can find full information in the FreeBSD Y2K
What FreeBSD news groups are available? You can find full information in the Handbook e
Are there FreeBSD IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channels? Yes, most major IRC networks host a
Where can I get commercial FreeBSD training and support? DaemonNews provides commercial t
Which file do I download to get FreeBSD? Prior to release 3.1, you only needed one floppy
What do I do if the floppy images does not fit on a single floppy? A 3.5 inch (1.44MB) fl
Where are the instructions for installing FreeBSD? Installation instructions can be found
What do I need in order to run FreeBSD? You will need a 386 or better PC, with 5 MB or mo
I have only 4 MB of RAM. Can I install FreeBSD? FreeBSD 2.1.7 was the last version of Fre
How can I make my own custom install floppy? Currently there is no way to just make a
Can I have more than one operating system on my PC? Have a look at the multi-OS page .
Can Windows 95/98 co-exist with FreeBSD? Install Windows 95/98 first, after that FreeBSD.
Windows 95/98 killed my boot manager! How do I get it back? You c
My A, T, or X series IBM Thinkpad locks up when I first booted up my FreeBSD installation. How
Can I install on a disk with bad blocks? Prior to 3.0, FreeBSD included a utility known a
I have just upgraded from 3.X to 4.X, and my first boot failed with `` bad sector table not sup
How do I tell if a drive has bad144 information on it before I try to upgrade to FreeBSD 4.0
How do I remove bad144 from my pre-4.X system so I can upgrade safely? Use disklabel -
Strange things happen when I boot the install floppy! What is happening? If you are seein
I booted from my ATAPI CDROM, but the install program says no CDROM is found. Where did it go?
Can I install on my laptop over PLIP (Parallel Line IP)? Yes. Use a standard Laplink cabl
Which geometry should I use for a disk drive? Note: By the ``geometry'' of a disk, w
Are there any restrictions on how I divide the disk up? Yes. You must make sure that your
Is FreeBSD compatible with any disk managers? FreeBSD recognizes the Ontrack Disk Manager
When I boot FreeBSD I get `` Missing Operating System ''. What is happening? This is clas
Why can I not get past the boot manager's F? prompt? This is another symptom of the pro
Do I need to install the complete sources? In general, no. However, we would strongly rec
Do I need to build a kernel? Building a new kernel was originally pretty much a required
Should I use DES, Blowfish, or MD5 passwords and how do I specify which form my users receive?
Why does the boot floppy start, but hang at the Probing Devices... screen? If you have
Why do I get a `` panic: can't mount root '' error when rebooting the system after installation
What are the limits for memory? For memory, the limit is 4 gigabytes. This configuration
What are the limits for ffs filesystems? For ffs filesystems, the maximum theoretical lim
Why do I get an error message, `` archsw.readin.failed '' after compiling and booting a new ker
How do I upgrade from 3.X -> 4.X? We strongly recommend that you use binary snapshots
What are these ``security profiles''? A ``security profile'' is a set of configuration op
Does FreeBSD support architectures other than the x86? Yes. FreeBSD currently runs on bot
I want to get a piece of hardware for my FreeBSD system. Which model/brand/type is best?
What kind of hard drives does FreeBSD support? FreeBSD supports EIDE and SCSI drives (wit
Which SCSI controllers are supported? See the complete list in the current Hardware Not
Which CDROM drives are supported by FreeBSD? Any SCSI drive connected to a supported cont
Which CD-RW drives are supported by FreeBSD? FreeBSD supports any ATAPI-compatible IDE CD
Does FreeBSD support ZIP drives? FreeBSD supports the SCSI ZIP drive out of the box, of c
Does FreeBSD support JAZ, EZ and other removable drives? Apart from the IDE version of th
Which multi-port serial cards are supported by FreeBSD? There is a list of these in the
Does FreeBSD support my USB keyboard? USB device support was adde
I have an unusual bus mouse. How do I set it up? FreeBSD supports
How do I use my PS/2 (``mouse port'' or ``keyboard'') mouse? If y
Is it possible to make use of a mouse in any way outside the X Window system?
How do I cut and paste text with mouse in the text console? Once you get the mouse daemon
Does FreeBSD support any USB mice? Preliminary USB device support
My mouse has a fancy wheel and buttons. Can I use them in FreeBSD? The answer is, unfortu
Why does my wheel-equipped PS/2 mouse cause my mouse cursor to jump around the screen?
How do I use the mouse/trackball/touchpad on my laptop? Please refer to the answer to t
What types of tape drives are supported? FreeBSD supports SCSI and QIC-36 (with a QIC-02
Does FreeBSD support tape changers? FreeBSD 2.2 supports SCSI changers using the ch
Which sound cards are supported by FreeBSD? FreeBSD supports the SoundBlaster, SoundBlast
Workarounds for no sound from es1370 with pcm driver? You can run
Which network cards does FreeBSD support? See the Ethernet cards section of the handbo
I do not have a math co-processor - is that bad? Note: This will only affect 386/486
What other devices does FreeBSD support? See the Handbook for the list of other device
Does FreeBSD support power management on my laptop? FreeBSD supports APM on certain mac
Why does my Micron system hang at boot time? Certain Micron motherboards have a non-confo
Why does FreeBSD not recognize my Adaptec SCSI controller card? The newer AIC789x series
Why is FreeBSD not finding my internal Plug & Play modem? You wil
Does FreeBSD support software modems, such as Winmodems? FreeBSD supports many software m
How do I get the boot: prompt to show on the serial console? Build a kernel with
Why does my 3Com PCI network card not work with my Micron computer? Certain Micron mother
Does FreeBSD support Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)? SMP is supported in 3.0-STABLE and
The boot floppy hangs on a system with an ASUS K7V motherboard. How do I fix this? Go int
What do I do when I have bad blocks on my hard drive? With SCSI d
Why does FreeBSD not recognize my Bustek 742a EISA SCSI controller? This info is specific
Why does FreeBSD not detect my HP Netserver's SCSI controller? Th
What is going on with my CMD640 IDE controller? It is broken. It cannot handle commands o
I keep seeing messages like `` ed1: timeout ''. What do these messages mean? This is usua
Why did my 3COM 3C509 card stop working for no apparent reason? This card has a bad habit
My parallel printer is ridiculously slow. What can I do? If the only problem is that the
Why do my programs occasionally die with `` Signal 11 '' errors? Signal 11 errors are cau
My system crashes with either `` Fatal trap 12: page fault in kernel mode '', or `` panic: '',
Why does the screen go black and lose sync when I boot? This is a known problem with the
Why does FreeBSD only use 64 MB of RAM when my system has 128 MB of RAM installed? Due to
Why does FreeBSD 2.0 panic with `` kmem_map too small! ''? Note: The message may als
Why do I get the error `` /kernel: proc: table is full ''? The FreeBSD kernel will only a
Why do I get an error reading `` CMAP busy '' when rebooting with a new kernel?
What does the message `` ahc0: brkadrint, Illegal Host Access at seqaddr 0x0 '' mean? Thi
When I boot my system, I get the error `` ahc0: illegal cable configuration ''. My cabling is c
Why does Sendmail give me an error reading ```` mail loops back to myself ''''? This is a
Why do full screen applications on remote machines misbehave? The remote machine may be s
Why does my machine print `` calcru: negative time... ''? This ca
I see `` pcm0 not found '' or my sound card is found as pcm1 but I have device pcm0 in my k
Why is my PnP card no longer found (or found as unknown ) since upgrading to FreeBSD 4.x?
Why do I get the error `` nlist failed '' when running, for example, top or systat ? T
Why does it take so long to connect to my computer via ssh or telnet ? The symptom: th
What does `` stray IRQ '' mean? Stray IRQs are indications of hardware IRQ glitches, most
Why does `` file: table is full '' show up repeatedly in dmesg? This error message indic
Why does the clock on my laptop keep incorrect time? Your laptop
Why did my laptop fail to correctly probe PC cards? This problem is common on laptops tha
Why does FreeBSD's boot loader display `` Read error '' and stop after the BIOS screen? F
Another operating system destroyed my Boot Manager. How do I get it back? Enter sysi
What does the error `` swap_pager: indefinite wait buffer: '' mean? This means that a pro
Where can I get an Office Suite for FreeBSD? The FreeBSD Mall offers a FreeBSD
Where can I get Motif for FreeBSD? The Open Group has released the source code to Motif 2
Where can I get CDE for FreeBSD? Xi Graphics used to sell CDE for FreeBSD, but no long
Are there any commercial high-performance X servers? Yes, Xi Graphics and Metro Link
Are there any Database systems for FreeBSD? Yes! See the Commercial Vendors section of
Can I run Oracle on FreeBSD? Yes. The following pages tell you exactly how to setup Linux
So, where are all the user applications? Please take a look at the ports page for info
Where do I find libc.so.3.0? You are trying to run a package built on 2.2 and later on a
Why do I get a message reading `` Error: can't find libc.so.4.0 ''? You accidently downlo
Why does ghostscript give lots of errors with my 386/486SX? You d
Why do SCO/iBCS2 applications bomb on `` socksys ''? (FreeBSD 3.0 and older only).
How do I configure INN (Internet News) for my machine? After installing the news/inn
What version of Microsoft FrontPage should I get? Use the Port, Luke! A pre-patched versi
Does FreeBSD support Java? Yes. Please see http://www.FreeBSD.org/java/ .
Why can I not build this port on my 3.X-STABLE machine? If you are running a FreeBSD vers
Where do I find ld.so? a.out applications like Netscape Navigator
I updated the sources, now how do I update my installed ports? Fr
Why is /bin/sh so minimal? Why does FreeBSD not use bash or another shell? Because PO
Why do Netscape and Opera take so long to start? The usual answer is that DNS on your sys
I would like to customize my kernel. Is it difficult? Not at all! Check out the kernel
My kernel compiles fail because _hw_float is missing. How do I solve this problem? Let
Why is my kernel so big (over 10MB)? Chances are, you compiled yo
Why do I get interrupt conflicts with multi-port serial code? Whe
Why does every kernel I try to build fail to compile, even GENERIC? There are a number of
How can I add my new hard disk to my FreeBSD system? See the Disk Formatting Tutorial at
How do I move my system over to my huge new disk? The best way is
Will a ``dangerously dedicated'' disk endanger my health? The
Which partitions can safely use softupdates? I have heard that softupdates on / can cause pro
What is inappropriate about my ccd? The symptom of this is:
Why can I not edit the disklabel on my ccd? The symptom of this i
Can I mount other foreign filesystems under FreeBSD? Digital UNIX UFS CDROMs can
How do I mount a secondary DOS partition? The secondary DOS parti
Is there a cryptographic filesystem for FreeBSD? Yes; see the security/cfs port.
How can I use the NT loader to boot FreeBSD? This procedure is sl
How do I boot FreeBSD and Linux from LILO? If you have FreeBSD an
How do I boot FreeBSD and Linux using BootEasy? Install LILO at the start of your Linux b
How do I change the boot prompt from ??? to something more meaningful? You can not do t
I have a new removable drive, how do I use it? Whether it is a re
Why do I get `` Incorrect super block '' when mounting a CDROM? You have to tell mou
Why do I get `` Device not configured '' when mounting a CDROM? This generally means that
Why do all non-English characters in filenames show up as ``?'' on my CDs when mounted in FreeB
I burned a CD under FreeBSD and now I can not read it under any other operating system. Why?
How can I create an image of a data CD? This is discussed in the Handbook section on du
Why can I not mount an audio CD? If you try to mount an audio CD, you will get an error
How do I mount a multi-session CD? By default, mount (8) will attempt to mount t
How do I let ordinary users mount floppies, CDROMs and other removable media?
The du and df commands show different amounts of disk space available. What is going on?
How can I add more swap space? In the Configuration and Tuning section of the Handbook
Where are the system start-up configuration files? From 2.0.5R to
How do I add a user easily? Use the adduser (8) command. For more complicated usag
Why do I keep getting messages like `` root: not found '' after editing my crontab file?
Why do I get the error, `` you are not in the correct group to su root '' when I try to su to
I made a mistake in rc.conf , or another startup file, and now I cannot edit it because the fi
Why am I having trouble setting up my printer? Please have a look at the Handbook entry o
How can I correct the keyboard mappings for my system? Please see the Handbook section on
Why do I get messages like: `` unknown: Why can I not get user quotas to work properly? Do not turn on quotas on / , Does FreeBSD support System V IPC primitives?
Yes, FreeBSD suppor How do I use sendmail for mail delivery with UUCP?
The sendmail c How do I set up mail with a dialup connection to the 'net?
If you What other mail-server software can I use, instead of Sendmail? Sendmail is the defaul I have forgotten the root password! What do I do? Do not Panic! Simply restart the syst How do I keep Contro---+ Al---+ Delet
If you are using syscons ( How do I reformat DOS text files to Unix ones?
Simply use this pe How do I kill processes by name? Use killall (1) .
Why is su bugging me about not being in root 's ACL? The error comes from the Kerberos d How do I uninstall Kerberos?
To remove Kerberos from the system, How do I add pseudoterminals to the system?
If you have lots of t Why can I not create the snd0 device?
There is no snd
How do I re-read /etc/rc.conf and re-start /etc/rc without a reboot?
What is a sandbox? ``Sandbox'' is a security term. It can mean two things: A proces What is securelevel?
The securelevel is a security mechanism
I tried to update my system to the latest -STABLE, but got -RC or -PRERELEASE! What is going on I tried to install a new kernel, and the chflags failed. How do I get around this?
I cannot change the time on my system by more than one second! How do I get around this?
Why is rpc.statd using 256 megabytes of memory? No, there is no memory leak, and it is Why can I not unset the schg file flag? You are running at an elevated (i.e., greater t Why does SSH authentication through .shosts not work by default in recent versions of FreeBSD What is vnlru ? vnlru flushes and frees vnodes when the system hits the kern.maxvnode I want to run X, how do I go about it? The easiest way is to simply specify that you want I tried to run X, but I get an `` KDENABIO failed (Operation not permitted) '' error when I Why does my mouse not work with X?
If you are using syscons (the My mouse has a fancy wheel. Can I use it in X?
Yes. But you need Why do X Window menus and dialog boxes not work right?
Try turnin What is a virtual console and how do I make more?
Virtual console How do I access the virtual consoles from X? Use Ctrl + Alt + F n to switch back to How do I start XDM on boot?
There are two schools of thought on h Why do I get `` Couldn't open console '' when I run xconsole?
If Before, I was able to run XFree86 as a regular user. Why does it now say that I must be root ? Why does my PS/2 mouse misbehave under X?
Your mouse and the mous Why does my PS/2 mouse from MouseSystems not work?
There have bee When building an X app, imake cannot find Imake.tmpl . Where is it? Imake.tmpl is pa An X app I am building depends on XFree86 3.3.x, but I have XFree86 4.x installed. What should How do I reverse the mouse buttons? Run the command xmodmap -e "pointer = 3 2 1" from y How do I install a splash screen and where do I find them?
Just p Can I use the Windows ® keys on my keyboard in X?
Yes. All you n How can I get 3D hardware acceleration for OpenGL? The availability of 3D acceleration de Where can I get information on ``diskless booting''? ``Diskless booting'' means that the Can a FreeBSD box be used as a dedicated network router? Yes. Please see the Handbook ent Can I connect my Win95 box to the Internet via FreeBSD? Typically, people who ask this qu Does FreeBSD support SLIP and PPP? Yes. See the manual pages for slattach (8) , Does FreeBSD support NAT or Masquerading? If you have a local subnet (one or more local m How do I connect two FreeBSD systems over a parallel line using PLIP? Please see the PL Why can I not create a /dev/ed0 device? Because they aren't necessary. In the Berkeley How can I set up Ethernet aliases?
If the alias is on the same su How do I get my 3C503 to use the other network port? If you want to use the other ports, Why am I having trouble with NFS and FreeBSD? Certain PC network cards are better than ot Why can I not NFS-mount from a Linux box?
Some versions of the Li Why can I not NFS-mount from a Sun box?
Sun workstations running Why does mountd keep telling me it `` can't change attributes '' and that I have a `` bad exp Why am I having problems talking PPP to NeXTStep machines?
Try di How do I enable IP multicast support? Multicast host operations are fully supported in Fr Which network cards are based on the DEC PCI chipset? Here is a list compiled by Glen Fos Why do I have to use the FQDN for hosts on my site?
You will prob Why do I get an error, `` Permission denied '', for all networking operations?
How much overhead does IPFW incur? Please see the Handbook's Firewalls section, specif Why is my ipfw ``fwd'' rule to redirect a service to another machine not working?
How can I redirect service requests from one machine to another?
Where can I get a bandwidth management tool? There are three bandwidth management tools a Why do I get `` /dev/bpf0: device not configured ''?
You are runn How do I mount a disk from a Windows machine that is on my network, like smbmount in Linux? What are these messages about ``icmp-response bandwidth limit 300/200 pps'' in my log files?
What are these `` arp: unknown hardware address format '' error messages? This means that I've just installed CVSup but trying to execute it produces errors. What is wrong?
BIND ( named ) is listening on port 53 and some other high-numbered port. What is going on?
Sendmail is listening on port 587 as well as the standard port 25! What is going on? Rece What is this UID 0 toor account? Have I been compromised? Do not worry. toor is an `` Why is suidperl not working properly?
For security reasons, su I cannot make ppp (8) work. What am I doing wrong?
You should Why does ppp (8) hang when I run it?
This is usually because y Why will ppp (8) not dial in -auto mode?
First, check that y What does `` No route to host '' mean?
This error is usually due Why does my connection drop after about 3 minutes?
The default PP Why does my connection drop under heavy load?
If you have Link Qu Why does my connection drop after a random amount of time?
Someti Why does my connection hang after a random amount of time? Many people experience hung co The remote end is not responding. What can I do?
There is very li ppp (8) has hung. What can I do? Your best bet here is to rebuild ppp (8) by ad Why does nothing happen after the ``Login OK!'' message?
Prior to I keep seeing errors about magic being the same. What does it mean?
LCP negotiations continue until the connection is closed. What is wrong?
Why does ppp (8) lock up shortly after connection?
Prior to ve Why does ppp (8) lock up when I shell out to test it? When you execute the shell or Why does ppp (8) over a null-modem cable never exit?
There is Why does ppp (8) dial for no reason in -auto mode?
If
What do these CCP errors mean?
I keep seeing the following errors Why does ppp (8) lock up during file transfers with IO errors? Under FreeBSD 2.2.2 and Why does ppp (8) not log my connection speed?
In order to log Why does ppp (8) ignore the \ character in my chat script?
P Why does ppp (8) get a seg-fault, but I see no ppp.core file?
Why does the process that forces a dial in auto mode never connect? This was a known prob Why do most games not work with the -nat switch?
The reason games Has anybody made a list of useful port numbers? Not yet, but this is intended to grow int What are FCS errors? FCS stands for F rame C heck S equence. Each PPP packet has a che Why do MacOS and Windows 98 connections freeze when running PPPoE on the gateway?
None of this helps - I am desperate! What can I do? If all else fails, send as much infor How do I tell if FreeBSD found my serial ports?
As the FreeBSD ke How do I tell if FreeBSD found my modem cards? Refer to the answer to the previous questi I just upgraded to 2.0.5 and my tty0 X are missing! How do I solve this problem? Do How do I access the serial ports on FreeBSD? The third serial port, sio2 (see sio How do I enable support for a multiport serial card?
Again, the s Can FreeBSD handle multiport serial cards sharing irqs? Not yet. You will have to use a d Can I set the default serial parameters for a port?
The ttyd X How can I enable dialup logins on my modem?
So you want to become How can I connect a dumb terminal to my FreeBSD box?
If you are u Why can I not run tip or cu ?
On your system, the programs
My stock Hayes modem is not supported---what can I do? Actually, the man page for ti How am I expected to enter these AT commands?
Make what is called Why does the <@> sign for the pn capability not work?
The <@> How can I dial a phone number on the command line?
Put what is ca Do I have to type in the bps rate every time I do that? Put in an entry for tip1200 or How can I more easily access a number of hosts through a terminal server?
Can tip try more than one line for each site?
This is often a pro Why do I have to hit CTR---+
CTRL + P is the default ``force' Why is everything I type suddenly in UPPER CASE?
You must have pr How can I do file transfers with tip ?
If you are talking to ano How can I run zmodem with ti---? First, install one of the zmodem programs from the port Why does FreeBSD not find my serial ports, even when the settings are correct? Motherboar FreeBSD uses far more swap space than Linux. Why? FreeBSD only appears to use more swap t Why does top show very little free memory even when I have very few programs running? T Why use (what are) a.out and ELF executable formats? To understand why FreeBSD uses the Yes, but why are there so many different formats? Back in the dim, dark past, there was s Why will chmod not change the permissions on symlinks?
Symlinks d Why are login names restricted to 8 characters or less in FreeBSD 2.2.X and earlier? You Can I run DOS binaries under FreeBSD? Yes, starting with version 3.0 you can use BSDI's What do I need to do to translate a FreeBSD document into my native language? See the T Why does my email to any address at FreeBSD.org bounce? The FreeBSD.org mail system imple Where can I find a free FreeBSD account? While FreeBSD does not provide open access to an What is sup , and how do I use it? SUP stands for Software Update Protocol, and was What is the cute little red guy's name? He does not have one, and is just called ``the BS Can I use the BSD daemon image? Perhaps. The BSD daemon is copyrighted by Marshall Kirk M Do you have any BSD daemon images I could use? You will find eps and Xfig drawings under What does MFC mean? MFC is an acronym for ``Merged From -CURRENT''. It is used in the C What does BSD mean? It stands for something in a secret language that only members can What does POLA mean? Principle of Least Astonishment. It means that as FreeBSD evolves, What is a repo-copy? A repo-copy (which is a short form of ``repository copy'') refers to Why should I care what color the bikeshed is? The really, really short answer is that you How cool is FreeBSD? Q. Has anyone done any temperature testing while running FreeBSD? I Who is scratching in my memory banks?? Q. Is there anything ``odd'' that FreeBSD does whe How many FreeBSD hackers does it take to change a lightbulb? One thousand, one hundred an Where does data written to /dev/null go? It goes into a special data sink in the CPU wh How can I learn more about FreeBSD's internals? At this time, there is no book on FreeBSD How can I contribute to FreeBSD? Please see the article on Contributing to FreeBSD for What are SNAPs and RELEASEs? There are currently three active/semi-active branches in the How do I make my own custom release? Please see the Release Engineering article.
Why does make world clobber my existing installed binaries? Yes, this is the general id Why does my system say ``(bus speed defaulted)'' when it boots? The Adaptec 1542 SCSI hos Can I follow -CURRENT with limited Internet access? Yes, you can do this without downlo How did you split the distribution into 240k files?
Newer BSD bas I have written a kernel extension, who do I send it to? Please take a look at the article How are Plug N Play ISA cards detected and initialized? By: Frank Durda IV < uhclem@nem Can you assign a major number for a device driver I have written? This depends on whether What about alternative layout policies for directories? In answer to the question of alte How can I make the most of the data I see when my kernel panics?
Why has dlsym() stopped working for ELF executables? The ELF toolchain does not, by defau How can I increase or reduce the kernel address space?
By default Acknowledgments
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