Dual Booting with FreeBSD 9

dive · 10-25-2011, 05:19 AM

For those of us that like to run FreeBSD as well as Slack.

Version 9+ of FreeBSD uses the GPT partition system and will no longer boot from lilo or Grub1.

I've written a small guide on installing Grub2.

http://slackwiki.com/Dual_Booting_With_FreeBSD_9

Hope it's useful.

Nylex · 10-25-2011, 06:57 AM

Thanks for that. I'm thinking of trying FreeBSD 9.0 when it's released proper and I wasn't aware that neither GRUB Legacy not LILO could boot it.

GazL · 10-25-2011, 07:13 AM

Is the issue just that their installer defaults to using GPT as of version 9 or are you saying they've dropped support for traditional partitions?
Whenever I've played with the BSD's I've always created the type a5/a6 partitions from linux rather than try and partition using the BSD installer. Is this no longer possible?

dive · 10-25-2011, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GazL

Is the issue just that their installer defaults to using GPT as of version 9 or are you saying they've dropped support for traditional partitions?
Whenever I've played with the BSD's I've always created the type a5/a6 partitions from linux rather than try and partition using the BSD installer. Is this no longer possible?

I'm not really sure on that. FreeBSD 9 comes with a new installer that is greatly simplified (although I think sysinstall is still there in the Beta). I'll look into it now I've got some spare time

D.

adamk75 · 10-25-2011, 07:49 AM

GazL, I updated to the 9-BETAs on a system where I already has FreeBSD installed. It saw my partition table and slices in the installer, so you should have no problems using a traditional layout.

Adam

hitest · 10-25-2011, 07:56 AM

Thanks for this dive!

I am hopeful that the FreeBSD developers will publish a guide on dual booting other OSs when 9.0 is released. I am very comfortable dual booting slackware/freebsd with FreeBSD 8.x and earlier using sysinstall. The rules have changed with GPT. I've asked this question in the freebsd forum (many thanks to dive's contribution in the freebsd forum thread- slackhead).

http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=26872

onebuck · 10-25-2011, 08:56 AM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by dive

For those of us that like to run FreeBSD as well as Slack.

Version 9+ of FreeBSD uses the GPT partition system and will no longer boot from lilo or Grub1.

I've written a small guide on installing Grub2.

http://slackwiki.org/Dual_Booting_With_FreeBSD_9

Hope it's useful.

Thanks Dive! With your permission I will be adding
http://slackwiki.org/Dual_Booting_With_FreeBSD_9 link to Slackware®-Links & So you want to be a Slacker! What do I do next?

dive · 10-25-2011, 09:40 AM

Sure and thanks

dive · 10-25-2011, 05:43 PM

Ok, after a lot of messing around I found out a few things.

Use the new bsdinstall 'manual' partition creator to create BSD Label partitions and all is good.
Grub2 refuses to see ufs/ufs2 file systems so it means falling back to good old lilo with something like:

Code:

other=/dev/sdb1
        table = /dev/sdb
        loader = /boot/loader
        label = FreeBSD

I tried using newfs originally from the boot CD shell to create ufs2 in the partition, but for some reason lilo didn't like it.

ottavio · 10-25-2011, 07:03 PM

Slightly OT, I would like to see a tutorial on booting Slackware and Netbsd side by side. I would like to install pkgsrc on Slackware but I couldn't find a recent tutorial.

TSquaredF · 10-31-2011, 09:00 AM

Slackwiki.org seems to have disappeared for the moment. Dive, do you have the dual booting instructions posted anywhere else?
Regards,
Bill

ruario · 10-31-2011, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSquaredF

Slackwiki.org seems to have disappeared for the moment. Dive, do you have the dual booting instructions posted anywhere else?

bsdinstall supports other partition types as well, so unless you want GPT partition system and with that Grub2, you don't have to do this.

TSquaredF · 10-31-2011, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruario

bsdinstall supports other partition types as well, so unless you want GPT partition system and with that Grub2, you don't have to do this.

Hi, ruario. I have been using Grub2 since it first showed up on SBo, & the GPT partition system for the past few months. I really don't have to do this, but I want to try.
Regards,
Bill

ruario · 10-31-2011, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSquaredF

I really don't have to do this, but I want to try.

Ok, then use the Google cache.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...hannel=suggest

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSquaredF

Slackwiki.org seems to have disappeared for the moment.

I created another thread about this.

dive · 10-31-2011, 11:39 AM

www.slackwiki.com

I'll change it in the first post.