Converting FreeBSD into PC-BSD

Abstract

This post describes an example of how one can manually convert a FreeBSD installation into a PC-BSD one using the install disk. There are more elegant ways of doing it, such as pulling things from PC-BSDs SVN and compiling only PC-BSD specific components.

Disclaimers and warnings

This was done purely for 'fun' to see if the programs would work reasonably well. Which is why FreeBSD 7.0-Release was used as a base and PC-BSD 1.5.0 as the overlay (which is based on an old build of FreeBSD 6.3). I do not recommend, endorse, or even suggest actually doing something like this beyond exploratory or playful thoughts at heart !!!

If anyone actually tries this, your on your own.

If someone actually tries this they should probably use a PC-BSD 1.5.1 disk build, the files are newer.

Installing the PC-BSD v1.5.0-v1.5.1 update will install FreeBSD 6.3 files and may break your system -- note that I didn't enable the updater for my user account during this process.

Now that you are warned...

My test partition is reserved fro testing various alpha/beta/rc releases of operating systems I wish to test. So I wiped it clean and set out to install a basic working FreeBSD system.

I Installed FreeBSD 7.0-Release via CD-ROM, using the express option, auto
partitioning to save time, X-Developer dist set, and configured the system
lightly (set root pw, network services etc).

You want the X.org and related drivers from the disk, so they match your release level -- you also want source code for later to build a custom kernel (optional)

Booted the system and logged in as root, one vtty for work and one for logging my notes in vim over ssh.

Then began converting the system to a FreeBSD-PC-BSD hybrid. Since the FreeBSD auto mode for partitioning the slice only gave me a 512mb / and 512mb /tmp, I created a /usr/work directory to use.

NOTE:
actual PC-BSD systems require several gigs of space for / to ensure safe updates and this is noted during previous upgrade notes. My guess after reading some of the 1.4/1.5 scripts is the developers have 'yet' to figure out how to use mount -a for mounting the needed file systems before extracting files and reserved storage places with the default partitioning scheme

pkg_add -r lzma && rehash  # to unpack pc-bsd files
mount -t cd9690 /dev/acd0 /mnt  # mount pc-bsd disk 1
mkdir -m 0700 /usr/work
lzma d /mnt/PCBSD.tar.lzma /usr/work/PCBSD.tar
 ...
     # lzma has fast decompression speeds but
     # this is a ~451mb lzma file being
     # unpacked into a 1.9gb tar file!

tar -C / -kpf /usr/work/PCBSD.tar # extract files without overwrite 

cp /etc/rc.conf /etc/rc.conf.local # fix rc.conf
tar -C /tmp -f /usr/work/PCBSD.tar -px './etc'
cp /tmp/etc/rc.conf /etc/rc.conf
cp /tmp/etc/devfs.conf /etc/devfs.conf # modified in pc-bsd

vi /etc/ttys    # start x on boot up
 ...    # note the ttyvNum is arbitrary
 #ttyv8 "/usr/local/bin/xdm -nodaemon"  xterm   off secure
 ttyv8   "/PCBSD/bin/pdm"                xterm   on secure
 ...
X -configure && mv /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

#
# create users and groups that come with PC-BSD 1.5.0 but not FreeBSD
# 7.0-Release. Numerical values for -u userid and -g groupid are taken from
# viewing a unified diff of the group files.
#
pw groupadd -n haldaemon -g 560
pw groupadd -n cups -g 193
pw groupadd -n cyrus -g 60
pw useradd -n haldaemon -u 560 -g 560 -L daemon -d /nonexistent \
  -s /usr/sbin/nologin
pw useradd -n cups -u 193 -g 193 -L daemon -d /nonexistent -s /usr/sbin/nologin
pw useradd -n cyrus -u 60 -g 60 -L daemon -d /nonexistent -s /usr/sbin/nologin

#
# add my own user with the bash shell as a test (because it. Note that I typically set
# user/group id numbers by year of birth.
#
pw groupadd -n Terry -g 1988
pw useradd -n Terry -u 1988 -L default -m -s bash -g Terry \
  -G wheel,operator
passwd Terry
 ...

#
# now build a custom kernel merging GENERIC with /PCBSD/conf/PCBSD.i386
# I find Micro GNU Emacs (mg) to be both light and effective for this task.
# -- normally I would use vimdiff
#
pkg_add -r mg && rehash    # if using mg !
cat > ~/.mg
auto-fill-mode
set-fill-column 78
global-set-key "\^x\^f" find-file
global-set-key "\^h" delete-backward-char
set-default-mode blink
^D      # end of ~/.mg

diff -u /usr/src/sys/i386/conf/GENERIC /PCBSD/conf/PCBSD.i386 > /tmp/kern.diff
cd /usr/src/sys/i386/conf
mg KAI
 ...    # kernel config attached at EOF
     # used GENERIC and /tmp/kern.diff to
     # write the file if needed.

cd /usr/src    # compile & install kernel
make -j12 buildkernel KERNCONF=KAI
 ...    # roughly 10 minutes later..
make -j12 installkernel KERNCONF=KAI
 ...    
umount /mnt && cdcontrol -f /dev/acd0 eject
reboot     # let's rock it and roll on to KDE

On reboot, I was greeted with KDM, PC-BSDs login theme, and a clean startup of KDE (no error message popups). I was able to install and use the Firefox PBI from PBIDir without problems. But as one can see in the screen shots, there are sound system related core dumps

I was also interested to see that there is now a 'snd_emu10kx' driver added in FreeBSD 7.0-Release which supports my card. So I guess I won't have to manually compile the 'outdated, unmaintained, etc' audio/emu10kx port to get working sound, the manual page seems to suggest it is the same driver more or less. I only had to add an entry to my loader.conf file to get it loaded before PC-BSD sound detection system, just like audio/emu10kx from ports it won't work (for me) if kldload'ed later on.

I found that although everything I tested was working fine, audio and video related apps were dumping core (mplayer at start, kaffeine during playback). So I did a pkg_delete on kaffeine and kaffeine-mozilla and reinstalled from packages and soon was blasting MP3's from a FAT32 partition ;-)

MPlayer needs to be recompiled as expected, The KDE sound system will likely need that to but otherwise I've observed no real breakages. Not that I've taken the time to test every single program!

Personal Opinions

If like me, your primary reason for using PC-BSD is a quick way of grabbing KDE -- you would be better off installing PC-BSD! As far as setting up a working desktop system, one can do that easy through FreeBSD. If one doesn't want to go into configuration details for 'extra's like PF or X11 using PC-BSD or DesktopBSD is a better idea anyway.

If all you want is PBI, export, compile, and install the necessary files from PC-BSDs SVN repository.

Kernel Configuration: KAI

Note to SATA hard drives out there, the ATA_STATIC_ID option effects device numbering. FreeBSD GENERIC kernel configuration uses it and detects my SATA drive as 'ad4', PC_BSD kernel configuration has it turned off and detects my drive as 'ad0' -- I only have one SATA II hard drive installed.

Changing the ATA_STATIC_ID kernel option means you will havve to make sure /etc/fstab is in working shape unless you want to see a mount root prompt.

#
# Custom FreeBSD 7.0 kernel based on PC-BSD 1.5 Kernel config for FreeBSD 6.3
#

cpu  I686_CPU
ident  KAI



#options  SCHED_$BSD  # 4BSD scheduler
options  SCHED_ULE  # ULE scheduler ;-)
options  PREEMPTION  # ENABLE KERNEL THREAD PREEMPTION
options  INET   # INTERNETWORKING
options  INET6   # IPV6 COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLS
options  SCTP   # STREAM CONTROL TRANSMISSION PROTOCOL
options  FFS   # BERKELEY FAST FILESYSTEM
options  SOFTUPDATES  # ENABLE FFS SOFT UPDATES SUPPORT
options  UFS_ACL   # SUPPORT FOR ACCESS CONTROL LISTS
options  UFS_DIRHASH  # IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ON BIG DIRECTORIES
options  UFS_GJOURNAL  # ENABLE GJOURNAL-BASED UFS JOURNALING
options  MD_ROOT   # MD IS A POTENTIAL ROOT device
options  NFSCLIENT  # NETWORK FILESYSTEM CLIENT
options  NFSSERVER  # NETWORK FILESYSTEM SERVER
options  NFS_ROOT  # NFS USABLE AS /, REQUIRES NFSCLIENT
options  MSDOSFS   # MSDOS FILESYSTEM
options  CD9660   # ISO 9660 FILESYSTEM
options  PROCFS   # PROCESS FILESYSTEM (REQUIRES PSEUDOFS)
options  PSEUDOFS  # PSEUDO-FILESYSTEM FRAMEWORK
options  GEOM_PART_GPT  # GUID PARTITION TABLES.
options  GEOM_LABEL  # PROVIDES LABELIZATION
options  COMPAT_43TTY  # BSD 4.3 TTY COMPAT [KEEP THIS!]
options  COMPAT_FREEBSD4  # COMPATIBLE WITH FREEBSD4
options  COMPAT_FREEBSD5  # COMPATIBLE WITH FREEBSD5
options  COMPAT_FREEBSD6  # COMPATIBLE WITH FREEBSD6
options  SCSI_DELAY=5000  # DELAY (IN MS) BEFORE PROBING SCSI
options  KTRACE   # KTRACE(1) SUPPORT
options  SYSVSHM   # SYSV-STYLE SHARED MEMORY
options  SYSVMSG   # SYSV-STYLE MESSAGE QUEUES
options  SYSVSEM   # SYSV-STYLE SEMAPHORES
options  _KPOSIX_PRIORITY_SCHEDULING # POSIX P1003_1B REAL-TIME EXTENSIONS
options  KBD_INSTALL_CDEV # INSTALL A CDEV ENTRY IN /DEV
options  ADAPTIVE_GIANT  # GIANT MUTEX IS ADAPTIVE.
options  STOP_NMI  # STOP CPUS USING NMI INSTEAD OF IPI
options  AUDIT   # SECURITY EVENT AUDITING

# TO MAKE AN SMP KERNEL, THE NEXT TWO LINES ARE NEEDED
options  SMP   # SYMMETRIC MULTIPROCESSOR KERNEL
device  apic   # I/O APIC

# CPU FREQUENCY CONTROL
device  cpufreq

# BUS SUPPORT.
device  eisa
device  pci


# FLOPPY DRIVES
device  fdc

# ATA AND ATAPI deviceS
device  ata
device  atadisk  # ATA DISK DRIVES
device  ataraid  # ATA RAID DRIVES
device  atapicd  # ATAPI CDROM DRIVES
device  atapifd  # ATAPI FLOPPY DRIVES
device  atapist  # ATAPI TAPE DRIVES
options  ATA_STATIC_ID # STATIC device NUMBERING
device   atapicam # Atapi CAM support

# SCSI CONTROLLERS
device  ahb  # EISA AHA1742 FAMILY
device  ahc  # AHA2940 AND ONBOARD AIC7XXX deviceS
options  AHC_REG_PRETTY_PRINT # PRINT REGISTER BITFIELDS IN DEBUG
     # OUTPUT.  ADDS ~128K TO DRIVER.
device  ahd  # AHA39320/29320 AND ONBOARD AIC79XX deviceS
options  AHD_REG_PRETTY_PRINT # PRINT REGISTER BITFIELDS IN DEBUG
     # OUTPUT.  ADDS ~215K TO DRIVER.
device  amd  # AMD 53C974 (TEKRAM DC-390(T))
device  isp  # QLOGIC FAMILY
#device  ispfw  # FIRMWARE FOR QLOGIC HBAS- NORMALLY A MODULE
device  mpt  # LSI-LOGIC MPT-FUSION
#device  ncr  # NCR/SYMBIOS LOGIC
device  sym  # NCR/SYMBIOS LOGIC (NEWER CHIPSETS + THOSE OF `NCR')
device  trm  # TEKRAM DC395U/UW/F DC315U ADAPTERS

device  adv  # ADVANSYS SCSI ADAPTERS
device  adw  # ADVANSYS WIDE SCSI ADAPTERS
device  aha  # ADAPTEC 154X SCSI ADAPTERS
device  aic  # ADAPTEC 15[012]X SCSI ADAPTERS, AIC-6[23]60.
device  bt  # BUSLOGIC/MYLEX MULTIMASTER SCSI ADAPTERS

device  ncv  # NCR 53C500
device  nsp  # WORKBIT NINJA SCSI-3
device  stg  # TMC 18C30/18C50

# SCSI PERIPHERALS
device  scbus  # SCSI BUS (REQUIRED FOR SCSI)
device  ch  # SCSI MEDIA CHANGERS
device  da  # DIRECT ACCESS (DISKS)
device  sa  # SEQUENTIAL ACCESS (TAPE ETC)
device  cd  # CD
device  pass  # PASSTHROUGH device (DIRECT SCSI ACCESS)
device  ses  # SCSI ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AND SAF-TE)

# RAID CONTROLLERS INTERFACED TO THE SCSI SUBSYSTEM
device  amr  # AMI MEGARAID
device  arcmsr  # ARECA SATA II RAID
device  asr  # DPT SMARTRAID V, VI AND ADAPTEC SCSI RAID
device  ciss  # COMPAQ SMART RAID 5*
device  dpt  # DPT SMARTCACHE III, IV - SEE NOTES FOR options
device  hptmv  # HIGHPOINT ROCKETRAID 182X
device  hptrr  # HIGHPOINT ROCKETRAID 17XX, 22XX, 23XX, 25XX
device  iir  # INTEL INTEGRATED RAID
device  ips  # IBM (ADAPTEC) SERVERAID
device  mly  # MYLEX ACCELERAID/EXTREMERAID
device  twa  # 3WARE 9000 SERIES PATA/SATA RAID

# RAID CONTROLLERS
device  aac  # ADAPTEC FSA RAID
device  aacp  # SCSI PASSTHROUGH FOR AAC (REQUIRES CAM)
device  ida  # COMPAQ SMART RAID
device  mfi  # LSI MEGARAID SAS
device  mlx  # MYLEX DAC960 FAMILY
device  pst  # PROMISE SUPERTRAK SX6000
device  twe  # 3WARE ATA RAID

# ATKBDC0 CONTROLS BOTH THE KEYBOARD AND THE PS/2 MOUSE
device  atkbdc  # AT KEYBOARD CONTROLLER
device  atkbd  # AT KEYBOARD
device  psm  # PS/2 MOUSE


device  vga  # VGA VIDEO CARD DRIVER

device  splash  # SPLASH SCREEN AND SCREEN SAVER SUPPORT

# SYSCONS IS THE DEFAULT CONSOLE DRIVER, RESEMBLING AN SCO CONSOLE
device  sc

device  agp  # SUPPORT SEVERAL AGP CHIPSETS

# POWER MANAGEMENT SUPPORT (SEE NOTES FOR MORE options)
#device  apm
# ADD SUSPEND/RESUME SUPPORT FOR THE I8254.
device  pmtimer

# PCCARD (PCMCIA) SUPPORT
# PCMCIA AND CARDBUS BRIDGE SUPPORT
device  cbb  # CARDBUS (YENTA) BRIDGE
device  pccard  # PC CARD (16-BIT) BUS
device  cardbus  # CARDBUS (32-BIT) BUS

# SERIAL (COM) PORTS
device  sio  # 8250, 16[45]50 BASED SERIAL PORTS
device  uart  # GENERIC UART DRIVER

# PARALLEL PORT
device  ppc
device  ppbus  # PARALLEL PORT BUS (REQUIRED)
device  lpt  # PRINTER
device  plip  # TCP/IP OVER PARALLEL
device  ppi  # PARALLEL PORT INTERFACE device
#device  vpo  # REQUIRES SCBUS AND DA

# IF YOU'VE GOT A "DUMB" SERIAL OR PARALLEL PCI CARD THAT IS
# SUPPORTED BY THE PUC(4) GLUE DRIVER, UNCOMMENT THE FOLLOWING
# LINE TO ENABLE IT (CONNECTS TO SIO, UART AND/OR PPC DRIVERS):
#device  puc

# PCI ETHERNET NICS.
device  de  # DEC/INTEL DC21X4X (``TULIP'')
device  em  # INTEL PRO/1000 ADAPTER GIGABIT ETHERNET CARD
device  ixgb  # INTEL PRO/10GBE ETHERNET CARD
device  le  # AMD AM7900 LANCE AND AM79C9XX PCNET
device  txp  # 3COM 3CR990 (``TYPHOON'')
device  vx  # 3COM 3C590, 3C595 (``VORTEX'')

# PCI ETHERNET NICS THAT USE THE COMMON MII BUS CONTROLLER CODE.
# NOTE: BE SURE TO KEEP THE 'device MIIBUS' LINE IN ORDER TO USE THESE NICS!
device  miibus  # MII BUS SUPPORT
device  bce  # BROADCOM BCM5706/BCM5708 GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  bfe  # BROADCOM BCM440X 10/100 ETHERNET
device  bge  # BROADCOM BCM570XX GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  dc  # DEC/INTEL 21143 AND VARIOUS WORKALIKES
device  fxp  # INTEL ETHEREXPRESS PRO/100B (82557, 82558)
device  lge  # LEVEL 1 LXT1001 GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  msk  # MARVELL/SYSKONNECT YUKON II GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  nfe  # NVIDIA NFORCE MCP ON-BOARD ETHERNET
device  nge  # NATSEMI DP83820 GIGABIT ETHERNET
#device  nve  # NVIDIA NFORCE MCP ON-BOARD ETHERNET NETWORKING
device  pcn  # AMD AM79C97X PCI 10/100 (PRECEDENCE OVER 'LE')
device  re  # REALTEK 8139C+/8169/8169S/8110S
device  rl  # REALTEK 8129/8139
device  sf  # ADAPTEC AIC-6915 (``STARFIRE'')
device  sis  # SILICON INTEGRATED SYSTEMS SIS 900/SIS 7016
device  sk  # SYSKONNECT SK-984X & SK-982X GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  ste  # SUNDANCE ST201 (D-LINK DFE-550TX)
device  stge  # SUNDANCE/TAMARACK TC9021 GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  ti  # ALTEON NETWORKS TIGON I/II GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  tl  # TEXAS INSTRUMENTS THUNDERLAN
device  tx  # SMC ETHERPOWER II (83C170 ``EPIC'')
device  vge  # VIA VT612X GIGABIT ETHERNET
device  vr  # VIA RHINE, RHINE II
device  wb  # WINBOND W89C840F
device  xl  # 3COM 3C90X (``BOOMERANG'', ``CYCLONE'')

# ISA ETHERNET NICS.  PCCARD NICS INCLUDED.
device  cs  # CRYSTAL SEMICONDUCTOR CS89X0 NIC
# 'device ED' REQUIRES 'device MIIBUS'
device  ed  # NE[12]000, SMC ULTRA, 3C503, DS8390 CARDS
device  ex  # INTEL ETHEREXPRESS PRO/10 AND PRO/10+
device  ep  # ETHERLINK III BASED CARDS
device  fe  # FUJITSU MB8696X BASED CARDS
device  ie  # ETHEREXPRESS 8/16, 3C507, STARLAN 10 ETC.
device  sn  # SMC'S 9000 SERIES OF ETHERNET CHIPS
device  xe  # XIRCOM PCCARD ETHERNET

# WIRELESS NIC CARDS
device  wlan  # 802.11 SUPPORT
device  wlan_wep # 802.11 WEP SUPPORT
device  wlan_ccmp # 802.11 CCMP SUPPORT
device  wlan_tkip # 802.11 TKIP SUPPORT
device  wlan_amrr # AMRR TRANSMIT RATE CONTROL ALGORITHM
device  wlan_scan_ap # 802.11 AP MODE SCANNING
device  wlan_scan_sta # 802.11 STA MODE SCANNING
device  an  # AIRONET 4500/4800 802.11 WIRELESS NICS.
device  ath  # ATHEROS PCI/CARDBUS NIC'S
device  ath_hal  # ATHEROS HAL (HARDWARE ACCESS LAYER)
device  ath_rate_sample # SAMPLERATE TX RATE CONTROL FOR ATH
device  awi  # BAYSTACK 660 AND OTHERS
device  ral  # RALINK TECHNOLOGY RT2500 WIRELESS NICS.
device  wi  # WAVELAN/INTERSIL/SYMBOL 802.11 WIRELESS NICS.
#device  wl  # OLDER NON 802.11 WAVELAN WIRELESS NIC.

# PSEUDO deviceS.
device  loop  # NETWORK LOOPBACK
device  random  # ENTROPY device
device  ether  # ETHERNET SUPPORT
device  sl  # KERNEL SLIP
device  ppp  # KERNEL PPP
device  tun  # PACKET TUNNEL.
device  pty  # PSEUDO-TTYS (TELNET ETC)
device  md  # MEMORY "DISKS"
device  gif  # IPV6 AND IPV4 TUNNELING
device  faith  # IPV6-TO-IPV4 RELAYING (TRANSLATION)
device  firmware # FIRMWARE ASSIST MODULE

# THE `BPF' device ENABLES THE BERKELEY PACKET FILTER.
# BE AWARE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF ENABLING THIS!
# NOTE THAT 'BPF' IS REQUIRED FOR DHCP.
device  bpf  # BERKELEY PACKET FILTER

# USB SUPPORT
device  uhci  # UHCI PCI->USB INTERFACE
device  ohci  # OHCI PCI->USB INTERFACE
device  ehci  # EHCI PCI->USB INTERFACE (USB 2.0)
device  usb  # USB BUS (REQUIRED)
#device  udbp  # USB DOUBLE BULK PIPE deviceS
device  ugen  # GENERIC
device  uhid  # "HUMAN INTERFACE deviceS"
device  ukbd  # KEYBOARD
device  ulpt  # PRINTER
device  umass  # DISKS/MASS STORAGE - REQUIRES SCBUS AND DA
device  ums  # MOUSE
device  ural  # RALINK TECHNOLOGY RT2500USB WIRELESS NICS
device  rum  # RALINK TECHNOLOGY RT2501USB WIRELESS NICS
device  urio  # DIAMOND RIO 500 MP3 PLAYER
device  uscanner # SCANNERS
# USB ETHERNET, REQUIRES MIIBUS
device  aue  # ADMTEK USB ETHERNET
device  axe  # ASIX ELECTRONICS USB ETHERNET
device  cdce  # GENERIC USB OVER ETHERNET
device  cue  # CATC USB ETHERNET
device  kue  # KAWASAKI LSI USB ETHERNET
device  rue  # REALTEK RTL8150 USB ETHERNET

# FIREWIRE SUPPORT
device  firewire # FIREWIRE BUS CODE
device  sbp  # SCSI OVER FIREWIRE (REQUIRES SCBUS AND DA)
device  fwe  # ETHERNET OVER FIREWIRE (NON-STANDARD!)
device  fwip  # IP OVER FIREWIRE (RFC 2734,3146)
device  dcons  # DUMB CONSOLE DRIVER
device  dcons_crom # CONFIGURATION ROM FOR DCONS


#
# from PC-BSD conf
#
options  LIBICONV
options  LIBMCHAIN
options  CD9660_ICONV
options  MSDOSFS_ICONV
options  NTFS
options  NTFS_ICONV
options  UDF
options  UDF_ICONV
options  GEOM_UZIP  # read only compressed disks
# wifi
device  wlan
device  wlan_wep
device  wlan_ccmp
device  wlan_tkip
device  an
device  ath
device  ath_hal
device  ath_rate_sample
device  awi
device  ral
device  wi
device  iwi
device  ipw
device  firmware
options  DEVICE_POLLING
device  pf
device  pflog
device  pfsync
options  ALTQ
options  ALTQ_CBQ
options  ALTQ_RED
options  ALTQ_RIO
options  ALTQ_HFSC
options  ALTQ_CDNR
options  ALTQ_PRIQ
options  ALTQ_NOPCC