Installation Guide

This Guide is still under heavy development, feel free to help us to finish it.

Introduction

GhostBSD comes with a Graphical installer call GBI. GBI is a GTK graphical BSD installer program written by Eric Turgeon and introduced in 2011 for GhostBSD 2.5. GBI uses the pc-sysinstall back-end developed by Kris Moore of PC-BSD.

After reading this chapter, you will know:

• How to make a USB memory stick.
• How to install GhostBSD.
• How to start GhostBSD.
• The questions GBI will ask you, what they mean, and how to answer them.
• Troubleshooting the installer and live media.

Hardware Requirements

Minimum System Requirements

• 64-bit processor
• 4 GB of RAM
• 15 GB of free hard drive space
• Network card

Recommended System Requirements

• 64-bit processor
• 8 GB of RAM
• 30 GB of free hard drive space
• Network card
• Sound card
• 3D accelerated video card

Supported Processors

GhostBSD installs on any system containing a 64-bit (amd64) processor architecture. The amd64 name refers to AMD64 (“Hammer”) and Intel® EM64T architectures. The FreeBSD 13.0 Hardware Notes lists the amd64 processors known to work.

Supported Video Cards

GhostBSD uses X.org drivers for graphics support. During installation, graphics support will be configured automatically.

Support for the major graphic vendors is as follows

NVIDIA: if you want to use 3D acceleration, NVIDIA is currently the best supported as there is a native driver for GhostBSD.

Intel: 3D acceleration on most Intel graphics is supported. Due to the current KMS support, you will not be able to switch between the graphical console and a virtual console using Crtl+Alt+F#.

ATI/Radeon: 3D acceleration on most ATI and Radeon cards is supported.

Optimus: at this time Bumblebee[2] has not been ported to FreeBSD, meaning that there is no switching support between the two graphics adapters provided by Optimus. Optimus implementations vary, so GhostBSD may or may not be able to successfully load a graphics driver on your hardware. If you get a blank screen after installation, check your BIOS to see if it has an option to disable one of the graphics adapters or to set “discrete” mode. If the BIOS does not provide a discrete mode, GhostBSD will default to the 3D Intel driver and disable NVIDIA. This will change in the future when the NVIDIA driver supports Optimus.

Wireless Cards

GhostBSD supports many wireless networking cards. You can check if your card has a FreeBSD driver. If it does, it should "just work". Currently, there are some missing wireless drivers, typically for Broadcom and the newer Realtek series. N.B. USB wifi sticks may or may not be supported, it will depend on the chip used.

Pre-installation Tasks

Back Up Your Data

Be sure to back up all important data on the computer before installing GhostBSD. The GhostBSD installer will not provide a prompt before making changes to the hard disk drive. Once the process has started, changes to the hard disk drive cannot be undone.

Check for FreeBSD Errata

GhostBSD is based on Trueos, and TrueOS is based on FreeBSD. Although the TrueOS Project strives to ensure that each release of TrueOS is as stable as possible, bugs occasionally creep into the process. On very rare occasions those bugs affect the installation process. As these problems are discovered and fixed, they are noted in 12.0-RELEASE Errata page on the FreeBSD web site. Check the errata before installing to make sure that there are no problems that might affect the installation.

Prepare the Installation Media

The GhostBSD installation media is available as a .iso file. Copies of GhostBSD installation media are available for free at the GhostBSD download page.

Creating a bootable USB Flash Drive

Introduction

After downloading the appropriate .iso file, copy it to a USB flash drive using one of the methods described below. Depending on the operating system, issue one of the following appropriate commands:

On BSD

dd if=/path/to/GhostBSD19.04.iso of=/dev/da0 bs=4m conv=sync

On Linux

sudo dd if=GhostBSD19.04.iso of=/dev/sdf bs=4M conv=sync

On Mac

dd if=/path/to/GhostBSD19.04.iso of=/dev/disk2 bs=10240 conv=sync

On Windows

1. Download the desired .iso file
2. Download Disk Imager from http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
3. Insert your USB flash drive
4. Note the drive letter assigned to your flash media
5. Start Disk Imager
6. Select the downloaded file and target device, and click "Write"
7. Remove your USB flash drive when the operation is complete

Other USB Flash writer tools for Windows

Balena Etcher [1] Works for Windows, macOS, & Linux Rufus [2] Works just for Windows, needs a checkbox selected to do a pure write of .ISO image file

ISO CD / DVD writer tool

ISORecorder [3] works from Windows Menu to write a .ISO file into a CD or DVD

Conclusion

The steps described above will create a bootable GhostBSD system on a USB flash drive. To start a live session, connect the USB thumb drive to the computer and reboot the computer. Further information can be found here.

Starting GhostBSD Live Media

If booting from USB flash drive, insert the USB flash drive then start the computer.

If booting from DVD, insert the DVD immediately after powering on the computer.

You can boot by:

• Configuring the machine BIOS to boot from either the DVD or USB.
• Typically boot by pressing F10, F11, F12, or Esc and select a boot device.

If your computer starts up by loading your existing operating system, then either:

• The installation media (e.g., DVD) was not inserted early enough in the boot process. Ensure the installation media has been inserted, then restart the computer.
• The BIOS changes were not saved correctly. Review the BIOS settings and enable the correct boot setting.
• Your BIOS does not support booting from the desired media. The Plop Boot Manager can be used to boot older computers from CD or USB media.

As GhostBSD begins to boot, you will see a black screen with similar text to this:

Setting Language, Keyboard and Timezone

Language Menu

Select a language.

(This screen may look a bit differently on later versions.)

Select the language you would like to use after the installation. If a language is not provided in the selection, the language can be changed after login.

Note: GBI will be multilingual in the future and the language who are display is default language some of us speak.

Keyboard Menu

Selecting a keyboard layout and a variant

The layout option is your country-specific keyboard layout.

Note: If you use the default GhostBSD system keyboard setup you can skip by just click on forward. Also if you don't know your keyboard model and variant don't select any of those.

Time Zone menu

Setting the time zone for your machine will allow it to automatically correct for any regional time changes and perform other time zone related functions properly.

Selecting a Time Zone

Select a continent and the nearest city.

Entire Disk Installation

Select Installation Type and Boot Manager

Select the ZFS full disk configuration option to install GhostBSD on the entire disk selected.

Select Hard Disk Drive(s)

If a single disk is shown, select the disk. If multiple disks are shown, select the disks where GhostBSD will be installed.

Warning! Make sure to Back up all important data on the target disk where GhostBSD will be installed. The GhostBSD installer will not ask before making changes to the disk, but once the process has started, it cannot be undone.

ZFS Full Disk Installation

Selecting Installation Type

Figure 2.6a: Selecting Disk, Installation option and Boot Manager

Choosing Disks

Choose the disk where GhostBSD is to be installed.

Boot Option

Select an available boot option.

Custom Disk Partitioning Installation

Customize Disk Partition is the advanced user option, this is able to create custom partition slice and create multiple label. Customize Disk Partition lets you choose how much space to use on the hard drive. It also lets you allocate the label as wished. UFS, UFS Journaling softupdates, SU+J and a swap that should equal the system ram.

Selecting Disk, Installation option and Boot Manager

Figure 2.7a: Selecting Disk, Installation option and Boot Manager

Choosing Disks

Choose the disk where GhostBSD is to be installed.

Auto label Partition

Select Auto label Partition to edit partition slice to the disk you want to install GhostBSD.

BSD Boot Loader

GhostBSD can be installed with or without a bootloader. If you dual boot with GNU/Linux on the same disk, you should use your Gnu/Linux Grub. We recommend you to use GhostBSD Boot Loader with MS Windows.

Editing slice partition

To create a partition for GhostBSD you need at least 10gb.

Warning! Make sure to back up all important data before editing the target disk where GhostBSD will be installed. The GhostBSD installer partition editor is a real time editor and it will not ask you before making changes to the disk, but once the process has started it cannot be undone.

Figure 2.7b: Editing slice partition

(This screen may look a bit differently on later versions.)

Creating Partition

To create a partition select the free space and click on the Create button. Adjust the space to the desired amount.

Deleting Partition

To delete a partition, select the partition to delete and press the Delete button.

Note: you have to select the right partition to install GhostBSD before pressing Forward.

Creating Labels Partitions

Figure 2.7c: Creating labels partitions

(This screen may look a bit differently on later versions.)

Deleting Partitions labels

For deleting partitions labels you Select the label to delete and you click on the Delete button.

Create and edit labels

The button Create will start the labels editor to Create new labels. You can also edit Partition labels already setup, by clicking on the Edit button.

Note: You should always erase all old BSD partitions to avoid installation problems.

Labels editors

When you click on Create or Edit the labels partitions editor appears for editing custom partitions labels.

Figure 2.7d: Labels Editors

(This screen may look a bit differently on later versions.)

Setting the Filesystem.

Selecting the Type of file system

UFS, UFS+S, UFS+J, UFS+SUJ can be use for GhostBSD file system.

Choosing Size

The size given to a label will limit the size of the mount point directory selected. Some space needs to be allocated for a BSD swap.

Selecting Mount Point

Mount Point contain a list of directory as follow /, /boot, /etc, /home, /root, /tmp, /usr, /var and you can specify your own one.

Setting Swap

Selecting the Type

Under Type choosing SWAP will create BSD swap.

Choosing Size

Matching the Size of the Swap with the ram Size is recommended, but if the machine is not used for compiling, installing apps from ports, or for heavy processing, the swap can be set a lot lower in size.

Selecting mount point

Select the Mount Point to none.

Adding Root Password and User

GhostBSD is designed to let the user have total control of the system, meaning that the user has root access by default and owns the entire system. GhostBSD installer lets the user choose a root password and lets them have complete access to the root account.

Setting Root Password

Password: The system password, also known as the root, superuser, or administrative password, is required for system administration tasks such as installing software, setting up your printer or changing settings that affect all users. You will need to remember this password for the times that you are prompted for it. The password is recommended as at least 8 characters, and you are required to type it in twice to confirm the password.

Figure 2.8a: Setting root password and adding a user.

Adding User

Username: this is the name you will use when logging in. It can not contain spaces and is case sensitive

Full Name: It can be your full name and can contain capital letters and spaces.

Password: this is the password you will use when logging in. You must type it twice in order to confirm it.

Shell: bash (versions up to 3.5) or fish is set by default, you change to the one you prefer in the list.

Setting The System host name

Hostname: input the system's hostname. This name will be the system name of the network.

Figure 2.8b: Adding a user and hostname.

Installation Progress

Installation Progress

Once you select Install to start the installation, a progress screen, seen in Figure 2.9b, provides a progress bar and messages so that you can watch the installation's progress.

Figure 2.9b: Installation Progress

The installation time depends upon the speed of your hardware and the version of GhostBSD you choose. A typical installation takes between 10 and 30 minutes.

Installation Error

The screen shown in Figure 2.9c appears when the installation fails.

Figure 2.9c: installation error

To help users find and fix this issue please see Installation Troubleshooting

Installation Success

The screen shown in Figure 2.9d appears once the installation is successfully completed.

Figure 2.9d: Installation Completed

Click the Restart button to reboot into your GhostBSD installation. Wait until the system exits the GUI before removing the installation media.

Installation Troubleshooting

Installing GhostBSD is usually an easy process that "just works". Sometimes, however, you will run into a problem. This section will look at solutions to the most common installation problems.

Installation Starts But Fails

The GhostBSD installer creates a log which keeps a record of all the steps that are completed as well as any errors. When an installation error occurs, the GhostBSD installer will ask if you would like to generate an error report. You should save the error log /tmp/pc-sysinstall.log to a USB stick so that you can read this log to see what went wrong.

If you can not figure out how to fix the error or believe that you have discovered an installation bug, please use the forum to get help.

System Does not Boot Into the Installer

If the live system does not make it to the GUI, try unplugging as many devices as possible, such as webcams, scanners, printers, USB mice and keyboards. If this solves the problem, plug in one piece of hardware at a time, then reboot. This will help you pinpoint which device is causing the problem.

If your computer freezes while probing hardware, and unplugging extra devices does not fix the problem, it is possible that the installation media is corrupt. If the checksum on the file you downloaded is correct, try burning the file again at a lower speed.

If the system freezes and you suspect the video card to be the cause, review your system's BIOS settings. If there is a setting for video memory, set it to its highest value. Also check to see if the BIOS is set to prefer built-in graphics or a non-existent graphics card. On some systems this is determined by the order of the devices listed; in this case, make sure that the preferred device is listed first. If you cannot see your BIOS settings you may need to move a jumper or remove a battery to make it revert to the default of built-in graphics; check your manual or contact your manufacturer for details.

If that change did not help, try rebooting and selecting option 2. Escape to loader prompt from the boot menu shown in Figure 2.10a below.

figure 2.10a: GhostBSD Boot Menu

Selecting this option will open the boot loader prompt where you can type the following commands:

unload

disable-module vesa

set module_path=/boot/kernel;/boot/modules;CONSOLE

boot

Those commands will disable vesa before attempting to boot the live system.

A not uncommon cause for problems is the LBA (Logical Block Addressing) setting in the BIOS. If your PC is not booting up before or after installation, check your BIOS and turn LBA off (do not leave it on automatic).

If the SATA settings in your BIOS are set to "compatibility" mode, try changing this setting to "AHCI". If the system hangs with a BTX error, try turning off AHCI in the BIOS.

USB Keyboard Does not Work in Graphical Interface

If the USB keyboard is non-functional, check if there is an option in your BIOS for legacy support in relation to the keyboard or to USB, or both. Enabling this feature in your BIOS may solve this issue.

mountroot prompt

If you boot your system and you receive a mountroot> command prompt, it may be due to a change in the location of the boot device. This can occur when the installation was made on another machine and then transferring the HDD without an adjustment to the /etc/fstab file, or if a card reader is involved (including card readers on a USB dongle). The solution is to enter ufs:/dev/da1 at the prompt (it will always be ufs for the installer media). Depending on the exact location of the boot media, it may be different than da1. Typing ? at the prompt should display available devices.

Getting Help

If none of the above has fixed your problem, search the GhostBSD forums to see if a solution exists, try a web search, or check the section Support.