[TerryP]

I installed FreeBSD, got to the default boot loader, and left. It probably loaded up by now.

...

Does it go right to the shell? What do I type to get to the user interface?

FreeBSDs boot process is fairly well documented, more specific things few people would need to care about; outside of kernel hacking / system programming references. Normal people don't need to know much more then the basics of bootstrap (and even then usually can skip half of it)

What you get loaded, depends on what you asked for; usually it's login prompt of some sort. See Beasties post.

Also, I have a mad dog hard drive enclosure. It was found on Freesbie, it connected. I jsut don't know how to go to it.

What do you want to do with it?

Lastly, I need internet, then a remote control program. ....

I'm not familiar with that networking gear. For remote control program, you probably mean something like SSH (even my Windows machine is usable over SSH). You may also want to look at X11 Forwarding, VNC, and RDP.

Can I use any software to burn the the internet drivers?

FreeBSD understands the usual CD/DVD file systems, as long as your disk drive works and understands that media. It's also possible to burn disks from FreeBSD; if you want something graphical for doing it: you'll of course need to setup a GUI.

I'm guessing I have to download the drivers for FreeBSD, put it on a disk, then pop the disk it. Orrrrr, is it compaitible already, I just need to double click something and it installs?

Generally most vendors don't release FreeBSD drivers for their products, so you get what comes with the system + what is available via ports. You would want to be fairly specific about what you need.

I'm a new user, so I don't know anything. If someone can give me advice, or places where I can find this information, that would be great!

Read the handbook on FreeBSDs website, consult manual pages for the programs (e.g. man ls), and explorer the documentation stored in /usr/share/ (if you have it installed).


Based on your self description, I assume you're able to use cmd.exe without trouble; unix shells are easier to work with, but have different quoting / globing rules. (Not to mention a nicer user experience). If you're not familiar with common UNIX commands, you should check out Wikipedia and the systems manual pages. (there are also a few books around; might also want to check the reviews here)


Few things in FreeBSD technically need to be done from a command prompt - but most common documentation provides instruction centered around the command line interface because it is easy to port between different UNIX systems, or documentation centered around their specific products (e.g. gnome / kde control panels).