Installing BeOS Pro edition 5.0
Installing OSs with gore series
Classic OSs
Installing BeOS Pro edition 5.0
Be OS :
BeOS is a great little OS that never really took off like it should have. The reason I'm writing this because I refuse to stop using it. The company didn't do very well with marketing and it could have came with more software than it did, but that's OK, inside it was one of the best OSs I've ever loaded.
It's a stable OS that I haven't had a chance to use for quite a while. All of my machines have been taken up lately for my tests on Slackware for my paper on SlackBSD.
Installing Be OS:
Start by simply popping in the CD-ROM, and rebooting.
A fully GUI based installation will start up, so when you see the lisence agreement, move your mouse over "Agree" and click on it with the left mouse button.
After you have done this, a little window will be shows almost instantly. This is the BeOS installer. It's very easy to use. You select which Hard Drive you want too install it on, and from there you begin installing. I only have one Hard Disk in this machine so it shows me this and the partitions on it.
BeOS is very good with more than one processor so if you have a cheap box that's old but has say two Pentium 2 Processors, you're in luck, BeOS uses them both very well.
Click the mouse on "More Options" and select any extra software you want. Be OS comes with GNU tools and a Bash shell so if you're used to UNIX you may want to add these in.
Be OS isn't a UNIX OS, although it allows you to use tools from UNIX. Select the HD to install on, and what extras you'd like to install and then click on "Begin".
You'll get a confirmation that it's going to initialise the disk, so click and say it's OK, and you're ready to begin after telling it the Volume name. Be creative. You can select which Block size for the File System. Windows users are going to be confused, but users of UNIX based OSs won't be, you haven't had your head covered for you by your OS of choice ;)
The default information here is fine unless you're going to have A LOT of small files, then you may want too change it from 1024 to something higher. This is up to you really.
after filling out this information, select "Initialise".
Another confirmation window pops up warning you fo what you're doing.
After you click on "Initialise", the installer begins and you're ready to watch it install.
It begins installing everything you've selected without changing the window and a little area of the screen shows you the progress.
If you've downloaded SP2 you've seen this window before, but don't worry it won't take that long ;)
If for some reason you have to stop, you can tell it to do so with the Stop button, but it's not recommended. Obviously because it would halt the installation and you'll have half an OS on your machine. OS/2 users are used to that but I'm not.
The installation shouldn't take very long but it does depend on your hardware. Again BeOS doesn't need a top fo the line machine, it's much happier with say a Pentium 3. Or even dual processors like a Pentium 2.
Note a Pentium 2 isn't a dual Processor chip, you can get two of them though.
While this installs you don't have to wait around if you have other things to do.
Now would be a good time too point out that it really doesn't take that long or use much disk space. I've got almost everything selected and it's only using 288.3 MBs of space.
Feel free and move the mouse around if you're bored. Just don't click on anything yet.
BeOS does have a little mini Web Server, but don't think of using it for production, it's mainly for testing. It's not Apache but it will allow you to test web pages before you deploy them.
When you are done with the installation and see the pop up window telling you it's done and asking for the BeBoot manager, you should install it unless you already have partitions set up and are using another boot manager. The Be Boot manager will install and if you're only running BeOS like I am, you need it.
You see the Be Boot manager window asking if you'd like to install the Be Oot manager. Click on Next, This window just tells you where the file is going. The old Master Boot Record is saved in case you need it. Just click on "Yes'.
The next session is for making a floppy disk into a rescue disk, just pop a floppy into the drive and click on Next.
Now you should have a screen showing the choices you'll have upon booting up the computer.
Simply check the boxes next to which OSs you'd like too show up when you boot up the machine. It's that easy.
Next you'll select how long you want it too wait until it boots an OS without any human input.
You can tell it too wait until you tell it to bot or just tell it to wait a few seconds. Select how long you want it to wait and then click on Next.
The next screen you'll have is telling you about the boot screen, so check that all information is what you want and select next.
A little window pops up warning you it will write so click on the OK and then it writes the information.
After this select "Done" and you're finished with this.
You can select Quit now.
The CD-ROM drive will open and then the machine reboots so grab the CD.
Select the partition too boot, which if you didn't vhange anything will say untitled, or BeOS, and so you just hit enter.
After a whole 9 seconds BeOS boots up completly and you hear a sound if your speakers are on and your sound card doesn't suck.
You're done, enjoy.
