It's Working! - PC-BSD 9.0

The Desktop....

And a couple of open windows...

I've finally got it up and running, after four installs during which it wouldn't boot up after three of them. So three days later, I think I've solved that problem....

Actually, these open-source dedicated do-it-yourselfers who created this thing are so skilled at doing code, they tend to downplay the fact that you don't just grab this cutie and throw it onto a drive, and "it just works".... It does "just work", like they say, but first you have to create the right environment for it.

That includes using a third-party partition manager like EaseUS Partition Master to re-arrange your hard drive to make sure there's a separate but primary partition onto which it can be installed. And then you have to use another third party program like EasyBCD to reconfigure your system's Boot Configuration Data so as to create separate boot entries for your Windows and for your new non-Windows but window-like PC-BSD which is a Unix/Linux type of system.

And when you discover you've followed the instructions for all that, and it still doesn't boot up after it tells you it has completed its installation (about 45 min.)

then the next thing to do is start over, but this time begin by reformatting the partition it will go onto, using a freebie third-party program as mentioned above, only this time, instead of trusting them when they say not to worry about the type of format "because it will do its own anyway", I gave it a bit of help by formatting in EXT2 file system using 4Kb Cluster Size. That's one that

is compatible for Unix/Linux operating systems. And after all was finished, go back into the inner sanctum and get that boot management data refreshed, so it won't be using something from an older backup. And the 'Voila!' - it works!

I haven't had a chance to play with it much yet, but so far, it seems to be a bit

like Windows and a bit like a Mac, with a few features of each, a kind of middle of the road between the waring giants, you might say.... and that's what I've been doing for the last three days, Folks.... learning a new operating system.