On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 1:26 PM, Leonardo Sabino dos Santos <leonardo.sab...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > > I want to tell you about my experience with OpenBSD. > > I'm a Linux user, but have always wanted to try OpenBSD. The last time > I'd tried installing it was version 4.6 and I didn't get very far. > That version wouldn't install on my notebook at all. The kernel > couldn't recognise my hard drive because of some AHCI incompatibility > on this notebook that I didn't have the expertise to solve, so I went > back to Linux for the time. Two years later, we're on version 5.0, I > decided to give it another try. > > So I downloaded all the package files, wrote them to a USB stick, > created a bootable image with GRUB, booted into the OpenBSD installer > and off we go. Now, this computer already had Windows 7 and Linux, > plus about 16 GB of unpartitioned space where OpenBSD is going. It's > actually the same notebook from two years ago. > > I start answering the installer's questions. Keyboard layout. Root > password. Configuration of network interfaces. I'm not actually paying > a whole lot of attention to the questions as this is just a test > installation and I figure I can always explore and configure the > system later. > > Next, the disk stuff comes up. A lot of partition information appears > on the screen, followed by the question: > > B Use (W)hole disk or (E)dit the MBR? [whole]
So you work with GRUB for years, have Windows and Linux on that disk already and still don't know what MBR is for and what means 'Whole disk'? > > At this point I'm actually trying to remember if there's a way to > scroll back the console, because some information has scrolled of the > screen. I try PageUp, PageDown, Ctrl-UpArrow, Ctrl-DownArrow, but > nothing works, so I press Enter. > > And my partition table is gone. Poof! Instantly, with no confirmation. > I immediately realized what had happened and rebooted. Too late. I got > a "No OS" message. It seems that the OpenBSD installer actually > overwrites the partition table the instant you press Enter. > > What saved me was an Ubuntu installation CD and the wonderful tool > gpart (http://www.brzitwa.de/mb/gpart/). With a bit of tinkering in > gpart and some very careful work with the Linux version of fdisk, I > managed to reconstruct the partition table and saved my system. Any disk tool can "save" you after your own fault. It doesn't need to be Ubuntu-like > > Distributing an installation program that can wipe out the user's hard > disk instantly on a single wrong keystroke, without so much as a > confirmation prompt is so shortsighted and irresponsible that I can > barely believe it. This is not about being an expert user or knowing > what you want to do, because I knew exactly what I wanted to do. This > is about incredibly stupid user interface design. Sorry, it's just too > unbelievable that someone would think that this is actually a good > idea. Ubuntu does the same, but just in GUI. And there was question which needed your confirmation in OpenBSD CLI ;-) BTW you obviously skipped http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html#InstDisks (world is not just Linux) and probably this one as well http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html#Multibooting > > I joined this mailing list just to tell you this: Right now, I feel > like never, ever touching OpenBSD with a ten-foot pole again. > > Regards, > > B - Leonardo
