Installation Requirements
What kind of hardware you need to run the BeOS[TM].
Before You Begin
Back up your important information. Read the Release Notes for any last minute changes.
Check the Be web site for the most current information.
Upgrading from Previous Releases of the BeOS
What to do if you have an older version of the BeOS already installed.
Preparing a Power Macintosh for Installation
Getting rid of old files, setting up disks, and so on.
Preparing a BeBox for Installation
Upgrading the boot ROM, and so on.
Installing the BeOS
How to install the BeOS once you've prepared your computer.
Using the BeOS
Launching the BeOS. Getting started.
Register Your Copy of the BeOS
Register with Be, even if you got the BeOS for free!
Because you'll need to refer to this document while installing the BeOS, you'll probably find it easiest to use if you print it. You can also find the latest version of this document at the Preview Release support section of the Be web site:
<http://www.be.com/support/preview/index.html>
A more detailed version of this document can be found in the first chapter of the BeOS User's Guide. Electronic versions of the BeOS User's Guide are located on the Mac OS partition of the BeOS Installer CD-ROM:
<file:///BeOS Mac Tools/Documentation/BeOS User's Guide/>
You can run the BeOS on a "Rev 6" or later BeBox Dual603 personal computer that has at least 16 MB of RAM.
You can also run the BeOS on many models of Power Macintosh or compatible computers based on the PowerPC 603 or 604 microprocessor and a PCI bus. This includes single and multiple-processor systems from Power Computing, UMAX, Motorola, Apple, DayStar, SuperMac, PowerTools, Computer Warehouse, and other manufacturers. Check the Be web site for a list of specific brands and models:
<http://www.be.com/products/beosreadylist.html>
* At least 16 MB of RAM.
* An extended Apple Desktop Bus[TM] (ADB) keyboard.
You can work with smaller keyboards, but you'll find that some tasks in the BeOS are easier with a PC-style keyboard
(with function keys and an Escape key).
* A standard ADB mouse.
You can do almost everything in the BeOS with a one-button mouse, but there are many shortcuts that are easier with a two- or three- button mouse. You can use any multiple-button mouse that conforms to the Apple guidelines for multiple-button mice (we've tested multiple-button mice from Kensington).
If you have a one-button mouse, you can emulate a three-button mouse by pressing Control-Command while you click the mouse button to emulate the secondary mouse button, and by pressing Control-Option while you click to emulate the tertiary mouse button.
* A 150 MB or larger hard disk or partition.
It's easiest to install the BeOS on a hard disk you use only for the BeOS, but if you're comfortable working with a hard disk formatting utility, you can create a partition on a BeBox or Mac OS disk and install the BeOS on it, so you don't need two disks. See "Advanced Installation Procedure: Creating a Partition for the BeOS," in the printed or electronic BeOS User's Guide (file:///BeOS Mac Tools/Documentation/BeOS User's Guide.pdf).
Note that your hard drive must be connected to your systems built-in SCSI or IDE interface. The BeOS does not at this time support hard drives attached to SCSI cards, such as the Adaptec PowerDomain fast and wide UltraSCSI PCI card.
* A CD-ROM drive.
You can use virtually any model CD-ROM drive to install the BeOS. However, to take advantage of some of the advanced features of the CDPlayer application, you need a Toshiba model 3401, 3601, or 3701 SCSI CD-ROM drive.
* You can use the Macintosh's on-board Ethernet connector or a DEC 21040- or 21041-based PCI network adapter card to connect to an Ethernet network.
* You can use any of a wide variety of high-speed modems to establish an Internet connection using PPP and an Internet service provider.
* The BeOS supports the graphics circuitry on the motherboard or bundled as a PCI card with supported Macintosh and compatible computers. See the Be web site for the latest list of other supported graphics cards.
Important: This list of BeOS-ready hardware is provided for informational purposes only. Support for any particular hardware platform may change without notice. Be cannot be held responsible for the use of this information, or the appropriateness of any purchase decision based on this information.
Before you install the BeOS, be smart! Back up any Macintosh or BeOS files, as you should do before installing any new software.
Caution: The BeOS Installer application can replace or delete existing files, or completely erase the contents of a disk before installing the BeOS. Be sure to read carefully any warning dialogs which appear during the installation process.
* Read the Release Notes on the BeOS Installer CD-ROM and on the Preview Release Support section on the Be web site:
<file:///BeOS Mac Tools/Release Notes>
<http://www.be.com/support/preview/index.html>
Of particular importance is the note regarding partitioning IDE drives with the Hard Drive Toolkit (Pro and Personal editions). Doing so can render your Macintosh unbootable. This is an HDT, not a BeOS problem, but lots of customers have this utility. Read the Release Notes for more details. No joke.
* If you are upgrading from the Preview Release of the BeOS, or are re-installing the Preview Release 2, you can simply follow the instructions below to install the Preview Release 2. When prompted by the Installer (as described below in "Installing the BeOS"), you should choose to replace existing files, so that clean copies of the BeOS files will be copied from the CD to your system's BeOS volume.
Be suggests, however, for greater system reliability, that you do a Clean Install (using the "Clean Install" option described at the end of this document), or Initialize your BeOS disk before doing the installation (as described below in "Installing the BeOS"). Doing so will erase all existing BeOS system files, and your own files. If you choose to install this way, you will want to back up your important data and applications to another hard drive or system.
In particular, you may want to back up the contents of your <file:///boot/home/config/settings/> folder, so you don't have to reconfigure your network and other settings after you install or reinstall the BeOS Preview Release 2.
* If you are upgrading from any release except for the original Preview Release (e.g., DR8, Advanced Access), read the document "Upgrading from DR8 or AA" for information about converting and preserving your important documents and data:
<file:///BeOS Mac Tools/Documentation/Upgrading from DR8 or AA>
If you have a BeBox, skip ahead to the next section to learn how to prepare your system for installation.
Before you install the BeOS, you need to install some Macintosh tools that you use to start the BeOS. These tools are on the Macintosh partition of the BeOS Install CD-ROM.
1. Start the Mac OS and insert the BeOS Install CD-ROM.
2. If you have any earlier versions of the BeOS files for the Macintosh, delete them. In particular, delete the BeOS Mac Tools folder, its contents, and the OS Chooser extension, which is in the Extensions folder in the System Folder.
You can't use any of the files from previous releases of the BeOS with the current release.
3. Open the BeOS Install CD-ROM icon (if it's not already open) and double-click the installation script named Prepare Mac for the BeOS. In the window that opens, click Install.
Click Continue if you're asked if it's OK to quit other applications. When the installation is complete, click Quit.
This script installs a folder named BeOS Mac Tools on the Mac hard disk. It also installs a system extension file named OS
Chooser (in the Extensions folder in the System Folder), which lets you choose whether you want to start the BeOS or the
Mac OS each time you start the Macintosh.
Note: If you're planning to create a partition for the BeOS, rather than installing the BeOS onto an entire disk, follow the instructions in "Advanced Installation: Creating a Hard Disk Partition for the BeOS" in the Installation chapter of the BeOS User's Guide. When you've created the BeOS partition, continue with these instructions.
4. Open the copy of the BeOS Mac Tools folder that was installed on the Macintosh hard disk and double-click the BeOS Launcher application.
If you do not have a multisync monitor, hold down the Command key while starting the BeOS Launcher application to bring up a dialog to allow use of your fixed frequency monitor (such as an Apple 13" or 16" monitor).
Choose "Fixed-Frequency" and click OK to continue loading the BeOS.
Note: "Fixed-Frequency" mode is slower. You should only use "Fixed-Frequency" mode if you do not have a multisync monitor. Be highly recommends multisync monitors for use with the BeOS.
5. As soon as the Be logo appears, press the left Shift key until the boot selection screen opens. Then use the keyboard arrow keys to select the BeOS Install CD-ROM and press Return.
Each bootable disk is listed by its device name as well as by the name it has in the Tracker. The BeOS Install CD-ROM will be listed as "('BeOS Install', type 'bfs')".
If the BeOS Install CD-ROM doesn't appear in the list, it's because the CD-ROM drive hasn't "spun up" and become ready yet. If this happens, use the arrow keys to select "Rescan for bootable disks" and press Return. You may need to do this a couple times if your CD-ROM drive takes a long time to spin up. After a moment, the BeOS License Agreement panel opens.
6. Read the license agreement carefully. If you accept the terms of the agreement, click Agree. If you don't accept the terms of the agreement, click Disagree, eject the CD, and return it to Be, as described in the agreement.
If you clicked Agree, the Installer application opens.
7. Skip ahead to the section "Installing the BeOS" to learn how to use the Installer to install the BeOS.
If you have a Power Macintosh, skip ahead to the next section to learn how to install the BeOS onto your system.
Before you install the BeOS Preview Release 2, you need to upgrade the BeBox boot ROM -- a portion of the BeOS system software that's stored on a chip on the BeBox motherboard.
1. Insert the "BeOS Install" CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive, and open the BeOS Install window by double-clicking the CD's icon in the Disks window.
2. Open the folder "etc" inside the folder "/beos", i.e., open <file:///BeOS Install/beos/etc/>.
3. Drag the boot ROM image file named bebox_bootrom.image onto the ROMUpdater application to update your BeBox boot ROM.
You will see a small status window which says "Programming the flash ROM". This window should disappear after a 30-60 second delay.
4. Leave the BeOS Install CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive, and shut down the BeBox.
5. Turn on the BeBox and as soon as the Be logo appears, hold down the left Shift key until the boot selection screen opens. Then use the keyboard arrow keys to select the BeOS Install CD-ROM as your boot device and press Return.
Each bootable disk is listed by its device name as well as by the name it has in the Tracker. The BeOS Install CD-ROM will be listed as "('BeOS Install', type 'bfs')".
If the BeOS Install CD-ROM doesn't appear in the list, it's because the CD-ROM drive hasn't "spun up" and become ready yet. If this happens, use the arrow keys to select "Rescan for bootable disks" and press Return. You may need to do this a couple times if your CD-ROM drive takes a long time to spin up. After a moment, the BeOS License Agreement panel opens.
6. Read the license agreement carefully. If you accept the terms of the agreement, click Agree. If you don't accept the terms of the agreement, click Disagree, eject the CD, and return it to Be, as described in the agreement.
If you clicked Agree, the Installer application opens.
7. Continue with the next section, "Installing the BeOS."
Once you've prepared a Macintosh or BeBox for installation and started up the BeOS from the BeOS Install CD-ROM, you're ready to use the Installer application to install the BeOS.
1. From the Onto pop-up menu, choose the disk onto which you want to install the BeOS.
The Onto pop-up menu contains a list of hard disk drives connected to the computer. If a disk is partitioned into multiple partitions, each partition appears in this menu as a separate choice.
Caution: Every drive and drive partition on your computer appears in this list, including your Mac OS or DR8 partitions, if you have any. Non-BeOS volumes will be noted with a volume type (e.g., "[Mac HFS]") in the pop-up menu.
2. Click Begin.
If you have selected a non-BeOS file system volume, you will see a warning dialog telling you the volume must be initialized before installation can proceed:
This dialog could mean that you have chosen an uninitialized partition, such as a newly created partition. In this case, the
volume is empty, and it is OK to initialize it.
This dialog could also mean you have chosen a Mac OS or old BeOS partition. Be careful to select an empty or expendable
partition.
* If you click the Initialize button, the BeOS will be installed onto the volume after it is completely erased and a BeOS file system is created on it. Before this happens, you will be asked to confirm the initialization and choose a volume name in step 3.
* If you click the Stop installation button, the installation will be cancelled, and you will return to the Installer's main screen.
If the volume you have selected already has the BeOS installed on it, you will be asked if you wish to replace existing files with files from the installation, or if you wish to keep your older files:
* If you click the Keep button, your existing (and possibly obsolete) file will not be replaced. You will see this dialog for
every file which already exists on the installation volume.
* If you click the Replace button, this file will be replaced. You will see this dialog for every file which already exists on the installation volume.
* If you click the Replace All Older button, this file will be replaced, and the Installer will automatically replace all remaining older files with fresh copies from the BeOS Install CD. This is the recommended selection.
If you have selected a BeOS file system volume, you will be asked if you wish to initialize the volume before installing the BeOS:
* If you click the Initialize button, the BeOS will be installed onto the volume after it is completely erased. Before this
happens, you will be asked to confirm the initialization and choose a volume name in step 3.
* If you click the Install as is button, the BeOS will be installed onto the volume without erasing anything first. Note, however, that even if you choose this option the installation process may replace files which already exist on the volume, such as the operating system files. Skip to step 4.
* If you click the Stop installation button, the installation will be cancelled, and you will return to the Installer's main screen.
3. If you have chosen to initialize the installation volume, you will be asked to name the volume:
You can also set the file system block size, but unless you have a specific reason for doing so, you should not change this setting from the default of "1024."
Select the default volume name and replace it with a name for your BeOS volume, if you wish. Click the Initialize button. You will be asked to confirm the initialization:
Click Initialize. The drive will be initialized (this will take a few seconds).
4. The Installer begins installing the BeOS onto the hard disk or partition. You will see the names of files as they are installed onto your installation volume:
If you click the Stop button, you will be asked if you really wish to halt the installation:
Stopping the installation is not recommended. If the Installer has removed outdated system files but not yet replaced them,
your BeOS volume may not have all of the operating system files on it which are necessary to boot the BeOS from that disk.
If you halt the installation process before completion, you should run a complete installation later, before you attempt to boot the BeOS from this volume.
5. When the installation process is complete, you will be asked if you want to use the disk or partition onto which you just installed the BeOS as the startup disk:
6. Click OK. Or click No to leave the boot preference at the previous (or default) setting.
7. Click the Quit button or the Installer window's close box to eject the BeOS Install CD-ROM and restart the computer.
If you have a Macintosh, the OS Chooser dialog box appears, shortly after you first see the message, "Welcome to Mac OS." You can use OS Chooser to choose the OS you want to boot, the BeOS or the Mac OS, as described in chapter 2 of the BeOS User's Guide.
If you have a BeBox, it restarts the BeOS.
If you click the More Options button in the main Installer window, you will see the following options dialog:
* Clean Install: Default is off (unchecked). Check the Clean Install checkbox to have the Installer delete the operating system directories and their contents before installing the new BeOS software. Leave this option unchecked to have the Installer replace existing individual items, but not delete new files you may have created in those directories.
This option is strongly recommended if you are installing the BeOS onto a hard drive which has had any previous version
(BeOS DR8 or BeOS Advanced Access) of the BeOS installed on it. This option will give you the opportunity to remove
outdated software from your system (recommended):
Be sure you have backups of your important files if you choose this option!
* Install Optional Items: Default is off (unchecked). Check the Install Optional Items checkbox to install the files in the /optional folder of the CD-ROM onto your BeOS disk. These items consist of movie and MIDI files, various goodies, and sample code. These optional items require an additional 61 megabytes of disk space. Leave this option unchecked to install only the BeOS and its sample applications.
Also in the /optional folder are the source files to the gnu software included with the BeOS. These files are not installed with the other items in the folder. You can copy them manually from the CD-ROM to your hard drive if you would like to use them. They require an additional 26 megabytes of disk space, and are of interested only to programmers (which is why they are not installed automatically).
* Install from: Default is the BeOS Installer CD-ROM. Use the Install from pop-up menu to choose a source different from the CD-ROM disk for the files to be installed. Use this option only if you are an expert, and know exactly what you are doing and why. 'Nuff said.
To start the BeOS on a BeBox, just turn it on.
To start the BeOS on a Power Macintosh, start the Mac OS and then double-click the BeOS Launcher application, which is in the BeOS Mac Tools folder you installed on the Macintosh hard disk.
To learn more about using the BeOS, see the BeOS User's Guide.
At Be, we want to be able to tell you about updates and future releases of the BeOS, and other important BeOS news. Even if you didn't buy the BeOS Full Package, you can register your copy of the BeOS at the Be web site:
<http://www.be.com/users/registration.html>
Stop by today, and take 5 minutes to fill out the very short form. Thanks for trying the BeOS!
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