Possible to do an Unattended FreeBSD Install?

[FishDog3]

I have a box that I'd like to install freeBSD on without plugging in any peripherals. I've installed freeBSD on this box before, moving it to plug it into a monitor and whatnot. Is there any way for me to set up configuration files or something to do the install, and configure SSH so I can do the rest remotely?

[splat]

i'm not 100% sure, but I think the only way to do that is to create your own install cd, and have it start ssh in it's boot process.

freebsd handbook guide to creating your own installation media
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/install-diff-media.html

[FishDog3]

Yeah, I found that, it seems to mostly cover the different methods for installing from various locations/medias, but not how to automate the process.

Also the "headless" install instructions cover how to set up a terminal via a serial connection to another computer so you can use that computer to interact with sysinstall, also not really what I'm looking for.

Probably would be less of a hassle for me to just plug the dang thing into a monitor and do it, but now I'm interested in just figuring this out for the hell of it haha.

Any other ideas or help would be appreciated, back to google I go.

Thanks!

[splat]

you could try setting up a chroot in yoour current system and installing freebsd there, then booting off a live cd and copying everything over. I don't think there is anything that will boot and automatically install an operating system without somesort of user input

[FishDog3]

Well, to be the devils advocate (literally haha) you can use nLite to take an ISO of a windows install, and include all your drivers, setup all the options that you end up doing via the installers GUI, and set up everything needed to get the box running windows other than 3rd party applications. Than re-make a new ISO with all of that included, which you can than boot up from and do a full unattended install.

Although I guess if you were starting on a brand new system you would still need to do all the BIOS settings, as well as format/partition the drives.

Herumph.....

[splat]

yeah disk setup would be the most problematic. everything else could be scripted.