Choosing the Installation Media

The next screen asks you to choose the installation media (see Figure 2.5).

Figure 2.5. Choosing the installation media.

This chapter assumes that you are installing from the DVD included with this book (or from an official CD-ROM set). If this is not the case and you need to perform an installation from a network disk, tape drive, or FTP server, or if you are installing from an existing filesystem, see the relevant sections of Chapter 3 before continuing.

Note

If you're installing from floppies, select FTP and press Enter. At this point you are required to set up your network card so that Sysinstall can access the FTP server and download the operating system installation files. You're presented with a list of network devices (Ethernet cards), each with a label that should convey which one is the appropriate one hooked up to your network; generally speaking, the first option in the list, often with a device name such as fxp0, is correct. To set up the networking options for the selected Ethernet card, skip ahead to "Configuring the Network" later in this chapter; return here when you're done entering your TCP/IP information.

Assuming that you are installing from a CD or DVD, make sure the CD/DVD option is highlighted and press Enter.

The system will then print the following warning message:

                        User Confirmation Requested    Last Chance! Are you SURE you want to continue the installation?    If you're running this on a disk with data you wish to save then WE    STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAKE PROPER BACKUPS before proceeding! We can take no responsibility for lost disk contents!

Caution

Up to this point, no changes have actually been made to your hard disk. This is your last chance to back out of the installation. After you select Yes, the partitions you created will be formatted, and the installation will begin. Any existing data on the partitions you selected to use will be lost!

Assuming you are happy with the installation choices you made, select Yes. The system then prints a message telling you it is starting an emergency holographic shell on vty4, meaning that you can press Alt+F4 to switch to a command prompt to correct errors that might crop up. (Alt+F2 lets you watch the files being listed as they're installed. Press Alt+F1 to return to the Sysinstall screen.) It then proceeds to format the partitions. After partition formatting is done, Sysinstall will begin copying files to your hard disk(s).

The installation process can take as little as fifteen minutes or as much as several hours, depending on your installation medium. A fast optical drive will make short work of the installation, whereas if you're installing from floppies, your computer must download the entire operating system from the FreeBSD FTP serverseveral hundred megabytes. A floppy/network installation's length depends heavily on the speed of your Internet connection, and the slower your link, the longer it will take. If you need to leave the installation process going overnight, go aheadnothing requiring your immediate attention occurs after the installation is over.