1This is the Main Slice (``FDISK'' or PC-style Partition) Editor.
2
3Possible commands are printed at the bottom and the Master Boot Record
4contents are shown at the top.  You can move up and down with the
5arrow keys and (C)reate a new slice whenever the highlighted
6selection bar is over a slice whose type is marked as "unused."
7
8You are expected to leave this screen with at least one slice
9marked "FreeBSD."  Note that unlike Linux, you don't need to create
10multiple FreeBSD FDISK partition entries for different things like
11swap, file systems, etc.  The usual convention is to create ONE
12FreeBSD slice (FDISK partition) per drive and then subsection this slice
13into swap and file systems with the Label editor.
14
15No actual changes will be made to the disk until you (C)ommit from the
16Install menu or use the (W)rite option here!  You're working with what
17is essentially a copy of the disk label(s), both here and in the Label
18Editor.
19
20If you want to use the entire disk for FreeBSD, type `A'.  Slices will
21be aligned to fictitious cylinder boundaries and space will be reserved
22in front of the FreeBSD slice for a [future] possible boot manager.
23
24For the truly dedicated disk case, type `F'.  You'll be asked whether or
25not you wish to keep the disk (potentially) compatible with other
26operating systems, i.e. the information in the FDISK table should be
27kept valid.  A truly dedicated disk can be achieved by selecting `No'.
28In that case, all BIOS geometry considerations will no longer be in
29effect and you can safely ignore any ``The detected geometry is
30invalid'' warning messages you may later see.  It is also not necessary
31in this case to set a slice bootable or install an MBR boot manager as
32both things are then irrelevant.  The FreeBSD slice will start at
33absolute sector 0 of the disk (so that FreeBSD's disk label is identical
34to the Master Boot Record) and extend to the very last sector of the
35disk medium.  Needless to say, such a disk cannot have any sort of a
36boot manager, `disk manager', or anything else that has to interact with
37the BIOS.  This option is therefore only considered safe for SCSI disks
38and most IDE disks and is primarily intended for people who are going to
39set up a dedicated FreeBSD server or workstation, not a typical `home PC'.
40
41If you select the default of `Yes' at the compatibility, slices will be
42aligned to fictitious cylinder boundaries and space will be reserved
43in front of the FreeBSD slice for a [future] possible boot manager.
44This is pretty much equivalent to having chosen `A' originally.
45
46The flags field has the following legend:
47
48        '='  -- This slice is properly aligned.
49        'A'  -- This slice is marked active.
50        'R'  -- This slice contains the root (/) filesystem
51
52If no slice is marked Active, you will need to either install
53a Boot Manager (the option for which will be presented later in the
54installation) or set one Active before leaving this screen.
55
56To leave the slice editor, type `Q'.
57
58