If your CDROM is of an unsupported type, such as an IDE CDROM, then please skip to MS-DOS Preparation .
There is not a lot of preparatory work that needs to be done to successfully install from one of Walnut Creek's FreeBSD CDROMs (other CDROM distributions may work as well, we simply cannot say as we have no hand or say in their creation). You can either boot into the CD installation directly from DOS using Walnut Creek's supplied ``install.bat'' batch file or you can make a boot floppy with the ``makeflp.bat'' command.
For the easiest interface of all (from DOS), type ``view''. This will bring up a DOS menu utility that leads you through all the available options.
If you are creating the boot floppy from a UNIX machine, see the beginning of this guide for examples. of how to create the boot floppy.
Once you have booted from DOS or floppy, you should then be able to select CDROM as the media type in the Media menu and load the entire distribution from CDROM. No other types of installation media should be required.
After your system is fully installed and you have rebooted from the hard disk, you should find the CD mounted on the directory /cdrom. A utility called `lndir' comes with the XFree86 distribution which you may also find useful: It allows you to create "link tree" directories to things on Read-Only media like CDROM. One example might be something like this:
mkdir /usr/ports
lndir /cdrom/ports /usr/ports
Which would allow you to then ``cd /usr/ports; make'' and get all the sources from the CD, but yet create all the intermediate files in /usr/ports, which is presumably on a more writable media.
This is, in fact, what the Ports entry in the Configuration menu does at installation time if you select it.
Special note: Before invoking the installation, be sure that the CDROM is in the drive so that the install probe can find it. This is also true if you wish the CDROM to be added to the default system configuration automatically during the install (whether or not you actually use it as the installation media).
Finally, if you would like people to be able to FTP install FreeBSD directly from the CDROM in your machine, you will find it quite easy. After the machine is fully installed, you simply need to add the following line to the password file (using the vipw command):
ftp:*:99:99::0:0:FTP:/cdrom:/nonexistent
No further work is necessary. The other installers
will now be able to chose a Media type of FTP and type
in: ftp://your machine after picking ``Other''
in the ftp sites menu.