12-r326622 install won't boot

[Chris H]

Hello all,
I just blew away a old RELENG_11, to start working with current. I
must admit I had several disappointments regarding the installer.
But that's for another topic, and another time.
To the point;
I completed the install. The only event(s) that might be notable
during the install. Was early on during (boot?) I saw a "dumped core"
race past on the screen. I also experienced at least 1 LOR. But the
install continued, seemingly un(interrupted|affected). That said, I
chose the reboot option after completion. Ejected the DVD during POST,
and I'm stuck at:

BTX loader 1.00 BTX version is 1.02
Consoles: internal video/keyboard

followed by 2 gibberish characters; 1 appears as a right pointing arrow,
the other, kind of like a battlestar galactca spaceship.
NOTE: those 2 characters did not show up on the initial reboot from
the install (just the 2 lines above). But after I attempted a hard
reset after the first fail.

Thank you for all your time, and consideration.

--Chris