FreeBSD 5.4 + VMware

[Aaron Peterson]

I've had problems loading/booting FreeBSD 5.4 in a virtual machine. 
If I start in the default mode, it crashes VMware.  If I start with
ACPI disabled it crashes VMware.  If I start in "Safe Mode" it works
great.  So...  I want to learn about what is different about booting
in "Safe Mode" from the default boot options.  That way I can further
troubleshoot and find the culpret hopefully.  Thanks for any
information regarding this issue.

Aaron