Questions on first-time installation

[Bob Schwartz]

First, to all who answered...many thanks! I can see I found the right
place<s>.

>>You're on the right list, but it helps to use a subject line.<<

Noted and done. 

>>You should not install on that machine, then.  Its not uncommon for first
time users to hose other installations.  Based on your "under no
circumstances" statement, you need to ask yourself two questions:
1) Do I have a complete and reliable backup of my Windows stuff?<<

Yes.

>>2) Can I afford the time to restore from backup if I do something wrong?<<

No<s>.

>>1) Recruit a trusted friend who has done this before to help.<<
Don't have one where I am...indeed, don't have one who knows what I need to
learn on this topic.

>>2) Don't use that machine for your first install.<<

Other than my laptop it is the only one I have...and I have spent so much
downtime on problems with large and complex windows installs that I have
decided it is "cheaper" to get started on getting away from it than to do
something else.

That said, I do sufficient volunteer work myself combined with my normal
"activity nightmarish" life<g>, that I also don't have months to get this
together..

But, at risk of appearing arrogant, I'll offer that I am a fast learner.

If I can find someone who might, at my expense if necessary, spend a little
time with me either on-line or on the phone, so I can get past the install
process of properly IDing what bsd reports about my drives..so I know I am
on the right drive and not destroying something, that would be wonderful.

>>The BSD boot manager _will_ displace any other boot manager, although it
works just as well in every instance I've done it.<<

That was my guess....and I don't care if it replaces it as long as I still
have the functionality

>>There's a lot of detail missing here.  Have you gone through the handbook
section on installation?<<

Sorry and "yes".

>>If that doesn't help with your questions, you're going to have to provide
more information.  You say you have 3 - 73G drives and a 146G drive, but you
don't describe how they are laid out. <<

Indeed, your're right....two of the three 73 gigs are on a new SAS raid 1
array and the third is by itself, non-raid.

The scsi drive is on a separate scsi card by itself and I have been using it
for backups of backups.

>>What do you think you should see, and what do you actually see?<<

Because this new SAS raid (new to me; I'm an old hand at conventional SCSI)
involves some kind of virtual disk, at least as it is desribed in the DELL
docs and bios...and I have just gotten this 690 workstation and don't know
the ins and outs of SAS vs. conventional SCSI...I am not sure that what I
see in the screen print when I attempt to install is even giving me an
option to install on the scsi drive only.

Finally, I will go thru the install again today or tonight and write down
what I see...as I could not print it from the screen itself...but in no way
did it give me the listing of drives that even the install process did
earlier in the process itself..where it showed me four drives.

If I can just figure out what drive I am supposedly seeing, that would get
me to the next steps.

Also, your (or someone else's) suggestion that I disconnect the others for
the moment is a good one...and I guess that that would do, except that I
would not end up with a boot manager when I hook the others back up
afterwards?

Also, what, if anything, would that do to any of the data on the other
drives after the fact?

Whatever the result of this thread, I appreciate everyone's time...thank
you.

bob