Can't Find Kernel

[Andy Street]

Hi guys,

I had installed FreeBSD in my schools computer systems lab, so I decided to
install it at home as a dual boot with Solaris 10, already installed on half
the HD.  I downloaded the images off FreeBSD.org, burned them to CD's, and
then did a post burn md5sum on them to make sure they burned properly.  The
install seemed to go well, other than not being able to read fvwm off the
disc.  When I boot, the error I'm getting after I select FreeBSD in the boot
loader is that it "cant find the 'kernel'".  Just before I get the error, it
says "Loading /boot/defaults/loader.conf", so naturally that's the first
place I looked after booting into single user mode with the live CD.
Strangely, I found that not only was there no /boot/defaults/loader.conf,
the /boot/defaults folder didn't even exist.  There is, however, a
/dist/boot/defaults/loader.conf.  Normally, I'd just edit the boot loader
but 1) I want to make sure something didn't go horribly wrong with the
install (I also noticed that bin and sbin in the / directory had @ signs
after them, i.e. bin@, and I wasn't sure this was normal, though I haven't
dealt with UNIX much), and 2) according to google and the online
documentation, the only way to "edit" the boot loader is to install a new
one.

So, what should I do?  Copy the /dist/boot/defaults/loader.conf to
/boot/defaults/loader.conf?  Reinstall using the CD's I burned at school
that I know work?  Install a new boot loader and point it at
/dist/boot/defaults/loader.conf?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Andy Street