bin/161931: bsdinstall(8): (add sysinstall partition config as option)

[Nathan Whitehorn]

On 10/23/11 20:30, joeb1 wrote:
> The following reply was made to PR bin/161931; it has been noted by GNATS.
>
> From: "joeb1"<joeb1 at a1poweruser.com>
> To:<bug-followup at FreeBSD.org>,
> 	<fbsd8 at a1poweruser.com>
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: bin/161931: bsdinstall(8): (add sysinstall partition config as option)
> Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:28:42 +0800
>
>   Yes I mean the mbr+bsdlabel  method as there is no other method available in
>   sysinstall. And along with this, help info needs to be added explaining
>   under what conditions one method or the other is used. Help saying something
>   along the lines of older PC bios./hard drives use the mbr+bsdlabel
>   sysinstall method and newer PC bios./hard drives (manufactured 2010+) need
>   to use the bsdinstall method because pc manufactures and Microsoft have
>   changed the boot process. Or what ever is the true reason for this
>   difference. Installers need to have the correct info so they can make the
>   correct decision about what method to select.

That's fully supported, if you want to do it, and is even the default if 
the drive is already MBR partitioned. The difference between the two is 
that GPT is a lot more flexible than MBR (no 4-partition limit, for 
instance), and allows nice things like labels. There's no old/new 
machine difference -- 386s can boot GPT just as well as Core i7s. But 
it's really a matter of personal preference. The only real difference is 
that you can't dual-boot Windows with a GPT disk (this is why only the 
"Entire Disk for FreeBSD" option in the installer sets up GPT). We can 
extend the online help to this effect.
-Nathan