I should amend my earlier post with a little additional information. > On Nov 22, 2025, at 2:32 PM, Jerome Shidel via Freedos-devel > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> On Nov 22, 2025, at 9:25 AM, Ralf Quint via Freedos-devel >> <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> On 11/21/2025 2:54 PM, Jerome Shidel via Freedos-devel wrote: >>> >>> >>> First, the default option on this page be changed to “return to DOS.” This >>> is a simple change and would be consistent with other pages that provide >>> the option to abort. I plan on finding a few minutes to adjust this before >>> the next interim test build. >>> >> This was what I suggested during the meeting. As stated it would make it >> consistent and it would prevent a possible disaster for those people that >> don't read and just continue (those have become more numerous in the last >> couple decades). >> >> > > While I am not opposed to this change and intend to implement this for the > December interim build, let’s not forget a very import fact about the > installers current behavior. > > Even without this change, there is no screen in the installer that will > result in intentional modifications to the users system which do not default > to “exit to DOS”
The exception to this is regarding temporary storage. At boot, the installer will attempt to create a RAM DISK for temporary storage and I/O redirection. It will use multiple drivers and various size disks. Even a very tiny RAM disk is sufficient. The creation of this RAM DISK is successful on all virtual machines and hardware that I have tested which can boot the CD and USB install media. However, it is possible that it can fail to create a RAM DISK on some hardware or Virtual machines. This was originally the case for QEMU until later improvements to the RAM DISK creation process were implemented. But during those early days, the installer was designed to coop with the lack of a RAM DISK support. It will get by without it on the early portions of the install process. That is just after the point the user may be prompted to Format the Drive. Beyond that, I/O redirection and temporary storage is absolutely required by the installer. If there is no RAM DRIVE available, it will create and use a temporary directory on the Hard Drive for the mandatory temporary storage. While as long as the FreeDOS kernel is functioning correctly, no dangerous writes or changes are performed on the hard drive in the exceedingly rare chance the installer could not create a RAM DISK. It is not impossible for an unknown bug in the Kernel, installer or one of utilities it needs to cause some mayhem. For example, a bug could exist in FDISK which triggers rewriting the partition table when simply querying it about existing partitions. Again, I know of know systems which can boot and run the current installer CD or USB Media which cannot create even a minuscule RAM DRIVE. But, that does not mean they do not exists. They are probably out there somewhere. > > When asked to Partition the Disk, default is to exit. > When asked to Format the Drive, default is to exit. > > No other changes are performed to the hard disk until the user selects the > type of install. BASE, BASE+SRC, FULL, FULL+SOURCE and Exit to DOS. Default > is to Exit. > > Once the installation type is selected, there is no further interaction with > the user until the installation is complete or an error occurs. > > All the things the installer decides in normal mode, or are selected by the > user in advanced mode are not acted upon until after the user selects the > type of installation. Such questions that come prior to that screen are > simple gathering data for the installation. This includes advanced mode > questions like “Overwrite MBR”, “Setting an Active Partition” and others. > > Since every screen which can result in changes to the system default to “Exit > to DOS”, changing the default option on the Welcome + Warning screen is > redundant. > > Although changing the default on this screen will not actually change the > possibility of “just pressing enter” resulting hard disk changes, it will not > hurt and the behavior will be more consistent with other screens that provide > the “exit to DOS” option. > > > _______________________________________________ > Freedos-devel mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
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