What is the boot menu before the main boot menu for?

decuser

decuser

I'm exploring what I can mess with prior to the system loading, including the various modes, loader prompt, etc. Even before the main menu appears with Multiuser/SingleUser/Loader Prompt, etc. There is a prompt:

BIOS drive C: is disk0

If I press space here, I get:
\
FreeBSD/x86 boot
Default: zfs:zroot/ROOT/default:/boot/zfsloader
boot:

If I press ?, it lists files from the zroot/ROOT/default dir, I think... If I press enter, it boots normally.

What's this thing called and is it documented somewhere? What's it for?
 
Wow. That's clear! Sheesh. I was reading in Absolute FreeBSD, 3rd ed., and following along with it... it starts with the third stage and the author calls it the loader. I wonder why he doesn't mention the three stages and why he conflates stage 3 with the loader "or boot blocks"? Great book so far, but this parts a little confusing. The handbook is clear and not hard to follow (should have looked their first).
 
Also (February 2022, undated):

klarasystems.com

The FreeBSD Boot Process

The FreeBSD boot process is very robust and complex. It differs if you boot from UEFI or legacy BIOS, or from GPT and MBR partitioning schemes. The filesystem used is also important. Learn everything you need to know in this article.
klarasystems.com klarasystems.com
 
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