F1: Lets you access the context-sensitive help for the currently active screen element of the boot screen.

F2: Lets you select different graphical display modes for the installation. Also included is an entry to select the text mode. This helps you if there are issues with installation in the graphical mode.

F3: Lets you choose the installation media if you want to use a different source, for example, FTP or NFS, instead of the installation disk. The SLP (Service Location Protocol) entry allows you to access an SLP server on the network, which in turn gives access to a selection of installation media provided by that server.

F4: Lets you select the display language for the installation.

F5: Lets you access the diagnostic messages. By default, these messages from the Linux kernel are not displayed during system startup; only a progress bar is displayed. To display the messages, select Native. For information in verbose mode, select Verbose.

F6: Lets you communicate to your system that you have an optional disk with a driver update. At the prompt, insert the update disk. A few seconds after starting the installation, a minimal Linux system is loaded to run the installation procedure.