diff --git a/release/README.TXT b/release/README.TXT
index 53fd6c839da5..2d3e9a48d5b6 100644
--- a/release/README.TXT
+++ b/release/README.TXT
@@ -1,9 +1,33 @@
 For a normal CDROM or network installation, all you need to copy onto an
 actual floppy from this directory is the boot.flp image (for 1.44MB floppies).
 
-NOTE: These images are NOT DOS files!  You cannot simply copy them to
-a DOS floppy as regular files, you need to *image* copy them to the
-floppy with fdimage.exe under DOS or `dd' under UNIX.
+If you're on the ALPHA then the boot.flp image is probably larger
+than any kind of floppy you have available and you will need to
+either netboot it, load it from some other type of media (such
+as a jaz drive) or use the kern.flp image described below.
+
+This release still uses only one installation floppy, the boot.flp
+image. For convenience (and for the DEC ALPHA architecture, on which
+binaries are quite a bit larger), however, we also provide the
+functionality of boot.flp now "decoupled" into a kern.flp image,
+which contains just the boot kernel, and mfsroot.gz, which contains
+the compressed MFS root image that is normally stored as part of
+the kernel itself on the boot.flp image.  This allows you to boot
+from kern.flp, which will fit on a 1.44MB floppy even on the alpha,
+and then load mfsroot.gz from a 2nd floppy.  This also allows you
+to easily make your own boot or MFS floppies should you need to customize
+some aspect of the installation process.  As long as the kernel is compiled
+with ``options MFS'' and ``options MFS_ROOT'', it will properly
+boot an mfsroot.gz image when run.  The mfsroot.gz image is simply
+a gzip'd filesystem image, something which can be made rather
+easily using vnconfig(8).  If none of this makes any sense to you,
+don't worry about it - just use the boot.flp image as always; nothing
+has changed there.
+
+
+NOTE: The *.flp images are NOT DOS files!  You cannot simply copy them
+to a DOS or UFS floppy as regular files, you need to *image* copy them
+to the floppy with fdimage.exe under DOS or `dd' under UNIX.
 
 For example:
 
@@ -31,3 +55,6 @@ or
 work well, depending on your hardware and operating system environment
 (different versions of UNIX have totally different names for the
 floppy drive - neat, huh? :-).
+
+The only image which is copied onto a floppy as an ordinary file is
+mfsroot.gz, should you actually be using that image for something.