March 1998 - OpenBIOS - mail.coreboot.org

Re: [OpenBIOS] OpenBIOS: reality check
by Benjamin Scott Feb. 28, 1998

Feb. 28, 1998

DK = David Kennedy <dkennedy(a)engsoc.carleton.ca> DK> I was told (recently) that there is a Linux network boot ROM code DK> on the Web somewhere. It might be worthwhile to check it out be- DK> cause it might be a good start to this project. I don't know the DK> reference unfortunately. I was sent this URL, maybe it is what you're thinking of? http://www.slug.org.au/etherboot/ DK> I just think back to the days when I had some wierd piece of DK> hardware that nobody wanted to support, and I had to money to buy DK> a replacement. Especially when the hardware was free. Well, don't forget, if that happens, nothing is going to stop you from using the old-fashioned method of netcard boot ROMs. I think we should try and design this project such that, if native support for X isn't available in our code, we can fall back on whatever X used before our new BIOS came along. :-) DK> I don't think that offers enough support. Being able to boot off DK> of either SCSI or EIDE is fine, but _WHICH_ SCSI, and _WHICH_ EI- DK> DE? Which partition, which controller, which HD... I do agree. As far as picking which device controller, I think you might be able to determine controllers from BIOS extensions installed in upper memory, and pick the one you want. Any such controller which supports INT13 would then let you pick the drive to boot from. Partitions are entirely logical level anyway and thus are no problem. DK> To me, a BIOS password is useless. Actually, it's more than use- DK> less, it's damn annoying. But, hey, that's me. Oh, yeah, the usefulness is limited. But for some things -- say, for example, an office PC where you don't want people rebooting the machine to obtain unrestricted access -- they can be useful. It's a lot easier to hit RESET then it is to rip open the case and move a jumper. :-) > I have yet to see a machine that will boot without a graphics > card installed. But it's the BIOS that's preventing it, not the > MB. I have seen it done. I believe the machine had an Award BIOS, but it's been awhile and I'm not sure anymore. Granted, the OS might object, or some of your hardware might object, but there was nothing in the BIOS forcing you to have video. DK> People are always complaining about code bloat in the Linux kernel, DK> this is another idea to resolve that issue. Wow. I usually consider the Linux kernel small. I mean, compare Linux to NT. No Thanks. :-) > Do Suns, Apollos, HPs, IBMs, NeXTs, etc. have rudamentary > filesystem code in their BIOS? I know for an absolute fact that is has been done on the Alpha. Anything more I can't be sure of. :) -- Ben <hawk(a)ttlc.net> --- OpenBIOS -- http://www.linkscape.net/openbios/ openbios-request(a)linkscape.net Body: un/subscribe Problems? dcinege(a)psychosis.com

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BIOS UI
by nuke＠bayside.net Feb. 28, 1998

Feb. 28, 1998

i, for one, would like to state my opinion on the UI of OpenBIOS. i *DO NOT* want a command-line driven one. if i have to RTFM just to do what Award does with three keystrokes (autoconfigure a hard drive), i'll just give it up. something nice could be done with say, arrow keys and highlight bars maybe? i remember the old BBS days at 2400, with everyone trying to draw huge artistic works out of the regular ASCII characters.. maybe the BIOS shouldn't resemble some big elite ANSI, but that sort of interface is nice. and since this is going to specifically *for* the x86 PC, why not let it get interesting? we can use direct video memory access, no problem. earlier today, i saw an Award system doing its POST, but it started as a blank.. *during* the memory test, the whole thing quickly skidded onto the screen. that was pretty cool. i suppose my point is that we shouldn't try and make this thing so scary and esoteric.. true, many of us are unix people, but not everything has to be so dull and cryptic. i think a command-line BIOS is a bad idea, unless it's made *very* simple. _ _ __ __ _ _ _ | / |/ /_ __/ /_____ | Nuke Skyjumper | | / / // / '_/ -_) | "Master of the Farce" | |_ /_/|_/\_,_/_/\_\\__/ _|_ nuke(a)bayside.net _| --- OpenBIOS -- http://www.linkscape.net/openbios/ openbios-request(a)linkscape.net Body: un/subscribe Problems? dcinege(a)psychosis.com

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Re: [OpenBIOS] BIOS UI
by Stephen Williams Feb. 28, 1998

Feb. 28, 1998

nuke(a)bayside.net said: > i could code that in asm using about 10k. C? who knows.. note that i'm > still for writing the entire thing in assembly. this is an issue we > should address now, before we go and bloat things with gcc. I use gcc (C++ in particular) in embedded applications, and I find that the word "bloat" is not appropriate. Hell, the compiler writes better assembly then I can. It is true that certain C and C++ libraries are not only overkill, but obese. That is not the fault of the compiler, and if you stick with the freestanding standard very compact programs can be produced. Doing without a compiler only makes sense for writing a few tricky functions or impressing women. -- Steve Williams "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. steve(a)icarus.com But I have promises to keep, steve(a)picturel.com and lines to code before I sleep, http://www.picturel.com And lines to code before I sleep." --- OpenBIOS -- http://www.linkscape.net/openbios/ openbios-request(a)linkscape.net Body: un/subscribe Problems? dcinege(a)psychosis.com

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