Hi folks out there
I subscribed like the one a couple of days ago. And would like to join the discussion by this eMail:
On Fri, 27 Feb 1998 9732520@lewis.sms.ed.ac.uk wrote:
- I assume 32-bit code is used as much as possible, ie. start up in real mode and
switch to protected mode asap. and then deal with all the rest. It doesn't make much difference for boot really, but functions used by OS's should really be 32-bit now (name one *decent* real mode 16-bit OS).
If you speak about real mode booting -- it seems to me that you think only about booting a i386-compatible. Further it depends on wether you think to support the PC-standard (16b RM-BIOS support code) or imlement a complete new BIOS where no compatibilities to existing software can be guaranteed, ie. no existing OS would run on such an incomaptible PC-BIOS reinvention.
Every now existing OS Kernel would run on that BIOS! Normal 32-bit OSs don't use the 16-bit BIOSs now available. If openBIOS loads the kernel correctly, there are no problems with kernels like Mach, wich allready assume they are loaded by the bootloader in pmode etc... if openBIOs supports the multiboot standard, there will be no problem.
Its only the boot loader that wouldn't run with the openBIOS, but if openBIOs includes the bootloader itself, so no bootloader will have to be included on disk...