Hi,
I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a general book which covers x86 assembly, with a decent overview of x86 system architecture. I've previously only used 680x0 assembly. So far, I've found this book in my local book shop:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0387985301/
Which looks quite good, but isn't exactly cheap! I downloaded the PPro reference manuals as PDFs from Intel, and although they seem pretty well written, they're only really useful as a technical reference.
Kevin P Lawton wrote:
this BIOS, but I still think it is the way it should be done, since if=20 you want a 16-bit (old and crappy) IBM-PC compatible BIOS, you just keep the one that is in your computer right now.
So because of this I believe that your project won't benefit from my work since you will need an IBM-PC compatible BIOS, right?
Well, not necessarilly. As I've said - I don't know very much about the i386 architecture, but this is what I was thinking:
. Do minimum required in 16bit mode . Switch to 32bit mode . Machine setup . Options/setup menu option . Insert your must-have feature here ;-) . Boot strap operating system
Wouldn't it be possible to add 16 bit support as a module which gets loaded at bootstrap stage? Either as a replacement 16 bit BIOS which is loaded by the 32bit one, how about trying to provide a 16bit interface with the 32bit BIOS (although I'm not sure this is possible (32 bit disk drivers for DOS?), I don't really know a lot about the x86, outside of 32 bit userland!).
Actually, for booting a 32-bit OS, your BIOS may work. I have no problem having an optional 32bit only BIOS.
We definitely a 16-bit one though for MS stuff though.
Yes, I agree - I seem to hit an average of about 2 irritating problems a week caused by old and buggy PC BIOSs, and this is the only way I'll be able to flash the lot into oblivion! ;-)
Actually, please join the developers list for freemware, and post something there about it. 16-bit stuff complicates
Hmm, development tools. Can anyone see any obvious pitfalls in using software like Bochs, and vmware for development and debugging?
Tim.
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