Interrupts needed by LILO

[Matthias Wächter]

On Fri, 27 Nov 1998, Stefan Reinauer wrote:

> Philipp Rumpf <prumpf at jcsbs.lanobis.de> has looked at the linux kernel startup
> and the lilo code and determined which software interrupts are needed to boot
> up a system at the moment....
> 
> It's the following
> 
> 1000    o       SET VIDEO MODE
> 100E    o       TELETYPE OUTPUT
> 100F    o       GET CURRENT VIDEO MODE
> 1014    o       LOAD FONT
> 11      ?       GET EQUIPMENT LIST
> 12      ?       GET MEMORY SIZE
> 13??    !       DISK ACCESS
> 140000  !       INITIALIZE SERIAL PORT
> 1587            COPY EXTENDED MEMORY
> 1588            GET EXTENDED MEMORY SIZE
> 15C0            GET CONFIGURATION
> 15E801          GET MEMORY SIZE > 64M
> 1600    !       GET KEYSTROKE
> 1601    !       CHECK FOR KEYSTROKE
> 1602    !       GET SHIFT FLAGS
> 
> 
> with the following meaning
> o       obsolete (not really needed)
> ?       don't know
>         don't know, too.
> !       IMPORTANT.

Well - nice work, but I don't think that's the right way. Since LILO is a
tool to load the kernel when BIOS16 (well, I will call it that way) is
running, we will need (or be proud of programming) a new tool using BIOS32
(aka OpenBIOS). If the only work we want to have done is booting Linux
with LILO a few seconds faster than with BIOS16 - then I stay with BIOS16.
But if we start a new BIOS, 32 bit aware and with a lot of new features
(which of course will/should not be compatible with BIOS16), we will need
a new Linux loader.

I thought, a main topic for OpenBIOS development is full access to the
hard drives so there is no trouble with large disks, large partitions and
kernels laying somewhere on them.

Please, correct me if I forgot to think of some relevant point.

Winscheichwos,
- Matthias

-- 
Der Wein mit der Pille ist in dem Becher mit dem Fächer.
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