Qemu and my OS crashing

[DwadRuller]

Here's my code:

Code: Select all

bits 16 ; 16-bit Real Mode
org 0x7c00 ; BIOS boot origin 

jmp main ;Jump to start main() entry-point 

Message db "Hello, world! Starting YetAnotherDecentBootloader", 0x0 
MessageB db "A bootloader written by Ari Eythorsson for his operations system, YADOS", 0x0
AnyKey db "Press any key to reboot...", 0x0 

;Print characters to the screen 
Println:
    lodsb ;Load string 
    or al, al
    jz complete
    mov ah, 0x0e 	
    int 0x10 ;BIOS Interrupt 0x10 - Used to print characters on the screen via Video Memory 
    jmp Println ;Loop   	
complete:
    call PrintNwL

;Prints empty new lines like '\n' in C/C++ 	
PrintNwL: 
    mov al, 0	; null terminator '\0'
    stosb       ; Store string 

    ;Adds a newline break '\n'
    mov ah, 0x0E
    mov al, 0x0D
    int 0x10
    mov al, 0x0A 
    int 0x10
	ret

;Reboot the Machine 
Reboot: 
    mov si, AnyKey
    call Println
    call GetPressedKey 

    ;Sends us to the end of the memory
    ;causing reboot 
    db 0x0ea 
    dw 0x0000 
    dw 0xffff 

;Gets the pressed key 
GetPressedKey:
    mov ah, 0
    int 0x16  ;BIOS Keyboard Service 
    ret 

;Bootloader entry-code 
main:
   cli ;Clear interrupts 
   ;Setup stack segments 
   mov ax,cs              
   mov ds,ax   
   mov es,ax               
   mov ss,ax                
   sti ;Enable interrupts 

   ;Print the first characters  
   mov si, Message 
   call Println 

   mov si, MessageB
   call Println 

   call PrintNwL
   call PrintNwL

   call Reboot 

   times 510 - ($-$$) db 0 ;Fill the rest of the bootloader with zeros 
   dw 0xAA55 ;Boot signature

And the error is Trying to execute code outside RAM or ROM at 0x00000000000a0000
I've tried a lot to fix this, thank you guys

[anatolik]

My guess it is related to segment memory addressing used in real mode.

I am looking at qemu multiboot trampoline code and I see they calculate segment offset and add to the symbol address. Something like this (did not test in QEMU):

# calculate offset from %cs segment register
mov %cs, %eax
shl $0x4, %eax

# add the offset to funcion
mov $myfunc, %ebx
add %eax, %ebx

# and then jump
jmp *%ebx

[iansjack]

Your code works just fine for me.

What assembler are you using and what is your command line? What is your qemu command line?

[BenLunt]

Hi,

You tell the assembler that all offsets will begin at 0x7C00, here:

Code: Select all

org 0x7c00 ; BIOS boot origin 

However, here, you place an unknown value into ds, es, and ss.

Code: Select all

main:
   cli ;Clear interrupts 
   ;Setup stack segments 
   mov ax,cs              
   mov ds,ax   
   mov es,ax               
   mov ss,ax                
   sti ;Enable interrupts 

   ;Print the first characters  
   mov si, Message 
   call Println 

At this point, cs can be anything. Since you told the assembler all offsets were at 0x7C00, you need the segment portion to be 0x0000.

For example, let's say that on entry to your code, the BIOS has placed the value of 0x07C0 in to CS -- A very common value for a BIOS. With this in mind, the processor actually takes:

Code: Select all

   mov si, DS:Message     ; DS: is implied (actually, implied later in the PrintLn routine)
   call Println 

and coverts the physical address to:

Code: Select all

   mov  [ds:si],(0x07C0 << 4) + (0x7C00 + offset of Message)

Hence, the physical address used is actually:

Code: Select all

0xF800 + offset of Message

Same thing happens on the call instruction. Even though the call is a relative call, the assembler thinks that the offset of "PrintLn" is somewhere past 0x7C00. If CS is 0x07C0, the physical call could easily be within the BIOS somewhere.

Even though many tutorials and other web sites say that you need to set CS and/or set DS (and ES) to CS, they are wrong. You have no idea what CS will be. It is completely up to the BIOS POST code to set CS as long as the CS:IP pair points to physical address 0x07C00.

The best thing to do is to set DS (and ES, SS, etc) to 0x07C0 and tell the assembler to use an offset of 0x0000.

Code: Select all

org 0x0000 ; BIOS boot origin 
   xor  ax,ax
   mov  ds,ax   
   mov  es,ax               
   mov  ss,ax                
   mov  sp,0x7C00

Don't even touch CS. Don't "extract" the value from it, and definitely don't set it to something. As long as you don't use a CS: override or use other instructions that use the CS segment register, you don't even care what CS:IP is. Besides, in a boot sector (the first stage code), you would never use any instructions like this anyway.

Ben
- http://www.fysnet.net/osdesign_book_series.htm

[Octocontrabass]

The best thing to do is to set DS (and ES, SS, etc) to 0x07C0 and tell the assembler to use an offset of 0x0000.

I disagree; setting segment registers to 0 and telling the assembler to use an offset of 0x7C00 is better since it makes linear addresses equivalent to physical addresses. Something like this:

Code: Select all

org 0x7C00
   xor  ax,ax
   mov  ds,ax   
   mov  es,ax               
   mov  ss,ax                
   mov  sp,0x7C00

No matter which option you choose, there are a handful of (typically uncommon) addressing modes for the CALL and JMP instructions that you can't use until after you do a far JMP to set CS.

[BenLunt]

The best thing to do is to set DS (and ES, SS, etc) to 0x07C0 and tell the assembler to use an offset of 0x0000.

I disagree; setting segment registers to 0 and telling the assembler to use an offset of 0x7C00 is better since it makes linear addresses equivalent to physical addresses. Something like this:

Which looking back, I didn't even write the code correctly. I put the org at 0x0000 *and* the segs at 0x0000. Man, it's been a long week...

Thanks,
Ben

[nullplan]

Funny, all this talk of segments and assembler directives, and no one ever told the OP that he was also trying to use "call" and "int" before setting up a stack... He set SS, but SP was untouched all the way to the first "call", and that subroutine would use interrupts. Neither of which is well-advised before you know SP to be out of the way of your code, your data, and the BIOS data areas.