OSDev.org

hi im new here, im very glad i found this site!
I'm not ready for OS Dev yet, I'm still on C++, but i have questions on certain things:

I have a Windows 7, and whenever i try to run NASM it opens briefly (less than 1 sec) and closes itself. And i have no idea why.
also, I'm looking at the recommended parts (like GRUB, GCC, etc) and whenever i go to the GNU page I see a whole bunch of downloads. which one do i want?!

thanks!

http://wiki.osdev.org/Introduction
http://wiki.osdev.org/Getting_Started

kevinftw wrote:hi im new here, im very glad i found this site!
I'm not ready for OS Dev yet, I'm still on C++, but i have questions on certain things:

I have a Windows 7, and whenever i try to run NASM it opens briefly (less than 1 sec) and closes itself. And i have no idea why.
also, I'm looking at the recommended parts (like GRUB, GCC, etc) and whenever i go to the GNU page I see a whole bunch of downloads. which one do i want?!

thanks!

Bad thread title, I must say. Something like 'Need help in getting started' would have been fine.

Chandra wrote:Bad thread title, I must say. Something like 'Need help in getting started' would have been fine.

was waiting on someone to say "too bad deal with it."

kevinftw wrote:whenever i try to run NASM it opens briefly (less than 1 sec) and closes itself. And i have no idea why.

Run NASM from the command prompt, don't double click the executable.

kevinftw wrote: also, I'm looking at the recommended parts (like GRUB, GCC, etc) and whenever i go to the GNU page I see a whole bunch of downloads. which one do i want?!

I would highly recommend you to switch to Linux. However, if you are zealous about Windows, take a look at cygwin.

As mentioned, the benefits of using an UNIX system when osdeving are great. Btw, consider changing the topic title...

NASM works fine as a beginner tool on Windows. Don't worry about linux, cygwin, or any of that kernel programming stuff yet. You really do need to start by learning to poke around in assembly, before you will get much of anywhere.

As said too briefly above: nasm is a DOS program. It executes in a DOS window. Windows will create a DOS window for nasm to execute in, temporarily. Point #1: if you are not running from a command prompt, Windows will close a DOS window as soon as the program has completed. So that is the first reason you need to run from a command prompt. Also, you need to tell nasm which ASM input file to use, and you type that at the command prompt, too. Point #2: on Windows, you need to be running "nasmw" and not "nasm".

So, use "Start/Run" and type "command" to get a command prompt. Type "nasmw -f bin yourfilename" to compile your sourcecode. I don't use GRUB (I use another bootloader called MAGGOT), so I can't advise you on GRUB. You will need to create a disk image. This can be done many ways, including writing code yourself to create the file. It would be wisest for you to not use these disk images to boot real computers -- it is far smarter to start by using an emulator such as Bochs or ReBochs (I'd suggest ReBochs). An emulator will give you additional ASM experience, more ability to find bugs, and more control over how things work.

Linux problem (wow)
so i got the Windows Ubuntu one, and it did its thing. And then I rebooted, I chose to boot Ubuntu, and it just gave me a black screen with a flashing cursor.
im trying again but omfg

You probably didn't install it correctly.
If you're new I wouldn't recommend linux, just use ports of linux tools like Cygwin and if you want to do native Windows development mingw. You can compile nasm with mingw and it will work fine.

if i cant build a car, does it mean i cant drive one?

berkus wrote:

GhostXoPCorp wrote:if i cant build a car, does it mean i cant drive one?

Your logic is inverted.

lol

ok.

yea i just tried gNewSense, didn't like it. can u recommend a version of Linux (with the GNU stuff) that i can have like Dual Boot Mode with?

tyvm ill try cygwin, im just gonna download all packages.

I can dual-boot Windows Vista and Gentoo Linux fine. In fact, the only installation issues I had were network related and due to my own stupidity. What seems to be the problem? If you are finding installing and using Linux to be difficult, you probably haven't been programming very long. And if you are new to programming, OS development is definitely where I would start. Did you read the Wiki articles on getting started and Beginner's Mistakes? If you think you don't need to, then that means you need to.

Why are you trying to dual boot another OS when the topic of this thread refers to obtaining software tools? There are a lot of tools available for both Windows and Linux that can be used.

berkus wrote:

GhostXoPCorp wrote:if i cant build a car, does it mean i cant drive one?

Your logic is inverted.

It was all i could come up with at the moment. use - build build - use

This thread title really annoys me. There really is no particular discussions going on here and I am getting the feeling that it is no way related to OS Development. Most of the questions asked shows complete lack of experience with the native OS. I can understand how it is like when we all look for starting point but I am afraid the case is different here. Without enough experience of running an existing OS, I'd definately not recommend OS development. On the other hand, please use proper thread title to help us identify the content at one glance otherwise your thread may get locked.