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boot .. what is it ?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:44 pm
by SmartBoy
Hello ..

i have some qustions about boot .

1- What is boot ?
2- how boot work ?
3- if i have boot code and i wan't test it , how i can test it ?
4- what is boot sector ?
5- how i can write in boot sector ?

Finally how i can learn asm programming language ?


thkanks and i am sorry 8)

Re:boot .. what is it ?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 6:30 pm
by iamxiaohan
1. boot is a program which can boot your computer. it means this program can load your real os code to run it.
2. if the computer finished the self-test,the cpu well jmp to the bios code to run it in order to initial your computer.it will find you want to boot your computer from which disk. then the cpu will jmp to the first sector to run. the code in the first sector of this disk whose size is 512B is the boot program.
3.if you want to test your boot code, you should copy it to the first sector of the disk which you want to use it to boot your computer.And then you can test it.you'd better do it on bochs or vmware or virtual pc or in a real computer of course.
4.the first sector of the disk which you want to use it boot your computer is the boot sector.
5.you can use winhex or write a program to put your boot code in a boot sector.suggest you use winhex,that's very easy.

finally, you can learn asm by practising more and more. the more the better, i think :)

Re:boot .. what is it ?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 7:43 pm
by SmartBoy
iamxiaohan wrote: 1. boot is a program which can boot your computer. it means this program can load your real os code to run it.
2. if the computer finished the self-test,the cpu well jmp to the bios code to run it in order to initial your computer.it will find you want to boot your computer from which disk. then the cpu will jmp to the first sector to run. the code in the first sector of this disk whose size is 512B is the boot program.
3.if you want to test your boot code, you should copy it to the first sector of the disk which you want to use it to boot your computer.And then you can test it.you'd better do it on bochs or vmware or virtual pc or in a real computer of course.
4.the first sector of the disk which you want to use it boot your computer is the boot sector.
5.you can use winhex or write a program to put your boot code in a boot sector.suggest you use winhex,that's very easy.

finally, you can learn asm by practising more and more. the more the better, i think :)
oh , thank you very much :) .

about bochs i have this programme in my computer , but i don't have any idea how i can use it ? you have any information about this programme ?

and about asm :( it's very very very hard , i think i can't lean it and i can't build my own os .

it's my dream :-X

Re:boot .. what is it ?

Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:54 am
by Schol-R-LEA
If you look in the Book Recommendations thread , you'll find some introductory books on x86 assembly language listed (including on in the very first post). The two seem to be most popular are Assembly Language Step by Step and The Art of Assembly Language. The latter is also available in it's original online format at the same site.

The two books take very different approaches, and you'll have to decide which you prefer; trying to mix them is probably only to be confusing. I lean towards ALSbS, as it uses NASM and is closer to actual assembly language practice; I also like the author's writing style, though I know some people find it irritating. AoAL has a special High Level Assembler which is meant to be easier for beginning students by providing some common control constructs (if-then, for, while) on top of ordinary assembly; I personally feel that this misrepresents the nature of assembly, and that it attacks the wrong problem (conditionals in assembly, while unstructured, are not hard to understand, while several other parts which HLA does not simplify are genuinely difficult), but there are quite a few who disagree. AoAL also has the advantage of having separate editions written for DOS, Windows, and Linux; one of the common problems people have with ALSbS is that it starts with 16-bit DOS assembly programming, then about halfway through switches to Linux, intentionally avoiding both Windows and DPMI.

The book thread also lists Assembly Language Programming and Organization of the IBM PC (an older book, but still quite applicable for a novice), Assembler GE-PACKT (German language only), This tutorial (scroll down for the document links, available in both PostScript and PDF formats). PC PhD. has a good introductory section on assembly programming, though it is not the main focus of the book, it, along with The Indispensable PC Hardware Book, are valuable references to the PC's internals.