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Groups > comp.os.msdos.programmer > #907 > unrolled thread

Use of BIOS calls by various OSes, bootloaders, etc., online references

Started by"Rod Pemberton" <do_not_have@notemailnotq.cpm>
First post2013-05-20 23:27 -0400
Last post2013-05-23 18:38 -0400
Articles 3 — 3 participants

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  Use of BIOS calls by various OSes, bootloaders, etc., online references "Rod Pemberton" <do_not_have@notemailnotq.cpm> - 2013-05-20 23:27 -0400
    Re: Use of BIOS calls by various OSes, bootloaders, etc., online references "wolfgang kern" <nowhere@never.at> - 2013-05-21 21:16 +0200
    Re: Use of BIOS calls by various OSes, bootloaders, etc., online references Ross Ridge <rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca> - 2013-05-23 18:38 -0400

#907 — Use of BIOS calls by various OSes, bootloaders, etc., online references

From"Rod Pemberton" <do_not_have@notemailnotq.cpm>
Date2013-05-20 23:27 -0400
SubjectUse of BIOS calls by various OSes, bootloaders, etc., online references
Message-ID<knepcr$bco$1@speranza.aioe.org>
The general issue of whether BIOS calls are important or not to
bootloaders and OS development came up recently on
alt.os.development.  Perhaps, it's best for each to make their own
conclusions.  But, you can't do that well without being fully
informed about what uses the BIOS.  So, I can help inform by
providing some references that I've collected over the years.  I'm
adding comp.os.msdos.programmer etc in case there is someone out
there that wants or needs this esoteric info.


"x86 BIOS calls used by grub and Linux" by Colin King, Feb 10 2010
http://smackerelofopinion.blogspot.com/2010/02/x86-bios-calls-used-by-grub-and-linux.html

"A Study of BIOS Interrupts as used by Microsoft Windows 2000" by
Adam Sulmicki
http://wayback.archive.org/web/20070721000716/http://www.missl.cs.umd.edu/winint/index1.html

"A Study of BIOS Services as used by Microsoft Windows XP" by Adam
Sulmicki
http://wayback.archive.org/web/20070721000843/http://www.missl.cs.umd.edu/winint/index2.html

"Legacy-Free Hardware and BIOS Requirements" by Microsoft, Dec 4,
2001
http://web.archive.org/web/20100328131544/http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/archive/Lf.mspx

"Linux 2.4 BIOS usage reference" by Alan Cox, Jun 22, 2001
 linux.kernel, Usenet MSG-ID E15DTfd-0003gI-00@the-village.bc.nu
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/linux.kernel/jCR0tpxu9oY/GJQToAyycoQJ

"FreeBSD BIOS Coupling on i386" by Bruce M. Simpson, Apr 8, 2006
 mailing.freebsd.current, Usenet MSD-ID
e183jh$drj$1@FreeBSD.csie.nctu.edu.tw
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/mailing.freebsd.current/K1VOemzz080/6TuwxYYtDSQJ

"BIOS types" by Hale Landis, Jan 25, 1995
 comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage, Usenet MSG-ID
791004479snx@sugs.tware.com
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage/87Wd8Jk8RWs/Bke_kDO_rdsJ

"Reverse-Engineering DOS 1.0 - Part 1: The Boot Sector"
 http://www.pagetable.com/?p=165


Rod Pemberton
"My paranoia becomes reality."


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#908

From"wolfgang kern" <nowhere@never.at>
Date2013-05-21 21:16 +0200
Message-ID<kngiak$7uo$2@newsreader2.utanet.at>
In reply to#907
Rod Pemberton wrote:

> The general issue of whether BIOS calls are important or not to
> bootloaders and OS development came up recently on
> alt.os.development.
...
A bootloader should check on A20_on and INT13.41 for ext. HD-read.
Mem-map info from E820 may help a bit but cant tell available PCI-RAM.
Anything else (today) like default Vmode==03 and all addon-hw-features
are disabled until the OS enables it are almost standard BIOS-default.

So my vital (only used once in Boot-sequence) BIOS calls are:
13/41..42   ;check for ext HD-access
10/4F/00/01 ;VBIOS: detect VESA and check for supported modes.
15/e820     ;memmap even not really a complete info to be found here.
15/..       ;assumed that the BIOS set monitor speed accordingly.

all other hw-checks are part of the hw-detection module within
the later in PM running OS-core (bypass/ignore all BIOS).
__
wolfgang

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#909

FromRoss Ridge <rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>
Date2013-05-23 18:38 -0400
Message-ID<knm5p1$t74$1@rumours.uwaterloo.ca>
In reply to#907
Rod Pemberton <do_not_have@notemailnotq.cpm> wrote:
>The general issue of whether BIOS calls are important or not to
>bootloaders and OS development came up recently on
>alt.os.development.  Perhaps, it's best for each to make their own
>conclusions.  But, you can't do that well without being fully
>informed about what uses the BIOS.

Does it matter?  As near as I can tell, being able to boot MS-DOS
still is a requirement for motherboard manufacturers, so modern BIOS
implementation still seem support "everything" or least every call
they've always supported.

I assume that's the way it going to remain until PC firmware goes EFI-only
and drops all traditional BIOS interfaces completely.

Or are some BIOS implementations actually dropping calls they no longer
consider necessary?

					Ross Ridge

-- 
 l/  //	  Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo]  rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/  http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rridge/ 
 db  //	  

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