Op 4-9-2011 13:06, Decheng Fan schreef: > I've also compiled FreeCOM, but there seems to be some warning messages, > although I still get the final COMMAND.COM <http://command.com/> file. > The warning messages read like following: > C:\WATCOM\BINNT\wcc -zq kswap.c -bt=dos @watcomc.cfg > kswap.c(160): Warning! W102: Type mismatch (warning) > kswap.c(160): Note! N2003: source conversion type is 'struct __iobuf *' > kswap.c(160): Note! N2004: target conversion type is 'unsigned int ' > ... > C:\Nasm209\nasm.exe -f bin -o vspawn.com <http://vspawn.com/> vspawn.asm > vspawn.asm:342: warning: label alone on a line without a colon might be > in error > vspawn.asm:388: warning: label alone on a line without a colon might be > in error
These are 8086-specific disk-swapping helpers, so you can run a program while storing part of FreeCOM's memory on disk. Thus, they're optional. > After compiling the kernel, I got KWC8616.sys as the kernel.sys file. > Does this file name mean a kernel that runs on 8086, which supports > FAT12/FAT16 (and because 80286/80386 is backwards compatible with 8086, > so this kernel also runs on them?) A '86' runs on 8086 and above, thus most generic/universal. Ending up with a '16' means support for FAT12 and FAT16 only, thus no FAT32. Most universal is a KWC8632.SYS renamed to KERNEL.SYS. Most MSDOS (1.00-7.00) compatible is a KWC8616 (with version set to 5.00 or 6.22). > If I want to debug the kernel, say, the boot process, I guess I need to > use bochs for that purpose? or QEMU. Both have great logging/debugging ability, though I've not used that myself. > And for device drivers is DOSEMU better for that purpose? No idea. I know Japheth added some config.sys version to the DEBUG 1.25 program..somewhere. > > My next step would be to understand the boot process as a whole. Kernel sourcecode would be best studied. Remember you've got a hardware boot routine (on x86 it's mostly BIOS, sometimes EFI with or without BIOS compatibility), accessing a disk and then is the DOS bootup (disk --> MBR --> partition --> bootsector --> kernel --> magic (memory setup, disk enumeration) --> config.sys processing --> driver loading --> shell loading --> init script --> more driver loading --> console ( stare at C:\_ ) > Thanks and best regards, > > Robbie (Decheng) Fan Have fun ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Offer -- Download ArcSight Logger for FREE! Finally, a world-class log management solution at an even better price-free! And you'll get a free "Love Thy Logs" t-shirt when you download Logger. Secure your free ArcSight Logger TODAY! http://p.sf.net/sfu/arcsisghtdev2dev _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list Freedos-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
