utgg wrote: > No it's not. It is in embedded rom. Yes and no. The RPi designers did quite some cost-cutting measures. The first-stage bootloader, in RPi terminology, is indeed in ROM, and can't be updated, but the only thing that that code can do is load the second stage (bootcode.bin) from the boot partition on the SD card - so a RPi can not boot from the network or USB stick. Not only that, but neither the first nor the second stage actually run on the main CPU - they run on the GPU (graphics processor). The second stage loads the third-stage bootloader (start.elf) from the SD card.
So the second stage bootloader on a RPi corresponds to a traditional basic bootloader, and *can* be updated. The third stage corresponds to a PC BIOS, and has actual hardware settings (config.txt), and can also be updated. As the fourth stage, the actual kernel (kernel.img) gets loaded, and is the first code to actually run on the main CPU. Anyway, yes, all the user-upgradeable parts live on the SD card, and the stuff on the main board can not be updated. "To try to judge the real from the false will always be hard. In this fast-growing art of 'high fidelity' the quackery will bear a solid gilt edge that will fool many people" - Paul W Klipsch, 1953 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Julf's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=42050 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=104698 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
