Ronald G Minnich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> I need some help on the following:
> - S3 VGABIOSes are trying to use the timer. I put the vga setup at
> the end of hardwaremain(), hoping that the timers were on. They are not.
> Can somebody see why port 40/43 are not doing anything.
And yet etherboot uses the timer and it works. Linux uses the timer
and it works.
> - XT PPI. What is this? ATI VGABIOS needs it
Sounds like a parallel port interface (too little info).
> - INT 6. What is this?
According to Ralph Browns interrupt list:
--------C-06---------------------------------
INT 06 C - CPU-generated (80286+) - INVALID OPCODE
Desc: this interrupt is generated when the CPU attempts to execute an
invalid opcode (most protected-mode instructions are considered
invalid in real mode) or a BOUND, LDS, LES, or LIDT instruction
which specifies a register rather than a memory address
Notes: return address points to beginning of invalid instruction
with proper programming, this interrupt may be used to emulate
instructions which do not exist; many 386 BIOSes emulate the 80286
undocumented LOADALL instruction which was removed from the 80386+
generated by the 80386+ when the LOCK prefix is used with instructions
other than BTS, BTR, BTC, XCHG, XADD (486), CMPXCHG (486), INC, DEC,
NOT, NEG, ADD, ADC, SUB, SBB, AND, OR, or XOR, or any instruction
not accessing memory.
SeeAlso: INT 0C"CPU",INT 0D"CPU"
--------V-06---------------------------------
INT 06 U - no-name clone - GRAPHICS CHARACTER TABLE (NOT A VECTOR!)
Desc: points at graphics data for characters 00h-7Fh of the current font
SeeAlso: INT 43"EGA",INT 44"VIDEO"
> - We need a good linuxbios-capable mainboard with an AGP slot. Any
> pointers or suggestions?
>
> I've started this thing but I need some smart people to help finish it. If
> we can get VGA up we've just increased the potential user base by a good
> bit.
To work correctly you must look exactly like an ibm pc/xt whatever.
You must give the firmware everything it ever wanted/expected. This
is a major can of worms and the more you dig into I suspect the more
weird unxpected and strange cases you will find. This is sane in an
emulator where you can controll what is going on but in the core I
really doubt it.
I've played this game with dosemu and being bug compatible is much
much harder than having sane native interfaces (at least programming
wise).
Feel free to show me I'm wrong.
Want to boot freedos? If you want to be bug compatible that looks
like a very sane target to work towards, it is GPL'd. And is fairly
compatible with dos.
> All the code is now committed. I have attached my config file for the ASUS
> CUA for those who want to test.
>
> Please note that if you don't use the VGABIOS stuff the footprint is ZERO.
> There is no impact to working linuxbios.
So far so good.
Eric
