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Linux i386 Boot Code HOWTO

Linux i386 Boot Code HOWTO

Feiyun Wang

<feiyunw at yahoo.com>

2004-01-23

Revision History
Revision 1.0	2004-02-19	Revised by: FW
Initial release, reviewed by LDP
Revision 0.3.3	2004-01-23	Revised by: fyw
Add decompress_kernel() details; Fix bugs reported in TLDP final review.
Revision 0.3	2003-12-07	Revised by: fyw
Add contents on SMP, GRUB and LILO; Fix and enhance.
Revision 0.2	2003-08-17	Revised by: fyw
Adapt to Linux 2.4.20.
Revision 0.1	2003-04-20	Revised by: fyw
Change to DocBook XML format.

This document describes Linux i386 boot code, serving as a study guide and source commentary. In addition to C-like pseudocode source commentary, it also presents keynotes of toolchains and specs related to kernel development. It is designed to help:

kernel newbies to understand Linux i386 boot code, and
kernel veterans to recall Linux boot procedure.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Copyright and License
1.2. Disclaimer
1.3. Credits / Contributors
1.4. Feedback
1.5. Translations

2. Linux Makefiles

2.1. linux/Makefile
2.2. linux/arch/i386/vmlinux.lds
2.3. linux/arch/i386/Makefile
2.4. linux/arch/i386/boot/Makefile
2.5. linux/arch/i386/boot/compressed/Makefile
2.6. linux/arch/i386/tools/build.c
2.7. Reference

3. linux/arch/i386/boot/bootsect.S

3.1. Move Bootsect
3.2. Get Disk Parameters
3.3. Load Setup Code
3.4. Load Compressed Image
3.5. Go Setup
3.6. Read Disk
3.7. Bootsect Helper
3.8. Miscellaneous
3.9. Reference

4. linux/arch/i386/boot/setup.S

4.1. Header
4.2. Check Code Integrity
4.3. Check Loader Type
4.4. Get Memory Size
4.5. Hardware Support
4.6. APM Support
4.7. Prepare for Protected Mode
4.8. Enable A20
4.9. Switch to Protected Mode
4.10. Miscellaneous
4.11. Reference

5. linux/arch/i386/boot/compressed/head.S

5.1. Decompress Kernel
5.2. gunzip()
5.3. inflate()
5.4. Reference

6. linux/arch/i386/kernel/head.S

6.1. Enable Paging
6.2. Get Kernel Parameters
6.3. Check CPU Type
6.4. Go Start Kernel
6.5. Miscellaneous
6.6. Reference

7. linux/init/main.c

7.1. start_kernel()
7.2. init()
7.3. cpu_idle()
7.4. Reference

8. SMP Boot

8.1. Before smp_init()
8.2. smp_init()
8.3. linux/arch/i386/kernel/trampoline.S
8.4. initialize_secondary()
8.5. start_secondary()
8.6. Reference

A. Kernel Build Example

B. Internal Linker Script

C. GRUB and LILO

C.1. GNU GRUB
C.2. LILO
C.3. Reference

D. FAQ

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