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IBM PC/Clone 8086+ floppy-loading of option roms.

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optromloader: IBM PC/Clone 8086+ floppy-loading of option roms.

Booted from a floppy, it will load an Option ROM image into the top of conventional memory.

PCem Amstrad PC1512 screenshot

Use cases (non-exhaustive)

  • Test boot ROMs before burning them.
  • Netboot with etherboot/gpxe/ipxe.
  • IDE support (including LBA!) with XTIDE Universal BIOS.

Highlights

  • Flat assembler syntax.
  • Pure 8086 code.
  • Single stage. (Fits in a floppy bootblock)
  • Verifies ROM image checksum after loading.
  • Supports all Option ROM sizes. Spec goes up to 127.5KB, but full 128KB ROMs are supported.
    • An extra block is read when length=255 (127.5KB/128KB case).
  • Reserves memory from top of conventional memory.
    • Alternatively allows specifying target segment (upper area possible).
  • Works on PC/XT/AT and clones.
    • Also works on newer hardware, such as the 486 with AMI BIOS I wrote it for.
  • Trivial to use.
  • Makefile will prepare 5.25" 360K/1.2M and 3.5" 720K/1.44M floppy images.
  • MIT License. See LICENSE file.

Usage

  • Ensure fasm (flat assembler) is installed.
  • Copy your ROM image as the optrom.bin file.
    • Ensure the ROM image is signed (has correct checksum).
      • optromloader will loudly refuse to run the ROM image if not signed.
      • Test with make emulaterom. Qemu's BIOS won't see the ROM if it's not signed.
      • Qemu provides a python tool to sign ROMs:
      • For XTIDE Universal BIOS ROMs, use its XTIDECFG tool to configure and sign ROM images.
  • Optionally review Makefile for advanced usage.
    • If boot floppy drive won't be A:, set bios_drive value appropriately.
    • If specifying target segment in upper memory, ensure it is visible as memory in BIOS settings.
      • into-486 works on my AMI BIOS 486.
  • Run make.
  • Floppy images will be created (fd*.img).
  • Optionally test 1.44M image with qemu: make emulate.
  • Alternatively, use a binary release. Concatenate:
    • optromloader9/15/18, according to sectors per track in your floppy format:
      • 9 for 5.25" 360K and 3.5" 720K.
      • 15 for 5.25" 1.2M.
      • 18 for 3.5" 1.44M.
    • the ROM image.
    • pad to floppy size.

Caveats

  • Option ROMs that make assumptions about their base address may not work if loaded into a different address.

Author

Roc Vallès Domènech