Boot

The Boot section defines the bootloader for PwnOS.

The bootloader is responsible for the following things

  • set the video mode
  • enter Protected Mode
  • set setup Local and I/O APICs
  • start up all processors
  • enable paging on all processors
  • find the Core on disk
  • read in the Core from disk
  • set up necessary devices and Core modules
  • enable tasking on all processors
  • start interface process

Within the bootloader, the MBR (Master Boot Record) is responsible for loading the rest of the bootloader, setting the video mode, and entering Protected Mode.  The MBR code has an absolute maximum size of 510 bytes and a recommended maximum size of 446 bytes for the compatibility of having a partition table.  The Boot segment, which is loaded by the MBR, is responsible for everything else.  The entire bootloader must fit into 63 sectors, 31.5 KB.  This could be expanded to 126 sectors, 63 KB, with a 2nd level bootloader, but this will be avoided until determined necessary, because users may not want to have a partition dedicated to it.

The Core of PwnOS (a.k.a.
This segment contains the master boot record of PwnOS
The Boot section defines the bootloader for PwnOS.