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Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -07001 THE LINUX/I386 BOOT PROTOCOL
2 ----------------------------
3
4 H. Peter Anvin <hpa@zytor.com>
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -07005 Last update 2007-05-16
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -07006
7On the i386 platform, the Linux kernel uses a rather complicated boot
8convention. This has evolved partially due to historical aspects, as
9well as the desire in the early days to have the kernel itself be a
10bootable image, the complicated PC memory model and due to changed
11expectations in the PC industry caused by the effective demise of
12real-mode DOS as a mainstream operating system.
13
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -070014Currently, the following versions of the Linux/i386 boot protocol exist.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070015
16Old kernels: zImage/Image support only. Some very early kernels
17 may not even support a command line.
18
19Protocol 2.00: (Kernel 1.3.73) Added bzImage and initrd support, as
20 well as a formalized way to communicate between the
21 boot loader and the kernel. setup.S made relocatable,
22 although the traditional setup area still assumed
23 writable.
24
25Protocol 2.01: (Kernel 1.3.76) Added a heap overrun warning.
26
27Protocol 2.02: (Kernel 2.4.0-test3-pre3) New command line protocol.
28 Lower the conventional memory ceiling. No overwrite
29 of the traditional setup area, thus making booting
30 safe for systems which use the EBDA from SMM or 32-bit
31 BIOS entry points. zImage deprecated but still
32 supported.
33
34Protocol 2.03: (Kernel 2.4.18-pre1) Explicitly makes the highest possible
35 initrd address available to the bootloader.
36
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -070037Protocol 2.04: (Kernel 2.6.14) Extend the syssize field to four bytes.
Bernhard Walle8f9aeca2007-05-02 19:27:10 +020038
Vivek Goyalbe274ee2006-12-07 02:14:04 +010039Protocol 2.05: (Kernel 2.6.20) Make protected mode kernel relocatable.
40 Introduce relocatable_kernel and kernel_alignment fields.
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -070041
Bernhard Walle8f9aeca2007-05-02 19:27:10 +020042Protocol 2.06: (Kernel 2.6.22) Added a field that contains the size of
43 the boot command line
44
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070045
46**** MEMORY LAYOUT
47
48The traditional memory map for the kernel loader, used for Image or
49zImage kernels, typically looks like:
50
51 | |
520A0000 +------------------------+
53 | Reserved for BIOS | Do not use. Reserved for BIOS EBDA.
5409A000 +------------------------+
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -070055 | Command line |
56 | Stack/heap | For use by the kernel real-mode code.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070057098000 +------------------------+
58 | Kernel setup | The kernel real-mode code.
59090200 +------------------------+
60 | Kernel boot sector | The kernel legacy boot sector.
61090000 +------------------------+
62 | Protected-mode kernel | The bulk of the kernel image.
63010000 +------------------------+
64 | Boot loader | <- Boot sector entry point 0000:7C00
65001000 +------------------------+
66 | Reserved for MBR/BIOS |
67000800 +------------------------+
68 | Typically used by MBR |
69000600 +------------------------+
70 | BIOS use only |
71000000 +------------------------+
72
73
74When using bzImage, the protected-mode kernel was relocated to
750x100000 ("high memory"), and the kernel real-mode block (boot sector,
76setup, and stack/heap) was made relocatable to any address between
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700770x10000 and end of low memory. Unfortunately, in protocols 2.00 and
782.01 the 0x90000+ memory range is still used internally by the kernel;
79the 2.02 protocol resolves that problem.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070080
81It is desirable to keep the "memory ceiling" -- the highest point in
82low memory touched by the boot loader -- as low as possible, since
83some newer BIOSes have begun to allocate some rather large amounts of
84memory, called the Extended BIOS Data Area, near the top of low
85memory. The boot loader should use the "INT 12h" BIOS call to verify
86how much low memory is available.
87
88Unfortunately, if INT 12h reports that the amount of memory is too
89low, there is usually nothing the boot loader can do but to report an
90error to the user. The boot loader should therefore be designed to
91take up as little space in low memory as it reasonably can. For
92zImage or old bzImage kernels, which need data written into the
930x90000 segment, the boot loader should make sure not to use memory
94above the 0x9A000 point; too many BIOSes will break above that point.
95
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -070096For a modern bzImage kernel with boot protocol version >= 2.02, a
97memory layout like the following is suggested:
98
99 ~ ~
100 | Protected-mode kernel |
101100000 +------------------------+
102 | I/O memory hole |
1030A0000 +------------------------+
104 | Reserved for BIOS | Leave as much as possible unused
105 ~ ~
106 | Command line | (Can also be below the X+10000 mark)
107X+10000 +------------------------+
108 | Stack/heap | For use by the kernel real-mode code.
109X+08000 +------------------------+
110 | Kernel setup | The kernel real-mode code.
111 | Kernel boot sector | The kernel legacy boot sector.
112X +------------------------+
113 | Boot loader | <- Boot sector entry point 0000:7C00
114001000 +------------------------+
115 | Reserved for MBR/BIOS |
116000800 +------------------------+
117 | Typically used by MBR |
118000600 +------------------------+
119 | BIOS use only |
120000000 +------------------------+
121
122... where the address X is as low as the design of the boot loader
123permits.
124
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700125
126**** THE REAL-MODE KERNEL HEADER
127
128In the following text, and anywhere in the kernel boot sequence, "a
129sector" refers to 512 bytes. It is independent of the actual sector
130size of the underlying medium.
131
132The first step in loading a Linux kernel should be to load the
133real-mode code (boot sector and setup code) and then examine the
134following header at offset 0x01f1. The real-mode code can total up to
13532K, although the boot loader may choose to load only the first two
136sectors (1K) and then examine the bootup sector size.
137
138The header looks like:
139
140Offset Proto Name Meaning
141/Size
142
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -070014301F1/1 ALL(1 setup_sects The size of the setup in sectors
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070014401F2/2 ALL root_flags If set, the root is mounted readonly
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -070014501F4/4 2.04+(2 syssize The size of the 32-bit code in 16-byte paras
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070014601F8/2 ALL ram_size DO NOT USE - for bootsect.S use only
14701FA/2 ALL vid_mode Video mode control
14801FC/2 ALL root_dev Default root device number
14901FE/2 ALL boot_flag 0xAA55 magic number
1500200/2 2.00+ jump Jump instruction
1510202/4 2.00+ header Magic signature "HdrS"
1520206/2 2.00+ version Boot protocol version supported
1530208/4 2.00+ realmode_swtch Boot loader hook (see below)
154020C/2 2.00+ start_sys The load-low segment (0x1000) (obsolete)
155020E/2 2.00+ kernel_version Pointer to kernel version string
1560210/1 2.00+ type_of_loader Boot loader identifier
1570211/1 2.00+ loadflags Boot protocol option flags
1580212/2 2.00+ setup_move_size Move to high memory size (used with hooks)
1590214/4 2.00+ code32_start Boot loader hook (see below)
1600218/4 2.00+ ramdisk_image initrd load address (set by boot loader)
161021C/4 2.00+ ramdisk_size initrd size (set by boot loader)
1620220/4 2.00+ bootsect_kludge DO NOT USE - for bootsect.S use only
1630224/2 2.01+ heap_end_ptr Free memory after setup end
1640226/2 N/A pad1 Unused
1650228/4 2.02+ cmd_line_ptr 32-bit pointer to the kernel command line
166022C/4 2.03+ initrd_addr_max Highest legal initrd address
Vivek Goyald263b212006-12-07 02:14:13 +01001670230/4 2.05+ kernel_alignment Physical addr alignment required for kernel
1680234/1 2.05+ relocatable_kernel Whether kernel is relocatable or not
Bernhard Walle8f9aeca2007-05-02 19:27:10 +02001690235/3 N/A pad2 Unused
1700238/4 2.06+ cmdline_size Maximum size of the kernel command line
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700171
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -0700172(1) For backwards compatibility, if the setup_sects field contains 0, the
173 real value is 4.
174
175(2) For boot protocol prior to 2.04, the upper two bytes of the syssize
176 field are unusable, which means the size of a bzImage kernel
177 cannot be determined.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700178
179If the "HdrS" (0x53726448) magic number is not found at offset 0x202,
180the boot protocol version is "old". Loading an old kernel, the
181following parameters should be assumed:
182
183 Image type = zImage
184 initrd not supported
185 Real-mode kernel must be located at 0x90000.
186
187Otherwise, the "version" field contains the protocol version,
188e.g. protocol version 2.01 will contain 0x0201 in this field. When
189setting fields in the header, you must make sure only to set fields
190supported by the protocol version in use.
191
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700192
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700193**** DETAILS OF HEADER FIELDS
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700194
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700195For each field, some are information from the kernel to the bootloader
196("read"), some are expected to be filled out by the bootloader
197("write"), and some are expected to be read and modified by the
198bootloader ("modify").
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700199
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700200All general purpose boot loaders should write the fields marked
201(obligatory). Boot loaders who want to load the kernel at a
202nonstandard address should fill in the fields marked (reloc); other
203boot loaders can ignore those fields.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700204
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700205Field name: setup_secs
206Type: read
207Offset/size: 0x1f1/1
208Protocol: ALL
209
210 The size of the setup code in 512-byte sectors. If this field is
211 0, the real value is 4. The real-mode code consists of the boot
212 sector (always one 512-byte sector) plus the setup code.
213
214Field name: root_flags
215Type: modify (optional)
216Offset/size: 0x1f2/2
217Protocol: ALL
218
219 If this field is nonzero, the root defaults to readonly. The use of
220 this field is deprecated; use the "ro" or "rw" options on the
221 command line instead.
222
223Field name: syssize
224Type: read
225Offset/size: 0x1f4/4 (protocol 2.04+) 0x1f4/2 (protocol ALL)
226Protocol: 2.04+
227
228 The size of the protected-mode code in units of 16-byte paragraphs.
229 For protocol versions older than 2.04 this field is only two bytes
230 wide, and therefore cannot be trusted for the size of a kernel if
231 the LOAD_HIGH flag is set.
232
233Field name: ram_size
234Type: kernel internal
235Offset/size: 0x1f8/2
236Protocol: ALL
237
238 This field is obsolete.
239
240Field name: vid_mode
241Type: modify (obligatory)
242Offset/size: 0x1fa/2
243
244 Please see the section on SPECIAL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS.
245
246Field name: root_dev
247Type: modify (optional)
248Offset/size: 0x1fc/2
249Protocol: ALL
250
251 The default root device device number. The use of this field is
252 deprecated, use the "root=" option on the command line instead.
253
254Field name: boot_flag
255Type: read
256Offset/size: 0x1fe/2
257Protocol: ALL
258
259 Contains 0xAA55. This is the closest thing old Linux kernels have
260 to a magic number.
261
262Field name: jump
263Type: read
264Offset/size: 0x200/2
265Protocol: 2.00+
266
267 Contains an x86 jump instruction, 0xEB followed by a signed offset
268 relative to byte 0x202. This can be used to determine the size of
269 the header.
270
271Field name: header
272Type: read
273Offset/size: 0x202/4
274Protocol: 2.00+
275
276 Contains the magic number "HdrS" (0x53726448).
277
278Field name: version
279Type: read
280Offset/size: 0x206/2
281Protocol: 2.00+
282
283 Contains the boot protocol version, e.g. 0x0204 for version 2.04.
284
285Field name: readmode_swtch
286Type: modify (optional)
287Offset/size: 0x208/4
288Protocol: 2.00+
289
290 Boot loader hook (see separate chapter.)
291
292Field name: start_sys
293Type: read
294Offset/size: 0x20c/4
295Protocol: 2.00+
296
297 The load low segment (0x1000). Obsolete.
298
299Field name: kernel_version
300Type: read
301Offset/size: 0x20e/2
302Protocol: 2.00+
303
304 If set to a nonzero value, contains a pointer to a NUL-terminated
305 human-readable kernel version number string, less 0x200. This can
306 be used to display the kernel version to the user. This value
307 should be less than (0x200*setup_sects). For example, if this value
308 is set to 0x1c00, the kernel version number string can be found at
309 offset 0x1e00 in the kernel file. This is a valid value if and only
310 if the "setup_sects" field contains the value 14 or higher.
311
312Field name: type_of_loader
313Type: write (obligatory)
314Offset/size: 0x210/1
315Protocol: 2.00+
316
317 If your boot loader has an assigned id (see table below), enter
318 0xTV here, where T is an identifier for the boot loader and V is
319 a version number. Otherwise, enter 0xFF here.
320
321 Assigned boot loader ids:
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700322 0 LILO (0x00 reserved for pre-2.00 bootloader)
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700323 1 Loadlin
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700324 2 bootsect-loader (0x20, all other values reserved)
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700325 3 SYSLINUX
326 4 EtherBoot
327 5 ELILO
328 7 GRuB
329 8 U-BOOT
Jeremy Fitzhardinge354332e2006-09-12 20:35:57 -0700330 9 Xen
H. Peter Anvinc229ec52007-01-26 09:15:47 -0800331 A Gujin
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700332 B Qemu
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700333
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700334 Please contact <hpa@zytor.com> if you need a bootloader ID
335 value assigned.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700336
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700337Field name: loadflags
338Type: modify (obligatory)
339Offset/size: 0x211/1
340Protocol: 2.00+
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700341
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700342 This field is a bitmask.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700343
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700344 Bit 0 (read): LOADED_HIGH
345 - If 0, the protected-mode code is loaded at 0x10000.
346 - If 1, the protected-mode code is loaded at 0x100000.
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700347
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700348 Bit 7 (write): CAN_USE_HEAP
349 Set this bit to 1 to indicate that the value entered in the
350 heap_end_ptr is valid. If this field is clear, some setup code
351 functionality will be disabled.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700352
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700353Field name: setup_move_size
354Type: modify (obligatory)
355Offset/size: 0x212/2
356Protocol: 2.00-2.01
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700357
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700358 When using protocol 2.00 or 2.01, if the real mode kernel is not
359 loaded at 0x90000, it gets moved there later in the loading
360 sequence. Fill in this field if you want additional data (such as
361 the kernel command line) moved in addition to the real-mode kernel
362 itself.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700363
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700364 The unit is bytes starting with the beginning of the boot sector.
365
366 This field is can be ignored when the protocol is 2.02 or higher, or
367 if the real-mode code is loaded at 0x90000.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700368
H. Peter Anvindec04cf2007-05-17 15:50:47 -0700369Field name: code32_start
370Type: modify (optional, reloc)
371Offset/size: 0x214/4
372Protocol: 2.00+
373
374 The address to jump to in protected mode. This defaults to the load
375 address of the kernel, and can be used by the boot loader to
376 determine the proper load address.
377
378 This field can be modified for two purposes:
379
380 1. as a boot loader hook (see separate chapter.)
381
382 2. if a bootloader which does not install a hook loads a
383 relocatable kernel at a nonstandard address it will have to modify
384 this field to point to the load address.
385
386Field name: ramdisk_image
387Type: write (obligatory)
388Offset/size: 0x218/4
389Protocol: 2.00+
390
391 The 32-bit linear address of the initial ramdisk or ramfs. Leave at
392 zero if there is no initial ramdisk/ramfs.
393
394Field name: ramdisk_size
395Type: write (obligatory)
396Offset/size: 0x21c/4
397Protocol: 2.00+
398
399 Size of the initial ramdisk or ramfs. Leave at zero if there is no
400 initial ramdisk/ramfs.
401
402Field name: bootsect_kludge
403Type: kernel internal
404Offset/size: 0x220/4
405Protocol: 2.00+
406
407 This field is obsolete.
408
409Field name: heap_end_ptr
410Type: write (obligatory)
411Offset/size: 0x224/2
412Protocol: 2.01+
413
414 Set this field to the offset (from the beginning of the real-mode
415 code) of the end of the setup stack/heap, minus 0x0200.
416
417Field name: cmd_line_ptr
418Type: write (obligatory)
419Offset/size: 0x228/4
420Protocol: 2.02+
421
422 Set this field to the linear address of the kernel command line.
423 The kernel command line can be located anywhere between the end of
424 the setup heap and 0xA0000; it does not have to be located in the
425 same 64K segment as the real-mode code itself.
426
427 Fill in this field even if your boot loader does not support a
428 command line, in which case you can point this to an empty string
429 (or better yet, to the string "auto".) If this field is left at
430 zero, the kernel will assume that your boot loader does not support
431 the 2.02+ protocol.
432
433Field name: initrd_addr_max
434Type: read
435Offset/size: 0x22c/4
436Protocol: 2.03+
437
438 The maximum address that may be occupied by the initial
439 ramdisk/ramfs contents. For boot protocols 2.02 or earlier, this
440 field is not present, and the maximum address is 0x37FFFFFF. (This
441 address is defined as the address of the highest safe byte, so if
442 your ramdisk is exactly 131072 bytes long and this field is
443 0x37FFFFFF, you can start your ramdisk at 0x37FE0000.)
444
445Field name: kernel_alignment
446Type: read (reloc)
447Offset/size: 0x230/4
448Protocol: 2.05+
449
450 Alignment unit required by the kernel (if relocatable_kernel is true.)
451
452Field name: relocatable_kernel
453Type: read (reloc)
454Offset/size: 0x234/1
455Protocol: 2.05+
456
457 If this field is nonzero, the protected-mode part of the kernel can
458 be loaded at any address that satisfies the kernel_alignment field.
459 After loading, the boot loader must set the code32_start field to
460 point to the loaded code, or to a boot loader hook.
461
462Field name: cmdline_size
463Type: read
464Offset/size: 0x238/4
465Protocol: 2.06+
466
467 The maximum size of the command line without the terminating
468 zero. This means that the command line can contain at most
469 cmdline_size characters. With protocol version 2.05 and earlier, the
470 maximum size was 255.
Bernhard Walle8f9aeca2007-05-02 19:27:10 +0200471
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700472
473**** THE KERNEL COMMAND LINE
474
475The kernel command line has become an important way for the boot
476loader to communicate with the kernel. Some of its options are also
477relevant to the boot loader itself, see "special command line options"
478below.
479
Bernhard Walle8f9aeca2007-05-02 19:27:10 +0200480The kernel command line is a null-terminated string. The maximum
481length can be retrieved from the field cmdline_size. Before protocol
482version 2.06, the maximum was 255 characters. A string that is too
483long will be automatically truncated by the kernel.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700484
485If the boot protocol version is 2.02 or later, the address of the
486kernel command line is given by the header field cmd_line_ptr (see
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -0700487above.) This address can be anywhere between the end of the setup
488heap and 0xA0000.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700489
490If the protocol version is *not* 2.02 or higher, the kernel
491command line is entered using the following protocol:
492
493 At offset 0x0020 (word), "cmd_line_magic", enter the magic
494 number 0xA33F.
495
496 At offset 0x0022 (word), "cmd_line_offset", enter the offset
497 of the kernel command line (relative to the start of the
498 real-mode kernel).
499
500 The kernel command line *must* be within the memory region
501 covered by setup_move_size, so you may need to adjust this
502 field.
503
504
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700505**** MEMORY LAYOUT OF THE REAL-MODE CODE
506
507The real-mode code requires a stack/heap to be set up, as well as
508memory allocated for the kernel command line. This needs to be done
509in the real-mode accessible memory in bottom megabyte.
510
511It should be noted that modern machines often have a sizable Extended
512BIOS Data Area (EBDA). As a result, it is advisable to use as little
513of the low megabyte as possible.
514
515Unfortunately, under the following circumstances the 0x90000 memory
516segment has to be used:
517
518 - When loading a zImage kernel ((loadflags & 0x01) == 0).
519 - When loading a 2.01 or earlier boot protocol kernel.
520
521 -> For the 2.00 and 2.01 boot protocols, the real-mode code
522 can be loaded at another address, but it is internally
523 relocated to 0x90000. For the "old" protocol, the
524 real-mode code must be loaded at 0x90000.
525
526When loading at 0x90000, avoid using memory above 0x9a000.
527
528For boot protocol 2.02 or higher, the command line does not have to be
529located in the same 64K segment as the real-mode setup code; it is
530thus permitted to give the stack/heap the full 64K segment and locate
531the command line above it.
532
533The kernel command line should not be located below the real-mode
534code, nor should it be located in high memory.
535
536
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700537**** SAMPLE BOOT CONFIGURATION
538
539As a sample configuration, assume the following layout of the real
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700540mode segment:
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700541
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700542 When loading below 0x90000, use the entire segment:
543
544 0x0000-0x7fff Real mode kernel
545 0x8000-0xdfff Stack and heap
546 0xe000-0xffff Kernel command line
547
548 When loading at 0x90000 OR the protocol version is 2.01 or earlier:
549
550 0x0000-0x7fff Real mode kernel
551 0x8000-0x97ff Stack and heap
552 0x9800-0x9fff Kernel command line
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700553
554Such a boot loader should enter the following fields in the header:
555
556 unsigned long base_ptr; /* base address for real-mode segment */
557
558 if ( setup_sects == 0 ) {
559 setup_sects = 4;
560 }
561
562 if ( protocol >= 0x0200 ) {
563 type_of_loader = <type code>;
564 if ( loading_initrd ) {
565 ramdisk_image = <initrd_address>;
566 ramdisk_size = <initrd_size>;
567 }
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700568
569 if ( protocol >= 0x0202 && loadflags & 0x01 )
570 heap_end = 0xe000;
571 else
572 heap_end = 0x9800;
573
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700574 if ( protocol >= 0x0201 ) {
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700575 heap_end_ptr = heap_end - 0x200;
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700576 loadflags |= 0x80; /* CAN_USE_HEAP */
577 }
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700578
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700579 if ( protocol >= 0x0202 ) {
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700580 cmd_line_ptr = base_ptr + heap_end;
581 strcpy(cmd_line_ptr, cmdline);
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700582 } else {
583 cmd_line_magic = 0xA33F;
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700584 cmd_line_offset = heap_end;
585 setup_move_size = heap_end + strlen(cmdline)+1;
586 strcpy(base_ptr+cmd_line_offset, cmdline);
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700587 }
588 } else {
589 /* Very old kernel */
590
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700591 heap_end = 0x9800;
592
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700593 cmd_line_magic = 0xA33F;
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700594 cmd_line_offset = heap_end;
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700595
596 /* A very old kernel MUST have its real-mode code
597 loaded at 0x90000 */
598
599 if ( base_ptr != 0x90000 ) {
600 /* Copy the real-mode kernel */
601 memcpy(0x90000, base_ptr, (setup_sects+1)*512);
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700602 base_ptr = 0x90000; /* Relocated */
603 }
604
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700605 strcpy(0x90000+cmd_line_offset, cmdline);
606
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700607 /* It is recommended to clear memory up to the 32K mark */
608 memset(0x90000 + (setup_sects+1)*512, 0,
609 (64-(setup_sects+1))*512);
610 }
611
612
613**** LOADING THE REST OF THE KERNEL
614
H. Peter Anvinf8eeaaf2005-09-06 15:17:24 -0700615The 32-bit (non-real-mode) kernel starts at offset (setup_sects+1)*512
616in the kernel file (again, if setup_sects == 0 the real value is 4.)
617It should be loaded at address 0x10000 for Image/zImage kernels and
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -07006180x100000 for bzImage kernels.
619
620The kernel is a bzImage kernel if the protocol >= 2.00 and the 0x01
621bit (LOAD_HIGH) in the loadflags field is set:
622
623 is_bzImage = (protocol >= 0x0200) && (loadflags & 0x01);
624 load_address = is_bzImage ? 0x100000 : 0x10000;
625
626Note that Image/zImage kernels can be up to 512K in size, and thus use
627the entire 0x10000-0x90000 range of memory. This means it is pretty
628much a requirement for these kernels to load the real-mode part at
6290x90000. bzImage kernels allow much more flexibility.
630
631
632**** SPECIAL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
633
634If the command line provided by the boot loader is entered by the
635user, the user may expect the following command line options to work.
636They should normally not be deleted from the kernel command line even
637though not all of them are actually meaningful to the kernel. Boot
638loader authors who need additional command line options for the boot
639loader itself should get them registered in
640Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt to make sure they will not
641conflict with actual kernel options now or in the future.
642
643 vga=<mode>
644 <mode> here is either an integer (in C notation, either
645 decimal, octal, or hexadecimal) or one of the strings
646 "normal" (meaning 0xFFFF), "ext" (meaning 0xFFFE) or "ask"
647 (meaning 0xFFFD). This value should be entered into the
648 vid_mode field, as it is used by the kernel before the command
649 line is parsed.
650
651 mem=<size>
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700652 <size> is an integer in C notation optionally followed by
653 (case insensitive) K, M, G, T, P or E (meaning << 10, << 20,
654 << 30, << 40, << 50 or << 60). This specifies the end of
655 memory to the kernel. This affects the possible placement of
656 an initrd, since an initrd should be placed near end of
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700657 memory. Note that this is an option to *both* the kernel and
658 the bootloader!
659
660 initrd=<file>
661 An initrd should be loaded. The meaning of <file> is
662 obviously bootloader-dependent, and some boot loaders
663 (e.g. LILO) do not have such a command.
664
665In addition, some boot loaders add the following options to the
666user-specified command line:
667
668 BOOT_IMAGE=<file>
669 The boot image which was loaded. Again, the meaning of <file>
670 is obviously bootloader-dependent.
671
672 auto
673 The kernel was booted without explicit user intervention.
674
675If these options are added by the boot loader, it is highly
676recommended that they are located *first*, before the user-specified
677or configuration-specified command line. Otherwise, "init=/bin/sh"
678gets confused by the "auto" option.
679
680
681**** RUNNING THE KERNEL
682
683The kernel is started by jumping to the kernel entry point, which is
684located at *segment* offset 0x20 from the start of the real mode
685kernel. This means that if you loaded your real-mode kernel code at
6860x90000, the kernel entry point is 9020:0000.
687
688At entry, ds = es = ss should point to the start of the real-mode
689kernel code (0x9000 if the code is loaded at 0x90000), sp should be
690set up properly, normally pointing to the top of the heap, and
691interrupts should be disabled. Furthermore, to guard against bugs in
692the kernel, it is recommended that the boot loader sets fs = gs = ds =
693es = ss.
694
695In our example from above, we would do:
696
697 /* Note: in the case of the "old" kernel protocol, base_ptr must
698 be == 0x90000 at this point; see the previous sample code */
699
700 seg = base_ptr >> 4;
701
702 cli(); /* Enter with interrupts disabled! */
703
704 /* Set up the real-mode kernel stack */
705 _SS = seg;
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700706 _SP = heap_end;
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700707
708 _DS = _ES = _FS = _GS = seg;
709 jmp_far(seg+0x20, 0); /* Run the kernel */
710
711If your boot sector accesses a floppy drive, it is recommended to
712switch off the floppy motor before running the kernel, since the
713kernel boot leaves interrupts off and thus the motor will not be
714switched off, especially if the loaded kernel has the floppy driver as
715a demand-loaded module!
716
717
718**** ADVANCED BOOT TIME HOOKS
719
720If the boot loader runs in a particularly hostile environment (such as
721LOADLIN, which runs under DOS) it may be impossible to follow the
722standard memory location requirements. Such a boot loader may use the
723following hooks that, if set, are invoked by the kernel at the
724appropriate time. The use of these hooks should probably be
725considered an absolutely last resort!
726
727IMPORTANT: All the hooks are required to preserve %esp, %ebp, %esi and
728%edi across invocation.
729
730 realmode_swtch:
731 A 16-bit real mode far subroutine invoked immediately before
732 entering protected mode. The default routine disables NMI, so
733 your routine should probably do so, too.
734
735 code32_start:
736 A 32-bit flat-mode routine *jumped* to immediately after the
737 transition to protected mode, but before the kernel is
H. Peter Anvinde372ec2007-05-08 20:37:02 -0700738 uncompressed. No segments, except CS, are guaranteed to be
739 set up (current kernels do, but older ones do not); you should
740 set them up to BOOT_DS (0x18) yourself.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700741
742 After completing your hook, you should jump to the address
743 that was in this field before your boot loader overwrote it.