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i386 CYG_HAL_STARTUP_FLOPPY


Hello,

	I've noticed that the CYG_HAL_STARTUP_FLOPPY code in
packages/hal/i386/pcmb/current/include/pcmb.inc always loads
and executes the hal at address 0x30000 on PC systems.  This
isn't a big surprise since the BIOS always loads the boot
record to 0x30000.  

	I have a special situation where I need the HAL to run in a
different address range.  For example, I want to load the
HAL/REDBOOT image into the 16 meg address space leaving the
lower memory free.  The current FLOPPY code doesn't know how
to handle this (I think?).  

	The current floppy support in _start appears to have 3 main
parts.  I would summarize each part as:

	1) Load HAL image sectors from floppy
	2) Switch from real_mode to protect_mode
	3) Transfer control to HAL

	I would like to propose that we added an extra section to
allow for image relocation.  The new startup floppy code
would look like the following:
 
	1) Load HAL image sectors from floppy
	2) Switch from real_mode to protect_mode
	3) Relocate/Copy Image if necessary
	4) Transfer control to HAL

	Adding image relocation to the floppy code should be
relatively easy.  It will also be useful for booting off of
hard drives, option roms, etc.  I am willing to do this work
if the ECOS community believes it will be useful addition to
the i386 tree.  Otherwise, I'll just hack up my own copy. 
What are your thought's on the subject?

Thanks,

Steve
	
	
-- 
Stephen Polkowski
Centaur Technology  
Austin, TX
(512) 418-5730


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