Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ucbvax!hoser.berkeley.edu!bryce
From: bryce@hoser.berkeley.edu (Bryce Nesbitt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Minix and the Amiga2000
Keywords: Can it be ported
Message-ID: <22153@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 13 Dec 87 11:05:06 GMT
References: <387@hvrunix.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 37

In article <387@hvrunix.UUCP> ahinds@hvrunix.UUCP (Alexander Hinds) writes:
>
>	Next semester I would like to get involved in porting a unix 
>compatable operating system to my 2000. (MINIX, written by Tannenbaum)  
>However, I'm not sure if it can be done since Kickstart is in ROM, and
>the computer wants a Workbench disk upon powerup.  Is there a way to kick
>the operating system out from control of the machine and install mine?
>How?  Please help!

No problem!  There are lots of good ways of doing this.  If you are
runing a floppy based system you could use a custom boot block.  This
will let you get code running *AFTER* extra memory is configured, but
before the OS really mucks things up.

If you want a hardware solution, you can get control by using the
"ROM Diagnostic cartridge vector".  You'll get run before anything
significant happens.  (It also means autoconfiguration of RAM will
not have happended).

Hard disk systems can also be hijacked.

For an example of the boot-block method, see Fish disk #87.

Or you can just take the system after it is up.  Switch to
supervisor mode with the supplied exec calls, and steal the system.
You might even be able to attach to the Amiga's devices for your
disk interface needs.  This requires some more knowlege of Amiga
internals, such as how to figure out where your physical memory
might be (It could be anywhere).

Lots of possibilities.

>BITNET: A_HINDS@HVRFORD 
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