FILO: Difference between revisions

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=== What is FILO ===
'''FILO''' is a bootloader which loads boot images from a local filesystem,
 
Filo is a bootloader which loads boot images from local filesystem,
without help from legacy BIOS services.
without help from legacy BIOS services.


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=== Download FILO ===
=== Download FILO ===


Download the latest version of FILO from subversion with
Download the latest version of FILO from Subversion with


  $ svn co svn://openbios.org/filo/trunk/filo-0.5
$ svn co svn://openbios.org/filo/trunk/filo-0.5


You can also browse the source code online at
You can also browse the source code online at
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=== Features ===
=== Features ===


- Supported boot devices: IDE hard disk and CD-ROM, and system memory (ROM)
* Supported boot devices: IDE hard disk, CD-ROM, and system memory (ROM)
 
* Supported filesystems: ext2, fat, jfs, minix, reiserfs, xfs, and iso9660
- Supported filesystems: ext2, fat, jfs, minix, reiserfs, xfs, and iso9660
* Supported image formats: ELF and [b]zImage (a.k.a. /vmlinuz)
 
* Supports boot disk image of El Torito bootable CD-ROM
- Supported image formats: ELF and [b]zImage (a.k.a. /vmlinuz)
* Supports loading image from raw device with user-specified offset
 
* Console on VGA + keyboard, serial port, or both
- Supports boot disk image of El Torito bootable CD-ROM
* Line editing with ^H, ^W and ^U keys to type arbitrary filename to boot
 
* Full support for the ELF Boot Proposal (where is it btw, Eric)
- Supports loading image from raw device with user-specified offset
* Auxiliary tool to compute checksum of ELF boot images
 
* Full 32-bit code, no BIOS calls
- Console on VGA + keyboard, serial port, or both
 
- Line editing with ^H, ^W and ^U keys to type arbitrary filename to boot
 
- Full support for the ELF Boot Proposal (where is it btw, Eric?)
 
- Auxiliary tool to compute checksum of ELF boot images
 
- Full 32-bit code, no BIOS calls


=== Requirements ===  
=== Requirements ===  


Only i386 PC architecture is currently supported. Some efforts have  
Only i386 PC architecture is currently supported. Some efforts have  
been made to get FILO running on PPC. Contact the LinuxBIOS mailinglist
been made to get FILO running on PPC. Contact the [[Mailinglist|LinuxBIOS mailinglist]]
for more information.
for more information.


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Use filo.elf as your payload of LinuxBIOS, or a boot image for
Use filo.elf as your payload of LinuxBIOS, or a boot image for
Etherboot.
[[Etherboot]].


If you enable MULTIBOOT_IMAGE option in Config, you can
If you enable MULTIBOOT_IMAGE option in Config, you can
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=== Additional Information ===
=== Additional Information ===


[[Filo on AMD64]]
* [[Filo on AMD64]]
[[Filo on the Arima Hdama]]
* [[Filo on the Arima Hdama]]

Revision as of 16:14, 6 October 2006

FILO is a bootloader which loads boot images from a local filesystem, without help from legacy BIOS services.

Expected usage is to flash it into the BIOS ROM together with LinuxBIOS.

Download FILO

Download the latest version of FILO from Subversion with

$ svn co svn://openbios.org/filo/trunk/filo-0.5

You can also browse the source code online at http://openbios.org/viewcvs/trunk/?root=FILO

Features

  • Supported boot devices: IDE hard disk, CD-ROM, and system memory (ROM)
  • Supported filesystems: ext2, fat, jfs, minix, reiserfs, xfs, and iso9660
  • Supported image formats: ELF and [b]zImage (a.k.a. /vmlinuz)
  • Supports boot disk image of El Torito bootable CD-ROM
  • Supports loading image from raw device with user-specified offset
  • Console on VGA + keyboard, serial port, or both
  • Line editing with ^H, ^W and ^U keys to type arbitrary filename to boot
  • Full support for the ELF Boot Proposal (where is it btw, Eric)
  • Auxiliary tool to compute checksum of ELF boot images
  • Full 32-bit code, no BIOS calls

Requirements

Only i386 PC architecture is currently supported. Some efforts have been made to get FILO running on PPC. Contact the LinuxBIOS mailinglist for more information.

x86-64 (AMD 64) machines in 32-bit mode also work. (LinuxBIOS uses 32-bit mode and Linux kernel does the transition to 64-bit mode)

Recent version of GNU toolchain is required to build. We have tested with Debian/woody (gcc 2.95.4, binutils 2.12.90.0.1, make 3.79.1), Debian/sid (gcc 3.3.2, binutils 2.14.90.0.6, make 3.80) and different versions of SUSE Linux from 9.0 to 10.0.

Install

First invocation of make creates the default Config file.

 $ make

Edit this file as you like. It's fairly straightforward (I hope).

 $ vi Config

Then running make again will build filo.elf, the ELF boot image of FILO.

 $ make

Use filo.elf as your payload of LinuxBIOS, or a boot image for Etherboot.

If you enable MULTIBOOT_IMAGE option in Config, you can also boot filo.elf from GNU GRUB or other Multiboot bootloader. This feature is intended for testing or development purpose.

Credits

This software was originally developed by SONE Takeshi <ts1@tsn.or.jp>

Additional Information