I don't think so. If it is open source thing, then nothing stops me
from adding prom specific to my ethernet card to my flash-able bios.
I just compile in all things all I need.
In fact, what I say sounds pretty much like NILO (successor to etherboot
and netboot). The major difference is that they want to put nino on
eprom of NIC, while I want it on motherboard and have extended functionality.
Another advantage is that eprom on motherboard is much bigger than the
one on nic.
I would immagine that like NILO it could be writen in C so that maiteance
of it is easy (as in opposite to assembler)
http://www.slug.org.au/etherboot/nilo/
->A boot monitor which understood how to operate all possible boot devices
->itself would be equivalent to the Linux kernel itself, at least from the
->standpoint of device support.
Yes,boot monitor would be cool thing. I think we have an pseudo-prom
at linux kernel (it works when you exec halt over serial console).
It is pretty similar to prom you can find on Sun.
->Somehow, I don't think booting a mini-Linux
->(where "mini" doesn't include removal of drivers) in order to boot Linux
->solves any problems --- you still need to boot that "mini"-Linux, and it's
->not clear that it would be "mini" enough to fit into a flash-ROM.
It would be just the boot loader, like LILO. So I think it would have
little common with linux perhaps except ability to use its drivers to init
device to boot from.
BTW: Would it be a good idea if the BIOS would attempt to switch
to protected mode??
Adam
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