Re: NO ROM BASIC

Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH (allbery@kf8nh.apk.net)
Fri, 04 Dec 1998 18:14:46 -0500

In message <Pine.LNX.3.96.981204010439.1703A-100000@fire.fireplace>, Gerhard
Ma
ck writes:
+-----
| The early XTS would looks for basic in rom if they couldn't find a
| bootable device, if none then that error came up. some of the bios
| maufacturers still keep that message for some unknown reason.
+--->8

Actually, the BIOS boot sequence tries the floppy, then the hard drive, then
does INT 18H (IIRC). On an original IBM PC or PC/XT, this invokes ROM
BASIC; on some clone XTs it invokes BIOS diagnostics; on most machines these
days it invokes a stub that prints the "NO ROM BASIC" message.

Note that this happens only if the MBR is unreadable (drive 0 not present,
not low level formatted, or track 0 bad) and possibly if the magic number in
the partition table (0x55AA IIRC) isn't there. Garbage in the MBR usually
leads to a hang, however, as opposed to the INT 18 trap.

-- 
brandon s. allbery	[os/2][linux][solaris][japh]	 allbery@kf8nh.apk.net
system administrator	     [WAY too many hats]	   allbery@ece.cmu.edu
carnegie mellon / electrical and computer engineering			 KF8NH
			  Kiss my bits, Billy-boy.






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