Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!bruce!cechew From: cechew@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Earl Chew) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: Shoelace, Boot sector, Partition sector Message-ID: <3293@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> Date: 30 Oct 90 06:19:33 GMT References: <34243@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <3275@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> <124439@linus.mitre.org> <3284@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> Organization: Monash Uni. Computer Science, Australia Lines: 27 In L.Parkes@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Lloyd Parkes) writes: >In article <3284@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> cechew@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Earl Chew) writes: > Assuming that only DS:SI are passed, how does the boot code work out which > drive is being bootstrapped? (This is why I passed the drive number in dl.) >The partition being booted from is the active partition. Quite some Yes, what you say is true -- but you haven't answered the question. My question refers to the *drive* not the *partition*. How does the bootstrap determine that drive N is being bootstrapped? Or, put another way, how does a boot menu program indicate to the boot sector code which drive is being bootstrapped? One could always write a drive number specific bootstrap, but this is ugly since it requires N versions of the bootstrap for N drives. A generic bootstrap is preferred. In this case, the bootstrap must determine at run time which drive is being started. Earl -- Earl Chew, Dept of Computer Science, Monash University, Australia 3168 EMAIL: cechew@bruce.cs.monash.edu.au PHONE: 03 5655447 FAX: 03 5655146 ----------------------------------------------------------------------