Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!psurge
From: psurge@cs.utexas.edu (Troy Carpenter)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: OS in ROM/RAM & viruses (was: Re: TOS 2.0)
Summary: HD boots
Message-ID: <14648@cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 14 Nov 90 19:38:37 GMT
References: <1990Nov06.213749.13906@ecst.csuchico.edu> <mboen.658534305@peun33> <1990Nov14.140643.15703@cs.utk.edu>
Sender: news@cs.utexas.edu
Lines: 48

In article <1990Nov14.140643.15703@cs.utk.edu>, andrew@cs.utk.edu (Andrew Krzywdzinski) writes:
> 
> That's interesting... I happen to have a hard disk too, and my floppy
> is viri-protected (I assume by a program in the boot sector) by George
> Woodside's vkiller. Anyway, even though I boot from the hd, it always
> executes the boot sector on the floppy !
> One of us has to be wrong, then...
> 
> -andrew krzywdzinski   (andrew@cs.utk.edu)

The ST will look to the boot sector of the floppy disk to see if it is
executable before booting the HD.  However, this does not mean that the HD
needs to have the floppy in the drive.  I read an article not long ago that 
stated the boot up procedure was like this:  (I think Dave Small wrote it)

1. The ST looks to the floppy and checks to see if it is autobooting.  (try
   putting a autobooting game and see if your hard drive starts up.) 

2. If the disk is not autobooting, or the disk IS NOT THERE, then it will try
   to boot the hard drive.  (this happens on systems with no HD also)

3. If the hard drive is not autobooting, or there is no hard drive then control
   returns to the floppy drive and the auto folder.

4. If there is still no floppy disk, then the default desktop comes up.

Note:  This is for TOS in ROM.

So Yes, the Hard drive does check the boot sector, but it is not needed to boot
a hard drive that is Autobooting.  Note that it will take slightly longer if
there is not disk in the drive because the floppy drive must time out before 
control passes to the Hard drive.

You can see this process at work on your own system by setting up cases that 
fail one of the above conditions (ie put a autobooting game disk, or turn off
your hard drive and boot without a floppy in the drive).


                                Troy Carpenter
                        Department of Computer Sciences
                        THE University of Texas, Austin
                              psurge@cs.utexas.edu

"You're so open minded that your brain leaked out" - Steve Taylor

*>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The best thing in life costs exactly that <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<*