THE LINUX/I386 BOOT PROTOCOL
  		     ----------------------------
  
  		    H. Peter Anvin <hpa@zytor.com>

  			Last update 2007-01-26

  
  On the i386 platform, the Linux kernel uses a rather complicated boot
  convention.  This has evolved partially due to historical aspects, as
  well as the desire in the early days to have the kernel itself be a
  bootable image, the complicated PC memory model and due to changed
  expectations in the PC industry caused by the effective demise of
  real-mode DOS as a mainstream operating system.
  
  Currently, four versions of the Linux/i386 boot protocol exist.
  
  Old kernels:	zImage/Image support only.  Some very early kernels
  		may not even support a command line.
  
  Protocol 2.00:	(Kernel 1.3.73) Added bzImage and initrd support, as
  		well as a formalized way to communicate between the
  		boot loader and the kernel.  setup.S made relocatable,
  		although the traditional setup area still assumed
  		writable.
  
  Protocol 2.01:	(Kernel 1.3.76) Added a heap overrun warning.
  
  Protocol 2.02:	(Kernel 2.4.0-test3-pre3) New command line protocol.
  		Lower the conventional memory ceiling.	No overwrite
  		of the traditional setup area, thus making booting
  		safe for systems which use the EBDA from SMM or 32-bit
  		BIOS entry points.  zImage deprecated but still
  		supported.
  
  Protocol 2.03:	(Kernel 2.4.18-pre1) Explicitly makes the highest possible
  		initrd address available to the bootloader.

  Protocol 2.04:	(Kernel 2.6.14) Extend the syssize field to four bytes.

  Protocol 2.05:	(Kernel 2.6.20) Make protected mode kernel relocatable.
  		Introduce relocatable_kernel and kernel_alignment fields.

  
  **** MEMORY LAYOUT
  
  The traditional memory map for the kernel loader, used for Image or
  zImage kernels, typically looks like:
  
  	|			 |
  0A0000	+------------------------+
  	|  Reserved for BIOS	 |	Do not use.  Reserved for BIOS EBDA.
  09A000	+------------------------+
  	|  Stack/heap/cmdline	 |	For use by the kernel real-mode code.
  098000	+------------------------+	
  	|  Kernel setup		 |	The kernel real-mode code.
  090200	+------------------------+
  	|  Kernel boot sector	 |	The kernel legacy boot sector.
  090000	+------------------------+
  	|  Protected-mode kernel |	The bulk of the kernel image.
  010000	+------------------------+
  	|  Boot loader		 |	<- Boot sector entry point 0000:7C00
  001000	+------------------------+
  	|  Reserved for MBR/BIOS |
  000800	+------------------------+
  	|  Typically used by MBR |
  000600	+------------------------+ 
  	|  BIOS use only	 |
  000000	+------------------------+
  
  
  When using bzImage, the protected-mode kernel was relocated to
  0x100000 ("high memory"), and the kernel real-mode block (boot sector,
  setup, and stack/heap) was made relocatable to any address between
  0x10000 and end of low memory.	Unfortunately, in protocols 2.00 and
  2.01 the command line is still required to live in the 0x9XXXX memory
  range, and that memory range is still overwritten by the early kernel.
  The 2.02 protocol resolves that problem.
  
  It is desirable to keep the "memory ceiling" -- the highest point in
  low memory touched by the boot loader -- as low as possible, since
  some newer BIOSes have begun to allocate some rather large amounts of
  memory, called the Extended BIOS Data Area, near the top of low
  memory.	 The boot loader should use the "INT 12h" BIOS call to verify
  how much low memory is available.
  
  Unfortunately, if INT 12h reports that the amount of memory is too
  low, there is usually nothing the boot loader can do but to report an
  error to the user.  The boot loader should therefore be designed to
  take up as little space in low memory as it reasonably can.  For
  zImage or old bzImage kernels, which need data written into the
  0x90000 segment, the boot loader should make sure not to use memory
  above the 0x9A000 point; too many BIOSes will break above that point.
  
  
  **** THE REAL-MODE KERNEL HEADER
  
  In the following text, and anywhere in the kernel boot sequence, "a
  sector" refers to 512 bytes.  It is independent of the actual sector
  size of the underlying medium.
  
  The first step in loading a Linux kernel should be to load the
  real-mode code (boot sector and setup code) and then examine the
  following header at offset 0x01f1.  The real-mode code can total up to
  32K, although the boot loader may choose to load only the first two
  sectors (1K) and then examine the bootup sector size.
  
  The header looks like:
  
  Offset	Proto	Name		Meaning
  /Size

  01F1/1	ALL(1	setup_sects	The size of the setup in sectors

  01F2/2	ALL	root_flags	If set, the root is mounted readonly

  01F4/4	2.04+(2	syssize		The size of the 32-bit code in 16-byte paras

  01F8/2	ALL	ram_size	DO NOT USE - for bootsect.S use only
  01FA/2	ALL	vid_mode	Video mode control
  01FC/2	ALL	root_dev	Default root device number
  01FE/2	ALL	boot_flag	0xAA55 magic number
  0200/2	2.00+	jump		Jump instruction
  0202/4	2.00+	header		Magic signature "HdrS"
  0206/2	2.00+	version		Boot protocol version supported
  0208/4	2.00+	realmode_swtch	Boot loader hook (see below)
  020C/2	2.00+	start_sys	The load-low segment (0x1000) (obsolete)
  020E/2	2.00+	kernel_version	Pointer to kernel version string
  0210/1	2.00+	type_of_loader	Boot loader identifier
  0211/1	2.00+	loadflags	Boot protocol option flags
  0212/2	2.00+	setup_move_size	Move to high memory size (used with hooks)
  0214/4	2.00+	code32_start	Boot loader hook (see below)
  0218/4	2.00+	ramdisk_image	initrd load address (set by boot loader)
  021C/4	2.00+	ramdisk_size	initrd size (set by boot loader)
  0220/4	2.00+	bootsect_kludge	DO NOT USE - for bootsect.S use only
  0224/2	2.01+	heap_end_ptr	Free memory after setup end
  0226/2	N/A	pad1		Unused
  0228/4	2.02+	cmd_line_ptr	32-bit pointer to the kernel command line
  022C/4	2.03+	initrd_addr_max	Highest legal initrd address

  0230/4	2.05+	kernel_alignment Physical addr alignment required for kernel
  0234/1	2.05+	relocatable_kernel Whether kernel is relocatable or not

  (1) For backwards compatibility, if the setup_sects field contains 0, the
      real value is 4.
  
  (2) For boot protocol prior to 2.04, the upper two bytes of the syssize
      field are unusable, which means the size of a bzImage kernel
      cannot be determined.

  
  If the "HdrS" (0x53726448) magic number is not found at offset 0x202,
  the boot protocol version is "old".  Loading an old kernel, the
  following parameters should be assumed:
  
  	Image type = zImage
  	initrd not supported
  	Real-mode kernel must be located at 0x90000.
  
  Otherwise, the "version" field contains the protocol version,
  e.g. protocol version 2.01 will contain 0x0201 in this field.  When
  setting fields in the header, you must make sure only to set fields
  supported by the protocol version in use.
  
  The "kernel_version" field, if set to a nonzero value, contains a
  pointer to a null-terminated human-readable kernel version number
  string, less 0x200.  This can be used to display the kernel version to
  the user.  This value should be less than (0x200*setup_sects).  For
  example, if this value is set to 0x1c00, the kernel version number
  string can be found at offset 0x1e00 in the kernel file.  This is a
  valid value if and only if the "setup_sects" field contains the value
  14 or higher.
  
  Most boot loaders will simply load the kernel at its target address
  directly.  Such boot loaders do not need to worry about filling in
  most of the fields in the header.  The following fields should be
  filled out, however:
  
    vid_mode:
  	Please see the section on SPECIAL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS.
  
    type_of_loader:
  	If your boot loader has an assigned id (see table below), enter
  	0xTV here, where T is an identifier for the boot loader and V is
  	a version number.  Otherwise, enter 0xFF here.
  
  	Assigned boot loader ids:
  	0  LILO
  	1  Loadlin
  	2  bootsect-loader
  	3  SYSLINUX
  	4  EtherBoot
  	5  ELILO
  	7  GRuB
  	8  U-BOOT

  	9  Xen

  	A  Gujin

  
  	Please contact <hpa@zytor.com> if you need a bootloader ID
  	value assigned.
  
    loadflags, heap_end_ptr:
  	If the protocol version is 2.01 or higher, enter the
  	offset limit of the setup heap into heap_end_ptr and set the
  	0x80 bit (CAN_USE_HEAP) of loadflags.  heap_end_ptr appears to
  	be relative to the start of setup (offset 0x0200).
  
    setup_move_size: 
  	When using protocol 2.00 or 2.01, if the real mode
  	kernel is not loaded at 0x90000, it gets moved there later in
  	the loading sequence.  Fill in this field if you want
  	additional data (such as the kernel command line) moved in
  	addition to the real-mode kernel itself.
  
    ramdisk_image, ramdisk_size:
  	If your boot loader has loaded an initial ramdisk (initrd),
  	set ramdisk_image to the 32-bit pointer to the ramdisk data
  	and the ramdisk_size to the size of the ramdisk data.
  
  	The initrd should typically be located as high in memory as
  	possible, as it may otherwise get overwritten by the early
  	kernel initialization sequence.	 However, it must never be
  	located above the address specified in the initrd_addr_max
  	field.	The initrd should be at least 4K page aligned.
  
    cmd_line_ptr:
  	If the protocol version is 2.02 or higher, this is a 32-bit
  	pointer to the kernel command line.  The kernel command line
  	can be located anywhere between the end of setup and 0xA0000.
  	Fill in this field even if your boot loader does not support a
  	command line, in which case you can point this to an empty
  	string (or better yet, to the string "auto".)  If this field
  	is left at zero, the kernel will assume that your boot loader
  	does not support the 2.02+ protocol.
  
    ramdisk_max:
  	The maximum address that may be occupied by the initrd
  	contents.  For boot protocols 2.02 or earlier, this field is
  	not present, and the maximum address is 0x37FFFFFF.  (This
  	address is defined as the address of the highest safe byte, so
  	if your ramdisk is exactly 131072 bytes long and this field is
  	0x37FFFFFF, you can start your ramdisk at 0x37FE0000.)
  
  
  **** THE KERNEL COMMAND LINE
  
  The kernel command line has become an important way for the boot
  loader to communicate with the kernel.  Some of its options are also
  relevant to the boot loader itself, see "special command line options"
  below.

  The kernel command line is a null-terminated string currently up to
  255 characters long, plus the final null.  A string that is too long
  will be automatically truncated by the kernel, a boot loader may allow
  a longer command line to be passed to permit future kernels to extend
  this limit.

  
  If the boot protocol version is 2.02 or later, the address of the
  kernel command line is given by the header field cmd_line_ptr (see

  above.)  This address can be anywhere between the end of the setup
  heap and 0xA0000.

  
  If the protocol version is *not* 2.02 or higher, the kernel
  command line is entered using the following protocol:
  
  	At offset 0x0020 (word), "cmd_line_magic", enter the magic
  	number 0xA33F.
  
  	At offset 0x0022 (word), "cmd_line_offset", enter the offset
  	of the kernel command line (relative to the start of the
  	real-mode kernel).
  	
  	The kernel command line *must* be within the memory region
  	covered by setup_move_size, so you may need to adjust this
  	field.
  
  
  **** SAMPLE BOOT CONFIGURATION
  
  As a sample configuration, assume the following layout of the real

  mode segment (this is a typical, and recommended layout):

  
  	0x0000-0x7FFF	Real mode kernel
  	0x8000-0x8FFF	Stack and heap
  	0x9000-0x90FF	Kernel command line
  
  Such a boot loader should enter the following fields in the header:
  
  	unsigned long base_ptr;	/* base address for real-mode segment */
  
  	if ( setup_sects == 0 ) {
  		setup_sects = 4;
  	}
  
  	if ( protocol >= 0x0200 ) {
  		type_of_loader = <type code>;
  		if ( loading_initrd ) {
  			ramdisk_image = <initrd_address>;
  			ramdisk_size = <initrd_size>;
  		}
  		if ( protocol >= 0x0201 ) {
  			heap_end_ptr = 0x9000 - 0x200;
  			loadflags |= 0x80; /* CAN_USE_HEAP */
  		}
  		if ( protocol >= 0x0202 ) {
  			cmd_line_ptr = base_ptr + 0x9000;
  		} else {
  			cmd_line_magic	= 0xA33F;
  			cmd_line_offset = 0x9000;
  			setup_move_size = 0x9100;
  		}
  	} else {
  		/* Very old kernel */
  
  		cmd_line_magic	= 0xA33F;
  		cmd_line_offset = 0x9000;
  
  		/* A very old kernel MUST have its real-mode code
  		   loaded at 0x90000 */
  
  		if ( base_ptr != 0x90000 ) {
  			/* Copy the real-mode kernel */
  			memcpy(0x90000, base_ptr, (setup_sects+1)*512);
  			/* Copy the command line */
  			memcpy(0x99000, base_ptr+0x9000, 256);
  
  			base_ptr = 0x90000;		 /* Relocated */
  		}
  
  		/* It is recommended to clear memory up to the 32K mark */
  		memset(0x90000 + (setup_sects+1)*512, 0,
  		       (64-(setup_sects+1))*512);
  	}
  
  
  **** LOADING THE REST OF THE KERNEL

  The 32-bit (non-real-mode) kernel starts at offset (setup_sects+1)*512
  in the kernel file (again, if setup_sects == 0 the real value is 4.)
  It should be loaded at address 0x10000 for Image/zImage kernels and

  0x100000 for bzImage kernels.
  
  The kernel is a bzImage kernel if the protocol >= 2.00 and the 0x01
  bit (LOAD_HIGH) in the loadflags field is set:
  
  	is_bzImage = (protocol >= 0x0200) && (loadflags & 0x01);
  	load_address = is_bzImage ? 0x100000 : 0x10000;
  
  Note that Image/zImage kernels can be up to 512K in size, and thus use
  the entire 0x10000-0x90000 range of memory.  This means it is pretty
  much a requirement for these kernels to load the real-mode part at
  0x90000.  bzImage kernels allow much more flexibility.
  
  
  **** SPECIAL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
  
  If the command line provided by the boot loader is entered by the
  user, the user may expect the following command line options to work.
  They should normally not be deleted from the kernel command line even
  though not all of them are actually meaningful to the kernel.  Boot
  loader authors who need additional command line options for the boot
  loader itself should get them registered in
  Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt to make sure they will not
  conflict with actual kernel options now or in the future.
  
    vga=<mode>
  	<mode> here is either an integer (in C notation, either
  	decimal, octal, or hexadecimal) or one of the strings
  	"normal" (meaning 0xFFFF), "ext" (meaning 0xFFFE) or "ask"
  	(meaning 0xFFFD).  This value should be entered into the
  	vid_mode field, as it is used by the kernel before the command
  	line is parsed.
  
    mem=<size>
  	<size> is an integer in C notation optionally followed by K, M
  	or G (meaning << 10, << 20 or << 30).  This specifies the end
  	of memory to the kernel. This affects the possible placement
  	of an initrd, since an initrd should be placed near end of
  	memory.  Note that this is an option to *both* the kernel and
  	the bootloader!
  
    initrd=<file>
  	An initrd should be loaded.  The meaning of <file> is
  	obviously bootloader-dependent, and some boot loaders
  	(e.g. LILO) do not have such a command.
  
  In addition, some boot loaders add the following options to the
  user-specified command line:
  
    BOOT_IMAGE=<file>
  	The boot image which was loaded.  Again, the meaning of <file>
  	is obviously bootloader-dependent.
  
    auto
  	The kernel was booted without explicit user intervention.
  
  If these options are added by the boot loader, it is highly
  recommended that they are located *first*, before the user-specified
  or configuration-specified command line.  Otherwise, "init=/bin/sh"
  gets confused by the "auto" option.
  
  
  **** RUNNING THE KERNEL
  
  The kernel is started by jumping to the kernel entry point, which is
  located at *segment* offset 0x20 from the start of the real mode
  kernel.  This means that if you loaded your real-mode kernel code at
  0x90000, the kernel entry point is 9020:0000.
  
  At entry, ds = es = ss should point to the start of the real-mode
  kernel code (0x9000 if the code is loaded at 0x90000), sp should be
  set up properly, normally pointing to the top of the heap, and
  interrupts should be disabled.  Furthermore, to guard against bugs in
  the kernel, it is recommended that the boot loader sets fs = gs = ds =
  es = ss.
  
  In our example from above, we would do:
  
  	/* Note: in the case of the "old" kernel protocol, base_ptr must
  	   be == 0x90000 at this point; see the previous sample code */
  
  	seg = base_ptr >> 4;
  
  	cli();	/* Enter with interrupts disabled! */
  
  	/* Set up the real-mode kernel stack */
  	_SS = seg;
  	_SP = 0x9000;	/* Load SP immediately after loading SS! */
  
  	_DS = _ES = _FS = _GS = seg;
  	jmp_far(seg+0x20, 0);	/* Run the kernel */
  
  If your boot sector accesses a floppy drive, it is recommended to
  switch off the floppy motor before running the kernel, since the
  kernel boot leaves interrupts off and thus the motor will not be
  switched off, especially if the loaded kernel has the floppy driver as
  a demand-loaded module!
  
  
  **** ADVANCED BOOT TIME HOOKS
  
  If the boot loader runs in a particularly hostile environment (such as
  LOADLIN, which runs under DOS) it may be impossible to follow the
  standard memory location requirements.  Such a boot loader may use the
  following hooks that, if set, are invoked by the kernel at the
  appropriate time.  The use of these hooks should probably be
  considered an absolutely last resort!
  
  IMPORTANT: All the hooks are required to preserve %esp, %ebp, %esi and
  %edi across invocation.
  
    realmode_swtch:
  	A 16-bit real mode far subroutine invoked immediately before
  	entering protected mode.  The default routine disables NMI, so
  	your routine should probably do so, too.
  
    code32_start:
  	A 32-bit flat-mode routine *jumped* to immediately after the
  	transition to protected mode, but before the kernel is
  	uncompressed.  No segments, except CS, are set up; you should
  	set them up to KERNEL_DS (0x18) yourself.
  
  	After completing your hook, you should jump to the address
  	that was in this field before your boot loader overwrote it.