MBR development environment?

[sonOfAGun]

Hi
I'm new to coding in assembly, I want to write an MBR, I need to set up an environment that I can DEBUG an MBR.

I've tried using emu8086 but it appears that int13 extensions (i.e. read and write in LBA) are not supported. I am considering using Bochs. But I'm hoping that someone with more experience than me can tell me;

What environment/VM replicates that of a computer(intel/amd) when booting up, but also allows me to debug the assembly code too.

Thanks in advance. :U

[redskull]

VMware is the most common, but it doesn't come cheap.  Also, it installs a large number of system-slowing-down device drivers and services, so I recommend a seperate box to run it in (but that's just personal preference).

-r

[Vortex]

Hi sonOfAGun,

Welcome to the forum.

Another option is to use Virtual PC 2007 :

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=28C97D22-6EB8-4A09-A7F7-F6C7A1F000B5&displaylang=en

[TNick]

Bochs has a integrated GUI debugger, and setting a breakpoint is as simple as
xchg bx, bx

Look here for some info about it and further reading

Nick

[sonOfAGun]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that there is no debugger for VMware or Virtual PC that would allow me to debug the MBR as the VM is booting up.

It looks like I will be setting up an environment in Bochs, as this allows debugging of the Master Boot Record (i.e. int13 calls) unless anyone knows of other alternatives.

Thanks for the help.

[Farabi]

Syslinux source code would be good for learning.
It can read FAT32 format and load a kernel. It also able to run a 32-bit code.