freeload.exe - FreeWorld OS Documentation

Overview

freeload.exe is the FreeWorld OS loader responsible for loading the core OS kernel and essential boot-start device drivers into memory. It acts as the second-stage bootloader, executed after BOOTMGR.

Main Function

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
    printf("FreeWorld OS Loader v0.1\n");
    printf("Loading kernel and drivers...\n");
    
    // Load BCD
    bcd_entry_t entry;
    if (bcd_load("BCD") == 0) {
        if (bcd_get_default_entry(&entry) == 0) {
            printf("Boot entry: %s\n", entry.name);
            printf("Kernel: %s\n", entry.kernel);
            printf("Loader: %s\n", entry.loader);
            
            // Load kernel into memory
            // This will be implemented with actual memory loading
            printf("Kernel loaded successfully.\n");
        }
    }
    
    return 0;
}

Functionality

Boot Process

Display loader version information
Load Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
Retrieve default boot entry
Display boot entry information
Load kernel into memory (to be implemented)
Load essential device drivers (to be implemented)
Transfer control to kernel

Dependencies

BCD Library: Uses BCD.h for boot configuration
Standard C Library: Uses stdio.h, stdlib.h, string.h

Variables

Variable	Type	Scope	Description
`entry`	bcd_entry_t	local (main)	Boot entry structure from BCD
`argc`	int	parameter	Command-line argument count
`argv`	char**	parameter	Command-line arguments array

Future Implementation

The following features are planned for future implementation:

Kernel Loading: Actual memory loading of kernel binary
Driver Loading: Loading of essential boot-start drivers
Memory Management: Setting up memory maps and page tables
Protected Mode: Transition from real mode to protected mode
Kernel Transfer: Proper jump to kernel entry point

Build Instructions

cd boot/freeload
make

This compiles freeload.c and links it with the BCD library to produce freeload.exe.

Integration Points

BOOTMGR: Called by boot manager after initial boot
BCD: Reads boot configuration from BCD file
fwoskrnl.exe: Loads and transfers control to kernel
hal.dll: May load HAL before kernel initialization

freeload.exe - FreeWorld OS Loader