From: nowhere@nevernet.at   
      
   On 05/01/2022 17:39, James Harris wrote:   
      
   >>     What formats of image file are best for the OS itself?   
      
   >> Or maybe there's another option. I've a feeling we've discussed this   
   >> before but at the moment I cannot think of what we concluded. Plus, I   
   >> need to work with what my compiler can produce (32-bit Nasm) which may   
   >> be a new constraint.   
      
   > I should say I remember someone (Alex?) since long ago espousing a   
   > certain .exe format as being very easy to relocate but I am not sure   
   > whether it was suitable for 32-bit code, nor which linker I would need   
   > to use to produce it. My development environment is Ubutu Linux.   
      
   > I guess that maybe .exe has been supplanted by the 32-bit PE format -   
   > and PE may be a good way to go given that it's required by UEFI - but,   
   > again, feedback would be welcome.   
      
   I prefer a never fragmented (iow: always consecutive) Flat Binary image,   
   and as all M$-forms are prone to become distributed all over the disk   
   I'd avoid using any of their formats. Loonix may act quite similar...   
      
   Even we are now forced to use UEFI and the FAT32 boot code, I'd have all   
   my OS including loader stages as a block of consecutive sectors on disk.   
   So all I need to know is the LBA-Number of the start sector then.   
   This needs a certain (stupid easy) tool to "format" such an OS either   
   manually or full featured autonome.   
   __   
   wolfgang   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)