2025-12-21

This is the last regular blog post of the year. There may be some irregular ones still.

• Fix typos in the manual.
• Fix screvid.but hyperlink to lead to the ident86 repo rather than lDebug's.

• Add lDOS pre-boot loader to kernel payload, and allow loading it from the boot menu.
• Use the MCP library ELD rather than defaul ext library. This includes the NLDR extensions (currently only fdbplace.eld) and displays "MCP" in its description and help.
• mak.sh: Fix error exit on $? set. This is picked from ldosboot.exp where we noticed this mistake first.

• Fix mak.sh error exit on $? set.

An empty changeset to rebuild for the new lDOS boot revision (multi-sector reads, FSIBOOT5a). ETA: Another empty changeset to rebuild with the latest lDOS boot revision (query patch site flag 08h added).

An empty changeset to rebuild for the new lDOS boot revision (multi-sector reads, FSIBOOT5a). ETA: Another empty changeset to rebuild with the latest lDOS boot revision (query patch site flag 08h added).

Update patchqry.c to add flag 08h (force single-sector reads).

• Fix MCP build to actually pass _DEBUG_COND. This was missing the D_ in the switch.
• Document eldiListing field of ELD_INSTANCE structure in the manual.
• extlib.asm: Comment on the expected seek for library ELDs.
• loadeld.asm: Comment on the file seek after loading the data section of the ELD.
• Comment in the protocol comments on the expected seek for ELDs, as used by library ELDs.
• Do not add the lib_displacement if it comes out as zero.
• Extract get_dxax_seek_lib_zero function repeatedly used.
• Add got_seek_lib flag to ensure that no more than a single seek call is run.
• Update manual to link to relevant ELDs more often, and list hintoth.eld
• Add the mcplib.eld to include fdbplace.eld in the MCP library ELD.
• Set dif6_mcp for MCP debugger build.
• Add IF EXISTS EXT command.
• Bugfix: On loader G command while not hidden, unhook serial interrupt and interrupt 2Dh if currently hooked.
• Update some attribution years to 2025.
• Fix mak.sh exit on $? set.
• For GODEBUG command of loader, clear TF, IF, and DF control flags.
• Rebuild for new lDOS boot revision.
• Add lDOS boot update to news-r10 manual section.
• Add loader.src manual file.
• Fill initial commit of the loader manual.

ETA, work on the patchqry Extension for lDebug:

• Add the initial commit of the ELD. This does nothing yet.
• Add help and online help.
• Parse unit name, or SHOW, or RANGE, and add 386 support patch tables.
• Fix the msg.keyword_floppy message.
• Add the DCO7 flag 200h (opt7_debug_run).
• Parse numbers and display a dump of the parsed numbers, if DCO7 flag 200h is set.
• Add code links for verifysegm functions, and no-op stubs for non-DPMI debugger.
• Add an install flag DEBUGRUN, for new DCO7 flag 200h.
• Implement update and query in the ELD.
• Fix 386 high words init and correct counter calculation.
• Add the ELD to mak.sh and extlib.asm library.
• Document the patchqry ELD.

As of this week, lDOS boot experimental changes were pulled into the main lDOS boot repo.

• Optimise IVT addressing in init_memory_multi, use bx = 0.
• Optimise, return si = 0 from clust_next. This also depends on clust_next returning CY for a valid next cluster return.
• Optimise discarding ldmCluster, pop into si instead of adding to sp.
• Comment on si = 0 in skipped_all_multi.
• Disable _ADDPROGRESS option define by default.
• Spaghettify m6_continue1 to make space for next change.
• Add query_no_multi flag (08h) to query patch site, forcing the multi-sector loader to use single-sector read calls only.
• doc:
  • Update with loader support, MCP, /4 PREFIX option loading less than 8 KiB, appended archive may be .7z, may append ELD, file size notes for FreeDOS and EDR-DOS load and for loading as a device driver in config.sys
  • Fix a wording mistake, "should be made *to* point at".
  • Rename the section on loader support to drop "signature" (as it describes more than the signature) and explicitly refer to it as the "Pre-boot loader".