using bios after linux

[C Michael Sundius]

Hi,

  I've been working on a project where we are using linux as an 
operating environment for some
  setup work prior to booting windows. our control flow looks like this

  reset => (1)linux & linux aplication  =>
  (2)kexec => (3)proprietery 16bit real code (uses bios) =>
  (4)ntloader => (5)Windows

  I have come into this project in the middle, however I've seen enough 
to understand that its not an easy
  task to run bios calls after linux, especially int13 and power 
management stuff. The contractor that
  has been working on this prior to me, used Grub-for-DOS as glue code 
to get most machines to boot correctly.
  i.e. kexec-tools loads Grub-for-DOS (GFD) and our proprietery 
pre-windows real mode code (I'll call that the
  real mode "stuff" from here on); kexec starts GFD, which then starts 
the RM "stuff" that does some thing
  and then finally kicks off ntloader and Windows.

  It seems as though Grub-for-DOS does some magic since if we simply 
load our RM STUFF using some simple
  pergetory code to switch us into real mode the processor goes off into 
the weeds when we call BIOS
  int13; not on all machines of course, but many more than with GFD.

  I'll also say that we are working off of an older version of 
kexec-tools, say 6mo to 1year ago.

  QUESTIONS:
  1) Is GFD the defacto way of running BIOS calls after linux (chain 
booting DOS or windows) or has
  the kexec team or anyone else gotten some a simpler program to go from 
linux to realmode (and BIOS)?
  Any pointers to previous work or helpful hints would be greatly 
appreciated.


  2) It would be best if our linux application that runs before kexec 
call kexec directly*. Thus has anyone
  thought to provide a kexec-tools-lib and an api such that programs can 
acess the same high level utility of
  the kexec program just as easily as from the shell? This would be a 
great help.  Are the
  "kexec-tools-powers-that-be" interested in that being integrated into 
your project? (if we contributed it or
  part of it)

  * I'll just add that we would like to pass pointers to the buffer (of 
code that is loaded) directly to
  the kexec user program instead of having to store them somewhere (in a 
file) and then let the kexec
  program retrieve them (i'm talking about our Real Mode STUFF that runs 
before windows and after linux).

  Apologies if you have discussed this before, I've looked through your 
archives quite a ways back and didn't
  see anything that exactly answered my questions. thanks for your help.

  Mike


C Michael Sundius
Solico Group LLC
232 Nevada St
San Francisco, CA 94110
msundius at sundius.com
(415)608-0121
http://www.sundius.com