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Intel Manuals are to x86 as ____ is to IBM-PC

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:21 am
by pm286
Hello,

I'm starting to play with x86 system programming. When it comes to processor related stuff, I'm reading the 80286 programmer manual --- I was given a hard copy of it recently and I was surprised on how nice it is to read. I was expecting for something purely techinical but I found it actually very didatic, repeating important information many times, etc, etc.

But when it comes to IBM-PC related stuff, what's the closest thing I can get in terms of documentation? Is there a canonical source of information concerning stuff like: the boot process, default services provided by the BIOS, BIOS that area, etc, and maybe how to access some basic hardware like keyboard, disk, pit using I/O ports ?

I know there are articles about each of these on the wiki, but I was looking for something maybe more official.

Thanks in advance

Re: Intel Manuals are to x86 as ____ is to IBM-PC

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:53 am
by gravaera
Yo:

You want to search for the "IBM-PC PS/2 Technical Reference Manuals". Some of them are outdated, so you can also cross reference with docs off Intel's website, and other places on the web.

And finally, Linux source, which you will have to consult with regardless of your documentation base; pretty much mandatory that you read to see how Linux handles the device.

--Peace out,
gravaera.

Re: Intel Manuals are to x86 as ____ is to IBM-PC

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:31 pm
by xenos
This is one of the references that really helped me do the first steps:

http://it.mesce.ac.in/downloads/micropr ... ref22.html

Re: Intel Manuals are to x86 as ____ is to IBM-PC

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 3:03 pm
by qw
I think RBIL is an excellent reference.