Boot Sector

[dfg]

Can I write a boot sector using VB? Is there some built in library, or
is it possible to make my own?

Can I embed Assembly language?

Getting ready to work with Visual Basic for the first time.

Thanks.

[Steve Gerrard]

"dfg" <df*@dfg.net> wrote in message news:Xe7fb.8139$6C4.136@pd7tw1no...

Can I write a boot sector using VB? Is there some built in library, or
is it possible to make my own?

Can I embed Assembly language?

Getting ready to work with Visual Basic for the first time.

Thanks.

And your first project is going to be a - what?

[dfg]

Steve Gerrard wrote:

"dfg" <df*@dfg.net> wrote in message news:Xe7fb.8139$6C4.136@pd7tw1no...

Can I write a boot sector using VB? Is there some built in library, or
is it possible to make my own?

Can I embed Assembly language?

Getting ready to work with Visual Basic for the first time.

Thanks.

And your first project is going to be a - what?

Boot loader. It's not my first program. I've been programming in C and
assembly for years. Usually under an embedded DOS or Unix. It's merely
my first encounter with Visual Basic. Windows programming actually.
It's alot different from Commodore Basic, which was my first encounter
with the language... Now I've dated myself. Oh well. At least My first
wasn't a VAX. :-)

[J French]

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 06:26:34 GMT, dfg <df*@dfg.net> wrote:

<snip>

And your first project is going to be a - what?

Boot loader. It's not my first program. I've been programming in C and
assembly for years. Usually under an embedded DOS or Unix. It's merely
my first encounter with Visual Basic. Windows programming actually.
It's alot different from Commodore Basic, which was my first encounter
with the language... Now I've dated myself. Oh well. At least My first
wasn't a VAX. :-)

You are in for a shock

Windows programming is pretty different from what you are used to

- VB is so far from suitable for what you are talking about, that it
is .... indescribable

[Steve Gerrard]

"dfg" <df*@dfg.net> wrote in message news:uE8fb.8500$pl3.2618@pd7tw3no...

Steve Gerrard wrote:

"dfg" <df*@dfg.net> wrote in message news:Xe7fb.8139$6C4.136@pd7tw1no...

Can I write a boot sector using VB? Is there some built in library, or
is it possible to make my own?

Can I embed Assembly language?

Getting ready to work with Visual Basic for the first time.

Thanks.

And your first project is going to be a - what?

Boot loader. It's not my first program. I've been programming in C and
assembly for years. Usually under an embedded DOS or Unix. It's merely
my first encounter with Visual Basic. Windows programming actually.
It's alot different from Commodore Basic, which was my first encounter
with the language... Now I've dated myself. Oh well. At least My first
wasn't a VAX. :-)

Did some punch card Fortran and Assembler on an IBM 370 once.

J French's post pretty much nails it. VB is for writing programs that run in
Windows, and a boot loader can't run in Windows. You can do some console stuff,
but only in a console window running within Windows. Its useless for low level
system stuff, especially a boot loader.

[Raoul Watson]

"dfg" <df*@dfg.net> wrote in message news:Xe7fb.8139$6C4.136@pd7tw1no...

Can I write a boot sector using VB? Is there some built in library, or
is it possible to make my own?

Can I embed Assembly language?

Getting ready to work with Visual Basic for the first time.

Thanks.

You will have to use MASM to do this. A boot loader has to be written in
assembly language native to the processor family (i.e. 808x). You also need
to stay under 512 bytes to be compatible with older systems.