[Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
free.

Now, in order to fiddle with the VBE implementation, I need to have 
access to the VGA BIOS source code. QEMU is using the same lgpl BIOS as 
Bochs and plex86. Its homepage is http://www.nongnu.org/vgabios/. 
However, none of the download links on that page work, the page seems to 
have been abandoned for some time, and all the mailing lists seem to be 
dead.

So, my question is, does anybody have the current source code used to 
create the lgpl VGA BIOS? The current version should be something like 0.4c.

- Bartosz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Antony T Curtis]

On Mon, 2004-05-31 at 14:47, Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
> Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
> beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
> I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
> free.
> 
> Now, in order to fiddle with the VBE implementation, I need to have 
> access to the VGA BIOS source code. QEMU is using the same lgpl BIOS as 
> Bochs and plex86. Its homepage is http://www.nongnu.org/vgabios/. 
> However, none of the download links on that page work, the page seems to 
> have been abandoned for some time, and all the mailing lists seem to be 
> dead.
> 
> So, my question is, does anybody have the current source code used to 
> create the lgpl VGA BIOS? The current version should be something like 0.4c.

I successfully checked it out from the CVS repository.

Instructions at http://savannah.nongnu.org/cvs/?group_id=891

-- 

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Antony T Curtis]

On Mon, 2004-05-31 at 14:59, Antony T Curtis wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-05-31 at 14:47, Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> > I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
> > Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
> > beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
> > I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
> > free.
> > 
> > Now, in order to fiddle with the VBE implementation, I need to have 
> > access to the VGA BIOS source code. QEMU is using the same lgpl BIOS as 
> > Bochs and plex86. Its homepage is http://www.nongnu.org/vgabios/. 
> > However, none of the download links on that page work, the page seems to 
> > have been abandoned for some time, and all the mailing lists seem to be 
> > dead.
> > 
> > So, my question is, does anybody have the current source code used to 
> > create the lgpl VGA BIOS? The current version should be something like 0.4c.
> 
> I successfully checked it out from the CVS repository.
> 
> Instructions at http://savannah.nongnu.org/cvs/?group_id=891

Hmm... I have successfully managed to compile the VGA BIOS from source
and it appears to work...

However, the bcc compiler from the ports collection appears to have some
problems - multiply/divide/bitshift operations are not emitted and rely
on calling helper functions (missing in the vgabios source) would
obviously be much slower than neccessary.

Does anyone know of any patches for bcc?

-- 

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

> Hmm... I have successfully managed to compile the VGA BIOS from source
> and it appears to work...

For me, it pukes like this:

as86 _vgabios_.s -b vgabios.bin -u -w- -g -0 -j -O -l vgabios.txt
as: usage: as [-03agjuw] [-b [bin]] [-lm [list]] [-n name] [-o obj] [-s 
sym] src

How did you manage to get around this?

- Bartosz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Antony T Curtis]

On Mon, 2004-05-31 at 17:49, Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> > Hmm... I have successfully managed to compile the VGA BIOS from source
> > and it appears to work...
> 
> For me, it pukes like this:
> 
> as86 _vgabios_.s -b vgabios.bin -u -w- -g -0 -j -O -l vgabios.txt
> as: usage: as [-03agjuw] [-b [bin]] [-lm [list]] [-n name] [-o obj] [-s 
> sym] src
> 
> How did you manage to get around this?

I used the bin86 port for the assembler ;)

I think I have it all figured out now... I have examined the source code
available at http://www.cix.co.uk/~mayday/ and it appears it has the
requisite support and is actively maintained.

So I will be deinstalling the bin86 and bcc ports and installing the
Dev86src-0.16.15.tar.gz from that site.

-- 
Antony T Curtis <antony.t.curtis@ntlworld.com>

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

> So I will be deinstalling the bin86 and bcc ports and installing the
> Dev86src-0.16.15.tar.gz from that site.

I have done that. It compiles out-of-the-box and runs on FreeBSD, which 
is quite amazing really. However, the bcc that comes with it doesn't 
look gcc's preprocessor output. So for me, that combination didn't work 
either :(

- Bartosz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Fabrice Bellard]

Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
> Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
> beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
> I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
> free.
> [...]

Today, someone sent me a patch to emulate a CLGD54xx VGA card in QEMU 
(currently ISA only card, but I asked the author to add PCI support). It 
may be a good solution for Win 9x as I won't have time to work on the 
planned Sis 6326 emulation in the near future.

Of course I agree that fixing the VGA BIOS is a good idea. A small 
question on that topic: with the SDD 7 ou 6, does Win 9x use a linear 
frame buffer ? I am asking that because the QEMU VGA emulation is 
currently much faster when a linear frame buffer is used.

Fabrice.

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

> A small question on that topic: with the SDD 7 ou 6, does Win 9x use 
> a linear frame buffer ?

I haven't tried SDD 7. But with SDD 6, it definitely does not use a LFB
and this is actually where the current bug is. While drawing the screen
contents, the window does not get shifted and everything gets drawn on
top of each other in the first 64k of the screen.

I am currently digging into fixing this bug. But still, SDD 6 will not
use an LFB.

- Bartosz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Antony T Curtis]

On Mon, 2004-05-31 at 15:43, Fabrice Bellard wrote:
> Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> > I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
> > Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
> > beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
> > I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
> > free.
> > [...]
> 
> Today, someone sent me a patch to emulate a CLGD54xx VGA card in QEMU 
> (currently ISA only card, but I asked the author to add PCI support). It 
> may be a good solution for Win 9x as I won't have time to work on the 
> planned Sis 6326 emulation in the near future.

Sounds great... Somewhere, I have the Cirrus Logic CL-GD542X/3X Hardware
Reference manual. The 542X Cirrus Logic chips are a good one to emulate
because they are a good no-frills chip which are simple to program
directly and (in the VLB/PCI versions) have a simple linear frame buffer
and memory mapped I/O.
-- 
Antony T Curtis <antony.t.curtis@ntlworld.com>

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

> Sounds great... Somewhere, I have the Cirrus Logic CL-GD542X/3X 
> Hardware Reference manual.

Once the patch hits the tree, I would like to help developing, improving
and bug fixing it. But unfortunately, I have no reference manual and
even hours of googling have not revealed anything of use. Is that manual
you have in actual dead tree format or is it a PDF / text file you could
mail to me?

- Bartosz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Antony T Curtis]

On Tue, 2004-06-01 at 00:23, Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> > Sounds great... Somewhere, I have the Cirrus Logic CL-GD542X/3X 
> > Hardware Reference manual.
> 
> Once the patch hits the tree, I would like to help developing, improving
> and bug fixing it. But unfortunately, I have no reference manual and
> even hours of googling have not revealed anything of use. Is that manual
> you have in actual dead tree format or is it a PDF / text file you could
> mail to me?

It's a dead-tree format... Once upon a time, you only had to email
Cirrus Logic and they would send the reference books free of charge.
-- 
Antony T Curtis <antony.t.curtis@ntlworld.com>

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Derek Fawcus]

On Mon, May 31, 2004 at 04:43:34PM +0200, Fabrice Bellard wrote:
> Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> > I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
> > Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
> > beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
> > I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
> > free.
> > [...]
> 
> Today, someone sent me a patch to emulate a CLGD54xx VGA card in QEMU 
> (currently ISA only card, but I asked the author to add PCI support).

Aha - good.  I was going to suggest that you use one of those instead of
the SiS 6326 - simply 'cause simulating a fairly dumb card [1] seems like
a more sensible approach.  Any idea which specfic chip is being emulated
- as I think I have some of the chip docs squirreled away somewhere.

DF

[1] Either not acceleration,  or only simple BitBLT support.

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[vaise]

On Monday 31 May 2004 15:43, Fabrice Bellard wrote:
> Today, someone sent me a patch to emulate a CLGD54xx VGA card in QEMU
> (currently ISA only card, but I asked the author to add PCI support). It
> may be a good solution for Win 9x as I won't have time to work on the
> planned Sis 6326 emulation in the near future.

I am wrong to say that it would be easier to write a pseudo video driver 
specifically for qemu, who would directly talk to the host part, rather than 
using a already written windows video driver but with obligation to adapt 
qemu to this driver ?
Is it what Filip Navara has done ?

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Filip Navara]

vaise@votreservice.com wrote:

>On Monday 31 May 2004 15:43, Fabrice Bellard wrote:
>  
>
>>Today, someone sent me a patch to emulate a CLGD54xx VGA card in QEMU
>>(currently ISA only card, but I asked the author to add PCI support). It
>>may be a good solution for Win 9x as I won't have time to work on the
>>planned Sis 6326 emulation in the near future.
>>    
>>
>
>I am wrong to say that it would be easier to write a pseudo video driver 
>specifically for qemu, who would directly talk to the host part, rather than 
>using a already written windows video driver but with obligation to adapt 
>qemu to this driver ?
>  
>
Depends. There are very few people who wrote drivers for closed source 
operating systems (like Windows in general) and even less people writing 
drivers for legacy closed source systems (such as Consumer Windows - 
9x/Me). Now you can imagine that these people make a great business from 
that and try to sell their experience and in the end there are only few 
persons who would write these drivers and open source them (without some 
company backing them with money).

>Is it what Filip Navara has done ?
>  
>
Basicly yes. I've done a driver that uses the simple Bochs/QEMU VBE 
interface using I/O ports, but it's only for Windows NT-based systems 
and not for Consumer Windows, so there is still gap that must be filled. 
I think that emulating a real video card AND the simple interface (like 
Bochs/QEMU VBE or VMware) is the way to go.

Regards,
Filip

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Hetz Ben Hamo]

Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:

> I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98. 
> Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD 7 
> beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD file. 
> I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53, which is 
> free.

For the 21 days period - just kick out from the start-up the SDD stuff 
(you don't need it anyway) with msconfig...

See my User Guide ("HOWTO") at: 
http://www.dad-answers.com/qemu/howto/qemu-win98-howto.html (I'll 
probably finish it tommorow although I don't know whatever to write 
TUN/TAP explanation)..

Thanks
Hetz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

> For the 21 days period - just kick out from the start-up the SDD stuff 
> (you don't need it anyway) with msconfig...

Sure you can do that. But first of all, I want a legally clean solution 
(no trial version, but a truly free one) and second, I simply want to 
fix the bug ;).

> See my User Guide ("HOWTO")

I have had a look at your guide. Good job making QEMU accessible to 
newbies. One thing you might want to change is the way hard disk images 
are created though. Using qemu-mkcow is much more space-efficient than 
dd, as it will not fill 1GB of your hard drive with useless zeros if 
that space is not allocated by the guest operating system.

- Bartosz

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Kyle Hayes]

On Monday 31 May 2004 08:49, Hetz Ben Hamo wrote:
> Bartosz Fabianowski wrote:
> > I am trying to get SVGA graphics modes to work under Windows 98.
> > Currently, the only known way of accomplishing this is to install SDD
> > 7 beta, which is a 21 day test version, along with some obscure VxD
> > file. I'd prefer to fix the VBE support and be able to run SDD 6.53,
> > which is free.
>
> For the 21 days period - just kick out from the start-up the SDD stuff
> (you don't need it anyway) with msconfig...
>
> See my User Guide ("HOWTO") at:
> http://www.dad-answers.com/qemu/howto/qemu-win98-howto.html (I'll
> probably finish it tommorow although I don't know whatever to write
> TUN/TAP explanation)..

Wow Hetz!  This is great!

Is there any chance of getting these kinds of HOWTOs linked from the main 
site?  I've got a fairly good archive of the mailing list, but it is 
becoming harder to find things like this in it (too many messages).  The 
main HOWTO is great, but I think that other HOWTOs would be good to add as 
well.

Best,
Kyle

Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[zach etienne]

Here's a link to the CL-GD542X reference manual (found by using yahoo & 
google):
http://ftp.leo.org/download/pub/comp/general/devices/cirruslogic/pubs/gd542xtrm.pdf.gz

There are many other CL manuals on this site in the pubs/ directory.

I hope this helps.
-Zach

>From: Bartosz Fabianowski <bartosz@fabianowski.de>
>Reply-To: qemu-devel@nongnu.org
>To: qemu-devel@nongnu.org
>Subject: Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code
>Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2004 01:23:00 +0200
>
>>Sounds great... Somewhere, I have the Cirrus Logic CL-GD542X/3X Hardware 
>>Reference manual.
>
>Once the patch hits the tree, I would like to help developing, improving
>and bug fixing it. But unfortunately, I have no reference manual and
>even hours of googling have not revealed anything of use. Is that manual
>you have in actual dead tree format or is it a PDF / text file you could
>mail to me?
>
>- Bartosz
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Qemu-devel mailing list
>Qemu-devel@nongnu.org
>http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/qemu-devel

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Re: [Qemu-devel] VGA BIOS source code

[Bartosz Fabianowski]

> Here's a link to the CL-GD542X reference manual (found by using yahoo & 
> google):

Thanks. My googling skills seem to be seriously lacking.

- Bartosz