How Do i start making an OS

[+_+man]

I need to make an OS For my school baisically it is for children's i am a 10 year old boy the poster of this question is my uncle i have 1 year of experience in doing C++

Regards Hayzam,

[jonsca]

http://www.kernel.org/ has all of the Linux kernel source code.

[Ketsuekiame]

A 10 year old on a computer programming course and their task is to create an operating system for children...

1. If he is indeed 10 years old and on a computer programming course and part of that course is the creation of Operating Systems, congratulations you have a genius on your hands.
2. See point above, if in fact this is the case, he would know what to do and wouldn't need to come to Daniweb as he would be able to use the internet in order to google and figure out what he needs. Nor would he need to make his Uncle post the question.

Is he incapable of typing? Then how does he program?
Is he not intelligent enough to be able to sign up? Then how is he a programmer?

Creating an Operating System is a complex task and certainly not one that any normal 10 year old can accomplish. But good luck if you're not lying/trolling.

[+_+man]

@Ketsuekiame

Sorry i told i lie

[+_+man]

@jonsca

i need to get the boot files written in Assembly Language

[+_+man]

@Ketsuekiame

my task is not to create an OS ok!
i am just donating it to the school for free!
Since it is created by a 10year old boy like me the told they will buy it

[jonsca]

You are being very confusing about your requirements. I suggest you use google and get more information first. Have you programmed in assembly before? There is a forum here dedicated to it and there are some sticky threads there to read about getting started.

[venomxxl]

You can get some information about OS development here: http://wiki.osdev.org/Main_Page .

[+_+man]

@venomxxl

Thanks

[lee.j.baxter]

Be aware that programming an OS is probably the most complicated programming project possible! Unless you're looking at modifying an existing kernel (e.g. Linux .etc.), it's going to be a long-term project (months to years). On the other hand, if you're up to the challenge it could be a very rewarding experience! :-)

I'm currently building an OS in the very early stages, having come from a C/C++/C# background. My recommendation is to start with something simple, like a "Hello World" bootstrap loader. After this, look at file systems and attempt to make your bootstrap loader load another program into memory and execute it. After this, start looking at 32-bit protected mode, and porting a C/C++ compiler to start the real development on your kernel.

Here's the tools that I'm using...
* NASM (Netwide Assembler) - This can make 16-bit flat-binary programs.
* Notepad++
* Microsoft Virtual PC
* Mkisofs - I'm using this to put my bootloader onto a CD; I'm concentrating on booting from a CD first.

Good Luck!!!

P.S. I also recommend you dig out a test PC, possibly with similar hardware to your target PC. I've not yet ran into any problems, but I've heard that you can cause serious damage to the hardware in later stages if you aren't careful!

[Kieran Y5]

Hello,

Are you 10 years old, did I hear that right?

Well, age doesn't bother me, much. It does take experience to write an operating system BUT you can certainly start.

I have made my own with assembly, it doesn't do much but It works. When I first thought "I might give it a try" I wanted to get on with making a cool looking Operating System. I never did, and still haven't but I have done the basics (read from disk, draw a bit to the screen, more advanced calculation , etc).

Anyway, to get to the point, I found a really simple Operating System called MikeOS (http://mikeos.berlios.de/) and it really helped me when making my own Operating System.

It took me a while to believe that making an operating system was so hard... but, it is.

Don't start straight away, look in the source code and see how it works and maybe edit it and make some system call, etc. It's open source so it's no problem.

If you are going to use it you will need:
- A computer (Duh!)
- A virtual PC thing (I use Oracle VirtualBox)
- Possibly Linux (like Ubuntu) because it makes assembling 20x easier
- Time! (It takes time!)

Even if you don't try MikeOS, you will still need the things above for you Operating System

As I said, experiment with MikeOS before you go into the deep end.

Kieran :)
Hope this helps

[Shankye]

You can start with linus torvalds original linux with is small and easy to understand .. and later you can go on adding few features to that.. Google you can download those codes for free ..

[Goalatio]

Hello,

- A virtual PC thing (I use Oracle VirtualBox)

Don't use virtualbox, virtualbox does a few 'things' to give the illusion that your program works, when in reality, if you boot from it, it will not.

I recommend Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.

[Kieran Y5]

Don't use virtualbox, virtualbox does a few 'things' to give the illusion that your program works, when in reality, if you boot from it, it will not.

I recommend Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.

Really? I always thought that VirtualBox does a good job. What does it not do that Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 does?

[lee.j.baxter]

Don't use virtualbox, virtualbox does a few 'things' to give the illusion that your program works, when in reality, if you boot from it, it will not.

I recommend Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.

Absolutely; I use MS-VPC for my general testing. I'd also recommend having a cheap-and-cheerful test PC to run your OS on real hardware. I'm using an old PC that I acquired from a college whilst I was doing a course.

I've used VirtualBox a little, but I've only just started my development using Linux.

[Goalatio]

Really? I always thought that VirtualBox does a good job. What does it not do that Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 does?

It skips several checks for your bootloader, like checking for 0xAA55 and the end, and that it is 512 bytes.

I've also had it work on virtualbox, and then when I boot on hardware, it just hangs.