BootX (Apple)

Infobox Software
name = BootX


caption = The BootX booting screen used on Macintoshes with Mac OS X 10.2 or later
developer = Apple Inc.
released = August 24, 2002 (with Mac OS X 10.2)cite web| title = Jaguar “Unleashed” at 10:20 p.m. Tonight| |date= 2002-08-23 |publisher = Apple Inc.| url = http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/aug/23jaguar.html| format=HTML |accessdate = 2008-05-02] cite web| date = 2002-09-05 | last = Siracusa| first = John| format=HTML | title = Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar| publisher = Ars Technica| url = http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/macosx-10-2.ars/ |pages=pp. 3| accessdate = 2008-05-03]
latest release version =
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operating system = Darwin & Mac OS X [cite web| title = Darwin 9.2 Source Code| publisher = Apple Inc.| url = http://www.opensource.apple.com/darwinsource/10.5.2/| accessdate = 2008-05-17 |format=HTML]
platform = PowerPCcite web| title = System Startup Programming Topics: The Boot Process| publisher = Apple Inc.| |date=2007-02-08 |url = http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystemStartup/Articles/BootProcess.html| accessdate = 2008-05-01| |format=HTML]
language =
status = Active
genre = Boot loader
license = Apple Public Source Licensecite web|title = Apple Public Source License| publisher = Apple Inc.| |date=2003-08-06 |url = http://www.opensource.apple.com/apsl/ |format=HTML |accessdate = 2008-05-02]
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BootX is a software-based bootloader designed and developed by Apple Inc. for use on the company's Macintosh computer range. BootX is used to prepare the computer for use by loading all required device drivers and then starting-up Mac OS X by booting the kernel on all PowerPC Macintoshes running the Mac OS X 10.2 operating system or later versions.cite book|last=Singh|first=Amit|title=Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach|origyear=2006|url=http://books.google.com.au/books?id=K8vUkpOXhN4C&output=html| format=HTML |accessdate=2008-05-03|publisher=Addison-Wesley|isbn=0321278542|pages=pp. 324–325|chapter=The Firmware and the Bootloader] Using BootROM, a read-only memory (ROM) computer chip containing OpenFirmware, a graphical frontend is shown briefly on all compatible Macintosh computers as a grey Apple logo with a spinning cursor that appears during the startup sequence.cite web| last = Singh| first = Amit| title = Booting Mac OS X| publisher = kernelthread.com| url = http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/arch_boot.html|format=HTML |accessdate = 2008-05-01] The program is freely available as part of the Darwin operating system under the open source Apple Public Source License. BootX was superseded by another nearly identical bootloader named boot.efi and an Extensible Firmware Interface ROM on the release of the Intel-based Mac.

History

Older Macintoshes dating from 1983 until 1998 utilized a basic bootloader; the bootloader was solely a ROM chip varying in sizes up to 4 megabytes (MB), which contained both the computer code to boot the computer and to run the Mac OS operating system. [cite web| date = 2000-08-23 |title = Macintosh: ROM Size for Various Models | publisher = Apple Inc.| url = http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=11609 |format=HTML | accessdate = 2008-05-15] This was known as the Macintosh Toolbox, or the Old World ROM, and differs greatly from design the modern Macintosh which generally use a hard drive of large capacity to store the operating system. This bootloader was used in all Macintosh computers until mid-1998.

With the advent of the iMac series of Macintoshes, the firmware was updated. [cite web| date = 1999-10-05 |title = Apple Announces Mac OS 9: The Best Internet OS Ever | publisher = Apple Inc.| url = http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1999/10/os9.html |format=HTML | accessdate = 2008-05-17] The ROM was reduced in size to 2 MB, called BootROM, and the remainder of the ROM was moved to the file Mac OS ROM in the Mac OS System Folder; stored on the hard drive.cite book|last=Singh|first=Amit|title=Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach|origyear=2006|url=http://books.google.com.au/books?id=K8vUkpOXhN4C&output=html| format=HTML |accessdate=2008-05-03|publisher=Addison-Wesley|isbn=0321278542|pages=pp. 267–268|chapter=The Firmware and the Bootloader] This ROM used a full implementation of the OpenFirmware standard (contained in BootROM) and was named the New World ROM. [cite web| date = 1999-03-26 |title = The Macintosh ROM and The NewWorld Architecture | publisher = Apple Inc.| url = http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Hardware/DeviceManagers/pci_srvcs/pci_cards_drivers/PCI_BOOK.26.html#pgfId=3296 |format=HTML | accessdate = 2008-05-15]

In 2001, with the release of Mac OS X, the Mac OS ROM file was replaced with the BootX bootloader file,. In 2002, with the release of Mac OS X 10.2, the historical "Happy Mac" start-up picture was replaced with a grey apple logo. [cite news |first=John |last=Markoff |authorlink=John Markoff |author=John Markoff |title=Compressed Data; Happy Mac Becomes an Icon of the Past |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EFDE103CF935A1575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print |format=HTML |work=The New York Times |location=New York |date=2002-08-26 |accessdate=2008-05-17] By introducing the Intel Mac in 2006, BootROM was replaced by the near identical Extensible Firmware Interface ROM and the boot.efi file. [cite web| title = Apple Unveils New iMac with Intel Core Duo Processor | publisher = Apple Inc.| |url = http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/jan/10imac.html| format=HTML |date= 2006-01-10 |accessdate = 2008-05-16]

Features

To make the boot loader appealing to other operating system developers, Apple added features to allow flexibility in the booting process such as network boot using TFTP and load Mach-O and ELF formatted kernels. BootX can also boot from HFS, HFS+, UFS and ext2 formatted volumes. [cite web| last = Gerbarg| first = Louis| title = BootX: The Mac OS X Bootloader| publisher = Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Computer Science Department| url = http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~gerbal/BootX.pdf |format=PDF |pages = pp. 7–8 |accessdate = 2008-05-01] The boot loader can be manipulated at startup by holding down various key combinations to alter the booting process. Such functions include Verbose Mode, achieved by holding down the Command and V key at startup, which replaces the default Apple logo with text-based information on the boot process and Single User Mode, achieved by holding down the Command and S, which, depending on the operating system, may boot into a more basic command-line or text-based version of the operating system, to facilitate maintenance and recovery action. [cite web| title = Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts| publisher = Apple Inc.| |date=2007-10-17 |url = http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75459| format=HTML | accessdate = 2008-05-02] The ROM can also be set to require a password to access these technical functions using the OpenFirmware interface. [cite web| title = Setting up firmware password protection in Mac OS X | publisher = Apple Inc.| |url = http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352| format=HTML | accessdate = 2008-05-03]

Boot process

In PowerPC-based Macintoshes, the boot process starts with the activation of BootROM, the basic Macintosh ROM, which performs a Power On Self Test to test hardware essential to startup. On the passing of this test control of the computer is passed to OpenFirmware. OpenFirmware initializes the Random Access Memory, Memory Management Unit and hardware necessary for the ROM's operation. The OpenFirmware then checks settings, stored in NVRAM, and builds a list of all devices on a device tree by gathering their stored FCode information.

On the completion of this task, BootX takes over the startup process configuring the keyboard and display, claiming and reserving memory for various purposes and checking to see if various key combinations are being pressed. After this process has been completed BootX displays the grey Apple logo and proceeds to load the kernel, CoreGraphics, and the user interface (WindowServer). [cite web| last = Singh| first = Amit| title = Mac OS X System Startup| publisher = kernelthread.com| url = http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/arch_startup.html|format=HTML |accessdate = 2008-05-15]

References

External links

* [http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/ Mac OS X] at kernelthread.com