[syslinux] COM32 Advice

[Murali krishnan Ganapathy]

hmm.... I always thought officially you are only allowed to use 
the 0th sector on track 0 (MBR). I have heard of (windows I think) 
using upto 4 sectors, but that may be in the partition in which 
it is installed. So I thought, sectors 6-9 should be safe. If 
I can be reasonably assured that Linux (i.e. LILO), and Windows
dont use more than the first 4 sectors on track 0, I will be happy.

Since I am doing the partitioning, I can ensure that track 0 is 
"unpartitioned space", so officially only the MBR lives there.

>> The process of installing OSes (especially multiple OSes), require
one 
>> to boot in some particular order, e.g. Boot into DOS off the CD, and 
>> then off the hard disk,.... I am currently trying to automate that 
>> process. To that end I am writing a COM32 code, which ineffect reads
a 
>> particular sector from the hard disk (sector 6-9 in the 0th cylinder 
>> which AFAIK is not used by any OS to do anything),
>>

>Well... it's used (in a completely uncoordinated fashion) by various 
>boot managers, etc.)  Track 0 is pretty much the wild west of 
>harddrives; it doesn't *have* to be unpartitioned space, even, it just 
>usually is.

And regarding booting off the hard disk, I think I will wait till
COMBOOT API
includes that.

- Murali