This is a 16-bit program that can run without an operating system and do some work including booting an operating system. It's purely written in 8086 16-bit assembly language (Intel syntax).
This program is an installer which can write the main program to the MBR of a floppy disk. When the computer starts, this program will be loaded to memory and executed first just after the BIOS program finished.
The main program has the following functions:
- Reset PC: Just reboot PC
- Start system: Boot operating system in the hard drive
- Clock: Display current time
- Set clock: Input and set the time in motherboard
You need a Windows XP / Windows 98, or, a 32-bit Windows 7 to run this 16-bit program.
Using a virtual machine would be a good choice. It's easy to create a floppy disk. Actually, to write the hard disk's MBR is also OK, however, it will destroy the boot program of operating system in the hard drive.
You need a MASM and using the MASM.EXE and LINK.EXEto build. As you know, MASM is a very old program and is not easy to use. Therefore, I wrote some tools to make things easier. You can compile the program in the tools directory then run asmr main.asm to assemble, link and run the program, or, use asm main.asm to assemble and link it but without running.
For me, I also used the debug.exe program for single step debugging.
You can get more details by browsing my blog (in Chinese) and there is a demo at the bottom of the post.