Bochs is an Intel architecture PC emulator written and previously maintained by Kevin Lawton. Since Kevin began the project in 1994, much has happened in the virtualization space. Bochs is a portable x86 PC emulation software package that emulates enough of the x86 CPU, related AT hardware, and BIOS to run Windows, Linux,.BSD, Minix, and other OS's, all on your workstation. LAPTOPS & 2 IN 1s ON AMAZON.COM. Choosing a laptop computer that's right for you shouldn't be difficult. Whether you're a gamer, a designer, a student, or simply need a laptop for everyday tasks and browsing, Amazon makes it easy to search and compare between traditional laptops and convertible 2 in 1s, so you can be more productive.
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How to Set Up and Run
The Bochs Emulator
on a Windows™ PC
Copyright©2012,2013 by Daniel B. Sedory
Almost a decade ago, we explained how BOCHS could be used to learn Linux commands on a Windows PC.
Now we'll show our readers how to use the Bochs Emulator to understand and debug Master Boot Records.
Although the Bochs Emulator has binaries and source code for a number of different OS Platforms (such as Linux), the following describes how Microsoft® Windows™ users in particular can set up and run various image files of other operating systems under the Bochs Emulator. First, download the latest Windows 32-bit Bochs install file. This SourceForge page will automatically find it on a site near you:
When last updated, the Bochs-2.6.2.exe download file is 4,691,702 bytes (4582 KiB; which can also be opened by the free 7-Zip program to inspect its contents). Bochs is easy on the Registry when installed, setting only an uninstall and file association for its '.bxrc' Configuration files; which then have a little 'box' icon next to them). The default install location: 'C:Program FilesBochs-2.6.2' has a number of subdirs, but it defaults to not installing 'dlxlinux,' so make sure you check the box for DLX part way through the install process, since we'll be using DLX to check your Bochs install.
Its 'docs' folder includes HTML documentation, of which only parts of the 'User Guide' will likely be helpful. You can read more about Bochs here: http://bochs.sourceforge.net/.
After you install Bochs, click on the new 'Linux Demo in Bochs 2.6.2' icon (a 'shortcut' to run.bat in the dlxlinux subfolder under Bochs-2.6.2). This will open both the 'Bochs for Windows - Console' and the 'Bochs for Windows - Display' in which you'll see the Bochs Emulator run through its own BIOS code similar to a real PC:
If you pressed the F12 key soon enough (start right after clicking on the icon to be sure), you would see the following appear in the Bochs for Windows Display:
Press F12 for boot menu.
Select boot device:
1. Floppy
2. Hard Disk
3. CD-Rom
_
This can be useful if you include a Floppy diskette image file in the Configuration file. Of course, without it, or a CD-ROM image file referenced there, pressing a '1' or '3' will simply result in an error message before Bochs moves on to booting from the hard disk. After Bochs starts booting from the DLX disk image file, you'll see the following scroll by on the display:
Quick Guide to Using Bochs (beginning with 'dlx linux'):
Note: It's perfectly normal for the 'dlxlinux' emulation screen to go completely 'blank' (all black) after a short time... unless you keep typing data into it. (Pressing the 'SHIFT' key will cause it to reappear; as will many other keys, but SHIFT is very safe, since it doesn't enter anything on the command line.)
Holding down the 'SHIFT' key and pressing the 'PageUp' key, will allow you to scroll back up towards the beginning of the screen output. For each press of the PageUp key, it will scroll about 1/2 (one half) the number of lines in a full screen. This is a very common linux/Unix keyboard function. The 'SHIFT + PageDown' key combination will scroll back down towards the current command line.
Under dlx you only need to ENTER the word 'root' at the command line to login as the 'root' user. Once you have logged in, ENTER the following commands to see the common linux executables included with 'DLX' :
ls /bin /sbin /usr/bin /usr/sbin
Note: You'll also find a halt command in /etc that isn't even started (it's only one line: #!/bin/sh).
DLX does not include any man (manual) or info pages. You can try adding ' --help' after a command, but if you're not already familiar with UNIX/Linux commands, we'd recommend also searching online help pages to understand what each of these might be used for.
Please note; especially, if this is your first experience with linux, that DLX is an old and very limited linux distribution, and its version 1.3.89kernel (which is all that linux truly is from an operating system perspective) is very out-of-date, having come from a time when changes were being made to it almost daily. Kernel version 1.0.0 had only been released in March 1994 and 1.2.0 in March 1995, but by June 1996, versions of 2.0.x were already being released. Three rather important kernel releases were: 2.2.0 in January 1999, 2.4.0 in January 2001 and 2.6.0 in December 2003. So, you should obtain a more recent linux distribution, which along with the linux kernel, includes a great deal of GNU ('Gnu's Not Unix') software - free Unix-like utilities and applications. A Linux Live! CD or DVD can be run without installation, to see why having and learning how to use a Linux distribution can be very useful; even for a Windows PC tech. In summary, DLX is nothing like a recent Linux CD/DVD or full-blown GUI distribution that comes with more pre-installed applications than Windows ever will. If you wish to truly experience what Linux is like today, we'd recommend obtaining or downloading the .ISO image file of a recent Linux Distro such as the Ubuntu distribution which allows you to try running it directly from the CD; many online help forums exist for Ubuntu. (Note: Do not install it to your PC without first understanding everything about creating and using a dual-boot PC. A very useful alternative for many today would be to first install either Oracle's GNU licensed VirtualBox (only a 95 MiB D/L for Windows) or VMWare's free Player program, and install Ubuntu or any other Linux distro directly from its .ISO file as a virtual computerrunning under your Windows OS.)
A very nice and fairly recent alternative to DLX for running Linux under Bochs would be the 'Virtio i486' version of ttylinux (v 16.1 at this time). Although this is still a rather small .ISO image file (only 14 MiB; but note: You'll need a program like 7-Zip, WinRAR or WinZip to extract the .ISO file from inside the .GZ archive), it runs Linux kernel version 2.6.34.7. Please read our page on installing ttylinux under Bochs.
If you'd like learn more about Linux commands using DLX or Tom's RTBT and how create and install more elaborate Linux OS distributions under Bochs, such as Ubuntu, then read our older Linux Page here.
For the complete User Guide to Bochs, this file link should open in your PC's web browser: Bochs User Manual (if you installed Bochs as instructed to do so above), provided you first copy this web page to your local PC. Below is a quick guide (with notes) to the most commonly used Bochs Windows Display buttons (they're all explained in detail here: 5.3.2. The Bochs headerbar).
| BUTTON | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| USER | Allows user to enter a keystroke (or combination of keystrokes) directly into the Bochs Emulator without the Host OS intercepting them. For example, you can send the 'CRTL + ALT + DEL' combination to the emulated OS and the Host OS will do nothing. Only one keystroke line is allowed in the Configuration File, but you can edit it in the pop-up box before pressing the 'OK' button (or even change the stored line using the CONFIG button; see below, in its Misc section). |
| Copy | Places all the text characters from current view of the Bochs Emulator screen into your Windows Clipboard. |
| Paste | Emulates keystroke entries for whatever characters are in the Clipboard; do not use this button on a Command Line without first being sure of what's in the Clipboard! |
| snapshot | Saves the same text data as the 'Copy' button does, but to a file of your choice and location (default name: 'snapshot.txt'); this can be very useful. |
| CONFIG | This stops the running simulation and puts it into 'Runtime Configuration' mode. When you use this, do not click the 'Quit' button under the 'Simulation' section, unless you want to power-off the Bochs emulator! Instead, use the 'Continue' button. (See Bochs User guide here for more.) |
| Reset | Does the same as a PC: Powers-off the Bochs Emulator and then turns it back ON again! Don't use this unless you're running a rather simple OS emulation (like DLX or DOS); unless your OS is 'hung'. |
| SUSPEND | Supposed to save the simulation in its current state, but functionality is limited (should not be used with hard disk image files). Read section 5.4 Save and restore simulation. |
| Power | Will immediately power off the emulated computer... so do not use this until after you have tried entering the halt or the poweroff commands under a more complex Linux OS (or shutting down a Windows OS correctly). (Note: We've been unable to get any of the switches for 'shutdown' to function under this 'dlx' version; it only prints the same help message! And if you ENTER: shutdown now (not even listed), you'll still be disappointed, since that simply results in the message: 'shutdown: cannot get into single user mode' (So you must use the 'Power button' to turn off Bochs when running the Demo 'dlx' linux version.) |
Using Bochs to Learn Exactly How a PC Boots Up
For most of you who read our pages here at The Starman's Realm, the debugger program that comes with the Bochs Windows install package will be more important than simply running another OS in its Emulator! After you've become somewhat familiar with Bochs, our next page will show you how to set up, start and run debug sessions to learn how a computer's Master Boot Record or other IPLs (Initial Program Loaders) function step by step!
Revised: March 28, 2012 (28.03.12).
Updated: May 2, 2012 (02.05.2012); May 10, 2012 (10.05.2012); May 19, 2012 (19.05.2012); July 21, 2013 (21.07.2013).
Last Update:July 28, 2013 (28.07.2013).
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How to DEBUG System Code
using The Bochs Emulator
on a Windows™ PC
Bochs Laptops Refurbished
Copyright©2013 by Daniel B. Sedory
If you need any help in setting up the Bochs Debugger, please email us.
Executing The Bochs Debugger
First, navigate to your 'C:Program FilesBochs-2.6.2dlxlinux' folder, then make a copy of the run.bat file and rename it debug.bat. Edit the file in NOTEPAD by changing the line '..bochs -q -f bochsrc.bxrc' to: '..bochsdbg -q -f bochsrc.bxrc' so it will execute the bochsdbg.EXE program. Now run debug.bat.
Bochs Laptops Windows 10
The Bochs 'Display' window will remain empty at this time, but you will see the following in the Bochs 'Console' as it always pauses (technically, it's called a BREAK) at the first instruction of its own BIOS code; the same exact instruction can be found in virtually every PC's BIOS:
NOTE: In order to pause the execution of a disk image file under Bochs at its very first assembly instruction (as shown in the picture below), you need to set a 'breakpoint' in Memory at that linear location of 7c00 (Enter: lb 0x7c00); which is where the BIOS loads the Master Boot Record from Sector 0 of the first hard disk.
After entering the appropriate commands ('lb 0x7c00' and 'c' to continue), the Bochs Debugger stops just before executing the first instruction of the DLX Linux image file. Following that we entered an 's' command to begin single-stepping through the code. (Note: All subsequent presses of the ENTER key will do the same thing as the previous command that was entered, so you only need to ENTER the 's' command one time, then simply press the ENTER key each time after that to keep executing a single Assembly instruction each time.) Here we executed two more instructions; arriving at Linear Memory Location 0x7c72:
Commands which can be used in both the Console and GUI Debuggers can be found in the documentation (see 8.12. Using Bochs internal debugger) which comes with the Bochs download. We've highlighted some of the most important commands to get you started here:
| c | Continue executing |
| s [count] | (Step): execute count instructions; default is 1. |
| q | Quit debugger and execution. |
| Ctrl-C | stop execution, and return to command line prompt |
| lb addr | Set a linear address instruction breakpoint |
| info break | Display state of all current breakpoints |
| bpe n | Enable a breakpoint |
| bpd n | Disable a breakpoint |
| del n | Delete a breakpoint |
The Bochs (GUI) Enhanced Debugger
In order to use the GUI form of the Bochs Debugger, first open the bochsrc.bxrc file in your 'C:Program FilesBochs-2.6.2dlxlinux' folder in NOTEPAD (right-clicking on this file name might give you an 'Edit' choice), and search for these two lines inside the file:
NOTE: Any line that begins with a # symbol is inactive and taken only as a comment.
Then underneath those two commented lines, add this required un-commented line:
display_library: win32, options='gui_debug'
(The quote marks must be included.) Now when you run debug.bat, the Enhanced Debugger will appear!
When you add other operating system folders under your Bochs install, we'd advise you to make copies of the fully commented sample bochsrc.bxrc file (which is found here: 'C:Program FilesBochs-2.6.2bochsrc-sample.txt'), and rename each copy as appropriate to the OS or project you're working with/on.
[ Note: If you setup the environment variable '$BXSHARE' as being equal to the path where Bochs is installed, and use that variable in your configuration file, then you could setup image file folders anywhere else on your PC; not just under the Bochs install directory. If you're using the install folder we are for version 2.6.2, you would open a Command Line prompt and ENTER: set $BXSHARE='C:Program FilesBochs-2.6.2' (Note: The quote marks are required here, and do not put any spaces before or after the '=' sign!) Then inside your .BAT and configuration files in those other folders, you could use '$BXSHARE' instead of writing out the path to where the Bochs executables are located, or using '..'. For example: 'romimage: file=$BXSHARE/BIOS-bochs-latest' If you do not do this, then be sure to change any line in copies of the 'bochsrc-sample.txt' file that use '$BXSHARE/'. ]
This next view shows the 'Bochs Enhanced Debugger' about to step through the DLX Linux's LILO Master Boot Record code (located on the first sector of a PC's hard disk; or in this case, in the DLX Linux image file running under Bochs):
You can also use the BOCHS (GUI) Debugger on the Windows 7/8 MBR code; see our Windows 7 MBR Pathways for step-by-step comments on the execution of each instruction.
Bochs Laptops Black Friday
| Setting Up a New OS under Bochs |
First, you need to understand that just like any hardware PC, for which it would be highly unlikely that moving its disk drive into a completely different type of PC would result in its OS booting-up inside that PC, so too, the chances would very small that making an image file of that PC's disk drive would result in a Bootable OS under Bochs, since Bochs also uses 'drivers' that are specific to its own emulated hardware BIOS code. However, if we go back in time and use an image file of an operating system whose only user interface was a command line, on a black screen, with very few peripherals, you'll find image files of some early DOS versions will run quite nicely under Bochs without any changes. Here at the Starman's Realm, we not only tested almost every possible DOS available, but also took the time to install and run at least Windows 95, 98SE and even XP under Bochs. [Note: For XP, it took all weekend (we had to leave the PC running most of two days and all night long), since its emulation speed is so slow compared to real hardware!] What about the Windows 7 MBR code? Well, if that's all you want to test, you can easily copy the CODE section (skipping the Partition Table) from the first sector of any Windows 7 OS boot drive into the first 446 bytes of some old DOS or early Windows HDD image that runs under Bochs, and it will boot-up into that OS. Like all other PC MBR code, it runs in Real Mode, and needs no special 'drivers' nor expects a specific OS to be installed on its HDD. [Note: If you attempt to do this with the DLX Linux image file that comes with Bochs, the Win 7, or any other DOS or Windows, MBR code will fail to boot it, because the Linux file system (ext2 in this case) does not require there be any VBR code in the first sector of its partition. It's possible for Linux to have boot code there, but Linux doesn't require it, since most installs place its Boot Loader/Manager at the beginning of an HDD. If you 'dual-boot' a Linux OS on a Windows PC, you can often ask a Linux install to put the Boot Loader into the Partition; which then gives you the option to revert back to a Windows MBR and Boot Manager and be able to boot up Linux from its Manager.] (NOTE: You can use the free HxD Disk Editor to copy the Win 7 MBR code; we've written a tutorial for doing just that here). As a first step, before using the bximage program that comes with Bochs, you can simply copy the hd10meg.img file in the Bochs dlxlinux folder to a new folder and rename it to something like dos10meg.img, then install some DOS in that 10 MiB file; for which you can then use the same Bochsrc.bxrc configuration file (with a few modifications). |
Bochs Laptops & Desktops Driver Download For Windows 10 32-bit
Date Page Added: May 16, 2012 (16.05.2012).
Updated: May 20, 2013 (20.05.2013); May 25, 2013 (25.05.2013); May 29, 2013 (29.05.2013).
Last Updated: July 15, 2013 (15.07.2013).
You can write to me using this: online reply form. (It opens in a new window.)
The Starman's x86 ASSEMBLY Pages
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