System and method for rapid development of bootstrap device detection modules

摘要

A bootstrap system for a computer with peripheral devices has a first level boot firmware program and a second level boot program loaded from disk by the first level program. The second level boot program contains a device tree constructed according to IEEE-1275 (Open Firmware) standards, describing currently known peripheral devices and computer resource allocations. The device tree is modifiable during boot operations to incorporate information about additional devices. The second level boot program scans I/O buses for additional devices not included in the current device tree and loads drivers only for the additional devices. The second level boot program further allows a user to enter information into the device tree. The second level boot program is preferably implemented under DOS emulation, and may be developed in a DOS-based code development environment and ported to the computer.