--------------------
ICEPACK BOOT MANAGER
  version 00.02.00
--------------------


Icepack              (C) Copyright 1998, 1999 by Adrian Hilgardth
Icepack Boot Manager (C) Copyright 1998, 1999 by Adrian Hilgardth


Welcome to the second release of the Icepack Boot Manager.
Please read the file LICENCE.TXT (LIZENZ.TXT) before installing and using
and / or distributing this software.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------

1.  WHAT IS A BOOT MANAGER
2.  SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
3.  FEATURES
4.  INSTALLATION
5.  INSTALLING ON A FLOPPY DISK
6.  INSTALLING ON THE HARD DISK
7.  DEINSTALLATION
8.  CHANGING THE DEFAULT OPERATING SYSTEM
9.  CHANGING THE BOOT TIME-OUT
10. INSTALLING THE RAW BOOT MANAGER FILES
11. BOOT MANAGER ERRORS
12. FAQ
13. FUTURE PLANS
14. SPECS FOR OPERATING SYSTEM DEVELOPERS
15. HISTORY
16. CLOSING REMARKS


1. WHAT IS A BOOT MANAGER
-------------------------

Boot managers allow you to have more than one operating system on your
computer and to select the one you want to use at boot time.


2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
----------------------

The Icepack Boot Manager needs the following hard- and software:

- 386sx processor
- 256 KB VGA grafx card with VESA version 1.0 onboard


3. FEATURES
-----------

- configurable default operating system to boot automatically

- boot time-out - configurable from 0 (immediately boots the default operating
  system) to 99 seconds

- high-resolution grafx - this software uses a 640 x 400 256-color mode
  available on all VGA grafx cards with built-in VESA support.
  Every VGA grafx card nowadays provides VESA support.

- boots up to 12 operating systems on a single computer - the following
  operating systems are recognized:

  - DOS
  - BSD
  - OS/2
  - LINUX
  - ICEPACK
  - WINDOWS 95 and WINDOWS 98

  All other operating systems are listed "UNKNOWN".
  The ICEPACK Operating System is still under development.

- recognizes bootable operating systems inside of extended partitions

- supports hard disks up to 2 TB

- can be installed on any floppy disk (360 KB, 720 KB, 1.2 MB, 1.44 MB or
  2.88 MB) or the first hard disk

- can boot from all hard disks accessible via the BIOS

- virus detection


4. INSTALLATION
---------------

The full distribution package consists of the following files:

  -  BM_020.GIF   : screen shot
  -  BM_020_A.RAW : raw boot manager code for floppy disk installation
  -  BM_020_C.RAW : raw boot manager code for hard disk installation
  -  CHGDEFOS.EXE : changes default operating system
  -  CHG_TIME.EXE : changes boot time-out
  -  INSTALLA.EXE : installs the Icepack Boot Manager on a floppy disk
  -  INSTALLC.EXE : installs the Icepack Boot Manager on the first hard disk
  -  LICENCE.TXT  : licence agreement
  -  LIESMICH.TXT : documentation (German)
  -  LIZENZ.TXT   : licence agreement (German)
  -  READ_ME.TXT  : documentation (this file)
  -  RESTOREC.EXE : deinstalls the Icepack Boot Manager

The INSTALLA.EXE, INSTALLC.EXE, RESTOREC.EXE, CHGDEFOS.EXE and CHG_TIME.EXE
programs require at least a 386sx processor.

It is highly recommended that you first install and check the Icepack Boot
Manager on a floppy disk. If everything works fine you should install the
Icepack Boot Manager on your hard disk.


5. INSTALLING ON A FLOPPY DISK
------------------------------

To install the Icepack Boot Manager on a floppy disk simply type INSTALLA and
press ENTER. The installation program will ask you to insert a floppy disk
into drive A: and press any key. Please use an empty floppy disk because
all data on the disk will be lost.
The program then reports the capacity of the disk. The higher the capacity the
faster the boot process, so it is recommended to always use a 2.88 MB floppy
disk if available.
Then you can configure the boot time-out. Please enter a number between 0 and
99 or just press enter to select the predefined time-out (10 seconds).
Afterwards the program will offer you a list of all bootable operating systems
on your computer and will asks you to choose the default operating system.
Please enter the number(s) on the left of the desired operating system or just
press enter to choose the first one in the list.
The program also reports a successful installation or any errors encountered.
The Icepack Boot Manager works with 360 KB, 720 KB, 1.2 MB, 1.44 MB and
2.88 MB disks.
Now make sure the "boot sequence" in the BIOS setup is set to "A, C" and the
"boot up floppy seek" is "enabled", reset your computer and say "wow!".
Use the up and down arrow keys to select the desired operating system (red
means selected) and press ENTER to boot or just watch the time elapse and the
default operating system being booted.

The INSTALLA.EXE program runs under DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98
and Windows NT.


6. INSTALLING ON THE HARD DISK
------------------------------

To install the Icepack Boot Manager on your hard disk simply type INSTALLC and
press ENTER.
Before proceeding please take your time to back up your first hard disk (that
is your C: partition plus all other partitions on that disk).
Your first hard disk needs at least 20 sectors per cylinder. Most hard disks
nowadays have 63 sectors per cylinder so this shouldn't be a problem.
The installation program first checks the number of sectors per cylinder and
refuses to continue if it finds a drive with less than 20. It then checks
if your first partition starts on the second head (This should always be
true.) and refuses to continue otherwise (I know it's getting technical here).
The installation program will ask you to insert a formatted bootable floppy
disk into drive A: and press any key. You need at least 10 KB free disk
space on that floppy disk. The program uses this disk to back up the 20
sectors it is going to overwrite from the hard disk. These sectors will be
copied to the file RESTOREC.DAT. Please make sure that the RESTOREC.EXE
program is on the disk. And please don't overwrite your old RESTOREC.DAT if
you have previously installed the first version of the Icepack Boot Manager.
Then you can configure the boot time-out. Please enter a number between 0 and
99 or just press enter to select the predefined time-out (10 seconds).
Afterwards the program will offer you a list of all bootable operating systems
on your computer and will ask you to choose the default operating system.
Please enter the number(s) on the left of the desired operating system or just
press enter to choose the first one in the list.
The program also reports a successful installation or any errors encountered.
If the "virus detection" in your BIOS setup is "enabled", your BIOS will
report that your boot sector is to be modified, so don't be shocked but press
"y" to accept.
Now set back the "boot sequence" in the BIOS setup to "C, A" and the "boot up
floppy seek" to "disabled", reset your computer and say "wow!" again.
Use the up and down arrow keys to select the desired operating system (red
means selected) and press ENTER to boot or just watch the time elapse and the
default operating system being booted.

You can't install the Icepack Boot Manager if you have a disk manager
installed on your first hard disk (e. g. Ontrack).

The Icepack Boot Manager works only with hard disks supported by the BIOS.

The INSTALLC.EXE program runs under DOS and Windows 3.1. It does not run under
Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT.


7. DEINSTALLATION
-----------------

You can use the bootable floppy disk you created before installing the Icepack
Boot Manager to boot and restore your hard disk if anything should go wrong.
The RESTOREC.EXE program and the RESTOREC.DAT file should be on that disk.
Simply type RESTOREC and press ENTER. Then press any key to continue.
The program reports a successful deinstallation or any errors encountered.

The RESTOREC.EXE program runs under DOS and Windows 3.1. It does not run under
Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT.


8. CHANGING THE DEFAULT OPERATING SYSTEM
----------------------------------------

To change the default operating system at a later time you need the
CHGDEFOS.EXE program. Simply type CHGDEFOS and press ENTER.
The program will report the current default operating system, offer you a list
of all bootable operating systems on your computer and ask you to enter your
new default operating system. Please enter the number(s) on the left of the
desired operating system or just press enter to choose the first one on the
list.
The program reports a successful update or any errors encountered.

The CHGDEFOS.EXE program runs under DOS and Windows 3.1. It does not run under
Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT.


9.  CHANGING THE BOOT TIME-OUT
------------------------------

To change the boot time-out at a later time you need the CHG_TIME.EXE program.
Simply type CHG_TIME and press ENTER. Then press any key to continue.
The program will report the current time-out and ask you to enter a new one.
Please enter a number between 0 and 99 or just press enter to select the
predefined time-out (10 seconds).
The program reports a successful update or any errors encountered.

The CHG_TIME.EXE program runs under DOS and Windows 3.1. It does not run under
Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT.


10. INSTALLING THE RAW BOOT MANAGER FILES
-----------------------------------------

The INSTALLA.EXE program runs under DOS and all Windows operating systems but
for the INSTALLC.EXE program you definitely need DOS.
Windows, Linux and FreeBSD installation programs are on my todo list for the
next release. Until then you can use the files BM_020_A.RAW and BM_020_C.RAW.
The BM_020_A.RAW file contains the raw boot manager code for the floppy disk
installation. Use a raw write utility to copy this file to the first 20
sectors of your floppy disk.
Be cautious with the BM_020_C.RAW file (it contains the raw boot manager code
for the hard disk installation). You could also use a raw write utility to
copy this file to the first 20 sectors of your hard disk but don't forget to
back up your hard disk first (you need a hard disk with at least 20 sectors
per cylinder and your partition table will not be checked !!!).


11. BOOT MANAGER ERRORS
-----------------------

- "no os" : There is no hard disk in your system or there are no bootable
            partitions on your hard disk. If you have a LINUX operating
            system, please see the FAQ.

- "corrupt boot data" : You have a boot virus or something went wrong during
                        the installation. Please use a virus scanner first,
                        then repeat the installation.

- "vesa error" : Your grafx card doesn't support the VESA standard. Please
                 read the FAQ.


12. FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)
------------------------------------

-  I have a VESA compatible grafx card but I get a "vesa error".
-> You probably load a VESA driver in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT but you
   don't have built-in VESA support in your VGA BIOS. Sorry, you can't use
   this boot manager.

-  The Icepack Boot Manager doesn't recognize my bootable Linux partition.
-> You first have to install LILO to make your Linux partition bootable, then
   use "fdisk" to toggle that partition's active flag on. For my boot manager
   LILO has to be installed in the boot sector of your Linux partition. First
   edit the "/etc/lilo.conf" file and then simply run "/sbin/lilo". The
   following 3 options in your "lilo.conf" are important:
   - "boot=/dev/hdXY", X being your drive and Y your Linux partition on that
     drive. For example if Linux occupies the second partition on your second
     drive it will be "boot=/dev/hdb2". Use "sdXY" for SCSI drives. To find
     out the partition number use "fdisk".
   - "root=/dev/hdXY", "hdXY" same as above
   - "image=/XYZ", this is the kernel you want to start.
   Other options are possible, too (please consult your Linux manual).

-  I have a Minix operating system but the Icepack Boot Manager reports a
   Linux operating system.
-> Early versions of Linux used the Minix file system, so I combined the two
   partition types. If you still use the Minix operating system, please tell
   me.

-  The grafx doesn't seem to look right.
-> Ooops, there is a bug in your VESA software. Sorry.

-  The installation program says "Installation completed successfully" but the
   boot manager is not there.
-> You have a disk manager installed on your first hard disk (e. g. Ontrack).
   This driver resides in the MBR and the subsequent sectors and is necessary
   for accessing large disks with older BIOSes. It does not allow my boot
   manager to overwrite it (Actually, there is a possibility but you will not
   be able to access your drive afterwards).


13. FUTURE PLANS
----------------

- animation
- password security
- use your favorite background picture
- Linux installation program
- FreeBSD installation program
- Windows 95 / 98 / NT installation program
- recognizing Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT and booting without using
  the Windows boot menus
- recognizing OS/2 and booting without using its boot manager


14. SPECS FOR OPERATING SYSTEM DEVELOPERS
-----------------------------------------

The Icepack Boot Manager loads the boot sector of the selected operating
system to the memory address "0000h:7c00h". It then jumps to that address with
the following registers set:
- ah    : BIOS interrupt "13h" read function number ("02h" or "42h"),
          use function "42h" to access large disks (if available),
          function "02h" is always available. If ah contains the value "02h"
          the read function "42h" is not available for that drive, if ah
          contains "42h" both read functions are available.
- dl    : drive number
- es:si : partition table of that operating system

The stack pointer is set to "0000h:7c00h".

The Master Boot Record and all other sectors containing partition tables are
loaded into memory. You will always find the MBR at "0000h:0600h" and all other
sectors after it. For example if you have two hard disks in your computer,
both containing three primary and an extended partition you will find:
- MBR at "0000h:0600h"
  (partition table at "0000h:07beh")
- boot sector of extended partition at "0000h:0800h"
  (partition table at "0000h:09beh")
- boot sector of second drive at "0000h:0a00h"
  (partition table at "0000h:0bbeh")
- boot sector of extended partition of second drive at "0000h:0c00h"
  (partition table at "0000h:0dbeh")


15. HISTORY
-----------

version 00.02.00 - released 16th April 1999
                   -> added default operating system to boot
                   -> added boot time-out
                   -> added support for extended partitions
                   -> added support for large hard disks
                   -> improved grafx compression

version 00.01.00 - released 21st September 1998
                   -> first release


16. CLOSING REMARKS
-------------------

I hope that you have fun with this software.
If you have any problems using this boot manager, please tell me.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions to improve the Icepack
Boot Manager, please contact me, too.

My e-mail address : hilgardth@t-online.de

To learn more about the Icepack Boot Manager and the Icepack Project check
me out on the Internet : http://home.t-online.de/home/hilgardth/


----------------------------------------------------
This document (C) Copyright 1999 by Adrian Hilgardth
----------------------------------------------------
