[vox] .bin files

[Rod Roark]

On Friday 29 December 2006 21:15, Jimbo wrote:
...
> I have bios flashes that come in a .bin format.  is there a way that I can 
> look into these files?  In a language that I can understand?  Would love to 
> see if I can somehow modify my bios.

Is Intel assembler a language that you understand?  If so, gdb (the Gnu
debugger) may be helpful in deciphering it.

But I can think of a few reasons why you might not want to modify your
BIOS:

(1) One little error and you'll probably have a dead motherboard.

(2) The BIOS gets control via an array of pointers in low memory, so
    it's more practical instead to change those to point to your
    custom handlers.

(3) The Linux kernel replaces most BIOS functionality anyway.

(4) It's complicated as hell.  Take it from one who was there
    20 years ago, and it's definitely not gotten simpler.

By the way if you want to discuss it at a more technical level than
the above, please post to vox-tech instead.

Rod