- 📫 How to reach me: kim.olsen@linux.com (email), kim@pizslacker.org (GTalk+GMeet)
- Languages: C, C++17, Rust, Go, Zig, Python, Bash, Lua, x86/ARM Assembly
- Systems & Kernel: Linux (Slackware, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint),
x86_64Long Mode,PAEPaging, POSIX Multithreading - Graphics & Audio: Raylib, SDL2, Pygame, Custom GLSL Shaders, Procedural Audio
- Security & Ops: SIEM Monitoring, Incident Response & Automation
An open-source x86_64 bare-metal bootloader and C kernel (GPLv3).
- Transitions from 16-bit real mode directly into 64-bit long mode.
- Implements custom PAE paging, PML4 table setup, and inline assembly CPUID feature checks.
🔍 View Bootloader Architecture & Mode Transition
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [16-BIT REAL MODE] |
| • BIOS loads Stage 1 MBR at physical address 0x7C00 |
| • Enable A20 Line & load Stage 2 / Kernel via BIOS INT 0x13 |
| • Load 32-bit Global Descriptor Table (lgdt) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
| Set CR0.PE = 1 (Protection Enable)
| Far Jump (ljmp 0x08:protected_mode)
v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [32-BIT PROTECTED MODE] |
| • Reload data/stack segment registers (DS, SS, ES, FS, GS) |
| • Check CPUID (0x80000001 -> EDX bit 29) for Long Mode support |
| • Build 4-Level Page Tables (Identity Map): |
| [PML4] ---> [PDPT] ---> [PD] ---> [2MB Huge Pages / PT] |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
| 1. Load PML4 base into CR3
| 2. Set CR4.PAE = 1 (Physical Addr Ext)
| 3. Set EFER.LME = 1 (MSR 0xC0000080)
| 4. Set CR0.PG = 1 (Paging Enable)
v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [IA-32e COMPATIBILITY SUB-MODE] |
| • CPU is now in Long Mode, but executing 32-bit instructions |
| • Load 64-bit GDT (Code Segment with L-bit = 1, D-bit = 0) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
| Far Jump (ljmp 0x08:long_mode_start)
| Flushes instruction pipeline
v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [64-BIT LONG MODE] |
| • Setup 64-bit stack pointer (RSP) & clear segment registers |
| • Jump to 64-bit C Kernel entry point (kmain) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
🔍 View Memory Map
Physical Address Memory Region / Contents
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00000000 | Real Mode IVT (Interrupt Vector Table) & BIOS Data Area |
| ... | (Reserved by BIOS during 16-bit initialization) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00001000 | 64-Bit Page Tables (Identity Mapped, 4KB Aligned) |
| ├─ 0x00001000 | • PML4 (Page Map Level 4) [CR3 Base] |
| ├─ 0x00002000 | • PDPT (Page Directory Pointer Table) |
| └─ 0x00003000 | • PD (Page Directory - 2MB Huge Pages) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00007000 | Kernel / Bootloader Stack (Grows downward <-- ) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00007C00 | Stage 1 MBR Bootloader (512 Bytes, 0xAA55 Signature) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00007E00 | Stage 2 Bootloader / GDT (32-bit & 64-bit Descriptors) |
| ... | (Or low-memory C Kernel entry at 0x8000 / 0x10000) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x000A0000 | Legacy Video RAM (VRAM) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x000B8000 | VGA Text Mode Buffer (80x25 chars, 2 bytes per cell) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x000C0000 | Video BIOS & Expansion ROMs |
| 0x000F0000 | Motherboard BIOS ROM (64KB) |
+==================+=========================================================+
| 0x00100000 (1MB) | 64-Bit C Kernel (`kmain` ELF / Flat Binary Image) |
| ... | Free Extended Memory (Heap, Frame Allocator, Stack) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
- Instead of navigating real-mode to long-mode transitions, SectorZero-ARM boots directly into a flat 64-bit address space (AArch64), giving you immediate access to modern C development and Memory-Mapped I/O (MMIO).
🔍 View Aarch644 Bootloader Pipeline
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [VIDEOCORE IV / VI GPU FIRMWARE] |
| • ROM Bootloader initializes SDRAM & reads FAT32 boot partition |
| • Loads `kernel8.img` to physical address 0x00080000 |
| • Releases ARM Cortex-A53 / A72 cores in 64-bit AArch64 state |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
| All 4 Cores start at _start (0x80000)
| Read MPIDR_EL1 (Aff0 bitmask 0x03)
v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [MULTI-CORE PARKING & EL CHECK] |
| • Cores 1, 2, 3 (Core ID != 0) ---> Enter low-power WFE loop |
| • Core 0 (BSP) checks `CurrentEL` register: |
| - If EL3 (Secure Monitor): Configure SCR_EL3 & drop to EL2 |
| - If EL2 (Hypervisor): Set HCR_EL2.RW = 1 (64-bit EL1) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
| 1. Disable EL1 traps (CPACR_EL1)
| 2. Set SPSR_EL2 = 0x3C5 (EL1h, DAIF masked)
| 3. Set ELR_EL2 = el1_entry
| 4. Execute `eret` (Exception Return)
v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [EL1 KERNEL INITIALIZATION] |
| • Set 64-bit Stack Pointer (`SP_EL1`) below code base (0x00080000) |
| • Zero-out `.bss` section via 64-bit `str xzr` loop |
| • Install Exception Vector Table (`VBAR_EL1` aligned to 2KB / 0x800) |
| • (Optional) Configure MMU: `MAIR_EL1`, `TCR_EL1`, `TTBR0_EL1` |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
| Branch with Link (`bl kmain`)
v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [AArch64 C KERNEL (EL1)] |
| • Initialize PL011 / Mini-UART via MMIO for serial console |
| • Query VideoCore Mailbox (Channel 8) for Board Rev & Framebuffer |
| • Unmask IRQ (`msr daifclr, #2`) & start ARM Generic Timer |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
🔍 View Memory Map
Physical Address Memory Region / Contents
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00000000 | ARM Stub / Spin Tables (Multicore release addresses) |
| ├─ 0x000000D8 | • Core 0–3 Mailbox Spin Addresses (0xD8, 0xE0, 0xE8..) |
| └─ 0x00000100 | • Device Tree Blob (DTB) / ATAGs passed by GPU |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x00001000 | Free Low Memory (Often used for Identity Page Tables) |
| ... | • PGD -> PUD -> PMD (TTBR0_EL1 base if MMU enabled) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x0007FFFF | EL1 Kernel Stack Top (`SP_EL1` grows downward <-- ) |
+==================+=========================================================+
| 0x00080000 | `kernel8.img` Load Address (`_start` Entry Point) |
| ├─ .text.boot | • Core parking, EL2->EL1 drop, BSS clear |
| ├─ .text / .ro | • AArch64 C Kernel (`kmain`), Vector Table (`VBAR_EL1`)|
| ├─ .data | • Initialized global variables |
| └─ .bss | • Zero-initialized data (Page-aligned end) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| Kernel End | Dynamic Memory / Kernel Heap & Page Frame Allocator |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x3C000000+ | VideoCore GPU Shared RAM (Framebuffer allocated via |
| (Config-based) | Mailbox Property Tag `0x00040001`) |
+==================+=========================================================+
| 0x3F000000 (Pi3) | BCM2837 / BCM2711 MMIO Peripherals Base |
| 0xFE000000 (Pi4) | ├─ +0x0000B880 : VideoCore Mailbox (Read/Write/Status) |
| | ├─ +0x00200000 : GPIO Controller (Alt-Func Pin Muxing) |
| | ├─ +0x00201000 : PL011 UART0 (TX/RX, Baud Rate Divs) |
| | └─ +0x00215000 : Auxiliary Mini-UART (UART1) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| 0x40000000 (Pi3) | ARM Local Peripherals (Core Timer Routing & IRQ Ctrl) |
| 0xFF840000 (Pi4) | GIC-400 (Generic Interrupt Controller - GICD / GICC) |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+