How can I build a small operating system on an old desktop computer? [closed]

Answer 1

If you don't mind using hardware virtualisation, there is a course (book + lectures + software) that will take you 'From Nand to Tetris'. You create a full computer system entirely yourself from the (for these purposes atomic, and given) electrical NAND gate, right through to building the OS, a language, and finally coding a simple game on your personal machine.

I think it's a great idea and something I fully intend to get stuck into soon. The book is surprisingly cheap and I believe the course is taught at MIT. I can imagine no greater feeling than having the full, complete knowledge of an entire system you built yourself from the ground up.

Link: http://www1.idc.ac.il/tecs/

Answer 2

You might want to consider taking a look at Operating Systems Concepts, by Abraham Silberschatz - Understanding Systems Programming concepts is a fundamental requirement, take a peek into F/OSS kernel internals of OSes linux *BSD and GNU/Linux, especially earlier versions, which are probably a bit more documented.

Answer 3

I maintain a list of resources on StackOverflow: How to get started in operating system development. Please add new resources to it as you begin you're adventure (I'm about to begin :) )

Answer 4

Study the A2 System (formerly called the Oberon system) for ideas you can steal. It is a graphical OS built by just two people, although admittedly one is Niklaus Wirth. First released around 1990 and the speed is astonishingly good. There is a book by Gutknecht.

Answer 5

Take a look at Minix. Study the source code along with "Operating Systems Design and Implementation". Consider making contributions to the project. I think Minix is a really good and promising OS in the making. It is also well funded project. That means, you might even get paid for your contributions!

Answer 6

More than anything else, if you want this to run on real hardware, you absolutely need a copy of your processor's manual. The Intel manuals (http://www.intel.com/products/processor/manuals/) are invaluable. They go over everything from switching modes (real/protected) to virtual memory management (if you choose to go that far) to making syscalls (if you ever get to doing user mode). Most importantly they explain in great detail a number of things that must be set up for things to function, like the TSS and segment registers, that most OS texts don't discuss because they're more concerned with higher-level concepts than processor-specific details.