ChaOS Downloads 2008-2011

ChaOS Home ChaOS Source Notes ChaOS Source Index Diary CTPP Home

12/12/2011: DEC2011 DOWNLOAD ChaOS Demo with compilers and ChaOS Setup (hard disk installation routine)

6/12/2011: Chaos Demo with hard disk installation routine, in final testing

4/09/2011: dec2009.iso Chaos RAMdisk Demo with compilers, improved bootstrap and VESA mode selector

5/09/2010: dec2009.iso Chaos RAMdisk Demo with compilers, updated

22/07/2010: dec2009.iso Chaos RAMdisk Demo with compilers, updated

19/12/2009: dec2009.iso Chaos RAMdisk Demo with compilers

18/12/2009: nov2009.iso ChaOS demo with VESA graphics

7/12/2009: oct2008.iso and nov2008test.iso revised to contain latest ChaOS kernel code.

ChaOS downloads are bootable, incomplete versions of ChaOS, to give a feel for what is possible with this operating system, in particular the speed of rebooting or restarting. ChaOS uses the PS2 port for keyboard and mouse, but USB a keyboard and mouse may work equally well, depending on the legacy settings in the USB BIOS.

I created the 2005 download whilst running Windows 98 - not realising that it would not run on Windows XP, (absolute floppy disk sector writes are not allowed).

So ChaOS downloads are in ISO CD format. Simply download an .ISO image, then burn the image to CD-R using Nero, EasyCD or CDBurnerXP to create a bootable CD disk.

To boot ChaOS, instead of your regular operating system, shut down your computer completely, place the bootable CD in the CD drive and switch the power back on. You may need to enter the BIOS setup program on your computer to do this (usually by hitting the DEL or F1 key as the computer restarts from a full shutdown), setting the first boot device to CDROM.

If the CD does not boot, view the disk using a browser such as Netscape Navigator or Windows Explorer - it should contain only one file, called README or README.TXT. If you see an .iso file your CD burning software has created a data CD, which will not work. If your software cannot create a bootbable CD, try CDBurnerXP. (click the link below: Microsoft .NET may also need to be installed on your PC).

ChaOS ISO files are EL TORITO SPECIFICATION, and include the 16 empty sectors which precede the first CD001 sector.

Title	Content	Instructions	Downloads available
December 2009 Demo	ISO CD image, MULTIXEC with operating system DEMO, compiler, linker and editor. Auto-extracts operating system source code into a RAM disk. Allows editing, recompilation and launching of a new operating system image	Burning instructions as October 2008 Demo 128Mb of RAM required	Download uncompressed: dec2009.iso (8.5Mb) Revision: v1.02.27160 on 5.9.2010 Release notes
November 2009 Demo	ISO CD image booting straight into VESA graphic mode, with debugger in second VESA screen frame. As before contains most of the source code, viewable inside the debugger. ESCape from the VESA demo drops into November 2008 mini Demo (see below) V1.01.25721	Burning instructions as October 2008 Demo	Download uncompressed: nov2009.iso (3.0Mb)
November 2008 mini Demo	ISO CD image containing basic 2008 demo kernel and most of the source code, viewable inside the debugger. Simple shell with help, date, time, realint, disp, boot and exit commands. V1.01.24382	Burning instructions as October 2008 Demo For improved debugger help screens, press F1 Using realint can crash the system (which is fun), unless you know how to set up registers correctly for a BIOS call.	Download uncompressed: nov2008test.iso (2.5Mb) Download zipped: (including release notes) nov2008test.zip (1499kb) Release notes
October 2008 Demo	2005 floppy disk demo converted to ISO CD format, most of the source code, viewable inside the debugger	Bootable ChaOS CD can be created by burning this image using Nero, EasyCD, or CDBurnerXP (recommended), free download below	Download uncompressed: oct2008.iso (2.5Mb) Download zipped: oct2008.zip (1.9Mb)
CDBurnerXP	Free Windows XP CD Burning software Requires Microsoft .NET Framework to be installed (also free)	To make a ChaOS CD, select Burn ISO Image, then select your downloaded ChaOS image, e.g. oct2008.iso, click Disc At Once (not essential), insert a blank CDR disk and click Burn.	Download: CDBurnerXP (3.0Mb)