BugCheck2Linux

Windows crashed? Dropping you into a linux shell!

How to run it?

1. Enable test signing and reboot

bcdedit /set testsigning on
shutdown /r /t 0

2. Create a service using SC

sc create BugCheck2Linux binPath=C:\where\ever\the\driver\is\BugCheck2Linux.sys type=kernel start=demand

3. Run it!

sc start BugCheck2Linux

*4. In case you change your mind then unload the driver to revert the changes

sc stop BugCheck2Linux

How does this work?

We simply register a BugCheck callback. The callback function runs a tiny RISC V emulator running linux.

For the video output we use bootvid.dll and for input we have a horrible simple polling based PS/2 keyboard driver.

Limitations?

• No ANSI escape sequences supported.
• Runs at 640x480 with 16 colors.
• Only works on BIOS systems.
• Is really slow at times.
• Keyboard support is poor. You will have to use CapsLock instead of Shift if you want to access special letters or capital letters. Oh also Backspace does not work.

Credits

mini-rv32ima for the RISC V emulator and the Linux image.

ReactOS Project for providing documentations for bootvid

OSdev Wiki for providing documentations for PS/2