Disk Setup

Disk Setup

This guide explains the current disk model and how to work with the FAT16 partition inside cupidos.img. Persistent file storage in /home lives in this partition.

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Quick Setup (Copy-Paste)

If you just want a working HDD image fast:

# Build (or reuse) cupidos.img
make HDD_MB=200

# Copy host file into FAT root (maps to /home in CupidOS)
mcopy -o -i cupidos.img@@2097152 cupid.bmp ::/cupid.bmp

# Boot
make run

That's it. Read on for a detailed explanation of each step.

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Requirements

• Linux (or WSL) with root/sudo access
• fdisk - included in util-linux (pre-installed on most distros)
• mkfs.fat - from dosfstools
• losetup - from util-linux

Install if needed:

# Ubuntu / Debian / WSL
sudo apt-get install dosfstools util-linux

# Arch
sudo pacman -S dosfstools util-linux

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Step-by-Step Guide

1. Build (or Reuse) the HDD Image

make

This creates cupidos.img (or reuses the existing image) with:

• MBR boot code + partition table
• Stage 2 + kernel area
• FAT16 partition mounted at /home

Choose image size with HDD_MB:

make HDD_MB=100
make HDD_MB=200

Default is HDD_MB=200.

2. Copy Files from Host (Recommended: mtools)

Install mtools if needed:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y mtools

Copy files into FAT root:

mcopy -o -i cupidos.img@@2097152 cupid.bmp ::/cupid.bmp

List files:

mdir -i cupidos.img@@2097152 ::/

Mapping:

• FAT ::/ corresponds to CupidOS /home
• ::/cupid.bmp becomes /home/cupid.bmp in CupidOS

If FAT_START_LBA is customized, use offset:

offset_bytes=$((FAT_START_LBA*512))
mcopy -o -i cupidos.img@@${offset_bytes} file.txt ::/file.txt

3. Alternate Linux Loop-Mount Method

If you prefer mounting from Linux directly:

sudo mount -o loop,offset=$((4096*512)) cupidos.img /mnt/cupidos

This mounts the FAT16 partition directly from cupidos.img.

4. Add Files (Loop-Mount Path)

Now copy files into it:

# Simple text file
echo "Hello from CupidOS!" | sudo tee /mnt/cupidos/HELLO.TXT

# A CupidScript program
cat <<'EOF' | sudo tee /mnt/cupidos/HELLO.CUP
#!/bin/cupid
NAME="World"
echo "Hello, $NAME!"
echo "Welcome to CupidOS"
EOF

# A CupidC source file
cat <<'EOF' | sudo tee /mnt/cupidos/DEMO.CC
void main() {
    println("Hello from CupidC on disk!");
    int x = 42;
    print("The answer is: ");
    print_int(x);
    println("");
}
EOF

# Copy any host files you want
# sudo cp ~/my-project/*.txt /mnt/cupidos/

FAT16 filename rules:

• Maximum 8 characters for the name, 3 for the extension (8.3 format)
• Names are stored as uppercase - hello.txt becomes HELLO.TXT
• No spaces or special characters in filenames
• Only the root directory is supported (no subdirectories)

5. Unmount

sudo umount /mnt/cupidos

Your cupidos.img now contains the updated /home data.

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Booting

Use:

make run

Manual QEMU Command

qemu-system-i386 \
  -boot c \
  -hda cupidos.img \
    -rtc base=localtime \
    -audiodev none,id=speaker \
    -machine pcspk-audiodev=speaker \
    -serial stdio

Flag	Purpose
-boot c	Boot from hard disk
-hda cupidos.img	HDD image with bootloader, kernel, and FAT16 /home
-rtc base=localtime	Set RTC to host's local time
-serial stdio	Route serial debug output to your terminal

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Using the Disk in cupid-os

Once booted with make run, the FAT16 partition is automatically mounted at /home:

/> mount
Mounted filesystems:
  /       ramfs
  /dev    devfs
  /home   fat16

/> cd /home
/home> ls
HELLO   .TXT      21
HELLO   .CUP      64
DEMO    .CC       110

/home> cat HELLO.TXT
Hello from CupidOS!

Reading and Writing Files

# Read a file
cat /home/HELLO.TXT

# Write a new file
vwrite /home/NOTES.TXT "My notes here"

# Delete a file
rm /home/OLD.TXT

# Open in Notepad (GUI)
# Click File → Open, navigate to /home, double-click a file

Running Scripts from Disk

# Run a CupidScript file
cupid /home/HELLO.CUP

# Compile and run a CupidC file
cupidc /home/DEMO.CC

Syncing to Disk

Writes go through a block cache and may not be flushed to disk immediately. The cache auto-flushes every 5 seconds, but you can force it:

sync

Always sync before shutting down QEMU to avoid data loss.

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Persistence and Cleaning

• make and make run keep existing cupidos.img
• make clean keeps cupidos.img
• make clean-image removes only cupidos.img
• make distclean removes build artifacts and cupidos.img

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Troubleshooting

"Disk error!" on boot

• cupidos.img may be missing or corrupted. Rebuild with make.

No files visible in /home

• Verify files were copied to FAT root ::/ (not ::/home).
• Check FAT listing from host: mdir -i cupidos.img@@2097152 ::/.
• Check serial output for FAT16 mount messages.

"mount" doesn't show /home as fat16

• QEMU may not be using cupidos.img; use make run.
• The ATA driver didn't detect the disk - check serial log for ATA init messages.

Files not persisting after reboot

• Run sync before closing QEMU to flush the block cache.
• The auto-flush runs every 5 seconds, but closing QEMU abruptly can lose unflushed writes.

Filenames appear truncated or garbled

• FAT16 uses 8.3 format - names longer than 8 characters are truncated.
• Use only uppercase letters, digits, and underscores.
• No long filename (LFN) support.

Wrong offset in mtools/loop mount

• Default FAT offset is 2097152 bytes (4096 * 512).
• If FAT_START_LBA changed, recompute offset as FAT_START_LBA * 512.

Permission denied

• Loop device and mount operations require sudo.
• If using WSL, ensure you're running in a WSL terminal (not PowerShell directly).

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See Also

• Getting Started - Build and run cupid-os
• Filesystem - VFS architecture, RamFS, DevFS, FAT16 internals
• Shell Commands - Full command reference
• CupidScript - Writing scripts to run from disk