MikeOS is an operating system for x86 PCs, written in assembly language. It is a learning tool to show how simple OSes work, with well-commented code and extensive documentation. Features:
The code is completely open source (under a BSD-like license), and is written by Mike Saunders and other developers.
The link below contains the source code (see the source and programs directories), along with disk images for floppies/USB keys and CD-Rs in the disk_images folder.
You can write the images to a floppy disk, USB key or CD-R and boot your PC from them to test -- or use a PC emulator such as QEMU, VirtualBox or VMware. See the User Handbook below for a guide. System requirements: minimum 386 PC with a keyboard and 1MB of RAM.
Here are some contributed add-on programs and projects for MikeOS:
Total MikeOS downloads as of 17 Jan 2010: 15,642
Click on the thumbnails below to see full-size versions.
These four Handbooks provide the complete documentation for MikeOS:
Note that the Handbooks are also included with MikeOS, in the doc directory. If you're new to the world of OS development, see our guide to writing your own operating system from scratch.
To discuss MikeOS with other users and developers, or if you're programming a similar operating system and want to share ideas and help, sign up to the mailing list.
After you've signed up, you will receive a confirmation email and information on how to unsubscribe. You can send messages to the list via mikeos-developer@lists.berlios.de and view the archives on this page.
Some website artwork from the Tango icon set.
Projects based on or inspired by MikeOS:
Resources:
Similar OS projects: