In order to make this course more accessable to students, we decided to provide a Virtual Linux Environment in which you could experiment. We built a mini-installation of Debian Linux within the Bochs IA-32 Emulator. Bochs can emulate the Intel x86 CPU, common I/O devices, and even a custom BIOS.

This means that you can have a fully working Linux system running on your Windows desktop machine. You should have access to the self-installing win32 executable, either on CD or via the course website.

You can download Bochs with the Debian GNU/Linux image mathew West created from this link .

Debian GNU/Linux, Bochs and NSIS are all open source products, licensed under the GPL.

Debian: http://www.debian.org/

Bochs: http://bochs.sourceforge.net/ http://bochs.sourceforge.net/

NSIS: http://nsis.sf.net/