Windows CE 5.0 on Dreamcast?(!)

I have been making alot of threads here lately, but this is technically development/research

I've been looking into getting Windows CE 5.0 to boot on Dreamcast. Since you can download the platform builder and SH4 libraries from MS. But i couldn't get it to boot via the CE loader, i get the 'ERR_OLD_WIN_VERSION' error or something like that. And trying to open the EBOOT.bin or NK.bin via dcip-load just gave me a blue error screen with ram addresses.

Pretty much the platform builder is a tool to make a custom built CE OS for whatever platform you're trying to make. I stopped trying and decided to post this thread when i became fairly certain that you need to program the boot loader, and maybe other modules using a source template from MS.

So my question for this thread is since the SH4 libraries come with CE 5.0, and partial source code; Couldn't you compile the sources in the kit using the CE dreamcast kit? Then compile the rest in the platform builder?


My logic says if it has the SH4 libraries, and the CE 5.0 thin client needs 6mb ram minimum, a working port could be possible and run quite well. But i'm not certain, that's why i'm posting here

 

I have a win ce dev board for SH4, as well as the dc tools for it.
It's just sitting here gathering dust, if you want to grab it off me lmk.

DC can run wince, but I have never bothered.

I'll upload the tools I have, you'll need windows NT4 for it, I imagine you can run that in a virtual environment.

Windows CE 1.0 for dreamcast

https://mega.nz/#!aQwWVBDY!vjI7ci_pMHqVPrhHjMwoZ0Up6DKVmqAMigV84mzgVvs

 

Wow i'll pm now

 

Full frankenbuild sourcecode of windows nt4/2000/2003 is available at winbeta. Don't know how relevant this is but it's something.

 

Well it seems i'm making a project out of this now, so that will prove useful

 

Sounds like it would be useful if it can get me out of working in a Win9x virtual machine.

 

Imagine how awesome it would be to have a fully working Windows CE desktop environment on the Dreamcast with full read/write capabilities with Dreamshell/GdEmu or USB Gdrom. I know it is wishful thinking but it would be awesome. The Dreamcast is already one of the most PC-Like machines ever made even though it isn't using off the shelf PC chipsets. Would be nice to put my mouse and keyboard to more use than just for playing around with Half-Life DC.

I have heard it was capable of compiling Win CE apps to work on the Dreamcast but I never seen it in action or thought it was 100% possible/real.

 

After looking into the bootloader code, it looks like it boots from the flashrom. I tried modifying the source to the ethernet bootloader (eboot.bin) to point to the appropriate ram addresses of the dreamcast, but i get compile errors and it doesn't render the eboot.bin or nk.bin. There's comments in the code that say 'BOOT FROM FLASH' so when i try running the binary at 0xa0200000 ( start address of flashrom ) it goes to a black screen or on dcip-load stays at 'executing....'. Which also happens for anything else.

So I'm unsure how to properly execute the bin or exe. I tried using the windows ce loader disc, but it says 'CreateProcess' error 1150'. Which is this on MSDN

So to get around that, i'd need to change the registry key '\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows CE\CurrentVersion' to something that will allow the CE 5.0 exe files to load Edit: The registry on the dreamcast ROM

The problem with that is I can't program. So for this to go any further i'd need a coder that wants to help with this. What's needed is to either code an exe using the dreamcast CE kit that changes the registry key and loads one of the exe's, or modify the ce loader code to do that by default. And if/when we get it to boot, the drivers for the dreamcast keyboard and mouse would need to be added to the platform builder. Then later the modem/bba drivers. Which might be fairly easy besides bba because there's a keyboard/mouse driver in the ce loader. You could add the DUiman.dll drivers to the platform compile by making a 'sources' file


For now i could try a few more things, but i'd need a few questions answered first:

Can i hex edit the exe to bypass the version check? The main binary is the only thing that needs to be loaded, so my thinking is after its loaded in memory the old version wouldn't matter

What ram address should i try executing the binary?

Can I import the dreamcast SH4 BSP from VC++6.0 to the platform builder?




It would be cool if the community could help out in getting something like this working. More over than it being a novelty, and this might sound silly, but would be a 'new frontier' for the system. In terms of coders now have a whole new platform to develop for the dc, it could replace dreamshell and possibly add otherwise unthinkable functions to a nearly 20 year old console. Along with making it equivalent to an early 90s gaming PC

 

Jesus don't remind me it has been almost 20 years lol I am only 31 and it feels like so long ago lol.Yeah I would like to see something like a true desktop as well that could even surpass dreamshell, but they have been updating it a lot so it is pretty nice already. I just wish adding a HDD was easier for those of us that don't know how to solder so well.

 

Update:

After messing with this a little more, there seems to be signs of life. I run the binary using dreamshell at address 0xa05f8000 (hardware register) and after 30+ minutes the SD reader access light flashes for about 1-2 minutes, then stops. Assuming the OS has loaded

The only problem is after i run the binary, the dc stops outputting video. Probably and obviously because there's no drivers for the dc's hardware. So i'm going to attempt to use the KOS source code and compile it with the platform builder with the extreme minimal coding knowledge i have. But that may take awhile, and i'm unsure if it's as simple as adding the KOS code to the compiler by making a 'dirs' file or one would literally have to port it to CE 5.0. The latter i cannot do myself


If anyone else wants to attempt this you need a windows xp vm

 

Come on people, why do you shy away from Windows CE? If anything, code it as an anonymous person, but man... Windows CE has a lot of potential. I guess anybody seriously still programming for the Dreamcast might want to make money from the games they make, so I can understand that. But at the same time, lots of people do straight free homebrew too. So for those programmers I must ask, why not use Windows CE and do it anonymously?

I never understood that. I mean yes, I get that devs want to stay legal, but look at XBMC, that used Xbox libraries which is also Microsoft! So what! It was way more popular than the DC ever was. So, I guess people just don't give a fuck about it.

Besides, the machine is what? 17 years old now since 1998.

Sorry, I don't understand the logic.

 

Well what i planned on if i got it working was make a guide showing others how to run it using the 120 day evaluation version. Then buy their own key from MS. A Windows Genuine sticker on the back of the dc would be pretty neat

But as far as programming i'm sure anyone who's familiar with coding and specifically for dreamcast it might not be to hard to add the KOS hardware drivers/sources to the compile. That's pretty much all it needs, but i could be wrong and it might not be that simple



More notes : It seems loading doesn't start until after the disc spins down or is removed. That's why it took over a half hour the first two times i tried booting from 0xa05f8000. I'll confirm this later
Running the ehternet bootloader (eboot.bin) at address 0xa05f806a loads but all my monitors i've tried say 'out of frequency range' or 'unsupported mode'. But only for that file at that address

Yes. Hopefully others help out with this. So many things could be made for it, like combining dreamshell's ISO loader and other tools like dcload-ip into the OS. Coders could write and test the apps they write for the dc on the console. And so on, it'd be easy to keep listing

 

Thank you for at least trying. It is really great to see somebody try to do something with it after all these years.

 

Some people that have the skills to do this kind of stuff actually have a job in software and don't support piracy as they are affected by it themselves. Others just plainly prefer working with kalistios as it's similar to unix and easy (easier) to set-up on a modern system.

In any case, being mad at devs for not doing something will never motivate them to do it. Maybe you could try to learn programming and do it yourself!

 

This would be neat to run winCE on the DC, if I remember right, the gizmondo ran winCE and the homebrew for that was very active

 

keep us all posted.. Happy to see another project on DC that can open doors

 

The intent isn't to promote piracy. The 5.0 platform builder is a 120 day evaluation edition provided and downloaded from MS. Then people can compile what features they want in the OS and buy their own key on their own accord. Which I think MS would be quite pleased with

Sure, someone will probably make an image or something. But that doesn't mean any sites have to host the link. Most of which are pretty good with deleting links to new homebrews. I'd imagine they'd do the same to prevent pissing off MS

 

I was responding to Anthony, nothing wrong for me about what you're doing. It's just that being pissed that others don't do it won't help anyone.

 

I think he was just happy that something's happening with wince on dc more than the logo on the console. Don't think he was pissed. Btw your nickname was the inspiration for mine

 

No I was happy lol, I wasn't pissed at all lol. I was just saying that people built XBMC and used the Xbox libraries to make it and look where it is at now. It can be found on many systems. I am saying that it would be nice for people to do similar with the Dreamcast and Windows CE is all.