The disassembler, NDISASM, a part of the NASM (Netwide Assembler),
is a good tool to disassemble ROMs. Links to the NASM project will
be found on 'sourceforge.net'. Consider using version 0.98.39 for
disassembling code from an 8088. You don't need any of the ia64
opcodes.
--John
On 08/20/2014 11:42 AM, lennart rolland wrote:
Hi all!
This is my first post. I was recommended to ask my questions
here after talking about my project on different CNC related
forums, because someone felt (rightly so) that it would be more
on topic here.
So I have these old 1985'ish CNC machines (computer controlled
milling machines for metal). They are of very high quality and
was quite popular at the time. I bought one in need of repairs,
and a second one as a spare parts machine. After getting both of
them into physical shape, I needed to configure the computer
controller. Basically this is a large box with a CRT monitor and
some buttons that is used to operate the machine. It has a
registry of around 100 configuration parameters, some that are
general settings and some that are machine specific calibration.
When the machine was new, this data would be delivered on a mini
cassette. Unfortunately I don't have the cassette for any of my
machines. It is also possible to load the parameters from RS232,
but it is NOT possible to save the values OUT via RS232. Finally
there is the option of entering them manually through a very old
fashioned keyboard at the front of the controller. Needless to
say, the manual typing takes ages.
After fiddling about for a while it became evident that I would
need to find a quicker way to change and send the configuration
settings to the machine so that I can test the parameters one by
one and determine what is the correct settings. Since I am a
software developer at trade, I decided to make a small GUI where
I could change the settings and then export them directly over
RS232 to the machine. But there is only one problem with this
approach: I don't know which format the data needs to be in to
successfully send them over RS232.
I decided to step it up one notch, and peaked inside the
computer. To my supprise the "main" board had an intel 8088 CPU
and 4 detachable EPROMS. So I went straight to ebay and both a
cheap EPROM reader (TOP853) and now I have 4 shiny binary files
on my desktop. So now I am looking for clues to how I can
disassemble the data on these chips. In my naive approach I
tried to use objdump -b binary -m i386 -d D0.BIN but it didn't
output anything. I did actually write a miniscule of assembly
code back in the day but that was a very long time ago and I am
sure the tools of the trade has come a long way since then.
So, what would you recommend that I do in my search for
intelligence in these chips? Would it be feasible to run them in
an emulator? What preparations/conversions would I need to
perform to have them work? I don't know much about the object
code loading practices that were common in 1985 (or today for
that matter). Are there any good graphical dis-assembly tools
that would allow me to browse the instructions and follow the
jumps around and look at segments of data etc?
I am on Ubuntu, but I have a windows box handy as well.
All tips and tricks are welcome.
Thanks!
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