debug spew is a file now. every checkpoint from the first instruction onward (entry asm, the real-mode thunk letters, all the [DEBUG] lines) lands in a buffer, and once the fs proves it can write, the buffer becomes LOG.TXT and the screen clears to the banner. the trick is the default: echo stays on until the file is safely written, so a boot that dies early still shows everything live. the fallback isn’t a code path, it’s just never getting to the quiet part. LOG=0 in CONFIG.TXT keeps the old wallpaper. and the log already caught its first bug: a missing [EZTG] tattled on a stale version entry.asm. debugging is too important to leave on the screen.