diff --git a/src/kernel/libroot/os/driver_settings.c b/src/kernel/libroot/os/driver_settings.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ab4e498a3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/kernel/libroot/os/driver_settings.c
@@ -0,0 +1,672 @@
+/* driver_settings - implements the driver settings API
+**
+** Initial version by Axel Dörfler, axeld@pinc-software.de
+** This file may be used under the terms of the OpenBeOS License.
+*/
+
+
+#include <OS.h>
+#include <driver_settings.h>
+
+// this definition is currently missing from the headers above...
+// just a small to let it compile fine in the OpenBeOS tree
+#ifndef B_FILE_NAME_LENGTH
+#	define B_FILE_NAME_LENGTH 256
+#endif
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <ctype.h>
+
+
+#define SETTINGS_DIRECTORY "/boot/home/config/settings/kernel/drivers/"
+#define SETTINGS_MAGIC		'DrvS'
+
+// Those maximum values are independent from the implementation - they
+// have been chosen to make the code more robust against bad files
+#define MAX_SETTINGS_SIZE	32768
+#define MAX_SETTINGS_LEVEL	8
+
+#define CONTINUE_PARAMETER	1
+
+typedef struct settings_handle {
+	void	*first_buffer;
+	int32	magic;
+	struct	driver_settings settings;
+	char	*text;
+} settings_handle;
+
+
+//	Functions not part of the public API
+
+
+static inline bool
+is_parameter_separator(char c)
+{
+	return c == '\n' || c == ';';
+}
+
+
+static inline bool
+is_parameter_assignment(char c)
+{
+	return isspace(c) || c == '=';
+}
+
+
+static inline bool
+is_word_break(char c)
+{
+	return c == ' ' || c == '\t' || is_parameter_separator(c);
+}
+
+
+static inline bool
+check_handle(settings_handle *handle)
+{
+	if (handle == NULL
+		|| handle->magic != SETTINGS_MAGIC)
+		return false;
+
+	return true;
+}
+
+
+static driver_parameter *
+get_parameter(settings_handle *handle, const char *name)
+{
+	int32 i;
+	for (i = handle->settings.parameter_count; i-- > 0;) {
+		if (!strcmp(handle->settings.parameters[i].name, name))
+			return &handle->settings.parameters[i];
+	}
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+
+static status_t
+get_word(char **_pos, char **_word, bool allowNewLine)
+{
+	char *pos = *_pos;
+	char quoted = 0;
+	bool newLine = false, end = false;
+	int escaped = 0;
+	bool charEscaped = false;
+
+	// Skip any white space and comments
+	while (pos[0]
+		&& ((allowNewLine && (isspace(pos[0]) || is_parameter_separator(pos[0]) || pos[0] == '#'))
+		|| (!allowNewLine && (pos[0] == '\t' || pos[0] == ' ')))) {
+		// skip any comment lines
+		if (pos[0] == '#') {
+			while (pos[0] && pos[0] != '\n')
+				pos++;
+		}
+		pos++;
+	}
+
+	if (pos[0] == '}') {
+		*_pos = pos;
+		return B_NO_ERROR;
+	}
+
+	// Read in a word - might contain escaped (\) spaces, or it
+	// might also be quoted (" or ').
+
+	if (pos[0] == '"' || pos[0] == '\'') {
+		quoted = pos[0];
+		pos++;
+	}
+	*_word = pos;
+
+	while (pos[0]) {
+		if (charEscaped)
+			charEscaped = false;
+		else if (pos[0] == '\\') {
+			charEscaped = true;
+			escaped++;
+		} else if ((!quoted && is_word_break(pos[0])) || (quoted && pos[0] == quoted))
+			break;
+		pos++;
+	}
+
+	// "String exceeds line" - missing end quote
+	if (quoted && pos[0] != quoted)
+		return B_BAD_DATA;
+
+	// last character is a backslash
+	if (charEscaped)
+		return B_BAD_DATA;
+
+	end = pos[0] == '\0';
+	newLine = is_parameter_separator(pos[0]) || end;
+	pos[0] = '\0';
+
+	// Correct name if there were any escaped characters
+	if (escaped) {
+		char *word = *_word;
+		int offset = 0;
+		while (word <= pos) {
+			if (word[0] == '\\') {
+				offset--;
+				word++;
+			}
+			word[offset] = word[0];
+			word++;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (end) {
+		*_pos = pos;
+		return B_OK;
+	}
+
+	// Scan for next beginning word, open brackets, or comment start
+
+	pos++;
+	while (true) {
+		*_pos = pos;
+		if (!pos[0])
+			return B_NO_ERROR;
+
+		if (is_parameter_separator(pos[0])) {
+			// an open bracket '{' could follow after the first
+			// newline, but not later
+			if (newLine)
+				return B_NO_ERROR;
+
+			newLine = true;
+		} else if (pos[0] == '{' || pos[0] == '}' || pos[0] == '#')
+			return B_NO_ERROR;
+		else if (!isspace(pos[0]))
+			return newLine ? B_NO_ERROR : CONTINUE_PARAMETER;
+
+		pos++;
+	}
+}
+
+
+static status_t
+parse_parameter(struct driver_parameter *parameter, char **_pos, int32 level)
+{
+	char *pos = *_pos;
+	status_t status;
+
+	// initialize parameter first
+	memset(parameter, 0, sizeof(struct driver_parameter));
+
+	status = get_word(&pos, &parameter->name, true);
+	if (status == CONTINUE_PARAMETER) {
+		while (status == CONTINUE_PARAMETER) {
+			char **newArray, *value;
+			status = get_word(&pos, &value, false);
+			if (status < B_OK)
+				break;
+
+			// the flat settings style allows to put a '=' between the
+			// parameter name and its values
+			if (!strcmp(value, "=") && parameter->value_count == 0)
+				continue;
+
+			// enlarge value array and save the value
+
+			newArray = realloc(parameter->values, (parameter->value_count + 1) * sizeof(char *));
+			if (newArray == NULL)
+				return B_NO_MEMORY;
+
+			parameter->values = newArray;
+			parameter->values[parameter->value_count++] = value;
+		}
+	}
+
+	*_pos = pos;
+	return status;
+}
+
+
+static status_t
+parse_parameters(struct driver_parameter **parameters, int *count, char **pos, int32 level)
+{
+	if (level > MAX_SETTINGS_LEVEL)
+		return B_LINK_LIMIT;
+
+	while (true) {
+		struct driver_parameter *newArray, *parameter;
+		status_t status;
+		newArray = realloc(*parameters, (*count + 1) * sizeof(struct driver_parameter));
+		if (newArray == NULL)
+			return B_NO_MEMORY;
+
+		parameter = &newArray[*count];
+
+		status = parse_parameter(parameter, pos, level);
+		if (status < B_OK)
+			return status;
+
+		*parameters = newArray;
+		(*count)++;
+
+		// check for level beginning and end
+		if (**pos == '{') {
+			// if we go a level deeper, just start all over again...
+			(*pos)++;
+			status = parse_parameters(&parameter->parameters, &parameter->parameter_count, pos, level + 1);
+			if (status < B_OK)
+				return status;
+		}
+		if ((**pos == '}' && level > 0)
+			|| (**pos == '\0' && level == 0)) {
+			// take the closing bracket from the stack
+			(*pos)++;
+			return B_OK;
+		}
+
+		// obviously, something has gone wrong
+		if (**pos == '}' || **pos == '\0')
+			return B_ERROR;
+	}
+}
+
+
+static status_t
+parse_settings(settings_handle *handle)
+{
+	char *text = handle->text;
+
+	memset(&handle->settings, 0, sizeof(struct driver_settings));
+
+	// empty settings are allowed
+	if (text == NULL)
+		return B_OK;
+
+	return parse_parameters(&handle->settings.parameters, &handle->settings.parameter_count, &text, 0);
+}
+
+
+static void
+free_parameter(struct driver_parameter *parameter)
+{
+	int32 i;
+	for (i = parameter->parameter_count; i-- > 0;)
+		free_parameter(&parameter->parameters[i]);
+
+	free(parameter->parameters);
+	free(parameter->values);
+}
+
+
+static void
+free_settings(settings_handle *handle)
+{
+	int32 i;
+	for (i = handle->settings.parameter_count; i-- > 0;)
+		free_parameter(&handle->settings.parameters[i]);
+
+	free(handle->settings.parameters);
+
+	free(handle->text);
+	free(handle);
+}
+
+
+static settings_handle *
+load_driver_settings_from_file(int file)
+{
+	struct stat stat;
+
+	// Allocate a buffer and read the whole file into it.
+	// We will keep this buffer in memory, until the settings
+	// are unloaded.
+	// The driver_parameter::name field will point directly
+	// to this buffer.
+
+	if (fstat(file, &stat) < B_OK)
+		return NULL;
+
+	if (stat.st_size > B_OK && stat.st_size < MAX_SETTINGS_SIZE) {
+		char *text = (char *)malloc(stat.st_size + 1);
+		if (text != NULL && read(file, text, stat.st_size) == stat.st_size) {
+			settings_handle *handle = malloc(sizeof(settings_handle));
+			if (handle != NULL) {
+				text[stat.st_size] = '\0';
+
+				handle->magic = SETTINGS_MAGIC;
+				handle->text = text;
+
+				if (parse_settings(handle) == B_OK) {
+					return handle;
+				}
+
+				free(handle);
+			}
+		}
+		// "text" might be NULL here, but that's allowed
+		free(text);
+	}
+
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+
+static bool
+put_string(char **_buffer, size_t *_bufferSize, char *string)
+{
+	char *buffer = *_buffer;
+	size_t length;
+
+	if (string == NULL)
+		return true;
+
+	length = strlen(string);
+
+	// update _bufferSize in any way, so that we can chain several
+	// of these calls without having to check the return value
+	// everytime
+	*_bufferSize -= length;
+
+	if (*_bufferSize <= 0)
+		return false;
+
+	length = strlen(string);
+	memcpy(buffer, string, length);
+	buffer += length;
+
+	buffer[0] = '\0';
+
+	// update the buffer position
+	*_buffer = buffer;
+
+	return true;
+}
+
+
+static bool
+put_char(char **_buffer, size_t *_bufferSize, char c)
+{
+	char *buffer = *_buffer;
+
+	*_bufferSize -= 1;
+
+	if (*_bufferSize <= 0)
+		return false;
+
+	buffer[0] = c;
+	buffer[1] = '\0';
+
+	// update the buffer position
+	*_buffer = buffer + 1;
+
+	return true;
+}
+
+
+static void
+put_level_space(char **_buffer, size_t *_bufferSize, int32 level)
+{
+	while (level-- > 0)
+		put_char(_buffer, _bufferSize, '\t');
+}
+
+
+static bool
+put_parameter(char **_buffer, size_t *_bufferSize, struct driver_parameter *parameter, int32 level, bool flat)
+{
+	int32 i;
+
+	if (!flat)
+		put_level_space(_buffer, _bufferSize, level);
+
+	put_string(_buffer, _bufferSize, parameter->name);
+	if (flat && parameter->value_count > 0)
+		put_string(_buffer, _bufferSize, " =");
+
+	for (i = 0; i < parameter->value_count; i++) {
+		put_char(_buffer, _bufferSize, ' ');
+		put_string(_buffer, _bufferSize, parameter->values[i]);
+	}
+
+	if (parameter->parameter_count > 0) {
+		put_string(_buffer, _bufferSize, " {");
+		if (!flat)
+			put_char(_buffer, _bufferSize, '\n');
+
+		for (i = 0; i < parameter->parameter_count; i++) {
+			put_parameter(_buffer, _bufferSize, &parameter->parameters[i], level + 1, flat);
+			if (parameter->parameters[i].parameter_count == 0)
+				put_char(_buffer, _bufferSize, flat ? ';' : '\n');
+		}
+
+		if (!flat)
+			put_level_space(_buffer, _bufferSize, level);
+		put_char(_buffer, _bufferSize, '}');
+	}
+
+	return *_bufferSize >= 0;
+}
+
+
+// ToDo: the API to add an item to the driver_settings is obviously accessable
+//	to the kernel, so we should provide it, too (in BeOS this is used to add
+//	driver settings at boot time, using the safe boot menu).
+
+//static status_t
+//add_driver_parameter(const char *name, )
+//{
+//}
+
+
+//	#pragma mark -
+//	The public API implementation
+
+
+status_t
+unload_driver_settings(void *handle)
+{
+	if (!check_handle(handle))
+		return B_BAD_VALUE;
+
+	free_settings(handle);
+	return B_OK;
+}
+
+
+void *
+load_driver_settings(const char *driverName)
+{
+	settings_handle *handle;
+	int file;
+	
+	if (driverName == NULL)
+		return NULL;
+
+	// open the settings from the standardized location
+	{
+		char path[B_FILE_NAME_LENGTH + 64];
+
+		// ToDo: use the kernel's find_directory for this
+		strcpy(path, SETTINGS_DIRECTORY);
+		strlcat(path, driverName, sizeof(path));
+
+		file = open(path, O_RDONLY);
+	}
+	if (file < B_OK)
+		return NULL;
+
+	handle = load_driver_settings_from_file(file);
+
+	close(file);
+	return (void *)handle;
+}
+
+
+/** Loads a driver settings file using the full path, instead of
+ *	only defining the leaf name (as load_driver_settings() does).
+ *	I am not sure if this function is really necessary - I would
+ *	probably prefer something like a search order (if it's not
+ *	an absolute path):
+ *		~/config/settings/kernel/driver
+ *		current directory
+ *	That would render this function useless.
+ */
+
+#if 0
+void *
+load_driver_settings_from_path(const char *path)
+{
+	settings_handle *handle;
+	int file;
+
+	if (path == NULL)
+		return NULL;
+
+	file = open(path, O_RDONLY);
+	if (file < B_OK)
+		return NULL;
+
+	handle = load_driver_settings_from_file(file);
+
+	close(file);
+	return (void *)handle;
+}
+#endif
+
+/** Returns a new driver_settings handle that has the parsed contents
+ *	of the passed string.
+ *	You can get an empty driver_settings object when you pass NULL as
+ *	the "settingsString" parameter.
+ */
+
+void *
+parse_driver_settings_string(const char *settingsString)
+{
+	// we simply copy the whole string to use it as our internal buffer
+	char *text = strdup(settingsString);
+	if (settingsString == NULL || text != NULL) {
+		settings_handle *handle = malloc(sizeof(settings_handle));
+		if (handle != NULL) {
+			handle->magic = SETTINGS_MAGIC;
+			handle->text = text;
+
+			if (parse_settings(handle) == B_OK)
+				return handle;
+
+			free(handle);
+		}
+		free(text);
+	}
+
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+
+/** This function prints out a driver settings structure to a human
+ *	readable string.
+ *	It's either in standard style or the single line style speficied
+ *	by the "flat" parameter.
+ *	If the buffer is too small to hold the string, B_DEVICE_FULL (for now)
+ *	is returned, and the needed amount of bytes if placed in the
+ *	"_bufferSize" parameter.
+ *	If the "handle" parameter is not a valid driver settings handle, or
+ *	the "buffer" parameter is NULL, B_BAD_VALUE is returned.
+ */
+
+status_t
+get_driver_settings_string(void *_handle, char *buffer, size_t *_bufferSize, bool flat)
+{
+	settings_handle *handle = (settings_handle *)_handle;
+	size_t bufferSize = *_bufferSize;
+	int32 i;
+
+	if (!check_handle(handle) || !buffer || *_bufferSize == 0)
+		return B_BAD_VALUE;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < handle->settings.parameter_count; i++) {
+		put_parameter(&buffer, &bufferSize, &handle->settings.parameters[i], 0, flat);
+	}
+
+	*_bufferSize -= bufferSize;
+	return bufferSize >= 0 ? B_OK : B_DEVICE_FULL;
+		// ToDo: ?? don't we have a B_BUFFER_OVERFLOW kind of error?
+		//	find a better error code for this.
+}
+
+
+bool
+get_driver_boolean_parameter(void *handle, const char *keyName, bool unknownValue, bool noArgValue)
+{
+	driver_parameter *parameter;
+	char *boolean;
+
+	if (!check_handle(handle))
+		return unknownValue;
+
+	// check for the parameter
+	if ((parameter = get_parameter(handle, keyName)) == NULL)
+		return unknownValue;
+
+	// ToDo: This takes just the first argument/value, and checks that one;
+	// I don't know if they are used to work that way in BeOS, though.
+	// bonefish: Yep, exactly like that.
+
+	// check for the argument
+	if (parameter->value_count <= 0)
+		return noArgValue;
+
+	boolean = parameter->values[0];
+	if (!strcmp(boolean, "1")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "true")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "yes")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "on")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "enable")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "enabled"))
+		return true;
+
+	if (!strcmp(boolean, "0")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "false")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "no")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "off")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "disable")
+		|| !strcasecmp(boolean, "disabled"))
+		return false;
+
+	// if no known keyword is found, "unknownValue" is returned
+	return unknownValue;
+}
+
+
+const char *
+get_driver_parameter(void *handle, const char *keyName, const char *unknownValue, const char *noArgValue)
+{
+	struct driver_parameter *parameter;
+
+	if (!check_handle(handle))
+		return unknownValue;
+
+	// check for the parameter
+	if ((parameter = get_parameter(handle, keyName)) == NULL)
+		return unknownValue;
+
+	// check for the argument
+	if (parameter->value_count <= 0)
+		return noArgValue;
+
+	return parameter->values[0];
+}
+
+
+const driver_settings *
+get_driver_settings(void *handle)
+{
+	if (!check_handle(handle))
+		return NULL;
+
+	return &((settings_handle *)handle)->settings;
+}
+
+
+// this creates an alias of the above function
+// unload_driver_settings() is the same as delete_driver_settings()
+extern __typeof(unload_driver_settings) delete_driver_settings __attribute__ ((alias ("unload_driver_settings")));
+