[comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d] So, what's the problem with MSDOS?

klarich@a.cs.okstate.edu (Terry Klarich) (08/29/89)

I was wondering if the 1024 limit of cylinders allowed by MSDOS was hard
coded?  Or, is there anything I can do about it?  I am using IBM dos 3.30;
and my disk has 1224 cylinders.  It gets the number of heads right.  My
drive is type 26.  This has not been a problem before because I have Xenix
on the last 700 cylinders or so.  I would like to runthe utility
"interleave Adjustment Utility" to improve my data transfer rate without
removing all my data.  I just got a new dtc rll 1:1 controller.

Thanks

simcha@kurz-ai.UUCP (Simcha Lerner) (08/30/89)

In article <4905@okstate.UUCP> klarich@okstate.UUCP (Terry Klarich) writes:
>I was wondering if the 1024 limit of cylinders allowed by MSDOS was hard
>coded? 

DOS accesses the disk via IBMBIO.COM which hooks into
the ROM BIOS.  The IBM ROM BIOS only allots 10 bits to
encode the cylinder number, therefor the 1024 limit.

One way around it is to place a wedge between DOS and the
BIOS (tricky since it is best done before dos becomes active)
that logically remaps the disk to having more heads (or more
sectors/track) and less cylinders.

If you want more info on how to do this, contact at the e-mail
address below (please don't use your respond key!)

-- 
Simcha Lerner
Kurzweil Applied Intelligence

PLEASE NOTE ADDRESS: NO RETURN MAIL VIA bbn PLEASE

UUCP address:	kurz-ai!simcha@talcott.harvard.edu
	  or:	...{uunet,rutgers,ames}!harvard!talcott!kurz-ai!simcha