Int 13h, 0Ah Read Long diagnostics
Reads one or more long sectors into memory from a fixed disk. A
long sector is a sector of information plus 4 bytes representing
the ECC code for the sector. This service can be performed on
fixed disks only.
Entry AH = 0Ah
AL = Number of sectors to read (1-127)
CH = Cylinder number (10-bit value; upper 2 bits in CL)
CL = Starting sector number
DH = Head number
DL = Drive number
ES:BX = Address of memory buffer
Return AH = Status of operation (See Service 01h)
AL = Number of sectors read
CF Set if error, else cleared
The service reads the specified number of long sectors starting at
the specified location (head, cylinder, and track) from a fixed
disk into a buffer starting at ES:BX.
Note
This service is for diagnostics only. For a more generalized
version of the read sector command, see Service 02h, which reads
sectors for both diskettes and fixed disks. Also see Int 25h
(DOS), which allows the reading of absolute sectors from any type
of block device.
The cylinder number is a ten-bit quantity (0 through 1023). Its
most significant two bits are in bits 7 and 6 of CL; the remaining
eight bits are in CH. The starting sector number fits in the
low-order portion (lower 6 bits) of CL.
The value returned in AL (number of sectors read) may not give the
correct number of sectors, even though there no reading error has
occurred. Use the results of the Carry flag and AH (status flag)
to determine the status of the operation.
The number of sectors to read (AL) can be 127 sectors at most.
If an error is encountered while reading a sector, use Service 0h
to reset the drive and retry the operation. It is recommended that
at least 3 retries be attempted before an error is signalled,
since the error may have resulted from the diskette motor not
being up to speed.
Because of the architecture of the DMA channel, an error will
occur if the buffer in memory for the sectors overlaps a 64K page
boundary. A 64K page boundary is a memory location which is one of
the following (10000h, 20000h, 30000h, etc.). Ensure that no part
of your buffer falls on this boundary. If it does, create a new
buffer or start the buffer just after the boundary.
If an error 11h is returned, the data is good but the BIOS is
reporting that it was corrected via the ECC error-correcting
algorithm. The error may not occur again if the information is
written back out.
For the AT, XT-286, and PC Convertible, the BIOS executes Int 15h,
Service 90h (Device Busy), for the diskette (Type = 01h) and the
fixed disk (Type = 00h) prior to waiting for the interrupt. Int
15h, Service 91h (Interrupt Complete), is executed upon
completion.