Int 13h, 02h Read Sectors into Memory all
Reads one or more sectors from a fixed or floppy disk into memory.
Entry AH = 02h
AL = Number of sectors to read
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
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Reads the specified number of sectors starting at the specified
location (head, cylinder, and track) from a disk into a buffer
starting at ES:BX.
Note
Values in DL less than 80h specify floppy disks; values greater
than 80h specify fixed disks. For example, 0 means the first
floppy diskette, while 80h means the first fixed disk.
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 no error has occurred. Use
the results of the Carry flag and AH (status flag) to determine
the status of the operation.
The sectors read must all be on the same cylinder and same side
for diskettes, while a hard disk can read at most 128 sectors at
one time.
If an error is encountered reading a sector, use Service 0 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 such a 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
reports that it was corrected using the ECC error-correcting
algorithm. The error may not occur again if the information is
written back out.
This service differs from the DOS Int 25h (Read absolute sector)
in that the DOS Int 25h works with logical devices (RAM disks,
Bernoulli drives, etc.). It is much more flexible. Also Int 25h
works with a linear address, whereas this service works with 3
coordinates to address a disk location. Int 25h doesn't have the
DMA problem mentioned above, and there is no limit on the number
of sectors that can be read in one operation. In addition, Int 25h
will do all the error-retry attempts itself. Int 25h should be
used instead of this service for obtaining absolute sector
control. Programs that may need to use this service rather than
Int 25h include partition manipulators, system software, and disk
cache software.
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. Also diskette operations that require the diskette
motor to be on will call Int 15h, Service 90 (Device Busy), with
the type equal to "Diskette Drive Motor Start" (Type = FDh). This
allows the system to perform another task while the drive motor is
waiting to get up to speed.