File Control Block (FCB) Structure
Length
Offset (bytes) Description
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
00h 1 Drive identifier (1=A:)
01h 8 Filename
09h 3 File extension
0Ch 2 Current block no.
0Eh 2 Record size in bytes, defaults to 80h
10h 4 File size in bytes
14h 2 Date
16h 2 Time
18h 8 Reserved
20h 1 Current record no., used for sequential read/write
21h 4 Random record no., used for random read/write
An extended File Control Block is used to access files with special
attributes. An extended File Control Block has three additional
fields, starting at offset -07h (minus 7), as follows:
Offset Length Description
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-07h 1 Extended FCB flag (always FFh)
-06h 5 Reserved (zeros)
-01h 1 File attribute
Note: File Control Blocks are a holdover from DOS 1. It is pre-
ferable to manipulate files using the newer DOS services that
deal with files via handles. (All file functions above 2Eh
use handles rather than FCBs.)