SGDT Store Global Descriptor Table Reg. Flags: Not altered SIDT Store Interrupt Descriptor Table Reg.
SGDT destination CPU: 286+ p SIDT destination CPU: 286+ p
Logic destination ← GDTR or destination ← IDTR
SGDT/SIDT copies the contents of the descriptor table register to the six bytes of memory indicated by the operand. The LIMIT field of the register is assigned to the first word at the effective address. If the operand-size attribute is 32 bits, the next three bytes are assigned the BASE field of the register, and the fourth byte is written with zero. The last byte is undefined. Otherwise, if the operand-size attribute is 16 bits, the next four bytes are assigned the 32-bit BASE field of the register. I.e. the 16-bit forms of SGDT/SIDT are compatible with the 80286, but only if the value in the upper 8 bits is not referenced; the '286 stores 1's in these bits, the '386+ stores 0's.
SGDT and SIDT are used in operating system software; they are not normally used in application programs.