Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!purdue!bu-cs!bloom-beacon!think!!dfl
From: dfl@.COM (David Lively)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Fixed Disk Base Tables on PC/XT
Message-ID: <29216@news.Think.COM>
Date: 11 Sep 89 15:58:00 GMT
Lines: 26

Hi,
  I've got a Seagate ST-225 which I've installed to replace my IBM PC/XT's
original hard drive.  It's been working fine for months, but I've only been
able to (low-level) format half the disk.  I know the drive parameters (#
heads, cylinders, write precomp stuff, etc.) and I've tried accessing the
controller's ROM program to change its table.  From DEBUG, nothing seems to
work: g=c800:5, g=c800:6, g=c800:ccc.  (The controller is the original one
- a Xebec.)
  I recently discovered the INT 13 service to read/write the drive
parameters.  Unfortunately, I accidentally called write when I meant to
call read, apparently overwriting the old parameters.  Now I can't even
access the drive!
  The documentation I found in INTER489.ARC on SIMTEL20 describes the write
routine as follows:
  INT 13 - FIXED DISK - INITIALIZE TWO FIXED DISK BASE TABLES (XT,AT,XT286,PS)
          AH = 09h
  Return: CF set on error
          AH = status code (see AH=01h)
          INT 41h points to table for drive 0
          INT 46h points to table for drive 1 
I can't find any details about this base table structure.  (... and aren't
the tables actually *input* to the routine, or am I misunderstanding
something?)
  I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions/info (by email if possible).
							Thanks,
							David