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INT 13h (BIOS) Floppy Driver for Windows NT


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#1 386

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Posted 11 May 2023 - 09:43 PM

Hi everyone!

 

As far as I know, Windows NT has an ATDISK.SYS driver, which uses INT 13h BIOS calls instead of direct communications with Disk Controller through IDE ports.

 

I'm looking for such kind of driver, but for Floppy.

 

Does anyone have or know such kind of driver???


Edited by 386, 11 May 2023 - 09:45 PM.


#2 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 12 May 2023 - 08:27 AM

AFAIK, NO. 

 

The atdisk.sys is (was) a driver for an old IDE kind of adapter, the WD1003 compatible (as opposed to the EIDE/ATAPI one), see here:

 

https://jeffpar.gith...kb/136/Q136990/

 

I don't think that it used BIOS services, or however it was not a different "kind" of driver, it was only a driver for a different kind of hardware, the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) is a feature of the NT systems, I doubt they made an exception.

 

But, out of curiosity, what is the real question/issue? (the one that you believe can be answered/solved by this hypothetical driver)

 

:duff:

Wonko



#3 386

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Posted 12 May 2023 - 07:10 PM

Yes, I've read, that ATDISK.SYS is for ESDI or IDE, not ATAPI. And ABIOSDSK.SYS is for Micro Channel, not for BIOS (INT 13h).

 

But also I've read, that ATDISK.SYS uses BIOS (INT 13h)... Maybe that is a wrong info.

 

Also I've read in "Plans" of UniATA driver "work with BIOS INT13". So maybe ATDISK.SYS uses it too...

 

Anyway, the problem is simple: it is possible to access Floppy only thorough BIOS (INT 13h).

 

And I'm looking for that hypothetical driver, that will solve this problem...


Edited by 386, 12 May 2023 - 08:09 PM.


#4 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 15 May 2023 - 09:40 AM

Yes, I've read, that ATDISK.SYS is for ESDI or IDE, not ATAPI. And ABIOSDSK.SYS is for Micro Channel, not for BIOS (INT 13h).

 

But also I've read, that ATDISK.SYS uses BIOS (INT 13h)... Maybe that is a wrong info.

 

Also I've read in "Plans" of UniATA driver "work with BIOS INT13". So maybe ATDISK.SYS uses it too...

 

Anyway, the problem is simple: it is possible to access Floppy only thorough BIOS (INT 13h).

 

And I'm looking for that hypothetical driver, that will solve this problem...

 

I believe that there is some misunderstanding.

 

INT13h (or any other BIOS service) may (or may not) be used by any driver, it is the "instead" in "uses INT 13h BIOS calls instead of direct communications with Disk Controller" that I don't think applies.

 

For what it matters:

 

https://www.codeproj...830/CFloppyDisk

 

 

 

Technical Note regarding ResetDisk

Under Windows NT/2K we cannot directly make Interrupt 13h calls. For the Win 9x/ME set of Operating Systems the class makes a call to Interrupt 13h Function 0h which resets the floppy disk controller. To achieve the same in the Windows NT/2K set of Operating Systems, I have taken a different approach.

 

There is a "special" floppy disk driver, fdrawcmd:

 

https://simonowen.com/fdrawcmd/

 

which allows some "different" access to the floppy controller, but that's it.

 

:duff:

Wonko






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