The BDOS disk services allow a user application the ability to control and retreive information for disk devices. See the article on the BDOS file services for more information about accessing and creating files.The following information was extracted from the Digital Research CPM2.2 manual.
| Function 13: Reset Disk System | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 0DH |
| Return | (none) | |
The Reset Disk function is used to programmatically restore the file system to a reset state where all disks are set to Read-Write. See functions 28 and 29, only disk drive A is selected, and the default DMA address is reset to BOOT+0080H. This function can be used, for example, by an application program that requires a disk change without a system reboot.
| Function 14: Select Disk | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 0EH |
| E | Selected Disk | |
| Return | (none) | |
The Select Disk function designates the disk drive named in register E as the default disk for subsequent file operations, with E = 0 for drive A, 1 for drive B, and so on through 15, corresponding to drive P in a full 16 drive system. The drive is placed in an on-line status, which activates its directory until the next cold start, warm start, or disk system reset operation. If the disk medium is changed while it is on-line, the drive automatically goes to a Read-Only status in a standard CP/M environment, see Function 28. FCBs that specify drive code zero (dr = 00H) automatically reference the currently selected default drive. Drive code values between 1 and 16 ignore the selected default drive and directly reference drives A through P.
| Function 24: Return Log-in Vector | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 18H |
| Return | HL | Log-in Vector |
The log-in vector value returned by CP/M is a 16-bit value in HL, where the least significant bit of L corresponds to the first drive A and the high-order bit of H corresponds to the sixteenth drive, labeled P. A 0 bit indicates that the drive is not on- line, while a 1 bit marks a drive that is actively on-line as a result of an explicit disk drive selection or an implicit drive select caused by a file operation that specified a nonzero dr field. The user should note that compatibility is maintained with earlier releases, because registers A and L contain the same values upon return.
| Function 25: Return Current Disk | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 19H |
| Return | A | Current Disk |
Function 25 returns the currently selected default disk number in register A. The disk numbers range from 0 through 15 corresponding to drives A through P.
| Function 26: Set DMA Address | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 1AH |
| DE | DMA Address | |
| Return | (none) | |
DMA is an acronym for Direct Memory Address, which is often used in connection with disk controllers that directly access the memory of the mainframe computer to transfer data to and from the disk subsystem. Although many computer systems use non-DMA access (that is, the data is transferred through programmed I/O operations), the DMA address has, in CP/M, come to mean the address at which the 128-byte data record resides before a disk write and after a disk read. Upon cold start, warm start, or disk system reset, the DMA address is automatically set to BOOT+0080H. The Set DMA function can be used to change this default value to address another area of memory where the data records reside. Thus, the DMA address becomes the value specified by DE until it is changed by a subsequent Set DMA function, cold start, warm start, or disk system reset.
| Function 27: Get Addr (ALLOC) | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 1BH |
| Return | HL | ALLOC Address |
An allocation vector is maintained in main memory for each on-line disk drive. Various system programs use the information provided by the allocation vector to determine the amount of remaining storage (see the STAT program). Function 27 returns the base address of the allocation vector for the currently selected disk drive. However, the allocation information might be invalid if the selected disk has been marked Read-Only. Although this function is not normally used by application programs.
| Function 28: Write Protect Disk | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 1CH |
| Return | (none) | |
The Write Protect Disk function provides temporary write protection for the currently selected disk. Any attempt to write to the disk before the next cold or warm start operation produces the message:
BDOS ERR on d: R/O
| Function 29: Get Read-Only Vector | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 1DH |
| Return | HL | R/O Vector Value |
Function 29 returns a bit vector in register pair HL, which indicates drives that have the temporary Read-Only bit set. As in Function 24, the least significant bit corresponds to drive A, while the most significant bit corresponds to drive P. The R/O bit is set either by an explicit call to Function 28 or by the automatic software mechanisms within CP/M that detect changed disks.
| Function 31: Get Addr (DISKPARMS) | ||
| Register | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | C | 1FH |
| Return | HL | DPB Address |
The address of the BIOS resident disk parameter block is returned in HL as a result of this function call. This address can be used for either of two purposes. First, the disk parameter values can be extracted for display and space computation purposes, or transient programs can dynamically change the values of current disk parameters when the disk environment changes, if required. Normally, application programs will not require this facility.
