biosdisk's error code

[Yarin]

While using biosdisk() to write a boot sector to a floppy, it returned 2. winerror.h defines this as File Not Found, but a dos library and windows library most likely do not use the same error definetions. After trying to boot from the floppy, the system said it was a Non-System Or Corrupt Disk. So what exactely does 2 mean in this case? Please help.

[dwks]

I googled for "biosdisk error code" and found this. http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/libc/libc_71.html

It redirects you to here for error codes. http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/libc/libc_63.html

Return Value

Return value of AX register. The meaning of high-order byte (AH):


0x00 No error
0x01 Invalid request or a bad command
0x02 Address mark not found
0x03 Disk write protected
0x04 Sector not found
0x05 Reset failed
0x06 Floppy disk removed
0x07 Drive parameter activity failed
0x08 Direct Memory Access (DMA) overrun
0x09 DMA crossed 64K boundary
0x0A Bad sector flag detected
0x0B Bad track flag detected
0x0C Media type not found
0x0D Invalid number of sectors on format
0x0E Control data access mark detected
0x0F DMA arbitration level out of range
0x10 Data read (CRC or ECC) error
0x11 Corrected data read (ECC) error
0x20 Controller failure
0x40 Seek error
0x80 Disk timed out or failed to respond
0xAA Drive not ready
0xBB Undefined error
0xCC Write fault on drive
0xE0 Status error
0xFF Sense operation failed

Your error code is this one.

0x02  Address mark not found

What does that mean? Off to google! Googling for "address mark floppy disk" found this page: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro....mspx?mfr=true

Typical help support. "Dunno, try over there."

This isn't much better. http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57900
Ditto. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=173002

However, everything seems to suggest that it's something wrong with your floppy drive or at least the disk itself. Can you read/write other floppy disks? What happens if you try to re-format this disk?

What are you trying to do, anyway, using non-standard functions to write directly to floppy disks? Are you out of your mind?

Also, this thread might have been better off in the Tech Forum.

[Yarin]

Thanks for responce. But I am sure the floppy drive is still in good working order though, in fact, it can read diskettes that other computers think are corrupt.

I just might be out of my mind, I am trying to make a boot disk so that I may build an OS off of it. I know making an OS isn't a walk in the park, but I'm trying anyway.
After learning basic asm, I found a 512 boot sector, and edited it to assemble and work how I like, when I try to read it, windows says it must be formated, and then it says it can't do it. Typical for corrupt floppys. And I thought biosdisk() overwrote the file system, which is why windows thought it was corrupt. But bios says it's not a valid bootdisk, so I got the idea to check the error code. But now it seems like biosdisk() didn't even write to the floppy. So why is it corrupt now?

In a different field, I want to make my OS bootable from a CD anyway, so why am I even toying with floppys?? You might know this, when bios boots from a CD, what files does it look for? I was thinking autorun.inf, but again, thats a windows dohicky. I'll try autoexec.bat first.

[matsp]

Thanks for responce. But I am sure the floppy drive is still in good working order though, in fact, it can read diskettes that other computers think are corrupt.

I just might be out of my mind, I am trying to make a boot disk so that I may build an OS off of it. I know making an OS isn't a walk in the park, but I'm trying anyway.
After learning basic asm, I found a 512 boot sector, and edited it to assemble and work how I like, when I try to read it, windows says it must be formated, and then it says it can't do it. Typical for corrupt floppys. And I thought biosdisk() overwrote the file system, which is why windows thought it was corrupt. But bios says it's not a valid bootdisk, so I got the idea to check the error code. But now it seems like biosdisk() didn't even write to the floppy. So why is it corrupt now?

In a different field, I want to make my OS bootable from a CD anyway, so why am I even toying with floppys?? You might know this, when bios boots from a CD, what files does it look for? I was thinking autorun.inf, but again, thats a windows dohicky. I'll try autoexec.bat first.

Try getting for exmple "memtest86" - it contains a boot-from-CD piece of GPL licensed code, so you can use that. It's pretty much the same as booting from floppies, but the disk is bigger.

--
Mats

[Yarin]

memtest86 sounds good. I download the floppy setup and cd iso. But now I am confused, where do I go from here? Using the downloaded files, I know how to do this with the floppy now, but not the CD. Am I supposed to burn the BOOT.CAT file along with my own MEMTEST.IMG program??

[matsp]

memtest86 sounds good. I download the floppy setup and cd iso. But now I am confused, where do I go from here? Using the downloaded files, I know how to do this with the floppy now, but not the CD. Am I supposed to burn the BOOT.CAT file along with my own MEMTEST.IMG program??

If you get the source-code, it contains a bit of shell-script that generates an ISO image.

--
Mats

[Yarin]

Okay, thanks.