N00b problem - no clue about file io

[rspencer]

Hi, so here is a rather n00b problem:
I have left BIOS and am now wondering how to get hold of a FDD/HDD sector. Basically I want to be able to load a sector of data somewhere into memory. Surprisingly I cannot find an example on the web anywhere. How would one do this for a) a FDD and b) HDD? Would it use specific ports? Would these ports change depending on the system?
Many thanks in advance.

[bluemoon]

The OSDev.org Wiki - Got a question? Search this first!

In section storage devices.

[piranha]

Surprisingly I cannot find an example on the web anywhere.

He lies! Because you either didn't search or didn't search enough. Since you've said that you've "left BIOS", I'm assuming that you're in real mode and so can execute BIOS calls. So. If you search google with a halfway decent search string, you get this as the first result: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INT_13H this information is also on the wiki, as linked above.

If you aren't in real mode, then there are still ways to do it that are fairly easy, you just need to look up how. Its all on the web, and is easy to find. Please search next time.

-JL