Date   : Sat, 28 May 1988 14:33:09 edt
From   : binder@decvax.dec.com (A complicated and secret quotidian existence)
Subject: How can I do direct disk access with SoftCard CP/M?

Actually, it's my daughter who needs it.  She's using an Apple ][+ with
an oldstyle Microsoft SoftCard, and two Disk ][ floppy drives.  She's
been getting a unusual number of format errors that show up as bad
sectors some time after the disk is formatted -- usually in the middle
of a WordStar save, which is catastrophic if the file is new and large.

So the question is, since Microsoft wasn't kind enough to supply me with
its driver sources way back in '82, I don't know how to write a program
that can verify the format by reading each sector directly.  BIOS calls
appear able to read only real files via the FCB, which means that I can
only read tracks 4-34, and that only if I turn that area into a 126K
file by writing it first.  There's gotta be a better way!

What makes this more difficult is that I'm not really a CP/M wizard --
I don't know how to go poking around looking for things in a running
system, and wouldn't know what to look for if I did.

Any offers of help, suggestions, what have you?  Maybe an existing
program that does what I need?  If that's the case, I'll happily pay
for the mailing of a disk with said program on it -- sources included
if possible, please, so I might not have to ask a question like this
again.

Thanks,
Dick Binder    (The Stainless Steel Rat, feeling a little rusty around
               the edges at present...)

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