----------------------
-=[ Enable48BitLBA ]=-
----------------------
v1.1 2006-07-29 20:03

Description
~~~~~~~~~~~
 This generic ESDI driver has been ameliorated to make use of the 48-bit LBA
 command set introduced in the ATAPI-6 standard for access to devices which
 contain more than 268,435,455 sectors.

System Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Windows 98 Second Edition (only for replacing an existing v4.10.2226 file)

Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Replace existing ESDI_506.PDR with the one supplied, using realmode DOS. It
 is strongly recommended to make a backup of the existing file.

Technical Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 The extended commands that have been added are:
  - 25 READ DMA EXT
  - 24 READ SECTOR(S) EXT
  - 42 READ VERIFY SECTOR(S) EXT
  - 35 WRITE DMA EXT
  - 34 WRITE SECTOR(S) EXT
 The code to use these commands is appended to the end of the existing LCOD
 section along with a new register initialiser to accomodate the new doubly-
 written registers. The new code duplicates the style of the existing code
 where necessary.

FAQ
~~~
 1. Can this driver be used with drives less than 128Gb?
  > In most cases. The driver will switch over to extended commands past the
    268,435,200th sector. Drives between 268,435,201 and 268,435,455 sectors
    that do not implement the extended command set may malfunction at this
    boundary condition.

 2. Can this driver be used with SATA devices?
  > "Though Serial ATA will not be able to directly interface with legacy
     Ultra ATA hardware, it is fully compliant with the ATA protocol and
     thus is software compatible." - SATA standard.

 3. Differences between this and R.Loew's "High Capacity Disk Patch"?
  > 1. HCDP is commercial software. Enable48BitLBA is freeware.
    2. HCDP does not implement a separate register initialiser and commands
       section (read,read_noDMA,write,write_noDMA,verify). This driver uses
       a separated execution flow resulting in slightly better performance.
    3. HCDP freeware only accesses up to 145Gb. Enable48BitLBA concievably
       should work up to FAT32 addressing limit of 2048Gb (less one byte).

 4. What about limits on partition sizes?
  > This driver does not accept

Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~
 THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE IN ANY WAY (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) FOR DAMAGE
 OR SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. IT IS STRONGLY
 RECOMMENDED TO BACKUP ALL DATA BEFORE INSTALLING THIS SOFTWARE. SOFTWARE IS
 NOT APPROVED FOR USE IN MISSION-CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTS.

License
~~~~~~~
 Freeware, no restrictions.

Greetz to
~~~~~~~~~
 Petr/MSFN (for the idea) Tihiy/MSFN (RPLite!) MDGx/MSFN (best site for 9x!)
 Team DoKEMiLU (IOS docs) PrincessByte/Angelix86 (general help)
 ... and YOU, for using this release :)

Author
~~~~~~
 LittyX/Lixaanli [pncw_redir_7031@hotmail.com]
