Editing BIOS parameter block (section)

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |url=http://jdebp.info/FGA/bios-parameter-block.html |author-first=Jonathan |author-last=de Boyne Pollard |title=All about BIOS Parameter Blocks |work=Frequently Given Answers |url-status=live |access-date=2016-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909162516/http://jdebp.eu/FGA/bios-parameter-block.html<!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20160418234428/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/bios-parameter-block.html --> |archive-date=2017-09-09}} &mdash; a description of BPBs, from version 2.0 to version 7.0
* {{cite book |title=Developing applications using DOS |chapter=9: DOS Disk Usage |author-first1=Ken W. |author-last1=Christopher |author-first2=Barry A. |author-last2=Feigenbaum |author-first3=Shon O. |author-last3=Saliga |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons|Wiley]] |date=1990 |isbn=0-471-52231-7}} &mdash; In the "processing the BIOS parameter block" section the authors describe the evolution of the BIOS parameter block from the MS-DOS version 2.0 BPB to the PC&nbsp;DOS version 4.0 BPB, and label each field with the DOS version that introduced it.
* {{cite book |title=Advanced MS-DOS Expert Techniques for programmers |author-first=Carl |author-last=Townsend |chapter=4: Disk organization and management |publisher=[[Howard M. Sams]] |date=1989 |isbn=0-672-22667-7}} &mdash; Figure 4.3 contains a diagram of the version 4.0 BPB and states that the layout of BPBs "is not defined by Microsoft and can vary with different vendors". At the time that the book was written, this was true. Microsoft first publicly documented the BPB structure in the OS/2 Developers' Toolkit.
* {{cite web |author-first=Alex |author-last=Verstak |date=1998-03-10 |url=http://averstak.tripod.com/fatdox/bootsec.htm |title=FAT Boot Sector |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730212635/http://averstak.tripod.com/fatdox/bootsec.htm |archive-date=2016-07-30}} &mdash; Verstak reverse engineers the BIOS parameter block. The paper contains several errors. One such is its statement that "the presence of the EBPB in FAT32 is not documented by Microsoft". See:
** {{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/win98/reskit/part2/wrkc10.mspx |author=Microsoft |author-link=Microsoft |work=Microsoft Windows 98 Resource Kit |title=Chapter 10 - Disks and File Systems |access-date=2017-09-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909145511/https://technet.microsoft.com/library/cc768180.aspx |archive-date=2017-09-09}} &mdash; Microsoft documents a version 4.0 BPB and a new "FAT32 BIOS Parameter Block (BPB)" (a version 7.0 BPB) for DOS-Windows 98 that is "larger than a standard BPB", has an "identical structure to a standard BPB", but that also "includes several extra fields".
** {{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Windows2000Pro/reskit/part7/proch32.mspx |author=Microsoft |author-link=Microsoft |work=Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit |title=Chapter 32 - Disk Concepts and Troubleshooting |url-status=dead |access-date=2006-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810171002/http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Windows2000Pro/reskit/part7/proch32.mspx |archive-date=2006-08-10}} &mdash; Microsoft documents extended BPBs on both FAT16 and FAT32 volumes. It also documents BPBs on NTFS volumes.
* {{cite web|url=https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781134%28WS.10%29.aspx |author=Microsoft |author-link=Microsoft |work=Microsoft Windows Server 2003 NTFS Technical Reference |title=How NTFS Works |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730212559/https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781134%28WS.10%29.aspx |archive-date=2016-07-30}} &mdash; The table "BPB and Extended BPB Fields on NTFS Volumes" describes BPBs on NTFS volumes. The descriptions of several fields contradict those given in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit.
* {{cite web |url=http://jdebp.info/FGA/volume-boot-block-oem-name-field.html |author-first=Jonathan |author-last=de Boyne Pollard |title=The meaning and use of the OEM Name field in volume boot blocks |work=Frequently Given Answers |access-date=2016-06-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909162834/http://jdebp.eu/FGA/volume-boot-block-oem-name-field.html<!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20160604095416/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/volume-boot-block-oem-name-field.html --> |archive-date=2017-09-09}} &mdash; an issue that affects BPBs
* {{cite web |title=NOVOLTRK.REG |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |date=2004-08-25 |work=www.drdos.org |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/win9x/NOVOLTRK.ZIP |access-date=2011-12-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124755/http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/win9x/NOVOLTRK.ZIP |archive-date=2016-03-04}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20051111015142/http://public.www.planetmirror.com/pub/freedos/win9x/]
* {{cite newsgroup |title=Need DOS 6.22 (Not OEM) |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |date=2002-02-20 |newsgroup=alt.msdos.programmer |url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.msdos.programmer/MAv9LuYQjs8/HuYCph4KsQYJ |access-date=2006-10-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170909145248/https://groups.google.com/forum/%23!msg/alt.msdos.programmer/MAv9LuYQjs8/HuYCph4KsQYJ |archive-date=2017-09-09}} &mdash; on the misuse of OEM labels and Microsoft's Volume Tracker
* {{cite newsgroup |title=File System ID - "The alt.os.development boot sector descriptors standards committee" |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |date=2002-08-12 |newsgroup=alt.os.development |url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.os.development/oSYdIbM7YdI/a4bLf1O7SXgJ |access-date=2019-07-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529153726/https://groups.google.com/g/alt.os.development/c/oSYdIbM7YdI/m/a4bLf1O7SXgJ |archive-date=2022-05-29}}
* {{cite newsgroup |title=Cluster Size |author-first=Wally |author-last=Bass |date=1994-02-14 |newsgroup=comp.os.msdos.programmer |url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.os.msdos.programmer/ZGE7qkh4eI0/1vssg3Yt3nkJ |access-date=2006-10-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170909144921/https://groups.google.com/forum/%23!msg/comp.os.msdos.programmer/ZGE7qkh4eI0/1vssg3Yt3nkJ |archive-date=2017-09-09}}
* {{cite web |title=On OEM IDs |author-first=John C. |author-last=Elliott |version=1.3 |date=2006-04-17 |orig-date=2004-06-18 |work=Seasip.info |url=http://seasip.info/Misc/oemid.html |access-date=2019-07-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408094610/http://www.seasip.info/index.html |archive-date=2019-04-08}}
* {{cite web |title=FDISK problems |author-first=Charles E. |author-last=Dye |date=1999-03-20 |work=delorie.com |url=http://www.delorie.com/archives/browse.cgi?p=opendos/1999/03/20/14:23:12 |access-date=2019-07-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729000416/http://www.delorie.com/archives/browse.cgi?p=opendos%2F1999%2F03%2F20%2F14%3A23%3A12 |archive-date=2019-07-29}}
* {{cite web |title=I hope this is helpful about Microsoft and Caldera DR-DOS and OEM IDs |author=Anonymous |date=2004-06-15 |work=[[Groklaw]] |url=http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?mode=display&sid=20040614232501302&type=article&order=&hideanonymous=0&pid=153641#c153662 |access-date=2019-07-29 |archive-url= |archive-date=<!-- |quote=I discovered a guy [Matthias R. Paul] who has learned a lot about this. I don't want to slashdot this quy, by giving a link. His site doesn't get much traffic. However, you can search for NOVOLTRK on Google to learn more on how to prevent Windows from changing the OEM IDs on your floppy disks. --> }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite newsgroup |title=Evil :) DOS6 FAT |author-first=Jen |author-last=Kilmer |date=2013-05-21 |newsgroup=comp.os.os2.misc |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=la#!msg/comp.os.os2.misc/dxxRtZ_V-fU/YVvnukmtfvAJ |access-date=2019-07-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529153802/https://groups.google.com/g/comp.os.os2.misc/c/dxxRtZ_V-fU/m/YVvnukmtfvAJ |archive-date=2022-05-29}}

[[Category:BIOS]]
[[Category:DOS technology]]