1-63 rather than 0-63 history

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tdxloki
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Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:11 am

Does anyone know why sectors are numbered from one rather than zero? What is the historical/technical reason?
Lastly, does is (or did it) put a limit to the HD size that could be accessed by the BIOS given that cylinders and heads are at their max values?

Thanks for any explanations, I am trying to get educated.
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NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
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Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

Does anyone know why sectors are numbered from one rather than zero? What is the historical/technical reason?
Good question.
Lastly, does is (or did it) put a limit to the HD size that could be accessed by the BIOS given that cylinders and heads are at their max values?
Yes. See http://www.allensmith.net/Storage/HDDlimit/Address.htm for a discussion of storage limits.
Tested patched BIOSes. Untested patched BIOSes.
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