Auto detect format for IBM disks when writing

[keithclark]

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IBM formatted disks store format information in the Bios Parameter Block of the boot sector. Could the IBM writer decode the first sector prior to writing anything to disk and configure itself automatically if no presets or configuration options are passed?

There are some strange boot sector BPB formats around (i.e. Atari ST disks sometimes claim to formatted one way but actually formatted another) so being able to specify custom params would still be useful.

[davidgiven]

Unfortunately the IBM format doesn't mean it's a PC format --- there are plenty of other systems around which use the same encoding, such as the Acorn computers or the Commodore 1581. (Or PC disks which don't have a FAT filesystem on them, now I think of it.) It's certainly an option for formats which do have a BPB, though...

[keithclark]

Ah yes - good point about the different non-FAT formats not having a BPB. I'm not sure if there's a reliable way to detect for the existence of a BPB.