IDETECH.TXT
File: IDETECH.TXT version 1.0 (17 Nov. 1998)
Subject: Sunrise MSX IDE-interface technical information
By: Jon De Schrijder (Jon.DeSchrijder@rug.ac.be)
The interface contains 128kB FLASHROM; divided into 8 segments of 16kB
each. Only one segment can be 'visible' at once. This segment is mapped
into the address space #4000-#7FFF.
The desired segment is selected by writing a byte to address #4104. This
address is also used for enabling the 'IDE registers'. The meaning of the
bits is as follows:
bit 0: 0=IDE registers disabled
1=IDE registers enabled
bit 1,2,3,4: reserved
bit 5,6,7: FLASHROM segmentnumber (0..7)
Remark: if address #4104 is read, normal FLASHROM contents of address
#4104 is read. So address #4104 can be used to store normal programcode.
When IDE registers are enabled, these registers are mapped into the
address space from #7C00 till #7EFF. For more information on IDE registers
and IDE specifications, please refer to other documents on the internet.
There are 16 IDE registers, some of them aren't used yet. All of them are
8 bit, except the Data Register which is 16 bit.
The 16 IDE registers are mapped to address space #7E00-#7E0F, but also to
#7E10-#7E1f and also to #7E20-#7E2F, ... #7EF0-#7EFF. But it is
recommended to use only addresses #7E00-#7E0F.
Because the Data Register is 16 bit long, it is mapped in the following
way: each word in the address space #7C00-#7DFF is mapped onto the Data
Register. For example, if you want to write a word to the Data Register
you can write it to address #7C00/1 or to address #7C02/3 or to address
#7C04/5, etc. This has the following advantage: when reading or writing
sectors from/to disk, 256 words (=512 bytes=the lenght of a sector) should
be read from/written to the Data Register. Because the Data Register is
mapped onto the whole address space from #7C00-#7DFF, it is possible to
use a single LDIR instruction for the whole transfer operation.
Examples:
Reading from IDE device to memory:
LD HL,#7C00
LD DE,destination
LD BC,512
LDIR ;256 words are read from the Data Register
Writing from memory to IDE device:
LD HL,source
LD DE,#7C00
LD BC,512
LDIR ;256 words are written from memory to the Data Register
Important remark:
When writing to the lowbyte of the Data Register, the byte is temporarily
stored onto the interface. When the highbyte is written, this highbyte and
the stored lowbyte are actually send to the IDE device(s). So the lowbyte
should always be written first.
The following is WRONG:
LD A,highbyte
LD (#7C01),A ;a random lowbyte and the highbyte are sent to the IDE
LD A,lowbyte
LD (#7C00),A
It should be:
LD A,lowbyte
LD (#7C00),A ;temporarily storage of the lowbyte
LD A,highbyte
LD (#7C01),A ;complete word is sent to the IDE device(s)
When reading from the Data Register it is as follows:
first read the lowbyte; the complete word is read from the IDE device and
the highbyte is temporarily stored into the interface.
Now read the highbyte; the stored value is returned.
So it it important to read the lowbyte first, followed by the highbyte and
not otherwise.
Z80 and R800 microprocessors do this fine when executing instructions like
LD HL,(#7C00) etc.
The IDE registers: brief overview:
----------------------------------
The meaning of the registers depends on the IDE device type: normal ATA or
ATAPI. The following goes for normal ATA:
#7E00: r/w :Data Register, should not be used, use #7C00/1 instead
#7E01: r :Error Register
w :Feature Register
#7E02: r/w :Sector Count Register
#7E03: r/w :Sector Register
#7E04: r/w :Cylinder Low Register
#7E05: r/w :Cylinder High Register
#7E06: r/w :
bit 0..3: Head Register (0..15)
bit 4 : 0=master registers selected 1=slave registers selected
bit 5 : reserved
bit 6 : 0=use CHS addressing 1=use LBA addressing
bit 7 : reserved
#7E07: r : Status Register
Most important bits:
bit 0: 1=Error Occurred
bit 3: 1=Data Request
bit 7: 1=Busy
w : Command Execute Register
#7E08: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
#7E09: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
#7E0A: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
#7E0B: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
#7E0C: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
#7E0D: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
#7E0E: r :Alternate Status Register
w :Device Control Register
#7E0F: only used by special IDE devices, otherwise unconnected
Other remarks:
*IDE devices are capable of generating an interrupt. Nevertheless this
feature isn't supported by the Sunrise IDE interface. All status checking
should be performed by polling the IDE Status Registers.
*When you reset your MSX, the IDE devices on the cable are *not* reset.
*The 'official' name for IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) is ATA (AT
Attachment) So if you want to look on the net for some documents, search
for ATA. I used some 'working drafts' I've found on a site from
WesternDigital. (don't remember the URL)
*There are several ATA specifications: ATA-1, ATA-2 and ATA-3. I believe
they are all 'upwards compatible'.
*Because ATA specifications are rather limited, there is also an extended
ATA specification which allows you to send more complex commando packets
to your IDE devices: ATAPI (AT Attachment Packet Interface). ATAPI is used
for CDROM devices, IDE ZIP disks, LS120 Optical floppy disks and other
recent storage devices.
Documents can be found on the net.
*When writing to registers with 'reserved' bits, you should write a
zero-bit to these 'reserved' bits (e.g. #7E06)