MS DOS Command: DRIVPARM

Reference from Microsoft MS-DOS cmd help

Description

Defines parameters for devices such as disk and tape drives when you start MS-DOS. You can use this command only in your CONFIG.SYS file.

The DRIVPARM command modifies the parameters of an existing physical drive. It does not create a new logical drive. The settings specified in the DRIVPARM command override the driver definitions for any previous block device.

Syntax

DRIVPARM=/D:number [/C] [/F:factor] [/H:heads] [/I] [/N] [/S:sectors] [/T:tracks]

Switches

/D:number	Specifies the physical drive number. Values for number must be in the range 0 through 255 (for example, drive number 0 = drive A, 1 = drive B, 2 = drive C, and so on).
/C	Specifies that the drive can detect whether the drive door is closed.
/F:factor	Specifies the drive type. The following list shows the valid values for factor and a brief description of each. The default value is 2. 0 160K/180K or 320K/360K 1 1.2 megabyte (MB) 2 720K (3.5-inch disk) 5 Hard disk 6 Tape 7 1.44 MB (3.5-inch disk) 8 Read/write optical disk 9 2.88 MB (3.5-inch disk)
/H:heads	Specifies the maximum number of heads. Values for heads must be in the range 1 through 99. The default value depends upon the value you specify for /F:factor.
/I	Specifies an electronically compatible 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. (Electronically compatible drives are installed on your computer and use your existing floppy-disk-drive controller.) Use the /I switch if your computer's ROM BIOS does not support 3.5-inch floppy disk drives.
/N	Specifies a non-removable block device.
/S:sectors	Specifies the number of sectors per track that the block device supports. Values for sectors must be in the range 1 through 99. The default value depends upon the value you specify for /F:factor.
/T:tracks	Specifies the number of tracks per side that the block device supports. The default value depends upon the value you specify for /F:factor.

Remarks

Using the /I switch

Use the /I switch if your system does not support 3.5-inch floppy disk drives. (Some IBM PC/AT-compatible systems do not have a ROM BIOS that supports 3.5-inch floppy disk drives.)

Disk drive change-line support

Change-line support means that a physical disk drive can detect whether the drive door is opened and closed. Change-line support improves performance by letting MS-DOS know when one floppy disk has been replaced by another. The /C switch allows MS-DOS to make use of change-line support. To find out whether your disk drive has change-line support, see your disk-drive documentation.

Creating a logical drive

DRIVPARM modifies the parameters of an existing physical drive and does not create a new logical drive.

Examples

Suppose your system has an internal tape drive with one head on drive D that is configured at startup to write 20 tracks of 40 sectors per track. To reconfigure this tape drive to write 10 tracks of 99 sectors each, add the following command to your CONFIG.SYS file:

drivparm=/d:3 /f:6 /h:1 /s:99 /t:10