why don't sectors begin with zero

tdxloki · 10-30-2005, 12:51 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.

trickykid · 10-30-2005, 01:04 AM

Moved: Not directly related to Linux, more suitable in General.

Seph64 · 10-30-2005, 01:07 AM

My best guess is that a zero by itself is not an actual number.

a 0 sector would mean that a sector doesn't exist.

0 only comes in to play when it's mixed with other numbers (10, 20, 100, 0.1, etc).

Though, this is just my best guess.