FSCTL_ALLOW_EXTENDED_DASD_IO IOCTL (winioctl.h)

Signals the file system driver not to perform any I/O boundary checks on partition read or write calls. Instead, boundary checks are performed by the device driver.

To perform this operation, call the DeviceIoControl function with the following parameters.

BOOL DeviceIoControl(
  (HANDLE) hDevice,              // handle to device
  FSCTL_ALLOW_EXTENDED_DASD_IO,  // dwIoControlCodeNULL,                          // lpInBuffer0,                             // nInBufferSizeNULL,                          // lpOutBuffer0,                             // nOutBufferSize(LPDWORD) lpBytesReturned,     // number of bytes returned
  (LPOVERLAPPED) lpOverlapped    // OVERLAPPED structure
);

Remarks

A call using the FSCTL_ALLOW_EXTENDED_DASD_IO control code should only be used with great caution by programmers familiar with the underlying structure of a hard disk drive and file system. Improper use or inaccurate checking in subsequent write operations to the partition can result in damage to data on the partition, or destruction of the entire partition.

The FSCTL_ALLOW_EXTENDED_DASD_IO control code is used to signal the file system driver not to perform any I/O boundary checks on read or write calls made with the specified handle. FSCTL_ALLOW_EXTENDED_DASD_IO allows access to hidden sectors, a part of the partition that might exist between the first sector of the partition (the boot parameter block) and the first useful sector of the partition. FSCTL_ALLOW_EXTENDED_DASD_IO also allows access to lost clusters, which might exist between the last useful cluster and the end of the partition.

I/O requests issued after this operation are passed directly to the device driver. If these subsequent calls request data beyond the partition boundary, the driver causes them to fail.

For the implications of overlapped I/O on this operation, see the Remarks section of DeviceIoControl.

To retrieve a handle to a partition, call CreateFile with the lpFileName parameter set to a string of the following form:

\.\X:

where X is the drive letter.

The application calling CreateFile must also specify the FILE_SHARE_READ and FILE_SHARE_WRITE flags in the dwShareMode parameter of CreateFile. For more information, see the Disk Devices section in CreateFile.

To determine the partition structure of the drive and to determine if the system recognizes the partition, use the IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX or IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT control code, as appropriate. For similar information on a single partition, use the IOCTL_DISK_GET_PARTITION_INFO_EX or IOCTL_DISK_GET_PARTITION_INFO control code, as appropriate. To determine the size of a cluster, use the GetDiskFreeSpaceEx or GetDiskFreeSpace function, as appropriate.

In Windows Server 2012, this function is supported by the following technologies.

Requirements

See also

CreateFile

DeviceIoControl

File Management Control Codes

GetDiskFreeSpace

GetDiskFreeSpaceEx

IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT

IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX

IOCTL_DISK_GET_PARTITION_INFO

IOCTL_DISK_GET_PARTITION_INFO_EX

OVERLAPPED