Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:24:47 +0200
From: "Eli Zaretskii" <eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il>
Sender: halo1 AT zahav DOT net DOT il
To: "Wojciech Galazka" <wojciech DOT galazka AT polkomtel DOT com DOT pl>
Message-Id: <2593-Wed18Oct2000192447+0300-eliz@is.elta.co.il>
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CC: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
In-reply-to: <8skh36$7oi$1@pippin.nask.waw.pl>
	(wojciech DOT galazka AT polkomtel DOT com DOT pl)
Subject: Re: Support for files > 2 GB
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> From: "Wojciech Galazka" <wojciech DOT galazka AT polkomtel DOT com DOT pl>
> Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
> Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 17:53:37 +0200
> >
> >Note that this only works on FAT32 partitions, since DOS doesn't
> >support files > 2GB on FAT16.
> 
> Well, how about a DVD disc  5.4 GB in size with one big file fit onto it?
> Or files from another filesystem than can be accessed through a redirector?
> As I understand that DOS doesn't support files of that size ?
> Could we work over this 'limitation'?

We cannot work around any limitation of file-oriented system calls
provided by DOS or Windows for DOS programs.

The lseek call takes a 32-bit offset and supports more than 2GB only
for files open with a special access bit.  The same limitations are
documented for the _write system call.  For any given filesystem, if
the interface to that filesystem supports those FAT32-style access
methods, the large file support in DJGPP v2.04 will work.  If not, it
won't work.

But even with FAT32 you cannot go beyond 4GB (give or take a few
bytes), probably because the offset is a 32-bit entity.  I don't think
there's any way around that limitation (does Windows 9X even allow
larger files?).