AH = 3F BX = file handle CX = number of bytes to read DS:DX = pointer to read buffer on return: AX = number of bytes read is CF not set = error code if CF set (see DOS ERROR CODES) - read specified number of bytes from file into buffer DS:DX - when AX is not equal to CX then a partial read occurred due to end of file - if AX is zero, no data was read, and EOF occurred before read