diff --git a/grub-core/disk/ata.c b/grub-core/disk/ata.c
index 3fecb98dd..c7cde3166 100644
--- a/grub-core/disk/ata.c
+++ b/grub-core/disk/ata.c
@@ -302,6 +302,7 @@ grub_ata_readwrite (grub_disk_t disk, grub_disk_addr_t sector,
       parms.taskfile.cmd = (! rw ? cmd : cmd_write);
       parms.buffer = buf;
       parms.size = batch * GRUB_DISK_SECTOR_SIZE;
+      parms.write = rw;
       if (ata->dma)
 	parms.dma = 1;