Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA) in Windows XP

HowToSetup: Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA) in Windows XP

What is Direct Memory Access (DMA)? DMA is a feature of modern computers and microprocessors that allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system memory for reading and/or writing independently of the central processing unit. Many hardware systems use DMA including disk drive controllers, graphics cards, network cards and sound cards. DMA is also used for intra-chip data transfer in multi-core processors, especially in multiprocessor system-on-chips, where its processing element is equipped with a local memory (often called scratchpad memory) and DMA is used for transferring data between the local memory and the main memory. Computers that have DMA channels can transfer data to and from devices with much less CPU overhead than computers without a DMA channel. Similarly a processing element inside a multi-core processor can transfer data to and from its local memory without occupying its processor time and allowing computation and data transfer concurrency.

Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA)

1. Right-click on My Computer, select Properties
2. Select the Hardware tab
3. Click the Device Manager button
4. Double-click IDE/ATAPI controllers
5. Double-click on the Primary IDE Channel
6. Click on the Advanced Settings tab (as shown in figure). The tab may or may not be available for each option. It is only available in Primary and Secondary Channels.
7. Set the Transfer Mode to “DMA if Available” both for Device 1 and 0
8. Click OK
9. Perform the same operation for other items in the list, if applicable.

Windows XP Tweaks – Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA).