Enable DMA in Windows XP
DMA is not turned on for some computers. We’ll show you how to see if it’s on or off. You for sure want DMA on. This is one major tweak that really can show results!
Click “Start”, “Control Panel”, right click this icon (system icon) and click “Properties”:
This window now opens…
Click the “Hardware” tab and your window will look like this…
Double-click “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” and a menu expands. Double-click “Primary IDE Channel” and this window opens…
Click the “Advanced Settings” tab and your window will look like this…
See where it says “Transfer Mode”? make sure “DMA if available” is selected. If you see “PI0 mode”, change it! While we’re here… See where it says “Device 1″? That would be your CD/DVD drive. Make sure DMA is on for that too.
DMA will usually be on by default. However it is well known that some hard drives and some system chipsets do not operate reliably with DMA. If Windows finds that your system is so effected DMA will be turned off. Enabling it may cause serious problems.
Larry Miller
Microsoft MCSA