Hard Drive DMA/ULTRA DMA selection not possible

[pally01]

Hello to all.

I have an XP Home p.c. and I can not seem to access the DMA transfer mode selection screen in Device manager for either of my two i.d.e. hard drives. The settings are not greyed out, they are not there at all. I have my hard drives configured to Cable Select.

I found this advice in another thread here and wonder if I should follow this advice?

1. Control Panel->Click System Tools, and then click Device Manager.
2. Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers node.
3. Double-click the controller for which you want to restore the typical DMA transfer mode.
4. Click the Driver tab.
5. Click Uninstall.
6. When the process completes, restart your computer. When Windows restarts, the hard disk controller is re-enumerated and the transfer mode is reset to the default value for each device that is connected to the controller.

Thanks.

[pam123]

If this is a new computer check the following.
Do you have DMA enabled in the bios?
Do you have the motherboards's drivers installed?

If it's something you just noticed, the computer was fine then it started running slow,
please tell us what you've been doing.

In either case, please post your specs or the make and model if it's an OEM ( Dell, etc.).

Yes the steps you found can re- enable dma support, if it's there ( see request about bios.).

[pally01]

Hi Pam.

I noticed this a few months ago, but have not had the time to address it. I've done some "repairs" lately, but my DMA problems were evident prior to.

Dell Dimension 4400. I've had it since '02.
Bios version A05 (old version, but 'till now it's been good).
Pentium IV 1700 mhz.
2x512 mb Kingston RAM.
Nvidia GeForce 6200 Turbocache.
80 gb Maxtor (master) & 200 gb W.D. (slave).

Checked BIOS but can not see where to adjust DMA settings. Saw no references in any BIOS screens. I have not ever messed with the BIOS on this machine, except a long time ago when I changed the boot order.

Had a problem accessing the firewall on this p.c. a few weeks ago. Ended up deleting a registry value and that solved that.

Had a problem setting up a network weeks ago and had to change a registry value for that...

[pam123]

OK, this should be the info you need : http://www.michna.com/kb/WxDMA.htm

Your Dell enables dma by default.

[pally01]

Pam, Thanks for the info. I appreciate your efforts thus far and also the speed of your replies. I'm having some issues with the page however. Can you help with this?

Looking at:
Quick solution
If you're not interested in the details, but just want to fix this problem as quickly as possible:
1. Click here.
I click on the link and a page opens with code and such. No warnings appear nor does an execute resetdma.vbs appear. How does one run this link/code?

I looked further down through re-enabling DMA using the Registry Editor and looked at the mine on my machine. I see 4 files numbered 0000 thru 0004 and a fifth named Properties. All are empty.

I believe the advice was ultimately to delete all of these files and they would be recreated by Windows upon restarting. Is that the correct interpretation? However, It also asked to check for the Driverdesc Subvalue until I find the proper I.D.E. channel just before this. With all the files empty, what does that mean?

[pam123]

Windows can, and does, disable dma when faced with registry corruption, a dirty or scratched disk, or put into standby ( and probably when given the evil eye.).
At this point it's hard to say what triggered your problem.
I'm not sure why you got "no where" but you're option now is the manual reinstall.
I recommend forcing Windows to re-recognize the IDE channel ( that's the method in your original post as well as one of the methods on the web site. ).

[pally01]

I saved the .vbs file that was giving me grief in my last post and ran it from my hard drive. It worked and reset my DMA modes. The 4 files in my registry now all contained data. It did not correct the problem, however.

I un-installed my ATA controller as per my 1st post and rebooted. Windows found both my disk drives and both hard drives. It is now showing the New Found Hardware Wizard.

I ran the Wizard and had it look on the internet for drivers. It found none?!

After re-booting 2x, there is once again an "Advanced" page in my device manager/ATA Controller file. Both drives are now set @ "Ultra DMA Mode".

Although I'm unsure about not finding the drivers, I have DMA back. Is this success or should I follow up on the drivers?

[LeftyAce]

You want to run it. Windows will now re-install and reconfigure the drives, and hopefully be smart enough to enable DMA...

[pally01]

Hey Lefty.

I did run it, but Windows couldn't find the drivers on the 'net. However, DMA has been initiated once again, even w/o driver success as reported by Windows....

[pam123]

Windows has native drivers for them but that message about the 'net' pops up anyway.

[pally01]

Hi Pam.

Thanks muchly for your help with this problem. It's nice to have this rectified and out of the way. Your advice was right on the money!

Thanks to you too, Lefty.

[LeftyAce]

Glad it worked out.