Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA) on IDE hard drive
Windows XP still sometimes fails to set the Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode correctly for the IDE devices designated as the slaves on the primary IDE and secondary IDE channels. Most IDE hard disks and CD-ROM's are capable of supporting DMA mode, but the default in XP is still set to PIO (Programmed input/output) mode. Setting IDE channels to DMA mode won't make your IDE devices like hard disk and CD-ROM faster, but this will consume less CPU cycles. To change PIO to DMA channels follow these steps:
This Windows XP trick is for the IDE hard drives only. If you have already installed third party IDE device drivers or you have not an IDE hard drive and you have a newer SATA (Searial ATA) or SATA II hard drive then this trick may not be relevant to you.
Open the Device Manager. Easy way to do that is to right-click on "My Computer" icon on teh Desktop, select the Hardware tab, and select Device Manager. You can also click Start, click Control Panel and then click System. In the System Properties click Hardware tab.
Click the Device Manager button on the Hardware tab of the System Properties. Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel".
Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 0" setting. More than likely, your current transfer mode may be set to PIO. Set it to "DMA if available". Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if you have devices attached to it. Reboot.
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