Bit I/O, Transfer Mode, Ultra DMA Mode

may be done using a different algorithm called LBA-assist translation. The translated geometry is still what is presented to the operating system for use in Int 13h calls. The difference between LBA and ECHS is that when using ECHS the BIOS translates the parameters used by these calls from the translated geometry to the drive's logical geometry. With LBA, it translates from the translated geometry directly into a logical block (sector) number.

LBA has in recent years become the dominant form of hard disk addressing. Since the 8.4 GB limit of the Int13h interface was reached, it became impossible to express the geometry of large hard disks using cylinder, head and sector numbers, translated or not, while remaining below the Int13h limits of 1,024 cylinders, 256 heads and 63 sectors. Therefore, modern drives are no longer specified in terms of classical geometry, but rather in terms of their total number of user data sectors and addressed using LBA.

Options: Disabled / Enabled

32 Bit I/O

Enables or disables 32 bit data transfer mode.

Enabling this option causes the PCI hard disk interface controller to bundle together two 16-bit chunks of data from the drive into a 32-bit group, which is then transmitted to the processor or memory. This results in a small performance increase.

Options: Enabled / Disabled

Transfer Mode

These modes determine the speed at which data is transferred to and from the drive. The Auto option automatically determines the correct transfer rates. Options: Auto / Standard / Fast PIO 1 / Fast PIO 2 / Fast PIO 3 / Fast PIO 4 / FPIO 3 / DMA 1 / FPIO 4 / DMA 2

Ultra DMA Mode

Enables or disables Ultra DMA Mode.

Ultra DMA (UDMA, or, more accurately, Ultra DMA/33) is a protocol for transferring data between a hard disk drive through the computer's data paths (or bus) to the computer's random access memory (RAM). The Ultra DMA/33 protocol transfers data in burst mode at a rate of 33.3 MBps (megabytes per second), twice as fast as the previous Direct Memory Access (DMA) interface.

Ultra DMA support in your computer means that it will boot (start) and open new applications more quickly. It will also help users of graphics-intensive and other applications that require large amounts of access to data on the hard drive. Ultra DMA uses Cyclical Redundancy Checking (CRC), offering a new level of data protection.

Because the Ultra DMA protocol is designed to work with legacy application PIO and DMA protocols, it can be added to many existing computers by installing an Ultra DMA/33 Peripheral Component Interconnect adapter card. Ultra DMA uses the same 40-pin Integrated Drive Electronics interface cable as PIO and DMA.

Options: Disabled / Mode 0 / Mode 1 / Mode 2 / Mode 5

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