Hi There, Im trying to back up a few movies but my Phillips DVD RW is taking an AGE to read movies!! Today is the first time Ive ever had this problem. It seems to play the movies ok and will eventually read them. But why has it gone from super fast to slow as a tortoise??? Is it possible its on its way out? Its less than a year old! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Zach
Hi. It may have slipped back into PIO transfer mode instead of DMA transfer mode. Try resetting the transfer modes for your IDE devices as follows: Right click on My Computer and select Properties. Click the Hardware tab. Click the Device Manager button. Click the "+" beside IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. Right click on the Primary Channel and select Uninstall. Click OK. Right click on the Secondary Channel and select Uninstall. Click OK. Restart the system.
Hi There! Thank you SO MUCH!!! That seems to have done the trick for me. If you have time please could you explain the difference between PIO mode and DMA mode. I would also love to know how it slipped back into PIO transfer mode. Once again thank you very,very much. Cheers, Zach
DMA direct memory access = fast PIO programmed input output = slow Under PIO the CPU actually controls the flow of information from the peripheral device to memory. Under DMA the peripheral transfers info to memory without intervention by the CPU. Whenever communication errors occur on the IDE channel, WinXP automatically switches from the faster DMA to the slower but surer PIO mode. Sometimes a faulty cable can cause the default to PIO mode. If it happens repeatedly, try another IDE data cable. Edit: typos
Thank you for the explanation. I should know what to do the next time this happens!! Thank you for all your help in this matter. Zach.
