Whats the difference between PIO and DMA?
A quick summary/overview: PIO (Programmable I/O) uses your processor to manage data transfers from the drive to memory. DMA (Direct Memory Access) uses the disk controller to transfer data directly from the drive to memory, resulting in better performance and freeing up the CPU to do other things. Bottom line: If everything works fine, leave it on DMA. Unless you’re on Windows NT 3.51/4.0 (which exclusively uses PIO IIRC), or you have a super-old CD-drive that doesn’t support DMA.
