Speeding up hard disks with DMA

AFTERBURNER

Article from Issue 65/2006
Author(s):

A simple command helps you switch on the afterburner for your hard disks and drives. hdparm improves the performance of your storage devices.

You have a new hard disk, but it still takes ages to copy files? And you get jerky pictures when you play a movie via your DVD drive? How can this be? Many hard disks and other drives – especially if they are a bit older – do not perform as they might. The operating system and the BIOS do not leverage the true potential of the mass storage device’s features. Interestingly, enabling or optimizing DMA – an important function – can enormously improve the data throughput for hard disks, CD-ROM, and DVD drives.

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