Drive Does Not Have a DMA Check Box

When you view properties for drives in Device Manager, the drive may not have a DMA check box.

This issue can occur if a non-ATAPI driver is controlling the drive. For example, SCSI drives do not have this check box, and drives attached to third-party IDE controllers requiring a special miniport (such as the Promise Ultra Wide 66 with the ULTRA66.MPD driver) also do not work.

To resolve this issue, use the Esdi_506.pdr file:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2. Click the Device Manager tab, double-click Hard disk controller, click the appropriate hard disk controller, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Driver tab, click Update Driver, and then click Next.
4. Click Specify the location of the driver (Advanced) to select the driver that you want to use, and then click Next.
5. Click Display a list of the drivers in a specific location to select the driver that you want to use, and then click Next.
6. Click the driver that matches the date of your operating system, and then click Next.
   
   Note that for Windows 98 the date is 5/11/1998, for Windows 98 Second Edition the date is 4/20/99, and for Windows ME the date is 6/8/2000.
7. Click Next, click Finish, and then restart your computer.

The check box for DMA on a drive is a function of the Esdi_506.pdr file and the configuration manager. It is only available when the Esdi_506.pdr file is used or when a third-party driver provides it.