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Bus Master IDE / Ultra DMA
Frequently Asked Questions about Bus Master IDE (General)
Frequently Asked Questions about Bus Master IDE (Hardware)
Frequently Asked Questions about Bus Master IDE (Software)
Frequently Asked Questions about Ultra DMA (General)
Frequently Asked Questions about Ultra DMA (Hardware)
Frequently Asked Questions about Ultra DMA (Software)
What to consider when installing Intel Bus master IDE drivers in your systemsSUMMARY Bus Mastering IDE technology implements logic circuitry on your motherboard that, when configured properly with other elements of your system, can reduce the CPU's work of retrieving and/or storing data on your hard disk drive or other IDE device BUS MASTER IDE PERFORMANCE: If you tend to have multiple applications running simultaneously that are disk intensive, then Bus Master IDE technology may help your system complete these tasks faster. Bus Master IDE technology will probably not benefit you if your user operating environment is characterized by the one of the following:
BUS MASTER IDE REQUIREMENTS: To utilize Bus Master IDE technology your system must have all of the following elements:
ATTENTION: PRIOR TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED Implementing Bus Master IDE technology requires advanced knowledge of PC hardware and software, as well as debug tools to optimize the system performance. Consequently, Intel strongly recommends Bus Master IDE technology be implemented by a PC manufacturer. Incorrect implementation could result in system lock up or degradation in performance. Contact your PC manufacturer for information on whether or not these elements have been validated and are supported in your system. If you are experiencing problems with Intel Bus master IDE drivers, please use the de-installer program to remove the driver from your systems. This de-installer program is intended to remove the Intel bus master device driver and restore your system back to the original default IDE device driver. Depending on your system settings and configuration a re-install of your operating system may also be required. For non-Intel bus mastering device drivers, we recommend you contact your driver supplier for support. If you continue to have questions regarding Intel Bus master IDE drivers, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions for more details. GENERAL INFORMATION Q1.What is Bus Master IDE and what does it do? A1. Bus Mastering IDE technology implements logic circuitry on your motherboard to reduce CPU's work of retrieving and storing data on your hard disk drive. This technology can potentially "free up the CPU" to do other tasks in a multitasking operating system environment such as Windows* '95, Windows* NT, OS/2* etc. To utilize Bus Master IDE technology your system must have all of the following elements:
Q2.Is Bus Master IDE required for my system to function properly? A2. No. Bus Mastering IDE is a feature that can potentially increase your system performance, but is not a requirement for proper system operation. Q3.How does Bus Master IDE affect my system performance? A3. If you tend to have multiple applications running simultaneously that are disk intensive, then Bus Master IDE technology may help your system complete these tasks faster. Bus Master IDE technology will probably not benefit you if your user operating environment is characterized by the one of the following:
Q4.I have decided that I need Bus Master capability, how do I get it? A4. Because of the compatibility and validation requirement, we recommend that you contact your PC manufacturer for a complete solution. Q5.Do I already have the Bus Master IDE driver enabled in my system? A5. Contact your PC manufacturer to determine if Bus Master IDE is enabled in your system. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Q1. What hardware is needed to run Bus Master IDE on a system? A1. A Bus Master IDE capable system includes an IDE host controller that is capable of transferring data between a system and IDE drives utilizing the PCI Bus Master IDE protocol. In addition to the IDE host controller and Bus Master capable IDE devices, a high level of compatibility validation is also required to ensure that all these complex elements function properly together. Q2.Which Bus Mastering IDE host controllers are supported by Intel's Bus Master IDE drivers? A2. The IDE host controllers supported are the PCI to ISA bridge components included in Intel's 430FX, 430HX, 430VX, and 440FX PCIets. Specifically, they are:
Other IDE host controllers are not supported by the Intel Bus Master IDE drivers. Q3.What IDE devices are supported by the Intel Bus Master IDE drivers? A3. IDE devices are devices that connect to a systems IDE interface. They are typically hard disk drives and CD-ROMs. These devices are often labeled:
Note: SCSI devices are not IDE devices. SCSI refers to an alternative protocol that is not related to IDE. Bus Master capable IDE devices must be capable of transferring data at one of the transfer rates supported by PCI Bus Master IDE systems:
For information in determining a device's ability to support Bus Master IDE, contact your PC Manufacturer and/or device manufacturer. Q4.Which devices are not supported by Bus Master IDE? A4. Bus Master IDE is not supported with non-IDE devices (including SCSI), IDE devices that do not support the DMA transfer modes, PIO-only IDE devices and IDE devices not identified/configured by the system BIOS. Contact your system and/or device manufacturer for more information in determining a device's ability to support Bus Master IDE. Q5. Can I use Bus Master IDE capable and non-Bus Master IDE devices on the same system? A5. Bus Master IDE capable and non-Bus Master IDE devices may be used on the same system. However, the benefits of Bus Master IDE may be reduced when Bus Master IDE capable and non-Bus Master IDE capable devices are used in the same system. Contact your system and/or device manufacturer for more information in determining a system's ability to support Bus Master IDE. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Q1. What software requirements are needed to support Intel's BM IDE drivers? A1. Bus Master IDE supporting software must include the following for a system to function correctly:
Contact your PC and/or device manufacturer for more information in determining a system's ability to support Bus Master IDE. Q2.How do I know if my system BIOS supports Bus Master IDE? A2. If you have the required hardware and are running an operating system as described above, it is possible that your system BIOS may support Bus Master IDE. Contact your system manufacturer for determining if your BIOS supports Bus Master IDE and has been validated with Bus Master IDE. Q3.Which Applications benefit from Bus Master IDE? A3. With operating systems that support Bus Master IDE, Bus Master IDE benefits operating system-based applications that involve many tasks and work directly from the IDE drives (hard disks, CD-ROM). Disk-intensive applications, such as servers, benefit from Bus Master IDE. In general, Bus Master IDE shows benefits in systems that run applications specifically designed for the operating system. Q4. Will my DOS-based game/application performance improve with Bus Master IDE? A4. No. Bus Master IDE provides no performance benefit for DOS applications that run in a DOS only (no Windows* or require boot from special floppy) mode. Q5. How do I remove Intel Bus master IDE driver from my systems. A5. If you have experienced difficulties when installing the Intel Bus master IDE driver, you can remove the driver by using the de-installer program. This de-installer program is intended to remove the Intel Bus master IDE device driver and restore your system back to the original default IDE device driver. Depending on your system settings and configuration a re-install of your operating system may also be required. For non-Intel bus mastering device drivers, we recommend you contact your driver supplier for support.
What to consider when purchasing or configuring a system with Ultra DMASUMMARY Ultra DMA is a new protocol for the ATA/IDE hard disk drive interface that doubles the current burst data transfer rate to 33 megabytes (MB) per second. The protocol is a Quantum Corporation patented technology that will be implemented in industry standard hard drive products and enabled through logic in all new Intel PCIsets beginning with the 430TX. Systems with Ultra DMA capability will be available in early 1997 with major disk drive vendors (Quantum, Seagate, IBM-SSD, Western Digital, Maxtor, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and others) introducing new Ultra DMA products throughout the year.
ULTRA DMA PERFORMANCE: Ultra DMA "widens" the path to the hard drive by transferring twice as much data per clock cycle. The net effect is that the maximum burst data transfer rate from the disk drive increases from 16.6 Megabytes per second (MB/s) to 33 MB/s. Hard disk drive manufacturers can now bring higher performance products to market that will scale with the rest of the PC platform (faster hard drives to feed faster processors, memory and graphics). The Ultra DMA protocol lets host computers (PCs) send and retrieve data faster, removing bottlenecks associated with data transfers -- especially during sequential operations. Users of new PCs will need less time to boot their systems and open applications, a direct result of the improved throughput provided by Ultra DMA. Current disk drive technology has been optimized to perform within the limits of the legacy protocol (16.6MB/s). Raising the data transfer headroom results in moderate performance gains with today’s drive technology. Even greater performance improvements will emerge as drive manufacturers introduce products which generate a faster data stream. Bus Mastering technology can also be implemented with Ultra DMA disk drives. Similar reductions in CPU utilization will be experienced when Bus Mastering drivers are installed. In addition to speed improvements, the protocol brings new data integrity capabilities to the ATA/IDE interface. Improved timing margins and the use of Cyclical Redundancy Check (CRC), a data protection verification not implemented in legacy ATA modes, help ensure the integrity of transferred data.
ULTRA DMA SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: To utilize Ultra DMA technology your system must have all of the following elements:
(a.) To have the retail release of Windows* ’95 recognize and correctly configure an Intel 430TX PCIset (with the 82371AB - PIIX4 ISA/IDE interface) based platform, some modification to the Windows* '95 .INF files are required. Intel provides a utility to quickly make these modifications. Intel 430TX PCIset based platforms from system manufacturers with Windows* '95 pre-installed will already contain these modifications. ATTENTION: PRIOR TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED Integrating a system with Ultra DMA technology requires advanced knowledge of PC hardware and software. Consequently, Intel recommends that Ultra DMA drives be installed by a PC manufacturer or knowledgeable dealer. Incorrect installation could damage your system or result in loss of data. Contact your PC manufacturer for information on whether your system already contains an Ultra DMA drive. If you continue to have questions regarding Ultra DMA or Intel Bus master IDE drivers, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions.
GENERAL INFORMATION Q1. What is the Ultra DMA protocol and what does it do? A1. Ultra DMA is a new protocol for the ATA/IDE hard disk drive interface that doubles the current burst data transfer rate to 33 megabytes (MB) per second. This technology is capable of transferring twice as much data per clock cycle and provides a path for disk drive vendors to scale the performance of their products. A user can potentially benefit from faster disk reads and writes, resulting in less waiting time when starting a system or application. The Ultra DMA protocol is implemented in all new Intel PCIsets (beginning with the 430TX) and disk drive products from all leading vendors.
To utilize Ultra DMA your system must have all of the following elements:
Q2. Do I need the 430TX to use an Ultra DMA drive or vice-versa? A2. A platform based on the Intel 430TX PCIset is a very cost effective method of employing an Ultra DMA drive, as the control logic is integrated onto the motherboard. New systems based on earlier PCIsets or installed systems can take advantage of Ultra DMA’s 33 MB/s transfer rate by installing a PCI Ultra DMA IDE controller card. The Intel 430TX PCIset continues to support legacy IDE/ATA drives at 16.6 MB/s. Q3. How does Ultra DMA affect my system performance? A3. The Ultra DMA protocol is a "wider" channel for data traffic to flow to and from your hard drive. Performance gains due to Ultra DMA are dependent on the rate at which your specific drive sends data through the channel. Because legacy IDE protocol (16.6 MB/s) has become a speed limiter, initial Ultra DMA hard drive products with current mechanical designs will achieve moderate performance increases (< 10 %). New hard drive products that transmit and receive data at higher rates will result in greater performance. Q4. How can I purchase a system with Ultra DMA capability? A4. Contact your PC manufacturer and request a list of PC models that have an Ultra DMA hard drive or can be upgraded without the extra cost of a controller card. For specific disk drive availability, contact individual drive manufacturers or their authorized sales outlets. Q5. Do I already have an Ultra DMA drive in my system? A5. Contact your PC manufacturer or disk drive vendor to determine if your system contains and Ultra DMA disk drive.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Q1. What hardware is needed to install an Ultra DMA drive on a system? A1. An Ultra DMA capable system includes an IDE host controller that is capable of transferring data between a system and IDE drives utilizing the Ultra DMA protocol. This may reside on a motherboard in an integrated core logic solution (such as the Intel 430TX PCIset) or on a PCI add-on card. The system must also have a disk drive which supports the Ultra DMA protocol. Cables for an Ultra DMA solution are identical to those used for legacy drives. Q2. Can I use Intel’s Bus Master IDE drivers with an Ultra DMA drive? A2. If the Ultra DMA drive is enabled by the integrated logic in an Intel PCIset directly on your motherboard, it can be used in conjunction with the latest Intel Bus Master IDE driver (Intel’s Bus Master IDE driver for Windows* ’95 ver 3.0 - or later). Contact you operating system vendor or system manufacturer for bus master drivers for other operating systems. Q3. Which Ultra DMA host controllers are supported by Intel's Bus Master IDE drivers? A3. The IDE host controller supported is the PCI to ISA bridge component included in Intel's 430TX PCIset. Specifically, the 82371AB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller in the Intel 430TX PCIset. Other Ultra DMA host controllers are not supported by the Intel Bus Master IDE drivers. Q4. Can I use Ultra DMA capable and standard IDE drives in the same system? A4. Yes, an Ultra DMA capable and standard IDE drives can be used in the same system. Ultra DMA drives are also fully backward compatible with existing IDE drives and CD-ROM drives.
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Q1. What software requirements are needed to support Ultra DMA drives? A1. Ultra DMA disk drive supporting software must include the following for a system to function correctly:
Q2. How do I know if my system BIOS supports Ultra DMA IDE? A2. System BIOS is responsible for configuring the IDE host controller and IDE drives based on the capabilities of the IDE drives. There is no convenient way to find out if your system BIOS is Bus Master or Ultra DMA compatible. Contact your system manufacturer to determe if your BIOS supports Ultra DMA and has been validated with Ultra DMA and Bus Master IDE. Q3. Which Applications benefit from Ultra DMA? A3. Any disk intensive applications will see the benefits of Ultra DMA’s increased throughput. Applications that reside on the local Ultra DMA hard drive will load faster. A4. First, confirm that your system contains an Intel 430TX PCIset. If your computer’s mainboard contains Intel devices marked 82439TX and 82371AB, then your system is based on the 430TX - contact your system manufacturer if you are unsure. If you have a 430TX based system, look in the Windows* '95 Device Manager. The drivers listed should appear as such: Hard Disk Controllers
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