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Chapter 7: BIOS
LBA/Large Mode
LBA (Logical Block Addressing) is a method of addressing data on a disk
drive. In the LBA mode, the maximum drive capacity is 137 GB. For drive
capacities over 137 GB, your system must be equipped with 48-bit LBA
mode addressing. If not, contact your manufacturer or install an ATA/133
IDE controller card that supports 48-bit LBA mode. The options are Dis-
abled or Auto.
Block (Multi-Sector Transfer)
Block mode boosts IDE drive performance by increasing the amount of
data transferred. Only 512 bytes of data can be transferred per interrupt
if block mode is not used. Block mode allows transfers of up to 64 KB
per interrupt. Select "Disabled" to allow the data to be transferred from
and to the device one sector at a time. Select "Auto" to allows the data
transfer from and to the device occur multiple sectors at a time if the
device supports it. The options are Auto and Disabled.
PIO Mode
IDE PIO (Programmable I/O) mode programs timing cycles between the IDE
drive and the programmable IDE controller. As the PIO mode increases,
the cycle time decreases. The options are Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4" Select
Auto to allow the AMI BIOS to auto detect the PIO mode. Use this value if
the IDE disk drive support cannot be determined. Select 0 to allow the
AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 0. It has a data transfer rate of 3.3 MBs.
Select 1 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 1. It has a data transfer
rate of 5.2 MBs. Select 2 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 2. It has
a data transfer rate of 8.3 MBs. Select 3 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO
mode 3. It has a data transfer rate of 11.1 MBs. Select 4 to allow the AMI
BIOS to use PIO mode 4. It has a data transfer rate of 16.6 MBs. This
setting generally works with all hard disk drives manufactured after
1999. For other disk drives, such as IDE CD-ROM drives, check the speci-
fications of the drive.
DMA Mode
Select Auto to allow the BIOS to auto detect the DMA mode. Use this
value if the IDE disk drive support cannot be determined. Select SWDMA0
7-7
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