Why is PIO the default for CD-ROM/CD-RW drives?

[LakerGod]

I'm asking because i think I need to enable DMA for my CD-RW drive. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? Since my dvd rom is also connected to the same IDE port, i'd be enabling DMA for both. Thanks for the help.

 

[Fencer128]

Hi,

If your CD-RW supports DMA (it probably does) then enabling DMA will increase your available data burst bandwidth to the device (i.e. it will be able to transfer data more quickly). I don't know why PIO sometimes sets itself as default, another mystery....

Good luck,

Andy

 

[LakerGod]

Thanks for the reply. I'm still curious as to why PIO is the freaking default.