Summary of DMA Channels and Their Typical Uses

Learn about the technologies behind the Internet with The TCP/IP Guide!

NOTE: Using robot software to mass-download the site degrades the server and is prohibited. See here for more.
Find The PC Guide helpful? Please consider a donation to The PC Guide Tip Jar. Visa/MC/Paypal accepted.

View over 750 of my fine art photos any time for free at DesktopScenes.com!

Summary of DMA Channels and Their Typical Uses

The table below provides summary information about the 8 DMA channel numbers in a typical PC. You may find this table useful when considering how to configure your system, or for resolving DMA conflicts. For an explanation of the categories, along with more detailed descriptions, see here. To see DMA channel usage organized by device instead of DMA number, see this device resource summary.

DMA	Bus Line?	Typical Default Use	Other Common Uses
0	no	Memory Refresh	None
1	8/16-bit	Sound card (low DMA)	SCSI host adapters, ECP parallel ports, tape accelerator cards, network cards, voice modems
2	8/16-bit	Floppy disk controller	Tape accelerator cards
3	8/16-bit	None	ECP parallel ports, SCSI host adapters, tape accelerator cards, sound card (low DMA), network cards, voice modems, hard disk controller on old PC/XT
4	no	None; cascade for DMAs 0-3	None
5	16-bit only	Sound card (high DMA)	SCSI host adapters, network cards
6	16-bit only	None	Sound cards (high DMA), network cards
7	16-bit only	None	Sound cards (high DMA), network cards

Next: DMA Channel Details By Number

Home - Search - Topics - Up

Not responsible for any loss resulting from the use of this site.
Please read the Site Guide before using this material.