Q191774: How to Obtain Dmacheck.exe for Windows NT

Article: Q191774
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbfile kbgraphxlinkcritical
Last Modified: 02-JAN-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 includes a utility called DMACheck (Dmacheck.exe)
that lets you view the (Direct Memory Access) DMA usage on your computer.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The following information is listed for each IDE/ATAPI Channel detected:

Current DMA Usage
-----------------

This value indicates whether DMA is currently being used for each channel. There
are 3 possible values:

- DMA In Use indicates that DMA transfers are being used on this channel.

- DMA Not In Use indicates that DMA transfers are not being used on this
  channel and that the IDE/ATAPI driver is defaulting to Programmed I/O (PIO)
  transfer methods.

- No IDE/ATAPI Devices Detected indicates that the utility could not read the
  status of that channel from the registry, either because there was no
  IDE/ATAPI device present or because the current user has insufficient
  privileges to access the registry. These settings cannot be changed and are
  dependent on the DMA support provided by your hardware and the value of the
  DMA detection settings.

DMA Detection Status
--------------------

This setting indicates whether the ATAPI driver will attempt to detect and use
DMA support on a given channel.

If DMA detection is disabled on a channel, the ATAPI driver defaults to PIO
transfers on that channel. If DMA detection is enabled on a channel, the ATAPI
driver queries the hardware for DMA support and if it is detected uses DMA for
data transfers.

If the hardware does not correctly support DMA transfers, PIO is used even if DMA
detection is enabled.

When the utility initially starts, radio buttons indicate the current settings
for each channel. To change the detection status, click the preferred setting
and it is saved when you exit DMACheck.

How to Obtain DMACheck
----------------------

You can obtain DMACheck from the following folders on the Windows NT 4.0 Service
Pack 3 compact disc:

- Support\Utils\i386

- Support\Utils\Alpha

For additional information about how to obtain the latest Service Pack, click the
article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q152734 How To Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download
Center:

  Alpha: DownloadDownload Dmachcka.exe now

  Intel: DownloadDownload Dmachcki.exe now

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click
the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft used the most current virus detection software available on the date of
posting to scan this file for viruses. Once posted, the file is housed on secure
servers that prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Additional query words: sp3

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Keywords          : kbfile kbgraphxlinkcritical 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : :4.0
Hardware          : ALPHA x86
Issue type        : kbinfo

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