Sound stuttering, slow computer

i too am using XP, had to reload operating system a month ago, i had stuttering sound, could NOT record, edit, listen to anything with sound. IT DROVE ME INSANE TRYING TO FIND THE FIX. I HAVE STRIPPED THIS COMPUTER DOWN TO THE BARE MINIMUM, I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING TO FIND THE PROBLEM !!!!

before my system crashed, my Aspire 1 ran perfect, i loved it. but after the re-load it was so slow i hated it, even considered getting something else cause i couldnt do any of the things i could when i first got it.

THIS IS THE FIX !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I FOUND THIS TO BE A HUGE FIX, IT NEEDS TO BE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THIS FORUM, I
KNOW IAM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM!!!!

A THOUSAND THANK YOUS TO WHO EVER FOUND THE SOLUTION - THANK YOU !!!!!!!

the cause...
After the Windows IDE/ATAPI Port driver (Atapi.sys) receives a cumulative total of six time-out or cyclical redundancy check (CRC) errors, the driver reduces the communications speed (the transfer mode) from the highest Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode to lower DMA modes in steps. If the driver continues to receive time-out or CRC errors, the driver eventually reduces the transfer mode to the slowest mode (PIO mode).

( to sumerise, the drive data transfer rate has been decreased! so evrytime it needs to load data quickly, e.g. logging in, or starting an app, it stutters I/O devices, including mouse and sound! )

is this right for you?
1. go to device manager --- (right click mycomputer, and click properties, hardware, devicemanager)
2. expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI CONTROLLERS
3. doubleclick the controller for ur HDD, will be PRIMARY IDE CHANNEL for most poeple.

in the advanced settings tab, if the CURRENT TRANSFER MODE is "PIO Mode", than THIS IS DEFFINATELY THE PROBLEM!

as there are different modes of DMA, this may still be your problem, so trying this fix is worth a try.


THE FIX!!!
in the driver tab of the same window, click uninstall, and uninstall the driver. then restart your computer. upon restarting, windows will reinstall the driver, and reset the count, therefore giving you a high DMA mode! which will be perfect!