Short for Programmed Input/Output, a method of transferring data between two devices that uses the computer's main processor as part of the data path. ATA uses PIO and defines the speed of the data transfer in terms of the PIO mode implemented, as shown below:
PIO Mode
Data Transfer Rate (MBps)
Standard
0
3.3
ATA
1
5.2
ATA
2
8.3
ATA
3
11.1
ATA-2
4
16.6
ATA-2
Programmed I/O (PIO) Modes Provides a table showing the different PIO modes, along with which IDE/ATA standard defines support for them, as well as descriptions of DMA modes and IDE bus mastering, 16-bit and 32-bit access, and block mode. This page is from "The PC Guide."
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