Is the low latency feature built into the kernel used in Mandriva 2007 ?
If it is, do I have to configure anything to ensure that it is installed ?

also,

I found this suggestion on 1 of the many Linux music sites to tune the hard drive,

"Don't forget to tune all your IDE disks (if you have any) with hdparm:

hdparm -d 1 -c 1 -u 1 /dev/hda"

What are these options changing from the "standard" hard drive settings ?

Will these "tuning suggestions" change or conflict with a standard install of Mandriva 2007 ?
Thanks in advance,
Scott

Don´t know about that, somebody else already checked the kernel sources for the 2007 release?

At least on my machine all three options are already enabled. You can check yourself by typing as root:
-d enables DMA on the given harddrive, -c stands for the 32bit IO-setting and -u sets the unmaskirq flag.

For more detailed informations just ask your favorite search engine for "hdparm" and "manpage"

Greets

Thanks Philospher for the quick reply,
The default or existing settings on my Mandriva 2007 install are;

[root@localhost scott]# hdparm -u -d -c /dev/hda
/dev/hda:
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
[root@localhost scott]#

I will change -u,-d, and -c to 1(on) and see what effects the change may have.

I didn't understand your low latency response, the Mandriva 2007 Power Pack I have has the 2.6.17.5mdv kernel installed. I have not altered the kernel.
I'm getting ready to build a music recording and mastering machine hopefully, using Mandriva 2007 because I have experience with it. Most sites I view speak of low latency problems and offer kernel changes (Thac's) to decrease the latency. I'm hesistent to blindly go in and change the kernel just by running an RPM against a very usable and friendly that I already have if I don't really have a low latency problem with my 2.6.17.5mdv kernal.
Thanks !

Just did a little research and it´s easier than one would think: Mandriva offers a multimedia kernel that should fit your needs. Simply install it via MCC.

Philosopher,
Thanks ! You answered all my questions ! I haven't seen nor heard of the mdv multimedia kernel, thanks also for description.
BTW, I changed my hdparm settings, -c, -d and -u to (on) after my last response to you . No damaging effect that I can see so far after about 2 hours of use with several apps. You stated that your DMA settings were all set to (on) so that gave me confidence to change my settings. I'll let you and the rest on this forum know when I get the new machine up and running.
Thanks again,
Scott

You'll find the latest MM and TMB kernels here I've been using it for the past 2 months without issue. Don't forget to install the matching kernel-source or kernel -source-stripped if you are using ATI or Nvidia proprietary drivers.. Also the latest Official kernel is 2.6.17-10
there has been quite a few security and bugfixes since launch you may also want to update that as well.
You can also enable realtime just follow the readme.. Here's a thread started by the maintainer obiwan
If you have any questions just post there and obiwan will see it .