Patent ID: 7412570

Claim:
A method including the steps of: pre-filling, in response to a transition request for a processor to enter a snooping-disabled mode, a buffer/mini-cache with data from the processor; allowing, after the pre-filling, the processor to enter the snooping-disabled mode; providing, while the processor is in the snooping-disabled mode, a first portion of the data from the buffer/mini-cache to a direct memory access (dma) device in response to a dma read request from the dma device, and modifying a second portion of the data in the buffer/mini-cache in response to a dma write request from the dma device; flushing, in response to a transition request for the processor to exit the snooping-disabled mode, the second portion of the data to the processor; and allowing, after the flushing, the processor to exit the snooping-disabled mode.