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Reader PC Setup Guide

FTDI drivers, PCILeech, MemProcFS, speed testing, and remote control for your second PC

The reader PC connects to your DMA card's DATA port via USB and runs PCILeech/MemProcFS to read the target PC's memory. This guide covers everything you need to set up on the second PC, from drivers to software to speed testing.

Hardware requirements

The reader PC doesn't need to be powerful. Minimum specs are a 3-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, and a USB 3.0 port. Recommended specs for smooth operation:

  • CPU: Intel i5 (9th gen+) or AMD Ryzen 5600G
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • Storage: 120 GB SSD
  • GPU: Integrated graphics is fine. Dedicated GPU only needed for fuser overlays or radar rendering.
  • USB: Native USB 3.0 port (blue port)

Laptops and mini PCs work fine as reader PCs.

The single most important hardware requirement is a native USB 3.0 port. USB 2.0 caps speeds below 3000 Mem/sec, making the setup barely functional.

USB cable selection

This is the number one source of performance issues. Use a USB 3.0 data cable (typically USB-C to USB-A), not a charge-only cable. Charge-only cables lack the data pins entirely and will produce zero connection.

  • Use the cable included with your DMA card when possible
  • Never use USB hubs, extenders, or docking stations
  • Connect directly to a motherboard USB port
  • Shorter cables provide better signal integrity
  • A bad cable alone can reduce speeds from 6000+ to under 1000

Installing the FTDI D3XX driver

The DMA card's FT601 USB 3.0 bridge chip requires FTDI's D3XX driver. The current recommended version is 1.3.0.10 WHQL.

  1. Connect the DMA card's DATA port (farthest from PCIe gold fingers) to the reader PC.
  2. Device Manager should show "FTDI SuperSpeed-FIFO Bridge" with a yellow exclamation mark.
  3. Download the WHQL-certified D3XX installer from the FTDI website.
  4. Run the installer as administrator and follow the wizard.
  5. Restart the reader PC.
  6. After restart, Device Manager should show "FTDI FT601 USB 3.0 Bridge Device" under Universal Serial Bus controllers.
Separately download the 64-bit FTD3XX.dll library and place it directly alongside your PCILeech and MemProcFS executables. This DLL must be co-located with every executable that communicates with the DMA card.
Windows Update can silently replace the FTDI driver with a generic one. After Windows updates, check Device Manager to verify the correct driver is still installed.

PCILeech & MemProcFS installation

Download the latest releases from Ulf Frisk's GitHub repositories:

  • MemProcFS provides a virtual file system view of target memory
  • PCILeech handles raw memory read/write operations
  • LeechCore is the middleware library that interfaces with the FPGA hardware
  1. Extract the MemProcFS release zip to a dedicated folder like C:\DMA\MemProcFS\
  2. Install Dokany 2 from the dokan-dev GitHub releases (required for virtual file system mounting)
  3. Install Visual C++ Redistributables x64
  4. Place FTD3XX.dll in the same folder as your executables
  5. Place dbghelp.dll and symsrv.dll in the same folder (from Windows SDK Debugging Tools or bundled with MemProcFS)

Symbol resolution

MemProcFS requires Windows debugging symbols to interpret target memory structures. On first run, it prompts acceptance of the Microsoft Symbol Server EULA and downloads symbols, caching them locally in a Symbols\ subdirectory.

For offline operation, download the info.db SQLite database from the latest MemProcFS GitHub release and place it alongside your executables. Without info.db, you'll see "[PDB] Offline symbols unavailable."

Essential commands

Command Purpose
memprocfs.exe -device fpga Mount target memory as virtual file system
memprocfs.exe -device fpga -mount Q Mount on specific drive letter
pcileech.exe -device fpga benchmark Run speed benchmark
pcileech.exe -device fpga dump Dump all target memory
memprocfs.exe -device fpga -memmap mmap.txt Mount with memory map (AMD systems)
memprocfs.exe -device fpga -disable-symbolserver Run without symbol server

Speed testing

Run a speed test immediately after setup to verify the connection. Run as administrator for at least 360 seconds to check stability.

Speed (Mem/sec) Rating
Below 3000Unacceptable USB cable, port, or driver issue
3000 to 4000Marginal functional but may cause lag
4000 to 5200Acceptable
5200 to 6500Good
6500 to 7500Excellent
7500+Elite achievable with strong hardware and USB 3.1 Gen 2

If speeds are low, troubleshoot in this order:

  1. Try a different USB 3.0 cable
  2. Try a different USB port (motherboard only)
  3. Set the reader PC power plan to High Performance
  4. Reseat the DMA card in its PCIe slot
  5. Check the card bracket isn't blocking the USB port from seating fully
  6. Try a different PCIe slot on the target PC

File organization

Keep all DMA software on the reader PC. Never install DMA tools on the gaming/target PC. Recommended structure:

  • C:\DMA\MemProcFS\ All executables, DLLs (FTD3XX.dll, leechcore.dll, vmm.dll, dbghelp.dll, symsrv.dll), and info.db
  • C:\DMA\SpeedTest\ Speed test tools with their own copies of required DLLs
  • C:\DMA\FlashTools\ Zadig, OpenOCD/CH347FPGATool, and firmware .bin files
Every DLL must be co-located with the executable that uses it. Do not rely on system PATH. If a tool can't find FTD3XX.dll, copy it into the same folder as that tool.

Remote control

Since the reader PC usually doesn't have its own monitor (or its output goes to a fuser), you'll want remote access software.

Parsec (recommended)

Hardware-accelerated, low-latency streaming. Install on both PCs, create an account, and enable unattended access on the reader PC.

TeamViewer / AnyDesk

Higher latency alternatives. Work as a fallback if Parsec doesn't suit your setup.

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