1. A method of configuring a programmable device, the method comprising: in response to a reset of the programmable device, issuing a default transaction descriptor to a direct memory access (DMA) controller, the default transaction descriptor identifying a plurality of transaction descriptors; verifying at least one of the plurality of transaction descriptors; when verified and while the programmable device is in a non-executing state, copying a set of configuration data from a first memory to configuration registers in response to the plurality of transaction descriptors being processed by the DMA controller; and if the verifying fails, bypassing copying the set of configuration data.