IDE bus won't run UDMA 5

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cornedbeef007-groups

I have Windows XP Pro SP2.
I have 2 Seagate HDD on the Primary IDE channel, strapped for
CableSelect, and BIOS successfully identifies the UDMA5 capability of
both drives.
I have loaded the latest Via 4-in-1 pack for my chipset. The
motherboard is supposed to be capable of ATA100 (UDMA 5)
When I look in Hardware Manager, the two drives are showing as using
UDMA 4.
I have tried replacing the 80 wire IDE bus cable with a brand new one,
but UDMA 4 persists.
Is there anyway I can find out why WinXP is downgrading the speed to
UDMA 4, or better still, how to make it use UDMA 5?

Thanks.
BarryG
 
Hi,

What is the make (OEM) & model # of the mobo or of the branded (Dell,
Compaq, etc) OEM computer you're installing the HDD's in...?

What are the model #'s for the two Seagate's, and their capacities..?

Have you tried the master & slave configuration with the same result..?
Cheers
j;-j
 
Hi,

What is the make (OEM) & model # of the mobo or of the branded (Dell,
Compaq, etc) OEM computer you're installing the HDD's in...?

What are the model #'s for the two Seagate's, and their capacities..?

Have you tried the master & slave configuration with the same result..?
Cheers
j;-j
Click to expand...

I built the computer myself, so I suppose, I'm the OEM.
It's a Gigabyte GA-6VTXE mobo, and the two Seagate drives are 80GB
master and 120GB slave. They are both 7200rpm drives. I don't have the
machine here with me, so I don't know the actual model numbers.
I haven't tried master/slave strappings, because an 80 wire IDE cable
uses the plug position on the cable to determine master/slave.
The puzzle is that BIOS says UDMA5 is available, but WinXP downgrades
it to UDMA4, and I'd like to know why.

BarryG
 
I built the computer myself, so I suppose, I'm the OEM.
It's a Gigabyte GA-6VTXE mobo, and the two Seagate drives are 80GB
master and 120GB slave. They are both 7200rpm drives. I don't have the
machine here with me, so I don't know the actual model numbers.
I haven't tried master/slave strappings, because an 80 wire IDE cable
uses the plug position on the cable to determine master/slave.
The puzzle is that BIOS says UDMA5 is available, but WinXP downgrades
it to UDMA4, and I'd like to know why.

BarryG
Click to expand...

The drives themselves may need to be set for UDMA5 in order for Windows to see it. I have Western
Digital drives and they have a utilitiy to change the UDMA settings on the drive, you may want to
look at Seagates site to see if they have something similar.
 
The drives themselves may need to be set for UDMA5 in order for Windows to see it. I have Western
Digital drives and they have a utilitiy to change the UDMA settings on the drive, you may want to
look at Seagates site to see if they have something similar.
--
Dave Vair
CNE, CNA, MCP, A+, N+- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

I didnt't find anything at Seagate.com to "enable UDMA 5" the BIOS
actually reports UDMA 5 as being available. I did download SeaTools
and tested the drives with that. They both test OK.
I tried strapping the disks for master/slave operation, and it made no
difference.
I tried removing the slave from the bus, and it made no difference.
I uninstalled the IDE Bus master device in DM, and let Windows re-
detect/install it, and it made no difference.
I substituted the Microsoft Generic IDE Bus Master driver for the VIA
one, and it made no difference.
What I'd really like to know is WHY does WinXP downgrade the speed?
Does it log any testing or errors on the IDE bus anywhere?

BarryG
 
Barry,

Did you set the drives up in the BIOS to *Auto* detect both drives..?

What PIII cpu do you have..? Processing speed, how many MHz..?

Lets face it, your Mobo is just old, cutting edge then, it's a socket 370
PIII, a P3 1400 MHz cpu is the max that board can handle, so you might just
chalk it up to old hardware issues.. Have you tried running the XP
compatibility test that is included on the XP install disk..? It was on mine
anyway, I have used it even after XP was installed to ID possible problem
apps or hardware drivers, etc..

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/...therboard&ProductID=1389&ProductName=GA-6VTXE
Your mobo, very nice but dated..


http://www.phildev.net/ata-modes.html
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/modesUDMA-c.html
http://forums.tweaktown.com/archive/index.php/t-4935.html
May be some clues in the above links..?

Might want to build a newer P4 system someday..

It's supposed to be fun, right..? :)
Good luck
Cheers
 
Barry,

Did you set the drives up in the BIOS to *Auto* detect both drives..?

What PIII cpu do you have..? Processing speed, how many MHz..?

Lets face it, your Mobo is just old, cutting edge then, it's a socket 370
PIII, a P3 1400 MHz cpu is the max that board can handle, so you might just
chalk it up to old hardware issues.. Have you tried running the XP
compatibility test that is included on the XP install disk..? It was on mine
anyway, I have used it even after XP was installed to ID possible problem
apps or hardware drivers, etc..

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?...
Your mobo, very nice but dated..

http://www.phildev.net/ata-modes.ht...s.tweaktown.com/archive/index.php/t-4935.html
May be some clues in the above links..?

Might want to build a newer P4 system someday..

It's supposed to be fun, right..? :)
Good luck
Cheers
Click to expand...
The BIOS is set Auto detect drives, and it does report UDMA 5
available.

I have 1.1ghz Celeron processor.

WinXP is set to Auto detect UDMA mode, and it picks UDMA 4, even
though the BIOS says 5 is available.
My system runs pretty well, and if I can get the hard disk access to
be a bit faster, it will stave off an upgrade for a while longer yet,
and keep the financial contoller happy, and that can't be a bad thing.

BarryG
 
BarryG,

In device manager under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, how many entries do you
see just two, primary/secondary or a third as well..?

In the BIOS have you enabled enhanced ATAPI performance option..?

Built my system 4 years ago and both my Ultra ATA/133 UDMA 6 drives only
show as UDMA 5, though I know my mobo only supports Ultra ATA/66/100, so it
was easy to understand why, in my case.. <pun> ;)
You said you installed the VIA 4in1 chipset drivers, right..? Usually this
is done right after the initial OS installation.. Perhaps, you might try
manually loading or choosing the drivers for the IDE channels by using the
"update driver" button for each channel and selecting from the manufactures
list..

Not a bad thing at all to try and save a buck($)..
Cheers
j;-j
 
BarryG,

In device manager under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, how many entries do you
see just two, primary/secondary or a third as well..?

In the BIOS have you enabled enhanced ATAPI performance option..?

Built my system 4 years ago and both my Ultra ATA/133 UDMA 6 drives only
show as UDMA 5, though I know my mobo only supports Ultra ATA/66/100, so it
was easy to understand why, in my case.. <pun> ;)
You said you installed the VIA 4in1 chipset drivers, right..? Usually this
is done right after the initial OS installation.. Perhaps, you might try
manually loading or choosing the drivers for the IDE channels by using the
"update driver" button for each channel and selecting from the manufactures
list..

Not a bad thing at all to try and save a buck($)..
Cheers
j;-j
Click to expand...
Jaymon,
I see the VIA PCI Bus Master, and IDE Primary, and IDE Secondary.
I have manually updated the drivers for each, and auto updated the
drivers for each, and uninstalled each and let WinXP redetect/install
them all. No change.
I used the original mobo CD to install the 4-in-1 driver again, I have
downloaded and installed the latest RECOMMENDED 4-in-1 driver for this
chipset. Nothing makes any difference. Tonight I'm going to try the
latest 4-in-1 and see what happens. If it's already broken, I can't
break it, can I? <grin>

I have Enhanced ATAPI Performance option enabled in BIOS.

One forum link you posted earlier showed 2 other people, years ago,
having the same problem with the same mobo, and no resolution.
Maybe the mobo model was a dud, and UDMA 4 is all I've ever get!

Thanks for your interest.

BarryG
 
Gigabyte Technical support suggested updating the BIOS from Ver F8 to
Ver F9.
The IDE bus speed wasn't listed in the fixes for ver F9, but I loaded
it anyway.
Now I get UDMA 5 on the Primary IDE controller.
Way to go Gigabyte Technical Support!
 
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