Unable to Get HD ro Run in DMA6 Mode

[JB]

The OS is Win XP Pro SP2, the mobo is an ECS-945GCT-M, and the HDD is a
300GB Maxtor with a 35 GB primary partition.. This drive is a slave on the
primary channel, the master is a DVD drive.

In BIOS setup, I can select the HDD DMA to auto or any of 1 through 6 but
Device manager always shows it running in the DMA 5 mode.

I have changed the registry to enable UDMA66 with no luck. I have tried to
upgrade the IDE channel drivers but could find none better. I have deleted
and reinstalled the primary IDE channel in Device Manager with no change.

Windows update will not let me scan the system until I activate the OS and
I'd prefer to hold off until I finish testing this build.

The drive previously worked in DMA 6 before it was transplanted to this
motherboard.

How can I get the dang thing in DMA 6?

Thank you.

Mike

 

[~misfit~]

Somewhere on teh intarweb "JB" typed:

The OS is Win XP Pro SP2, the mobo is an ECS-945GCT-M, and the HDD
is a 300GB Maxtor with a 35 GB primary partition.. This drive is a
slave on the primary channel, the master is a DVD drive.

In BIOS setup, I can select the HDD DMA to auto or any of 1 through 6
but Device manager always shows it running in the DMA 5 mode.

I have changed the registry to enable UDMA66 with no luck. I have
tried to upgrade the IDE channel drivers but could find none better. I
have deleted and reinstalled the primary IDE channel in Device
Manager with no change.
Windows update will not let me scan the system until I activate the
OS and I'd prefer to hold off until I finish testing this build.

The drive previously worked in DMA 6 before it was transplanted to
this motherboard.

How can I get the dang thing in DMA 6?

Thank you.

Mike

Umm, Mike, that board doesn't support the (mostly bogus, only really
'supported, by Maxtor and a few controllers) DMA 6/ATA133 mode.

<http://www.ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/Pr...727&DetailName=Specification&MenuID=7&LanID=9>

DMA 6 is ATA133. Maxtor embraced it but other drive manufacturers and most
mobo manufacturers didn't as it has ne real advantage over DMA 5 or ATA100.
It was a marketing move by Maxtor. HDD technology isn't capable of
saturating a 100MB/sec bus (DMA 5) so having a DMA 6 is pointless, and only
looks good in advertisments for HDDs.

Short story; You'd not notice any difference between the two modes, nor
would benchmarking show any improvement. Not only that but it's impossible
to achieve with that mobo.

 

[kony]

Somewhere on teh intarweb "JB" typed:

Umm, Mike, that board doesn't support the (mostly bogus, only really
'supported, by Maxtor and a few controllers) DMA 6/ATA133 mode.

<http://www.ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/Pr...727&DetailName=Specification&MenuID=7&LanID=9>

DMA 6 is ATA133. Maxtor embraced it but other drive manufacturers and most
mobo manufacturers didn't as it has ne real advantage over DMA 5 or ATA100.
It was a marketing move by Maxtor. HDD technology isn't capable of
saturating a 100MB/sec bus (DMA 5) so having a DMA 6 is pointless, and only
looks good in advertisments for HDDs.

Short story; You'd not notice any difference between the two modes, nor
would benchmarking show any improvement. Not only that but it's impossible
to achieve with that mobo.

.... and if he had had a board that did support ATA133, the
odds are high that a 300GB Maxtor drive bought recently is
actually a relabeled Seagate that doesn't even support
ATA133 itself but rather tops out at ATA100.

 

[~misfit~]

Somewhere on teh intarweb "kony" typed:

... and if he had had a board that did support ATA133, the
odds are high that a 300GB Maxtor drive bought recently is
actually a relabeled Seagate that doesn't even support
ATA133 itself but rather tops out at ATA100.

Exactly. However, he says that it worked in ATA133 mode on another mobo
which makes me think it's one of the last of the actual Maxtor drives. I
prefer Seagate myself. All the older Maxtors I have developed really noisy
bearings.

Happy '08 Dave.

 

[sandy58]

The OS is Win XP Pro SP2, the mobo is an ECS-945GCT-M, and the HDD is a
300GB Maxtor with a 35 GB primary partition.. This drive is a slave on the
primary channel, the master is a DVD drive.

In BIOS setup, I can select the HDD DMA to auto or any of 1 through 6 but
Device manager always shows it running in the DMA 5 mode.

I have changed the registry to enable UDMA66 with no luck. I have tried to
upgrade the IDE channel drivers but could find none better. I have deleted
and reinstalled the primary IDE channel in Device Manager with no change.

Windows update will not let me scan the system until I activate the OS and
I'd prefer to hold off until I finish testing this build.

The drive previously worked in DMA 6 before it was transplanted to this
motherboard.

How can I get the dang thing in DMA 6?

Thank you.

Mike

"The OS is Win XP Pro SP2, the mobo is an ECS-945GCT-M, and the HDD
is a
300GB Maxtor with a 35 GB primary partition.. This drive is a slave
on the
primary channel, the master is a DVD drive."
Change DVD drive to slave & hdd to master.

 

[JB]

Somewhere on teh intarweb "kony" typed:

Exactly. However, he says that it worked in ATA133 mode on another mobo
which makes me think it's one of the last of the actual Maxtor drives. I
prefer Seagate myself. All the older Maxtors I have developed really noisy
bearings.

Happy '08 Dave.

I see..the chipset is the limitaiton. Funny they offer the option of DMA6
in CMOS.

As to the genes in the drive...I think I bought it in Q4 of 2005 so it was
prolly the Maxtor design. I liked it better than my Seagate 160 because it
ran cooler and faster.

As to bearings..I am old and my hearing is not that great but I do notice a
slight rumbling noise when it's reading. No clickety-clack or tinny sounds
though.

The Maxtor performance as measured by HDTune does not compare well with the
400GB Sata WD I have in an HP computer. I think it's only sata 150 even
though the box is new;

Any opinions as to the best consumer- grade sata 3 candidate in the
300-500GB range? I want to use it for the boot drive in the ECS box and
keep the IDE Maxtor for storage. My source of cheap parts is Fry's
Electronics and they seem to have the most deals on Maxtors but I would pay
up for something that is substantially better performing.

Mike

 

[JB]

"The OS is Win XP Pro SP2, the mobo is an ECS-945GCT-M, and the HDD
is a
300GB Maxtor with a 35 GB primary partition.. This drive is a slave
on the
primary channel, the master is a DVD drive."

Change DVD drive to slave & hdd to master.<

That occured to me but it looks like the chipset is the limitation. I might
try it anyway next time I open the box..

Mike

 

[kony]

I see..the chipset is the limitaiton. Funny they offer the option of DMA6
in CMOS.

They might've had word or suspected the chipset would have
ATA133 support but then it didn't and nobody went back and
disabled that.

As to the genes in the drive...I think I bought it in Q4 of 2005 so it was
prolly the Maxtor design. I liked it better than my Seagate 160 because it
ran cooler and faster.

I don't remember the cutoff data-range per brand and model
but at some point shortly before then (IIRC), most brands
had already switched to sleeve (fluid) bearings instead of
ball bearings which makes the most difference in noise.
Oddly some old ball bearing drives I have in older systems
are still quiet, but some of the last of the ball bearing
era (I especially recall some Western Digital 120GB) were
really whiney in the last ball bearing generation, a high
pitched noise that was more objectionable than the typical
seeking noise they still have.

As to bearings..I am old and my hearing is not that great but I do notice a
slight rumbling noise when it's reading. No clickety-clack or tinny sounds
though.

Even though the noise of the old ball bearing models was
high pitched, it was a low enough frequency that most people
could hear it fairly easily.

The Maxtor performance as measured by HDTune does not compare well with the
400GB Sata WD I have in an HP computer. I think it's only sata 150 even
though the box is new;

Any opinions as to the best consumer- grade sata 3 candidate in the
300-500GB range? I want to use it for the boot drive in the ECS box and
keep the IDE Maxtor for storage. My source of cheap parts is Fry's
Electronics and they seem to have the most deals on Maxtors but I would pay
up for something that is substantially better performing.

Mike

I wouldn't call the differences in performance in this range
substantially different, the newer generations are faster
than older and some firmwares seem optimized for different
access patterns but generally Maxtor (would be a Seagate
7200.10 in the box most likely from those Fry's sales),
Western Digital, Hitachi make some similar enough offerings.

 

[JB]

They might've had word or suspected the chipset would have
ATA133 support but then it didn't and nobody went back and
disabled that.




I don't remember the cutoff data-range per brand and model
but at some point shortly before then (IIRC), most brands
had already switched to sleeve (fluid) bearings instead of
ball bearings which makes the most difference in noise.
Oddly some old ball bearing drives I have in older systems
are still quiet, but some of the last of the ball bearing
era (I especially recall some Western Digital 120GB) were
really whiney in the last ball bearing generation, a high
pitched noise that was more objectionable than the typical
seeking noise they still have.




Even though the noise of the old ball bearing models was
high pitched, it was a low enough frequency that most people
could hear it fairly easily.



I wouldn't call the differences in performance in this range
substantially different, the newer generations are faster
than older and some firmwares seem optimized for different
access patterns but generally Maxtor (would be a Seagate
7200.10 in the box most likely from those Fry's sales),
Western Digital, Hitachi make some similar enough offerings.

There are so many differenct types of benchmarks, I supppose any of model
can have their day in the sun by showcasing the benchmark that matches their
good points. My take is that these 7200 rpm HDs are pretty much a
commodity and newer is always better.

I have never had a complete HD failure but I had an 80MB Maxtor that got
"clanky". And I have a 100GB WD whose whine drives me nutx but it's in an
extruded aluminum case that may be resonant at the spin frequency.