My WD Raptor only runs at UDMA 33!

AlmightyBob · 17-10-2004, 02:10 PM

Yo,

I recently bought a 74G WD Raptor 'cos I'd heard good things. I have a VIA KT400, chaintech apogee deluxe mainboard which doesn't support SATA, so I bought an adpater from Manhattan which allows me to connect SATA drives to PATA boards...however, its only connected at UDMA 33 instead of 133 which is what my pervious IDE drive was connected at. Humph. The adapter supports UDMA133 transfer rates and is compatible with SATA150 drives.

This is a real bitch because I had been saving for a while for the raptor; they're not cheap...and it runs even slower than my older drive! Please somebody help! I have Xp home if its relevant....

Big B · 17-10-2004, 02:00 PM

Well, these PATA ->SATA adapters are typically frowned upon, usually for data corruption. I think it's partially due to the data having to be 'translated' from SATA to PATA.

Make sure you have DMA enabled on the IDE channel (Device Manager; expand IDE ATA Storage Controllers, go to Primary or Secondary IDE controller, double click, make sure it's enabled).

A better option would've been to snag a SATA controller card, install that and hook the SATA drive into that.

Addis · 17-10-2004, 03:36 PM

I agree, its converting a serial signal to a parallel one which as you can imagine causes performance problems. Get a SATA card and you should be ok.

Anti-Trend · 17-10-2004, 05:10 PM

Make sure you have an 80-conductor ribbon cable on the adapter, not a 40-conductor! Otherwise you will be capped at 33MHz.

AlmightyBob · 17-10-2004, 07:07 PM

Hey, thanks for the replys. So how does a controller card work; is it something which connects via a PCI slot? And about using an 80-conductor ribbon..when I boot, it says 'no 80 conductor cable installed' - although there is no cable at all because the adapter slots directly into the IDE port...would this imply that a couple of pins on the adapter are faulty?

Big B · 17-10-2004, 09:13 PM

No. If the wires were faulty, you'd be having troubles like booting problems and/or data corruption. All IDE cables are 40-pin. ATA33, 66, 100, 133, it doesn't matter. The IDE standard specifies 40-pin connections. However, with ATA66 and above, it became necessary to increase the wires for signal integrity sake. ATA33 is fine with a 40-pin, 40-wire cable, and will work fine with the faster drives. However, you'll be capped to ATA33 speeds because of this. The 40-pin, 80-wire cables are required if you have devices that are capable of faster speeds.

However, since you didn't seem to have this problem before, I'm leaning on my original assessment of it being the SATA -> PATA converter being the issue.

AlmightyBob · 18-10-2004, 12:02 AM

Nope, I wasn't having the problem before- so it seems that I'll have to buy a new card, as opposed to something simpler like updating the bios. Ah well. I've had a quick browse for SATA controllers, and some of them are fairly cheap which leads to an obvious question- if they allow you to use a SATA drive on a non-serial mboard, and they don't even taken up an IDE port, what's the point of adapters in the first place? Is there some catch? Thanks

Anti-Trend · 18-10-2004, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlmightyBob

Nope, I wasn't having the problem before- so it seems that I'll have to buy a new card, as opposed to something simpler like updating the bios. Ah well. I've had a quick browse for SATA controllers, and some of them are fairly cheap which leads to an obvious question- if they allow you to use a SATA drive on a non-serial mboard, and they don't even taken up an IDE port, what's the point of adapters in the first place? Is there some catch? Thanks

Good question. Those SATA --> PATA adapters are nothing but trouble at this point, and simply buying a PCI SATA controller is definately the preferrable way to go! IMHO, Promise and Highpoint make the best PCI SATA controllers for home use.

Big B · 18-10-2004, 05:09 PM

Man, all these HDD threads...I should do an article to address this stuff.

AlmightyBob · 18-10-2004, 09:50 PM

Thanks dudes. Does this sound like a good bet?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...roductID=97663

Just a quick question: if I'm booting from the sata drive which is connected via PCI, what do I select in the bios as the first boot device? To my memory there is no option for 'boot from PCI' or similar.

Big B · 18-10-2004, 10:03 PM

Look for a "Boot Other Device" and see what you come up with. Off-hand, I'm not familiar with Chaintech's offerings, but if they follow other motherboard manufacturers, they should have something about booting off an extra device somewhere.

You will want to install the highpoint card first before you switch the drive over to the controller. Or you could just reinstall Windows...but, that's really unnecessary.

17-10-2004, 02:10 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
AlmightyBob Geek Trainee Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Status: Offline	My WD Raptor only runs at UDMA 33! Yo, I recently bought a 74G WD Raptor 'cos I'd heard good things. I have a VIA KT400, chaintech apogee deluxe mainboard which doesn't support SATA, so I bought an adpater from Manhattan which allows me to connect SATA drives to PATA boards...however, its only connected at UDMA 33 instead of 133 which is what my pervious IDE drive was connected at. Humph. The adapter supports UDMA133 transfer rates and is compatible with SATA150 drives. This is a real bitch because I had been saving for a while for the raptor; they're not cheap...and it runs even slower than my older drive! Please somebody help! I have Xp home if its relevant....

17-10-2004, 02:00 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Online My Computer	Well, these PATA ->SATA adapters are typically frowned upon, usually for data corruption. I think it's partially due to the data having to be 'translated' from SATA to PATA. Make sure you have DMA enabled on the IDE channel (Device Manager; expand IDE ATA Storage Controllers, go to Primary or Secondary IDE controller, double click, make sure it's enabled). A better option would've been to snag a SATA controller card, install that and hook the SATA drive into that. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

17-10-2004, 03:36 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
Addis The King Join Date: Jan 2004 Age: 18 Male Posts: 5,255 Times Helpful: 403 My Mood: Drunk Status: Offline My Computer	I agree, its converting a serial signal to a parallel one which as you can imagine causes performance problems. Get a SATA card and you should be ok. __________________ Never trust a program you don't have the source code for. My website \| Powerful Desktop Linux \| Linux for human beings \| Linux for power users \| Linux for ricers

17-10-2004, 05:10 PM	#4 (permalink) Top
Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek Join Date: Oct 2003 Age: 27 Male Posts: 4,880 Times Helpful: 537 Status: Offline My Computer	Make sure you have an 80-conductor ribbon cable on the adapter, not a 40-conductor! Otherwise you will be capped at 33MHz. __________________ See My Desktop \| Try Linux \| Install Linux \| Visit My Server \| Support Hardware Forums \| Easily rip DVDs in Linux \| Remember Everything

17-10-2004, 09:13 PM	#6 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Online My Computer	No. If the wires were faulty, you'd be having troubles like booting problems and/or data corruption. All IDE cables are 40-pin. ATA33, 66, 100, 133, it doesn't matter. The IDE standard specifies 40-pin connections. However, with ATA66 and above, it became necessary to increase the wires for signal integrity sake. ATA33 is fine with a 40-pin, 40-wire cable, and will work fine with the faster drives. However, you'll be capped to ATA33 speeds because of this. The 40-pin, 80-wire cables are required if you have devices that are capable of faster speeds. However, since you didn't seem to have this problem before, I'm leaning on my original assessment of it being the SATA -> PATA converter being the issue. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

17-10-2004, 07:07 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
AlmightyBob Geek Trainee Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Status: Offline	Hey, thanks for the replys. So how does a controller card work; is it something which connects via a PCI slot? And about using an 80-conductor ribbon..when I boot, it says 'no 80 conductor cable installed' - although there is no cable at all because the adapter slots directly into the IDE port...would this imply that a couple of pins on the adapter are faulty?

18-10-2004, 12:02 AM	#7 (permalink) Top
AlmightyBob Geek Trainee Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Status: Offline	Nope, I wasn't having the problem before- so it seems that I'll have to buy a new card, as opposed to something simpler like updating the bios. Ah well. I've had a quick browse for SATA controllers, and some of them are fairly cheap which leads to an obvious question- if they allow you to use a SATA drive on a non-serial mboard, and they don't even taken up an IDE port, what's the point of adapters in the first place? Is there some catch? Thanks

18-10-2004, 05:09 PM	#9 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Online My Computer	Man, all these HDD threads...I should do an article to address this stuff. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

18-10-2004, 09:50 PM	#10 (permalink) Top
AlmightyBob Geek Trainee Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Status: Offline	Thanks dudes. Does this sound like a good bet? http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...roductID=97663 Just a quick question: if I'm booting from the sata drive which is connected via PCI, what do I select in the bios as the first boot device? To my memory there is no option for 'boot from PCI' or similar.

18-10-2004, 10:03 PM	#11 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Online My Computer	Look for a "Boot Other Device" and see what you come up with. Off-hand, I'm not familiar with Chaintech's offerings, but if they follow other motherboard manufacturers, they should have something about booting off an extra device somewhere. You will want to install the highpoint card first before you switch the drive over to the controller. Or you could just reinstall Windows...but, that's really unnecessary. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

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