ATA 100 PCI Controller

[jpeppers]

What is the best ATA 100 controller to get?

[canit]

MaximumPC tested the AMI Hyperdisk and the Promise FastTrack 100(both RAID) in the Oct2000 issue, and the Promise got the "KICK ***!" award.

[Roy]

Promise controllers are so good that other companies ~ IO Magic, for one ~ buy them and box them and sell them as their own. They don't even change the labels! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[Techie Dude]

No point trying to convince people it`s a product that it isn`t! Go for the Promise!

Excellent! Thats all I can say!

TD.

[jpeppers]

PROMISE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ULTRA100 PCI EIDE CONTROLLER 2CH 100MB/S BUS MASTER 95/98/NT/W2K
Channel Qty - 2
Max Storage Devices Qty - 4
RAID Level - None
Controller Interface Type - DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra)
Interface(s) Required - PCI
Supported Device Type - Hard drive, tape drive, removable media drive
Compliant Standards - Plug and Play
Data Transfer Rate - 100 MBps
Device Type - Storage controller - IDE / EIDE - plug-in card


What about this one?

[canit]

Nice card, there's a test of it in the Jan2001 issue of PCupgrade magazine(pg.16).

[jpeppers]

I got the card, but I do have a concern about the drives that are going to be on it. I have a Western Digital 40GB 7200 RPM ATA100 drive and a Maxtor 20GB 5400 RPM UDMA/66 drive. Will the transfer rates be independent per drive or will both drives transfer at the speed of the slowest drive.

[RobRich]

Each drive will operate at maximum performance, assuming you place each one as a single drive on each of the two controller channels. Other words, one drive per cable per channel. You can then utilize your m/b's integrated controller for your CD-ROM, DVD, etc.

Also be sure to drop by Promise.com to download the latest drivers.

Good Luck,
Robert Richmond

[jpeppers]

Now I'm having problems installing W2K. During install, I get a lot of application errors.

[nunyadam]

install it from your primary ide channel. once you finish switch it to your promise controler.

[jpeppers]

Thanks nunyadam, I'm trying it now.

[jpeppers]

Nope didn't work! During the copying of files, there were several .dll files it couldn't load. Any other options?

[AMD kicks]

My Maxtor Ultra ATA 100 PCI Adapter Card is a rebadged Promise brand but it doesn't mention anything about raid capability but it does have two available connectors for up to 4 drives on it.

[jpeppers]

Tried installing W2k without the additional 128MB Micron memory. Pulled it out after the installation and restart of the first installed files. No errors. The memory is Micron 128MB PC133 single sided memory. The original was double sided Micron 128MB PC133 memory. (256 total) Is there a rule or something stating that you can't mix single or double sided memory, or a bios setting to mix the two.

[Serge]

Read the Promise card manual.. says for Win2k you must have win2k installed and drivers for card installed.. before attempting to setup-up an hd throught it.

[jpeppers]

Not neccessarily, I set this one up during install. No errors. Actually tehy give you an option for existing installs or new installs.

[canit]

Did you partition and format using Fdisk/Format or third party software? The Promise site warns "serious drive geometry issues" using third party. Oh I posted this in Serge's thread(taken from Promise site), maybe it will help; Problem: Why is my Hard Drive not seen?, Why do I get the message "BIOS Not Installed", What is my CMOS Configuration?
Cause: Hard Drive Jumper Settings, Cable Issues, CMOS Configuration, BIOS Version, PCI 2.1 Compliancy, No Hard Drives attached to Ultra100 Card
Solution: The only reason that the Ultra100 BIOS will not install is if it doesn't detect a HDD. If you don't have a HDD connected to our card, connect one. If you do, check the HDD jumper settings and cabling. If your HDD is from WD, and it's the only device on the cable, remove ALL the jumpers from the HDD. If the problem still exists, contact tech support with the following information. What are the HDDs that you're using with the Ultra100? What is the jumper setting on each HDD? What is the version of the BIOS on the Ultra100? Make sure the HDDs on the Ultra100 are defined as "None" or "Not Installed" in the CMOS. Are the cables that you're using with the Ultra100 18" or less? Try switching the PCI slot that the Ultra100 is in. Try resetting the configuration data in the CMOS. This is usually an option in the PnP section of the CMOS. The only available settings for this option will be "Enabled" and "Disabled". Set it to "Enabled", save and exit, and reboot

[Serge]

OK, just installed WIN2k on the drive... the Promise card had problems when used with drivers that came with the card.

Went to their site (http://support.promise.com/Support/All.asp?product=ultra100) .. got the build 32 drivers.. now everything is fine. About previous post.. ya sorry.. ofcourse you can installe drivers during win2k install (F6).

[socalgal]

I've been at it for a couple days (and nights), so if anyone with the Promise ATA-100 has any new suggestions... I'd love to get this thing working.

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/Forum9/HTML/002830.html

Thanks http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif