HD Speed with Via Apollo Pro 133A

[AdamP]

I have a Tyan Mobo. with the above mentioned chipset and I'm using the 4 in 1 driver ver. 4.43. I've noticed that WinXP shows that the UDMA mode for my two HDDs are below what they should be. For my UDMA 33 drive, it shows only mode 1 (should be mode two), and my UDMA 66 drive, it shows mode 3 (should be mode 4). I've heard this chipset has HD controller issues. Is there any workaround to get the full speed of the IDE interface for these drives?

Thx,
Adam
:t

[Peter M]

The chipset does NOT have IDE controller issues, that's a myth.

Give XP its service packs, check whether you're having the right kind of IDE cables there, and last not least look up what the board's BIOS is set to.

[AdamP]

Yea, I'm using XP SP1, and ATA66 cable. Are there any software utilities to increase the ATA mode?

[Peter M]

Apart from XP service packs and VIA drivers, you might research about the relevant registry entries.

[AdamP]

ok, thanks :)

[NDD]

Unfortunately, you can't remove 4in1 drivers ...
Delete all the entiries for you HDD controller in Device Manager, restart, let XP find it and install its own original drivers for it.
Generally you don't have to install 4in1 drivers in WinXP, unless you have problems you know for sure will be fixed.

[Amd4ever]

I have the same problem. The UDMA mode is always one level below where it should be at.

I've tried new BIOS's and new Via IDE drivers. Nothing works. I have 2 boards both with the Via Apollo Pro 133A chipset and it happens on both boards. It also happens on both Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

It's mostly a Microsoft feature/problem. Microsoft calls it a "feature" (not a "problem"). Windows 2000/XP plays it safe so if your hard drive has the slightest hint of a problem then it will run UDMA one level below what it should be at. Some people (on other message boards) have it worse than me. They have their hard drives running in PIO mode (no UDMA/DMA at all).

So I just decided to live with the problem. UDMA mode 3 is fast enough for me.

[AdamP]

Hey, Thanks AMD4ever. I loaded the Via miniport IDE driver and it still showed UDMA 3. However, when I ran HD tach it showed that the burst rate went up to 52.5MB/sec, vs. 39.5 MB/sec without it. But, my standby mode no longer worked and it stopped seeing my second CD-ROM drive so I went back to the standard drivers. Oh, well. :(

[Peter M]

Well if your burst rate was 52 MB/s, then it's certainly not at UDMA mode 3. This might be a mere display-the-wrong-number problem.