Conference giadev::decstation

7346.0. "Adding 2nd IDE Drive to Venturis 466 FP" by 26031::16.124.40.141::Diaz () Mon Feb 10 1997 13:32

I have tried unsuccesfully a couple of times to add a second IDE drive to 
a Venturis 466 FP.

Here is the config:

Venturis 466 FP with 2.02 BIOS
Windows 95 with SP1
20 MB mem
RE36D-E IDE disk (425MB)
Adaptec 1540 SCSI controller with:
two 120MB RZ23 drives
one RD42 CD ROM drive.

The above works fine.

The second disk is a 345MB RE24M-E that was configured in a 425SX LPv+ as 
master disk. I installed the second disk as slave in the first IDE 
controller (local bus).

I can install the 2nd IDE drive and everything recognizes it (FDISK, 
format and Explorer in W95), but it works extremely slooooooooow. Just an 
MD command to create a subdirectory takes about 10 seconds to execute.

I tried about everything: removed the SCSI controller, set the new disk 
as master with no 2nd disk, and still very slow.

Is there anything more to configuring the drives than setting the first 
disk as master and the second as slave?

I don't have any manuals for the RE36 and RE24, so all I have is that 
jumper J20 should be in for MASTER out for SLAVE. Anything else?

I've checked other notes here and in older PCs it seems that the master 
drive has to be aware that there is a slave. But the problem is the same 
if I install the RE24 as single/master disk.

Is there any place where I can get the manuals?

Thanks in advance for the replies

/OLD

    re: 26031::16.124.40.141::Diaz
    
    Octavio,
    
    Have you tried setting your IDE disks to PIO mode 0?  The older 345MB
    disk is probably incapable of mode 3 or better as the original disk is.
    
    /Bill

    Another advise passed to me by a HDD guru:
    
    Try setting the Transfer Mode to "Standard" in the CMOS setup. I think
    that the drive reports Mode 2, but will not support this mode without
    installing another jumper. This drive was not qualified at a transfer mode 
    of Mode 2.
    ----------
    
    Sam.

RE 1. and .2 Thanks, I'll try as soon as I have time, and I can get my 
son of Duke Nukem :-). Probably over the weekend.

I do recall that autosense returns PIO mode2, but I didn't try to change 
any that setting, since I didn't know what really meant. I did check that 
it returned the right cylinders, sectors, etc.

RE 2. Another jumper for PIO 2. Sam, by any chance do you know which one? 
Or where I can get my hands on a disk manual?

Octavio

Setting the transfer mode to STANDARD did it.

Thanks for the help.

Octavio