This is a cut from the linky I put in my last post:
________________________________________________
How should I connect my hard drives and other storage devices?
ABIT advise that only hard drives should be connected to the HPT370 controller (IDE 3 and 4), which supports ATA 33, 66 and 100.
ATAPI drives such as CDROM, DVD, CD-RW, Zip, LS120 and tape devices should be connected to IDE 1 and 2, as should additional disks when IDE 3 and 4 are fully occupied. CD-DVD and CD-RW devices may perform best when each is connected as IDE Master. So, if you have a CD-DVD and a CD-RW, connect each one as the Master on IDE 1 and 2, and use slaves for other devices like the LS120, tape, Zip, etc. Ensure the DMA-box is checked for your CD device properties under System Properties. Set the BIOS for the four primary IDE channels to AUTO to see your ATAPI devices correctly on the IDE 1 and 2 ports. Note that despite Highpoint documentation to the contrary, it appears that many users are unable to successfully use ATAPI devices if they are connected to the HPT370 controller (IDE 3 and 4).
For RAID-0, Highpoint advise that the two disks be placed on separate Highpoint IDE controllers. Most people, however, achieve good speed improvements whether or not the disks are on separate controllers. You may wish to experiment - you don't need to reinstall anything if you simply move a disk to the other Highpoint controller - the Highpoint BIOS will successfully detect this.
If you want advice on how to go about the physical installation of your hard disk, I recommend you read the IDE Hard Drive Installation Guide at Sharky Extreme and the Hard Disk Installation Guide at Lost Circuits.
Note that your motherboard supports disks up to and including ATA/100 and also recognises the Cable Select option described in the guide. Almost all modern disk drives allow you to set the disk drive to "cable select" mode using a jumper on the back of the drive. This allows the drive to automatically determine whether it is the Master or Slave device by its position on the ribbon cable (Master if at the end, Slave if in the middle). Using cable select mode prevents one possible source of problems and is recommended (although a few users report better performance when selecting Master and Slave mode manually). If using cable select mode make sure that both disks on the IDE cable are set to Cable Select - failure to do so can result in corrupted partitions.
You should always use an 80-way cable with ATA/66 and ATA/100 drives. It is optional for ATA/33 drives, but may enhance reliability. Note that some people experience data corruption difficulties when using rounded IDE cables - this is usually due to the cable's length exceeding the IDE standard of 18". If you experience installation difficulties, try using the standard 18" ribbon cable supplied with the board.
See also the Highpoint HPT370 FAQ.
________________________________________________
Hope this helps ya!
-Sid
.
Facebook
Twitter