For some reason I cannot get any of my EIDE devices to function properly with two different motherboards, both VIA based. However, all of them function exactly as they should on my CUSL2. Here is the config:
Abit VP6 or MSI 694D Pro-AR
IBM 60GXP 40G HD
IBM 75GXP 45G HD
Plextor 16/40x CDR
Pioneer 16/40x DVDROM
Crucial PC133 CL2 256M
2xP3-750 w/GW FOP38
Matrox G450
Enermax 430 ATS P/S
That's all I have installed. Both serial ports and parallel port are disabled (don't use them anyway), USB is also disabled. I have tried several install combinations of win2k pro including the MS ATA100 hotfix, SP1/SP2, Via drivers, etc. Nothing ever works! The VP6 is the worst. It forces the Plextor CDR and 40G HD to PIO Mode 4 always, even the BIOS shows that - and yes I have tried several BIOS setups like UDMA enabled and disabled, etc. I have 8 ATA100 cables and swapping them doesn't make any difference either, I even tried connecting only one device per channel (both cable positions). The 45G HD will run ATA/33 with the MSI board, but never any higher. Having two devices on any channel seems to cause even more problems with one drive always being forced to PIO 4.
The raid controller on the MSI board allows the 46GHD to run ATA/100 without problems, but the raid controlller on the VP6 doesn't appear to work. I also bought a Promise ATA100 PCI controller which all of these devices work with on both motherboards.
So, obviously the problem is the 686A and 686B controllers on the two motherboards. I have spent several weeks on this problem and am very close to returning both motherboards (one I bought just for testing) and buy two more CUSL2's, but I really wanted a dual box.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions at all I would be happy to hear them. Oh, almost forgot, both hard drives get extremely hot when connected to the MSI board (???). Maybe I should just go 100% SCSI ($$$).
Abit VP6 or MSI 694D Pro-AR
IBM 60GXP 40G HD
IBM 75GXP 45G HD
Plextor 16/40x CDR
Pioneer 16/40x DVDROM
Crucial PC133 CL2 256M
2xP3-750 w/GW FOP38
Matrox G450
Enermax 430 ATS P/S
That's all I have installed. Both serial ports and parallel port are disabled (don't use them anyway), USB is also disabled. I have tried several install combinations of win2k pro including the MS ATA100 hotfix, SP1/SP2, Via drivers, etc. Nothing ever works! The VP6 is the worst. It forces the Plextor CDR and 40G HD to PIO Mode 4 always, even the BIOS shows that - and yes I have tried several BIOS setups like UDMA enabled and disabled, etc. I have 8 ATA100 cables and swapping them doesn't make any difference either, I even tried connecting only one device per channel (both cable positions). The 45G HD will run ATA/33 with the MSI board, but never any higher. Having two devices on any channel seems to cause even more problems with one drive always being forced to PIO 4.
The raid controller on the MSI board allows the 46GHD to run ATA/100 without problems, but the raid controlller on the VP6 doesn't appear to work. I also bought a Promise ATA100 PCI controller which all of these devices work with on both motherboards.
So, obviously the problem is the 686A and 686B controllers on the two motherboards. I have spent several weeks on this problem and am very close to returning both motherboards (one I bought just for testing) and buy two more CUSL2's, but I really wanted a dual box.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions at all I would be happy to hear them. Oh, almost forgot, both hard drives get extremely hot when connected to the MSI board (???). Maybe I should just go 100% SCSI ($$$).
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