UDMA 2... wtf?

[Jason425]

OK, so they're the same model drive.. but I got the first one several months ago when they came out.. and got the new one just recently.. they look different.. but are the same model.. so take a look at the pic.. why is the first udma5 but the other is udma2?

[CiKoTiC]

Looks like either the software is reporting the drive wrong or Western Digital is pulling a fast one by remarketing old drives. :/

[Jason425]

when i was setting up the raid in the bios utility thing it said the first drive was ata 100 and the 2nd was 33... I figured that was so they could add up to 133.. or is there more to it than that?

[CiKoTiC]

I did a search for any Western Digital 80GB drives with "JB" in the model number that would not be ATA 100 and couldn't find anything. All of the current WD drives state they are ATA 100.

What I would do is check for any BIOS updates. Then I would check for any RAID driver/utility updates. Also, you might want to check VIA's web site for any FAQs or forums.

Also, see if you can find another utility that will identify the hard drives to see if it comes up with the same info. The only thing I can think of that might do it would be SiSoft Sandra.

Hope this helps. :/


EDIT: One other thing you might try... Call Western Digital and speak with Tech Support. If the drive is faulty, I'm sure they will replace it. You never know, you might get a better drive out of it.

[Jason425]

pretty sure i've got the latest bios.. and I just got the newest raid util the day I posted that pic...


so both drives should be running @ 100 even though they're in raid 0? i have sandra.. when I get home i'll see what it says, besides the poor benchmark scores...

[CiKoTiC]

I don't see any reason why the software would report anything other than what the drive actually is. Unless, the software is buggy.

I have similar drives in my computer running in RAID 0 configuration. Let me see what I can find out on my own computer and report back.

[Jason425]

it's via.. i'm not going to take anything for granted :P

[Uranium-235]

be sure you have the latest IDE (motherboard) drivers installed

[Jason425]

as in the chipset drivers?

[CiKoTiC]

Unfortunately, my windows RAID manager doesn't give any details about the drives. Just the status of the RAID. However, when starting up, I'm able to access the RAID controller and it does give the details. Both drives are reported as identical in model number and UDMA 5.

Can you access you RAID controller via the BIOS or during startup?

[CiKoTiC]

Are you using the latest VIA 4in1 drivers?

[Uranium-235]

^^exacly, 4in1 include IDE drivers, which define the access mode^^

[Jason425]

my mobo has an intel chipset.. it's just the raid controller that is via
i'll take a pic of what the bios says

[Uranium-235]

then install the latest drivers for your MB. Even if they are included in winXP, get the latest ones and install them

[Jason425]

I got the chipset drivers from intel from asus' site... + the raid drivers from them.. but thought those prob weren't good enough and got em frim VIA.. and I have latest bios too.

I'm starting to wonder... since there are a couple characters at the end of the model name that are diff.. (did newegg mislead me?)

(the manu date of the silver is aug 02 and the black is june 04..)

[CiKoTiC]

I noticed you have the drives masters on separate IDE channels. Mine are set up as Master and Slave on the same channel.

Check the PIO mode on the second channel in the bios and make sure it's set the same as the other channel.

[CiKoTiC]

Just thought about this.... are you using 80 pin conductor IDE cables on both drives?

[Jason425]

I did separate channels because I read that it's faster that way.. (aparantly not..) uhh.. well uhh.. isn't an ide cable an ide cable? are you suggesting I somehow got the floppy cable to work on there or something without noticing?

[Napster]

lol, floppy ide in a HD ^^ One of them must be an older model and can't support ultra DMA mode 5.. It is possible Newegg misled u, they misled me once...

[CiKoTiC]

lol, floppy ide in a HD ^^ One of them must be an older model and can't support ultra DMA mode 5.. It is possible Newegg misled u, they misled me once...

I seriously doubt Newegg is manufacturing Western Digital Hard Drive lables for the sole purpose of misleading their customers.



Most motherboards and BIOS detect wheather or not a 40 pin or 80 pin IDE cable is being used. Since newer high speed/capacity drives depend on 80 pin IDE cables for maximum throughput, they will resort or a lower PIO mode if a 40 pin is used.

If you want proof, just go to Western Digitals web site and look up the specs for that hard drive. Or, I can take a picture of my 2003 server when it boots up. It has a 40 pin IDE cable on it and it displays a warning when booting that a 40 pin is being used when a 80 pin is recommended.

Also, the only time you would use separate RAID controllers to configure arrays is for when you are configuring redundant arrays. I.E mirroring RAID arrays. When configuring RAID, the disks that consist of the array are on the same RAID controller.

[Jason425]

hmm... would it work if I just switched the 2nd drive back on the first channel?

[CiKoTiC]

It wouldn't hurt.

[Jason425]

well my score went up a bit with em on the same channel...


and omg.. they're both udma5 now.. lol.. another one of those weird things.. but thanks!

[CiKoTiC]

Glad I can help. :)