4 replies to this topic

[Marcin]

I have a strange problem with my Promise Ultra100 (first version) IDE card. When I connect a DVD writer to it I can hardly use it for writing. Alcohol is writing with a speed below 1x, while Nero hangs completely. While writing with Alcohol, CPU usage is above 50%. Reading works with no problems, up to 6x and no CPU.
I have tried 2 different DVD writers and got the same results. The same drives connected to onboard IDE with the same cable work fine.
Has anybody got any idea why this happens?

Windows 2000 Pro SP4
asus A7N8X nForce2 rev1 mobo (newest drivers + nvidia IDE) driver pack 4.27
Promise Ultra100 bios 2.20.0.14 with 2.0.0.42 driver
reporting the DVD writer connected and using UDMA
(but also saying "not installing Promise BIOS because no drives detected" (?))

[Jito463]

The message you get at boot about the BIOS is because no hard drives were detected. As for your DVD drive, I would not recommend using it on the controller card. They're best for HDD's, but not that good for opticals.

[Marcin]

I have 2 DVD writers, and I want them on separate IDE channels. I have bad experience with putting two optical drives on the same cable - for example I was not able to write on one while reading in the other. So if I was to attach them both to onboard IDE, that would shift my system disk to the ultra. And I remember _that_ giving me problems as well.
Maybe pairing ane HDD with one DVD would be a working solution...
Anyhow, do you have any more specific info on why the Promise is bad for opticals? (beside my own negative experience, that is). Just curious.

[NARS]

I saw sometime ago various threads on cd-freaks talking about these problems with promise controllers... there are people that says that controllers with Silicon Image chipset are good for optical drives, but I have no experience on it myself.

[Marcin]

OK, thanks for answers. The Promise was a waste of money then. Maybe I will find another IDE adapter somewhere.