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is this normal?
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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3. February 2007 @ 17:21 |
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Hey all, I've been burning movies for almost a year now (it'll be a year at the end of April). Anyway, I used to be able to burn a movie in 25-30min TOPS!! Now, it's taking me upwards of 1hr and 20min just to decrypt them. Is this a normal phenomenon? After awhile do burners slow down this dramatically? I defrag my computer on a weekly basis, so I don't think it has anything to do with that (I still have about 77% free space on my hard drive as well). Any suggestions/explanations would be grealty appreciated.
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Moderator
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3. February 2007 @ 17:31 |
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Hi shygirl13
No it's not normal. It sounds like one of the drives slipped into the slow PIO mode.
This can happen after so many read errors - windows will keep dropping down the transfer mode until it hits bottom - pio mode.
So check that out. Here's a guide to show you & how to turn it back on.
link
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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3. February 2007 @ 18:18 |
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thanks for the link....tried it, my settings are still on DMA. But I have 2 primary IDE channels (is that cause I have 2 disc drives?). Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
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Moderator
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3. February 2007 @ 18:59 |
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Ok did you check all the ide channels - primary and secondary?
Depending on the pc they usually put the hard drive(s) on the primary and the optical drives (burners, readers) on the secondary.
Have you done a virus & spyware scan recently?
Another thing if you also haven't down recently is run a registry cleaner like the free ccleaner. Use the issues and cleaner options.
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 06:28 |
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yeah, I checked both the primary (2 of them) and the secondary drives. They are all still set on 'DMA if available'. I run AVG virus scan on a regular basis as well as Ad-Aware. I first noticed this problem over christmas (the last time DVDFab was updated). I was prompted to dl the latest addition and downloaded their 'trial' DVDFab Platinum. That's when all the slowness started. I figured it was related to downloading the new software, so I removed it and downloaded the free edition again. It was back to normal for like 2 days then suddenly started to be all slow again. Could it be that my settings have all gone to crap? When I backup older titles (therefore I only use DVD Shrink cause they're not encrypted like newer titles), it'll take about 45-50min (as opposed to the 20 or so mins like before). Hopefully this will make someone go 'I know what happened' and y'all can help me, cause it's getting really frustrating. Thanks
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Moderator
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4. February 2007 @ 10:42 |
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You still may have a drive in PIO mode - need to check 'current transfer mode' too - that's what transfer mode the drives will be in and DMA should be listed there too.
I'd run the registry cleaner too.
Check your settings in Shrink too - you may have one the quality settings checked and this will improve the quality and the time it takes.
When you click backup - click in the quality settings tab and see if anything is checked there.
Check that out and let us know.
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 14:47 |
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ok, so I ran the registry cleaner you suggested. Had a whole bunch of issues (course they won't fix all of them unless I pay).
I also checked the transfer modes. The first Primary IDE Channel has Device 0 as Ultra DMA Mode 5, and Device 1 as N/A; the other Primary IDE Channel has Device 0 as PIO Mode (can't select it or change it) and Device 1 as Ultra DMA Mode 2. My Secondary IDE Channel has N/A for both device 0 and device 1. Are any of these problems?
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 14:57 |
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forgot to mention, I checked the quality settings in Shrink.... nothing is ticked off in that section. Do you think if I uninstalled Shrink and DVDFab and re-install them it would fix things?
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Member
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4. February 2007 @ 15:58 |
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 16:37 |
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ok, sorry about my ignorance when it comes to computers, but according to those instructions, it says if under BOTH Device 0 & Device 1 in 'transfer mode' it says PIO mode, then uninstall my drivers. However, as I stated above, it only says PIO for my device 0 (under the second Primary IDE Channel -- by the way, why do I have 2 Primary one's?!? is it b/c I have 2 disc drives?). Should I still uninstall it? And would I uninstall it under my 1st or 2nd Primary IDE Channel? Man I'm green when it comes to this stuff. Thank god for you folks!!!!
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Member
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4. February 2007 @ 16:49 |
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There are some instances reported of the driver reading DMA but slipping into PIO mode. This can also cause the issues you talk about.
Do both drives, and yes it says primary and secondary because these are your two drives. Hope this helps.
Also as blinkie7 told me first...defrag...defrag...defrag. Burning frags up your drive.
Also: This two primary and one secondary thing does not sound right. Especially if you can not get to settings. I am not sure what to say about it. Hopefully one of the more knowledgeable folks than me will answer.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. February 2007 @ 16:52
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 16:55 |
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ok.... i'm really scared that this will completely mess up my computer. Are you suggesting I uninstall my drivers under all 3 (2 primary and 1 secondary)? Also, I don't know if this is relevant but I have a dell media centre computer.....
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Member
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4. February 2007 @ 17:21 |
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Keep reading the guide. It will explain it, but to reassure you. When I did it your machine reboots and the hardware is recognized by windows. Windows then asks you if you want to reinstall the driver then reboots again. Does this help? Do a search on this subject in the forum search box, I think you will see other's experiences with this as well.
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shygirl13
Junior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 17:30 |
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thanks, I'll try it when I get back home tomorrow. Off to bed now. Thanks again for all the help. I'll keep y'all posted.
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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4. February 2007 @ 17:43 |
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Here's the easy guide "how to". Go into Device Manager and uninstall both the primary and secondary channels. Nothing to worry about. Just reboot and Windows will pick them back up. It's a plug and play function of the operating system.
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Senior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 17:48 |
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shygirl13,
Your computer's mother board has an built-in IDE controller consisting of two channels (primary and secondary) which allow you to connect upto 4 devices having an IDE interface (two per IDE channel). These devices can be setup using the CS (cable select) setting or the master/slave setting on the unit.
Example:
IDE channel 1 (primary) can have two hard drives connected to it, one set as master and the other slave, or both set for CS using the the IDE cable supplied.
IDE channel 2 (secondary) can also have two devices connected to it, a CD ROM drive and a DVD burner, one set as master and the other slave, or both set for CS using the IDE cable supplied.
All of your drives (hard drives and DVD/CD drives) should be set to operate in DMA mode for optimal performance, if one or more of the devices sets itself to operate in the slower PIO mode, the backup process will be in some cases significantly slower. As binkie stated above "This can happen after so many read errors - windows will keep dropping down the transfer mode until it hits bottom - pio mode ".
A dirty/scratched disk which is hard to read correctly could cause this, you could also try and clean the optical drives lens using a cleaning disk, it may be dirty. Check all of your devices and see which one keeps reverting to PIO mode, if it's always the same drive, it could be an indication that the drive may be going bad and should be replaced.
Don't be afraid to uninsatll an IDE channel, it's safe to do so with out causing any harm to your system, the channel will simply be reinstalled on reboot.
Note: You can also choose to uninstall a single device (0 or 1) on an IDE channel as well, it will be reinstalled on reboot.
Here are some more guides (as if you need more :))
http://www.onthegosoft.com/dma_setting_nt.htm
or
http://www.burstcopy.com/dma/xp/
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. February 2007 @ 17:50
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Moderator
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4. February 2007 @ 18:37 |
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@shygirl13
ccleaner is free (freeware) - you should not receive anything saying that you need to pay for it to fix any issues. It's a good idea to keep the registry clean cause too much left over entries can slow the pc down too.
Your one drive on the secondary ide channel is in PIO so like the others said uninstall it - reboot and let windows do it's thing and reinstall. More than likely the reason for your slower times
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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4. February 2007 @ 18:43 |
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johnl123
Why the lesson on the IDE cables? If there is a problem with DMA-PIO, it is in the settings, not the cables, though cables could be a cause of the problem. As I pointed out, you uninstall those as settings in Device Manager, not physically uninstalling the cable. Here's all the directions needed to do so, no lengthy guides are needed.
To open Device Manager, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Double-click System. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. Double-click IDE/ATAPI Controllers, then right click and uninstall the Primary and Secondary IDE Channels. Reboot.
That's all there is to it. If the drives work faster, that was the problem. If not, keep looking. It only takes a couple of minutes to do this for the check. In Nero a person can check the drives to see if they're in DMA or not, but as Binkie pointed out, just seeing DMA if available doesn't mean the drives are in DMA.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. February 2007 @ 19:06
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Moderator
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4. February 2007 @ 19:03 |
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Well not exactly the settings per say but the chip & electronic circuits that control them if we need to get really technical here on how the transfer mode is configured.
Yes as we all have pointed out uninstalling the ide channel should do the trick. In this case the secondary ide being uninstalled should hopefully do it. From what I see johnl123 just gave pics nothing about the motherboard - just showing how it all fits together.
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Senior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 19:15 |
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@PacMan777
Quote:
ok, sorry about my ignorance when it comes to computers, but according to those instructions
What lession?, I'm simply trying to paint a picture to go with the words for someone who's clearly unsure as to how it all works (or at least this part), and where exactly do I state the the problem is with the cables (although it could be), and where do you see that I suggest they be removed?
Quote:
no lengthy guides are needed
What guide, and who are you to decide????
Edit: Hi binkie:)
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. February 2007 @ 19:16
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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4. February 2007 @ 19:17 |
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Excuse me for trying to keep the situation simple for a novice. We could go a few steps more and instruct on SATA drives as well. I mentioned both Primary and Secondary because drives on either can be in PIO. While in the Device Manager, it hurts nothing to uninstall both which will be picked back up on reboot. Normally optical drives are on the secondary channel, but I have seen them on the primary at slave as well.
Quote:
Well not exactly the settings per say but the chip & electronic circuits that control them if we need to get really technical here on how the transfer mode is configured.
I was talking about exactly what I meant. In the Device Manager we are looking at settings we can use to manipulate the channels and drivers, not the actual channels, drives, chipsets, drivers and the like. Like I said, use the Uninstall setting to uninstall the channels and then the Windows OS will pick them back up on reboot. A person can use Scan for hardware changes, but I prefer letting the OS pick up the channels with accompanying drives on a reboot.
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Senior Member
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4. February 2007 @ 19:22 |
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Got to get some sleep guys, take care all ;)
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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4. February 2007 @ 19:29 |
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Have a nice evening.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. February 2007 @ 19:30
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Moderator
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4. February 2007 @ 19:43 |
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I think we were all trying to keep it simple & help people learn.
Hence the reason I pointed to the guide in the 1st place. If you take a look it gives a good instruction on what DMA vs. PIO is and what to do to change it- i.e. uninstall the ide channel in PIO mode in device manager.
Many posters here think that if they see 'dma is available' under transfer mode that's ok. But as we all know it's really what's under 'current transfer mode' that makes the diff.
Ok I guess it's my bad - I try and explain WHY something happens along with how to resolve it.
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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4. February 2007 @ 20:23 |
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Binkie
I wasn't being critical and I was agreeing with you on DMA if available not being an indicator of whether DMA was actually on or not. That's just the mode we'd like to see the system set to. So we agree that shygirl 13 should realize that. Shygirl13 gave us the Transfer Mode but what we needed to know was in the box just below, Current Transfer Mode. If that had been asked we would know if the entire discussion was needed or not. If not in DMA, all she needs to do is follow the short instructions I included in the thread.
To open Device Manager, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Double-click System. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. Double-click IDE/ATAPI Controllers, then right click and uninstall the Primary and Secondary IDE Channels. Reboot.
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