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My HDDs keep on going into PIO mode. 2 coasters so far...
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JaguarGod
Senior Member
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13. June 2006 @ 19:37 |
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I am getting a wierd problem today with my PC. It seems that when I start burning a DVD, the Hard Drive all of a sudden goes into PIO mode. Then, the Device buffer in ImgBurn goes insane and the burn speed drops to about 1.8x. The DVD Burner is still in DMA mode, but the HDDs keep on changing.
Here is what I have done so far. I got two coasters (first time I got a coaster let alone 2 in a row...). I began to think it was the DVDRs. I was using CMC Mag DVD+R 1-4x burned at 4x (I have about 28 or so of these pieces of garbage left, so I am using them to do non-important data and movie backups).
After the second coaster, I thought that even if the discs are complete garbage, I should not get two in a row and the thing is that the buffer was going nuts and it just froze at about 42% complete. I checked the DMA settings and saw that both my Hard Drives were operating in PIO mode. Ok, so I uninstalled the drivers and rebooted twice. Now, I am back in DMA, well at least the primary drive was, but the secondary drive was still in PIO (not important now because that one is empty).
So I decided to burn another DVD, and at about 80%, the Device buffer was going nuts again. This time the burn completed successfully, but after the burn, I checked Device manager and I was back in PIO mode.
I am thinking a virus is possible, but are there any other causes? I would appreciate any feedback.
BTW, I also defragged before the thrid time just to be sure.
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dolphin2
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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13. June 2006 @ 23:50 |
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It's possible it could be the media. Do you have another brand to try? Other possible causes are bad ribbon cable, something happened in the BIOS (check your setting for DMA), and the IDE controller chip on the motherboard.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. June 2006 @ 05:00 |
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READ THIS AND GO TO THE HTTP
SYMPTOMS
After you suspending and resume your computer several times, hard disk performance may be reduced. If you use Device Manager to view the properties of the IDE channel towhich the drive is connected, the Advanced Settings tab may show that the current transfer mode for the drive is "PIO Mode."
CAUSE
After the Windows IDE/ATAPI Port driver (Atapi.sys) receives a cumulative total of six time-out or cyclical redundancy check (CRC) errors, the driver reduces the communications speed (the transfer mode) from the highest Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode to lower DMA modes in steps. If the driver continues to receive time-out or CRC errors, the driver eventually reduces the transfer mode to the slowest mode (PIO mode).
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;817472
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JaguarGod
Senior Member
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14. June 2006 @ 07:51 |
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I have Taiyo Yuden Media, but nothing I am backing up now is worthy of those discs.
However, I did burn two Memorex CMCs just before the Phillips CMCs (the phillips are the ones that crap out) and the Memorex had no problems.
The two things I backed up were Bloodrayne the movie and Bloodrayne 2 the PC game (the one that came with the movie). Is there some copy prevention on Bloodrayne 2 the PC game that could have screwed my PC?
I will do some testing on my other partition. I did a rip and that went perfect, but I have not done a burn yet.
@Ireland,
That was a nice find. I looked through it, but it tells me to contact Microsoft, which I will not do (they are on the list...). It is possible that the discs come from a bad batch and caused the 6 CRCs, only that ImgBurn did not show any errors. I noticed the device buffer behaving oddly and the slowdown. Then, if it happened early, it just froze and I had to reset the PC using the reset button.
Do you know whay the "After you suspending and resume your computer several times" could mean? I am not sure how to suspend and resume my computer or what that means.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. June 2006 @ 08:10 |
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this is what i would try..highlighted in bold
Go to
My Computer
Control Panel
System
Hardware
Device Manager
IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
Open the installed IDE channels (Primary and Secondary)
Click on Advanced settings
You will see the transfer mode. Change it to DMA if available. If any are PIO or stepdown dma you need to un-install the channel (right click on the channel and choose uninstall) and re-boot. Windows will reinstall the device and return it to DMA mode.
Be careful when using this procedure because if you have an older hard drive or storage device that does not support DMA you could corrupt your data.
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BlinkN
Member
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14. June 2006 @ 08:16 |
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Hey JaguarGod, I had the same problem last night when I was ripping a DVD. It reverted to PIO mode. Slowed the hell out of my drive. To remedy the problem, I use DVDFab Decrypter since it knows when the drives are running in PIO mode. Most of the times, the program gives you the option reset the drives back to DMA mode. This usually fixes the problem. But their are times DVDFab Decrypter doesn't always fix it. So awhile back, I found something online where someone created a visual basic script file that reverts both IDE primary and secondary drive back to DMA mode just by running the file. To bad I don't remember where I got the file from because it worked out nicely.
If you have some patiences, I might be able to find where I found this script.
:-)
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BlinkN
Member
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14. June 2006 @ 08:26 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. June 2006 @ 08:30
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JaguarGod
Senior Member
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14. June 2006 @ 09:32 |
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Thanks for that link. I am running my other partition now, so I cannot use it right now. It seems like only one partition is messed up. This leads me to believe I installed something or something was installed that screwed up my drivers. However it is only my Hard Drives, not my DVD Drives.
I tried the directions that Ireland gave me and after going to DMA mode, it reverted back to PIO mode after a while (80% into the burn).
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JaguarGod
Senior Member
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14. June 2006 @ 20:46 |
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Now, I can't even load the partition because it is so slow... Looks Like I am being forced to format and reinstall Windows. Oh well, it has been almost 6 months this time, so I am long overdue. Just gotta back up all the important stuff and try to get this done by tomorrow.
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. June 2006 @ 04:56 |
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I just want to comment about the link that BlinkN gave ..... wow does that go far beyond what is needed and it's a great read about Pio and Dma. I saved that link.... thank you.
Also, JaguarGod, I want to recommend System Mechanic Professional 6. Since I got this computer in April of last year I have had no problems with keeping my computer up to snuff and running as new because of this program. I highly recommend it. It does everything to keep my computer running like it came out of the box....... fast as new and no clog ups from windows!
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BlinkN
Member
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16. June 2006 @ 13:46 |
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No problem IHoe. :-)
Good luck to you JaguarGod. May your computer run smoothly. :-p
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