2 hdds, 2 OS,diff speeds

[amasoun]

I have 2 hard drives in my computer (AMD ATHLON 5050e, ASUS M3N78-EM, 2GB Kingston 800mhz). hdd1 is WD 500 gb(named 00,11,22) and is 2 months old. hdd2 is WD320 gb(named 0,1,2,3) and is 6 months old.

I installed Windows XP pro on hdd1 when hdd2 was not attached to system. Then I attached hdd2 and installed Windows7 on it while hdd1 was not attached.
Then I attached both drives to system. I mainly use Windows XP. Sometimes when I feel like using Windows 7, I boot using hdd2. Its kinda easy having 2 operating systems without much mess. They have nothing common so even when Windows XP is corrupt, Windows 7 works like a charm and vice versa.

Butthe different between speeds of both the hard discs in both operating sytems is much much different. It is way way slow in Windows XP.
I am attaching few pics, 3 of bios and configuration and 2 pics of speed tests carried out with the help of Nero.

Speed tests:

Windows7 installed on 320gb

Windows XP installed on 500gb

 

[Hawkeye22]

Too me it looks as if both drives should be running slow as they are both running in PIO mode (PIO mode 4 in pic). They should be running in DMA mode.

Instead of leaving PIO in "AUTO" mode, disable it and see what happens. Once in windows, you may need to go into the device manager and remove all the drive controller, then reboot and let windows detect the correct settings.

 

[GhislainG]

Is write caching enabled in XP?

 

[amasoun]

Write caching is enabled. But why in Windows7 both drives are way faster than in XP? BIOS settings are same for both OS? I am going to try what Hawkeye says.

 

[amasoun]

Switched sata cables on motherboard, now both hdds are giving almost same speeds. Which PIO mode should I choose Hawkeye? 0 1 2 3 4?

 

[4745454b]

They shouldn't be in PIO mode, they should be in DMA. I don't see what he sees however that makes him think think they are in PIO. You can't tell from those screens.

They now run at the same speed? Fast or slow?

 

[amasoun]

Now they are running at speeds they were running on Windows 7

 

[GhislainG]

The BIOS shows all 3 modes that the drives support. They most likely use Ultra DMA-6.

 

[amasoun]

Please look at pic 2 and 3. wht does they say abt settings

 

[GhislainG]

If they were in PIO mode 4, then the transfer rates would be much lower. I see something very similar on one of my older systems (Ultra DMA-5 is the fastest for the ICH7R controller). Device Manager, IDE Channel, shows both hard disks running in Ultra DMA-5 mode. The OP can easily verify that both hard disks are using the Ultra DMA-6 mode.

 

[amasoun]

What can be done now? Aren't they already in Ultra DMA-6 as shown in 2nd and 3rd pic?

 

[4745454b]

Only way I know of is to look at the drive status in windows device manager. They will say what mode they are in.

 

[GhislainG]

They should already be in Ultra DMA-6, but if Hawkeye22's reply made you somewhat worried, just double-check the mode in Device Manager. Each IDE channel (Advanced Parameters tab) displays the transfer mode of the device attached to it, if any.

 

[Hawkeye22]

They shouldn't be in PIO mode, they should be in DMA. I don't see what he sees however that makes him think think they are in PIO. You can't tell from those screens.

They now run at the same speed? Fast or slow?

You are correct. I didn't notice that a couple lines below the PIO Mode 4 there is another line that reads Ultra DMA Mode 6.

OP: you will need to see what mode the controllers are running in via the device manager. Since most devices no longer use PIO, it is probably safe to disable it in the bios, although auto shouldn't hurt.

 

[amasoun]

Can someone else post their speed result taken with the help of Nero.

 

[Hawkeye22]

I don't own nero.

 

[Proximon]

I just want to mention how very different those two drives are. The JS models are like 6 or 7 years old, and the KX are around a year old.

JS ran hot also, and could be a bit noisy. KS are newer and run cooler and quieter.

I have owned all three, and indeed I think I may still have them all, and would expect the JS drive to be much slower than the KX, if everything else is equal.

I would be testing with ATTO and HD Tune though.

 

[amasoun]

Best answer selected by animal_he.