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baslinux - Re: [BL] Using ATA100 PCI IDE controllers in BL2

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  • From: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [BL] Using ATA100 PCI IDE controllers in BL2
  • Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:32:44 +0000 (UTC)

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

http://keesan.freeshell.org/bl/2.4.31/bzprosis.431
http://keesan.freeshell.org/bl/2.4.31/confprosis.431

A 2.4.31 kernel with built-in support for my Promise Ultra ATA100 TX2 PCI
controller card and also the onboard SIS controller of a 2.4GHz computer
given to us that appears to have some problem with the onboard controller,
producing transfer speeds of 3.2-3.5MB/sec. You can hear the hard drives
clicking away while you are waiting for a small file to load in DOS. This
SIS and another controller with the same problem are both marked ATA133.

To get the full speed, loadlin requires adding ide2=ata100 (if this is the
third IDE controller - disabling onboard controllers in BIOS may change
the numbering so watch dmesg). The default is 33MHz. Another site
suggested idebus=100 rather than ide=ata100. I have not tested speeds
with and without these additions to loadlin line.

I experimented and ide2=ata100 appears to have no effect.
idedma=66 or 100 slows the drive down by making it run in PIO mode.

Syschk, Spinrite, and hdparm give very different transfer speeds.

For onboard Sis controller, 2.5GB and 60GB drives:
Syschk: 11.9 and 12.4MB/sec
Spinrite 3.5 and 3.2MB (larger faster drive tests slower)
hdparm: 1.91 and 1.83 MB (" ")

hdparm with SIS5513 kernel: 9.2MB and 46MB

For add-in Promise controller:
Syschk: 22MB and 33MB (2-3X as fast)
Spinrite: 10M and 55M (burst 15 and 61)
hdparm with Promise kernel: 8.23M and 46M

Conclusion: if you have a fast onboard controller, it runs slower in linux than an ordinary controller unless you compile your kernel for it. Spinrite is probably not accurate here (with speeds of 55MB/sec), but the add-in controller is probably at least twice as fast in DOS (22 or 33MB instead of 12MB). There is very little speed difference between onboard and add-in fast controllers in linux (the slower drive runs a bit faster with the add-in controller). If using this computer primarily for linux I am better off with the onboard controller (and it saves an IRQ). For DOS the add-in card is probably better.

Ubuntu had the appropriate kernel for the add-in card.

I then tested another computer, with standard kernel, with one slower drive on primary master and one faster drive on primary slave:

Syschk 6.9 and 9.5MB (master and slave)
(primary master controller runs slower even with drives reversed here so I run linux off the slave drive)
Spinrite 3.9 and 9.3 MB (much better than the Sis controller)
hdparm : 4MB and 5MB (10% as fast as with the ATA133 controllers)

This board supposedly has an ATA100 controller, for which I will attempt to compile the module or kernel. It is using Uniform MultiPlatform E-IDE driver. Can I determine the controller other than by looking on the board or looking up the model online?

ide0 and ide1 use irq 14 and 15.

Sindi




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