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Our 1.4GHz computer runs 8-20GB hard disks not at the expected 8 MB/sec or 
more, but at 2.5MB/sec transfer speed, with the onboard IDE controllers. 
So we put in a Promise Ultra100 controller card, which spinrite tests out 
as running an 8GB drive at 20MB/sec (30 with yellow cable) and a 20GB 
drive at 60MB/sec.

Even 1GB drives normally run at 5MB/sec or faster in a 500MHz computer.

DOS and Windows still boot, but even more slowly.  Windows cannot find 
enough free IRQs to use the downloaded driver because ACPI PCI IRQ holder 
(?) is using 14 and 15.  DMA controller is also using 15, I think.  Win98 
suggested a BIOS update to fix this IRQ problem.  The card got bad reviews 
and won't let you boot from CD-ROM drive.

Linux booted using the onboard controller, but with the PCI-IDE controller 
cannot open /dev/hda or any other hard drive when I boot with 2-floppy 
BL3, and won't boot at all from hard disk (BL2 ramdisk, BL3 loop, ext2 BL 
- boot process stops partway through).

I found Unofficial Asus A7V and Linux ATA100 Quasi-Mini-Howto, which says 
to look at /proc/pci and find the I/O lines and use the four addresses 
when booting with lilo and Redhat, which I hoped to adapt to loadlin. This 
section also tells you the IRQ used by each PCI device.

After getting the drives recognized by booting with ide2=0xXXXX etc., you 
are supposed to compile a kernel with a driver for the Promise card so it 
will run the drive 500% as fast.

If ide0 and ide1 onboard are disabled, is this still ide2 and ide3?

After booting 2-floppy BL3.40, there is no /proc/pci.  I have PCI sound 
and ethernet working in Win98.

Is BL3 supposed to have a /proc/pci?  BL2 ext2 has a long one.

What else might I try to make this computer usable with linux and hd?

Sindi
keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org