How to troubleshoot poor or slow ATA hard drive performance.
   Question
   
 
Poor or slow drive performance is usually caused by a system configuration factor and it is very rare that poor performance is directly related to the drive. In many cases, perceived poor drive performance is usually attributed to the results of a benchmark test. Benchmark results are very system dependent and the results can vary from system to system. For this reason, Maxtor cannot provide a single sustained-transfer-rate specification for their drives. To ensure that the system is configured for optimal performance, we recommend checking all of the following:
 
    * Run PowerMax.
    * Disable write verify.
    * Ensure DMA mode is enabled.
    * Check the BIOS settings.
    * Check that the drives are not in MS-DOS compatibility mode.
    * Use an Ultra ATA cable.
    * Defragment the drive.
    * Remove devices on cable.  
 
   Answer
   
 
    * Run PowerMax.
      The Powermax utility is designed to perform diagnostic read/write verifications on Maxtor/Quantum hard drives. These tests will determine hard drive integrity. The Powermax utility is effective on all ATA (IDE) hard drives with a capacity greater than or equal to 500 MB. Maxtor recommends the use of this utility for troubleshooting potential hard drive problems.
 
      Download PowerMax
 
    * Disable write verify.
      Maxtor hard drives are shipped with a “write verify” feature. The "write verify" feature is enabled to provide a basic level of protection against any mishandling of the drive during shipping. When Write Verify is enabled, the WRITE performance of the drive is affected as a read occurs for each write. This feature is enabled only for the first 10 power cycles after which the feature will be disabled. A power cycle is the normal shutdown operations of the computer, including turning the power off. To disable the feature you can power on and off your machine ten times or use the WVSET Utility (advanced users only).
 
    * Enable DMA Mode.
      Windows should automatically detect a DMA device and default to the speed of the hardware. However, there are times that Windows fails to enable DMA support. To ensure that DMA mode is enabled do the following:
 
      Windows 98/Me Operating System
         1. Get to "Control panel", "System", select the "Device Manager" tab.
         2. Double click on Disk Drives.
         3. Double click on the hard disk. The drive may be listed as "GENERIC IDE DISK TYPE" which is okay.
         4. Click on the “Settings” tab. The “DMA” checkbox should be checked.
 
      Windows 2000/XP Operating System
         1. Get to "Control panel", "System", select the "Hardware" tab, and click on "Device Manager".
         2. Double-click on IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
         3. Double-click on “Primary IDE Channel”
         4. Click on the “Advanced Settings” tab. Device 0, the master drive, should have “Auto Detection" selected and in Transfer Mode, “DMA if available” should be selected.
 
 
    * Check the BIOS.
      Make sure the drive is detected correctly in the BIOS. If your drive is ATA/UDMA 33 and above PIO mode should be disabled. You should have UDMA mode enabled if the setting is available.
 
    * Check that the drives are not in MS-DOS compatibility mode.
      If there is an exclamation mark next to “Disk Drives” or “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” in Device Manager it is very possible that the drive is running in MS-DOS compatibility mode. Please reference Microsoft article 130179.
 
    * Use an Ultra ATA Cable.
      Make sure you are using an Ultra ATA cable. The faster timing requirements of Ultra ATA/66 and above require the use of an 80-conductor cable. This is necessary for proper operation of UDMA modes 4 and greater. Most Ultra ATA cables look like the one below:
 
 
 
 
    * Defragment the drive.
      As applications and files are saved and deleted they gradually cause your drive to fragment. The files become scattered all over the drive instead of being optimized in logical locations. By defragmenting the drive it will optimize the drive performance. Windows has a program called “Disk Defragmenter” that will defragment your hard drive.
 
    * Remove devices on cable.
      In some cases, the transfer rate will default to the slowest device on the ATA cable. For example, if you had a CD-ROM (ATA 33) and a hard drive (ATA 100) on the same cable, the sustained transfer rate may only be 33 MB/s because of the CD-ROM. If you have a device such as a DVD/CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard drive etc. on the same ATA cable try removing it so that the only device on the cable is your hard drive.