Computer gets the sledgehammer soon.
I’m running a kt7-RAID (kt133) asus MB. My IDE controller on the MB (not the highpoint raid controller) has this tendency to recognize devices properly as UDMA devices, and configure them in UDMA mode - but then randomly, either between boots or during operation - will reset the transfer mode to pio-1.
I’ve been trying to copy stuff between my hard drives, and the new drive on the IDE cable has a tendency to start going slow as hell and lagging the computer to death. I went into the system manager and it confirmed: Transfer mode (under IDE controller properties) is “PIO”, even though it’s set to “DMA if available.”
When I originally installed this drive, it was “UDMA” and ran properly.
This has been happening with my cd burner on and off for a while. Usually if I detached the IDE cable, booted, shut down, reattached it, and redetected the hardware, it’d stay in DMA or UDMA mode for a while.
Anyway, PIO-1 mode is obviously totally unacceptable for a drive as fast as I’ve got - is there any way I can get this mode to ‘stick’? I never flashed my bios, but I’m using the latest via 4-in-1 drivers.
If they are on RAID, won’t they show up as SCXI ? then PIO and UDMA are meaningless.
I assume you are using W2K because I’ve had lots of problems with it and UDMA before. Somethings to do :
1> Download W2K SP3
2> A new Bios / Drivers from your mobo vendor
The drives on the RAID controller do show up as SCSI - although that’s a detection error of sorts. But those drives aren’t the problem - they run correctly at UDMA 5.
The problem is that I have a drive and cd burner on the non-RAID integrated motherboard controller. The board has 2 seperate controllers, and the latter is what I have the problem with.
And yes, I’m using win2k.
Just for kicks try what I did when my CD burner and non-RAID HD’s were acting up. Remove them from Device Manager, reboot, enter BIOS and turn off Plug and Play. Reboot, let Windows rediscover the devices and see how they work. If they are still acting all poopyheaded, re-enable Plug & Play and let Windows see if it can see your hardware in a new light. Worth a shot anyway.
Then try SP3 if you dare. 
This is a fairly common problem with motherboards that use the 4-in-1 drivers. Sometimes upgrading to the newest version of the drivers works, sometimes not. What worked for me was opening up the computer and switching the master/slave relationship of the devices on the affected interface.
Here are some threads from the VIArena message boards that offer other solutions for people with similar problems.