HDD problem

Have been having some problems recently with my brand new pc.
(Gigabyte GIK81100 MB)
SATA drive (Barracuda 7200.7) would not format. Was running ok one day and then would not boot up, and then not allow me to finish formatting - been returned to Seagate.

In the mean time my Maxtor Diamond 9 has been formatted and is now the system disc... however it is now underperforming!
It is running in Word-Read DMA Mode 2 ... not the DMA mode 5 I would expect. I also note that my Pioneer DVD drives (120 and A05) are also running under Word -Read DMA mode 2! although at boot up I notice they are listed as PMI 4! In System Hardware Manager they are all checked as DMA if available.

Anyway ... I have the latest BIOS, drivers, jumpers checked, XP Pro loaded (with SP1)... so I am at a loss as to what the problem might be ......

Can anyone help... offer some other advice on things to check

Please

Many thanks

Have you tried the drive as master on an IDE channel on its own? - it isnt clear from the post whether the 2 other drivers are on separate channels. It is normal for optical drivers to list as DMA2 and will sometimes limit the speeds of a HD on the same channel.

How confident are you that the mobo drivers have installed correctly? Didnt miss click on the unsigned driver warning pop up etc? Havent inadvertently downloaded an almost identically named different mobo's drivers accidentally? Are they performing at correct speed in other unrelated areas, 3DMark2001 correct etc? Sometimes drivers will ask you tick what parts you want to install.

thanks for your reply.
I tried the master on its own and no joy.
The drivers are right.
I might try and repartition the drive and see what happens.
What do you think?

r u sure u have installed the intel inf drivers?

Some chipsets are annoying and you have to play around in the registry to get DMA working right. Do a search for DMA registry settings or something like that.

I thought problems like this had become a thing of the past!

ok, thanks.I'll do that.

cheers,
ives