Storage Solutions strange problem with mobo n HDD...

[Trajan]

this probs has been for some 7-8 months now...

Suddenly one fine day when i switch on my sys, it takes ages to load... the Xp boot up screen takes a lot of time... the status bar(blue bar) goes for some 15 times before starting... even after logging in there is sooo much hard disk read for every operation.... like if i play an mp3 it breaks up while playing... even a normal video breaks and doesnt play well in WMplayer.... sooo much HDD read...

the first time this problem came i dint have a clue... then removed all hardware from the sys except for procy... then assembled it back and it was fine... then this problem wudnt appear for some 2 months and then it came back... this time i changed the IDE cables... cleaned ram and after all that the sys became normal.....

finally after a lot of time i have found the solution... the soln is simple... just exchange the IDE cables in the IDE port in motherboard.... and the problem wud vanish....
for eg. if i had IDE cable 1 (connected to HDD) to IDE 0 port in mobo and IDE 2 (connected to DVD writer) to IDE port 1 in mobo, i just connect IDE cable 1(HDD) to IDE port 1 and IDE cable 2(writer) to IDE port 0 and the soln wud vanish....

the problem is not with the combination of IDE port in mobo and HDD as if the problem comes again all i do is interchange the ports in mobo and it is solved.....

i have done this interchanging some 3 or 4 times... now as i have soln i want to find the reason for the problem.... the reasons that i cud think of is....

1. problem with IDE port in mobo
2. IDE controller is going crazy
3. some problem with IDE controller drivers
4. some problem with some chipset drivers...

what do u guys think the problem is???

 

[Mohit]

looks like the prob is with the board .. but still i would advice u to upgrade all your drivers and flash your bios to the latest build and install windows again n see .. also update windows with all the latest patches n fixes. this can be due to faulty drivers too.

also connect your devices like this ,
IDE 0 or Primary - HDD (set it as MASTER using the jumper)
IDE 1 or Secondary - CD/DVD Writer (Set it also as MASTER)

 

[Eazy]

Check in device manager that all Opticals and HDDs are running in DMA mode and NOT PIO mode. If any are in PIO mode most of the time all you need to do is uninstall the drive and restart XP and the drive will be reinstalled in DMA mode.

 

[Trajan]

Currently the HDD and opticals are running in Ultra DMA mode 2.

i was initially suspecting the mobo.... but then after swapping the ports both HDD and writer works fine... only after some 1 month or so i get the same problem...

Also for eg IDE0 is faulty in mobo and HDD is connected to it... and after i swap i connect IDE1 to HDD but the same problem comes after some time... but after swapping for the second time and HDD in IDE0 the sys works perfect.... thats what made me doubt that it is not a mobo problem....

Edit: Windows updates have been installed.... even updates that were relased last month have been installed...