slow hard drive?

condar_1 · 2008-03-22, 01:13

I hope someone here has some experience with this.
I'm running MP on a p4 2.4 with 1 gig ram. Windows XP pro. (2) 80 gig drives.

Here is the problem I'm running into....

If I load a file on the main hard drive (c) it works ok. Doesn't matter if it's music or movie.
If I stream the file across the wireless network from another PC, it works ok. Doesn't matter if it's music or movie.
If I load a file on the secondary storage drive (e) the video or music seems to skip.

I think I have both hard drives on the same IDE bus and the DVD rom on the IDE2 bus.

Should I try to but the hard drives on separate controller busses? Anyone think this would help out or am I overlooking something simple?

Thanks for the help.

Paranoid Delusion · 2008-03-22, 01:50

Both HDD's should be on seperate ide cables, just link cd drive as a slave.

Should speed things up nicely.

condar_1 · 2008-03-22, 02:04

Thanks Paranoid.

I will open up the case and swap it over in a little bit. I do hope this helps...

Now what about mutiple drive? In conjuction with upgrading motherboards and video cards (yeah, I know I'm running an older system), I was going to purchase (4) 500gb drive.

Is it ok to have 1TB (two drives) per IDE cable or should I setup some NAS (network attached storage) for these new drives? I don't want to buy 4 new drives only to find out that 2 (the slaves) are not useable.

I don't mind have the main system (with MP installed) setup as a "head" and then running another computer with something like FreeNAS or Red Hat and a few drives in it.

I'm just trying to make sure I make the right decision when buying drives and components.

It has crossed my mind to setup the P4 2.4 motherboard (1 gig ram) with FreeNAS and (4) 500gb drives in it.
Then use a dual core 2-3GHz for the front end system.

Any input?

I thought that a dual or quad core board and processor with 4 SATA 500GB drives would be able to keep up. On the other hand, if I need separate IDE or SATA connections for each drive, then would network storage (on a 1000Mbps LAN) be more effecient?

AlbertZeroK · 2008-04-13, 04:10

Get a big case with plenty of room and put in a couple SATA cards and load it up with SATA drives, that what I've done (well, some of my drives are external 750G Seagate Free Agent Pro eSATA Drives.) Then serve your media out, just make sure you have a switch and not a hub for yoru network.

Lil_Pete · 2008-04-13, 09:26

Although I noticed that using a SATA card rendered by DVB card useless, something about over-saturation of the PCI Bus.

I know it affects cards made by Nebula Electronics, has this been reported for any other cards?

Marcusb · 2008-04-13, 12:53

even a slave drive should have more than enough bandwitdh to play music and even video.
Is the slow drive set correctly (IE, jumpered to the correct setting)? or is there a problem with the drive? Maybe DMA is not active for that drive?

I'd get a benchmark app and see what it has to say.

AlbertZeroK · 2008-04-13, 13:03

Or run HDDSCAN (google it, it's free). and make sure the drive is not going bad.

2008-03-22, 01:13	#1 (permalink)
condar_1 Portal Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	slow hard drive? I hope someone here has some experience with this. I'm running MP on a p4 2.4 with 1 gig ram. Windows XP pro. (2) 80 gig drives. Here is the problem I'm running into.... If I load a file on the main hard drive (c) it works ok. Doesn't matter if it's music or movie. If I stream the file across the wireless network from another PC, it works ok. Doesn't matter if it's music or movie. If I load a file on the secondary storage drive (e) the video or music seems to skip. I think I have both hard drives on the same IDE bus and the DVD rom on the IDE2 bus. Should I try to but the hard drives on separate controller busses? Anyone think this would help out or am I overlooking something simple? Thanks for the help.

2008-03-22, 01:50	#2 (permalink)
Paranoid Delusion Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cheshire UK Posts: 6,619 Thanks: 129 Thanked 233 Times in 207 Posts Country: My System	Both HDD's should be on seperate ide cables, just link cd drive as a slave. Should speed things up nicely. __________________ Ray\PD Check your codecs are fine with Filmerit. XP\Vista known issues FOR FULL SUPPORT PLEASE GIVE USER SPECIFICATIONS AND RELEVANT LOG's as per HERE

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
my fault. oops	condar_1	MediaPortal 1 Talk	1	2008-03-22 01:17
Wiping hard drive	SmokeWatcher	Ongoing HTPC Projects	2	2008-01-18 01:13
Best Hard Drive?	Geon106	Hardware Selection Help	14	2006-10-08 10:17
standby, only hard drive shuts down	fera	General Support	1	2006-02-01 02:42
HARD DRIVE	speedypancake	Hardware Selection Help	7	2006-01-27 16:00

2008-03-22, 02:04	#3 (permalink)
condar_1 Portal Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks Paranoid. I will open up the case and swap it over in a little bit. I do hope this helps... Now what about mutiple drive? In conjuction with upgrading motherboards and video cards (yeah, I know I'm running an older system), I was going to purchase (4) 500gb drive. Is it ok to have 1TB (two drives) per IDE cable or should I setup some NAS (network attached storage) for these new drives? I don't want to buy 4 new drives only to find out that 2 (the slaves) are not useable. I don't mind have the main system (with MP installed) setup as a "head" and then running another computer with something like FreeNAS or Red Hat and a few drives in it. I'm just trying to make sure I make the right decision when buying drives and components. It has crossed my mind to setup the P4 2.4 motherboard (1 gig ram) with FreeNAS and (4) 500gb drives in it. Then use a dual core 2-3GHz for the front end system. Any input? I thought that a dual or quad core board and processor with 4 SATA 500GB drives would be able to keep up. On the other hand, if I need separate IDE or SATA connections for each drive, then would network storage (on a 1000Mbps LAN) be more effecient?

2008-04-13, 04:10	#4 (permalink)
AlbertZeroK Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Get a big case with plenty of room and put in a couple SATA cards and load it up with SATA drives, that what I've done (well, some of my drives are external 750G Seagate Free Agent Pro eSATA Drives.) Then serve your media out, just make sure you have a switch and not a hub for yoru network.

2008-04-13, 09:26	#5 (permalink)
Lil_Pete Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Age: 24 Posts: 27 Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Country: My System	Although I noticed that using a SATA card rendered by DVB card useless, something about over-saturation of the PCI Bus. I know it affects cards made by Nebula Electronics, has this been reported for any other cards?

2008-04-13, 12:53	#6 (permalink)
Marcusb Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,933 Thanks: 67 Thanked 28 Times in 28 Posts Country: My System	even a slave drive should have more than enough bandwitdh to play music and even video. Is the slow drive set correctly (IE, jumpered to the correct setting)? or is there a problem with the drive? Maybe DMA is not active for that drive? I'd get a benchmark app and see what it has to say.

2008-04-13, 13:03	#7 (permalink)
AlbertZeroK Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Or run HDDSCAN (google it, it's free). and make sure the drive is not going bad.