The perennial question. How to best connect HD & DVD & CDRW to two IDE ports?

[uart]

OK, I know that for optimum inter-device transfer you need IDE devices on separate channels. So having the HD alone on the primary channel and the two optical drives and master/slave on the secondary is optimal for HD transfers. But then there’s the “fly in the ointment” of “on the fly” burning which works best with DVD and CDRW on separate channels.

So what is the best configuration if I want to do “on the fly”. Is it HD and DVD sharing primary or is it HD and CDRW sharing primary IDE that’s best?

BTW, The IDE controllers and the HD are all ATA100. Both the DVD and CDRW are ATA33.


[This message has been edited by uart (edited 05-20-2002).]

[jankerson]

The way I do it is first make sure the DVD is fast enough to keep up with the burner.

If the DVD is like a Lite-On 163LTD 16x then you are good to go.

I put the HD's on IDE 0 and the CDRW and DVD on IDE 1. Make the CDRW the Master.

I copy on the fly no issues and have always set mine up this way.



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[uart]

Interesting jankerson, thanks for the info. So you have no problems with "on the fly" when both DVD and CDRW on the same IDE channel. I think more and more people are getting away with that these days as the bandwidth of the IDE channels increases and the CPU power is there to back it up.

I'd stil like to know what other peoples preferences are for distributing those three devices across the two IDSE channels.

Thanks all. http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/smile.gif

[Luis G]

You shouldn't worry too much about it, most newer burners have some kind of burn-proof technology.

Leaving the DVD (master) and the RW (Slave) on the same channel has always worked fine with me.

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[butchsor]

Mine: http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/wink.gif

Primary M: HD
Primary S: CDROM
Secondary M: CDRW
Secondary S: DVD

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[NoBoB]

It still depends on how the data will flow most often. You'll have to figure out over which of the 3 "directions" (HD<>DVD, HD<>CDRW, DVD<>CDRW) data moves most often, and set up accordingly.

Myself, I don't see the need to copy on-the-fly, but it seems important to some. If it is to you, the right way is to place those devices across channels (the experience of some notwithstanding). Since the usual source of data to the burner is the hard drive, it would seem logical then to put the HD and DVD together, separate from the burner. That's how I'd do it if I didn't have the Promise card to spread my 4 devices across their own channels (Promise cards are real cheap, hint, hint).

You already know the answer to the question, really. Burning is different from HD transfers, because burns can fail (or, with BURN-Proof, take longer), so it's a different fly in a different ointment, methinks http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/smile.gif

[uart]

Thanks all.

Yes, on the fly is not really that important to me but this computer I'm building for someone else.

I was leaning toward putting the HD and DVD on the primary and the CDRW alone on the secondary. It's all a compromise though as it will slow down DVD to HD transfers. I might also give it a quick test with cdrw and DVD both together on the secondary and see if it will tolerate "on the fly" this way.

[Luis G]

Any newer burner should tolerate on the fly. It will just take longer.

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