Hi there.

Quick question: In a PC with BIOS limitation, asuming you CANNOT get BIOS update, is it better to fit a PCI IDE card, or is it satisfactory to install a DDO package to overcome the on-board limitation?


G.

DDO is the cheaper option but personally I would avoid it like the plague and go for a hardware solution using a controller card.

I've been using DDO for years on 1st one then another PC.
Never been unhappy with it, always worked just fine.
Became aware of some limitations.
"Partition Magic" & "Drive Image" wouldn't work with it.
People advised me to fit a controller card, so I did that just a week or so ago.

GOOD NEWS
It's Ultra ATA 133 just like my HDD and I notice startup and shut-down in particular are noticably faster. Programs load faster.
A worthwhile improvement in performance.
I could now fit a possible of 8 drives. Or 4 each having their own individual controller, which could have very positive results.

BAD NEWS
I'm having some difficulty setting it up.
Had to zero-fill the HDD and re-partition and re-format and restore my backups [to eliminate the DDO].
But the new card still only sees 32 GB of the 80 GB capacity.
This could be because at some time in the past I used "MaxBlast 4" to "Set Hard Drive Size" to match the BIOS capability of my motherboard.
Now I need to undo that.
Asking Maxtor how it's done and they are suggesting I send the HDD back to their factory in Ireland.
No way will I do that unless they send me a replacement 1st.
I don't understand why they're suggesting this as a solution.

I don't understand why they're suggesting this as a solution.
Probably to do a TRUE low-level format on it. One of the problems with DDO is getting rid of it once it is on a drive. It sounds dead easy to run the original software and get it to remove the DDO but it doesnt always work out that way. That's also why I think your example of having problems with a controller card may not be fair comment since the problem may be with the previous DDO per se.

For a quick cheap solution DDO has its advantages but unless you are going to continue to run a simple set up on such a system a hardware solution is IMHO preferable.

ixl has the following to say on the matter:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/bios/overDDO-c.html

It'll be interesting to see what Maxtor suggest next.

What's the business of a "TRUE low-level format".
I think "PowerMax v4.21" offers a "Low Level Format" facility.
Why is that not "True"?

They cause some confusion, because they are often still called "low-level format" utilities.
from:- http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatUtilities-c.html

etc etc
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatLow-c.html

Thanks for all the replies - great stuff.
:)

I have decided.
I will buy an IDE controller - they are very cheap; we're only talking $35 or so(US$17 approx).


MM.