DVDROM PIO MODE only

[SaSi]

For the life of me, I never expected to post this

My DVDROM, a Pioneer 116, just decided to switch to PIO mode only. For 2 years or so, it was happily working in "Multi Word DMA mode".

Of course, cables are fine and correct, the HD attached on the same IDE channel is running in DMA mode and in control panel the settings for the DVDROM are "DMA If available".

Well, it appears DMA is not available any more.

I temporarily removed it and replaced it with a spare 20Gb disk that happily worked with UDMA on the same channel with the same cable. So, I don't believe it's a Motherboard or cable issue.

I removed the DVDROM from control panel and let Windows re-discover the drive. Reconfigured fine - in PIO mode.

Can this be a fault of the drive? Can it be that it is aged and won't DMA any more ?

Anybody seen this before?

[bazooka]

You may need to go into the bios and turn it on.

[smearbrick1]

Remove the IDE channel not the drive from device manager. After rebooting, the OS will reinstall the IDE channel and configure for DMA.

[Capmaster]

If that doesn't work, check for newer IDE drivers from the MB mfg. web site It could still be a MB issue - limited to optical drive problems.

[JSB]

Many tips HERE

JSB

[SaSi]

Thanks for the tips. I have not removed the IDE channel from control panel. Just the drive. I will try that too.

I am sure it's not a BIOS issue - I checked it.
It should not be a MB/Drivers issue as the DVDROM was working in DMA mode for a few months.
It should not be a cable issue - I replaced the cable with a brand new UDMA 80 connector one.
It could be that the drive is getting old and has developed a fault. Perhaps that's exactly what the fault is.

Perhaps it's an opportunity to get a new DVDROM. This one cannot read DVD+RW and DVD+Rs are read erratically.

I will post news when I do some more checking.

[SaSi]

Magic

I removed the primary IDE channel from control panel, restarted, Windows rediscovered the DVDROM (slave), HD (Boot Disk !) then the IDE channel, and operation on the DVD was UDMA!

Thanks for the hint. Although I just lost my excuse for getting a new drive. (Although it wouldn't solve the problem and would just add to my frustration...)

This must probably be a glitch (on of the many) in the OS. But of course it's not the only time when removing a device and letting the OS rediscover it solves a problem.

I just wonder how did XP boot without having a driver installed for the primary IDE channel or the Boot disk.