Overview:

Poor or slow drive performance is usually caused by a system configuration factor and it is very rare that poor performance is directly related to the drive. In many cases, perceived poor drive performance is usually attributed to the results of a benchmark test. Benchmark results are very system dependent and the results can vary from system to system. For this reason, Seagate cannot provide a single sustained-transfer-rate specification for their drives. To ensure that the system is configured for optimal performance, we recommend checking all of the following:

• Run the SeaTools diagnostics utility.
• Ensure DMA mode is enabled.
• Check the BIOS settings.
• Check that the drives are not in MS-DOS compatibility mode.
• Use an Ultra ATA cable.
• Defragment the drive.
• Remove other devices on cable.
• Update IDE/ATA controller driver.
• Purchase Ultra ATA PCI controller card.

How to procedures:

• Run the SeaTools diagnostics utility

  The Seatools utility is designed to perform diagnostic read/write verifications on Seagate and Maxtor hard drives. Seagate recommends the use of this utility for troubleshooting potential hard drive problems.
  

• Enable DMA Mode.

  Windows should automatically detect a DMA device and default to the speed of the hardware. However, there are times that Windows fails to enable DMA support. To ensure that DMA mode is enabled do the following:

  Windows 98/Me Operating System

  1. Click on your Start button, and select the Control Panel.  Double-click on the System icon and click on the Device Manager tab.
  2. Double-click on Disk Drives.
  3. Double-click on the hard disk. The drive may be listed as "GENERIC IDE DISK TYPE" which is okay.
  4. Click on the Settings tab. The DMA checkbox should be checked.

  Windows 2000/XP Operating System

  1. Click on the Start button, right-click on either My Computer if using Windows 2000/XP, or Computer if using Vista, and select Computer Management.  On the left-hand side of the Computer Management window, click on Device Manager. 
  2. Double-click on IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
  3. Double-click on Primary IDE Channel
  4. Click on the Advanced Settings tab. Device 0, the master drive, should have Auto Detection selected for the Device Type, and in Transfer Mode, DMA if available should be selected.
     
     

• Check the BIOS.

  Make sure the drive is detected correctly in the BIOS. If your drive is ATA/UDMA 33 and above PIO mode should be disabled. You should have UDMA mode enabled if the setting is available.
  

• Check that the drives are not in MS-DOS compatibility mode.

  If there is an exclamation mark next to “Disk Drives” or “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” in Device Manager it is very possible that the drive is running in MS-DOS compatibility mode. Please reference Microsoft article 130179.
  

• Use an Ultra ATA Cable.

  Make sure you are using an Ultra ATA cable. The faster timing requirements of Ultra ATA/66 and above require the use of an 80-conductor cable. This is necessary for proper operation of UDMA modes 4 and greater. Most Ultra ATA cables look like the one below:

• Defragment the drive.

  As applications and files are saved and deleted they gradually cause your drive to fragment. The files become scattered all over the drive instead of being optimized in logical locations. By defragmenting the drive it will optimize the drive performance. Windows has a program called “Disk Defragmenter” that will defragment your hard drive.  For further information on how to defragment your hard drive in Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista, please see Answer ID: 184571.
  

• Remove other devices on cable.

  In some cases, the transfer rate will default to the slowest device on the ATA cable. For example, if you had a CD-ROM (ATA 33) and a hard drive (ATA 100) on the same cable, the sustained transfer rate may only be 33 MB/s because of the CD-ROM. If you have a device such as a DVD/CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard drive etc. on the same ATA cable try removing it so that the only device on the cable is your hard drive.
  

• Update IDE/ATA controller driver.

  Contact the manufacturer of the IDE/ATA controller to obtain the latest drivers if available. If the controller is integrated into the motherboard, contact the motherboard manufacturer who will often have updates on their website available for download.
  

• Purchase Ultra ATA PCI Controller card

  If your onboard ATA controller is slower than that of the drive, then the drive will drop down to the onboard controller’s transfer rate. You can bypass this by purchasing an Ultra ATA PCI controller card for your computer that has the same or UDMA mode. Please see our list of PCI vendors which are known to manufacture ATA and SATA controller cards.
  

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