[geeks] weird slowness??

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Jon Gilbert wrote:
> So I have this computer. It's a PC with XP Embedded (photo kiosk).
> 
> If the IDE ATA HD is hooked up by itself, it runs fast, and no issues.
> 
> If the IDE ATA HD is chained with the DVD-R drive then it runs sloowwwww 
> as hell. The drive read speeds seem to plummet, but it all works fine. 
> Just slow!! (I tried different DVD drives, and different IDE cables to 
> no benefit. The HD is in Master, the DVD in slave; the HD is on the end 
> of the cable then, there is a long stretch of cable, then the DVD drive, 
> then a short stretch of cable, then the motherboard. That's the only way 
> it will fit due to the weird case.)
> 
> Any ideas how I can solve this? It's driving me NUTS! Thanks!

Easy.  Don't put them on the same channel.  When there is a master and 
slave on the same bus, the slave can't talk without going through the 
master.  Also, when two devices are on the same bus, the bus defaults to 
the speed of the slower device.

It's one of the reasons to switch to SATA.

Peace...  Sridhar