W2K HD limits

[thetoe]

i have finally completed building my video edit system(it took about 18 months) and it's running great. here are my questions;

(1)i just bought a Maxtor 160GB HD and i found that i have these requirments-

PC
# Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP
# CD-ROM Drive
# Drives larger than 137GB require Windows 2000 SP3 or higher, XP SP1 or higher, or ATA/133 PCI card
# Available PCI slot for ATA/133 Card

should i upgrade to W2K SP4 from SP2 to handle the 137GB limit? i'm gonna use this drive externally with USB 2.0/Firewire - will this be a solution to the 137GB limit or will i have to go with the PCI card?

(2)if the USB 2.0/Firewire will work - should i use USB 2.0 so as not to interfere with the ADVC100 transfer on the Firewire?

can you tell me the best options?

thank you,
thetoe

[Ray Austin]

the short answer is upgrade to Win2k sp4.

Not sure if firewire has a size limit or not.

Firewire is sometimes Not recommended for A/V editing. It's not that it's not fast enough, but rather because it uses the PCI bus to move the data and will fight for bandwidth with what ever capture card you are using. Some will allow it and depending on what you are doing you may get away with it.

For optimum performance use the mobo IDE connectors there is no faster way to get data to the processor with out fighting with your add on cards for bandwidth.

[Dr Mordrid]

Speeds not a problem if you're using DV video (just 3.6 mb/s)with IEEE-1394 drives, but I would NOT recommend USB drives as they have much more overhead.

Analog video, especially if it's uncompressed, is another matter though and I would recommend internal drives or a RAID array for that.

NTFS has a theoretical max file size equal to that of the volume and Microsoft lists that as "far in excess of 2 terabytes".

Dr. Mordrid

[thetoe]

W2K SP4

in reference to Dr Mordid's system;

i remember in previous postings that you would not upgrade to SP3 because of the EULA, can i assume you did go to SP4, seeing you have 4X160GB drives running in your RAID config?

[Dr Mordrid]

SP4 isn't necessarily what gives you 48 bit LBA support.

Most times you get this through a mainboard BIOS update a BIOS update for your RAID or PCI IDE controller. In this case my RAID controller (a Promise SX-4000), like all of Promises recent controllers, has 48 bit LBA support built-in from the get-go. Most of their previous cards can be flashed to get it.

I did not go to SP4 because the EULA has not changed. Since everything's working just fine I see no reason to change my position.

Dr. Mordrid

[Ice Czar]

Re: W2K HD limits

Originally posted by thetoe
these requirments-

PC
# Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP
# CD-ROM Drive
# Drives larger than 137GB require Windows 2000 SP3 or higher, XP SP1 or higher, or ATA/133 PCI card
# Available PCI slot for ATA/133 Card

actually as Dr Mordrid pointed out 48 bit LBA support (on the OS side) can be manually activated in the registry

48bit LBA support for ATAPI in W2K
Enable 48bit LBA for ATAPI in XP

you should caefully review the registry key notes
it is of course esier to employ the Service Packs

in addition you need to apply the following patch in XP
vb doesnt like this url so cut and paste
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];331958
Hard Disk May Become Corrupted When Entering Standby or Hibernation or When Writing a Memory Dump

in addition when 48 bit LBA is enabled the corruption problem seems to effect drives less than 137GB as well
George Breese Explains Data Corruption on Large Disks by shaunpotts @ amdmb

in addition you require

either
you have a mobo BIOS that supports 48bit LBA
or
you use a controller that supports 48bit LBA
be it a IDE or RAID PCI card
or
you use Software Translation Drivers (Dynamic Drive Overlays)

Software Translation Driver Updates

(800 Series Intel Chipsets Only)
The Intel Application Accelerator (IAA) adds 48-bit LBA support for the 800 series Intel chipsets. Intel also provides information on how to identify your chipset.

Seagate Dynamic Drive Overlay

Maxtor Big Drive Enabler

Western Digital and Hitachi recommend a Controller card and do not offer a Translation Driver (Hitachi does point out the Intel Application Accelerator)







so, you need both hardware support (BIOS or Controller) + OS support
or
software + OS

there are several drawbacks to employing the software approach (see link)

Background Information:
HDD Geometry and Low Level Data Structures
HDD Geometry Specifications and Translation
BIOS Geometry Translation
HDD BIOS Translation Modes
Logical Block Addressing
Overcoming BIOS Size Barrier (Dated)
Software Translation Drivers (Dynamic Drive Overlays)
Many HDD manufacturers are using software to support drives over 137GB, when the mobos BIOS will not, this really can cause issues when trying to use apps like Ghost or Drive Image.

[Dr Mordrid]

The problems with software 48 bit LBA is exactly why I use either 48 bit PCI IDE or RAID cards. Some embedded controllers are now 48 bit, but there are still a lot out there that are not...esp. in legacy mainboards.

Dr. Mordrid

[thetoe]

should have read closer

# Drives larger than 137GB require Windows 2000 SP3 or higher, XP SP1 or higher, OR ATA/133 PCI card

simple solution to my question, i'm gonna go get a Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card.

thanks

[Ice Czar]

Re: should have read closer

Originally posted by thetoe
# Drives larger than 137GB require Windows 2000 SP3 or higher,
XP SP1 or higher, OR ATA/133 PCI card

Drives larger than 137GB require Windows 2000 SP3 or higher,
XP SP1 or higher, AND ATA/133 PCI card



or you can forego the service packs and just do the registry hack
and as mentioned a card isnt required with a mobo BIOS that supports it

Dr Mordrid you like that XS4000? Those damn thinks came out right after I bought my XS6000, I like the six channels but Id rather have double the cache

[thetoe]

almost there

i can't i find out if my BIOS has 48 bit LBA support anywhere.
but just so i'm clear on this, no matter what, i have to have SP3 or 4, or hack my SP2 registry. then i have to have a PCI controller card(IDE or RAID) that supports 48 BIT LBA.

like this?

Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card Retail
Satisfy your system's need for speed by adding four ports with data transfer rates up to 133 MB/sec.
Features
Up to 133 MB/sec data transfer rate
Compatible with hard drives larger than 137GB
Add four additional ports

or this?

PROMISE ULTRA133TX2 CONTROLLER CARD - RETAIL
Specifications:
ATA Device Ports: 2 (supports 2 devices per port)
Drive Support: Ultra ATA/133, Ultra ATA/100, Ultra ATA/66
PCI Bus: PCI 2.2. Supports 66MHz PCI bus motherboards
Data Transfer Rate: Up to 133MB/sec burst data transfers up to 266MB/sec burst across 66MHz PCI bus
Features:
Onboard BIOS
Large LBA Support (Recognizes drive capacities exceeding 137GB each)
Supports ATAPI
Operating Systems: Windows XP/2000/NT4/ME/98/95; Netware 3.12/4.1x/5.x

and then i'm in business?

orrrr, will just the card do it.

thanks

[Ray Austin]

NO! if you use an add in controller card that is all you need. The reason for this is it sees the device as a SCSI device. No registry hack or SP required.

OR SP / Registry hack. You could add in the card too, but it's not necessary as you applied the hack or SP.

That's why when maxtor started shipping these drives they INCLUDED free a add in controller card... since the SP they no longer include it free... MAKE SENSE?

I don't know how people can confuse this and print mis-information.

[thetoe]

good to go

thanks, everyone.

i'll have 160GB running within a week.