IDE chain question

[thiscloud]

Newbie question: What's the best recommendation for how to chain the following drives on two IDE interfaces:

1. Western Digital 120GB Hard Drive
2. Sony DRU-500A
3. Any DVD-ROM
4. Any CD-RW

I've read from some sources that two writable drives (CD-RW, DVD-RAM/+RW/-RW/etc) should not be mixed on the same interface. Can anyone explain the reasoning behind this?

[vbl117]

IDE 1 : 120GB hard drive master udma 100 , Dvd-Rom slave ( udma 33 , 66 or 100 ) . The hard dive containing the OS must always be set as master on the IDE channel 1 .
It should be better if you buy a DVD-ROM drive which uses udma 66 like Pioneer and Aopen drives or udma 100 like Asus E616 drive ( asus could be a perfect choice ) .
Remember that a udma 33 dvd-rom drive will slow your hard drive and will die quicker ( like a turtle trying to go as fast as a rabbit ) .

Why the Dvd-rom drive on the Ide 1 ? Two reasons :
- all data sources are on a ide channel , and burners are another channel . It is recommanded especially for burn on the fly
- there is no Dvd burners using a transfert mode higher than udma 33

IDE 2 : Doesnt know for sure . It is a problem of compatibility and REAL transfert mode .
My experience shows that burners often does not support really udma 33 ( though i have only installed old burners , 8X for example , perhaps recent burners support really udma 33 ) but are compatible with which is not the same .
So with win XP transferts modes are shown . The peripheral with the higher transfert mode must be set as master or you ll experience many problems .
Try Sony DRU-500A master and CD-RW slave ( else , if you experience problems , make the opposite ) .

If you try to use the two burners at the same time on the same IDE channel you can experience problems due to the fact that IDE channels are not designed for an intensive use by TWO peripherals .
The CD-RW has an anticoaster system , i dont know if the actual Dvd drives uses anticoaster systems .

Notice that the DRU-500A can burn cd at 24X ( 16X is good enough to burn a cd , speeds higher than 16X are not CONSTANT that s why they offers lower writng quality ) .
Perhaps you doesn t need an additionnal CD-RW ( unless you need a CD-RW drive with full of functionnalities , for example capable of copying advanced protections , like Lite-On drives ) .
If you only plan to copy audio cd , you can use the DRU-500 as CD-RW burner .

[BuddhaTB]

Primary Master: WD Hard Drive
Primary Slave: DVD-Rom
Secondary Master: Sony DRU-500A
Secondary Slave: CD-RW

Primary = IDE 1
Secondary = IDE 2

If that configuration doesn't work, then reverse the Sony DRU-500A and the CD-RW drive. Make sure to set everything to transfer in UDMA mode.

[eFrisky]

Remember that a udma 33 dvd-rom drive will slow your hard drive and will die quicker ( like a turtle trying to go as fast as a rabbit ) .

What?

We went through a similar discussion a while ago. Some of us were getting a bit behind on info
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 4523#34523

It's fine to use a UDMA 100 hard drive and a UDMA 33 burner on that same channel, as they choose their own speed; the burner won't "slow down" the hard disk. Of course, both cannot be access simultaneously as you note.
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/c ... rmance.htm

[thiscloud]

Thanks for all the input guys. The main reason I want to put in the CD-RW (it'll probably be a LiteOn LTD163) is to keep the wear-n-tear down on the more expensive DRU-500A.

[BuddhaTB]

Thanks for all the input guys. The main reason I want to put in the CD-RW (it'll probably be a LiteOn LTD163) is to keep the wear-n-tear down on the more expensive DRU-500A.

Lite-On LTD163 is a DVD-Rom drive, not a CD-RW drive. But it is a nice choice for a DVD-Rom though.

[thiscloud]

Lite-On LTD163 is a DVD-Rom drive, not a CD-RW drive. But it is a nice choice for a DVD-Rom though.

You're right of course. That is the DVD-ROM that I'm going to use. The CD-RW will probably be a Lite-On LTR-48125W.