Win2k w/ LG GCR-8520b... no DMA I have read the FAQ! Help!

[Secret-Ian]

Hey guys. I have had this problem forever and I just cant seem to be able to fix it:

Basically, my OS says that my drive is using DMA, but I dont think it is. I ran the nero drivespeed test and it showed the drive maxing out at about 18x, with 57% cpu usage at 8x!(of course I also noticed slow drive speeds when installing games or burning cds) This actually occurs with both my 52x CD-ROM and my combo cd-R/RW/DVD-ROM, both on the secondary controller, and they both give pretty much identical results. I also ran the nero infotool and it reported both drives as running in DMA mode, and it correctly detected both drives writing and speed capabilities.

I realise that many people make posts about this, but I have read them all (well I searched for "DMA" on this forum and readt like 20 different posts) and I have tried pretty much everything (the only thing left for me to try is switch the slave/master but I dont think it will make a difference Edit: I just did it and it didnt change anything). I have also emailed LG and ASUS and so far I havent been able to get it fixed... SO basically I am in dire need of help. At the bottom is a list of my full system specs. Anyways, here is a list of all the things I have tried to get it working:

1.) Checked device manager settings, and set it to DMA mode.

2.) Checked cable connections.

3.) Taken off the salve drive and using just the master drive.

4.) Reinstalled Nforce drivers (ver 2.45).

5.) Uninstalled & Reinstalled Secondary IDE controller.

6.) Edited the registry and deleted the IdDataChecksum files for both drives and restarted computer.

7.) tried different cds(Audio, Data 2- of each).

8.) Looked around in BIOS for DMA controls but found none. I asked ASUS if they knew of any way to change DMA settings in the BIOS and they never sent me a reply(Well thats not true, they sent me a reply telling me to update NForce drivers, even though I said in teh email that I had 2.45 :/)

9.) I tried switching from a regular black ended IDE cable to a blue ended IDE cable and no difference.

Thats all I can remember right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and here are my full system specs:

System Info:
Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4
Athlon XP 2500+ @ Stock
ASUSTeK Computer INC. A7N8X2.0 REV 2.xx (NForce2 driver ver. 2.45)
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS A7N8X2.0 ACPI BIOS Rev 1006
HL-DT-ST CD-ROM GCR-8520B (52xCD)
HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4480B (48x24x48CD/16xDVD read)
MAXTOR 6L060J3(60.04 GB)
512Mb PC3200 ValueRAM, single Channel mode (for now) CAS 3.0 4-4-7
RADEON 9800 PRO @ Stock (Driver ver. 6.14.10.6368)
IBM G78 [Monitor] (15.7"vis, s/n 55-K5150, December 2000)
Creative SB Audigy

[CDRecorder]

Welcome to CDRLabs, Secret-Ian!

One thing you might want to try is un-installing the NForce drivers. Just use the MS ones that come with Windows 2000. The NForce drivers themselves have been known to cause problems like this.

[Secret-Ian]

Hrmm. You mean just teh IDE controller drivers right? Cuz in the device manager it shows the IDE controllers as using the microsoft driver ver 5.0.2195.6717.

I dunno, I dont think the nforce driver set comes with its own ide controller driver.

[CDRecorder]

You're right, you are already using the MS drivers.

BTW, what DMA mode does Windows 2000 say that the drives are using?

[Secret-Ian]

itjust says "dma"

Maybe that is my problem though, I am not using nf IDE drivers... is there a way to just install nf drivers?

[CDRecorder]

I don't know for sure, but you could check for new drivers at NVidia's web site.

[club_ice]

Your drives might be just worn down. My LG 52x CD drive is still working, but won't work at the speeds it once used to. When I tried a Nero test on it I got high CPU usage and stuff like that too.

If you don't think that is the problem, update your motherboard's BIOS. I used to have an Asus K7V motherboard and CD-ROM wouldn't work in DMA in Windows 2000 until I updated it. Also in the BIOS make sure that the channel the CDs are on, are set to AUTO mode.

[Secret-Ian]

Yeah, sorry but I tried that (new BIOS) and no difference. That was actually one of the firsdt things I tried. My comp is in the shop right now though (im on my moms) so I cant try the different IDE drivers, but Im pretty sure that might be why they arent working... I dunno.

I aksed the guy in the shop to try a lite on cd drive in my comp to see if that one works at the regular speeds, so we'll see what he says...

[UALOneKPlus]

What's the diff between secret-Ian and not-secret-Ian (our Cdrlabs pimp)?

[Secret-Ian]

I dunno, I never heard of not-secret-ian, but I have been using this name for years as my account name on all kinds of forums and services...

[CDRecorder]

UALOneKPlus is referring to Ian, who is the administrator of this web site.