Some Windows setups are not setup properly for the hard disks and are
stuck in PIO mode instead of DMA. PIO mode is very slow and heavy on CPU
and hardware interupts. Every disk access seems to creates erratic CW.
The usual cause is a lack of proper drivers for the motherboard chipset
but every now and then it's just not detected and selected properly by the
Windows plug and pray functionality.
Try going to the device manager in the control panel and expand the IDE
ATA ATAPI controllers. Right click the Primary IDE Channel, then
Properties. On the Advanced settings tab check check to see if says PIO.
Repeat this for the Secondary if you have one. Change any PIO setting you
find to DMA or Ultra DMA.
Also, don't mix older hard disks and/or CDROMS on the same controller.
Some combinations can force a downgrade in the operating mode of these
storage devices that can also cause erratic and slow operation.
The above applies to all versions of Windows.
Dale
VE7GL
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