rec.autos.simulators

I upgraded from ribbon type ultra ATA cables to round, shielded ones today
and stages now load within 10 or so seconds, just like the other posters
indicated. CD loading times (same IDE channel) have also decreased markedly.

Amazing the kind of problem technology can hide from you (which this PC has
had from new, obviously). Any programs out there that can monitor error
rates on one's IDE bus?

Jan.
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Hey JAN,

 I think the program "Spin Rite" found at GRC.com possibly might been able
to detect errors as you wrote or read the drives, and stuff, however until
you mentioned it, I sure wouldn't have suspected the cable and I haven't
tried the app (they did that program that checked Zipdrives for the click of
death syndrome (aptly called click of death tester if I recall correctly).
Course I think the "PC wizard" that I learned much my PC stuff might have,
but maybe only had he known or seen the cable issue in person.

Didn't there used to be 40 pin IDE cables years ago? They are now 80
pin. Maybe Jan had one of the old 40 pin'rs.

MRSisson
--
LOAD "GPL",8,1
RUN

No.

Allow me to explain the config... on the primary IDE channel there is a
"mission critical", bootable 40GB 7200rpm top of the range (nearly 3 years
ago) Maxtor drive holding the operating system, office/productivity programs
and GPL as "master". As "slave" I now have a 7200rpm 120GB "mass storage"
drive (used to be a 80GB one, which is now powering a friend's machine after
his/my ex-Sony 40GB failed. Both are housed in 5.25" bays and have cooling
fans.

On the secundary IDE there's the SAMSUNG 4200rpm 40GB drive which holds my
other games like NR2003, F1C, Worms3D, Half Life, Medal of Honour, Trainsim,
BF1942 and RBR as "master" and my LG 40x DVD-ROM drive as "slave". The
Samsung is mouted in the 3.5" bays along with my floppy drive and without
extra cooling.

Both channels were connected by ribbon type, 80 conductor ultra ATA cables
(which came with the Maxtor drives) to my Asus A7v266E mainboard.

These ribbon cables proved extremely unwieldy and, seeing as I often swap
out the Samsung for a client's HD (for the purpose of data-recovery when
they're upgrading to a new PC), I waited for shielded, twisted pair 90cm
round cables to come down in price in order to replace them.

I got two of them along with the 120GB drive for 6,35- Euros +VAT each,
which I think is good value and, seeing as they incorporate shielding and a
twisted pair arrangement, they also provide an _upgrade_ in terms of RMI/RFI
immunity.

Anyhow, to test I went back to the ribbon type cable for my secundary IDE
channel, using the "known-good" ultra ATA ribbon cable that used to be on my
prinary IDE, only to find the excessively long loading times in RBR again.

So, in this case, housing this particular config, shielded, twisted pair,
round ultra ATA cables make the difference between minutes and seconds to
load a stage in RBR.

Strange, but true...

Jan.
=--

   That is Twisted Jan...
.
.
.
.
.dave henrie

Do not underestimate me, Mr Epstein... ;-))

I've been around for a long while and so has Mr. Henrie. I'm sure he doesn't
need me to post "LOL" to know I had a chuckle courtesy of his remark.

Jan.
=---

Hell I do the exact thing you do, but I do it with one of those drive trays.
I have 3 cartridges for it, my backup disk in one, and a "store dissk" and
an empty to fix machines I deal with on my off time.  Works awesome, as I
just set the jumper correctly slip er into the cart, then next boot I push
er into the case.  I also got me one of those USB 2.0 housings, with a 40g
storage drive in it, and at work (actually paycheck place) I use it to swap
HD's and stuff too.  usb 1.0 is probably as slow as your former cable
arrangement, but it works pretty nice and easy!

Jan Verschueren enlightened us with:
Snip