If you think that your IDE hard drives are slower than advertised you may want to check the transfer mode setting in the Control Panel or Device Manager to make sure it is set to the correct value.
Click on IDE ATA / ATAPI Controllers and right click the primary IDE channel (and secondary IDE channel if you have hard drives connected to it too) and select properties from the menu. Select advanced settings from the tab and check the setting under current transfer mode.
If you see Pio or a low Ultra DMA mode you might want to try the following fix to increase the speed of your drive(s).
Note: You should know the maximum DMA mode value of your hard drive. Windows reduces this value after six read or write errors and will not automatically rise it again. This could mean that your hard drives are running in a lower mode than they are capable of.
Fixing slow hard drives
The first option is usually faster and you should use it if possible.
Windows will re-enumerate the hard disk controller and reset the transfer mode of all connected devices to their default values.
Use the Registry option only if the method above does not work:
Restart your computer and look in the device manager if you see any changes. This method works well if you have problems playing DVDs and you experience a stuttering, or if you notice that your hard drives are slower than usual.
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Ghacks is a technology news blog that was founded in 2005 by Martin Brinkmann. It has since then become one of the most popular tech news sites on the Internet with five authors and regular contributions from freelance writers.
It seems that if you have a HD and a DVD in the same IDE cable, (master and slave) and if the DVD fails to read or write several times, windows automatic put both on PIO mode (a bug??)
i have problem with my computer,my hard drive goes very slow when i install windows7 with windows xp work fine.help me….
Martin Brinkmann, THANK YOU! Thirteen years after you posted the solution your instructions still bless others!
I followed them and my Toshiba Windows 7 is working fine again :^) THANK YOU, Martin Brinkmann!
You are welcome, I’m happy that it resolved the issue on your end!
There is no ATA channel in my computer.
oh my god it works, i did the second step and my drive is back to normal transfering, thank you and Merry Xmas, take care sir and thank you lovable much!