PDC20276 Bios 2.20.1.12

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

I'm running WinXP Pro SP1 with the PDC20276 on my GA-8IRXP mobo as an ATA
Ctlr for 2 UDMA HD's.

I keep getting out of date firmware messages in Event Viewer, - anyone know
if there's a more recent BIOS version that 2.20.1.12 for the PDC20276 chip,
and if so, where to get it.?
Gigabytes site doesnt list it, neither does the Promise site.. - I take it
2001 is too far back for driver and bios support.?

Any help deeply appreciated.
Cheers

--
...Out of Cookies, Out Of Coffee.. Out Of My Mind...

 

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Cookie wrote:

> I keep getting out of date firmware messages in Event Viewer, - anyone know
> if there's a more recent BIOS version that 2.20.1.12 for the PDC20276 chip,
> and if so, where to get it.?
> Gigabytes site doesnt list it, neither does the Promise site.. - I take it
> 2001 is too far back for driver and bios support.?

What is the exact event log message? (including the source)


-WD

 

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: ultra
Event Category: None
Event ID: 26
Date: Deleted
Time: Deleted
User: N/A
Computer: Deleted
Description:
The driver has detected that device \Device\Scsi\ultra1 has old or
out-of-date firmware. Reduced performance may result.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

As far as I'm aware this is a pretty common occurence with the PDC20276
onboard ide / ata raid chips but I've yet to find a solution in terms of
either newer WinXP drivers or an update BIOS for the chip.

I have two ATA100 Drives attached to the two PDC20276 slots, in general the
event viewer kicks off the fault after four hours uptime, then every hour
after that. Once it kicks in again, I'll post the source.
Many thanks


"Will Dormann" <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:go6dnfnz6KR9UpbcRVn-qQ@comcast.com...
> Cookie wrote:
>
> > I keep getting out of date firmware messages in Event Viewer, - anyone
know
> > if there's a more recent BIOS version that 2.20.1.12 for the PDC20276
chip,
> > and if so, where to get it.?
> > Gigabytes site doesnt list it, neither does the Promise site.. - I take
it
> > 2001 is too far back for driver and bios support.?
>
> What is the exact event log message? (including the source)
>
>
> -WD

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Cookie wrote:
> Event Type: Warning
> Event Source: ultra
> Event Category: None
> Event ID: 26
> Date: Deleted
> Time: Deleted
> User: N/A
> Computer: Deleted
> Description:
> The driver has detected that device \Device\Scsi\ultra1 has old or
> out-of-date firmware. Reduced performance may result.
>
> For more information, see Help and Support Center at
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
>
> As far as I'm aware this is a pretty common occurence with the PDC20276
> onboard ide / ata raid chips but I've yet to find a solution in terms of
> either newer WinXP drivers or an update BIOS for the chip.


If you're not experiencing any problems with the controller, I wouldn't
worry about it. I have a PDC20276, and I haven't upgraded the BIOS for
it or anything. Just because a certain amount of time passes since
the BIOS was created, that doesn't mean it's going to perform worse.


-WD

 

[cookie]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Thanks Will,

i think the main issue is that once this event kicks in, WinXP takes my HD
out of UDMA6 and puts it into PIO mode, which pretty much kills any
performance and often causes crashing out or hanging of apps which use that
drive for cache file or storage.

Agree that just because it's old doesnt make it any worse, I'm more
concerned with the effects of that message.

"Will Dormann" <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:wtCdnWpVjJjG-5HcRVn-tQ@comcast.com...
> Cookie wrote:
> > Event Type: Warning
> > Event Source: ultra
> > Event Category: None
> > Event ID: 26
> > Date: Deleted
> > Time: Deleted
> > User: N/A
> > Computer: Deleted
> > Description:
> > The driver has detected that device \Device\Scsi\ultra1 has old or
> > out-of-date firmware. Reduced performance may result.
> >
> > For more information, see Help and Support Center at
> > http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
> >
> > As far as I'm aware this is a pretty common occurence with the PDC20276
> > onboard ide / ata raid chips but I've yet to find a solution in terms of
> > either newer WinXP drivers or an update BIOS for the chip.
>
>
> If you're not experiencing any problems with the controller, I wouldn't
> worry about it. I have a PDC20276, and I haven't upgraded the BIOS for
> it or anything. Just because a certain amount of time passes since
> the BIOS was created, that doesn't mean it's going to perform worse.
>
>
> -WD

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Cookie wrote:

> Thanks Will,
>
> i think the main issue is that once this event kicks in, WinXP takes my HD
> out of UDMA6 and puts it into PIO mode, which pretty much kills any
> performance and often causes crashing out or hanging of apps which use that
> drive for cache file or storage.
>
> Agree that just because it's old doesnt make it any worse, I'm more
> concerned with the effects of that message.

Have you compared hdtach results both before and after that message? It
shouldn't be difficult to see whether or not it's in DMA mode.

I haven't experienced such an issue, but I'm on Win2k, FWIW.


-WD

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Cookie wrote:

> Thanks Will,
>
> i think the main issue is that once this event kicks in, WinXP takes my HD
> out of UDMA6 and puts it into PIO mode, which pretty much kills any
> performance and often causes crashing out or hanging of apps which use that
> drive for cache file or storage.
>
> Agree that just because it's old doesnt make it any worse, I'm more
> concerned with the effects of that message.


Also, make sure to check the drive for errors. If Windows experiences
a number of read/write errors with the drive (Either due to questionable
cabling or internal problems with the drive), I believe it will switch
to PIO mode for compatibility.

Run smartctl -a /dev/hd<n>
on your drive using smartmontools:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/smartmontools/smartmontools-5.32-1.win32.zip?download
to check the SMART status of the drive.

Or run the diagnostic utility from the drive's manufacturer.


-WD