Additional HD causing Slow Startup

[patchez]

i've getting much slower startup times when i connect an IDE 250gb hard drive to my system. what tests should i perform to determine what is causing the slowdown? what can i do to make it load faster?

(all stock speed/fans)
CPU: E6600
Mobo: Asus P5B-E
RAM: OCZ 2gb DDR800
Vid: x1950xt
PSU: generic 450W
OS: winXP SP2

SATA: 2x SG 250gb HDs running in RAID0 (contains OS)
IDE: master = 16x DVDRW, Slave = WD 250gb (hardrive in question)

 

[JustJack]

You have configured your IDE channel incorrectly.

The fastest component should be the master. If, as in your case, you put the fastest as the slave it is limited to the maximum speed of the optical and hence the slowdown.

If you check the manual for your motherboard it should cover this. I've just checked one for a different mb and it confirms this.