Looking for XStore Pro IDE driver.

[VulcanSoulPatch]

OK, here's the deal . . . I am looking for a new HDD and have my heart set on the Maxtor D740X 40GB w/FDB, unless something better pops up on my HUD anytime soon. Thing is, I have an ol' EPoX EP-51MVP3E-M mobo (yeah, I finally found the full name . . . on the cover of the manual! :redface: ). It only supports DMA-33. So, I was beginning to feel hopeless that I could not get the HDD I want. Then, I read a post by <b>Crashman</b>:

(I don't know how to do those nifty indented reply-to posts, so bear with me.)

<i>Re: How to find if mobo IDE supports UATA 33, 66, 100 (re: winglesslight)

It supports UDMA33. All newer drives are backwards compatable. Most UDMA100 drives do not exceed 33MB/s anyway except in cache burst.</i>

Cool! Now I should be able to support it!

I was bumming around the EPoX website the other day and found a link to this article:
<A HREF="http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Reviews/MBs/Epox/xstore.htm" target="_new">THE EPOX ENHANCED IDE BUS-MASTER DRIVER</A>.
However, by the info in the yellow box, you can see that I can no longer get it.
<font color=red>Does anybody happen to know where I can get the XStore Pro IDE driver by HighPoint Technologies?</font color=red>
This may be able to help me run any new HDD that I get just a little bit faster and satiate me until I can fork over the moola for new CPU/mobo.

Thanks in advance for the help.

VSP

<i> Thoughts are thinking; Thunk from knowing
<b> nwod </b> gniog em peek reverof sthguohT </i>

 

[VulcanSoulPatch]

I just checked the <A HREF="http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2" target="_new">VIA Arena</A> website and found what they call "IDE performance drivers." I am guessing that this would be what I am looking for, from VIA instead, of course.
<font color=red>Should I still attempt to find and use the HighPoint drivers based on the article or just use the new VIA ones I just found?</font color=red>

VSP

<i> Thoughts are thinking; Thunk from knowing
<b> nwod </b> gniog em peek reverof sthguohT </i>

 

[VulcanSoulPatch]

A-ha! It pays to view the readme file . . . lots of good info. From the VIA's IDE driver readme:

<i>"The VIA Bus Master IDE controller is a high performance Bus Master PCI IDE controller. This “VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Driver” distribution floppy is used to utilize the DMA operation of your Hard disk/CD-ROMs drives in order to release the I/O loading from the CPU. You could refer to the related section to install the driver individually."</i>

It seems that I am already using VIA's drivers, since they are included in the 4-in-1 updates. From <A HREF="http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=66" target="_new">VIA IDE Driver Guide</A>:

<i>"Both the VIA IDE Bus Master Filter Driver and the VIA IDE Bus Master Miniport driver are included in the VIA 4in1 service pack."</i>

I do not have the latest, which I just downloaded, but I will when I get home tonight.

So, I guess I am already ready already for DMAing (just figured out how to check for it in Device Manager . . . D'OH!). All I need now is to get a drive.

So, given what <b>Crashman</b> said about the hard drives and burst rates:
<font color=red>Will putting an UltraATA/100 controller card in my system make everything <b>noticeably</b> faster?
Or should I just run the drive off of my board's controller at DMA33?</font color=red>

EPoX makes one called the <A HREF="http://www.epox.com/html/english/products/motherboard/ep-dr02p3.htm" target="_new">EP-DR02P3 Ultra ATA/100 IDE RAID Controller Card</A>. I can get it for ~$20. <font color=red>Is it better to get a Promise card, or some other controller than this one, or will this fit my needs/system better/more easily?</font color=red>

Here's my rig:
AMD K6-3 450
EPoX Apollo EP-51MVP3E-M mobo
Hercules 3D Prophet II MX 32MB
Quantum FireBall 6.4GB HDD
SB Live! Value
Internal Zip 100
Samsung 32X CD-ROM (P.O.S.)
HP CD-Writer 9100
56K modem
Win 98

I know, lots of questions . . . again! Another VSP "stuft" post.

VSP

<i> Thoughts are thinking; Thunk from knowing
<b> nwod </b> gniog em peek reverof sthguohT </i>