DV capture with two Hard Disks

[Erik.Madsen]

When I'm capturing footage from my DV camera a lot of frames are lost if I have two hard disks on my PC; if I disconnect the secondary HD the capture works fine.
(Please also see the thread entitled "DV capture via FireWire / IEEE 1394")

My system is a Compaq Presario 5861 with Win 98SE, and the video tool is VideoStudio version 6.

The standard system configuration is listed at
- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/g...name=c00034105
but I have the following changes:
Extra 128 MB RAM => total 256 MB RAM
40 GB Maxtor, 7200 RPM, as primary Harddisk
120 GB Samsung, 7200 RPM, as secondary Harddisk

The DMA setting at Disk Drives / Generic IDE Disk Type01 is enabled.


Any suggestions to what the problem may be?

Does it matter whether I use Cable Select (CS) or Master / Slave (MA/SL) on the IDE bus?

[CeeBee]

Try to connect you current master on the primary IDE controller and the current slave on the secondary IDE as master.

[CeeBee]

Also noted the other thread. Try *not* to do any conversion during the capture, save it at the normal reslolution. You can do further processing after the capture. Despite the fact it was suggested that the system specs are at the low limit, I tend to disagree, I have done such capture on a 400MHz K6-III with 128M RAM with no frames lost for the 18 minutes of capture (4GB file) that could be achieved by my software (current software can split the capture into several smaller files to break the 4GB barrier).
Also a good idea would be to disable any instant messenger and antivirus during the capture.

[Erik.Madsen]

Try to connect you current master on the primary IDE controller and the current slave on the secondary IDE as master.

I have now tried various setups.

My initial setup was using Cable select (CS) on the primary IDE:
- Primary IDE / Cable select, 1'st connector: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Cable select, 2'st connector: Samsung 120 GB HD
- Secondary IDE / Master: Optorite DVD RW
- Secondary IDE / Slave: Compaq DVD reader
In this setup all four units works but I have problems with capturing DV footage.

I tried to use Master/Slave on the primary IDE:
- Primary IDE / Master: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Slave: Samsung 120 GB HD
- Secondary IDE / Master: Optorite DVD RW
- Secondary IDE / Slave: Compaq DVD reader
Still the same, all four units works but I have problems with capturing DV footage.

I then tried to move the secondary HD to the secondary IDE:
- Primary IDE / Master: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Slave: Optorite DVD RW
- Secondary IDE / Master: Samsung 120 GB HD
- Secondary IDE / Slave: Compaq DVD reader
Now the capturing of DV footage was OK, but the Compaq DVD reader was missing. The Compaq DVD reader was present in the BIOS though.

Finally I tried to swap the two DVD drives:
- Primary IDE / Master: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Slave: Compaq DVD reader
- Secondary IDE / Master: Samsung 120 GB HD
- Secondary IDE / Slave: Optorite DVD RW
Now the capturing of DV footage was OK, but the Optorite DVD RW was missing. The Optorite DVD RW was present in the BIOS though.

It's strange, isn't it? Any suggestions?

[CeeBee]

Check the documentation of the Samsung drive, you might be using a jumper configuration for "standalone master". Force it as Master w/Slave if available, or Cable Select. Also be careful, the master drive should be at the end of the cable and the slave in the middle. If you are connecting the HDD in the middle, make it slave and the CD master. Safest config would be to set all your drives as Cable Select. Oh, are you using a 40pin/80wire cable on the secondary controller? (you should!)

[Erik.Madsen]

I have checked the Samsung HD, but it seems straight forward. It can be set to Master, Slave or Cable Select. There are no "standalone" or "master w. slave" options.

I have also tried using Cable Select on all four devices.
With this set-up:
- Primary IDE / Cable select, end-connector: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Cable select, middle-connector: Optorite DVD RW
- Secondary IDE / Cable select, end-connector: Samsung 120 GB HD
- Secondary IDE / Cable select, middle-connector: Compaq DVD reader
the Samsung HD worked correctly but the Compaq DVD reader was missing. The Compaq DVD reader was present in the BIOS though.
With this set-up:
- Primary IDE / Cable select, end-connector: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Cable select, middle-connector: Optorite DVD RW
- Secondary IDE / Cable select, end-connector: Compaq DVD reader
- Secondary IDE / Cable select, middle-connector: Samsung 120 GB HD
the Samsung HD worked correctly but the Compaq DVD reader was shown as a HD and didn't work. The Compaq DVD reader was present in the BIOS though.

Does it really matter which cable connector a device is connected to when using Master or Slave setting? It seems not as far as I have noted.

I haven't tried to use 40pin/80wire cables yet.

[Platypus]

Does it really matter which cable connector a device is connected to when using Master or Slave setting? It seems not as far as I have noted.

I haven't tried to use 40pin/80wire cables yet.

If you have two drives on the cable, their location should not matter when using Master/Slave selection. If you have a single drive, it should use the end connector, as using the centre connector alone leaves an unterminated stub, which can cause problems with high data error rates.

If you are not using an 80-wire cable, devices on that channel capable of higher transfer rates will be limited to UDMA33. Also, there is no certainty a 40-wire cable will be a cable select type, which could answer your drive malfunctions when you tried using cable select. If it is a cable select type, the centre drive will normally be Master and the end one Slave, as the original ATA specification got it backwards. This is corrected in the UltraATA cable specification, so you may find that not only will performance improve with 80-wire cables, but cable select may work properly too.

[Erik.Madsen]

I'm back at last! But I have been widely around in the meantime.

I have tried a 40pin/80wire cable, but that didn't do the trick. So I still use the original cables.

I have tried pretty much any possible configuration of my HD's and DVD drives, and during that I have noted that in in the Device Manager, an exclamation mark (!) is attached to the IDE Controller hosting the Samsung HD, and a "code 10" error is indicated.

I have now settled with this configuration:
- Primary IDE / Master: Maxtor 40 GB HD
- Primary IDE / Slave: Optorite DVD RW
- Secondary IDE / Master: Samsung 120 GB HD
- Secondary IDE / Slave: Compaq DVD reader

With this configuration the capturing of DV footage is OK, but the Compaq DVD reader is missing in the Windows Explorer.

I don't use the Compaq DVD reader much though, and I have found a way to make it appear when I need it!
- In the Device Manager I select the option "Do not use this device in the current hardware profile" for the Secondary IDE Controller.
- I reboot the PC.
- In the Device Manager I activate the Secondary IDE Controller again.
Now the Compaq DVD reader is present in the Windows Explorer, but only until the PC is rebooted next time.

I love my PC - it's just as unpredictable as my wife ;-)