Hack 63 Get the Fastest IDE Driver for Via Chipsets

Optimize your hard drive parameters for their best performance.

System boards that use Via chipsets (http://www.viatech.com) come with drivers for the many features of these boards, but one small program, known as the IDETool by Via, is often missing. IDETool is not a device driver but works with the Via chipset driver. IDETool runs in Windows and lets you view and reconfigure the I/O performance capabilities of your hard drives and CD-ROM drives. If you are using a current AMD CPU your system probably has a Via chipset, and there are Via chipsets for some Intel CPUs as well. The System Devices section in Windows Device Manager may also list Via devices to help you narrow down what type of chipset you have.

A typical Windows and driver installation will not have recognized and enabled advanced features such as the fastest DMA or multiword DMA performance levels the IDE interface and drives are capable of. Finding Via's IDETool is not easy, and it is not provided with every version of Via chipset drivers, so you need to visit the following URLs to find it:

• http://www.rettesoft.hu/ftpdir/DriversMK/via/Drv/IDE/open/IDE_MPD3014/

• http://www.rettesoft.hu/ftpdir/DriversMK/via/Drv/IDE/open/IDE_MPD3014/IDETOOL/

• http://www.tools.atrcomputers.com/drivers/Motherboards/GB-7VTXH/Chipset/VIA/IDE/IDETOOL/

IDETool installs as a small resident program, giving you access to and ensuring the performance settings you want when Windows is running. Figure 6-2 shows IDETool in operation, indicating all of the possible I/O modes and other parameters of the disk drive and the current operating mode.

Figure 6-2. Via's IDETool unlocks drive performance