[CentOS] DMA disabled on SATA disk with Core Duo/i955 machine (Inspiron 6400)

Tue Oct 24 22:50:23 UTC 2006
William Warren <hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com>

aha..that's probably a chipset support issue..<G>

first last wrote:
> --- William Warren <hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> wrote:
> 
>> interesting.  What server is this?  if you are getting tons of errors
>> i 
>> am willing to bet you have a hardware problem.  have you checked for
>> an 
>> updated bios?  Also try something like fedora 6 or opensuse and see
>> if 
>> the problems persist.
> 
> It's not a server, it's a brand new laptop (Inspiron 6400).
> 
> Ubuntu works perfectly on it, so that's what I'm using until I can get
> CentOS working.
> 
> Just a minor annoyance and very understandable, considering that Ubuntu
> was released a year later than CentOS 4.0.
> 
> Gabriel
> 
>> first last wrote:
>>> --- William Warren <hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> I hve a PE sc430 running sata drives.  transfer rates are jsut
>> fine
>>>> and 
>>>> it show no DMA either.  I think the DMA transfers run just fine in
>>>> sata 
>>>> and do not need to be enabled by default.  Also some disk tools in
>>>> linux 
>>>> have not caught up to the sata revolution yet.  If your tests show
>>>> low 
>>>> transfers then you have an issue.  I have the type of transfers
>>>> during 
>>>> tests i expect so i think the tools are erroneously reporting dms
>> off
>>>> because they don't understand sata drives yet.
>>>>
>>> I get terrible data transfers and lots of errors while writing to
>> the
>>> disk.
>>>
>>> Well, it seems that I will have to wait until CentOS 5 beta :)
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Gabriel
>>>
>>>> first last wrote:
>>>>> --- James Pearson <james-p at moving-picture.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 23/10/06, first last <prelude_2_murder at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>> I am trying to use CentOS 4 on this machine and it does not
>> allow
>>>>>> me to
>>>>>>> set DMA to 1, it just says that it is not possible. I have
>> tried
>>>>>>> updating to the latest release and it still won't work.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have searched for it on Google and there is a thread
>> mentioning
>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> same machine and CentOS, but none of the solutions (-p, -X 12)
>>>> seem
>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> work at all and there is no "it works!!!!!" message.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Is there anyway I can get DMA working or will I have to wait
>> for
>>>>>> CentOS
>>>>>>> 5? Will any of the "unsupported" kernels work? (I would try
>>>>>> Ubuntu's
>>>>>>> kernel on CentOS, as I am successfuly using that distribution,
>>>> but
>>>>>> it
>>>>>>> is a bit stupid not to use SELinux and it probably wouldn't
>> work
>>>>>>> either).
>>>>>> I don't think you can use hdparm on SATA disks?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I know some BIOS's allow SATA disks to look like IDE 'legacy'
>>>> drives
>>>>>> (/dev/hdX) - if this is the case, then the OS may be using the
>>>>>> generic
>>>>>> IDE driver and it might not support DMA.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If this is what you are seeing, then you might want to turn off
>>>> the
>>>>>> legacy or compatible mode in the BIOS and use the drives via
>>>> /dev/sdX
>>>>>> ...
>>>>> I think this is the case, but there's no way to change the
>> settings
>>>> in
>>>>> the BIOS (that's dell for you). Any way to force the system to
>> use
>>>> SATA
>>>>> instead of P-ATA?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>
>>>>> Gabriel
>>>>>
>>>>>> James Pearson
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> -- 
>>>> My "Foundation" verse:
>>>> Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;
>> and 
>>>> every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt 
>>>> condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and
>> their 
>>>> righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
>>>>
>>>> -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape"
>>>> CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician)
>>>>
>>>> Linux user #322099
>>>> Machines:
>>>> 206822
>>>> 256638
>>>> 276825
>>>> http://counter.li.org/
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>>>
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>>>
>> -- 
>> My "Foundation" verse:
>> Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and 
>> every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt 
>> condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their 
>> righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
>>
>> -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape"
>> CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician)
>>
>> Linux user #322099
>> Machines:
>> 206822
>> 256638
>> 276825
>> http://counter.li.org/
>> _______________________________________________
>> CentOS mailing list
>> CentOS at centos.org
>> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>>
> 
> 
> Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com 
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> 
> 

-- 
My "Foundation" verse:
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and 
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt 
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their 
righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

-- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape"
CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician)

Linux user #322099
Machines:
206822
256638
276825
http://counter.li.org/