On 10 Oct 99, at 12:26, Mark Rode wrote:

>  >Another reason why you would want to do that is the IDE
>  >channels only operate as fast as the slowest device on that
>  >channel. By having the old slower HD with the fast new HD you
>  >limit the speed to the old HD's, and negate any faster speed on the
>  >new one.
>  >Dale Laluk / [log in to unmask]
>
> This had validity a very long time ago when IDE devices and their
> on board controllers were new technology. However this has not been
> true for many many years. Modern IDE controllers ...since Win95 and
> earlier....have no problem making distinctions between IDE mode
> types. and with a modern controller you can mix any IDE devices on
> a channel without regard for mode type or age of the device.

  I believe the elimination of this issue is far more recent --
around the introduction of UDMA.  It became less of an issue when
EIDE provided a second channel, and when newer CD-ROM drives started
supporting Mode 3 or 4 even though the fastest CD drives are barely
stretching the limits of Mode 1.
  But it was right around the introduction of UDMA that IDE/EIDE/UDMA
channels started being able to have their master and slave devices
using different modes.

David G

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