1. Introduction

This document is intended to explain how to use Ultra-DMA aka Ultra-ATA aka Ultra33 and Ultra66 hard drives and interfaces with Linux. In many cases there is no difficulty in using them, but some tweaking can increase performance. In other cases, you need to go to extraordinary lengths simply to access your hard drives.

1.1 Disclaimer

The information in this is document is, to the best of my knowledge, correct, and should work. However, there may be typos, there may be mysterious transmission errors, and there may be strange incompatibilities within your own system that prevent the techniques described herein from working properly. So... before you go fiddling around with you hard drive, BACK UP ANY DATA YOU WANT TO KEEP! If you are not already performing regular backups, please start doing so for your own good.

1.2 Credits

Michel Aubry - UDMA-enabled VIA-related patch for <=2.0.33 & more info, grand unified UDMA patch for 2.0.34+

Andrew Balsa - Provided some general UDMA info and the udma-generic patch for Intel TX, SiS, and VP1 on <=2.0.33; also the grand unified UDMA patch for 2.0.34+

Maxime Baudin - French translation

Bokonon - ``Controller'' vs. ``interface''

John G. - VIA VP2 patch for <=2.0.33 & info

Martin Gaitan - Promise Ultra33 ide0/ide1 installation workaround

Andre M. Hedrick - current Linux IDE subsystem maintainer

Håvard Tautra Knutsen - Norwegian translation

Norman Jacobowitz - Bugged me to add info on the VP3

John Levon - Info on TX Pro mobos

Peter Monta - Info on using two Ultra33 cards

Masayoshi Nakano - Japanese translation

Gadi Oxman - The Promise Ultra33 patch for <=2.0.34 & finding the secret numbers for the workaround

Andy Pearce - Suggested adding info on the additional device files for hde-h

Andrei Pitis - LILO patch

Brion Vibber - The document itself

1.3 Document History

v3.0, 9 November 1999: Finally found time to update some key changes such as the relocation of the IDE patch archive to the Kernel.org archives... pesky school! Updated all sunsite links to new metalab.unc.edu or www.linuxdoc.org

v2.1, 27 May 1999: Corrects some minor omissions and errors from 2.0 and adds information on the Promise Ultra66 and 2.2/2.3 kernels.

v2.0, 7 August 1998: Major updates and almost total restructuring of the document into onboard (motherboard) and offboard (add-in cards) interfaces; the Grand Unified UDMA patch(a part of the Jumbo patch) for 2.0.35. Put credits in alphabetical order by last name. Changed ``controller'' to ``interface'' in many cases to be more technically correct. Added info on enabling/disabling UDMA, the blacklist, and more!

v1.45, 6 July 1998: Minor updates - Red Hat 5.1 and 2.0.34 patch for Promise Ultra33, LILO patch for booting off of PCI interfaces such as the Promise Ultra33

v1.41, 3 May 1998: Fixed a couple of typos, added translators to credits.

v1.4, 28 April 1998: UDMA-Generic patch, some more general info. Copying section added.

v1.3, 5 March 1998: VIA VP3 info, better patching instructions, pointer to more recent Promise patch.

v1.2, 27 January 1998: Additional Promise workaround info.

v1.1, 21 January 1998: New info about VIA chipset, installing around the Promise Ultra33, and enabling Bus Master & UDMA transfer modes.

v1.0, 19 January 1998: More or less complete, first version done in SGML.

1.4 Copying

This document may be freely copied and distributed for informational purposes. It may not be modified, except for reformatting, without the permission of the author. If you wish to translate this document into another language you may do so, however you should contact the author first so that updated versions of this document can be sent out to translators as well as directly to the Linux Documentation Project.