Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

[Max Dread]

Hi all

I recently bought two Plextor PX-716AL drives ready to rip my CD collection. They are IDE drives. As I understand it I can either set them up as master/slave or as cable select. I'm not sure which is best...

But either way, what I'd like to know is whether it is going to be possible to rip CDs from both drives at the same time? In master/slave, can only one drive be used at a given time?

Does anyone have a similar set up?

I'm using a Intel DP35DP motherboard which has just the one IDE connector...

Many thanks

Max

[Spoon]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

The IDE interface is much faster than the CD drive, so it should be possible to run both at the same time on the same cable.

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

That's music to my ears... Great new!!!

Any thoughts on whether "master/slave" or "cable select" would be best?

[Spoon]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

1 master, 1 slave

[CaryB]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

Just to add to this, Master/Slave and Cable Select are basically the same thing. Setting to Master/Slave means you have to put the drives on the correct plug on the cable yourself. Example, the drive set to Master has to go on the Master plug on the IDE cable. If you use cable select on both drives, you can put either drive on either plug, and it will autodetect and set them correctly for you. Example, the drive hooked to the Master plug on the IDE cable will be the Master drive. I have used this setting for years with no problems. In fact, I once had a tower built with four IDE drives, all ripping at the same time, all set to Cable Select. Worked perfectly.

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

In addition to the cabling and drives (which are all set up fine now, thanks), I have another question.

If using more than one drive, do you have to have an instance of DBPA running for each drive? Or can you run multiple drives from within one instance of DBPA?

And is there a limit to the amount of drives you can use/the amount of instances of DBPA you can have running?

Cheers

[Spoon]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

You might want to check out batch ripper which was designed for multi drive ripping.

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

You might want to check out batch ripper which was designed for multi drive ripping.

OK, I'll do that then. If for whatever reason it is not suitable for my needs, I'll come back to this thread.

Does it have the same features, settings options, etc as the CD Ripper? Is the only difference the fact that it is designed for multiple drives?

Many thanks

[Spoon]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

Internally it runs cd ripper.

[CaryB]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

In addition to the cabling and drives (which are all set up fine now, thanks), I have another question.

If using more than one drive, do you have to have an instance of DBPA running for each drive? Or can you run multiple drives from within one instance of DBPA?

And is there a limit to the amount of drives you can use/the amount of instances of DBPA you can have running?

Cheers

Just FYI, I have run up to eight instances of DBPA at one time. It works perfectly, but gets confusing, and you need at least two big monitors to keep moving from program to program. I do use batch ripper, but I have it set to not start ripping till I check the Tags and Art. I'm real picky about both. So in effect, batch ripper runs all eight drives, but only starts ripping the CD when I approve the Artwork and Tags. Slows it down a little, but saves me going back and editing things later.

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

The IDE interface is much faster than the CD drive, so it should be possible to run both at the same time on the same cable.

Hi Spoon and others.

Just wanted to revisit this for a moment. I'm still experimenting, learning the ropes, and setting up at the moment.

I've been doing some test rips on one of the drives, whilst at the same time listening to a CD on the other using Foobar. What I've noticed is that the CD stops playing for a second or so when the rip starts, and stops playing again for at least 2 seconds when the disc is ejected (I have it set to auto eject). Does this imply that the rip is interrupting the playback of the CD in the other drive? If so, that is not a problem with regard playback (soon I won't be listening to CDs :smile2 But if both drives were ripping and this interruption happened, would it cause problems?

Cheers

Max

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

I've been looking into this on a couple of other forums. A couple of possible solutions are to use a SATA adapter for one drive, or an add-on PCIe PATA controller card for one drive.

Do you think either of these solutions would be ok from a ripping point of view. Would one be preferred over the other? Any other thoughts/solutions? Seems the more I read about it the more people warn against having two devices on one IDE channel.

Cheers

[Spoon]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

It is worth experimenting.

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

OK. Unfortunately experimenting does involve further expenditure (!!) if it means buying these converters/add-on cards. But I'll look into it some more and try to establish which would be the preferred option.

I guess in the meantime it would be interesting to hear whether you (or anyone) thinks there is a potential problem in the first place (based on the "CD stops playback when ripping" as described above).

The research continues......

Cheers

[Max Dread]

Re: Using 2 IDE drives at the same time...???

The IDE interface is much faster than the CD drive, so it should be possible to run both at the same time on the same cable.

OK, so the more I am looking into all of this the more opinions I am getting saying that two IDE drives on the same cable is asking for trouble. Damn!

I'll look into IDE/SATA converters/adapters and see whether that's an option. I'll ask Plextor whether they think the drive will have any issues being used with such an adapter.

One thing I would be interested to hear from you guys..... I understand that the Plextor drives have good DAE features. Things like good c2 error detection, the ability to overread, good caching features. Does any of this make any difference whatsoever when ripping a CD that is in AccurateRip and all tracks get matches? When that's the case, are all drives pretty much as good as each other?

Really want to get these drives set up right so that the project can soon begin, so any hep will be mightily appreciated.

Cheers