Computer with Ultra DMA IDE Controller May Hang

 Last reviewed: November 26, 1997
Article ID: Q171353
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release versions 2, 2.1

SYMPTOMS

When you are running Windows 95 on a computer with an IDE (ATA) hard disk and controller that support Ultra DMA mode, the computer may stop responding (hang) while the hard disk is being accessed.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if there is a hardware error while data is being read from the hard disk. When such an error occurs in Ultra DMA mode, the Windows device driver does not successfully recover from the error and retry the operation.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2). An update to address this problem is now available, but is not fully regression-tested and should be applied only to computers experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft does not recommend implementing this update at this time.

This issue is resolved by the following updated file for Windows 95 OSR2: 

   Esdi_506.pdr version 4.00.1116 (dated 8/25/97) and later
To install this update, follow these steps:

  1. Download the Remideup.exe file from the online service listed below to an empty folder.

  2. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, double-click the Remideup.exe file you downloaded in step 1.

  3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

The following file(s) are available for download from the Microsoft Software Library: 

 ~ remideup.exe (size: 147096 bytes)
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services
The following files are installed by Remideup.exe: 

   File name     Version    Date/Time       Size    Destination folder
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Esdi_506.pdr  4.00.1116  8/25/97 11:16a  24,426  Windows\System\Iosubsys
   Voltrack.vxd  4.00.954   3/6/96 9:54a    18,518  Windows\System\Iosubsys
NOTE: The Voltrack.vxd file is installed on Windows 95 computers only. This file is not installed on computers running OSR2.

MORE INFORMATION

Ultra DMA, also known as Ultra DMA/33, is an extension of the ATA hard disk interface that allows burst data transfer rates of 33.3 MB per second (double the ATA-2/ATA-3 standard of 16.6 MB per second).

This new standard is supported by controller chip sets such as the Intel PIIX4 chip set.

For additional information about issues resolved by updates to this component, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q161642
   TITLE     : Auto Insert Notification May Prevent Automatic Suspend

   ARTICLE-ID: Q160800
   TITLE     : "Fatal Exception Error" with Iomega IDE Zip Drives

   ARTICLE-ID: Q154976
   TITLE     : Error Message Running Jet Database Engine Stress Test

   ARTICLE-ID: Q154436
   TITLE     : Errors Accessing Hard Disk with Spin-Down Enabled

   ARTICLE-ID: Q154435
   TITLE     : Windows 95 IDE Support for SMART, DMA, and ATAPI Tape
               Drives

   ARTICLE-ID: Q153471
   TITLE     : Problems with Removable IDE Drives in Windows 95

Additional query words: 95
Keywords : osr2 win95 kbhw kbfixlist
Version : WINDOWS:95
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: November 26, 1997
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