VIA WCE X86 IDE Ultra DMA Driver Installation Guide
5/29/2000
Copyright (C) 1999,2000 VIA Technologies, INC.
1. Release note
This software package release is version 1.0. The IDE Ultra DMA
driver enables the enhanced IDE controller in VIA's south bridge
chipsets to support data transfer modes of Ultra DMA 66 (UDMA66),
Ultra DMA 33 (UDMA33), Multiword DMA (MDMA), and Programmed
Input/Output (PIO). It is capable of simultaneously connecting
up to 4 IDE ATA devices, including any combination of hard disk,
flash disk, SanDisk, and Disk-On-Module (DOM). A simple data
transfer rate IDE test utility program provides OEM's for quick
verification of device's operating transfer mode.
With VIA's FastBoot ROM Utility or FreeBoot Utility 1.1 or later,
the IDE driver is capable of preventing the primary partition of
an IDE booting device from any file insertion and deletion.
In addition the IDE driver permits OEM's to update files in
this protected partition, facilitating various applications,
such as persistent registry management, upgrades of system files,
and software package installation.
The driver operates on any Windows CE X86-based platforms using
VIA's south bridge chipsets, including VT82C686A, VT82C596B,
VT82C596A, and VT82C586B. The IDE driver works properly with
Microsoft Windows CE 2.12, and it should work for later
versions of Windows CE.
2. File descriptions
The package contains 12 files as described below.
\debug\VIAIDE DLL 60,768 05-24-00 18:55 driver debug version
\debug\VIAIDE MAP 43,926 05-24-00 18:55 debug map file
\debug\VIAIDE PDB 241,664 05-24-00 18:55 debug pdb file
\retail\VIAIDE DLL 22,881 05-24-00 18:56 driver retail version
\src\FB_WPROT C 2,085 12-30-99 14:46 write protection utility
source for using VIA's
FreeBoot bootloader
\src\FB_WPROT RC 2,810 01-03-00 18:37 RC source file
\src\RESOURCE H 679 12-30-99 10:44 H source file
FB_WPROT EXE 5,120 12-30-99 12:04 write protection utility
for using VIA's
FreeBoot bootloader
PLATFORM BIB 77 08-13-99 11:08 sample platform.bib file
PLATFORM REG 262 05-29-00 12:07 sample platform.reg file
VIAIDETEST EXE 6,144 05-10-00 16:10 simple transfer rate IDE
test utility program
README TXT this readme file
3. Feature descriptions
(1) Enhanced IDE storage controller
The IDE controller in different chipsets may support different
data transfer modes as described blow:
Chipset UDMA66 UDMA33 Multiword DMA PIO
VT82C686A yes yes up to mode 2 up to mode 4
VT82C596B yes yes up to mode 2 up to mode 4
VT82C596A no yes up to mode 2 up to mode 4
VT82C586B no yes up to mode 2 up to mode 4
(2) Determining device's data transfer mode
For all connected IDE ATA devices, the IDE driver takes
whatever device settings done by the BIOS, if there are any,
except that DMA-capable devices must be set in DMA mode.
If not, the IDE driver determines the actual data transfer
mode by detecting individual ATA device's capability and
the registry key. That is, the transfer mode for each
IDE device is upper-limited by the device's capability
and by the registry key value.
The IDE driver will automatically reduce device's transfer
rate from DMA to PIO mode upon the first occurrence of data
transfer error, which results in the enhancement of the
system stability and reliability.
(3) Write protection
With VIA's FastBoot ROM Utility or FreeBoot Utility 1.1
or later, the IDE driver is capable of preventing the
primary partition of an IDE booting device from any file
insertion and deletion. This write protection feature
enables OEM's to safely keep essential, read-only system
files on any IDE ATA booting device, without worrying
about them being accidentally altered by end users.
In addition, through VIA's customized IO Control interface,
the IDE driver adds extra flexibility in permitting OEM's
to update files in the protected partition. OEM's may refer
to a sample utility program (source code included) for
further customization, such as persistent registry
management, upgrades of system files, and software
package installation.
4. Assume the target platform is named VIACEPC and the
Windows CE 2.12 MAXALL configuration is used for an initial
evaluation of the IDE Ultra DMA driver. The on-chip IDE controller
must be enabled by proper BIOS settings. Step-by-step installation
and test instructions are described below.
5. Copy files to directory \Wince212\release
For a retail build, copy the following three files:
\retail\VIAIDE.DLL
FB_WPROT.EXE
VIAIDETEST.EXE
For a debug build, copy the following five files:
\debug\VIAIDE.DLL
\debug\VIAIDE.MAP
\debug\VIAIDE.PDB
FB_WPROT.EXE
VIAIDETEST.EXE
6. Update bib file in directory \Wince212\release
To include the driver into NK.bin, in the platform.bib file
add the following three lines:
IF CEPC_IDE
VIAIDE.dll $(_FLATRELEASEDIR)\VIAIDE.dll NK SH
ENDIF
A sample platform.bib file is included for your reference.
To include the write protection and the IDE test utility
programs into NK.bin, add two extra lines:
FBWPROT.EXE $(_FLATRELEASEDIR)\FB_WPROT.EXE NK
VIAIDETEST.EXE $(_FLATRELEASEDIR)\VIAIDETEST.EXE NK
7. Update registry in directory \Wince212\release
In the platform.reg file, add the following registry settings:
IF CEPC_IDE
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\BuiltIn\VIAIDE]
"Dll"="VIAIDE.dll"
"Prefix"="DSK"
"Order"=dword:4
"Entry"="VIAIDEReg"
"Keep"=dword:1
"FSD"="FATFS.dll"
"FastUltra"=dword:0
"Folder"="IDEDSK"
ENDIF
A sample platform.reg file is included for your reference.
The first 6 registry keys are mandatory and you may not
modify them; the rest two optional.
The "FastUltra" key confirms the existence of 80-conductor
cables and is used to enable UDMA66 for each IDE channel in
the presence of VT82C686A or VT82C596B south bridge chipset;
it is not needed for south bridge chipsets that do not
support UDMA66. Below describes this registry key's setting.
0 (default): 40-conductor cables used by both channels
3: an 80-conductor cable used by the primary channel
12: an 80-conductor cable used by the secondary channel
15: 80-conductor cables used by both channels
If you do not use the "Folder" key, the default folder name
is "Storage Card"; you may modify this string to suit your
needs.
8. Set the environment variable CEPC_IDE to 1, and then execute
"Makeimg" to build a binary image.
9. System boot
Four options are currently available:
(1) Using VIA's FastBoot ROM Utility
Refer to "VIA WCE X86 FastBoot ROM Utility User's Guide"
for system booting from an IDE ATA device with the write
protection option enabled. EPOX EP-MVP4A mainboard is
recommended for an immediate evaluation. The booting
IDE ATA device may locate at primary master, primary slave,
secondary master, or secondary slave.
(2) Using VIA's FastBoot MDOC Utility
Refer to "VIA WCE X86 FastBoot MDOC Utility User's Guide"
for system booting from M-Systems' DiskOnChip-Millennium.
The write protection option with the IDE ATA device may
not be available. EPOX EP-MVP4A mainboard is recommended
for an immediate evaluation.
(3) Using VIA's FreeBoot Utility 1.1 or later
Refer to "VIA WCE X86 FreeBoot Utility User's Guide"
Ver 1.1 or later for system booting from an IDE ATA device
with the write protection option enabled. The booting
device may locate at primary master, primary slave,
secondary master, or secondary slave, as specified by
the BIOS settings.
(4) Using other bootloaders
For example, use "LoadCEPC" to download the binary image
to your target platform with an IDE ATA device attached.
Note the write protection option on the primary partition
of a booting IDE storage device may be unavailable.
10. Basic testing
(1) Execute "Windows Explorer" to display "IDEDSK" file
folder, indicating the success in installing the
IDE Ultra DMA driver.
(2) Execute "VIAIDETEST.EXE," select one of the connected
IDE ATA devices and key in a duration of time for testing,
and then press the "Go" button. The measured data transfer
rate will display on screen once completed, which may help
OEM's quickly verify each device's data transfer mode.
(3) For users of VIA's FastBoot ROM Utility or FreeBoot 1.1
or later with the write protection feature enabled,
try to delete or save a file in that folder. An error
message of "Error Deleting File" or "Error Copying File"
will pop up, indicating the write protection feature is
enabled. Run the "FBWPROT" utility and press the "OFF"
button to disable the write protection feature; confirm
you could delete or save any file in that folder. Press
the "ON" button to enable the write protection feature;
confirm you could no longer delete or save any file in
that folder.
11. Known limitation with PCMCIA ATA cards
As a standard PCMCIA card specification, an X86-based target
platform is limited to two PCMCIA ATA cards. The PCMCIA ATA
driver will first use the secondary I/O port range in order
to avoid conflicts with the primary IDE drive(s) already in
your system. Therefore, three options are possible:
(1) Up to two primary IDE drives and one PCMCIA ATA card
(2) Up to four primary and secondary IDE drives and no
PCMCIA ATA card
(3) No IDE drives and two PCMCIA ATA cards
Note if your system has at least one secondary IDE drive and
you insert a PCMCIA ATA card, collision will not be detected.
Such a collision may result in data loss on your secondary
IDE drive(s) or the ATA card.
12. Trouble shooting
In case you encounter any problem, first connect the debug
port in your target Windows CE platform to a serial port in
your PC-based NT development platform, e.g. with communication
parameters {38400, n, 8, 1}. Make a debug build binary image
and download it to your target platform. Dump related debug
messages and then contact VIA's representatives for further
technical assistance.
13. Quality assurance
(1) The software package has been tested by the RWTEST program,
shipped along with Windows CE 2.11. The RWTEST program
performs stress tests for disk reads and writes. This
release passed all the tests.
(2) Use the simple "VIAIDETEST.EXE" utility program to verify
the data transfer modes of connected IDE ATA devices. The
test was done based on the following system configurations:
(a) CPU
Cyrix M II-366 GP
(b) Mother Board
VT5247B MVP4 reference board
(c) System Memory
64 MB PC-100 SDRAM
For your reference, the following table lists the data
transfer rates of 5 different IDE ATA devices that operate
in various transfer modes. For each device under test,
the result was averaged on running the test utility for
a duration of 10 seconds and six times. The results may
vary from system to system.
Transfer Rate (Unit: MB/Sec)
Device Model Company Size UDMA66 UDMA33 MDMA PIO
------------------------------------------------------------
MAVERICK540A Quantum 541MB 2.62 1.50*
DJNA-370910 IBM 9115MB 16.60** 14.00 6.51*
FireBall CR8.4A Quantum 8455MB 15.32** 13.82 7.02*
FD032-022 PQI DOM 32MB 0.96
SDP3B-32 SanDisk 32MB 0.45
* Data was measured by running VIA's IDE ATA PIO driver.
** 80-conductor ribbon cables were being used.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.