RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-02-02, 14:27:

https://www.transcend-info.com/embedded/product/ssd/psd330

That's what you use. Not an mSATA to IDE adapter. It is designed to do EXACTLY what you need it to, with full performance. The 128GB version isn't even $200 dollars.

I just pray you were being ironic. It's an obsolete toy, for crying out loud!

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-20, 10:25:

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-02-02, 14:27:

https://www.transcend-info.com/embedded/product/ssd/psd330

That's what you use. Not an mSATA to IDE adapter. It is designed to do EXACTLY what you need it to, with full performance. The 128GB version isn't even $200 dollars.

I just pray you were being ironic. It's an obsolete toy, for crying out loud!

Apparently some people can afford to burn money.

mockingbird wrote on 2022-02-02, 18:29:

Here are my preliminary findings.

The Ableconn/Delock Marvell 88SA8052 does not work properly with DMA enabled on the ICH2. I tested it with two drives, one with a Linkmedia chipset and one with a Sandforce. The test platform was the ICH2 southbridge with the latest Windows 9x Intel INF installed for this platform (6.3.0.1007). I tested in both APM and ACPI mode. The symptom exhibited was that the mouse movement was slow, but I couldn't point that behavior specifically to read/write operations, since this did not happen during ATTO benchmarking, and ATTO benchmarking was perfectly fine with good numbers, despite this issue.

I then moved on to testing with a Startech IDE2SAT which uses the same Marvell chip. The chips look different though, the Ableconn has a 2021 datecode and the Startech a 2020 datecode. The Startech chip also has the Marvell logo, while the Ableconn does not, but they are both QFP and exactly the same shape, so I don't think this is really that important or pertinent. I interfaced the IDE2SAT using an "ST6006C" mSATA to SATA adapter. I booted the system, and the problem disappeared completely, and the computer ran perfectly. No more mouse choppiness, and ATTO benchmarks were up to spec.

I finally got to swapping the chips. The replacement chip is an old stock week 48 of 2009 datecode part.

The preliminary result is that it solved the issue. I tested with an ICH7 IDE port in Windows 98 with DMA enabled and everything worked fine. I still have yet to test with ICH2 (PIIX4E which is the southbridge counterpart to the 440 series Intel northbridges), but I believe that it is fixed. I don't know that Marvell is really producing these logo-less chips for Startech or Ableconn (Delock), but if they're not, then they're a pin-compatible substitute. The only way to know for certain is to de-cap one and look at the silicon.

One tip I can offer: When you prepare the drive, do so with the drive in the adapter and not connected to a SATA port but an IDE port. Also, make certain the partition type is set to 0x0C (FAT32 LBA) and not 0x0B (FAT32 CHS).

I haven't been following the many threads about these converters. Has anyone tried one of the unbranded 88SA8052 chips with an older VIA chipset (socket 7 or VT82c686/VT8231)?

The Ableconn converter is still ridiculously expensive by my standards. I think it exceeds the value of my entire old computer collection. I think I'm stuck with 20MB/s through a JMicron chip (and 6MB/s write speed if you align the partitions - that's supposed to improve performance, not destroy it).