For the Intel Chipset users out there...

[clutch 1]

I got this in my Windows and .NET Magazine email newsletter:

 

Quote:

I discovered an interesting software download that relates to the

PC-silencing articles I wrote a few weeks ago. Intel makes a software

product called the Intel Application Accelerator (IAA), and the latest

version, 2.1, is currently in beta. IAA 2.1 lets you modify settings

for Intel CPUs and chipsets, including speeding up Windows boot time

and disk-based I/O. The most recent version lets you modify the

Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) setting for compatible hard disks.

This setting lets you choose between higher seek rates and a lower

noise level. The lower noise level might slightly degrade the drive's

performance, but I doubt most users would notice. I'm testing the

IAA's AAM (say that three times fast) setting on my drives now and

will let you know how it works.

 

For more information about the IAA and the free beta download, visit

the Intel Web site.

http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/

 

Just thought this might be of interest to some of you guys.

[OLEerror 0]

Quick warning. I've had a tremendous stream of bad luck when using Sysprep on a machine with this installed on it. In one case, it caused Windows 2000 to detect the IDE controllers twice, causing a conflict. While the machine worked, it performed a bit slower. In all other instances, it created an unrecoverable INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DRIVE error during the first boot-up after the setup wizard ran. So, if you plan on cloning machines while using this, I suggest installing it after you've cloned the machine.

[JP- 0]

Think ill give this ago later. I know my 60GXP supports the speed/quiet operation modes but you have to go into the IBM diag utility to change it. Authough the drive is basically silent anyway, ill give this a go just to see if it works and what other cool settings i can mess about with.

[Thunder 0]

Worked great in Win2k, gained about 12 passmark points. Totally screwed up my duel video card setup in WinXP tho and had to uninstall it from XP. Thanks for the link, the idea has promise I think and I'm keeping it on my 2k install.