FTool User Guide 215
FTool User Guide 215
FTool User Guide 215
Usage Instructions
To support World Wide Web release
of Hitachi Feature Tool
30 September, 2009
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 2
WHAT IS THE HITACHI FEATURE TOOL? .................................................................................................... 3
Change Advanced Power Mode..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Change Cache Settings .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Change the Capacity ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Change S.M.A.R.T. Operations..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Change Ultra DMA Mode ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Show Drive Temperature............................................................................................................................................................... 4
Change SATA Settings.................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Page 2 of 25
UDMA Mode 1
ATA 25 ( 25 MB/sec )
UDMA Mode 2
ATA 33 ( 33 MB/sec )
UDMA Mode 3
ATA 48 ( 48 MB/sec )
UDMA Mode 4
ATA 66 ( 66 MB/sec )
UDMA Mode 5
UDMA Mode 6
ATA 133 ( 133 MB/sec )
Some older (Legacy) motherboard and Plug-in ATA adapters may not support the higher bus speeds and
installing one of these newer ATA hard disk drives could cause a malfunction of your system. To
resolve this incompatibility it may be required to reduce the bus speed that the drive is operating at to
one which is more compatible with the Motherboard/Plug-in adapter.
Page 3 of 25
Page 4 of 25
UDMA SATA
APM
Cache
Clip
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Deskstar
HUA7210xxCLA3xx
HCS7210xxCLA3xx
HDS7210xxCLA3xx
HUA7220xxALA3xx
HDS7220xxALA3xx
HDE7210xxSLA3xx
HCT7210xxSLA3xx
HDT7210xxSLA3xx
HCP7250xxGLA3xx
HCP7250xxGLATxx
HDP7250xxGLA3xx
HDP7250xxGLATxx
HDS7210xxKLA3xx
HDS7210xxKLATxx
HDT7250xxVLA3xx
HDT7250xxVLATxx
HDS7216xxPLA3xx
HDS7216xxPLATxx
HDS725050KLA3xx
HDS725050KLATxx
HDT7225xxDLA3xx
HDT7225xxDLATxx
HDS7280x0PLA3xx
HDS7280x0PLATxx
HDS724040KLSAxx
HDS724040KLATxx
HDS7225xxVLSAxx
HDS7225xxVLATxx
IC35L0xxAVV207
IC35L0xxAVVN07
IC35L0xxAVVA07
IC35L0xxAVER07
IBM-DTLA
IBM-DPTA
IBM-DJNA
IBM-DTTA
IBM-
Travelstar
HTE7250xxA9A3x
HTS7250xxA9A3x
HTE5450xxB9A3x
HTS5450xxB9A3x
HTS5450xxB9SAx
HTE7232xxL9A3x
HTE7232xxL9SAx
1
1
1
4
4
Page 5 of 25
HTS7232xxL9A3x
1
2
HTS7232xxL9SAx
1
2
4
HTE5432xxL9A3x
2
HTE5432xxL9SAx
2
4
HTS5432xxL9A3x
1
2
HTS5432xxL9SAx
1
2
4
HTE5450xxKTA3x
2
HTE5450xxKTSAx
2
4
HTS5450xxKTA3x
1
2
HTS5450xxKTSAx
1
2
4
HTS5425xxK9A3x
1
2
HTS5425xxK9SAx
1
2
4
HTS7220xxK9A3x
1
2
HTS7220xxK9SAx
1
2
4
HTS5412xxH9SAx
1
2
4
HTS5412xxH9ATx
1
2
HTE5416xxJ9SAx
2
4
HTE5416xxJ9ATx
2
HTS5416xxJ9SAx
1
2
4
HTS5416xxJ9ATx
1
2
HTS4212xxH9ATx
1
2
HTE7210xxG9SAx
2
HTE7210xxG9ATx
2
HTS7210xxG9SAx
1
2
HTS7210xxG9ATx
1
2
HTE5410xxG9SAx
2
4
HTE5410xxG9ATx
2
HTS5410xxG9SAx
1
2
4
HTS5410xxG9ATx
1
2
HTS4240xxM9ATx
1
2
HTS7260xxM9ATx
1
2
HTS5480xxM9Atx
1
2
IC25x0xxATMR0x
1
2
IC25x0xxATCX0x
1
2
IC25x0xxATCS0x
1
2
IC25x0xxATDA0x
1
2
IBM-DJSA
1
2
IBM-DSHA
2
IBM-DCLA
2
IBM-DARA
2
IBM-DCYA
2
IBM-DCXA
2
IBM-DBCA
2
IBM-DKLA
2
IBM-DADA
2
IBM2
Notes:
1 BIOS can change these values on the next reboot, power on cycle or reset
2 BIOS, RAID Controller or somePCI IDE Controllers can change these values on the next power
2009 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Page 6 of 25
3
4
on cycle or reset.
This function is only supported for the microcode levels A20J and A30A
Only Spread Spectrum Clocking is changeable
Page 7 of 25
Page 8 of 25
Linux
The Hitachi Feature Tool image file (e.g. FeatureTool-install-img.bin) includes IBM PC DOS2000
and the FTOOL.EXE Utility
Running the Linux Disk Dump (DD) utility creates an IBM PC DOS 2000 bootable diskette that
contains the Hitachi FTOOL Utility.
A formatted 1.44-MB diskette is required to create the Hitachi Feature Tool diskette.
To create the bootable Feature Tool diskette under Linux:
1. Download the Feature Tool image file (FeatureTool-install-img.bin) into a known directory
on your PC.
2. Insert a formatted 1.44-MB diskette into your floppy disk drive.
3. Make sure that the floppy disk is un-mounted.
4. Change directory to where you saved the image file.
5. Run the Disk Dump (DD) utility with the following parameters:
DD if=FeatureTool-install-img.bin of=/dev/fd0 bs=8k
6. The bootable Feature Tool diskette will now be created, Note this could take a couple
of minutes.
7. Once the creation of the bootable diskette is complete you may need to edit the
Autoexec.bat file to map the keyboard for your country.
e.g. Change UK to US in the following line to go from a UK ( United Kingdom )
keyboard layout to a US ( United States ) layout.
KEYB UK,A:\DOS\KEYBOARD.SYS
Page 9 of 25
To navigate this screen the mouse can be used or alternatively use the cursor keys and the tab key. To
modify a drive feature first select the drive using the mouse or cursor keys then select the pull down
Features menu. This can be achieved with the mouse or <Alt-F> key combination. You will see a
screen as shown below with the following options,
From the pull-down menu select the drive feature to be modified, for more detail on how to change each
feature select from the links below.
Advanced Power Mode , Cache Settings, Capacity, S.M.A.R.T. Operations, Ultra DMA mode, Drive
Temperature or SATA Settings
NOTE: The Hitachi Feature Tool is designed for use with Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and
Legacy IBM ATA Hard Disk Drives only.
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Navigation shortcuts,
Several options for navigating through this utility, the easiest being the use of a mouse. For each
selectable option in the different menus a highlighted character is provided which when used with the
Alt key gives a quick selection option. The list below represents some of the Alt + (Highlighted key)
combinations available in the program.
Esc.
Return to previous menu from any sub-menu
F1 or Alt+H
- Help
F10
- Menu options
Alt+S - Change cache settings
W - Select/Deselect write cache
R - Select/Deselect read cache
Alt+ O - OK/enter
Alt+ C - Cancel
Alt+ D - Reset to default values
Alt+C - Change drive Capacity options
Alt+C - Cancel
Alt+O - Capacity options
M - Select Maximum capacity
3 - Select 32GB capacity
8 - Select 8GB capacity
Alt+X
Page 11 of 25
Selection of a pre-defined APM mode can also be made using the options button, as can be seen in the
screen below.
If the selected disk drive does not have or support changing the advance power mode then when this
option is selected the following screen will be displayed.
2009 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Page 12 of 25
Page 13 of 25
Cache Management
Write cache is a performance enhancement whereby the device reports completion of the write
command (Write Sectors, Write DMA and Write Multiple) to the host as soon as the device has
received all of the data into its buffer. The device assumes responsibility to write the data subsequently
onto the disk. While writing data after completing the acknowledgement of a write command, neither
soft nor hard resets will affect its operation. But power-off terminates the writing operation immediately
and any unwritten data will be lost.
Flush cache, Soft reset, Standby, Standby Immediate and Sleep are executed after the completion of
writing to disk media on enabling the write cache function. The host system can confirm the completion
of a write cache operation by issuing flush cache command, Soft reset, Standby command, Standby
Immediate command or Sleep command, and then, by confirming its completion.
To enable or disable a cache function select the Features option from the menu bar, then the Change
Cache Settings option. You will then be presented with a screen as shown below. To change a setting
simply Tab or use the short cut Alt. + (highlighted letter) to highlight the parameter you wish to
change, use the space bar to select/deselect the item. When you have made your choice select OK to
enable the change.
When the changes have been completed successfully you will be presented with a screen as shown
below.
Page 14 of 25
Note:
On some systems changes made to the drive cache settings are only enabled whilst there is power on the
drive. Powering the system off then back on will reset the cache value to the drive defaults. This type of
behaviour is mainly seen in 2.5 (mobile) hard disk drives. A simple check to find out if you system
exhibits this characteristic is to power cycle the system after making your changes and re-loading the
Hitachi Feature Tool utility and check if the changes previously made have been reset.
Page 15 of 25
Device Capacity
This feature allows you to change the capacity of the selected drive. Two options are available
Change the capacity and make this change permanent
Make a temporary change, change will be lost when the drive ( system ) is power cycled.
To make a change to the drive capacity you firstly need to decide if the change is to be temporary or
permanent, then tab to the new capacity change box. Type in the new capacity value for the drive ( to do
this you need to either delete the indicated value and type in the new value OR press the Insert key
Some of the older Motherboards BIOSs dont support the larger capacity ATA drives, which are now
available. The Options button provides a quick means of changing the drive capacity to just below the
known boundary limits of 8GB, 32GB and 128GB, it also provides a quick means of resetting the drive
to its maximum capacity.
The screen shot on the next page shows the available options, as before these options can be selected by
use of the cursor keys or via the hot-keys ( Alt + ).
The target capacity can be specified also by LBA. The input column will become LBA mode if Mode
Change button is pushed.
Page 16 of 25
Pre-defined capacities
Page 17 of 25
S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T. - Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology is intended to protect user data and
prevent unscheduled system downtime that may be caused by predictable degradation and/or fault of the
disk device. By monitoring and storing critical performance and calibration parameters, S.M.A.R.T.
devices employ sophisticated data analysis algorithms to predict the likelihood of near-term degradation
or fault conditions.
To enable/disable S.M.A.R.T., select the drive that you wish to change. Then from the Features menu
select Change S.M.A.R.T. Operations, you will be presented with a screen similar to that shown above.
S.M.A.R.T. can now be enabled or disabled on the selected drive by selecting the required function and
hitting the enter key. When SMART is enabled you will see the status in the Status box.
Note: on some system if SMART monitoring is enabled in the system BIOS then disabling SMART
with this utility will be effective only until the next re-boot.
2009 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Page 18 of 25
The current UDMA Mode setting of the selected drive will be highlighted, to change to a new setting
use the cursor up/down keys to select the desired value, then tab to the OK button and press enter.
When the change has been effected you will see the following screen, please follow the indicated
instruction to complete the mode change.
NOTE: This utility supports changing the UDMA setting of Legacy IBM and the new Hitachi
2009 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Page 19 of 25
Travelstar and Deskstar drives only and only those drives on which the UDMA is a changeable
parameter. The following IBM Hard disk drives support changeable UDMA modes, IBM DPTA
(Deskstar 34GXP & 37GP) and IBM DJSA (Travelstar 20GN, 30GT & 32GH) and newer Hitachi/IBM
ATA Hard Disk Drives.
If you attempt to change the UDMA setting of a hard disk drive that doesnt support changing of this
feature or on a non-IBM/Hitachi drive you will be presented with a screen displaying the following
message,
The Ultra DMA mode cannot be changed with this program.
If your hard disk drive is very old it may not support UDMA in which case if you try and make a
change using this utility you will see the following screen.
Page 20 of 25
As a guide to evaluating if under normal operating conditions your system/enclosure will provide
adequate cooling the Test option can be used. This test displays the current disk drive temperature
(updated every 30 sec) during a random seek test, see the screen below. With this function you can
simulate a high disk operation and determine the maximum temperature your drives will reach in your
system and environment.
Page 21 of 25
SATA Settings
WARNING!
SWITCHING YOUR DRIVE TO SUPPORT 3.0Gb/s OR ENABLING SPREAD SPECTRUM
CLOCKING ON YOUR DRIVE AND THEN USING IT IN A SYSTEM THAT CANNOT
SUPPORT THESE FUNCTIONS, MAY RENDER YOUR DRIVE UNUSABLE IN THAT
SYSTEM.
Early generation SATA drives where introduced supporting 1.5Gb/s interface transfer speeds. Advances
in technology have introduced a new standard that can support transfer speeds of up to 3.0Gb/s. Hitachi
Global Storage Technologies SATA products (Deskstar 7K80 onwards) support up to 3.0Gb/s.
Unfortunately some Host controllers in the market have yet to support the latest standard in its entirety,
thus if drives set to support these recent features were to be attached to those Hosts the drive may not be
able to boot. Only if you are completely confident that your system supports either of these features
should you consider setting them. If you are in any doubt you must contact your system manufacturer
for advice.
Select the required options (a dot will appear in the brackets against those selected) and select the
button.
If you neglect to select either of the options one will be advised with the following message;
If either 3.0Gb/s or Spread Spectrum Clocking Enable were selected then one of the following warnings
will be presented:
Page 22 of 25
If you accept the responsibility to continue and the changes have been made the following screen will
appear;
Once the Feature Tool has declared the operation to be successful, one must power cycle the drive. This
must be achieved by a complete system shutdown and switched back on again.
If the drive you are attempting to perform these functions on doesnt support them, the following
window appearing will tell you so.
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Page 24 of 25
Appendix
Hardware Support and Restrictions
The Hitachi Feature Tool supports hard disk drives manufactured by Hitachi Global Storage
Technologies and Legacy IBM ATA hard disk drives attached to IBM compatible PCs systems. This
utility also supports the above hard disk drives when installed in systems via PCI-to-ATA adapters from
Promise Technologies (UDMA/33, UDMA/66 and UDMA/100), CMD, Silicon Image and Highpoint
(HPT366, HPT370, HPT372 & HPT374) also motherboards which utilises the Promise, Silicon Image
and Highpoint Chipsets.
On a small number of systems, which utilises the Promise UDMA/100 or the Highpoint HPT370 chipset
drives attached, as master on either of the Primary/Secondary ports may not be detected. In the event
that your system displays this behaviour and you wish the use the feature tool it is suggested that you
perform on of the following actions.
If no other drives are attached to that bus (cable) temporarily jumper the drive as a Slave and perform
the required changes after which you can revert to the original jumper settings.
If your system also has UDMA/66 ports the drive can be temporarily attached to one of these ports
whilst you make your changes, after which the drive can be reconnected to the UDMA/100 port.
The Promise FastTrak100 TX2 and Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI-to-ATA Raid controllers are not
supported by this utility.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure Feature Tools runs on all controllers there will be some that we
havent encountered yet or cant support for some reasons. If you encounter problems or have questions
please contact the Support Centre through the Hitachi GST web site or through your Technical Support
representative.
System Influences
The BIOS, RAID controller and some PCI IDE controller can change some values on the next reboot,
power on cycle or reset.
Page 25 of 25