Fix for data corruption: ABIT mb + nVidia nForce 2 chipset + SiliconImage 3112 SATA

Don't waste your time and skip reading this post if your system doesn't use the hardware mentioned in the subject, or if you don't experience image corruption with TrueImage.

Due to PCI bus timing issues, data corruption may occur when transferring large blocks of data to/from disks attached to a Silicon Image SATARaid Sil3112 controller integrated on a ABIT motherboard with a nVidia nForce 2 chipset. Not all configurations are affected. It may depends on the motherboard, BIOS and/or disks used.

In my case I have an Abit AN7 motherboard with Hitachi SATA disks. I have been plagued by the corrupted image syndrome in TrueImage and have been struggling for a long time to find the cause. Small images (about less than 512 MB), or images saved to the same disk containing the partition that was imaged would verify ok, but everything else would be corrupt. Quite puzzling and frustrating. Naturally I would blame Acronis for the problem, until I tested various scenarios of copying and comparing files and realized the system itself was corrupting the data.

The fix is to change a configuration setting named "EXT-P2P Discard Time" in the Integrated Peripherals section of the BIOS. If this setting is missing, you need to flash a newer version of the BIOS.

If the "EXT-P2P Discard Time" is set to 30 us (micro-seconds), the default, or less, you need to set it to 1 ms. Then save and reboot. That's it.

You can find more references to this issue and its fix by googling "P2P Discard Time".

Hope this helps.

Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. Do not set to lower than 30 us.