Hi Lester,
These are figures from current hardware (Intel XEON/SAS):
# hdparm -tT /dev/sda
/dev/sda:
Timing cached reads: 6576 MB in 2.00 seconds = 3293.49 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 346 MB in 3.01 seconds = 114.89 MB/sec

> Windows XP is running on exactly the same hardware ( a waste I know ) but is
> three times faster - so where do I go next :(

Look at the dmesg output right after system startup. See anything unusual? Maybe
just post the dmesg output here.

Try booting with a livecd like Ubuntu, retry the hdparm test and see if you get
the same low values.

Michael