Resolving Hardware Conflicts

Resolving Hardware Conflicts

Hardware conflicts are caused when the devices on the system compete for the same system resources, such as interrupt request lines, base I/O port addresses, and base memory addresses. An improperly configured device can cause a hardware conflict with other devices, so you must make sure that each device has exclusive access to the required system resources.

It is important to note that plug-and-play (sometimes called plug-and-pray) is still relatively new technology for Microsoft-based systems. Ideally, Windows 95 will configure a plug-and-play compatible card without much user intervention, but in some cases, you might still face configuration problems.

In Windows NT, a hardware conflict might invoke a warning message from the system or an entry in the Event Log (see Chapter 13, “Troubleshooting”). If you experience a hardware conflict, use Windows NT Diagnostics (see Exercise 10.2) to check resource settings for system devices. Then change the resource settings of any conflicting devices.

In Windows 95, use Device Manager (see the following note) to spot hardware conflicts and track resource settings.

Windows 95 includes a utility called Device Manager that displays system devices by type, looks for resource conflicts, and provides an interface for checking and changing resource settings.

To access Device Manager, follow these steps:

1.	Click the Start button and choose Settings/Control Panel.
2.	In the Windows 95 Control Panel, double-click the System application.
3.	Choose the Device Manager tab in the System Properties dialog box.
4.	Device Manager displays system devices in a tree format. Click on the plus sign next to a device type to view the installed devices. Double-click on an installed device (or choose the device and click the Properties button) for a Properties dialog box, such as the one shown in Figure 10.5.

If you can’t pinpoint a resource conflict by using Windows NT Diagnostics, Windows 95’s Device Manager, or some other diagnostic program, try removing all the cards except the network adapter and then replacing the cards one by one. Check the network with each addition to determine which device is causing the conflict.