Preparing For Other Possible Conflicts; Working With Online Configuration Utilities; Automatic And Manual Updates To The Setup Utility - IBM Aptiva Handbook

Preparing for other possible conflicts

If you purchase hardware that is not PnP, you may not
discover a possible resource conflict until you install the
new hardware and receive an error message. To help
prevent this problem, the new hardware's manufacturer
might provide an online configuration utility or
documentation to help with your installation.
A configuration utility provided by the new hardware's
manufacturer can prevent conflicts if it evaluates your
computer's current resource assignments before
assigning resources for the new hardware. Look in any
included documentation for information about any
provided configuration utility's evaluation capabilities. If
this information is not provided, look in the
documentation for specification of resources required
by the new hardware.
If you need information about your computer's default
settings for input/output (I/O) addresses, system board
interrupt requests (IRQs), or direct memory access
(DMA) channel assignments, you can find this
information in "Appendix A: Specification tables" on
page 137. Note that the information in this appendix
applies for computers that have not been upgraded
since leaving the factory.
If you need information about the adapter cards
installed in your computer, refer to the documentation
that came with the cards. This documentation might be
printed or online.
As a precaution, you may want to record the resources
that are already assigned before you install your new
hardware. You can use the Windows 95 Device Manager
to record assigned resources. For information about the
Device Manager, see "Starting and using the
Windows 95 Device Manager" on page 60.
If you record assigned resources before you install the
new hardware, then if the hardware creates a resource
conflict after you install it, you might be able to properly
assign resources without removing and reinstalling the
new hardware.
Working with online
configuration utilities
You can use the Setup Utility and the Windows 95
Device Manager to view and correct system resource
settings. You may also be able to use other
configuration utilities provided with new hardware.
Automatic and manual updates to the
Setup Utility
Your computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)
automatically detects most hardware changes and then
updates the related configuration settings in the Setup
Utility. If the Setup Utility is not automatically updated,
then you usually receive a message reminding you to
check the Setup Utility.
Viewing and reconfiguring system resources 59