Table of Contents
Advertisement
200
If Something Goes Wrong
Resolving a hardware conflict
Resolving hardware conflicts on your own
Computer components need resources to accomplish a task.
A device, such as a disk drive or a modem, needs a channel to
the computer's Central Processing Unit (CPU). It also needs
a direct channel to the computer's memory to store
information as it works. These channels of communication
are commonly referred to as system resources.
Interrupt Request Channel
The channel to the CPU is called an Interrupt Request (IRQ)
because it interrupts what the processor is doing and requests
some of the processor's time. If two or more devices use the
same IRQ, the processor does not know which device is
asking for attention. This may cause a hardware conflict.
NOTE: Some of the IRQs may be shared by multiple devices. This
is called IRQ sharing and is normal.
Direct Memory Access
Similarly, the data required by the device is stored in a
specific place or address in memory called the Direct
Memory Access (DMA). The DMA provides a dedicated
channel for adapter cards to bypass the microprocessor and
access memory directly. If two or more devices use the same
DMA, the data required by one device overwrites the data
required by the other, causing a hardware conflict.
Resolving conflicts
There are three things you can do to resolve hardware
conflicts:
Disable the device.
For an older device, remove it from the computer.
Advertisement
Table of Contents
