National Instruments GPIB-PCII Getting Started page 21

Chapter 2
2. Change to the drive containing the distribution diskette by entering the
following command:
x :
where x is the letter of the drive containing the distribution diskette.
3. Install the software by entering the following command:
install /q
The INSTALL utility installs the NI-488.2 software quickly (/q minimizes
user interaction). INSTALL creates a directory, C:\GPIB-PC, and copies
the NI-488.2 software files to that directory. It also modifies the
C:\CONFIG.SYS file to include the following line:
device = \gpib-pc\gpib.com
INSTALL then runs the GPIB-PCII/IIA hardware diagnostic program,
IBDIAG. IBDIAG confirms that the hardware is functioning properly, and
verifies that the DMA and interrupt configuration settings are set correctly.
The default settings that the NI-488.2 handler uses are DMA channel 1 and
no interrupt line.
Direct memory access (DMA) is a method of moving data in a computer
from one location to another that allows the GPIB-PCII/IIA interface board
to operate at top speed. Operating the interface board without using DMA
does not limit the functionality of the interface board, but it does limit its
speed. The interface board often operates at a higher speed than the other
instruments in a system without using DMA, but can only achieve top
performance by using a DMA channel.
The GPIB-PCII/IIA uses interrupts to notify the computer of certain specific
events. However, if you configure the NI-488.2 software to run without
interrupts, the software monitors the interface board to detect these events.
(Using interrupts may result in slightly higher performance.)
4. Restart your computer.
If any one of the software installation steps fails, you may have to change a
configuration setting. Refer to Appendix A, Changing Hardware and Software
Configuration Settings, for more information on changing these settings.
© National Instruments Corp.
Installation and Elementary Programming Example
2-3 PCII/IIA and NI-488.2 MS-DOS