About The Icu; Isa Configuration Utility Database; When To Run The Icu - Dell OptiPlex Gs Reference And Installation Manual

User's Guide or "Viewing Resources" found
later in this chapter for detailed instructions.
5. Save your configuration, and exit the utility.
See your online System User's Guide or "Saving the
System Configuration" and "Exiting From the ICU"
found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.
A
bout the ICU
Before your system was shipped from Dell, a technician
used the ICU to enter the correct information for the
expansion cards initially installed in your computer.
If your system was shipped with Dell-installed software,
the ICU diskette image (from which you can make an
ICU diskette) is installed on your hard-disk drive. (Your
system may also be accompanied by an ISA Configura-
tion Utility Diskette.)
The ICU is also available through online services such as
Dell's TechConnect bulletin board service (BBS). See
your online System User's Guide or the chapter titled
"Getting Help" in your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting
Guide for information on accessing the BBS.
Whenever you add or remove an ISA expansion card, use
the ICU to reconfigure your system. The utility reads the
card's corresponding configuration file (.cfg file), which
describes the card's characteristics and required system
resources. After the resources identified in these configura-
tion files are assigned to all ISA expansion cards, the system
assigns resources to all Plug and Play expansion cards, as
well as PCI expansion cards, thereby creating a conflict-free
configuration.

ISA Configuration Utility Database

The ICU provides a database of configuration files for a
large variety of ISA expansion cards. The database is
located in the \db subdirectory. Listed cards are ISA expan-
sion cards that have configuration files stored in this
database.
3-2 Dell OptiPlex Gs and Gs+ Low-Profile Systems Reference and Installation Guide
Unlisted cards are ISA expansion cards that do not have
configuration files stored in the ICU database. Unlisted
cards are not displayed in the list of cards provided for
the various card categories. The unlisted cards may be
cards for which no configuration file exists or may be
new cards that include a manufacturer-supplied configu-
ration file on diskette.
When you supply a configuration file and the ICU is run-
ning from the hard-disk drive, the configuration file is
copied to the directory that contains the rest of the
database.
See your online System User's Guide or "Adding a Listed
Card" found later in this chapter for directions on how to
add a listed ISA expansion card. See your online System
User's Guide or "Adding an Unlisted Card" found later in
the chapter for instructions on how to add an unlisted ISA
expansion card.
W
hen to Run the ICU
Whenever you add or remove ISA expansion cards, you
must run the ICU to ensure that no two cards attempt to
use the same resources (such as interrupt request [IRQ]
lines).
Run the program before adding or removing any ISA
expansion cards. The ICU can identify and resolve any
resource conflicts, as well as indicate the proper jumper
and switch settings for each expansion card to avoid such
conflicts. Running the program first helps you determine
how to configure the ISA expansion card before you
install it in your computer.
After you have run the ICU for your ISA expansion cards
and the utility has configured all your Plug and Play and
PCI expansion cards, you can use the utility to lock the
configuration of your Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards
so that they are always assigned the same resources. See your
online System User's Guide or "Locking and Unlocking
Cards" found later in this chapter for details.