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72 PI-MTE System Manual Version 4.C
As shown, there are no conflicts, allowing the three peripheral cards to operate properly.
If the PCI Serial card were then installed, the BIOS would interrogate the PCI cards and
may reassign them new address and interrupt values as follows.
Slot Type
Status
I/O Address(s)
Interrupt
1 (ISA)
ISA Network Card
200-210
11
2 (PCI)
PCI Video Card
FE00-FEFF
11
3 (ISA)
ISA Sound Card
300-304
9
4 (PCI)
Princeton Instruments
(RSPI) PCI Serial Card
FF80-FFFF
15
Table 8. I/O Address & Interrupt Assignment after Installing Serial Card
As indicated, there is now an interrupt conflict between the ISA Network Card and the
PCI Video card (both cards have been assigned Interrupt 11), causing the computer to no
longer function normally. This does not mean that the PCI Serial card is defective
because the computer stops functioning properly when the Serial card is installed. What
it does mean is that there is an interrupt conflict that can be resolved by changing the
interrupt level on the conflicting Network card in this example. It is up to you to consult
the documentation for any ISA cards to determine how to make the necessary change.
Note: Changing the order of the PCI cards, that is, plugging them into different slots,
could change the address and interrupt assignments and possibly resolve the conflict.
However, this would be a trial and error process with no guarantee of success.
Diagnostics Software
Many diagnostics programs, both shareware and commercial, are available to help
resolve conflicts. Most often, all that is required is a program that will read and report
the address and interrupt assignments for each PCI device in the computer. One such
program available from Princeton Instruments' Customer Support department is called
PCICHECK. When the program is run, it reports the address and interrupt assignments
for the first PCI device it finds. Each time the spacebar is pressed, it moves on to the next
one and reports the address and interrupt assignments for that one as well. In a few
moments, this information can be obtained for every PCI device in the computer. Note
that, although there are generally only three PCI slots, the number of PCI devices
reported may be larger because some PCI devices may be built onto the motherboard. A
good strategy for using the program would be to run it before installing the PCI Serial
card. Then run it again after installing the card and note any address or interrupt
assignments that may have changed. This will allow you to easily focus on the ones that
may be in conflict with address or interrupt assignments on ISA cards. It might be noted
that there are many programs, such as the MSD program supplied by Microsoft, that are
designed to read and report address and interrupt assignments, including those on ISA
cards. Many users have had mixed results at best using these programs.