IRQ, DMA & I/O: Resolving and Preventing PC System Conflicts

Are you baffled by cryptic error messages that sometimes appear on your PC? Frustrated by constant crashes and loss of time? Tearing your hair out trying to install and run the latest Windows software? Dont panic. All you need to resolve these and other common PC problems is contained within your system and this handy book.

IRQs (interrupt requests), DMA (direct memory access), and I/O (input/output) error messages can be frustrating, but with this book/disk package youll resolve the system conflicts that cause them. The book equips you with the resources necessary to understand and properly manage your PC before, during, and after installing operating environments and systems. This revised edition includes sections on the most common problem areas, and shows you how to prevent such problems from occurring. Youll find new coverage on the latest in high-speed Pentium technology, new data bus technology, Plug and Play, and the Windows Registry.

IRQ, DMA & I/O: Resolving and Preventing PC System Conflicts, 2nd Edition provides everything you need to avoid and resolve the problems that continue to plague all PC users.

The companion disk contains PC-Doctor, a diagnostic program that provides system information, and the Rosenthal utilities for conflict detection.

Successfully install the latest operating systems Understand and utilize the Windows Registry and new data bus features Learn to update previous editions of software without upsetting your machine Determine the current status of your system Take advantage of the new BIOS and Plug and Play features Establish and maintain a proper, stable system

If you embark on the installation of a network card, modem, scanner card, or just about any other peripheral interface in your PC, be prepared: You can easily find yourself lost in an unnerving maze of interrupts, DMA channels, SCSI chains, and other arcane device-management issues. IRQ, DMA & I/O: Resolving and Preventing PC System Conflicts is an invaluable guide that will teach you enough to install and troubleshoot these devices while keeping your system running smoothly.

This book's second edition includes valuable information on SCSI and PCI interfaces, Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 device management, and a preview of what Microsoft's PC97 spec for plug-and-play devices will bring to the world of upgrades in the very near future. A handy chapter on the Windows system registry tackles some of its hardware-related mysteries. Diagnostic software on a bundled diskette helps you locate IRQ conflicts, check DMA channel settings, and hunt down devious memory-address anomalies. Most impressive is how the author breathes life into this inherently dry and tedious subject. Aspinwall manages to be effective, erudite, and practical in a refreshingly brief presentation.