User Manual

Appendix A - Troubleshooting
Sealevel Systems COMM+8.LPCI Page 6
Appendix A - Troubleshooting
1. Identify all I/O adapters currently installed in your system. This includes your on-board serial ports, controller
cards, sound cards etc. The I/O addresses used by these adapters, as well as the IRQ (if any) should be
identified.
2. Configure your Sealevel Systems adapter so that there is no conflict with currently installed adapters. No two
adapters can occupy the same I/O address.
3. Make sure the Sealevel Systems adapter is using a unique IRQ. While the Sealevel Systems adapter does allow
the sharing of IRQs, many other adapters (i.e. SCSI adapters & on-board serial ports) do not
. The IRQ is
typically selected by the BIOS or operating system. Some BIOS setup software will allow changing the IRQ, but
others do not. Another method of changing assigned resources is to try changing PCI slots. This will typically
cause the BIOS or OS to reassign the resources.
4. Make sure the Sealevel Systems adapter is securely installed in a motherboard slot.
5. When running DOS or Windows 3.x refer to the supplied Sealevel Software and this User Manual to verify that
the Sealevel Systems adapter is configured correctly. This software contains a diagnostic program ‘SSD’
(D:\software\seacom\Other\DOS\DIAG, where D: = the driver letter of your CDROM drive) will verify if an
adapter is configured properly. This diagnostic program is written with the user in mind and is easy to use. You
can use D:\software\seacom\Other\DOS\PCI\FindPCI.exe to determine resources that have been assigned to
your adapter. Make sure that if available, the ‘Use Plug-n-Play” option is turned ‘OFF’ in your BIOS. Having
this option set to ‘ON’ in DOS or Windows 3.x will cause erratic operations.
6. For Windows95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP, the diagnostic tool ‘WinSSD’ is installed in the SeaCOM folder on the
Start Menu during the setup process. First find the ports using the Device Manager, then use ‘WinSSD’ to verify
that the ports are functional.
7. Always use the Sealevel Systems diagnostic software when troubleshooting a problem. This will eliminate any
software issues from the equation.