User Manual

219
If Something Goes Wrong
Resolving a hardware conflict
5.375 x 8.375 ver 2.3
Direct Memory Access
The data required by a device is stored in a specific place or
address in memory called the Direct Memory Access (DMA).
The DMA provides a dedicated channel for adapter cards to
bypass the microprocessor and access memory directly. If
two or more devices use the same DMA, the data required by
one device overwrites the data required by the other, causing
a hardware conflict.
Plug and Play
With Plug and Play and the operating system, avoiding
hardware conflicts is easy. Plug and Play is a computer
standard that helps the system BIOS (basic input/output
system) and the operating system to automatically assign
system resources to Plug and Play-compliant devices. In
theory, if every device connected to the computer is Plug and
Play-compliant, no two devices will compete for the same
system resources. Plug in the device and turn on your
computer. The operating system is automatically set up to
accommodate the new device.
If you install an older (legacy) device that the operating
system cannot recognize, the operating system may have
difficulty assigning resources to it. As a result, a hardware
conflict can occur.
Resolving conflicts
There are several things you can do to resolve hardware
conflicts:
❖ Get the most recent drivers from the manufacturer.
❖ Disable the device.
For an older device, remove it from the computer.
❖ Disable another system component and use its resources
for the new device. See “Fixing a problem with Device
Manager” on page 220.