Sharing IRQ's

[TheCorm]

Hi,

I am currently looking for ways to share IRQ's on a Windows ME based system, I still have a number of free expansion slots but am starting to run out of IRQ's!!

How do I go about sharing IRQ's, do I need any extra software or is it something that's done from the Bios.

My System Spec:

CPU: Duron 750mhz
M/board: Abit KT7
Graphics: Creative Riva TNT
Sound: Soundblaster Live value (uses 2 IRQ's, one shared with LPT)
Network: Netgear 10/100 PCI
Modem: Rockwell ISA 56K

 

[Topochicho]

It would help if you posted up your IRQ setup and full hardware list, but just to ramble I would look to see if you using both ide channels. Also serial ports, go to your Bios and kill any serial ports you arent useing. Speaking of serial ports, are you using a ps2 or serial mouse? consider going USB.

 

[pjs]

There are only 4 irq lines available for your agp, pci, usb(on the motherboard) and ide devices. So, even if you have irqs available, there are only 4 that have to service all of the above mentioned devices.

I added a hollywood+ dvd decoder card (pci) to my system and in order to get it to have it's own irq, I had to take out my pci 100/10 nic and I put in a plug and play ISA 10mb nic. This freed up the the pci and irq that the pci nic was using for the hollywood+ card. The 10mb ids nic is stsill plenty fast enough for dsl.

My sound card and usb share an irq just fine.
AGP video has it's own irq
SCSI adapter has it's own irq.
Hollywood+ dvd decoder has it's own irq
No ide devices.

Paul

 

[Noriaki]

Standard setup goes like so:
IRQ: use
0: system timer
1: Keyboard
2: cascade to upper 8
3: Com2/4
4: Com1/3
5: free (LPT2 if you have 2 parrallels)
6: Floppy
7: LPT1
8: Real time clock
9: free
10: free
11: free
12: free (PS/2 mouse)
13: FPU
14: IDE0
15: IDE1

So among 5,9,10, and 11 you have to assign everything.
For me USB is 10, Video is 11, soundcard is 9 and 5 (9 for windows, 5 for dos, you could disable it but I didn't)
so if you need more you have to disable things you are using.
First to go for me is COMports, so that gives me IRQ 3 and 4 to play with.
so 4 for a NIC? 3 for your H+ ?
7 can go to if you have a USB printer.

You should look around and ask how the IRQs are shared for PCI slots on an ABit..I don't knwo how ABit does it but my Asus K7m
IntA: AGP, PCI1, PCI5 (IRQ11 for me)
IntB: PCI2 (IRQ4 for me)
IntC: Onboard Sound, PCI3 (IRQ9 for me)
IntD: USB, PCI4 (IRQ10 for me)

(IntA,B,C and D are the 4 pjs was refering to, I can juggle the actual numbers assigned to them, but those are the 4 I have for that stuff)

so that defines which slots share with each other.

I"m not sure how ABit's Ints are shared. I got mine out of my manual, so check that.

 

[TheCorm]

Thanks for reading,

I am using both IDE channels at the moment, I have a 17gb Seagate UDMA 66 drive on IDE1 and a 32x CD + HP CDR on IDE2.
I am using a PS/2 Mouse, I have disabled USB and Serial Port 2 as I am not using these at the moment, I am using Serial Port 1 for direct gameplay.

IRQ's:
00 System Timer
01 Keyboard
02 Interrup Controller
03 Com port 4
04 Com port 1
05 ACPI IRQ Holder / SB live
06 Floppy disk controller
07 Printer port
08 System CMOS . real time clock
09 SCI IRQ used by ACPI bus
10 ACPI IRQ Holder / Riva TNT
11 ACPI IRQ Holder / Netgear FA310TC Ethernet
12 Mouse
13 Numeric data processor
14 IDE 1
15 IDE 2

While I'm on the subject, does having the graphics card at IRQ 10 have any effect on performence, I've heard mention that it runs better when iut's at IRQ 4 or 5 ish, any truth in that and how do I get it to change when settings are locked?