Win2k IRQ sharing questions...

[Shag]

I have heard that Win2k shares IRQs differently than the 9x line. I have also read that many people have all their devices using IRQ9. Well, I have a different situation - my devices are spread out over many IRQs, but I have noticed that my vid card (Viper V770), sound card (X-Gamer), and NIC (3com Etherlink XL) are all sharing IRQ 11. This doesn't sit real well with me - these are 3 very active devices.

I have been having problems with my online games freezing up when there is a lot of sound going on - I wonder if this is the problem. All 3 devices are processing a lot of data at the same time - maybe Windows can't handle it all on the same IRQ.

Can I alter these IRQ's? Anyway to fix this?

 

[owensdj]

Shag, a lot of people are complaining about the IRQ sharing on Win2K, but it's perfectly normal. PCI devices are supposed to be able to all share a single IRQ with no problems. I have a NIC, sound card, SCSI card, and modem all sharing IRQ 11. As long as all of your PCI devices correctly support IRQ sharing, you don't need to worry about it.

Don't know why your online games freeze up. It could be they are just not 100% compatable with Windows 2000. Have you tried downloading the latest Compatability Update for Win2K?

 

[Enigma]

Had similar problem and reinstalled as standard PC verses ACPI. Goto computer in device manager and properities and select standard PC. You may or maynot need some drivers during reboot. My video cards have their own irqs now.

 

[AndyHui]

IRQ Sharing in Win2000