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4-2 Dell PowerEdge 6100/200 System Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
Input Errors
If a specific key or set of keys is pressed at the wrong
time, a program may give you unexpected results. See the
documentation that came with the application program to
make sure that the values or characters you are entering
are valid.
Make sure that the operating environment is set up to
accommodate the programs you use. Keep in mind that
whenever you change the parameters of the computer’s
operating environment, you may affect the successful
operation of the programs. Sometimes, after modifying
the operating environment, you may need to
reinstall a program that no longer runs properly.
Program Conflicts
Some programs may leave portions of their setup infor-
mation behind, even though you have exited from them.
As a result, other programs cannot run. Rebooting the
system can confirm whether these programs are the cause
of the problem.
There are also programs that use specialized subroutines
called device drivers that can also cause problems with the
computer system. For example, a variation in the way the
data is sent to the monitor may require a special screen
driver program that expects a certain kind of video mode or
monitor. In such cases, you may have to develop an alter-
native method of running that particular program—the
creation of a boot file made especially for that program, for
example. Call the support service for the software you are
using to help you with this problem.
Avoiding Interrupt Assignment
Conflicts
Problems can arise if two devices attempt to use the same
interrupt request (IRQ) line. To avoid this type of con-
flict, check the documentation for the default IRQ line
setting for each installed expansion card. Then consult
Table 4-1 to configure the card for one of the available
IRQ lines.
Table 4-1. Default IRQ Line Assignments
IRQ Line Used/Available
IRQ0 Used by the system timer
IRQ1 Used by the keyboard to signal that
the output buffer is full
IRQ2 Used by interrupt controller 1 to
enable IRQ8 through IRQ15
IRQ3 Used by serial port 2
IRQ4 Used by serial port 1
IRQ5 Available
IRQ6 Used by the diskette/tape drive con-
troller
IRQ7 Used by the parallel port
IRQ8 Used by the RTC
IRQ9 Available
IRQ10 Available
IRQ11 Available
IRQ12 Used by the mouse port
IRQ13 Used by the math coprocessor (if
applicable)
IRQ14 Available
IRQ15 Available
NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym
used in this table, see the abbreviation and acronym list.