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Using the ISA Configuration Utility 4-3
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Before your system was shipped from Dell, a technician used the ICU to enter the
correct information for the expansion cards initially installed in your computer.
If your system was shipped with Dell-installed software, the ICU diskette image (from
which you can make an ICU diskette) is installed on your hard-disk drive. (Your system
may also be accompanied by an
ISA Configuration Utility Diskette
.)
The ICU is also available through online services such as Dell’s TechConnect bulletin
board service (BBS). See the chapter titled “Getting Help” in your
Diagnostics and
Troubleshooting Guide
for information on accessing the BBS.
Whenever you add or remove a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card, use the ICU to
reconfigure your system. The utility reads the card’s corresponding configuration file
(.cfg file), which describes the card’s characteristics and required system resources.
After the resources identified in these configuration files are assigned to all non-Plug
and Play ISA expansion cards, the system assigns resources to all Plug and Play
expansion cards, as well as PCI expansion cards, thereby creating a conflict-free
configuration.
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The ICU provides a database of configuration files for a large variety of non-Plug and
Play ISA expansion cards. The database is located in the \db subdirectory.
Listed cards
are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that have configuration files stored in this
database.
Unlisted cards
are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that do not have configura-
tion files stored in the ICU database. Unlisted cards are not displayed in the list of
cards provided for the various card categories. The unlisted cards may be cards for
which no configuration file exists or new cards that include a manufacturer-supplied
configuration file on diskette.
When you supply a configuration file and the ICU is running from the hard-disk drive,
the configuration file is copied to the directory that contains the rest of the ICU
database.
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Whenever you add or remove non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards, you must run
the ICU to ensure that no two cards attempt to use the same resources (such as
interrupt request [IRQ] lines).
Run the program
before
adding or removing any non-Plug and Play ISA expansion
cards. The ICU can identify and resolve any resource conflicts and indicate the proper
jumper and switch settings for each expansion card to avoid such conflicts. Running
the program first helps you determine how to configure a non-Plug and Play ISA
expansion card before you install it in your computer.
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