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Adding Expansion Cards
APRICOT 340 OWNER’S HANDBOOK 6/3
Configuring the card
Part of the installation procedure for ISA expansion cards, and some
PCI cards, involves setting up or configuring the card so it works
correctly in the computer. To configure, you assign values to various
settings, which enable the card to communicate with the computer.
Most PCI cards employ a feature called Plug and Play or PnP. This
allows Windows 95 (and other PnP-aware operating systems) to
configure the card automatically when you turn on the computer. In
this case, manual configuration may not be required.
If manual configuration is required, you will probably need to
specify at least two of the following:
♦ Interrupt request level (IRQ)
♦ Direct memory access (DMA) channel
♦ Base input/output (I/O) port address
♦ Base memory address
The important thing to understand is that the settings used by the
card must be different from the settings used by the other hardware
devices in the computer. In other words, the settings must not
conflict.
The documentation accompanying the card should tell you whether
the card supports Plug and Play, and if not, how to configure it.
Remember to check any diskettes supplied with the card for
README or other help files.
Some cards require you to move jumpers or set switches on the card
to configure them. This is best done before installing the card in the
computer. Other cards can be configured by running a configuration
program after installing the card. Some cards use a mixture of both
methods.
Cards often come with pre-configured or default settings. It is best
to rely on these settings as much as possible, and change them only
if they conflict with other devices.