Ask Me Solution » Device Conflicts

Resolving conflicts

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:32:00 +0000

With thousands of devices that work with Windows operating systems, it is practically impossible to describe all scenario specific solutions. What remains is to describe a strategy that will help you identify and resolve the problem.

The first step is to determine that the problem is really a hardware conflict at the OS level and not something caused by an incorrect physical installation. If you are able to normally boot into the OS, this would probably mean that the physical installation is fine. However, you cannot be certain at this stage. Try accessing the device. If the system hangs, crashes or starts acting weird, then it is pretty safe to assume that the physical installation is fine and the problem is because of the operating system’s interaction with the device. However, just to be on the safe side, power off and inspect the device for proper installation.

If everything seems correct, verify that you have followed the installation procedure as described in the manufacturer’s manual, have all the required software driver CDs and/or floppies on hand and switch the PC on.

If the device drivers are already installed and you are facing system instability when accessing or using the device, go to the Using the Device Manager section.

Problems causing conflicts

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:18:00 +0000

A wide range of problems may be causing the above and other symptoms. Assuming that the hardware is not defective and has been installed correctly, at the operating system level the problems can be broadly classified as follows:

There could be a resource allocation (IRQ/memory address) conflict. Two devices are allocated the same IRQ/memory address space.Usually, non-Plug and Play devices would give this problem. Since Windows is unable to detect these devices it may not allocate the resources properly and hence cause conflicts with an existing device.

Note: Some devices, such as PCI devices, can share a single IRQ without conflicts in Windows 2000/XP.

The software device drivers may not be compatible with the operating system, or may have been corrupted, or may not have been installed. If you have recently upgraded from Windows 95/98, this would usually be the problem.
A new software program installed is trying to use system resources allocated to other hardware devices or software programs.

Device Conflict Symptoms

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:15:00 +0000

A hardware conflict may occur when you add a new device to your system. In some instances, this conflict will not cause any problem, and depending on the operating system you may not even be aware that such a conflict exists. Typical symptoms of hardware conflicts include:

The operating system may freeze frequently
The new device may suffer performance problems
An existing device that is conflicting with the new device may suffer performance problems
Windows starts in Safe Mode
The system crashes and you get a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)
The sound card stops working or stutters
The screen jumps and shows garbled images
The mouse stops working
Modem/network card doesn’t respond
CD/DVD drive doesn’t respond or crashes the system

Troubleshooting Hardware Device Conflicts In Windows

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:13:00 +0000

Hardware devices can conflict with each other due to a variety of reasons. Every hardware device installed must be allocated a set of operating system (Windows) resources to operate correctly. These resources include IRQ, DMA (Direct Memory Access), I/O port addresses and memory resources. Some of these resources will be shared by more than one device while others cannot. This depends on the capabilities of the hardware and its software drivers.

Each device installed will have one or more software device drivers that enable the operating system to access and use the device. The software could be provided either by Microsoft itself that will enable basic functionality, or by the device vendor who knows more about the specific model and hence will be able to provide a more tightly integrated device driver.

Normally, Windows Plug and Play will automatically detect the newly-added hardware, determine the system resources required and assign them properly. Plug and Play will also search for the required software drivers and install them transparently. If Plug and Play cannot find the required drivers, it will prompt the user to provide them by inserting the CD/floppy provided by the device manufacturer. Additionally, it will also reconfigure the system resources if required, for example when the newly added device requires some resources already in use.