When you are adding a new element to a computer, you need to ensure that it does not compete with other components for resources. In this lab, you’ll properly determine IRQ assignments and I/O addresses. There are a couple of concepts you should be familiar with:
Interrupts The interrupt request (IRQ) is a bus feature that permits a device to signal the processor to get the processor’s immediate attention. An interrupt indicates that an event requiring the processor’s attention has occurred, causing the processor to suspend and save its current activity and then branch to an interrupt service routine. This service routine processes the interrupt (whether it was generated by a keystroke or a mouse click) and, when it’s complete, returns control to the suspended process. Ideally, each device has its own IRQ number.
I/O Addresses The processor treats each device as a memory location and sends information to that address or reads information from that address. This I/O address is unique for each device that communicates with the processor.
Upon completion of this lab, you will be able to:
Determine a computer’s IRQ assignments
Determine a computer’s I/O address assignments.
For this exercise, you will need an operational computer with DOS, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows XP installed.
In this exercise, we’ll go over resource information for the versions of Windows in use today.
To collect DOS resource information,
Boot to the C: drive.
At the DOS prompt, enter VER to display the DOS version installed:
C:\>VER
Record the DOS version:
Change to the DOS directory and enter MSD to run the Microsoft Diagnostic utility:
C:\>CD DOS C:\DOS>MSD
To access the IRQ status, press the letter U on the keyboard (the colored letter) in the MSD screen.
Record the displayed system information in Table 6.1.
IRQ # | I/O Address | Hardware Using the Setting: |
---|---|---|
IRQ 1 | ____________ | _________________________ |
IRQ 2 | ____________ | _________________________ |
IRQ 3 | ____________ | _________________________ |
IRQ 4 | ____________ | _________________________ |
IRQ 5 | ____________ | _________________________ |
IRQ 7 | ____________ | _________________________ |
To exit the MSD program:
Press Alt+F to bring down the menu.
Press X to return to the C: prompt.
To determine Windows 98 resource information,
To open the System Information window, use the following sequence:
Start Programs Accessories System Tools System Information
Record the processor type, memory size, and OS revision:
In the System Information window, click the plus sign (+) next to Hardware Resources. When the branch expands, click the IRQ branch and record the hardware that uses the IRQs in Table 6.2.
Click the I/O branch and record the I/O address for the printer port (LPT1).
Click the DMA branch and record the hardware using DMA 2.
To view the hard-drive properties, right-click the drive C: icon in the My Computer window and then select Properties. Record the hard drive capacity and the amount of free hard- drive space:
Resource | Hardware Using the Setting: |
---|---|
Printer Port I/O | _______________________ |
IRQ 3 | _______________________ |
IRQ 4 | _______________________ |
IRQ 5 | _______________________ |
IRQ 6 | _______________________ |
IRQ 7 | _______________________ |
DMA 2 | ______________________ |
To determine Windows 2000 resource information,
To obtain the processor type, memory size, and version of Windows that is installed, boot to the Windows Desktop and use the following sequence:
Start Programs Accessories System Tools System Information
Record the processor type, total memory, and OS version (revision) in Table 6.3.
To obtain the IRQ assignments in a Windows system, use this alternate sequence from the Windows Desktop:
Right-click My Computer and choose Manage System Tools System Information
In the System Information window, click the plus sign (+) next to Hardware Resources. When the branch expands, click the IRQs branch. Record the IRQ information.
To view the hard-drive properties, right-click the drive C: icon in the My Computer window and then select Properties. Record the hard-drive capacity and free space in Table 6.3.
To obtain detailed memory information, use Task Manager. Right-click the Taskbar, select Task Manager, and click the Performance tab. Record the Physical Memory total and the Physical Memory Available:
System Data | Your System: | IRQ # | Hardware Using the Setting: |
---|---|---|---|
Microprocessor | ____________ | IRQ 1 | ____________ |
Memory (Total) | ____________ | IRQ 3 | ____________ |
OS Revision | ____________ | IRQ 4 | ____________ |
Drive C: (Capacity) | ____________ | IRQ 5 | ____________ |
Drive C: Free Hard Drive Space | ____________ | IRQ 7 | ___________ |
To determine Windows 2000 resource information,
To obtain the processor type, memory size, and version of Windows that is installed, boot to the Windows Desktop and use the following sequence:
Start All Programs Accessories System Tools System InformationRecord the processor type, total memory, and OS version (revision) in Table 6.4.
To obtain the IRQ assignments in a Windows XP system, click the plus sign (+) next to Hardware Resources. When the branch expands, click the IRQs branch. Record the IRQ information in Table 6.4.
To view the hard-drive properties, right-click the My Computer icon in the Start menu and then select System Information. Click on the Drive tab and select the C: drive from the drop- down menu. Record the hard-drive capacity and free space in Table 6.4.
To obtain detailed memory information, click the Memory tab. Record the Physical Memory total and the Physical Memory Available:
System Data | Your System: | IRQ # | Hardware Using the Setting: |
---|---|---|---|
Microprocessor | ____________ | IRQ 1 | ____________ |
Memory (Total) | ____________ | IRQ 3 | ____________ |
OS Revision | ____________ | IRQ 4 | ____________ |
Drive C: (Capacity) | ____________ | IRQ 5 | ____________ |
Drive C: Free Hard Drive Space | ____________ | IRQ 9 | ____________ |