It's One Or The Other???

I had posted in the recent past about my son's soundcard giving me a tough time. I wound up getting a new soundcard, but this turned out to be another lesson in "Nothing is ever easy, is it?"

I can install the soundcard, but it won't work. I get an error saying that I should use "automatic settings". Well, I can assure you they are on automatic. If I remove the PCI network card and re-install the soundcard, it works just fine. However, if I re-install the network card, I can't release and renew the IP address on it. I know the card works because it was running just fine before the soundcard installation. Something tells me that if I uninstall the soundcard software, the network card will work. I have tried to change interrupts and all in SYSTEMS to no avail. Is there any way of running BOTH cards at the same time? (I have also tried shuffling the cards around to see if that worked too--no such luck.)

Win 98 SE
300 MHz AMD Processor
Soundblaster PCI128
Netgear 310 network card

Thanks for your suggestions!!!

 

Sometimes network cards come with setup disks that allow you to change the IRQ it uses. However, it sounds like Netgear cards rely on either the system BIOS or the OS to supply the IRQ.

Sounds like you've tried the obvious things already, but you might (assuming you haven't ) :

1. Check with the BIOS manufacturer's site to see what they recommend as far as Plug and Play settings, or just change whatever it happens to be set to now. Most nowadays have a "Plug and Play OS" setting that can be on or off. Mine is off in a Dell system running Windows ME, but Plug and Play still works fine.

2. Change the soundcard so that is DOESN'T use automatic settings (if possible), and set it to an available IRQ, if there is one. (My network card shares an IRQ with my ATI Radeon video card, which seems bizarre to me, but it works.)

3. Check with the Soundblaster site to see what they recommend. I checked their Knowledge Base, it wasn't much help.

4. Email Netgear to request assistance.

Here's what the Netgear site said:
Frequently Asked Questions: How can I tell if my Netgear adapter is causing an IRQ conflict?

SOLUTION

Identify an IRQ Conflict:

1. Right-click on My Computer. Select Properties from the list.
2. Click on the Device Manager tab.
3. Locate Computer at the top of the list; double-click on it to open a new window.
4. On the View Resources tab, select Interrupt Request (IRQ).
5. Peruse the numbers 00 through 15 displayed on the left, and compare them with the hardware devices described on the right.
6. Determine which number your Netgear adapter is on and look for duplications of that number. If there are duplications and your network is not working with a common protocol (such as NetBEUI), then you have an IRQ conflict.
Note: “IRQ holder for PCI steering” is not a hardware device and may share an IRQ with your Netgear adapter.

Resolve an IRQ conflict:

1. Right-click on My Computer, and select Properties from the list.
2. Click on the Device Manager tab.
3. Locate the Network Adapters category, and click on the plus sign next to it to expand the list.
4. Remove the Netgear adapter.
5. Click on Close, then shut down the computer.
6. Remove the Netgear adapter from the computer and boot up completely without it inserted.
7. When Windows comes back up, shut down one more time.
8. Reinsert the Netgear adapter into a different PCI slot.
9. Boot the computer up and install the drivers for the Netgear adapter

 

I also found this (I stole using the Google groups idea from TonyKlein, I think ):

IRQ conflict with vid card

and this:

another google thread

Maybe one of these threads (they *might* be the same thread, I didn't pay close enough attention) will have a tip that helps?

 

Rollin Rog is the originator of the Google Group idea. He posted that not too long ago. He's a genius! Hear that ROG?

 

It's nice to have a certified genius on hand to assist with life's little problems! (Thanks, Rog)

Which forum do I post to to find out how to become one?