Back to Contents Page

Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities: Dell™ Dimension™ 4100 System Reference

Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Hardware and Software Incompatibility Occurrences
Windows 2000 Hardware and Software Incompatibility Occurrences

Windows® 98 and Windows Me Hardware and Software Incompatibility Occurrences

Interrupt request (IRQ) conflicts occur on systems running the Microsoft® Windows 98 or Windows Me operating system if a device is either:

To check for conflicts on a computer running Windows 98 or Windows Me:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

  2. In the Control Panel, double-click System.

  3. Click the Device Manager tab.

  4. In the Device Manager list, check for conflicts with the other devices.

Conflicts are indicated by a yellow exclamation point (!) beside the conflicting device or a red X if the device has been disabled.

  1. Double-click any conflicting device listed to bring up the Properties window so you can determine what needs to be reconfigured or removed from the Device Manager.

Resolve these conflicts before checking specific devices.

  1. Double-click the malfunctioning device type in the Device Manager list.

  2. Double-click the icon for the specific device in the expanded list.

The Properties window appears.

  1. Resolve any IRQ conflicts.

If there is an IRQ conflict, the Device status area in the Properties window reports what cards or devices are sharing the device's IRQ.

You can also use the Windows 98 or Windows Me Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter. To use the troubleshooter:

  1. Click the Start button, and then click Help.

  2. In Windows 98, double-click Troubleshooting on the Contents tab, and then double-click If you have a hardware conflict.

In Windows Me, double-click Troubleshooting in the What would you like help with? list, click Hardware & system device problems, click Hardware, memory, & others, and then click Hardware Troubleshooter.

Windows 2000 Hardware and Software Incompatibility Occurrences

To check for conflicts on a computer running the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

  2. In the Control Panel, double-click System.

  3. Click the Hardware tab.

  4. Click Device Manager.

  5. Click View, and then click Resources by connection.

  6. Double-click Interrupt request (IRQ) to view the IRQ assignments.

Conflicts are indicated by a yellow exclamation point (!) beside the conflicting device or a red X if the device has been disabled.

  1. Double-click any conflicting device listed to bring up the Properties window so you can determine what needs to be reconfigured or removed from the Device Manager.

Resolve these conflicts before checking specific devices.

  1. Double-click the malfunctioning device type in the Device Manager list.

  2. Double-click the icon for the specific device in the expanded list.

The Properties window appears.

If there is an IRQ conflict, the Device status area in the Properties window reports what cards or devices are sharing the device's IRQ.

  1. Resolve the IRQ conflicts.

You can also use the Windows 2000 Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter. To use the troubleshooter:

  1. Click the Start button, and then click Help.

  2. Double-click Troubleshooting and Maintenance on the Contents tab.

  3. Double-click If you have a hardware conflict.
Back to Contents Page