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Using the one IRQ

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by total geek Jan 31, 2003 last reply Mar 24, 2003

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Is it normal for many devices to be sharing the same IRQ. The following share IRQ 11:

Video Card
Sound Card
Modem
NIC
USB Controller PCI Parellel port
Running Win 2K.
This is a new computer and is not playing games correctly. It keeps crashing and sometimes it even shuts down. One particular game when staring the CD, it flashes on the screen for a moment and then is gone.
Can anyone help me with this problem please?

Thanks

Mil

11 replies

by thechas Jan 31, 2003

Yes, Windows sets many devices to use the same IRQ.

This is usually not a problem as IRQ sharing allows Windows to handle the various devices properly.

As to problems with games and Windows 2000.
Windows 2000 lacks much of the code required for MANY games.
This was done on purpose as Windows 2000 is targeted at office and business computing tasks.
Removing the code required for games makes W2K more stable than Windows 98 or Me.

You can try updating the video driver and the chip-set driver for the motherboard.

Ultimately, if gaming is one of your primary PC uses, you will be happier with either W98, Me, or XP. All of which have full support for PC games.

Chas

by total geek Mar 24, 2003

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by fenaikh Jan 31, 2003

Hi
read these :

indows 2000 Tips & Tweaks -Game Tuning Guide for Win NT / 2000

http://fox2k.net/2ktweaks/game_tuning_guide.htm

Diagnosing and fixing an IRQ conflicts with your PCI Network adapter
http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/irq-sharing.asp

Note1:
***Very Important NOTE *********
After you copy the URL a space or a %20 maybe gets inserted in the URL when you paste it into your browser. Delete any spaces or such characters from the URL for the page to be loaded.
***Very Important NOTE *********

by total geek Mar 24, 2003

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by hatchingground Jan 31, 2003

I know you've probably checked, but just for the record.... Did you check to make sure the ram is properly seated? I had a friend with a like problem and this was the cause. You might also check to make sure you have the latest video drivers. Hope this helps.

by total geek Mar 24, 2003

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by csmith Feb 1, 2003

Unfortunately, under Win2K this is normal.
Switch to Win98SE for max speed.
The problem with chaining IRQs is that the software has to go down the chain before the Interrupt is "serviced".
When the PC has only one device per Interrupt, the CPU jumps directly to the "service routine" for that device. This makes the response time quicker, and the PC is "faster".
This is why some gamers run "forced configurations" of the Interrupts in the PC.
Regards, Chris