IRQ Conflict Under Windows XP?

DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
edited August 2004 in Hardware
I really thought that these were a thing of the past, but I may have encountered one once again.

I just bought myself some Logitech Z640 Speakers, and I wanted to connect them for 5.1 Surround (obviously). My Motherboard has simple onboard sound which I have been using with my crappy 2.1 speakers (it has Speaker, Line In, and Mic plugs).

I had a 5.1 PCI sound card that I picked up a long time ago (I originally got it so I could get sound in MS-DOS ;), since my Mobo abandoned DOS drivers long ago). It's been plugged in for a long time, but I haven't been using it.

So I went into BIOS, and disabled onboard sound. When I booted Windows, the sound would play (out of my 5.1 PCI card) for about 1/2 second and then cut out... and lock up my system. Reminds me of trying to set up Ultima VII and guessing the wrong IRQ for the sound card.

So I'm assuming that I have an IRQ conflict of some kind. I have a lot of PCI devices (most of which I could probably remove if I had to):
* Second Video Card
* 5.1 Sound
* 56k Modem
* TV Tuner

It's nice to be able to use one IRQ for multiple devices, but it makes it that much more complicated to diagnose a problem.

Any help would be appreciated.
irq.GIF 40.4K

Comments

  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited August 2004
    If you think it could be one of your extra PCI devices, like the modem (UGH), you could try taking some of them out as a test.

    Do you use COM ports? Not much does nowadays. You could prolly disable those in BIOS. I usually do.
  • DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
    edited August 2004
    I disabled the modem in Windows, and turned off the "IRQ for VGA" and "IRQ for USB" options in BIOS.

    No luck yet.

    I love COM ports (I use them at work all the time), but I suppose I could turn off mine at home.
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited August 2004
    for some reason i dont think its and irq problem, i think something is still trying to use the old sound card. what kind of card is it, i see that you have the via ac97 driver installed along with the pci audio driver. try removing the old driver, and any of its components.
  • DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
    edited August 2004
    I've tried leaving both enabled and just setting the default card to the 5.1 one. It still crashes!! :(

    I'm wondering if I just have a bad card. What is a good replacement?
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited August 2004
    Um, see if your PCI card has jumpers for IRQ. If so, try setting it to IRQ 7. That is THE ONLY open IRQ I see. Second, if you have the motherboard manual, see if there is physical jumper disable for audio on the motherboard. If yes, duisable, that should cause the bIOS to no longer even see the old Audio. Your TV card has audio codec supports and audio input also, looks like. Windows might be confused about THREE or even TWO audio inputs to detect and choose from. Also, if the modem is tied to the builtin audio card fro voice modem output, things could get really interesting.

    Lastly, what I would like is a System Information analysis pane showing conflicting device output, for both IRQ and DMA. You say this is XP, so go to Start|All Programs|Accessories (you might have to click or hover mouse pointer over down arrow at bottom of programs list if you have not used Accessories to make it visible, ditto for next Option Choice)|System Tools|System Information OR, since you might like the CLI still, try Start|Run|msinfo32|Enter Key.

    You want hardware info pane, then a conflicts list, and I need DMA list also as many older audio type devices use DMA Channels and need THOSE unique also-- this is especially true of sound devices. AND it is also true of audio drivers and sometimes older CODEC sets. IF XP has taken audio into compatibility mode for older drivers, then the old problems can rear thier ugly heads big time. AND XP will be unhappy if the Audio Codecs are still trying to talk to an unhooked audio device-- you could be having Codec lockups ALSO.

    ADDED: And, if you, DOSMAN, have not played with 5.1 Audio a lot, there is one soft switch in the drivers that can make or break audio with a 5.1 speaker set plugged in-- one of the jacks typically used is a dual purpose jack. IF the drivers were installed with the speakers not plugged in, hop into the drivers config for the card, possibly an audio control set in the running apps icons area by speaker, and SWITCH the AUX-IN to rear speaker mode or BASS mode, ok???? A driver trying to use speakers (OUTPUT devices) as an aux-IN INPUT source can create all sorts of weird havoc in XP, ESPECIALLY with IRQ conflcits and\or DMA conflicts ALSO present... YOU might have to do this with the speakers unplugged, tell it you hear the test tones, then restart XP, then see if things suddenly work right. That little catch 22 is not well emphasized in some C-Media card manuals.
  • DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
    edited August 2004
    Is there a way to manually set the card's IRQ?

    I installed my drivers with the speakers not plugged in (although I think I have also done it with them plugged in). I've been searching around, and haven't seen any trigger setting. Maybe you could give me a few pointers there. I'm new to 5.1 sound.

    I am curious about the jumpers though. "Normal" and "Inverse". Do you have any idea what that sets?
  • DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
    edited August 2004
    Bump...


    I could use a little help here. I'd like to get my sound working.

    If not, what is a good replacement card to buy?
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