IRQ problem - (FIXED)

[gzollinger1]

I am building a system on a IWILL KA266-R. I have everything working fine with Graphics card /CD-Rom installed. When I go to add my Netgear FA311 NIC card, the computer no longer reboots correctly. If I restart, the screen goes black, and the computer appears to freeze. I was installing using WIN98SE and I switched to ME to see if that helped, no luck. I have an identical NIC card, so I switched to see if that helped, no luck. I found that the NIC was sharing an IRQ with the display adapter, so I tried installing the NIC to a different PCI slot, no luck, still sharing IRQ. I tried removing the device from device manager, then changing slots, then reinstalling the drivers, no luck. I decide that I have to assign the IRQ manually, but it won't let me change it for either the NIC or the display adapter in device manager. It says I can't change it. I go into the bios and set it to allow me to manually change IRQ's and back to device manager, still no luck. I am at my wits end...PLEASE HELP!

I gave up a bought a Linksys NIC and it worked no problem. I recommend anyone buying or using a KA266-R Mainboard to Avoid the Netgear FA311 (and maybe the other netgear cards as well). I'm sure updated drivers will be available in the future but for now, don't chance it.

 

[tboo]

If you dont use your serial ports then diable both in the BIOS-this gives you 2 IRQs.

 

[interchange]

Windows auto-assigns IRQ's, so you have very little control over them. Even if you disable the devices you aren't using. My advice is to look for something other than an IRQ conflict. The PCI bus is designed to share interrupts, so you should technically not incur any problems with your system based solely off of that. Now, this isn't always the case. For example, my old linksys card hated sharing an IRQ with anything. But make sure that actually is the problem before you pull your hair out trying to fix it.

Also, another thing. If this is a PCI video card (not likely) then move it up to the first PCI slot.

 

[gzollinger1]

The problem isn't a lack of IRQ's, I have several that aren't being used.

Here is the info from Netgears FAQ:
Q:System will not reboot when NIC is installed.
A:Common issue caused by a resource conflict between the Netgear card and another device. Simple solution for this issue would be to first verify you have some free irqs on your system, and then do the following:
If you have some free resources on your system:
Uninstall the NIC from windows, shut down the computer and physically move the NIC to another pci slot. This will give the device an irq seting other than that of the device it was previously conflicting with. Boot up the system and reinstall the card (if this does not solve the issue the first time, depending on if you have any more free PCI slots, go through the same process and try another PCI slot).
(This didn't work for me)
or assign a free irq for the device through your BIOS (if supported).
(This is what I can't do, eventhough I think my system should support it)

 

[Pakman]

OMG, my explorer just shut down after I finished typing this long ass reply... AHHHHHHH!!!! Ok, anyways I'm gonna make it short and sweet. Keep in mind I'm doing this from memory so it might not be perfect. Try going into your BIOS and assign IRQ's manually. It won't be the same for every motherboard, but give it a try. Goto the section in your BIOS called PCI/PNP Configuration. You'll see Pin 1 assignment, Pin 2 assignment, ect.
Pin 1 = AGP Port
Pin 2 = PCI slot 1 and PCI slot 4
Pin 3 = PCI slot 2 and PCI slot 5
Pin 4 = PCI slot 3 and PCI slot 6 (shared with USB)

Well, basically what you should do is install your NIC. Go into your BIOS and change those settings to whatever IRQ. Just keep in mind that some IRQs need to be reserved for other devices. If you can, use only IRQ 5, 9, 10, and 11. Then save and reboot. Right before your windows bootup graphic comes up (it will say Verifying DMI Pool Data or something) hit the pause button. It should give you a list with what IRQ is assigned to what devices. If your network adapter is still sharing an IRQ then reboot and change the settings or move some of the cards around. This is the method I use instead of having to boot into windows just to find out so and so device is having an IRQ conflict. Also, try to space out your cards. For example, if you have your network card in PCI slot 2, don't put another card in PCI slot 5 that requires an IRQ. Look at my chart above to see what I mean. All this will probably vary from motherboard to motherboard so you might have to do a little bit of research. Try www.amdmb.com. They have forums for specific motherboards and probably will be able to help you better than I can. Best of Luck! Time to copy and paste before I lose this one too...

<edit>Oh, BTW... Do you happen to have a SB Live soundcard? If so, before you do any of this, make sure SB16 emulation is either disabled before you install your network card or you have it share LPT1's irq (irq 7) from the properties menu. If you don't, your soundcard will try to hijack another irq from your system. And just in case you wanted to know... here is how I have mine setup:
Pin 1= AGP slot IRQ 9 (Videocard)
Pin 2= PCI slot 4 IRQ 10 (Network card)
Pin 3= PCI slot 2 IRQ 5 (Soundcard)
Pin 4= for my USB controller IRQ 11
</edit>

 

[gzollinger1]

Thanks Pakman, I will try what you suggest, and no I don't have a sound card, I'm using the on-board sound.