When installing Windows NT on some Gateway 2000 computers, IRQ
conflicts may arise because of the default settings for COM ports or
modems. If you have a built-in modem, it is usually set up
to use COM1 and IRQ 4. There are also two additional COM ports
configured as On Board COMA and On Board COMB in your computer CMOS.
If a modem is installed, On Board COMA will normally have the
following settings by default:
On board COMA: COM3
COMA_IRQ: IRQ-5
When installing other devices that use an IRQ, such as network cards
or sound cards, you may encounter IRQ conflicts if those devices are
configured to use IRQ 5.
For example, the Gateway may also include a Sony CDU-31A CD-ROM drive
which uses IRQ 5 under Windows NT. If you follow the guidelines for
installing that device in Windows NT, the CD-ROM still may not work
properly. The IRQ conflict can be avoided by changing the COMA_IRQ
setting in the CMOS or by setting up the device to use a different
IRQ. To adjust IRQ settings, press CTRL+ALT+ESC at a command prompt or
during boot to access the CMOS setup (ESC+F1 may also work). COMA_IRQ can
be set to 4, 5, 9,
or Disabled.
For additional information on using the Sony CDU 31A with Windows NT,
query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
sony cdu
For additional information on Gateway computers, contact Gateway
technical support at (800) 846-2301.
The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of
Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these
products' performance or reliability.