irq conflict

i have windows xp. my modem and sound card use the same irq 11. when i start my pc the sound works ok. when i go onto the net i get no sound and when i log off the net i get no sound at all.

can i change the irq settings if so how. please help me.

 

Hi howardrocker1

I take it these are both PCI cards?

from your post, your sound disappears as you go onto and come off the internet: for a dialup, as you are picking up and putting down the 'phone line...

this may be impossible to avoid - but is only for a second or two at the start and end of your internet session.

...but does it work during your internet session? and does it work after you have come off the internet altogether?

best wishes, HJ

 

With both Modem and Sound using the same IRQ the conflict will continue untill one or the other is moved.

BTW. I thought that XP was supposed to prevent this ****

But this is normal behaviour for an Internal Modem.

The problem is the Modem itself. I believe that I am correct in thinking it is an Internal. And as such is being it same old nasty self and refusing to move to another IRQ.

But my question is WHY did XP not move the Sound card ?

1-You could try unstalling the modem and then physically removing it and starting windows at least once with out it.

2-Then replace and reinstall it.

Or you could use #1 and then replace it with a new and different Modem.

3-- And a much better and more reliable thing would be to install and EXTERNAL Modem. I have read about other cases with a similiar problem and just plugging in a USRobotics External all problems were fixed on the first bootup.

BillyBob

 

thnx some one told me that irq is set both sound card and modem on 11 so thats conflict.
can i change this icq

 

OUCH !!!

We stepped on each other.

Yes IRQ conflict is 100% correct.

BB

 

can i do owt to fix it ie change the irq

 

can i do owt to fix it ie change the irq

Maybe and maybe not. It may well depend on how STUBBORN the Modem is.

Many of them once they are installed become what we call HardCoded and WILL NOT change.

You may get it fixed for now but if you ever have to redo the OS for some reason the problem could be right back.

Your overall more permanent and more reliable ( much more ) fix is an External Modem.

Or a different Modem may fix things up.

BillyBob

 

howardrocker1

Regardless of what else you do, DO NOT blame this problem on Windows.

It is a problem that has been around since the days of Win95 and Internal PCI modems.

I have changed many Operating systems for myself and others and wound up having to find an Internal PCI Modem that would work.

Most of them did go to Externals and fixed the problem PERMANENTLY.

Intial cost is higher I agree. But the long lasting benifits make it worth it. I have yet to see any OS have problems with an External.

BillyBob

 

if you have a spare COM port to plug into, then an external modem is indeed the best way to go; the COM port will already have its resources, separate from all the PCI slots...

(although COM1 and COM 3 interact a bit; as do COM2 and COM4)

external modems also show you what's going on with the 'phone line independently of the computer - which can be very useful when trying to debug things.

my PCI modem and sound card share IRQ11 quite happily; the sound glitches for a brief moment as the modem grabs or relinquishes the 'phone line, but I can live with that.

Hence my earlier question, as I was unclear whether you perhaps meant that after you come offline you had no sound whatsoever until you rebooted...

if you want to try put-and-take with the slots, and want to reduce the "random" element, it helps if you have (or can download) the manual for your motherboard. Try to find a table like this showing which slot uses which INT because it's far more important not to share INTs than to have conflicting IRQs. The INTs are physical "wires" which connect to the PCI sockets - and there are only 4 of them - they get as far as the southbridge but Windows never even sees them.

true indeed - Windows doesn't have a clue. Even if through extreme cleverness the same INT gets resolved into different IRQs, it's just masking the problem, making it harder to solve.

internal modems are much worse for conflicts than other PCI cards; they have the nasty habit of "grabbing" the INT and not letting go for a whole second or so. Mostly, INTs are fleeting creatures which are only active for a few millionths of a second; but when a modem picks up or puts down the 'phone line, it grabs the INT for enough time to give serious trouble to anything else which needs it.

so, with reference to that chart, I wouldn't be putting a modem into slot1 (shared with AGP) or slot4/slot5 (kibosh the onboard USB controller)... a bit hard to work out what to do! (I'd probably disable the onboard sound with the BIOS, use slot3 for the modem, and hope with very crossed fingers that the lesser requirements of a sound card in one of the other slots wouldn't impact whatever's sharing badly enough to prang either device)

most devices will tolerate a brief "holdup" (if their driver supports sharing), but swiping the INT for a whole second is just toooo much...

so: if you want to play put and take, finding the table for your motherboard is really useful. But the best solution is still to get an external modem...

good luck with it all, HJ.

 

Most deffinetly.

It depends a lot on the Modem itself also.

WinModem types ( Which I would bet that PeteC does not have) can be a REAL PAIN. I have had some that would work anywhere. I have had PCs that I could only get an ISA Modem to work.

And whether home built or OEM can make A LOT of difference also. For the latter I believe an External may be better choice.

BillyBob