System Configuration

System configuration is the process of setting up your hardware devices and assigning resources to them so that they work together without problems. A properly-configured system will allow you to avoid nasty resource conflict problems, and make it easier for you to upgrade your system with new equipment in the future. An improperlyconfigured system will lead to strange errors and problems, and make upgrading a nightmare. Knowing Your System's Configuration One key to a well-tuned, trouble-free system is making sure it is properly configured. In order to accomplish this you must start by understanding its configuration. It can be difficult to figure out what all the devices are in your system and what resources they are using. To assist in this, several software tools have been created. These are typically called diagnostic utilities or programs. Some of them are built in to your operating system and others are available either for free download or commercial purchase. Also, there are areas of this site that can assist you. The sections on each of the main system resources (IRQs, DMA channels and I/O addresses) have tables that list all the resources and the devices that typically use them; you can print these out and use them as checklists. In addition, see the Device Resource Usage Summary table that shows at a glance what resources are used by each of the major devices in your system. Assigning Resources to Devices Many devices have fixed resource assignments that cannot be changed. Most system devices are like this. In addition, it is generally best not to change (or try to change) the resource settings for standard devices like IDE hard disk controllers unless you both really know what you are doing and there is a compelling reason to change them. The following devices usually have hard-coded resource settings that cannot be changed: system devices, keyboard, PS/2 mouse, floppy disk controller, primary IDE controller, video card. Others can generally be changed, although it makes more sense for some devices than for others. There are several different ways that are generally used to set or change resource settings for devices:

Hardware Settings: Resource assignments on some cards, especially older ones, is done by hardware on the device itself. This involves changing the settings of jumpers and switches, usually on the circuit board of the device, to tell it what resources to use. This is similar to the way most motherboards are configured. Hardware configuration has the great disadvantage of being a pain if you ever want to change the resources: you have to open the box and usually pull out the card to get to the jumpers. It has one great advantage however: certainty. You always know that if you put the jumper on say IRQ7, the card will try to use IRQ7 (if it isn't busted of course. :^) ) You can always open the box and look at the card and get visual confirmation of how it is set up. You cannot do this with software-based configuration. Software Configuration Programs: Many newer cards are configured using special software config programs that come with them. You run the program and select the resources you want to use, and the program writes the information into a special rewriteable EEPROM placed on the device for that purpose. This is similar to the way a flash BIOS is used to upgrade the system BIOS using software, on a smaller scale. Devices that use configuration programs like these are much more convenient than those that use hardware settings, because you can change the resources without opening the box. However, they have the disadvantage of being dependent on the configuration program; if you lose the disk you'll need to get another copy of the program to change the settings. You also can't tell what the settings are with the power off, and you run the slight risk of scrambling the card's settings if you say, lose power while it writes new settings to the card. Plug and Play: Newer devices that subscribe to the Plug and Play standards can be automatically configured under certain conditions when used in a machine that supports Plug and Play, with an operating system that supports it. Plug and Play is an attempt to eliminate the large amount of work in assigning resources to devices and resolving conflicts. When it works properly, resources are dynamically and automatically assigned and reassigned and you don't have to worry about making everything work together. In addition, the use of a PnP operating system like Windows 95 will normally allow you to change device resource settings using the built-in Device Manager, giving you override control if you don't like what PnP chose for your device, and eliminating the need for special configuration utilities. However, often problems result from the system making poor resource choices or having difficulties dealing with devices in the system that are not themselves PnPcompatible.

Tip: It is always a good idea, once you have your system configured in a way that makes sense and works for you, to record the system configuration for future

reference. Problems With Changing Default Resource Assignments In theory, any device should be able to work at any of the resource settings it supports. Unfortunately in the real world, this isn't always the case. One of the main reason is that software sometimes makes assumptions that it really shouldn't. Sometimes, one of these assumptions is that a device will use the resource settings it defaults to. If you change the settings, the software will not function correctly. This is much more prevalent with older software than newer. One of the worst problem areas in this regard is the sound card, and the programs that often cause the problem are games. Games are some of the most performancedemanding applications you will use on your PC, and to maximize performance they often work directly with the hardware. To do this they have their own driver programs, and sometimes these programs cut corners by only supporting devices in their default location. This problem is much less severe than it once was, and is generally found only in DOS games (not those that run natively under Windows 95). For this reason, it is best to leave the sound card settings at the values they default to, and change other devices to avoid the sound card if necessary. Another problem with changing default resource settings has to do with software testing. Software should be tested with a variety of different hardware using a variety of different settings. Programmers often are incomplete in their testing work (or they have pointy-haired managers who force them to cut corners). If the testing is not thorough, the unusual resource settings--the things they "never thought anyone would try"--are where the strange bugs occur. This problem is still very common, for all types of programs and all types of hardware devices. This is why it's a bad idea in most cases to attempt to change the default resources for "standard" devices in your system. You should generally leave your devices at the defaults that are common to most PCs, whenever possible. While changing them probably will work OK, it's asking for more trouble. This is not to say you should never change the resource settings for your devices. In many cases, you need to, or it is the option that makes the most sense to avoid a conflict or other problems. But it is wise to be careful and to try to change the less important devices where possible. It is also a good idea to avoid unusual settings as much as possible. Device Resource Usage Summary

The table below contains a summary line for each of the major device types in a typical PC, showing the major resources that they typically use. It is a summary table containing the information from the summary tables for IRQ, DMA channel and I/O address usage. You can use this as a handy quick reference when looking to add a new device to your PC, or to assist in debugging a resource problem. Circle or highlight the devices you currently have and the resources they are using, and then you'll be able to see at a glance what resources are still available or possible ways that you could shuffle assignments to fit in a new peripheral. Note that the resources listed below are a guideline, and aren't the hard and fast rule for all devices; consult your manual to see the exact resources used by your hardware. The entries in bold represent the default resource usage in a typical PC; entries in regular text are optional resource allocations, or resources used by optional or nonstandard devices:
Device Type Device System reserved System PCI devices COM1 COM2 Serial Ports COM3 COM4 LPT1 Parallel Ports LPT2 LPT3 Keyboard controller Input Devices PS/2 mouse Joystick port Floppy disk controller Primary 6 14 2 2/9, 4, 5, 7 2/9, 3, 5, 7 7 5, 7 5 1 12 1, 3 (if ECP) 1, 3 (if ECP) 1, 3 (if ECP) 3E8-3EFh 2E8-2EFh 378-37Fh, 3BC-3BFh 278-27Fh, 378-37Fh 278-27Fh 060h and 064h (shared with PS/2 mouse) 060h and 064h (shared with keyboard) 200-207h 3F0-3F7h 1F0-1F7h and 3F6-3F7h 9, 10, 11, 12 4 3 IRQs DMA Channels 0, 4 I/O Addresses 000-0FFh (except 060h and 064h) and 100-12Fh and 20C-20Dh and 270-277h (depends on device) 3F8-3FFh 2F8-2FFh

0, 2, 8, 13

Storage

IDE controller Secondary IDE controller Tertiary IDE controller Quaternary IDE controller SCSI host adapter Tape accelerator card Old PC/XT hard disk controller VGA video card Video EGA video card Modems Modem 2/9 2/9, 3, 4, 5, 7 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 1, 3 (voice modems) (1, 3) and (5, 6, 7) 3C0-3CFh (uses COM port) (220-22Fh, 240-24Fh, 260-26Fh, 280-28Fh) and (300-301h, 330331h) and 388-38Bh 240-243h, 260-263h, 280-283h, 2A0-2A3h, 300-303h, 320-323h, 340-343h, 360-363h 240-25Fh, 260-27Fh, 280-29Fh, 2A0-2BFh, 300-31Fh, 320-33Fh, 340-35Fh, 360-37Fh 15, 10 170-177h and 376-377h

11, 12

1E8-1EFh and 3EE-3EFh

10, 11 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

168-16Fh and 36E-36Fh 130-14Fh, 140-15Fh, 220-23Fh, 330-34Fh, 340-35Fh 360h, 370h, 3E0h, 3F0h

1, 3, 5

1, 2, 3

320-327h

11, 12

3B0-3BBh and 3C0-3DFh

Sound cards

Sound card Non-NE2000 network card

1, 3, 5, 6, 7

Networking NE2000 network card 1, 3, 5, 6, 7

Using System Configuration

System Configuration is an advanced tool that can help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. You can start Windows with common services and startup programs turned off and then turn them back on, one at a time. If a problem does not occur when a service is turned off, but does occur when turned on, then the service could be the cause of the problem.

System Configuration is intended to find and isolate problems, but it is not meant as a startup management program. To permanently remove or turn off programs or services that run at startup, see Uninstall or change a program. The following table describes the tabs and options that are available in System Configuration:

Tab General

Description Lists choices for startup configuration modes: Normal startup. Starts Windows in the usual manner. Use this mode to startWindows after you are done using the other two modes to troubleshoot the problem. Diagnostic startup. Starts Windows with basic services and drivers only. This mode can help rule out basic Windows files as the problem. Selective startup. Starts Windows with basic services and drivers and the other services and startup programs that you select.

Boot

Shows configuration options for the operating system and advanced debugging settings, including: Safe boot: Minimal. Boots to the Windows graphical user interface (WindowsExplorer) in safe mode running only critical system services. Networking is disabled. Safe boot: Alternate shell. Boots to the Windows Command Prompt in safe mode running only critical system services. Networking and the graphical user interface are disabled. Safe boot: Active Directory repair. Boots to the Windows graphical user interface in safe mode running critical system services and Active Directory. Safe boot: Network. Boots to the Windows graphical user interface in safe mode running only critical system services. Networking is enabled. No GUI boot. Does not display the Windows splash screen when booting. Boot log. Stores all information from the boot process in the file %SystemRoot%Ntbtlog.txt. Base video. Boots to the Windows graphical user interface in minimal VGA mode. This loads standard VGA drivers instead of display drivers specific to the video hardware on the computer. OS boot information. Shows driver names as drivers are being loaded during the boot process. Make all boot settings permanent. Does not track changes made in System Configuration. Options can be changed later using System Configuration, but must be changed manually. When this option is selected, you cannot roll back your changes by

Tab

Description selecting Normal startup on the General tab.

Services

Lists all of the services that start when the computer boots, along with their current status (Running or Stopped). Use the Services tab to enable or disable individual services at boot time to troubleshoot which services might be contributing to boot problems. Select Hide all Microsoft services to show only third-party applications in the services list. Clear the check box for a service to disable it on your next boot. If you have chosen Selective startup on the General tab, you must either choose Normal startup on the General tab or select the services check box to start it again at boot time.

Warning Disabling services that normally run at boot time might cause some programs to malfunction or result in system instability. Do not disable services in this list unless you know they are not essential to your computers operation. Selecting Disable all will not disable some secure Microsoft services required for the operating system to start. Startup Lists applications that run when the computer boots, along with the name of their publisher, the path to the executable file, and the location of the registry key or shortcut that causes the application to run. Clear the check box for a startup item to disable it on your next boot. If you have chosen Selective startup on the General tab, you must either choose Normal startup on the General tab or select the startup items check box to start it again at boot time. If you suspect an application has been compromised, examine the Command column to review the path to the executable file.

Note Disabling applications that normally run at boot time might result in related applications starting more slowly or not running as expected. Tools Provides a convenient list of diagnostic tools and other advanced tools that you can run.

The way a system is set up, or the assortment of components that make up the system. Configuration can refer to either hardware or software, or the combination of both. For instance, a typical configuration for a PC consists of 32MB (megabytes) main memory, a floppy drive, a hard disk, a modem, a CD-ROM drive, a VGA monitor, and the Windows operating system. Many software products require that the computer have a certain minimum configuration. For example, the software might require a graphics display monitor and a video adapter, a particular microprocessor, and a minimum amount of main memory. When you install a new device or program, you sometimes need to configureit, which means to set various switches and jumpers (for hardware) and to define values of parameters (for software). For example, the device or program

may need to know what type of video adapter you have and what type of printer is connected to the computer. Thanks to new technologies, such asplug-and-play, much of this configuration is performed automatically.

Sample Hardware Configuration

Minimum Hardware Recommendation The following hardware configuration is recommended:

2 Gigahertz P4 CPU with 512 Megabytes of RAM (or of similar performance), 40 Gigabyte Hard Drive CDRW USB port(s) 10/100 Ethernet Adapter for Broadband and/or 56K Data Modem for dialup network connection WiFi 802.11 b or g. Wireless network adapter (Laptops only) Sound card, and speakers or headphones 1024 by 768 resolution monitor Printer

Windows-based computers are the dominant choice in most University of Florida academic programs. Students considering purchasing other platforms, such as a Macintosh, should carefully examine the requirements and recommendations of their academic programs. Windows XP is currently the most supported platform on campus. If you are interested in purchasing a computer with Windows Vista, confirm that your college and degree program will support the newer operating system. Any new computer purchased should be bought with the potential to upgrade to Windows Vista in mind. See the Sample Windows Vista Configuration page for more information.

Computer Performance and Hard Drive

Most students at UF will take courses that will use online delivery and communications. Many of these courses use E-Learning. The minimum recommendation provided here is one that ensures that a student will have a reasonable use experience when dealing with online and learning materials. More importantly a smooth experience will make learning more effective for the student (see the college requirements section for more details). Hard drive space will vary depending on the needs of the program and the habits of the student. Sufficient space must be allowed for the students data and applications. Check with your academic department for any specific requirements.

CDRW for Backups

The ability to read and write CDs provides a great deal of flexibility to transfer data and most importantly to create permanent backups of the students work. It is important to backup important data file s that are stored on your computer. Other backup alternatives are available, such as, back up files onto another computer or use a backup service on the internet. Or you might consider a large (100MB or larger) storage device, such a USB Flash Drive, Zip Drive, CD-R or CD-RW, DVD-R or DVD-RW, USB or Firewire external hard drive (make sure your computer has compatible ports), or other similar technology that will allow you to make frequent, easy and preferably automated backups of your files.

USB Ports
Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports are a convenience. Many external devices can be connected through this port to the computer, such as flash memory, MP3 players, external Hard drives, DVD burners, Ethernet adapters, etc.. Some devices may require USB 2.0 or higher.

Ethernet Adapter for Connection to the Network

An Ethernet adapter is required for connection to the network. Broadband connectivity is highly recommended (DSL, Cable, or Satellite). Students using dialup only may experience difficulties with some UF systems and may need to use facilities available on campus. Housing and many department complexes offer broadband services as part of their standard living arrangements. In addition, broadband services can be contracted locally. Student living in the Division of Housing should consult the Division of Housing Web Page for more information. Ethernet connection ports are available in most campus labs, classrooms, libraries and other public places to accommodate students with notebook computers.

Wireless Connection to the Network

Laptop users can access Wireless services available at many locations on campus.

Sound card
Use of multimedia for instruction is now commonplace. A reasonable sound quality is important for uses such as streamed video of classes, distance tutoring, and narrated PowerPoint.

Monitor A monitor resolution less than indicated here will result in web pages not fitting on a single screen. This will require scrolling vertically and horizontally to view a complete page. Computing Requirement Resources:

Campus Software Standards Sample Vista Configuration Specific College and Degree Computer Requirements Care of your PC

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