Hardware/Software Conflicts Copyright 2000-2001 Gene's Computer Outlet, Frazer, Pa Most of us realize by now that Windows crashes whenever it feels like it, or so it seems. Actually, Windows by itself is very stable. If you install Microsoft Office and a few good devices like a good scanner on the USB port, printer on the parallel port, and a good quality modem on an internal or external "Com" port, it is usually still quite stable. The trouble starts when you install software that conflicts with other software, or hardware that has software drivers that conflict with other drivers. That's not to say there are other things that can go wrong such as accidentally deleting a critical file, uninstalling software, or a power glitch that corrupts one or more files. A power glitch, for this discussion, includes a surge, momentary power flicker where the lights blink, or power failure where Windows does not get properly shut down. Software is installed into Windows, not copied into it. Each program goes into its own folder, but then components are added to Windows in the form of DLL , VXD, and other special drivers. Finally, the program modifies the Windows registry to include what it is supposed to read and use. The registry is a built in database, within Windows, that tells Windows what to do with itself and other installed programs and devices. All hardware devices, including the motherboard, display card, modem, sound card, printer, and if equipped: scanner, Zip drive, ORB drive, JAZ drive, camera card reader, CD Writer, USB ports, USB Hub, and network card, must have a software driver to tell that device how to work with Windows. They are written by the various manufacturers of these devices. They are supposed to follow rules and guidelines dictated by Microsoft, who wrote Windows. Since new technology comes about at every corner and these manufacturers are anxious to get their product to market, drivers are usually not tested with most other hardware devices and their drivers. Therefore, we have these conflicts. If you read the disclaimers in the licenses, you might become aware that the manufacturers have no responsibility for any problems you incur. Most likely, when a manufacturer becomes aware of a conflict, they look for some resolution. This may include issuing an updated driver over the Internet, which is quite common. Some times, it may take weeks or months to write a driver to solve a particular conflict. Sometimes, it involves contacting the other manufacturer to rewrite their driver. Most times, a vender will never acknowledge that there is a problem with their driver or software. They simply call it an updated driver when it is released. I personally have worked with technical support for many manufacturers trying to resolve various problems for customers and their components. I have also done it for my own computers. I have spent hours on single problems, more than once. Some times, conflicts can be resolved, but many times, the answer is disheartening. Typically, Tech Support either ends up telling you or me to rename or disable another manufacturers driver to get their device working, or to download new drivers. Their hardware may now work, but something else no longer works. I have been given a list of "vxd" files (drivers) that are "known problems" to that vender on many occasions. Another vender has their list that many include the first vender. Many times, I have been told to reformat a customer's hard drive as the only solution. There are several things wrong with this: First, there is a lot of time involved to reload Windows and all the various drivers. Then there is all the software. This assumes the customer still has all the needed disks and drivers. Devices such as modems, sound cards, and display cards do not work without these drivers. Finally, the data must be restored, and that's if there was a backup made somewhere along the line. Then, the customer gets a bill for the time. What puts the icing on this cake is that after all the drivers and software are restored, one or more devices may still not work because the conflict is back. Testing along the way shows that the original problem is resolved temporarily because it was installed before a problem device was installed. Reformatting should be reserved for corrupted FAT's or totally scrambled Windows, not just one device not working. Manufacturers do not like their names mentioned, but I have seen problems with the finest of manufacturers including Ricoh, Adaptec, Microtek, HP, Kodak, Iomega, and others. A major problem between Microtek, and Ricoh and Adaptec's "Easy CD Creator" took me countless hours. It was resolved only after Microtek and Ricoh both posted new drivers months later. Devices that use parallel ports including scanners usually have conflicts when other SCSI devices are installed in the same computer. Iomega has a fix for this solution. USB devices are supposed to be simple plug and play. I see that this is definitely not true. I have seen where two USB devices operate perfectly fine until they are plugged into a hub to allow additional devices. Then they go "bonkers". More recently, AOL 6 seems to affect certain hardware devices and their "vxd's". Some experts argue that there is nothing wrong with AOL, but if you can take a perfectly good system, install AOL, and something is not right afterwards, well, you do the math for yourself. Storage devices such as hard drives and CD ROM drives and writers and even tape drives on a USB port seem to bring out other troubles. Backing up to a device on the USB port is not the best choice because you could never do a full backup to it. HP traditionally made and still makes the best laser printers, but their drivers, for their inkjet printers, seem to cause problems with many other devices every time I turn around. They may also have some problems with their USB CD Writer drivers. IRQ and address conflicts are different types of conflicts that are more easily resolved, provided you have the resources. I count only 1 or 2 extra IRQ's in most computers for any extra ports and devices. Having 4 serial devices all needing to work in the same computer, along with other devices, may fall into the category of poor planning or just keep on dreaming. Tell tail signs that something is wrong include: Exception errors, protection fault, "Blue Screen", lockups or freezing, program not behaving or even opening, missing driver message, device not operating properly or at all, other error message, yellow or red mark in the device managers list. Note that some modems (win modems) give a yellow notation to a Com port even though it may operate correctly. An external drive, not plugged into the computer or turned on, may give a yellow mark until it is plugged in or turned on. There is another type of conflict with software. This occurs when software is running and another program is opened and they don't get along. Actually there is alot of these conflicts. Microsoft recognizes this and gave us a new tool in Windows 98 to solve this problem. Unfortunately, they did not make it so obvious. Its called MSCONFIG. We usually put a shortcut on your desktop if we are working on your computer. It is accessed through Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Configuration. The Startup tab controls what automatically starts when your computer boots. You can optimize your start up speed with this control and eliminate conflicts in many cases. If your computer starts up more than 6 or 7 programs automatically, it is a disaster waiting to happen. We usually see 15 to 35 programs automatically starting. This is not a fix-all, but it cures many problems. Shut them all off to see if it solves your problem if necessary. Computers that freeze up also may have other problems beside conflicts mentioned above. Dust that clogs the power supply fan and the CPU cooling fan will lock up the machine even at the DOS prompt. Poor quality or failed memory or even the motherboard can also cause freezes but if you have a good quality computer that hasn't been hit by a surge or static electricity, this is usually not the case. A "power flicker" will lock up a computer if you have power or outlet problems. I bring up the "freezing up" topic in this document because it relates to the same symptoms as conflicts. Any software upgrade, particularly the operating system, should be carefully evaluated to determine compatibility with not only the computer itself and its speed, but the devices and other software installed into it. Windows Me requires many new drivers not provided, and so does Windows 2000. An upgrade may cause you hours of aggrivation and loading new drivers. Installing software with other programs running can cause a conflict while installing, and the new software may not install properly. Most people think that because they are not running anything, it is OK to install software. Big Mistake! Check the task bar (Control ALT DEL) or MSCONFIG to see what is running before you install new software. Because I have so many different attachments for computers, I have them spread around between 3 different computers. I can not afford the time for something to go down over new devices in my computers. I spend the time on paying customers who add things and upgrade software with little or no thought. I do take the time to properly back up my hard drive with an image on a regular basis and also backup my data every time it changes or is created. I have a method that I use to test certain devices and it works great. I have even done this for my customers. I put the hard drive on a removable drawer and have a second hard drive on the drawer system. The second drive is a clone of the first. When I want to test a new device, I change to my alternate hard drive and install to it. Occassionally, I have to clone it back to the working hard drive because of "bad software". Off the subject, but I use this for customers where they want to keep kids away from their data, still using the same computer.