How to disable shared interrupts without reinstall?

[Alex Rast]

I've got a Win2K system where shared interrupts are causing serious non-
functionalities. I've got devices only operating intermittently if at all,
apps which won't run, devices which Win2K intermittently detects as
removed. I get delays at boot time, miscellaneous locks, and various other
errors which I've been able to track down to the problem of shared
interrupts. It was irritating in the past but it's reached the point where
something has to be done.

But meanwhile, a complete, from-the-ground-up reinstall isn't an option.
That would be the easy way - reinstall with every power-saving option in
the BIOS turned off. In fact, when I did the original install I *did* have
all power-saving options off - or so I thought. Turns out the 2K ACPI
detector is *much* more aggressive than one might imagine and if you allow
it even the slightest hint that ACPI might hypothetically be an option, it
enables it. GRRR!

Anyway, I need to disable shared interrupts so I can assign everything in
such a way that my devices don't trip over each other. And I need to do it
without reinstalling. What do I need to do? I know I'm going to have to
replace the NTOSKRNL and HAL (which I can do from my bare-bones service
install on the same machine). But then I assume there are multiple registry
entries that also need to be changed. So what are *all* the things I need
to do (whether copying files, editing the registry, editing text files, or
whatever) in order to disable shared interrupts?

 

[codigo]

I've got a Win2K system where shared interrupts are causing serious non-
functionalities. I've got devices only operating intermittently if at all,
apps which won't run, devices which Win2K intermittently detects as
removed. I get delays at boot time, miscellaneous locks, and various other
errors which I've been able to track down to the problem of shared
interrupts. It was irritating in the past but it's reached the point where
something has to be done.

But meanwhile, a complete, from-the-ground-up reinstall isn't an option.
That would be the easy way - reinstall with every power-saving option in
the BIOS turned off. In fact, when I did the original install I *did* have
all power-saving options off - or so I thought. Turns out the 2K ACPI
detector is *much* more aggressive than one might imagine and if you allow
it even the slightest hint that ACPI might hypothetically be an option, it
enables it. GRRR!

Anyway, I need to disable shared interrupts so I can assign everything in
such a way that my devices don't trip over each other. And I need to do it
without reinstalling. What do I need to do? I know I'm going to have to
replace the NTOSKRNL and HAL (which I can do from my bare-bones service
install on the same machine). But then I assume there are multiple registry
entries that also need to be changed. So what are *all* the things I need
to do (whether copying files, editing the registry, editing text files, or
whatever) in order to disable shared interrupts?

Lets try this from the beggining. Run winnt32 /checkupgradeonly and confirm
that the hardware is compatible. Consult the HCL list in the case some
devices are detected as not compatible or in the case hardware is older.
Turn your bios OS detection to off and let the OS manage all power
management functions. Consider flashing the mobo's bios if acpi is
available.

W2K is much more stable with ACPI than with a standard HAL except when the
hardware doesn't support acpi. W2K's virtual IRQ table is a huge improvement
over the old HCL.

If you beleive that an add-on card, for example, does not provide 100% acpi
compatibility, download your motherboard's manual. Modern boards use shared
slots. Thats how they are engineered. The AGP port usually shares resources
with PCI #1 and sometimes both #1 and #2, etc. Examine the populated slots
in your box in the case a hardware "conflict" arises between an acpi-aware
resource and a non-acpi aware resource (you can pause bios POST with a
pause, ESC to release). Unload the device from the OS, shutdown and unplug
system, and switch the non-acpi device to a free un-shared slot as required.
Reinstall driver.

Your goal is not to run a standard HAL.

 

[Alex Rast]

at Thu, 05 May 2005 19:21:18 GMT in

Lets try this from the beggining. Run winnt32 /checkupgradeonly and
confirm that the hardware is compatible. Consult the HCL list in the
case some devices are detected as not compatible or in the case hardware
is older. Turn your bios OS detection to off and let the OS manage all
power management functions. Consider flashing the mobo's bios if acpi is
available.

Letting the OS manage power management gives me a bad feeling in my
stomach. Understand that I would prefer *all* power management functions to
be OFF. *All* of them. I'm suspicious as is that the OS is managing power
management.

W2K is much more stable with ACPI than with a standard HAL except when
the hardware doesn't support acpi. W2K's virtual IRQ table is a huge
improvement over the old HCL.

If you beleive that an add-on card, for example, does not provide 100%
acpi compatibility, download your motherboard's manual. Modern boards
use shared slots. Thats how they are engineered. The AGP port usually
shares resources with PCI #1 and sometimes both #1 and #2, etc. Examine
the populated slots in your box in the case a hardware "conflict" arises
between an acpi-aware resource and a non-acpi aware resource (you can
pause bios POST with a pause, ESC to release). Unload the device from
the OS, shutdown and unplug system, and switch the non-acpi device to a
free un-shared slot as required. Reinstall driver.
Your goal is not to run a standard HAL.

Nice in theory. But not in practice. My system has plenty of devices, any
one of which could in theory be "not 100% compatible". So my goal *is* to
run a standard HAL. That way I can ensure interrupts stay out of each
others' way.

My goal, however, is to fix a problem, not to get embroiled in a polemical
battle. Does someone here know how to disable shared interrupts and is
prepared to discuss how this is done without a long debate?

 

[codigo]

at Thu, 05 May 2005 19:21:18 GMT in


Letting the OS manage power management gives me a bad feeling in my
stomach. Understand that I would prefer *all* power management functions to
be OFF. *All* of them. I'm suspicious as is that the OS is managing power
management.

Thats precisely the intent. If the OS manages all power management settings,
then, and only then, do you have a fighting chance to turn the power
features off. Been there, done that.

Nice in theory. But not in practice. My system has plenty of devices, any
one of which could in theory be "not 100% compatible". So my goal *is* to
run a standard HAL. That way I can ensure interrupts stay out of each
others' way.

Apparently, i've not made myself clear. Shared resources affects a Standard
HAL, not an ACPI HAL. Here is another fact: compatibility is not an "option"
with W2K. Its a strict requirement. Doesn't it make sense then that
identifying those devices that are not W2K compatible give you the benefit
of a system that runs instead of a BSOD chug? For all you know, maybe an
incompatible modem or some other minor issue is the difference between a
stable system and a pain.

My goal, however, is to fix a problem, not to get embroiled in a polemical
battle. Does someone here know how to disable shared interrupts and is
prepared to discuss how this is done without a long debate?

You can't convert an ACPI HAL to a standard HAL, you can only go from
Standard to ACPI. The only option is to reinstall with a Standard HAL. Start
setup from CD-media, when you see "Press F6 if you need to install a third
party SCSI or RAID driver", press F5 and choose StandardPC.

 

[Alex Rast]

at Tue, 10 May 2005 08:12:13 GMT in

Thats precisely the intent. If the OS manages all power management
settings, then, and only then, do you have a fighting chance to turn the
power features off. Been there, done that.

The BIOS setup utility on my machine allows you to completely disable power
management. You have to be careful about the order which you disable stuff
because if you disable the power management globally before the individual
power management settings have been disabled there can be some lingering
settings detritus, but done right, it disables everything. Then when you
install Win2K it installs the standard HAL and you don't get IRQ conflicts.
I have verified this for myself with another system. This second system has
the same motherboard and hardware and doesn't have any problems at all.

Apparently, i've not made myself clear. Shared resources affects a
Standard HAL, not an ACPI HAL.

Except that in the real world, the system I mentioned where ACPI was
accidentally installed experiences conflicts on a daily basis, whereas the
system with no ACPI experiences no such conflicts. And once again, they're
using the same hardware.

Here is another fact: compatibility is
not an "option" with W2K. Its a strict requirement.

What I've experienced is that in addition to the fact that many devices
fudge the compatibility a little, there are quite frequently multiple
different methods to achieve "100% compatibility" which are sometimes
themselves mutually conflicting unless you can set everything manually and
explicitly.

Doesn't it make
sense then that identifying those devices that are not W2K compatible
give you the benefit of a system that runs instead of a BSOD chug?

It makes more sense to me that being able to set all your devices up
manually so as to sidestep any conflicts gives you a more absolute
guarantee that the system will work. It furthermore makes more sense to me
that such a capability allows you to use desirable devices that might have
a few relatively minor compatibility concerns without fear, instead of
being forced to compromise on device choices or worse still, not being able
to use certain types of devices at all. The system you propose is probably
a reasonable solution for the relative computer novice, but for someone who
knows computers well it ends up being more constraining than it is
beneficial.

You can't convert an ACPI HAL to a standard HAL, you can only go from
Standard to ACPI.

Are you saying, then, that certain aspects of the ACPI install are embedded
in undocumented binary configuration files which are created by the system
at install time, as opposed simply to files on the install CD or settings
in registry? This would seem to me to be the only way that the scenario you
describe could be possible. I have to comment that if certain aspects of
Win2K configuration are undocumented by Microsoft, this represents a
serious irresponsibility on their part, although leaving things
undocumented is nothing new for them.