Device Mgr conflict

My Gateway P-II-Win 98SE, I have a Yellow Splat in Device Mgr, (System board
extension for PnP BIOS).
In Sys Properties/Properties a note say there is a resource conflict, Code
15, but the troubleshooter says no conflict exists. Remove/reboot PnP
doesn't help. Safe Mode there is no conflict because no drivers are loaded.
Reformat and reinstalling Windows doesn't help me. I strongly suspect modem
or video driver, but am not sure
How can I troubleshoot and solve this problem in the smartest manner. Thanks

hi Tom!

you have an irq or ii/o conflict and maybe even an address conflict.
start by opening up the device manager
make sure view devices by type is selected
then
highlight computer and double click on it
select each one of the radial buttons
print each one out

do one for the interrupt request irq
input/output i/o
direct memory access (dma)
memory

then go to
start
system
programs
accessories
system tools
system information
click on the + sign in front of hardware resources
for each one of these make sure the advanced buttons is on and make a copy of each of these and print them out:
conflicts/sharing
dma
forced hardware
i/o
irq's
memory

now since you say the yellow excalamation point doesn't appear in safe mode, you may simply be able to boot up in safe mode and compare the printed copies of everything and determine which card is interfering. this could be your video card, sound card, modem or network card. comparing the numbers and addresses should narrow it down.

you can also use MSD this is availabe on you windows 95 disk if you have one. you'll find it under other. it has to be used under dos. so boot up hitting
F8 and select a command prompt type MSD OR
CD\DOS
ENTER
TYPE MSD

THESE WILL ALL GIVE YOU A PICTURE OF WHAT THINGS MIGHT BE ON THE SAME ADDRESS SOME THINGS CAN SHARE OTHERS CAN'T.

ALSO, CHECK INSIDE YOUR BIOS. YOUR BIOS SHOULD TELL YOU WHAT COM PORTS ARE AVAILABLE. THE MODEM SHOULD BE ON COM 1 OR COM 2. MAKE SURE ALL THE COMS ARE TURNED IN THE BIOS WHEN YOU INSTALL YOUR MODEM. LET THE MODEM SELECT THE COM PORT. THEN GO BACK IN THE BIOS AND TURN OFF THE COM PORTS IT DOESN'T USE, MAKING SURE OF COURSE THAT NOTHING ELSE IS USING THAT PORT.

MSD WILL SHOW EXACTLY WHAT IS USING WHAT IRQ ADDRESS
IF YOU HAVE SCREEN THIEF INSTALLED YOU CAN DO A ALT+CTRL+T AND CAPTURE THE PAGES OF YOU MSD ONCE YOU ARE IN WINDOWS YOU CAN PRINT THEM OUT USING SNAGIT.

I AM SUGGESTING YOU PRINT THESE OUT BECAUSE ALL THESE NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES CAN BE VERY CONFUSING AND IT IS HARD to see all of them in the little windows. sorry i just realized i am typing in all caps again.

now if you haven't gone in to the bios yet and turned off the com ports you can go back into your device manager
click on the + sign next to ports (com & lpt) double click on each com 1, com 2 etc and under the resources tab it will show you input/output range and the interrupt request

all this information should help you find out where the conflict is.

Linda states in her book that with plug and play BIOS that you have to disable one of the com ports on your multi-I/O card to prevent a conflict with the modem. this would mean you would have to adjust the jumper settings on the card according to the documentation on the card or the silk screen on the card.

reference: UPGRADE YOUR OWN PC by Linda Rohrbough

to change the resource settings of any device
1. double click on that device in the device manger
2. click on the resource tab
3. you should see a box says resource type
double click on each resourse type a box will open and tell you whether or not you can change the setting or unclick the automatic settings and the click change setting button.
using the spin arrows to change the resource values.

you have to again see what configurations your device will allow and chose your resource setting accordingly.
4. now check all your print out copies and make sure you haven't created a conflict with something else
5.ok
ok
6. restart you computer.

if this is a non plug and play device you will have to change the jumper setting to match the changes you just made.

reference: Windows 95 secrets 4th edition by brian Livingston & Davis Straub

so check your bios see what com ports you have and which are being used. make all your print outs first so you know exactly what availble and don't wind up creating another conflict.

best of luck to you!