If Something Goes Wrong

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Resolving a hardware conflict

device overwrites the data required by the other, causing a hardware conflict.

Plug and Play

With Plug and Play and the Windows® XP operating system, avoiding hardware conflicts is easy. Plug and Play is a computer standard that helps the system BIOS (basic input/output system) and the operating system to automatically assign system resources to Plug and Play-compliant devices. In theory, if every device connected to the computer is Plug and Play-compliant, no two devices will compete for the same system resources. You just plug in the device and turn on your computer. The Windows® XP operating system automatically sets up your system to accommodate the new device.

However, if you install an older (legacy) device that the Windows® XP operating system cannot recognize, the operating system may have difficulty assigning system resources to it. As a result, a hardware conflict can occur. To see what resources are assigned to the device, see “Checking device properties” on page 206.

Resolving conflicts

There are three things you can do to resolve hardware conflicts.

❖Disable the device.

For an older device, remove it from the computer. For a Plug and Play device, see “Fixing a problem with Device Manager” on page 206.

❖Disable another system component and use its resources for the new device. See “Fixing a problem with Device Manager” on page 206.

❖Reconfigure the device so that its requirements do not conflict. Refer to the device’s documentation for instructions about changing settings on the device.