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     Rosenthal Engineering P.O.Box 1650, San Luis Obispo CA USA 93406
      U.S. Patent No. 5,359,659, Copyright 1996 all rights reserved.

      WWW http://slonet.org/~doren/         e-mail [e-mail]

               Rosenthal Engineering Conflict Resolver (tm)

Hardware and software diagnostics combine to identify, resolve and prevent
all PC system conflicts for DOS, Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT and OS/2.
From  the  earliest  PCs  to  today's  most  sophisticated   Plug-and-Play
components,  all  are  supported  even  when  systems  mix  old  and   new
technologies.

A special "Analyzer" circuit board (included with registration) plugs into
any  standard (ISA or EISA) card slot and monitors the actual DMA  (direct
memory  access) and IRQ (interrupt request) electrical  signals  directly,
assuring  absolute accuracy. The "Analyzer" is totally transparent to  the
system  and not affected by software,  operating system, or  configuration
errors, allowing normal operation while collecting IRQ and DMA usage.

The  test diskette remains in the floppy drive during system  reset  which
loads  a special diagnostic program ahead of the operating system  without
modifying  the hard drive boot sector. True hardware measurements made  by
the "Analyzer" board are the most accurate, but this diagnostic program is
useful with or without the "Analyzer" circuit board installed.

                       Suspecting Conflict Problems

Today's complex computers employ a large variety of dedicated circuits and
software, each designed to perform their own specific tasks. Every circuit
board that plugs into the computer and software program that supports that
board  must cooperate with the others. Unless every portion of the  system
is  correctly configured, conflicts between different devices  will  cause
problems.

Configuration   conflicts  range  from  subtle  sluggish   or   unreliable
performance, to unexplained system crashes, data loss, programs that won't
work  properly, and even dead systems. Some conflicts will be obvious  and
crash the system when a particular device is used with another, or display
error messages like:

"Device Failure. Try changing the driver for this device".

"Windows cannot determine which resources this device is using."

"This  device is not present, not working properly, or does not  have  all
the drivers installed."

Rosenthal  Conflict Resolver insures systems are configured  correctly  or
optimized  before  installing  additional  new  devices,  peripherals,  or
operating systems like Windows 95, NT or OS/2.

                        DMA, IRQ and I/O

The terms DMA, IRQ and I/O and interrupts are used throughout this and the
manuals included with periperals being installed, so a basic understanding
of what they mean will help considerably. When a circuit board plugs  into
one of the slots within the computer, the edge connector, where the  board
and  computer  contact each other, passes electrical signals  between  the
card  and  the other components of the computer.  Each  different  contact
carries  an  electrical  signal dedicated to a  specific  function.  These
electrical signal levels change millions of times a second.

Address lines, for example, select different input and output (I/O) device
registers, so circuit boards are configured to each appear at a  different
address.

People  are used to ten digit numbers, because our number system is  based
on  us having ten fingers. Since it only takes four fingers (or  bits)  to
represent  a  number from zero through fifteen, computers  make  the  most
efficient  use of each address line by employing a  hexadecimal  numbering
system for I/O addresses.

     Bits   Decimal  Hex                Bits Decimal  Hex
     0000      0      0                 1000    8      8
     0001      1      1                 1001    9      9
     0010      2      2                 1010   10      A
     0011      3      3                 1011   11      B
     0100      4      4                 1100   12      C
     0101      5      5                 1101   13      D
     0110      6      6                 1110   14      E
     0111      7      7                 1111   15      F

When the computer needs to address a circuit board plugged into one of the
card slots, it sets the electrical levels of each address line to a number
that  corresponds to where it expects to find the device. Both the  device
driver  servicing  the board, and the board itself need to be set  to  the
same  address.  It's  important that the correct  device  (and  only  that
device) resides at each address or an I/O conflict will result.

Other  connector  pins carry Interrupt ReQuest  (IRQ)  electrical  signals
between the computer and the circuit boards. IRQ lines allow the different
components to signal the processor to interrupt what it's currently doing,
and service the device demanding attention.

Direct  Memory  Access  (DMA)  allows devices  to  move  large  blocks  of
information  directly  in  and out of memory  without  going  through  the
processor.  DMA electrical signals also appear on pins of the connector.

Originally, only short XT card connector slots were available, but with AT
class systems a second longer connector was added so additional pins could
be used to support an increased number of IRQ and DMA channels. There  are
only a limited number of IRQ and DMA lines, and many are already dedicated
to service components on the motherboard.

To  assign  a device to an IRQ and/or DMA channel, an  electrical  contact
needs  to  carry  the  voltage between the appropriate  pin  of  the  edge
connector  and the electronic circuit on the board exchanging the  IRQ  or
DMA signal. Depending on the design of each plug in circuit board, IRQ and
DMA channels get selected by routing them electrically to the  appropriate
connector   pins   using   jumpers,  switch   positions,   or   electronic
configuration.

Each DMA, IRQ and I/O address must correctly correspond to the  electrical
circuit on the plug-in board and the software that supports it.

                            Conflicts

The two causes for the majority of today's lock-ups and system crashes are
resource  conflicts and related device driver incompatibilities.  Resource
conflicts occur because different peripherals demand exclusive use of  IRQ
and DMA which may have been assigned to another device at the same time.

Device  driver  incompatibilities  are quite common  in  Windows  95.  For
example Windows 95 may accept an old driver for an existing card that will
only  works under Windows 3.1, or may incorrectly identify a card  or  the
IRQ and DMA lines it uses and supply the wrong driver.

Finding  a  free IRQ or DMA available can often be  difficult,  especially
when  some  cards will only accept a specific IRQ or DMA  which  may  have
already been assigned elsewhere. With some cards requiring several of  the
limited  number IRQ and DMA lines, conflicts are often difficult to  avoid
and  correcting  was  an extremely  frustrating  experience.   Before  the
Rosenthal  Conflict Resolver was developed, there was no practical way  to
observe and identify IRQ and DMA activity within a system during use.

              Pre-existing Mixed with Plug-and-Play

As  demands for faster and more complex hardware and software have  grown,
getting  them  all to cooperate has been an increasingly  difficult  task.
For example, it's now quite common among on-line users for  modems, mouse,
sound  cards,  video graphics and disk drives to all require DMA  and  IRQ
service at the same time.

In  an effort to relieve some of the configuration problems, the  industry
has  developed new design specifications called "Plug-and-Play".  Ideally,
it should be possible to just plug in a new board, turn on the system  and
have everything work. The reality is that not everything will recognize or
conform  to Plug-and-Play. Some fall outside the requirements,  some  pre-
existing  components (referred to as "legacy") predate  the  Plug-and-Play
specifications, and some specialized components ignore them altogether.

Some   cards  (like  sound  and  multimedia)  support  several   different
configurations  or  emulate  other products  standards  depending  on  the
software  being  run  at  the time. It's not  uncommon  for  one  game  to
configure  a board to work in several different modes while  another  game
using the same board configures it to a different mode which won't work at
all.

To  accommodate  a  mix  of plug and play with  non  compliant  or  legacy
devices,  Win95  includes  a "Device Manager"  and  a  "Conflict  Trouble-
shooter".  The Trouble-shooter is an interactive Windows help  file  which
will  guide  you through the Device Manager. Both these  programs  require
Windows  to  be operational to use. If you have a conflict  that  prevents
Windows from running, you also won't be able to use these tools to fix the
problem.

To  avoid  and resolve conflicts, you must first determine  which  of  the
eighteen  IRQ and DMA lines of interest have been assigned and  which  are
available.  The  only way to identify with absolute  certainty  which  are
being  activated for all the hardware devices (Plug-and-Play compliant  or
not),  is to measure the electrical signals at the pins on  the  connector
while  the  device is being exercised. That's where the  "Analyzer"  comes
into play.

                 Watching IRQ and DMA in Action

To determine which IRQ and DMA lines are in use, they must be monitored at
the  hardware  level  while  each  device  is  exercised.   Electronically
configured devices that support many different modes (sound and multimedia
cards for example) need to be exercised in every mode they operate in.

The Rosenthal Conflict Resolver uses two methods to watch the hardware DMA
and  IRQ lines as they are being used. The most effective and reliable  is
the  "Analyzer"  circuit board that plugs into the computer  and  directly
monitors the actual electrical signals at the connector. The second,  less
accurate method, watches the hardware circuits through a special  software
program  that gets loaded ahead of the operating system when the  computer
is first turned on, during the boot up process.

With the "Analyzer" board plugged into the system, as each hardware device
is  exercised, indicator lights display the IRQ and DMA being  used.  When
two  conflicting devices attempt to share a single IRQ or DMA,  both  will
cause the indicator to display.

Indicators  for  unused IRQ and DMA lines remain dark  and  are  therefore
available for assignment. Simply assign new or conflicting devices to  the
unused lines and conflicts are resolved or avoided. The "Analyzer" circuit
board makes it just that simple.

Watching  the  IRQ  and DMA hardware lines through software  is  far  more
difficult  and less accurate than using the plug in "Analyzer" board.  The
software  method can be used in conjunction with the board, or  when  it's
not practical to use a plug-in circuit board.

               Using the "Analyzer" Circuit Board

The  "Analyzer"  is  included with paid registration.  It  consists  of  a
special  diagnostic circuit board that plugs into a slot on  the  computer
and directly monitors the IRQ and DMA electrical signals at the connector.

Disconnect  the  power  whenever you insert or  remove  anything  in  your
computer. Plug the board carefully into the (ISA (XT/AT), EISA, PCI,  VLB)
slot before turning the power back on.

The  signals  on  the connector pins consist of impulses  that  change  in
voltage  levels millions of times each second. These signals are much  too
fast for people to observe without a special instrument, so the "Analyzer"
converts them to easily observed indication lights.

IRQ  and DMA lines are observed using the "Analyzer" board  during  actual
operation   without   causing  interference  because  it   is   completely
transparent  to the system. The "Analyzer" instantly reports any  and  all
IRQ  or DMA requests with 100% accuracy unobtainable by  software  methods
alone.  All  IRQ and DMA usage is reported, and misconfigured IRQ  or  DMA
usage is revealed and never reported falsely.

                 Loading the Diagnostic Software

Performing  the  function of the "Analyzer" board in software  requires  a
special diagnostic program that loads ahead of the normal operating system
during the boot process. Any software that attempts to monitor IRQ and DMA
activity will add some load to the system and be less transparent as  well
as being less accurate than true hardware level   diagnostics, but may  be
sufficient or more practical.

A  test diskette is created first that loads diagnostics into  the  system
ahead  of  the operating system and before the normal  boot  process.  The
special test diskette is left in the A: drive and the system is reset. The
diagnostic  program   loads,  followed by the normal  boot  process  which
continues  by loading the operating system from the hard drive  as  usual.
Because the diagnostic program takes control before the operating  system,
IRQ and DMA activity is reported more accurately.

Information  on  IRQ and DMA activity is collected as the system  is  used
normally, with a display similar to the indicator lights of the "analyzer"
board displayed in the corner of text screens.

                  Using the Diagnostic Software

After  booting the system from the special diagnostic  diskette,  exercise
all  the hardware and drivers including the mouse, printers, modem,   etc.
Be  sure   multimedia and sound cards get operated in  as  many  different
modes  as  they support. Demo programs supplied with the hardware  can  be
quite  helpful  to insure all the modes get used. Then run  the  Rosenthal
Conflict Resolver to analyze the data that was collected.

Both a simplified digested report and a more detailed expanded report  are
available. A text file RCR.DAT is produced that's convenient to review  or
share by printing, modem or FAX with service or technical support people.

IRQ  and  DMA  lines  that are dedicated  to  fixed  functions  and  never
available  are  not monitored or reported. These are used  by  the  system
timer  (IRQ 0), keyboard (IRQ 1), second IRQ controller on ATs (IRQ 2)  or
second  AT  DMA  controller  (DMA  4),  real  time  clock  (IRQ  8),  math
coprocessor (IRQ 13).

To return the system to normal, remove the special test diskette, and then
power off and restart the system without the diskette in place. No changes
are ever made to the hard drive boot sector or the operating system.

                          Orders Outside the U.S

All  international  orders  are  sent by  air-mail.  See  the  order  form
(ORDER.FRM)  for shipping and handling rates. Please be sure to make  your
payment in "US Dollars" either by (US) cash, international money order  or
check  drawn  on  a US member bank. Otherwise banks want  a  fifty  dollar
processing fee to cash a twenty five dollar check. Sorry, no euro-checks.

Visa  or  Master  Card orders can be processed if  you  include  the  card
holders name, card number and expiration date on the order form.

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            Computer Manufacturers, Resellers and Consultants

This program is especially appreciated by customers during their  critical
first month and falls within the FREE evaluation period. Providing  copies
or  installing the complete unregistered version on customers  systems  is
acceptable, and encouraged.

Rosenthal System Monitor (tm) is also recommended for installation on  new
or updated systems, and including the unregistered version is encouraged.

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                        More Information

"IRQ, DMA, & I/O Resolving and Preventing PC System Conflicts"
Jim Aspinwall . ISBN 1-55828-456-7 MIS:Press

Intel Plug-and-Play Specifications and Toolkits release 1.44

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                        Software License agreement

You  are  encouraged  to copy and distribute  this  software  provided  it
remains unmodified, complete in its original form, and no fee (other  than
a  nominal  copy charge) is required. This software is  provided  "as  is"
without warranty either expressed or implied.

You may not make any changes or modifications to the software, and you may
not decompile, disassemble or in anyway reverse engineer the software.

This  software  is  provided  "as is"  without  warranties  of  any  kind.
Responsibility rests entirely with the user to determine its fitness for a
particular purpose. ROSENTHAL ENGINEERING SHALL NOT IN ANY CASE BE  LIABLE
FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR OTHER SIMILAR  DAMAGES
ARISING  FROM  ANY USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. Some states may not  allow  these
limits  on  warranties,  so they may not apply to you. In  no  case  shall
Rosenthal  Engineering's liability exceed the license fees paid by you  to
Rosenthal  Engineering  for the right to use the Licensed  Software.  Use,
duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government of the computer software
and  documentation  in  this package shall be subject  to  the  restricted
rights  applicable  to  commercial  computer  software  as  set  forth  in
subdivision  (b)  (3) (ii) of the Rights in Technical  Data  and  Computer
Software    clause    at    252.227-7013    (DFARS    52.227-7013).    The
Contractor/manufacturer is Doren Rosenthal, Rosenthal Engineering, P.O.Box
1650, San Luis Obispo, California 93406.

This  constitutes  the  entire agreement  and  understanding  between  the
parties  and supersedes any prior agreement or understanding whether  oral
or written and may only be modified in writing.