Windows 2000 Quick Fixes

Turn off or remove conflicting or unneeded devices

Windows 2000 makes configuring hardware much easier than it is in Windows NT. Its support for plug-and-play means that in many cases you can simply install a device, then boot Windows 2000 and let it detect and install support for the device. In the case of legacy devices or a system containing several devices, there is the possibility of a resource conflict. For example, a device might share the same interrupt or base I/O address as another device.

While you might be able to change the resource allocation for a device and clear up a conflict, in some cases you can’t. For example, there might not be any available IRQs for reassignment, or the conflicting devices may not support the available IRQs. In such situations, you can turn off the conflicting device and enable it only when you need it, or remove the device altogether.

Tip

An alternative to removing or disabling a device is to use hardware profiles.

Disable a device temporarily

Turning off a device resolves the conflict (because Windows 2000 no longer loads the driver or uses the device), and it has the advantage of leaving the device installed so you can use it later if needed. Turning off or disabling a device is easy:

1. Right-click My Computer and choose Manage to open the Computer Management console. Then click the Device Manager branch to open the Device Manager.

2. In the list of installed devices, locate the device with the conflict. Windows 2000 should recognize the conflict ...