Resource Configuration Methods

Resource Configuration Methods

You should know the following facts about configuring resources:

• Manual: Manually configure resources by setting jumpers and DIP switches, then physically installing the card.
• Software: Physically install the card, then run a piece of software and set values for configuration resources.
• Plug-and-Play (PnP): Physically install the card and reboot the computer. Almost all expansion cards nowadays are plug-and-play cards. The card, BIOS, and operating system cooperate to automatically configure the device. Software drivers are still required for plug-and-play devices. Plug-and-play configuration requires a plug-and-play card, plug-and-play BIOS, and plug-and-play operating system. Cards that are not plug-and-play are often called legacy devices. Although a plug-and-play system attempts to assign configuration resources around the needs of legacy devices, legacy devices often interfere with a plug-and-play system's ability to properly assign resources.

The following table lists the configuration method(s) typically used for various types of expansion cards.

Expansion Bus	Configuration Method(s)
8-bit ISA (XT)	Manual
16-bit ISA (AT)	Manual or Software. Techniques have also been designed to allow 16-bit ISA cards to use plug-and-play configuration. However, the 16-bit ISA bus was not designed with plug-and-play in mind.
EISA	Software (To configure EISA devices you need to run the EISA Configuration Utility. This software comes with the computer on a floppy disk.)
VESA	Manual or Software. Because VESA is based on 16-bit ISA, techniques used to implement plug-and-play with 16-bit ISA cards can also be used with VESA cards.
PCI	Plug-and-Play. Of the bus types listed here, PCI was the only one expressly designed with plug-and-play in mind.