From: pgeltner@netcon.smc.edu (Peter Geltner)
Subject: Re: Soundblaster IRQ and Port settings
Organization: Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
Lines: 23

In article <1qjv95$1t1@bogus.sura.net> vargish@bogus.sura.net (Nicholas Vargish) writes:
>A SoundBlater (SB) card is _supposed_ to share IRQ 7 with LPT1
>(parallel printer interface 1), and in general this scheme works well.
>However, sometimes there are conflicts -- it seemed to depend on the
>software more than anything else. Origin games are especially bitchy
>about having the WHOLE interrupt to themselves... :^)
>
>My solution was to switch the interrupt to IRQ 5, which is unreserved
>in contemporary computers (using IRQ 5 for the drives went out with
>the XT architechture -- DON'T put the SB in IRQ 5 if you have an XT,
>get a new computer instead). This IRQ has been completely stable for
>me, and I use my SB to play .mods and .wavs under Linux (a free UN*X
>for 386 or better PC-architecture machines) with _no_ problems, as
>well as games under DOS...

I also use IRQ 5.  But there is one disadvantage.  Some games assume that
the board is using IRQ 7 and have no way to adjust this setting.  I had
trouble with some of the Lucas Films games.
-- 

Peter Geltner   Administrative Dean of Computing
                Santa Monica College
                Santa Monica, California 90405
