Before your system was shipped from Dell, a technician used the ICU to enter the correct information for the expansion cards initially installed in
your computer.

If your system was shipped with Dell-installed software, the ICU diskette image (from which you can make an ICU diskette) is installed on your
hard-disk drive. (Your system may also be accompanied by an ISA Configuration Utility Diskette.)

The ICU is also available through online services such as Dell's TechConnect bulletin board service (BBS). See your online System User's Guide
or the chapter titled "Getting Help" in your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide for information on accessing the BBS.

Whenever you add or remove a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card, use the ICU to reconfigure your system. The utility reads the card's
corresponding configuration file (.cfg file), which describes the card's characteristics and required system resources. After the resources identified
in these configuration files are assigned to all non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards, the system assigns resources to all Plug and Play
expansion cards, as well as PCI expansion cards, thereby creating a conflict-free configuration.

ICU Database

The ICU provides a database of configuration files for a large variety of non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards. The database is located in the
\db subdirectory. Listed cards are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that have configuration files stored in this database.

Unlisted cards are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that do not have configuration files stored in the ICU database. Unlisted cards are not
displayed in the list of cards provided for the various card categories. The unlisted cards may be cards for which no configuration file exists or new
cards that include a manufacturer-supplied configuration file on diskette.

When you supply a configuration file and the ICU is running from the hard-disk drive, the configuration file is copied to the directory that contains the
rest of the ICU database.

When to Run the ICU

Whenever you add or remove non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards, you must run the ICU to ensure that no two cards attempt to use the same
resources (such as interrupt request [IRQ] lines).

Run the program before adding or removing any non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards. The ICU can identify and resolve any resource conflicts
and indicate the proper jumper and switch settings for each expansion card to avoid such conflicts. Running the program first helps you determine
how to configure a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card before you install it in your computer.

After you have run the ICU for your non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards and it has configured all your Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards,
you can use the utility to lock the configuration of your Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards so that they are always assigned the same
resources. See your online System User's Guide or "

Locking and Unlocking Cards

" for details.

Preparing to Use the ICU

Before using the ICU for the first time, you must complete the following steps:

1. Make an ICU program diskette of the utility from the Dell ResourceCD.

Follow the instructions displayed on the screen to create an ICU program diskette.

2. If you want to use your mouse with the ICU, copy your mouse driver file (mouse.exe) to your ICU diskette.

3. Make a backup copy of your ICU diskette, as described in "Backing Up the ICU Diskette."

Use the backup copy whenever you run the utility; store the original diskette in a safe place.

NOTE: If you received an ISA Configuration Utility Diskette with your system, skip to step 2.