Microsoft KB Archive/152469

= Hardware Inventory Hangs at 30% When Detecting the Game Port =

Article ID: 152469

Article Last Modified on 10/27/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Systems Management Server 1.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Systems Management Server 1.1 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Systems Management Server 1.2 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q152469



SYMPTOMS
If the network card's I/O address is set to 200h, hardware inventory will hang and ultimately fail when trying to detect the game port.



CAUSE
When inventory verifies whether the game port adapter is in the computer (using Getother.exe), it makes a call to port 201h (this is the industry standard setting for game ports). This call impinges on the network card address range, causing the network connection to hang.

The issue is discussed in QUE's "Upgrading and Repairing PCs" (4th edition):   The game adapter does not use much in the way of system resources. The card does not use an IRQ, DMA channel, or memory, and requires only a  single I/O address (port) 201h. The adapter is controlled by reading and writing data to and from port 201h.



WORKAROUND
There are three possible workarounds to this problem:


 * 1) Set the net card I/O address to another value (recommended).
 * 2) Create an Smssafe.tmp file and add "GamePorts=CRASHED" to prevent it from being inventoried.
 * 3) Remove Getother.exe from your SMS site, so that the it is never called during the inventory process. (Not Recommended)

Additional query words: prodsms sms game port adapter 201h network getother

Keywords: kbdatabase kbnetwork KB152469

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