howard schwartz wrote: >[...] >Having looked at a few motherboards lately and been told, `ISA' slots >are obselete, they are too slow by more than one salesperson -- this >contradicts what others have said about available motherboards. > > It really depends what you're doing. A 56Kbps modem probably won't tax a system much (esp. the older modems with actual intelligent UARTS etc.) But a high-speed network,or drive adapter might well. I know my server/firewall was getting slow until I replaced the older ISA cards with PCI, but that also had to do with how well designed the ISA card was. ISA NE2000 clones were miserable, while 3C509bs were great.
There was also the limitation of 16 interrupts for 16 bit ISA cards that could be a problem, depending on how loaded the system is. >I do not know much about interchange possibilities between types of >slots and buses. Are there ways to connect a device that used to >plug into an ISA slot - to a PCI slot, or (lord help me) a usb port? > > I suppose there COULD be a PCI-ISA host adapter. There used to be some outboard ISA bus expansion boxes, but they're likely not cheap, as they were often used in industrial systems. Perhaps something off one of the surplus shops? >Many of my friends have all kind of trouble with usb ports: Seems with >windows, whenever one disconnects a cable, reinstalls windows or whatever, >one must first install the port drivers then the drivers/software for >the device, and then connect the hardware up again to allow windows to >recognize it. > > You have to load a driver the first time you plug something in, true. But then, ISA/PCI are no different in that regard. After that though, if properly installed, you shouldn't have to. Not to say that it CAN'T happen of course, but I routinely plug and unplug things into/out of my laptop (Win2K) with no real problems. >Any tips gladly appreciated. I hate to throw away old hardware that works >fine, even better then some new hardware, because the pins and plugs >are no longer available. > > If you have useful old cards, a useful old PC is probalby the best home for 'em. I always have an older machine around for such bits. I can usually find a use for them on a Linux box doing something. Network it to any newer system(s) and it makes a great sharing setup. - Bob
