A+ Tutorials Expansion BusesA+ Tutorials - Expansion Buses
Before You Begin
Lesson 1: Understanding Expansion Buses
Development of the Expansion Bus
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)
Enhanced ISA (EISA)
VESA Local Bus (VLB)
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
Lesson Summary
Lesson 2: Configuring Expansion Cards
I/O Addresses
Interrupt Request
Direct Memory Access (DMA)
COM and Ports
Installing Expansion Cards
Lesson Summary
Tutorial Summary
Review
The success of the personal computer is due largely to its ability to expand to meet the changing needs and economic requirements of the user. In this tutorial, we describe the array of expansion buses that help to expand the system and that work with an ever-growing number of enhancements, including modems, video cards, and portable drives. We also discuss conflicts within the computer?how they are created and reconciled.