    AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1583          09/17/96

    TITLE:  Ascentia J and Xircom PC Cards

    SUMMARY

       The Xircom PC card drivers may not function on an Ascentia J system
       running DOS or Windows 3.1x.

       This issue affects all Ascentia J systems.

    ISSUE

       When the user runs a Xircom installation on an Ascentia J system
       running DOS or Windows 3.1x, the software may report that there
       is no available IRQ for the device.

    BACKGROUND

       The Plug-and-Play BIOS in the Ascentia J masks all unused IRQs at
       the interrupt controller. The Xircom drivers assume that if an
       IRQ is masked ON, it is in use.

    ACTION

       To correct this issue, download the file IRQ11OFF.COM from one of
       the AST On-Line! services. The first line of the AUTOEXEC.BAT
       file should read:

          c:\source directory\irq11off.com

       The Xircom PC card should be configured to use IRQ 11. For
       instructions on configuring your Xircom PC card, please refer to
       the manual that came with the card, or contact Xircom Technical
       Support for assistance.

    NOTES

       N/A

    TAN 000337JB

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