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    AST RESEARCH, INC.         TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 0984                9-23-94

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    ASCENTIA 900N PARALLEL PORT AND DSP SOLUTIONS SOUND ADAPTER

    PROBLEM:        When some third party devices are connected to the Ascentia
                    900N parallel port, the software does not properly recognize
                    the interrupt on LPT1.  For example, the following error
                    message may appear on the display:

                         "IRQ 7 could not be found on LPT1"

                    The Ascentia 900N system's parallel port does not work properly
                    with DSP Solutions' PORT ABLE Sound Plus adapter.

    CAUSE:          Older versions of software do not recognize the VLSI
                    implementation of the super I/O chipset.

                    The DSP Solutions' PORT ABLE Sound Plus adapter currently does
                    not support the VLSI super I/O chipset.

    SYSTEMS
    AFFECTED:           AST
                    PART NUMBER          DESCRIPTION

                    501299-2XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/50 CS10
                    501300-3XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/50 CT9
                    501302-2XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/75 CS10
                    501304-3XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/75 CT10

    SOLUTION:       For other software conflicts contact the third party software
                    manufacturer for the latest drivers that support the VLSI
                    implementation.

                    Contact DSP Solutions at (415) 494-8086 for future software
                    releases that may fix this problem.