# My modem and the Sound card have the Same IRQ. How do I change this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520 "2001-11-21T02:32:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Poloin99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Poloin99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poloin99)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/1 "2001-11-21T02:32:25Z")
I am running XP professional. Both the sound card and the modem are sharing the same IRQ which is 10. How do I change this? ---
**Author:** ![Church\_Key\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Church\_Key\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Church_Key_Kid)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/2 "2001-11-21T03:03:56Z")
Open the computer and put one of the cards in a different slot. ---
**Author:** ![DebiJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f08c70/32.png) [@DebiJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DebiJ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/3 "2001-11-21T04:07:48Z")
I’m not sure about XP as I haven’t looked at it much. I can tell you what it’s like in WIN98, and it might not be that much different. The first thing you need is a list of your IRQ’s so you know what is available. IRQ 2 might look open, but it’s cascaded to IRQ 9. If you use IRQ 2, then your computer won’t see anything after IRQ 7. Once you find an IRQ you can use, go to your device manager (not sure what XP has for that), and open the device you want to change. There should be an IRQ setting there. You may be able to change it there. I’m in the process of taking an A+ certification and I’ll check with the teacher tomorrow to see what she knows about IRQs in XP. Don’t change settings without writing down what they were before you changed them so you can change them back. See ya tomorrow. Debi ---
**Author:** ![FortMarcy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9de053/32.png) [@FortMarcy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FortMarcy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/4 "2001-11-21T04:19:55Z")
Are you experiencing a problem with one or both of the devices? Interrupt sharing is not that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/5 "2001-11-21T05:18:47Z")
Unless you are experiencing specific conflict, IRQ sharing is not a problem. Just let the ACPI do it’s job… it prolly knows how to handle the task better. For example, my own motherboard dumps my GeForce3, USB controller, and ethernet card all into IRQ 9. I know there are other “open” IRQ numbers available for the devices, but ACPI handles the resource allocation the way it sees fit and I have never had a conflict. If you are seeing a conflict, **fatdave** has a good suggestion of trying to switch one of the cards to another slot. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/6 "2001-11-21T05:56:34Z")
From what little I’ve experienced of XP so far, it seems to be Win2k with a few goodies added. Win 2k uses IRQ 9 for multiple P&P devices, just as DebiJ said. As long as all devices are functioning OK, you’re fine. ---
**Author:** ![VeraGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e9bcb4/32.png) [@VeraGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VeraGemini)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-modem-and-the-sound-card-have-the-same-irq-how-do-i-change-this/94520/7 "2001-11-21T07:02:21Z")
Only older ISA cards can have their interrupts changed from within Windows. PCI cards have theirs assigned by the PCI bus on the motherboard. If you’re having a conflict between your modem and your soundcard, move the soundcard to a different slot. If you’re not, and you just see them using the same interrupt in Device Manager, don’t worry about it. PCI cards are designed to share resources.