Chapter 4
Common Configuration Questions
4-2
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An external USB mass storage device such as a USB hard drive or
CD-ROM
•
An external USB floppy drive
Note
There are some limitations when booting from a USB device. Windows XP can be
installed from a USB CD-ROM, but earlier versions of Windows cannot. The NI PXI-8186
BIOS configures the USB devices so that they will work in a DOS environment.
How do I configure the controller to boot from these devices?
There are two methods.
•
Enter Setup and select the
Boot
menu. You will see a list of all bootable
devices, ordered by device type. You can set the boot order using <+>
and <–>. Set the order by device type and set the order for the devices
listed within the device type.
•
To boot from a different device without permanently changing the boot
order, press <Esc> during POST. After the BIOS completes the POST
and just before the controller boots the OS, the
Boot
menu is displayed.
You can select the device type you want to boot from.
Note
Two devices cannot share the same IDE channel, and doing so may damage the
hardware. If you configure the PC Card ATA drive for the primary channel, you must
physically remove the internal IDE drive.
Cables and Connections
How do I plug both a PS/2 mouse and PS/2 keyboard into the
controller?
The NI PXI-8186 has a combined PS/2 mouse and PS/2 keyboard
connector, so you need to use the PS/2 Y-splitter cable shipped with the
NI PXI-8186, shown in Figure 4-1, to connect both a PS/2 mouse and
PS/2 keyboard.
Figure 4-1.
Y-Splitter Cable