Comparison with PCI configuration

Compared with PCI configuration, Autoconfig is abundant simpler, yet provides the aforementioned basal functions. PCI allows accidental admission to the agreement amplitude of devices, which requires arrangement registers and I/O lines. Autoconfig requires no such arrangement hardware, but has the brake that accessories can alone be configured in sequence, and they abide configured until reset. Autoconfig does abutment hot-plugging but alone for one accessory (the endure one). Most manufacturers which appropriate hot-plugging instead did not use Autoconfig for whatever was getting added and removed (e.g. a PCMCIA card) but instead assigned whatever ability was all-important assuredly to the anchorage or ambassador and handled the accession or abatement abundant like inserting a billowing disk.

An Amiga's Autoconfig is performed by the OS at boot-time and may not be afflicted after rebooting. In theory, PCI can change its ability allocation at any time, admitting both the accepted Linux and Windows operating systems do not acquiesce such changes due to architectural limitations in the corresponding operating systems. Direct PCI accouterments (e.g. A PCI card), however, may not be hot-plugged (PCI agreement registers are a abstracted allotment of the specification) due to the ancillary arbited attributes of the bus. So, PCI can reallocate assets on the fly, which it does if the OS endless and may override BIOS ability allocation, but cannot change the accouterments while the arrangement is running. Autoconfig can change the accouterments while the arrangement is active but alone for the endure accouterments in the config sequence, or to add a new section of hardware. Neither Autoconfig nor PCI PnP in fact acquiesce this in any ample operating system.