Page 1
System Board
System Board 1-1
1.1 Features
The M9A is a dual-processor system board that supports the Intel
P54C and P55C CPUs. The board contains an exc lusiv e slot for the
CPU board that carries the 321-pin zero-insertion force (ZIF) CPU
sockets plus the embedded 512-KB pipeline burst second-level
cache.
This high-perf orm ance 64-bi t system board utilizes both the EISA and
the PCI loc al bus architecture. Two EISA, four PCI bus slots, and one
EISA/PCI shared slot reside on the board to allow installati on of either
master or slave devices.
The system board has four DRAM banks composed of eight 72-pin
SIMM sockets that accommodate both fast-page mode and EDO
(extended dat a output) SIMMs. The sockets support a tot al of 512MB system memory using 64-MB SIMMs.
A 50-pin Fast SCSI-II interface and a 68-pin Wide SCSI interface
come with the system board to connect SCSI devices. Standard
external I/O interfaces include two 9-pin serial por ts, one paral l el port,
a video port, and keyboar d and mouse ports.
The system board supports two optional features that allow better
server management, the ASM Pro and the remote diagnostic
management (RDM). The ASM Pro detects system problems, such
as CPU thermal condi tion, 5V/ 3.3V detecti on, and PCI bus utilization
calculat ion. The RDM allows execut ion of a diagnosti c program f rom
a remote stat ion to f ix the detected problems or to reboot t he system.
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1-2 User’s Guide
1.2 Major Components
The system board has the following major components:
•
Four DRAM banks com posed of eight 72-pi n SIMM sockets that
support single- and doubl e- densi ty 60 ns SIMMs
•
CPU board slot
•
Four PCI, two EISA bus slots, and one EISA /PCI shared slot
•
256-KB Flash ROM for system BIOS
•
System clock/calendar plus 8 KB extended CMOS RAM with
battery backup
•
50-pin Fast SCSI-II and 68-pin W ide SCSI i nterfaces
•
Two 24-pin RDM int er faces
•
IDE hard disk and di sket te drive inter faces
•
Onboard VRAM and VRAM sockets for video memory upgrade
•
Power connector f or 350- watt or 420- watt switc hing power supply
•
Super I/O, SCSI, VGA, memory, and Advanced Server
Management (ASM) control ler chipsets
•
External ports:
• Two 9-pin serial por ts
• PS/2-compatibl e k ey boar d por t (optional AT-keyboard por t)
• PS/2-compatibl e mouse port
• Parallel port
• Video port
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System Board 1-3
1.3 Layout
Figure 1-1 shows the system board components.
1 COM1
2 COM2
3 Mouse port
4 Keyboard port
5 Video port
6 Parallel por t
7 Video upgrade sockets
8 CPU board slot
9 PCI slots
10 EISA slots
11 Real-time clock
12 Flash ROM BIOS
13 Buzzer
14 Narrow SCSI connector
15 Wide SCSI connector
16 SIMM sockets
17 Fan connector 1 ( FA1)
18 Fan connector 2 ( FA2)
19 Fan connector 3 ( FA3)
20 420W 5V st andby pow er connect or
21 Power connector
22 Power connector
23 Video RAM
24 RDM connectors
Figure 1-1 System Board Layout
3
6
1
2
5
8
9
10
19
18
17
21
22
24
15
14
12
13
11
16
23
4
7
20
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1-4 User’s Guide
1.4 Jumpers and Connectors
1.4.1 Jumper and Connector Locations
Figure 1-2 shows the jum per and connector l ocations on t he system
board.
Figure 1-2 System Board Jumper and Connector Locations
Jumpers are prefixed “JP”. Connectors are
prefixed “CN” and “SW.
The blackened pin of a jumper r epr es ents
pin 1.
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System Board 1-5
1.4.2 Jumper Settings
Table 1-1 lists the system board jumpers with their corresponding
settings and func tions.
Table 1-1 System Board Jumper Settings
Jumper Setting Function
Password Security
JP1 1-2
2-3
*
Check password
Bypass password
BIOS Type
JP2 1-2*
2-3
Acer
OEM
SCSI Termi na t ion
JP3 1-2
2-3*
Terminator al ways set to ON
Use SCSI Setup Utility to set
terminator to ON or OFF
SCSI Selection
JP4 1-2*
2-3
Wide SCSI
Standard
Hardware Reset
JP5 1-2
2-3*
3-4
Software shutdown enabled
Hardware reset enabled
Hardware reset button connector
Sound Feature
JP6 1-2*
2-3
Buzzer
Speaker
SCSI Feature
JP7 1-2*
2-3
Enabled
Disabled
VGA Feature
JP8 1-2*
2-3
Enabled
Disabled
*
Default setting
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1-6 User’s Guide
1.4.3 Connector Functions
Table 1-2 l ists the dif f erent connec tors on the system boar d and their
respective func tions.
Table 1-2 Connector Func tions
Connector Function
CN1 Power connector
CN2 Power connector
CN3 Backplane board HDD stat us c onnector
CN5 IDE hard disk connector
CN6 RDM connector
CN7 RDM connector
CN8 Diskette drive connector
CN11 68-pin W ide SCSI connector
CN12 50-pin Fast SCSI-II connector
CN13 RDM cable and LED board connector
CN14 Hard disk LED connector
CN15 Power LED connector
CN16 Speaker connect or
CN17 420W 5V standby power connector
CN18 200W 5V standby power connector
SW1 NMI switch
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System Board 1-7
1.5 ESD Precautions
Always observe the following electrostatic discharge (ESD)
precautions before installing a system c omponent:
1. Do not remov e a component from its antistatic packaging until
you are ready to i nstall it.
2. Wear a wrist grounding strap before handling electronic
components. Wrist grounding straps are available at most
electronic component stor es.
Do not attempt the procedures described in
the following sec tions unless you are a
qualified technician.
1.6 Memory Upgrade
The system board comes with eight 72-pi n SI MM socket s that support
4-MB and 16-MB single-density SIMMs as well as 8-MB and 32-MB
double-density SIMMs for a total system memory of 256-MB. The
sockets support both the fast page mode and EDO 60 ns SI M M s.
See Table 1-3 for a list of some possible mem or y c onfigurations.
1.6.1 Rules for Adding Memory
•
Use only one type of SIMM in a giv en bank. You m ay combi ne
diff erent types of SI MMs for a mem ory configur ation as long as
the SIMMs in eac h bank ar e of the same type.
•
You may use the memory banks (Bank 0 ~ Bank3) in any or der .
•
Always install SIMMs in pairs. For example, for a total memory
of 16 MB, install two 8-MB SIMMs in a bank. You can not use a
16-MB SIMM alone for a 16-MB memory.
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1-8 User’s Guide
1.6.2 Memory Configurations
Table 1-3 Memory Configur ations
Bank0 Bank1 Bank2 Bank3 Total
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 Memory
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB
16 MB 16 MB 32 MB
32 MB 32 MB 64 MB
64 MB 64 MB 128 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 48 MB
8 MB 8 MB 32 MB 32 MB 80 MB
16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 96 MB
64 MB 64 MB 32 MB 32 MB 192 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 48 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 80 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 112 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 64 MB 64 MB 240 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 96 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 160 MB
16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 192 MB
32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 384 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 64 MB
16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 128 MB
32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 256 MB
64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 512 MB
The above configurat ions ar e only s om e of
the available memory com binations. You
can use other combinat ions as long as y ou
follow the rules for upgrading memory in
section 1.6.1.
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System Board 1-9
1.6.3 Installing a SIMM
Follow these steps to install a SIM M :
1. Careful ly slip a SIMM at a 45° angle into a socket m aking sure
that the curv ed edge indicati ng the pin 1 of the SIMM matches
pin 1 of the socket.
A SIMM fits only in one dir ec tion. If you slip
in a SIMM but would not c om pletely fit, y ou
may have inserted it the wrong way .
Reverse the orientation of the SIMM.
2. Gently push the S IMM to a v er tical posit ion until t he pegs of t he
socket slip into t he hol es on the SIM M, and t he hol ding c li ps loc k
the SIMM into position. The SIMM should be at a 90° angle
when installed.
Figure 1-3 Installing a SIMM
Hole
Peg
Pin 1 Indicator
(curved edge)
1
2
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1-10 User’s Guide
1.6.4 Removing a SIMM
Follow these steps to remove a S IMM:
1. Press the holding clips on both sides of the SIMM outward to
release it.
2. Move the SIMM to a 45° angle.
3. Pull t he S IMM out of the socket.
Figure 1-4 Removing a SIMM
1
2
3
Holding Clip
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System Board 1-11
1.6.5 Reconfiguring the System
You must enter Setup after installing or removing SIMMs to
reconfigure the system.
Follow these steps to reconfigure t he system:
1. Turn the system on. A memory error message appears,
indicat ing t hat t he tot al m em ory does not m atc h t he val ue stor ed
in CMOS.
2. Press
+ + to enter Setup. A warning message
appears indicating an incorrec t mem or y c onfiguration.
3. Press
twice to ex it and reboot t he system.
The system boots with t he new m emory configuration.
If you run Windows NT, NetWare, or
UnixWare in the system, make sure to run
ECU every time you c hange the memory
size. See Chapter 4 for inform ation on ECU.
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1-12 User’s Guide
1.7 Video Memory Upgrade
Larger video memory allows you to display higher resolutions and
more colors. The system board comes with a 1-MB video memory
onboard upgradable to 2 MB .
Follow these steps to upgrade the vi deo memory :
1. Locate the v ideo DRAM upgrade sockets labeled U18 and U21
on the system board. S ee Figure 1-1.
2. Gently insert a video chip into each of the upgrade sockets.
Make sure that the pin 1 indicator on the chip
matches the not c hed c or ner of the socket.
Figure 1-5 Installing a Video Memor y Chip
Pin 1 Indicator
Notched
Corner
Page 13
System Board 1-13
1.8 PCI Slot Configuration
1.8.1 PCI-to-PCI Bridge Feature
The system board carr ies a PCI-to-PCI bri dge controll er chipset that
expands the capability of the PCI system by allowing all the f ive PCI
slots in the system to be bus m asters. The br idge has t wo int erf ac es.
The primary interface connects directly to the PCI bus close to the
host CPU. The secondary interfac e creates a new PCI bus that can
operate independently fr om the pri mary PCI bus.
1.8.2 Installing PCI Devices
The devi ces you install in PCI sl ots 1 and 2 operate on the primary
PCI bus while those in PCI slot s 3, 4, and 5 oper ate on t he secondary
PCI bus.
Since the primary PCI bus operates faster than the secondary PCI
bus, install PCI add-on boards in PCI slots 1 and 2 f irst then on PCI
slots 3, 4, and 5 to achiev e better system performanc e. See Figure
1-1 for t he locations of the PCI slots.
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1-14 User’s Guide
1.9 ASM Pro
The ASM Pro is a server management tool based on the Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP). I t detects server problems
related to t he CPU thermal c ondition, 5V/3.3V detect ion, or PCI bus
utilization calculation.
This feature is designed primarily for server supervisors and
management i nf orm at ion system (MIS ) personnel t o hel p t hem det ect
errors or potential trouble spots in their network servers through a
single management station.
The ASM Pro consists of two major parts:
•
ASM-Station - a Windows-based monitoring station that
communicates with the ASM-Agents.
•
ASM-Agent(s) - the individual servers managed by the
ASM-Station.
Refer to the ASM Pro user’s manual for more i nformation.
Page 15
System Board 1-15
1.10 Remote Diagnostic Management
The Remote Diagnostic Management (RDM) is a network
management tool t hat utilizes modems and telephone li nes to cont rol
a host of serv ers f rom a r em ote stat ion. It m oni tor s and analy zes t he
server condi tion, updates the BIO S settings if necessary, or reboots
the server in the event of failure and quickly return it to normal
operation. This capability to execute the RDM program from a
remote sit e bridges the di stance barri er in f ix ing serv er probl em s and
reduces wasted time due to system failure.
1.10.1 Installing the RDM Module
The system board comes with connectors CN6 and CN7 to
accommodate the RDM module, and CN13 to connect the RDM
cable.
Follow these steps to install the RDM module and connect the cable:
1. See Figure 1-1 for the location of the RDM connectors.
2. Gently i nsert the RDM m odule into CN6 and CN7. The m odule
fits only in one di r ec tion. Do not force i t into to the connectors.
Figure 1-6 Installing the RDM M odule
CN6
CN7
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1-16 User’s Guide
3. Insert the cable end with the RDM button into the slot on the
housing front panel.
4. Attach the ot her end of t he RDM cabl e t o CN13 (pi ns 5-6, 11-12)
on the system board. Note that the covered pin of the cable
connector does not connect to any pin.
Figure 1-7 Connecting the RDM Cable
Refer to the RDM User’s Guide f or detailed instr uctions on the RDM
installation.
CN13
1
7
12
RDM Cable
Page 17
System Board 1-17
1.11 Error Messages
Do not continue usi ng the computer if you receiv e an error m essage
of any type. Note the message and take corrective action. This
section explains the different types of error messages and
corresponding corrective measures.
There are two general t y pes of error m essages:
•
Software
•
System
1.11.1 Software Error Messages
Software error messages are returned by your operating system or
application. These messages typically occur after you boot the
operating system or when you run your appli cations. If you receive
this type of message, consult your application or operating system
manual for help.
1.11.2 System Error Messages
A system error message indicates a problem with the com puter i tself .
A message of this type normally appears during the power-on selftest, bef or e the operating system prompt appear s.
Table 1-4 l ists the system error messages.
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1-18 User’s Guide
Table 1-4 System Error Messages
Message Action
CMOS Battery Error Replace the RTC chip or
contact your dealer.
CMOS Checksum Error Check the RTC chip and the
necessary jumper. If the
battery is still good, run
Setup.
Display Card Mismatch Run Setup.
Diskette Drive Contro ller
Error or Not Installed
Check and connect the
control cable to the diskette
controller.
Diskette Drive Error Diskette may be defective. If
not, replace the diskette drive.
Diskette Drive A Type
Mismatch
Run Setup and select the
proper drive type.
Diskette Drive B Type
Mismatch
Run Setup and select the
proper drive type.
Equipment Configurat ion
Error
Modify the memory
configuration to agree with
one of the options in Table
1-3.
Hard disk Controller Error Run Setup.
Hard disk 0 Error Check all cable connections.
Replace hard disk.
Hard disk 1 Error Check all cable connections.
Replace hard disk.
Keyboard Error or No
Keyboard Connected
Check and connect the
keyboard to the system unit.
Keyboard Interface Error Replace the keyboard or
contact your dealer.
Page 19
System Board 1-19
Table 1-4 System Error Messages (continued)
Message Action
Memory Error at:
MMMM:SSSS:OOO
(W :XXXX, R:YYYY)
where:
M: MB, S: Segment,
O: Offset, X/Y: write/read
pattern
Check SIMMs on the syst em
board. Contact your dealer.
Memor y S ize Mismatc h
CPU Clock Mismatch
Run Setup. Check if the
values shown in the memory
parameters are correct. If
correct, exit Setup and reboot
the system. If the error
message reappears, seek
technical assistance.
Onboard Serial Port 1
Conflict
Run Setup and disable the
port.
Onboard Serial Port 2
Conflict
Run Setup and disable the
port.
Onboard Parallel Port
Conflict
Run Setup and disable the
port.
Pointing Device Error Check and connect pointing
device.
Pointing Device Interface
Error
Replace the pointing device or
contact your dealer.
Press F1 key to continue or
Ctrl-Alt-Esc for Setup
Press
or
+ + to enter
Setup.
Real Time Clock Error Check the RTC chip. If it is
still good, run Setup. If not,
replace the RTC chip.
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1-20 User’s Guide
1.11.3 Correcting Error Conditions
As a general rule, if an error m essage says "Press F1 to conti nue," it
is caused by a confi guration probl em, which can be easily corrected.
An equipment malfunction is more likely to cause a fatal error, i.e., an
error that causes com plete system fail ur e.
Here are some corrective measures for er r or c onditions:
1. Run Setup. You m ust know the correct configur ation v alues f or
your system before you enter Setup, which is why you should
write them down when the system is correctly conf igured. An
incorrect configuration is a major cause of power-on error
messages, especially for a new system.
2. Remov e the system unit c over. Check t hat the jum pers on the
system board and any ex pansi on boar ds are set cor r ec tly.
3. If you cannot access a new disk, it m ay be because your disk is
not properly f ormatted. Format the disk first using the FDISK
and FORMAT c ommands.
4. Check that al l connectors and boards are securely plugged in.
If you go t hrough t he correc ti ve steps above and still receive an error
message, the cause may be an equipment malfunction.
If you are sure that your configuration values are correct and your
battery is in good condition, the problem may lie in a damaged or
defectiv e c hip.
In either c ase, c ontact an authorized service center for assistance.
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