AOpen AP5S AP5S User Manual

AP5S

Mainboard

User’s Guide

Copyright

Copyright  1996 by this company. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval
system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of this company.

ii

Disclaimer

This company makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or
implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any
warranties, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Any software
described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is". Should the programs prove
defective following their purchase, the buyer (and not this company, its
distributor, or its dealer) assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing,
repair, and any incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect
in the software. Further, this company reserves the right to revise this
publication and to make changes from time to time in the contents hereof
without obligation to notify any person of such revision or changes.

Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
XT/AT is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Other brand and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective
holders.

iii

FCC Statement

FCC Class B Radio Frequency

Interference Statement

Note:

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee
that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:

1. Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

2. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

3. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to
which the receiver is connected.

4. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for help.

Notice 1:

The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate
the equipment.

Notice 2:

Shielded interface cables, if any, must be used in order to comply with
emission limits.

iv

About This Manual

Purpose and Scope

This manual tells how to install and configure the system board.

Organization

This manual consists of three chapters and one appendix:
Chapter 1, Overview, covers the specifications, layout, and components of the
system board.
Chapter 2, Hardware Installation, tells how to install the hardware
components, configure the system by resetting the jumpers, install the system
board and add expansion cards.
Chapter 3, Award BIOS Utility, explains the system BIOS and tells how to
configure the system by setting the BIOS parameters.
Appendix A, Jumper and Connector Summary, gives you a tabular
summary of the jumper settings and onboard connectors discussed in Chapter

2.

v

About This Manual

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

Text entered by user,
default settings,
recommended
selections

a, e, s, etc

Represent text input by the user, default
settings and recommended selections

Represent the actual keys that you have
to press on the keyboard.

NOTE

Gives bits and pieces of additional
information related to the current topic.

WARNING

Alerts you to any damage that might
result from doing or not doing specific
actions.

CAUTION

Suggests precautionary measures to
avoid potential hardware or software
problems.

IMPORTANT

Reminds you to take specific action
relevant to the accomplishment of the
procedure at hand.

TIP

Tells how to accomplish a procedure
with minimum steps through little
shortcuts.

vi

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Overview

1.1 Board Layout.........................................1-2

1.2 Specifications .......................................1-3

1.3 System Board Parts..............................1-4

1.3.1 Microprocessor.................................1-4

1.3.2 ASICs...............................................1-4

1.3.3 BIOS.................................................1-5

1.3.4 Expansion Slots................................1-5

1.3.5 DRAM Sockets.................................1-5

1.3.6 Second-level Cache .........................1-5

1.3.7 Two-channel PCI Mode 4

Enhanced IDE Interface...................1-6

1.3.8 Super I/O Controller..........................1-6

1.3.9 Keyboard Connector.........................1-6

1.3.10 Mouse Connector.............................1-7

Chapter 2 Hardware Installation

2.1 ESD Precautions...................................2-1

2.2 Jumper Locations.................................2-2

2.3 Setting the Jumper ...............................2-3

2.4 Installing a Microprocessor.................2-4

vii

Table of Contents

2.5 Upgrading the Microprocessor............2-7

2.6 Configuring the

System Memory ....................................2-8

2.6.1 Installing a SIMM............................2-10

2.6.2 Removing a SIMM..........................2-11

2.7 Customizing your

Hardware Setup ..................................2-12

2.7.1 Selecting the L2 Cache Mode ........2-12

2.7.2 Selecting the Flash ROM Type.......2-13

2.7.3 Disabling the Onboard

Super I/O Controller.......................2-13

2.7.4 Selecting the ECP

DMA Channel.................................2-14

2.7.5 Clearing the CMOS ........................2-14

2.7.6 Disabling the PS/2

Mouse Function .............................2-14

2.8 Installing the System Board...............2-15

2.9 Connecting Peripherals......................2-16

2.9.1 Power Cable...................................2-16

2.9.2 Mouse.............................................2-16

2.9.3 Serial Devices (COM1/COM2)........2-17

2.9.4 Floppy Drives..................................2-17

2.9.5 Printer.............................................2-18

2.9.6 IDE Devices....................................2-18

viii

Table of Contents

2.9.7 Front-panel Switches and LEDs.....2-19

2.9.8 Keyboard........................................2-20

2.10 Installing Expansion Boards..............2-21

Chapter 3 Award BIOS Utility

3.1 Entering the

Award BIOS Setup Menu......................3-1

3.2 Standard CMOS Setup..........................3-3

3.2.1 Date..................................................3-3

3.2.2 Time .................................................3-4

3.2.3 Hard Disks........................................3-4

3.2.4 Floppy Drive Types...........................3-5

3.2.5 Video................................................3-5

3.2.6 Error Halt..........................................3-6

3.2.7 Memory ............................................3-6

3.3 BIOS Features Setup............................3-8

3.3.1 Virus Warning...................................3-9

3.3.2 CPU Internal Cache..........................3-9

3.3.3 External Cache.................................3-9

3.3.4 Quick Power-on Self-test................3-10

3.3.5 Boot Sequence...............................3-10

3.3.6 Swap Floppy Drive .........................3-10

3.3.7 Boot-up Floppy Seek......................3-10

3.3.8 Boot-up NumLock Status ...............3-10

ix

Table of Contents

3.3.9 Boot-up System Speed ..................3-11

3.3.10 Gate A20 Option.............................3-11

3.3.11 Memory Parity Check.....................3-11

3.3.12 Typematic Rate Setting..................3-11

3.3.13 Typematic Rate..............................3-11

3.3.14 Typematic Delay.............................3-12

3.3.15 Security Option...............................3-12

3.3.16 PS/2 Mouse Function Control.........3-12

3.3.17 PCI/VGA Palette Snoop.................3-12

3.3.18 Video BIOS Shadow.......................3-13

3.3.19 C8000-CBFFF Shadow to-

DC000-DFFFF Shadow .................3-13

3.4 Chipset Features Setup......................3-14

3.5 Power Management Setup.................3-15

3.5.1 Power Management .......................3-16

3.5.2 PM Control by APM........................3-16

3.5.3 Video Off Option.............................3-16

3.5.4 Video Off Method ...........................3-17

3.5.5 Suspend Switch..............................3-17

3.5.6 Doze & Standby Speeds ................3-17

3.5.7 PM Timers......................................3-18

3.5.8 PM Events......................................3-18

3.5.9 IRQ3 to IRQ15................................3-19

x

Table of Contents

3.6 PCI Configuration Setup ....................3-19

3.6.1 PnP BIOS Auto Configuration ........3-20

3.6.2 Available IRQs................................3-20

3.6.3 PCI IRQ Activated By.....................3-20

3.6.4 PCI IDE 2nd Channel.....................3-21

3.6.5 PCI IDE IRQ Map To......................3-21

3.6.6 CPU-PCI Post Write Rate ..............3-21

3.6.7 Latency for CPU-PCI......................3-21

3.6.8 CPU-PCI Burst Mem Write.............3-22

3.6.9 CPU-PCI Post Mem Write..............3-22

3.6.10 PCI Master Burst Range.................3-22

3.7 Load BIOS Defaults ............................3-23

3.8 Load Setup Defaults...........................3-24

3.9 I/O Configuration Setup......................3-25

3.9.1 Onboard FDC Controller.................3-25

3.9.2 Onboard Serial Ports 1 and 2.........3-26

3.9.3 Parallel Port....................................3-26

3.9.4 Parallel Port Mode..........................3-27

3.9.5 IDE HDD Block Mode.....................3-27

3.9.6 Internal PCI/IDE .............................3-27

3.9.7 IDE Primary Master PIO.................3-28

3.9.8 IDE Primary Slave PIO...................3-28

3.9.9 IDE Secondary Master PIO............3-29

xi

Table of Contents

3.9.10 IDE Secondary Slave PIO..............3-29

3.9.11 Primary IDE Prefetch/
Secondary IDE Prefetch/
IDE Burst Mode/

IDE Post Write ...............................3-30

3.10 Password Setting................................3-31

3.11 IDE HDD Auto Detection.....................3-32

3.12 HDD Low-level Format........................3-33

3.12.1 Select Drive....................................3-33

3.12.2 Bad Track List ................................3-34

3.12.3 Preformat........................................3-34

3.13 Save & Exit Setup ...............................3-35

3.14 Exit without Saving.............................3-35

3.15 NCR SCSI BIOS and Drivers ..............3-36

Appendix A Jumper and Connector Summary

xii

Chapter 1

Overview

The AP5S is a Pentium -based system board that utilizes the PCI/ISA
architecture. It has three ISA-AT and four PCI slots for future expansion. It
also has four 72-pin single in-line memory modules (SIMM) sockets that
accept both Fast Page Mode and EDO type DRAMs, and expand system
memory to a maximum of 512 MB. The onboard 256-KB pipelined-burst
cache memory supports write-back and write-through modes.
The system board integrates the SiS application-specific integrated circuits
(ASICs) that enable the System Management Mode (SMM) function of the
Pentium chip. This function enables the board to support the Dark Green
Power Management feature that conforms to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star standards.
A super I/O controller and a two-channel PCI mode 4 enhanced IDE interface
are also incorporated in the motherboard to further enhance system
performance.
The board measures 220 mm x 280 mm, a size that easily fits most housings.

1-1

Overview

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 22 21 20 19 18 17

1.1 Board Layout

1 Multifunction connector 15 AT-keyboard connector
2 IDE LED connector 16 Power connector
3 IR connector (optional) 17 Parallel port
4 Two-pin fan connector 18 Floppy disk connector
5 Battery 19 SIMM sockets
6 ISA slots 20 IDE1 connector
7 BIOS 21 IDE2 connector
8 Keyboard controller 22 SiS5512 ASIC
9 USB connector (optional) 23 SiS5511 ASIC
10 PCI slots 24 Pipelined-burst cache
11 Super I/O controller 25 CPU socket
12 COM2 port 26 SiS5513 ASIC
13 COM1 port 27 Heatsink
14 PS/2 mouse connector

27

1-2

26

25

8
9

10
11

12
13

14
15
16

1.2 Specifications

Overview

Microprocessor

Memory
SIMM Sockets
ASICs
Bus Architecture
Expansion Slots
Ports

Secondary Cache
BIOS
RTC & Battery
Board Size

Intel Pentium (3.3V) Processor
75/90/100/120/133/150/166/200 MHz

512 MB (maximum)
72-pin SIMM x 4, 64-bit
SiS5511/5512/5513
ISA, PCI
Three ISA and four PCI slots
One parallel port (SPP/ECP/EPP)

Two serial ports (UART 16C550)
Two-channel PCI mode 4 IDE ports
(bus master transfer support)
One floppy disk drive port
(360/720 K, 1.2/1.44/2.88 MB)

256-KB pipelined-burst cache
Award Plug-and-Play Flash ROM BIOS
Lithium (CR2032)
220 mm x 280 mm (baby AT)

1-3

Overview

1.3 System Board Parts

1.3.1 Microprocessor

The AP5S system board uses an Intel Pentium (3.3V) Processor running at 75,
90, 100, 120, 133, 150, 166, or 200 MHz. Chapter 2 gives details on how to
install and upgrade a processor.

1.3.2 ASICs

The three ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) onboard are the
SiS5511, SiS5512, and SiS5513. The SiS5511 serves as the PCI/ISA cache
memory controller that supports write-back and write-through cache modes. It
features a high-performance arbiter with four PCI masters and a rotating
priority mechanism. It also acts as a PCI bridge that translates CPU cycles into
PCI cycles.
The SiS5512 functions as a PCI local bus data buffer that offers 64-bit DRAM
and 32-bit PCI bus interfaces to support the 64-bit Pentium processor data bus.
The SiS5513 acts as the ISA/PCI bus bridge that translates the PCI bus cycles
into ISA bus cycles or vice-versa. It also functions as an ISA arbiter, DMA
cycle and interrupt controller.

1.3.3 BIOS

The board supports the Award basic input-output system (BIOS). The BIOS is
a program that performs the power-on self test (POST) upon booting. During
POST, this program activates the peripheral devices, tests onboard memory
and prepares the system for operation. For more information on Award BIOS,
see Chapter 3.

1.3.4 Expansion Slots

The board has three ISA and four PCI expansion slots. The ISA expansion
slots are the black parallel bars on the system board. The PCI slots are those
with white color and are shorter than the ISA slots. There are rows of golden
pins inside each slot that serve as a clutch to secure the contacts of the
expansion board. For information on how to install the expansion boards, see
Chapter 2.

1-4

Overview

1.3.5 DRAM Sockets

The system board has four 72-pin DRAM sockets that expand system memory
to a maximum of 512 MB. These sockets accept single- and double-density
single in-line memory modules (SIMMs) that support either Fast Page or
Extended Data Out (EDO) modes. Chapter 2 discusses the different memory
configurations available.

1.3.6 Second-level Cache

The AP5S motherboard comes with an onboard 256-KB pipelined-burst
second-level cache. This pipelined-burst cache improves system performance
by shortening the DRAM read prefetch time resulting to a faster data transfer
rate.

1.3.7 Two-channel PCI Mode 4 Enhanced IDE Interface

The AP5S board integrates a two-channel PCI mode 4 enhanced integrated
drive electronics (E-IDE) interface that allows the system to support four
E-IDE devices (including hard disks with more than 528-MB capacity) via two
onboard IDE connectors (see section 1.1). This feature offers users increased
data storage capacity.

1.3.8 Super I/O Controller

The onboard super I/O controller accommodates the following:

• Two UART 16450/16550-compatible fast serial ports

• A parallel port with standard parallel port (SPP), enhanced parallel port

(EPP) or extended capabilities port (ECP) support. Both the EPP and
ECP comply with the IEEE 1284 standards.

• 3.5-inch floppy disk drives with 720-KB, 1.44-MB or 2.88-MB format

• 5.25-inch floppy disk drives with 360-KB, 1.2-MB format

1-5

Overview

1.3.9 Keyboard Connector

The onboard keyboard connector allows you to connect any AT-compatible
keyboard. See the board layout figure for the location of the keyboard
connector. Chapter 2 tells how to connect an AT keyboard.
The board may also come with or without a PS/2 keyboard connector.

1.3.10 Mouse Connector

The board supports both serial and PS/2 mouse connectors. See Chapter 2 for
details on how to connect a serial and a PS/2 mouse connector.

1-6

Chapter 2

Hardware Installation

This chapter gives you a step-by-step procedure on how to install your system.
Follow each section accordingly.

2.1 ESD Precautions

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your processor, disk drives,
expansion boards, and other components. Always observe the following
precautions before you install a system component.

1. Do not remove a component from its protective packaging until you are
ready to install it.

2. Wear a wrist ground strap and attach it to a metal part of the system unit
before handling a component. If a wrist strap is not available, maintain
contact with the system unit throughout any procedure requiring ESD
protection.

2-1

Hardware Installation

2.2 Jumper Locations

The following figure shows the locations of the jumpers on the system board:

2-2

2.3 Setting the Jumper

•

•

Set a jumper switch as follows:

To open a jumper, remove the
jumper cap.

Hardware Installation

To close a jumper, insert the plastic
jumper cap over two pins of a
jumper.

The conventions in the figure are used to
represent the proper jumper settings.

Open

Closed (1-2)

2-3

Hardware Installation

2.4 Installing a Microprocessor

The motherboard comes with a zero-insertion force microprocessor socket that
allows you to install a CPU without using any tool.
Follow these steps to install a CPU into a ZIF-type CPU socket:

Make sure that the system power is OFF before
installing a component.

1. Locate the CPU socket on the
system board and pull up the socket
lever.

Hole 1

2. Insert the CPU making sure that pin
1 of the CPU aligns with hole 1 of
the socket. The notched corner on
the CPU indicates the location of
pin 1.

3. Pull down the socket lever to lock
the CPU into the socket.

2-4

Pin 1 indicator

4. Attach the heatsink and fan to the

2-pin fan power connector (J2)

CPU.

Hardware Installation

JP17

5. Plug the fan cable onto the two-pin
fan connector onboard. The fan
connector is marked JP17 on the
system board.

+12V

GNDGND

2-5

Hardware Installation

6. Set jumpers JP5 and JP13
according to the CPU type that you
install.

7. Set jumpers JP18, JP19, and JP20
according to the CPU voltage
supported.

CPU TYPE SELECT

JP5 JP13

P54C

CPU VOLTAGE

JP18 JP19 JP20

VRE Type
(3.450v ~ 3.600v)

STD Type
(3.135v ~ 3.465v)

2-6

Hardware Installation

6. Set jumpers JP3, JP4, JP14, and

CPU FREQUENCY SELECT

JP15 according to the frequency
supported by your CPU.

JP3 JP4 JP14 JP15

75 MHz

90 MHz
100 MHz

120 MHz
133 MHz
150 MHz

166 MHz
200 MHz

2.5 Upgrading the Microprocessor

To upgrade a CPU:

1. Turn off the system power and remove the housing cover.

2. Locate the CPU socket on the system board.

3. Pull up the socket lever.

4. Remove the installed CPU, if any.

5. Install the upgrade CPU. Refer to section 2.3 for instructions on how to
install a CPU.

2-7

Hardware Installation

2.6 Configuring the System Memory

The system memory is expandable to 512 MB by adding single in-line memory
modules (SIMMs). The four 72-pin SIMM sockets accommodate
4-, 16- and 64-MB single-density SIMMs, and 2-, 8- and 32-MB double­density SIMMs. These SIMM sockets also accept both Fast Page type and
Extended Data Output (EDO) type DRAMs. The EDO feature extends the
data transfer cycle, thus improves memory performance. All SIMMs support a
DRAM speed of 60/70 ns or less.
The following are the possible SIMM configurations. Notice that you must
install the same SIMMs in one bank.

Memory Configurations

Bank 0 Bank 1 Total

SIMM 1 SIMM 2 SIMM

3

2 MB 2 MB 4 MB
2 MB 2 MB 2 MB 2 MB 8 MB
2 MB 2 MB 4 MB 4 MB 12 MB
2 MB 2 MB 8 MB 8 MB 20 MB
2 MB 2 MB 16 MB 16 MB 36 MB
2 MB 2 MB 32 MB 32 MB 68 MB
2 MB 2 MB 64 MB 64 MB 132 MB
2 MB 2 MB 128 MB 128 MB 260 MB
4 MB 4 MB 8 MB
4 MB 4 MB 4 MB 4 MB 16 MB
4 MB 4 MB 8 MB 8 MB
4 MB 4 MB 16 MB 16 MB 40 MB
4 MB 4 MB 32 MB 32 MB 72 MB
4 MB 4 MB 64 MB 64 MB 136 MB
4 MB 4 MB 128 MB 128 MB 264 MB

SIMM

4

Memory

2-8

Hardware Installation

Memory Configurations (continued)

Bank 0 Bank 1 Total

SIMM 1 SIMM 2 SIMM

3

8 MB 8 MB 16 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 32 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 48 MB
8 MB 8 MB 32 MB 32 MB 80 MB

8 MB 8 MB 64 MB 64 MB 144 MB
8 MB 8 MB 128 MB 128 MB 272 MB
16 MB 16 MB 32 MB
16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 64 MB
16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 96 MB
16 MB 16 MB 64 MB 64 MB 160 MB
16 MB 16 MB 128 MB 128 MB 288 MB
32 MB 32 MB 64 MB
32 MB 32 MB 4 MB 4 MB 72 MB
32 MB 32 MB 8 MB 8 MB 80 MB
32 MB 32 MB 16 MB 16 MB 96 MB
32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 128 MB
32 MB 32 MB 64 MB 64 MB 192 MB
32 MB 32 MB 128 MB 128 MB 320 MB
64 MB 64 MB 128 MB
64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 256 MB
64 MB 64 MB 128 MB 128 MB 384 MB
128 MB 128 MB 256 MB
128 MB 128 MB 128 MB 128 MB 512 MB
4 MB 4 MB
8 MB 8 MB
16 MB 16 MB

SIMM

4

Memory

2-9

Hardware Installation

32 MB 32 MB
64 MB 64 MB
128 MB 128 MB

Memory Configurations (continued)

Bank 0 Bank 1 Total

SIMM 1 SIMM 2 SIMM

3

4 MB 4 MB
8 MB 8 MB

16MB 16 MB
32 MB 32 MB
64 MB 64 MB
128 MB 128 MB

2.6.1 Installing a SIMM

SIMM

4

Memory

Observe the ESD precautions when installing
components.

Follow these steps to install a SIMM:

1. Slip a SIMM at a 45° angle into a

socket. If the SIMM does not
completely fit into the socket,
reverse the SIMM orientation. The
SIMM has a curved edge indicating
pin 1 that ensures installation in
one direction only.

2-10

curved edge

Be careful when inserting or removing SIMMs.
Forcing a SIMM in or out of a socket can
damage the socket or the SIMM (or both).

2. Gently push the SIMM up until the
pegs of the socket slip into the
holes on the SIMM and the holding
clips lock the SIMM into a vertical
position.

The SIMM should be at a 90°angle when
installed.

2.6.2 Removing a SIMM

To remove a SIMM:

Hardware Installation

1. Press the holding clips on both
sides of the SIMM outward to
release it.

2. Press the SIMM downward to
about a 45° angle.

3. Gently pull the SIMM out of the
socket.

2-11

Hardware Installation

2.7 Customizing your Hardware Setup

You may customize your hardware setup according to your desired system
performance. However, doing so requires resetting of several jumpers. The
onboard jumpers are normally set to its default setting. See the figure in
section 2.2 for the location of the jumpers on the system board.

The following sections tell how to configure the system board to meet the
desired performance:

2.7.1 Selecting the L2 Cache Mode

The motherboard comes with a 256-KB
pipelined-burst cache that supports both
the linear and the interleave cache
modes. The onboard three-pin jumper
JP1 enables you to set the cache mode

Linear mode
(Cyrix)

depending on the CPU type in use.
Select linear mode if the CPU in use is a
Cyrix CPU. For an Intel CPU, select
interleave mode. The default setting is

Interleave mode
(Intel)

2-3.

2.7.2 Selecting the Flash ROM Type

The AP5S board supports both the 5V
and 12V Flash ROM types. Normally,
the board comes with a 5V Flash ROM
and with the jumper JP8 set to 2-3.
Reset it to 1-2 if you want to install a
12V Flash ROM.

12V
(Intel Boot Block Program)

5V (default)

JP1

JP8

2-12

Hardware Installation

2.7.3 Disabling the Onboard Super I/O Controller

The board is preset by the manufacturer
with the onboard I/O controller enabled.
In case you wish to use an external I/O
controller, you need to disable the
onboard I/O before the external I/O card
functions. To disable, you need to reset
jumper JP16 to 2-3.

2.7.4 Selecting the ECP DMA Channel

The available ECP DMA channel
selections are 3 and 1. The default is
DMA channel 3. To select DMA channel
1, reset jumpers JP6 and JP7 to 2-3.

JP16

Enabled
(default)

Disabled

JP6 JP7

DMA channel 3
(default)

2.7.5 Clearing the CMOS

You need to clear the CMOS if you
forget your system password. To do
this, shut off the system power and short
pins 2-3 of JP12 for a few seconds.
Reset the jumper to normal setting by
shorting pins 1-2. Enter Setup to specify
a new password.

DMA channel 1

JP12

Normal
(default)

Clear CMOS

2-13

Hardware Installation

2.7.6 Disabling the PS/2 Mouse Function

The PS/2 mouse function is normally
enabled and occupies IRQ12. To
reassign IRQ12 to another function, you
need to disable the PS/2 mouse function
by opening jumper JP10 and changing
the BIOS setup. For detailed
information on BIOS, see Chapter 3.

JP10

Enabled
(default)

Disabled

2-14

Hardware Installation

2.8 Installing the System Board

Make sure that you have already installed the
system board components like the CPU and
memory, and have set the appropriate jumpers
before you proceed.

Follow these steps to install a system board into a housing:

1. Open the system housing. Refer to
the housing documentation for
steps on how to remove the housing
cover.

2. Install the board into the housing
and secure it with the screws that
come with the housing.

3. Attach the cables and install the
necessary peripherals. See the
following section for information
on how to connect the peripherals.

Refer to your housing documentation for more
information on the system housing.

2-15

Hardware Installation

2.9 Connecting Peripherals

2.9.1 Power Cable

A standard power supply has two cables
with six wires each. Plug these cables to
the onboard power connector in such a
way that all the black wires are in the
center. The power connector is marked
CON3 on the system board.

Make sure that the power supply is off before
connecting or disconnecting the power cable.

2.9.2 Mouse

PS/2 Mouse

To connect a PS/2 mouse, simply insert
the PS/2 bracket connector onto CON4
on the system board. Plug a PS/2 mouse
into the mouse port on the bracket.

2-16

Hardware Installation

Serial Mouse

To connect a serial mouse, plug in the serial bracket connectors onto the
CON5 and CON8. Insert the serial mouse connector into the appropriate
COM port on the bracket. See section 2.9.3.

2.9.3 Serial Devices (COM1/COM2)

To support serial devices, insert the
serial device connector into the serial
port on the bracket. Plug in the serial
port bracket connectors onto the
appropriate onboard connectors. The
COM1 connector is marked CON5 and
the COM2 connector is marked CON8
on the system board.

2.9.4 Floppy Drives

Connect the floppy drive cable onto the
floppy drive connector marked CON6
on the system board. See section 1.1 for
the location of the connector. Refer to
the figure on how to connect the cables.

2-17

Hardware Installation

2.9.5 Printer

Plug in the printer bracket connector
onto the onboard parallel connector
marked CON9 on the board. Refer to
the figure.
The printer port on the bracket accepts
the printer cable.

2.9.6 IDE Devices

Primary IDE Connector

The primary IDE connector marked
CON7 on the system board supports
two IDE devices - one IDE hard disk
and one additional IDE device.
Connect your IDE HDD into the
master port of the primary IDE cable.
Plug in the slave port into another IDE
device, if any.

HDD 1

HDD 2

2-18

Hardware Installation

( Turbo Switch )

( Turbo LED )

Secondary IDE Connector

The secondary IDE connector is marked
CON10 on the board. This connector
also supports two IDE devices. To
install an IDE CD-ROM drive into your
system, insert master port of the
secondary IDE cable into the CD-ROM
drive connector.
If you have more than two hard disks,
connect your third hard disk into the
master port. Connect your CD-ROM
drive into the slave port.

2.9.7 Front-panel Switches and LEDs

HDD LED

The HDD LED connector is marked
JP22 on the board. Plug the HDD LED
socket onto this four-pin connector. See
the figure.

Multifunction Connector

The multifunction connector is a 20-pin
connector marked CON11 on the board.
Attach the green mode LED, keylock,
reset switch, turbo switch, and turbo
LED connectors onto the corresponding
pins as shown in the figure.

Speaker Power LED Keylock

Break Switch Green Mode LEDReset

2-19

Hardware Installation

Ground

Some housings have a five-pin connector
for the keylock and power LED.

Other housings may have a 12-pin
connector. If your housing has this type
of connector, plug it onto CON11 as
shown in the following figure. Make
sure that the red wire of the connector
connects to pin 11.

2.9.8 Keyboard

The onboard keyboard connector is a
five-pin AT-compatible connector
marked CON2. Refer to the figure on
how to connect an AT keyboard.

Speaker Keylock & Power LED

Reset

Break Switch Green Mode LED

( Turbo Switch ) ( Turbo LED )

Ground

Reset

Res-VCC

Speaker

Break Switch

( Turbo Switch )

Keylock

Ground

VCC

The PS/2 keyboard connector is optional.

2-20

Hardware Installation

2.10 Installing Expansion Boards

Before you install any expansion board, make sure that you have secured the
system board in the housing.
Follow these steps to install an expansion board:

1. Observe the ESD precautions
before removing the expansion
board from its protective
packaging.

2. Locate an empty expansion slot on
the system board.

Golden edge

3. Remove the bracket opposite the
slot that you want to use. Save the
cover and screw for future use.

4. Remove the board from its
protective packaging.

5. Gently insert the golden edge of the
board onto the slot until it fits into
place.

6. Secure the bracket to the housing
with a screw.

ISA slot

Golden edge

PCI slot

2-21

Chapter 3

Award BIOS Utility

This chapter explains the Setup Utility for the Award BIOS and tells how to
configure the system by setting the BIOS parameters.

3.1 Entering the Award BIOS Setup Menu

The Award BIOS Utility allows you to reconfigure your system. To enter the
system menu, turn on the system. During POST, a message telling you how to
enter Setup appears at the bottom of the screen. Follow this instruction by
simply pressing c.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CMOS SETUP UTILITY

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

STANDARD CMOS SETUP
BIOS FEATURES SETUP
CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP
POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP
PCI CONFIGURATION SETUP
LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS
LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS

ESC : Quit ↑ ↓ → ← : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Description of each function

I/O CONFIGURATION SETUP
PASSWORD SETTING
IDE HDD AUTO DETECTION
HDD LOW LEVEL FORMAT
SAVE & EXIT SETUP
EXIT WITHOUT SAVING

Choosing Load BIOS Defaults or Load Setup

Defaults at this point modifies all applicable

settings.

The section at the bottom of the screen tells how to control the screen. Use the
arrow keys to move between items, jm to color scheme of the display, ^ to exit,

3-1

Award BIOS Utility

and u to save the changes before exit. Another section at the bottom of the
screen displays a brief description of the highlighted item.

After selecting an item, press e to select or enter a submenu.

3-2

Award BIOS Utility

3.2 Standard CMOS Setup

The Standard CMOS Setup sets the basic system parameters such as the date,
time, and the hard disk type. Use the arrow keys to highlight an item and { or }
to select the value for each item.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

STANDARD CMOS SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

Date (mm:dd:yy) : Wed. Mar 6 1996
Time (hh:mm:ss) : 00:00:00

HARD DISK TYPE SIZE CYLS HEAD PRECOMP LANDZ SECTORS MODE
Primary Master : Auto 0 0 0 0 0 0 AUTO

Primary Slave : None 0 0 0 0 0 0 --­Secondary Master: None 0 0 0 0 0 0 --­Secondary Slave : None 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

Drive A : 1.44M, 3.5 in
Drive B : None

Video : EGA/VGA

Halt On : All Errors
ESC : Quit ↑ ↓ → ← : Select Item PU/PD/+/- : Modify

F1 : Help (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Base Memory : 640 K
Extended Memory: 15360 K

Other Memory : 384 K

Total Memory : 16384 K

3.2.1 Date

To set the date, highlight the Date parameter. Press { or } to set the current
date. The date format is month, date, and year.

3-3

Award BIOS Utility

3.2.2 Time

To set the time, highlight the Time parameter. Press { or } to set the current
time in hour, minute, and second format. The time is based on the 24-hour
military clock.

3.2.3 Hard Disks

The four hard disk parameters listed in the menu are Primary Master, Primary
Slave, Secondary Master and Secondary Slave. These parameters allow you to
configure the drives that you connect into your IDE connectors.
To configure, press { or } to select a hard disk drive type, or type the number
and press e. Select User to define your own hard disk type manually. You
can use the IDE HDD Auto Detection function in the Main Menu to
automatically configure your hard disk drive parameters. If your system does
not have a hard disk drive, select None and press e.

For an IDE hard disk, we recommend that you
use the Auto Detection utility to enter the drive
specifications automatically. See the section
IDE HDD Auto Detection.

3-4

Select the User option if you want to enter
the specifications manually.

Award BIOS Utility

3.2.4 Floppy Drive Types

Press { or } to select a floppy disk drive type. The settings are:

• 360 K, 5.25-in.

• 1.2 M, 5.25-in.

• 720 K, 3.5-in.

• 1.44 M, 3.5-in.

• 2.88 M, 3.5-in.

Choose None if you have no floppy drive.

3.2.5 Video

This parameter allows you to configure the video display card present in your
system. The video settings are:

• EGA/VGA

• CGA 40

• CGA 80

• MONO

Select the adapter type setting that matches your video display card and
monitor.

3-5

Award BIOS Utility

3.2.6 Error Halt

This parameter enables you to control the system stops in case of error. The
available settings are:

• No Errors

• All Errors

• All But Keyboard

• All But Diskette

• All But Disk/Key

The default setting is All Errors.

3.2.7 Memory

The Memory parameters are for display only. These are determined by the
BIOS power-on self-test.

Base Memory

The POST detects the amount of base (or conventional) memory installed in
the system. The value of the base memory is 640 KB for systems with 640 KB
or more memory installed on the mainboard.

Extended Memory

The BIOS detects the amount of extended memory present during the POST.
This is the amount of memory located above 1 MB in the CPU memory
address map.

Other Memory

This refers to the memory located in the 640 KB to 1024 KB address space.
This is the memory that can be used for different applications. DOS uses this

3-6

Award BIOS Utility

area to load device drivers to keep as much base memory free for application
programs.

3-7

Award BIOS Utility

3.3 BIOS Features Setup

This screen appears when you select the option BIOS Features Setup from the
main menu.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

BIOS FEATURES SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

Virus Warning : Disabled
CPU Internal Cache : Enabled
External Cache : Enabled
Quick Power On Self Test : Enabled
Boot Sequence : A, C
Swap Floppy Drive : Disabled
Boot Up Floppy Seek : Enabled
Boot Up NumLock Status : On
Boot Up System Speed : High
Gate A20 Option : Fast
Memory Parity Check : Disabled
Typematic Rate Setting : Disabled
Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) : 6
Typematic Delay (Msec) : 250
Security Option : Setup
PS/2 mouse function control : Disabled
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop : Disabled

Video BIOS Shadow : Enabled
C8000-CBFFF Shadow : Disabled
CC000-CFFFF Shadow : Disabled
D0000-D3FFF Shadow : Disabled
D4000-D7FFF Shadow : Disabled
D8000-DBFFF Shadow : Disabled
DC000-DFFFF Shadow : Disabled

ESC: Quit ↑↓→←: Select Item
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load BIOS Defaults
F7 : Load Setup Defaults

3-8

Award BIOS Utility

3.3.1 Virus Warning

Set this parameter to Enabled to activate the warning message. This
feature protects the boot sector and partition table of your hard disk from virus
intrusion. Set it to Disabled to disregard the message.
Any attempt during boot-up to write to the boot sector of the hard disk drive
stops the system and the following warning message appears on the screen.
Run an anti-virus program to locate the problem.

! WARNING !

Disk Boot Sector is to be modified

Type "Y" to accept write, or "N" to abort

write

Award Software, Inc.

3.3.2 CPU Internal Cache

The default setting for this parameter is Enabled. This enables the CPU
built-in cache. Disabling the parameter slows down the system. Therefore, we
recommend that you leave it enabled unless you are troubleshooting a problem.

’s

3.3.3 External Cache

Similar to the CPU internal cache, the default setting for this parameter is

Enabled. This enables the secondary cache. Disabling the parameter slows

down the system. Therefore, we recommend that you leave it enabled unless
you are troubleshooting a problem.

3.3.4 Quick Power-on Self-test

This parameter speeds up POST by skipping some items that are normally
checked. The default setting is Enabled.

3.3.5 Boot Sequence

The settings are C,A and A,C to specify the system search sequence. The
default setting is A,C.

3-9

Award BIOS Utility

3.3.6 Swap Floppy Drive

Enabling this parameter tells your system to read the current floppy disk drive
in use regardless of the drive designation. The system may read drive A as
drive B or vice-versa. The default setting is Disabled.

3.3.7 Boot-up Floppy Seek

When this parameter is set to Enabled, BIOS detects whether there is a
floppy disk drive installed in your system. Set it to Disabled to disregard
the function. The default setting is Enabled.

3.3.8 Boot-up NumLock Status

Setting this parameter to On enables the numeric function of the numeric
keypad. Set this parameter to Off to disregard the function. Disabling the
numeric function allows you to use the numeric keypad for cursor control.
The default setting is On.

3.3.9 Boot-up System Speed

Set the system speed to High or Low with this parameter. High is the
default setting.

3.3.10 Gate A20 Option

The settings for this parameter are Normal and Fast. If the data transfer is
controlled by the 8042 chip, set the parameter to Normal. The Fast
setting transfers the control to the ASICs. The default setting is Fast.

3.3.11 Memory Parity Check

This parameter lets you enable or disable the optional parity DRAM. The
default setting is Disabled. If you install SIMMs with parity bit chips,
set this parameter to Enabled.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.3.12 Typematic Rate Setting

Set this parameter to Enabled to determine the typematic rate. Set it to

Disabled to disregard the rate setting. The default setting is
Disabled.

3.3.13 Typematic Rate

This parameter allows you to control the speed at which the system registers
repeated keystrokes. The typematic rate settings are 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20,

24, and 30 chars/sec. The default setting is 6 chars/sec.

3.3.14 Typematic Delay

This parameter allows you to control the display time between the first and the
second characters. The typematic delay settings are 250, 500, 750, and

1000 msec. The default setting is 250 msec.

3.3.15 Security Option

The security option settings are System and Setup. The System option
limits access to both the System and Setup. A prompt asking you to enter your
password appears on the screen everytime you boot the system. The Setup
option limits access only to setup. The default setting for this parameter is

Setup.

To disable the security option, select Password Setting from the main
menu and press e.

3.3.16 PS/2 Mouse Function Control

Setting the parameter to Enabled and connecting a mouse device to your
system automatically assigns IRQ12 to mouse function. Select Disabled to
re-assign IRQ12 to other functions. The default setting is Disabled.

3.3.17 PCI/VGA Palette Snoop

This function lets you enable or disable the palette snooping function in the
PCI/VGA devices installed in the system. Palette snooping is a technique that
enables the a device to transfer the control access to the palette registers.

3-11

Award BIOS Utility

Before you set this parameter to Enabled, check your PCI and VGA device
manuals for more information about this function. The default setting is

Disabled.

3.3.18 Video BIOS Shadow

Enabling the parameter allows you to change the video BIOS from ROM to
RAM. When the system boots, the video display card BIOS routines are
copied into the RAM area. This enhances system performance as information
access is faster in RAM than in ROM. The default setting for this parameter is

Enabled.

3.3.19 C8000-CBFFF Shadow to DC000-DFFFF

Shadow

These six lines are for shadowing other expansion cards with ROMs. The
default setting for these areas is Disabled. You need to know the specific
addresses that ROMs use to shadow the expansion cards. If you do not know
this information, enable all the ROM shadow settings. This ensures shadowing
of any present ROMs. Also, enabling all the settings reduces the available
memory by 640 KB to 1024 KB.

3-12

The F000 and E000 addresses are exclusively
shadowed for BIOS.

Award BIOS Utility

3.4 Chipset Features Setup

The following screen appears when you select the option Chipset Features
Setup from the main menu.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

Auto Configuration : Enabled

L2 Cache Update Mode : WB
L2 (WB) Tag Bit Length : 7 bits
Sync SRAM Leadoff Timing : 3T
DRAM RAS to CAS Delay : 4T
RAS Active When Refresh : 5T
CAS Delay In Posted-WR : 1T
FP CAS Precharge Time : 1T
FP RAS Precharge Time : 4T
EDO CAS Pulse Width : R1 W2 T
EDO CAS Precharge Time : 1T
EDO RAS Precharge Time : 4T

Slow Refresh (1:4) : Disabled
ISA Bus Clock Frequency : PCICLK/3

System BIOS Cacheable : Disabled
Video BIOS Cacheable : Enabled
Memory Hole At 15M-16M : Disabled
16 bit I/O wait state : 1 wait
16 bit I/O Recovery time : 5 BusClk
8 bit I/O Recovery time : 8 BusClk

ESC: Quit ↑↓→←: Select Item
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load BIOS Defaults
F7 : Load Setup Defaults

Do not change the values of the Chipset parameters unless you are a qualified
technician. To configure, simply set the Auto Configuration parameter to

Enabled. This automatically enters and locks the optimum settings for the

chipset. Disable the parameter to unlock the settings without changing them.
The default setting is Enabled.

3-13

Award BIOS Utility

3.5 Power Management Setup

The Power Management Setup screen enables you to control the mainboard
green features. See the following screen.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

Power Management : Disabled
PM Control by APM : Yes

Video Off Option : Susp, Stby→Off
Video Off Method : V/H SYNC+Blank
Suspend Switch : Enabled
Doze Speed (div by) : 2
Stby Speed (div by) : 3

** PM Timers**
HDD Off After : Disabled
Doze Mode : Disabled
Standby Mode : Disabled
Suspend Mode : Disabled

** PM Events**
COM Ports Activity : Enabled
LPT Ports Activity : Enabled
HDD Ports Activity : Enabled
PCI/ISA Master Act. : Enabled
IRQ-15 Activity : Enabled

VGA Activity : Disabled
IRQ3 (COM2) : Enabled
IRQ4 (COM1) : Enabled
IRQ5 (LPT2) : Enabled
IRQ6 (Floppy Disk) : Enabled
IRQ7 (LPT1) : Enabled
IRQ8 (RTC Alarm) : Disabled
IRQ9 (IRQ2 Redir) : Enabled
IRQ10 (Reserved) : Enabled
IRQ11 (Reserved) : Enabled
IRQ12 (PS/2 Mouse) : Enabled
IRQ13 (Coprocessor) : Enabled
IRQ14 (Hard Disk) : Enabled
IRQ15 (Reserved) : Enabled

ESC: Quit ↑↓→←: Select Item
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load BIOS Defaults
F7 : Load Setup Defaults

’s

3-14

Award BIOS Utility

3.5.1 Power Management

This function enables you to control the power-saving modes, display turn off
and HDD power down. The four settings are as follows:

Setting Description

Max Saving Maximize energy conservation by

putting the system into power-saving
mode after a brief period of system
inactivity. The maximum saving
default is 20 sec.

Min Saving A power-saving assignment which

activate after a moderate period of
system inactivity. The minimum
saving default is 40 Min.

Disabled Turns off the power-saving function.
User Defined Allows you to set the power-saving

options according to your
requirements.

3.5.2 PM Control by APM

If your system supports the Advanced Power Management (APM) feature, set
this parameter to Yes.

3.5.3 Video Off Option

This parameter determines when the video off feature activates. The default is

Susp, Stby→Off.

3.5.4 Video Off Method

If your video display adapter supports the green features, set this parameter to
its default setting which is V/H SYNC+Blank. If not, then set this to

Blank Setting.

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Award BIOS Utility

The default setting saves more power since it turns off the CRT vertical and
horizontal scanning once the monitor screen blanks. However, with non-green
monitors, CRT scanning does not stop even if the monitor screen blanks.

Screen saver software does not work with this
feature. It is used only to prevent burning in a
static image on the CRT while the monitor is
on. A screen saver cannot display while the
monitor is shut down to save both energy and
the screen.

3.5.5 Suspend Switch

Enabling this parameter also enables the SMI connector on the mainboard
which connects to the lead from a Suspend switch mounted on the system case.
The default setting is Enabled.

3.5.6 Doze & Standby Speeds

These lines allow you to set the speed at which the CPU will operate during
each mode. The number indicates the normal CPU speed divisor.

3.5.7 PM Timers

These parameters enable you to control the time-out settings for the Power
Management Scheme.

HDD Off After

This time-out setting indicates when to shut down the IDE hard disk. The
settings are from 1 to 15 minutes or Disabled.

HDD Power Down does not affect SCSI hard
disks.

3-16

Award BIOS Utility

Doze Mode, Standby Mode, Suspend Mode

These modes set the period of time after which each of these modes activates.

3.5.8 PM Events

This function allows you to monitor system activities. Enabling the items
under this function resumes system to full power.

Normally, a Microsoft serial mouse or
compatible uses either COM1 (IRQ4) or
COM2 (IRQ3) and a PS/2-type mouse uses
IRQ12. If you know the IRQ of your mouse,
you can make sure that the wake-up event for
that IRQ is enabled by moving the mouse or
clicking a button.

3.5.9 IRQ3 to IRQ15

These lines allow you to set the IRQs individually. An activity from any
enabled IRQ resumes the system to normal mode if the IRQ 15 Activity item in
the PM Events is enabled.

3.6 PCI Configuration Setup

The PCI Configuration Setup allows you to configure the PCI devices installed
in your system. The following screen appears if you select the option PCI
Configuration Setup from the main menu.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

PCI CONFIGURATION SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

PnP BIOS Auto Config : Disabled
1st Available IRQ : 10 *
2nd Available IRQ : 11 *
3rd Available IRQ : 9 *
4th Available IRQ : 5 *
PCI IRQ Activated By : Level
PCI IDE 2nd Channel : Enabled

3-17

Award BIOS Utility

PCI IDE IRQ Map To: : PCI-AUTO
Primary IDE INT# : A
Secondary IDE INT# : B

CPU-PCI Post Write Rate : 4T
Latency for CPU-PCI : 1T
CPU-PCI Burst Mem Write : Enabled
CPU-PCI Post Mem Write : Enabled
PCI Master Burst Range : 2KB

3.6.1 PnP BIOS Auto Configuration

When enabled, the BIOS automatically sets an IRQ for each PCI/PnP device.
The Disabled setting allows you to manually set the IRQ assignments. The
default setting is Disabled.

Disable the parameter if you have a non-PnP
device installed in your system.

ESC: Quit ↑↓→←: Select Item
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load BIOS Defaults
F7 : Load Setup Defaults

3.6.2 Available IRQs

These parameters appear only if the PnP BIOS Auto Configuration parameter
is set to Disabled. These let you to sequentially assign the IRQ to the PCI
slots. The available settings are 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and NA.
When assigning, make sure that the IRQs do not conflict.
Enabling the PnP BIOS Auto Configuration to Enabled automatically sets
the IRQ for each slot. Therefore, these parameters do not appear on screen.

3.6.3 PCI IRQ Activated By

This option lets the user set when to activate the PCI IRQ. The available
settings are Edge and Level. The Edge is the start of the signal and

Level is the point at which the signal is high. The default setting for this

parameter is Level.

3-18

Award BIOS Utility

3.6.4 PCI IDE 2nd Channel

This parameter lets you enable or disable the second channel of the PCI IDE
card, including the I/O port and the assigned IRQ to it. The default setting is

Enabled.

3.6.5 PCI IDE IRQ Map To

This feature enables you to control the PCI IDE IRQ mapping. The available
options are ISA, PCI-Slot 1, PCI-Slot 2, PCI-Slot 3, PCI-

Slot 4, and PCI-Auto. The default is PCI-Auto.

Primary and Secondary IDE INT#

These options let you set the interrupt pins assigned for the primary and
secondary channels of the PCI IDE card installed in your system.

3.6.6 CPU-PCI Post Write Rate

This parameter lets you to set the posting rate of the CPU to the PCI write data
in the posting buffer. The selections are 3T and 4T. The default setting is

4T.

3.6.7 Latency for CPU-PCI

This parameter lets you to set the CPU to PCI latency time during write cycle.
The latency time refers to the length of time that the bus master occupies the
PCI bus. The selections are 1T and 2T. The default is 1T.

3.6.8 CPU-PCI Burst Mem Write

Enabling this parameter allows the translation of the host cycles into memory­burst cycles. After translation, this controls the memory burst-write cycles.

3.6.9 CPU-PCI Post Mem Write

This parameter lets you control the CPU posting to PCI write data in the
posting buffers. The default setting is Enabled.

3-19

Award BIOS Utility

3.6.10 PCI Master Burst Range

Increasing the burst range improves system performance. However, the burst
range varies depending on the SIMM configuration that your system supports.
The available options are 256 B, 512 B, 1 KB, 2 KB, and 4 KB.
Select 4 KB if you want to install SIMMs in pairs.

3-20

Award BIOS Utility

3.7 Load BIOS Defaults

This option loads the default values permanently stored in the BIOS ROM. If
the values specified in the Setup utility become corrupted, these defaults load
automatically when you turn on the system power. The defaults loaded affect
all the Setup items except the Standard CMOS Setup. These settings are non­optimal and bypass all high-performance features. This is useful if you are
having problems with your current system configuration and need to determine
the cause.
To use this feature, highlight this option on the main menu and press e. A line
appears on the screen asking if you want to load the BIOS default values. To
load, press Y then e. Press N to disregard. See the following screen.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CMOS SETUP UTILITY

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

STANDARD CMOS SETUP
BIOS FEATURES SETUP
CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP
POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP
PCI CONFIGURATION SETUP
LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS
LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS

ESC : Quit ↑ ↓ → ← : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Load BIOS Defaults except Standard CMOS Setup

Load BIOS Defaults (Y/N)?

I/O CONFIGURATION SETUP
PASSWORD SETTING
IDE HDD AUTO DETECTION
HDD LOW LEVEL FORMAT
SAVE & EXIT SETUP
EXIT WITHOUT SAVING

3-21

Award BIOS Utility

3.8 Load Setup Defaults

The Load Setup Defaults option loads optimized settings from the BIOS ROM.
Use this option to load the default settings for normal use. The defaults loaded
affect all the Setup items except the Standard CMOS Setup.
To use this feature, highlight this option on the main screen and press e. A
line appears on the screen asking if you want to load the Setup default values.
To load, press Y then e. Press N to disregard. See the screen below.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CMOS SETUP UTILITY

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

STANDARD CMOS SETUP
BIOS FEATURES SETUP
CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP
POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP
PCI CONFIGURATION SETUP
LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS
LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS

ESC : Quit ↑ ↓ → ← : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Load SETUP Defaults except Standard CMOS Setup

Load Setup Defaults (Y/N)?

I/O CONFIGURATION SETUP
PASSWORD SETTING
IDE HDD AUTO DETECTION
HDD LOW LEVEL FORMAT
SAVE & EXIT SETUP
EXIT WITHOUT SAVING

3-22

Award BIOS Utility

3.9 I/O Configuration Setup

The I/O Configuration Setup allows you to configure the I/O features. The
following screen appears if you select the option I/O Configuration Setup from
the main menu.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

I/O CONFIGURATION SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

Onboard FDC Controller : Enabled
Onboard Serial Port 1 : COM1/3F8
Onboard Serial Port 2 : COM2/2F8
Onboard Parallel Port : 378/IRQ7
Parallel Port Mode : Normal

IDE HDD Block Mode : Enabled
Internal PCI/IDE : Both
IDE Primary Master PIO : Auto
IDE Primary Slave PIO : Auto
IDE Secondary Master PIO: Auto
IDE Secondary Slave PIO : Auto
Primary IDE Prefetch : Disabled
Secondary IDE Prefetch : Disabled
IDE Burst Mode : Disabled
IDE Post Write : Disabled

ESC: Quit ↑↓→←: Select Item
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load BIOS Defaults
F7 : Load Setup Defaults

3.9.1 Onboard FDC Controller

Setting this parameter to Enabled allows you to connect your floppy disk
drives to the onboard floppy disk connector instead of a separate controller
card. Change the setting to Disabled if you want to use a separate
controller card. The default setting is Enabled.

3.9.2 Onboard Serial Ports 1 and 2

These lines allow you to assign addresses for the board’s serial connectors.
The serial ports can be assigned as follows:

Port Address

COM1 3F8H (onboard serial port 1 default)

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Award BIOS Utility

COM2 2F8H (onboard serial port 2 default)
COM3 3E8H
COM4 2E8H
Disabled Disables the onboard port

Make sure that the ports have different
assignments.

3.9.3 Parallel Port

This parameter controls the onboard parallel port connector. The options for
this parameter are:

• 378H/IRQ7

• 3BCH/IRQ7

• 278H/IRQ5

• Disabled

The default setting is 378H/IRQ7.

If you are using an I/O card with a parallel
port, make sure that the addresses do not
conflict.

3.9.4 Parallel Port Mode

The default setting for this function is Normal. If your system has a parallel
interface peripheral device, set this function according to the enhanced mode
that your device supports. The available options are:

• Normal

• EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port)

• ECP (Extended Capabilities Port)

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Award BIOS Utility

• ECP/EPP

3.9.5 IDE HDD Block Mode

This feature enhances disk performance by allowing multisector data transfers.
Most IDE drives, except with old designs, can support this feature. The
default setting is Enabled.

3.9.6 Internal PCI/IDE

Enabling this function activates the onboard IDE channels and connectors. Set
this to Disabled to deactivate the onboard PCI and IDE controllers. The
default setting is Both.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.9.7 IDE Primary Master PIO

This parameter allows you to set the PIO mode supported by the master drive
connected to your primary IDE connector. The options are Auto, Mode 1,

Mode 2, Mode 3, and Mode 4. Select Auto to automatically detect the

HDD PIO mode of your hard disk. The default setting is Auto.

This parameter does not appear if the Internal
PCI/IDE is disabled.

3.9.8 IDE Primary Slave PIO

This parameter allows you to set the PIO mode supported by the slave drive
connected to your primary IDE connector. The options are Auto, Mode 1,

Mode 2, Mode 3, and Mode 4. Select Auto to automatically detect the

HDD PIO mode of your hard disk. The default setting is Auto.

This parameter does not appear if the Internal
PCI/IDE is disabled.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.9.9 IDE Secondary Master PIO

This parameter allows you to set the PIO mode supported by the master drive
connected to your secondary IDE connector. The options are Auto, Mode

1, Mode 2, Mode 3, and Mode 4. Select Auto to automatically detect

the HDD PIO mode of your hard disk. The default setting is Auto.

This parameter does not appear if the Internal
PCI/IDE is disabled.

3.9.10 IDE Secondary Slave PIO

This parameter allows you to set the PIO mode supported by the slave drive
connected to your secondary IDE connector. The options are Auto, Mode

1, Mode 2, Mode 3, and Mode 4. Select Auto to automatically detect

the HDD PIO mode of your hard disk. The default setting is Auto.

This parameter does not appear if the Internal
PCI/IDE is disabled.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.9.11 Primary IDE Prefetch/

Secondary IDE Prefetch/
IDE Burst Mode/
IDE Post Write

Enabling these parameters improve system performance. However, not all
hard disks support these features. We recommend that you consult your hard
disk manual before you enable one of these parameters.

These parameters do not appear if the Internal
PCI/IDE is disabled.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.10 Password Setting

This option lets you set a password. Password prevents unauthorized use of
your computer.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CMOS SETUP UTILITY

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

STANDARD CMOS SETUP
BIOS FEATURES SETUP
CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP
POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP
PCI CONFIGURATION SETUP
LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS
LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS

ESC : Quit ↑ ↓ → ← : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Enter Password: ******

Change/Set/Disable Password

I/O CONFIGURATION SETUP
PASSWORD SETTING
IDE HDD AUTO DETECTION
HDD LOW LEVEL FORMAT
SAVE & EXIT SETUP
EXIT WITHOUT SAVING

To set a password, highlight the password type that you want and press e. At
the prompt, type your password. Your password can be up to 8 alphanumeric
characters. Press e to enter your password. At the next prompt, re-type your
password and press e again to confirm the new password. After the password
entry, the screen automatically reverts to the main screen.

To disable the password, press e when prompted to enter the password. The
screen displays a message confirming that the password has been disabled.

If you use the Password features, the Security
Option line in the BIOS Features Setup
determines when to enter the password.

3.11 IDE HDD Auto Detection

If your system has an IDE hard drive, you can use this utility to detect its
parameters and enter them into the Standard CMOS Setup automatically.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CMOS SETUP UTILITY

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Award BIOS Utility

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

HARD DISKS TYPE SIZE CYLS HEAD PRECOMP LANDZ SECTOR MODE

Primary Master:

Select Primary Master Option (N=Skip) : N

OPTIONS SIZE CYLS HEAD PRECOMP LANDZ SECTOR MODE

1 (Y) 426 826 16 65535 825 63 NORMAL

This utility only detects one set of parameters for your IDE hard drive. Some
IDE drives can use more than one set of parameters. If your hard disk is
formatted using different parameters than those detected, you have to enter the
parameters manually. If the parameters listed don't match the ones used to
format the disk, the information on that disk won't be accessible. If the auto­detected parameters displayed do not match those that used for your drive,
ignore them. Press N to reject the values and enter the correct ones manually
from the Standard CMOS Setup screen.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.12 HDD Low-level Format

The HDD Low-level Format utility is designed as a tool to save your time
formatting your hard disk. This automatically sets the necessary information
of the selected drive. It also searches for the bad tracks and lists them for your
reference.
This screen appears if you select HDD Low-level Format from the main menu.

NO. CYLS HEAD

Hard disk Low-level Format Utility

SELECT DRIVE

BAD TRACK LIST

PREFORMAT

Current selected drive is: C

DRIVE: C CYLINDER: 0 HEAD: 0

MODE

Primary Master : None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Primary Slave : None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Secondary Master: None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Secondary Slave : None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Up/Down - Select item Enter - Accept ESC - Exit/Abort

Copyright (c) Award Software, Inc. 1994 All Rights Reserved

SIZE CYLS HEAD PRECOMP LANDZ SECTOR

Press w and y to move around the selections. Press e to accept the selection.
Press ^ to abort the selection or exit the utility.

3.12.1 Select Drive

Select an installed hard disk drive (either C, D, E, or F). The bottom of the
screen displays the drive automatically detected by the utility.

3.12.2 Bad Track List

The following options are available for this function:

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Award BIOS Utility

• Auto scan bad track - Automatically scans and lists the bad

tracks in the window located at the right side of the screen.

• Add bad track - Allows you to manually enter the information

of the known bad track in the window located at the right side of the
screen.

• Modify bad track - Allows you to modify the information of

the added bad track in the window located at the right side of the screen.

• Delete bad track - Deletes the added bad tracks.

• Clear bad track table - Clears the whole bad track list in

the window located at the right side of the screen.

3.12.3 Preformat

The following options are available for this function:

• Interleave - Allows you to manually set the interleave number of

the hard disk drive selected for low-level formatting. You may enter any
number from 1 to 8. Before setting, check the documentation that comes
with the drive for the correct interleave number, or select 0 for automatic
detection.

• Auto scan bad track - Allows the utility to scan first then

format. Formatting is done by tracks.

• Start - Allows you to begin the low-level format by pressing Y.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.13 Save & Exit Setup

This function automatically saves all CMOS values before leaving Setup.

3.14 Exit without Saving

Use this function to exit Setup without saving the CMOS value changes. Do
not use this option if you want to save the new configuration.

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Award BIOS Utility

3.15 NCR SCSI BIOS and Drivers

The NCR 53C810 SCSI BIOS resides on the same flash memory chip as the
system BIOS. To use the onboard NCR BIOS, you need to install an NCR
53C810 SCSI controller card in your system.
All SCSI devices that you install in your system require software drivers. The
NCR SCSI BIOS directly supports SCSI hard disks under DOS, Windows and
OS/2. It also uses DOS-format and SCO UNIX-format support floppy disk
device drivers that come with the NCR 53C810 SCSI controller card. The
DOS-format device drivers are for SCSI devices used with DOS, Windows
NT, Novell NetWare and OS/2. The SCO UNIX-format device drivers are for
SCSI devices used with SCO UNIX. These drivers offer higher performance
than the direct BIOS support.
To use the device drivers, you must install them in your system hard disk drive
and add them to your system configuration files. For detailed installation
instructions, see the README files that come with the drivers.

The system board also supports the Award
Flash Memory Writer Utility which allows you
to upgrade the system BIOS. For more
information on this utility, contact your local
distributor.

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Appendix A

Jumper and Connector Summary

CPU Type

CPU Type JP5 JP13

P54C 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

CPU Voltage

CPU

Voltage

VRE Type Closed Open Open
STD Type Open Closed Open

CPU Frequency

CPU Frequency JP3 JP4 JP14 JP15

75 MHz 2-3 2-3 2-3 2-3
90 MHz 2-3 1-2 2-3 2-3
100 MHz 1-2 2-3 2-3 2-3
120 MHz 2-3 1-2 2-3
133 MHz 1-2 2-3 2-3
150 MHz 2-3
166 MHz 1-2 2-3
200 MHz 1-2 2-3

JP18 JP19 JP20

1-2 1-2 1-2

1-2 1-2
1-2

1-2
1-2

2-3

A-1

Jumper and Connector Summary

L2 Cache Mode

Cache Mode JP1

Linear mode (Cyrix) 1-2
Interleave mode (Intel) 2-3

Flash ROM Type

Flash ROM JP8

12V 1-2
5V (default) 2-3

Super I/O Controller

Function JP16

Enabled 1-2
Disabled 2-3

ECP DMA Channel

ECP DMA Channnel JP6 JP7

3 1-2 1-2
1 2-3 2-3

CMOS

Function JP12

Normal 1-2
Clear CMOS 2-3

A-2

Jumper and Connector Summary

PS/2 Mouse

Function JP10

Enabled 1-2

Disabled 2-3

Onboard Connectors

Connector Function

CON2 AT-keyboard
CON3 Power
CON4 PS/2 mouse header
CON5 COM1
CON6 Floppy disk
CON7 IDE1
CON8 COM2
CON9 Parallel
CON10 IDE2
CON11 Multifunction connector
JP2 Reserved
JP9 Reserved
JP11 Reserved
JP17 Fan
JP21 IR
JP22 IDE LED
JP23 Reserved
JP24 Reserved
JP25 Reserved
USB USB interface

A-3