AOpen AP5T-AWD User Manual

Chapter 3

Award BIOS

This chapter tells how to configure the system parameters. You may update
your BIOS via AWARD Flash Utility.

Important: Because the BIOS code is the most
often changed part of the mainboard design, the
BIOS information contained in this chapter
(especially the Chipset Setup parameters) may be
a little different compared to the actual BIOS that
came with your mainboard.

3.1 Entering the Award BIOS Setup Menu

The BIOS setup utility is a segment of codes/routines residing in the BIOS
Flash ROM. This routine allows you to configure the system parameters and
save the configuration into the 128 byte CMOS area, (normally in the RTC chip

or directly in the main chipset). To enter the BIOS Setup, press during
POST (Power-On Self Test). The BIOS Setup Main Menu appears as follows.

3-1

AWARD BIOS

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CMOS SETUP UTILITY

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

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

ESC : Quit á â à ß : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Description of each function

INTEGRATED PERIPHRALS
PASSWORD SETTING
IDE HDD AUTO DETECTION
SAVE & EXIT SETUP
EXIT WITHOUT SAVING

Tip: Choose "Load Setup Defaults" for
recommended optimal performance. Choose
"Load Turbo Defaults" for best performance
with light system loading. Refer to section 3.7.

The section at the bottom of the screen tells how to control the screen. Use
the arrow keys to move between items, to color scheme of the
display, to exit, and 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 to select or enter a submenu.

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.

3-2

AWARD BIOS

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 : Auto 0 0 0 0 0 0 AUTO
Secondary Master: Auto 0 0 0 0 0 0 AUTO
Secondary Slave : Auto 0 0 0 0 0 0 AUTO

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

Video : EGA/VGA
Halt On : All Errors

ESC : Quit á â à ß : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup (Shift) F2 : Change Color

Standard CMOS à Date

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

Base Memory : 640 K

Extended Memory: 15360 K

Other Memory : 384 K

Total Memory : 16384 K

Standard CMOS à 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.

3-3

AWARD BIOS

Standard CMOS à Primary Master à Type
Standard CMOS à Primary Slave à Type
Standard CMOS à Secondary Master à Type
Standard CMOS à Secondary Slave à Type

Type

Auto
User
None
1
2
...
45

This item lets you select the IDE hard disk parameters
that your system supports. These parameters are Size,
Number of Cylinder, Number of Head, Start Cylinder for
Pre-compensation, Cylinder number of Head Landing
Zone and Number of Sector per Track. The default
setting is Auto, which enables BIOS to automatically
detect the parameters of installed HDD at POST (Power­On Self Test). If you prefer to enter HDD parameters
manually, select User. Select None if no HDD is
connected to the system.

The IDE CDROM is always automatically detected.

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

Standard CMOS à Primary Master à Mode
Standard CMOS à Primary Slave à Mode
Standard CMOS à Secondary Master à Mode
Standard CMOS à Secondary Slave à Mode

Mode

Auto
Normal
LBA
Large

The enhanced IDE feature allows the system to use a
hard disk with a capacity of more than 528MB. This is
made possible through the Logical Block Address (LBA)
mode translation. The LBA is now considered as a
standard feature of current IDE hard disk on the market
because of its capability to support capacity larger than
528MB. Note that if HDD is formatted with LBA On, it
will not be able to boot with LBA Off.

3-4

Standard CMOS à Drive A
Standard CMOS à Drive B

AWARD BIOS

Drive A

None
360KB 5.25"

1.2MB 5.25"
720KB 3.5"

1.44MB 3.5"

2.88MB 3.5"

These items select floppy drive type. The available settings
and types supported by the mainboard are listed on the left.

Standard CMOS à Video

Video

EGA/VGA
CGA40
CGA80
Mono

This item specifies the type of video card in use. The
default setting is VGA/EGA. Since current PCs use VGA
only, this function is almost useless and may be
disregarded in the future.

Standard CMOS à Halt On

Halt On

No Errors
All Errors
All, But Keyboard
All, But Diskette
All, But Disk/Key

This parameter enables you to control the system stops in
case of Power-On Self Test (POST) error.

3-5

AWARD BIOS

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
External Cache : Enabled
Quick Power On Self Test : Enabled
Boot Sequence : A,C,SCSI
Swap Floppy Drive : Disabled
Boot Up Floppy Seek : Disabled
Boot Up NumLock Status : ON
Boot Up System Speed : High
Typematic Rate Setting : Disabled
Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) : 6
Typematic Delay (Msec) : 250
Security Option : Setup
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop : Disabled
OS Select for DRAM > 64MB : Non-OS/2

BIOS Features à Virus Warning

Virus Warning

Enabled
Disabled

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

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.

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

Award Software, Inc.

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
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load Setup Defaults
F7 : Load Turbo Defaults

áâàß

: Select Item

3-6

BIOS Features à External Cache

AWARD BIOS

External Cache

Enabled
Disabled

Enabling this parameter activates the secondary cache
(currently, PBSRAM cache). Disabling the parameter
slows down the system. Therefore, we recommend that
you leave it enabled unless you are troubleshooting a
problem.

BIOS Features à Power-On Self-Test

Quick Power-on
Self-test

Enable
Disabled

This parameter speeds up POST by skipping some items
that are normally checked.

BIOS Features à Boot Sequence

Boot Sequence

A,C,SCSI
C,A,SCSI
C,CDROM,A
CDROM,C,A
D,A,SCSI
E,A,SCSI
F,A,SCSI
SCSI,A,C
SCSI,C,A
C only
LS120,C

This parameter allows you to specify the system boot up
search sequence. The hard disk ID are listed below:

C: Primary master
D: Primary slave
E: Secondary master
F: Secondary slave

BIOS Features à Swap Floppy Drive

Swap Floppy Drive

Enabled
Disabled

This item allows you to swap floppy drives. For example, if
you have two floppy drives (A and B), you can assign the
first drive as drive B and the second drive as drive A or
vice-versa.

BIOS Features à Boot-up Floppy Seek

3-7

AWARD BIOS

Boot-up Floppy
Seek

Enabled
Disabled

When enabled, the BIOS issues the seek command to
the floppy drive during POST to move floppy drive head
forward and backward.

BIOS Features à Boot-up NumLock Status

Boot-up NumLock
Status

On
Off

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.

BIOS Features à Boot-up System Speed

Boot-up System
Speed

High
Low

Select High or Low system speed after boot.

BIOS Features à Typematic Rate Setting

Typematic Rate
Setting

Enabled
Disabled

Set this parameter to Enable/Disable the keyboard
repeat function. When enabled, continually holding down
a key on the keyboard will generate repeatedly
keystrokes.

3-8

BIOS Features à Typematic Rate

AWARD BIOS

Typematic Rate

6
8
10
12
15
20
24
30

This item allows you to control the speed of repeated
keystrokes. The default is 30 characters/sec.

BIOS Features à Typematic Delay

Typematic Delay

250
500
750
1000

This parameter allows you to control the delay time
between the first and the second keystroke (where the
repeated keystrokes begin). The typematic delay
settings are 250, 500, 750, and 1000 msec.

BIOS Features à Security Option

Security Option

Setup
System

The System option limits access to both the System boot
and BIOS setup. A prompt asking you to enter your
password appears on the screen every time you boot the
system.

The Setup option limits access only to BIOS setup.
To disable the security option, select Password Setting

from the main menu, don't type anything and just press
<Enter>.

3-9

AWARD BIOS

BIOS Features à PCI/VGA Palette Snoop

PCI/VGA Palette
Snoop

Enabled
Disabled

Enabling this item informs the PCI VGA card to keep
silent (and to prevent conflict) when palette register is
updated (i.e., accepts data without responding any
communication signals). This is useful only when two
display cards use the same palette address and plugged
in the PCI bus at the same time (such as MPEQ or Video
capture). In such case, PCI VGA is silent while
MPEQ/Video capture is set to function normally.

BIOS Features à OS Select for DRAM > 64MB

OS Select for
DRAM > 64MB

OS/2
Non-OS/2

Set to OS/2 if your system is utilizing an OS/2
operating system and has a memory size of more than
64 MB.

BIOS Features à Video BIOS Shadow

Video BIOS Shadow

Enabled
Disabled

VGA BIOS Shadowing means to copy video display
card BIOS into the DRAM area. This enhances system
performance because DRAM access time is faster than
ROM.

BIOS Features à C800-CBFF Shadow
BIOS Features à CC00-CFFF Shadow
BIOS Features à D000-D3FF Shadow
BIOS Features à D400-D7FF Shadow
BIOS Features à D800-DBFF Shadow
BIOS Features à DC00-DFFF Shadow

C8000-CBFFF
Shadow

Enabled
Disabled

3-10

These six items are for shadowing ROM code on other
expansion cards. Before you set these parameters, you
need to know the specific addresses of that ROM code.
If you do not know this information, enable all the ROM
shadow settings.

AWARD BIOS

Note: The F000 and E000 segments are
always shadowed because BIOS code
occupies these areas.

3-11

AWARD BIOS

3.4 Chipset Features Setup

The "Chipset Features Setup" includes settings for the chipset dependent
features. These features are related to system performance.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

Auto Configuration : Enabled
DRAM Timing : 60 ns

DRAM Leadoff Timing : 10/6/3/3
DRAM Read Burst (EDO/FP) : x222/x333
DRAM Write Burst Timing : x222
Fast EDO Lead Off : Disabled
Refresh RAS# Assertion : 5 Clks
DRAM Page Idle Timer : 2 Clks
DRAM Enhanced Paging : Enabled
Fast MA to RAS# Delay : 2 Clks
SDRAM(CAS Lat/RAS-to-CAS) : 3/3
SDRAM Speculative Read : Disabled
System BIOS Cacheable : Enabled
Video BIOS Cacheable : Enabled
8 Bit I/O Recovery Time : 4
16 Bit I/O Recovery Time : 1
Memory Hole At 15M-16M : Disabled
PCI Passive Release : Disabled
PCI Delayed Transaction : Disabled
Mem. Drive Str.(MA/RAS) : 16mA/16mA

ESC: Quit
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load Setup Defaults
F7 : Load Turbo Defaults

áâàß

: Select Item

3-12

Caution: Make sure you fully understand the

items contained in this menu before you try to
change anything. You may change the
parameter settings to improve system
performance . However, it may cause system
unstable if the setting are not correct for your
system configuration.

Chipset Features à Auto Configuration

AWARD BIOS

Auto Configuration

Enabled
Disabled

When Enabled, the DRAM and cache related timing
are set to pre-defined value according to CPU type
and clock. Select Disable if you want to specify your
own DRAM timing.

Chipset Features à DRAM Timing

DRAM Timing

60 ns
70 ns

There to sets of DRAM timing parameters can be
automatically set by BIOS, 60ns and 70ns.

Warning: The default memory timing setting is
60ns to get the optimal performance. Because
the specification limitation of INTEL TX chipset
, 70ns SIMM can only be used with CPU
external clock 60MHz. To use 70ns SIMM with
66MHz CPU external clock may result in
unstable system behavior.

Chipset Features à DRAM Leadoff Timing

DRAM Leadoff
Timing

11/7/3/4
10/6/3/3
11/7/4/4
10/6/4/3

The Leadoff means the timing of first memory cycle in
the burst read or write. Actually, this item controls only
page miss read/write leadoff timing and the clocks of
RAS precharge and RAS to CAS delay. The four
digital represent Read Leadoff/ Write Leadoff/ RAS
Precharge/ RAS to CAS delay. For example, default is
10/6/3/3, which means you have 10-x-x-x DRAM page
miss read and 6-x-x-x DRAM write, with 3 clocks RAS
precharge and 3 clocks RAS to CAS delay.

Chipset Features à DRAM Read Burst (EDO/FP)

3-13

AWARD BIOS

DRAM Read Burst
(EDO/FP)

x444/x444
x333/x444
x222/x333

Read Burst means to read four continuous memory
cycles on four predefined addresses from the DRAM.
The default value is x222/x333 for 60ns EDO or FPM
(Fast Page Mode) DRAM. Which means the 2nd,3rd
and 4th memory cycles are 2 CPU clocks for EDO and
3 clocks for FPM. The value of x is the timing of first
memory cycle and depends on the "DRAM Leadoff
Timing" setting.

Chipset Features à DRAM Write Burst Timing

DRAM Write Burst
Timing

x444
x333
x222

Write Burst means to write four continuous memory
cycles on four predefined addresses to the DRAM.
This item sets the DRAM write timing of the 2nd,3rd
and 4th memory cycles. There is no difference of
EDO and FPM DRAM on the write burst timing. The
value of x depends on the "DRAM Leadoff Timing"
setting.

Chipset Features à Fast EDO Lead Off

Fast EDO Lead Off

Enabled
Disabled

This item enables fast EDO read timing, results 1
clock pull-in for read leadoff latency of EDO read
cycles. It must be Disabled, if any FPM DRAM is
installed.

Chipset Features à Refresh RAS# Assertion

Refresh RAS#
Assertion

5 Clks
4 Clks

This item controls the number of clocks RAS is
asserted for refresh cycle.

Chipset Features à DRAM Page Idle Timer

3-14

AWARD BIOS

DRAM Page Idle
Timer

2 Clks
4 Clks
6 Clks
8 Clks

This item determines the amount of time in CPU
clocks that DRAM page will be close after CPU
becomes idle.

Chipset Features à DRAM Enhance Paging

DRAM Enhance
Paging

Enabled
Disabled

When Enabled, TX chipset will keep DRAM page
open as long as possible according to enhanced
method.

Chipset Features à SDRAM(CAS Lat/RAS-to-CAS)

SDRAM(CAS
Lat/RAS-to-CAS)

2/2
3/3

These are timing of SDRAM CAS Latency and RAS to
CAS Delay, calculated by clocks. They are important
parameters affects SDRAM performance, default is 2
clocks. If your SDRAM has unstable problem, change
2/2 to 3/3.

Chipset Features à SDRAM Speculative Read

SDRAM Speculative
Read

Enabled
Disabled

Enable this item reduce one clock of SDRAM read
leadoff timing by presenting the SDRAM read request
before the controller chip decodes the final memory
target. This Item must be Disabled if more than one
DIMM is installed in the system.

Chipset Features à System BIOS Cacheable

System BIOS
Cacheable

Enabled
Disabled

Enabling this item allows you to cache the system
BIOS to further enhance system performance.

3-15

AWARD BIOS

Chipset Features à Video BIOS Cacheable

Video BIOS
Cacheable

Allows the video BIOS to be cached to allow faster
video performance.

Enabled
Disabled

Chipset Features à 8 Bit I/O Recovery Time

8 Bit I/O Recovery
Time

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
NA

For some old I/O chips, after the execution of an I/O
command, the device requires a certain amount of
time (recovery time) before the execution of the next
I/O command. Because of new generation CPU and
mainboard chipset, the assertion of I/O command is
faster, and sometimes shorter than specified I/O
recovery time of old I/O devices. This item lets you
specify the delay of 8-bit I/O command by count of ISA
bus clock. If you find any unstable 8-bit I/O card, you
may try to extend the I/O recovery time via this item.
The BIOS default value is 4 ISA clock. If set to NA,
the chipset will insert 3.5 system clocks.

Chipset Features à 16 Bit I/O Recovery Time

16 Bit I/O Recovery
Time

1
2
3
4
NA

The same as 16-bit I/O recovery time. This item lets
you specify the recovery time for the execution of 16­bit I/O commands by count of ISA bus clock. If you
find any of the installed 16-bit I/O cards unstable, try
extending the I/O recovery time via this item. The
BIOS default value is 1 ISA clocks. If set to NA, the
chipset will automatically insert 3.5 system clocks.

3-16

Chipset Features à Memory Hole At 15M-16M

AWARD BIOS

Memory Hole At
15M-16M

Enabled
Disabled

This option lets you reserve system memory area for
special ISA cards. The chipset accesses code/data of
these areas from the ISA bus directly. Normally,
these areas are reserved for memory mapped I/O
card.

Chipset Features à PCI Passive Release

PCI Passive Release

Enabled
Disabled

This item lets you control the Passive Release
function of the PIIX4 chipset (Intel PCI to ISA bridge).
This function is used to meet latency of ISA bus
master. Try to enable or disable it, if you have ISA
card compatibility problem.

Chipset Features à PCI Delayed Transaction

PCI Delayed
Transaction

Enabled
Disabled

This item lets you control the Delayed Transaction
function of the PIIX4 chipset (Intel PCI to ISA bridge).
This function is used to meet latency of PCI cycles to
or from ISA bus. Try to enable or disable it, if you have
ISA card compatibility problem.

Chipset Features à Mem. Drive Str. (MA/RAS)

Mem. Drive Str.
(MA/RAS)

10mA/10mA
10mA/16mA
16mA/10mA
16mA/16mA

This option controls the driving strength of memory
address and control signals. It is recommended to use
less driving current for light memory loading, to
prevent undershoot or overshoot.

3-17

AWARD BIOS

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 Method : V/H SYNC + Blank
Video Off After : Suspend

Doze Mode : Disabled
Standby Mode : Disabled
Suspend Mode : Disabled
HDD Power Down : Disabled
Suspend Mode Option : Power On Suspend
Throttle Duty Cycle : 62.5%
VGA Active Monitor : Disabled

** Break event From Suspend **
IRQ 8 Clock Event : Disabled

** Reload Global Timer Events **
IRQ [3-7,9-15],NMI : Enabled

Primary IDE 0 : Disabled
Primary IDE 1 : Disabled
Secondary IDE 0 : Disabled
Secondary IDE 1 : Disabled
Floppy Disk : Disabled
Serial Port : Disabled
Parallel Port : Disabled

ESC: Quit
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load Setup Defaults
F7 : Load Turbo Defaults

áâàß

: Select Item

Power Management à Power Management

Power Management

Max Saving
Mix Saving
User Defined
Disabled

This function allows you to set the default parameters
of power-saving modes. Set to Disable to turn off
power management function. Set to User Defined to
choose your own parameters.

’s

Mode Doze Standby Suspend HDD Power Down

Min Saving 1 hour 1 hour 1 hour 15 min
Max Saving 1 min 1 min 1 min 1 min

3-18

Power Management à PM Controlled by APM

AWARD BIOS

PM Controlled by
APM

Yes
No

If "Max Saving" is selected, you can turn on this item,
transfer power management control to APM
(Advanced Power Management) and enhance power
saving function. For example, stop CPU internal clock.

Power Management à Video Off Method

Video Off Method

Blank Screen
V/H SYNC+Blank
DPMS

This determines the way that monitor is off. Blank
Screen writes blanks to video buffer. V/H SYNC+Blank
allows BIOS to control VSYNC and HSYNC signals.
This function applies only for DPMS (Display Power
Management Standard) monitor. The DPMS mode
uses DPMS function provided by VGA card.

Power Management à Video Off After

Video Off After

N/A
Doze
Standby
Suspend

To turn off video monitor at which power down mode.

Power Management à Doze Mode

Doze Mode

Disabled
1 Min
2 Min
4 Min
8 Min
12 Min
20 Min
30 Min
40 Min
1 Hour

This item lets you set the period of time after which
the system enters into Doze mode. In this mode, the
CPU clock slows down. The ratio is specified in the
"Throttle Duty Cycle". Any activity detected returns the
system to full power. The system activity (or event) is
detected by monitoring the IRQ signals.

3-19

AWARD BIOS

Power Management à Standby Mode

Standby Mode

Disabled
1 Min
2 Min
4 Min
8 Min
12 Min
20 Min
30 Min
40 Min
1 Hour

This item lets you set the period of time after which
the system enters into Standby mode. In this mode,
CPU clock slows down, hard disk will be shut off and
the monitor power-saving feature activates. Any
activity detected returns the system to full power. The
system activity (or event) is detected by monitoring the
IRQ signals.

Power Management à Suspend Mode

Suspend Mode

Disabled
1 Min
2 Min
4 Min
8 Min
12 Min
20 Min
30 Min
40 Min
1 Hour

This item lets you set the period of time after which
the system enters into Suspend mode. The Suspend
mode can be Power On Suspend or Suspend to Hard
Drive, selected by "Suspend Mode Option".

Power Management à HDD Power Down

HDD Power Down

Disabled
1 Min

.....

15 Min

This option lets you specify the IDE HDD idle time
before the device enters the power down state. This
item is independent from the power states previously
described in this section (Standby and Suspend).

Power Management à Suspend Mode Option

3-20

AWARD BIOS

Suspend Mode Option

Power On Suspend
Suspend to Hard Drive

You can select suspend mode by this item. Power On
Suspend is the traditional Green PC suspend mode,

the CPU clock is stop, all other devices are shut off.
But power must be kept On to detect activities from
modem, keyboard/mouse and returns the system to
full power. The system activities is detected by
monitoring the IRQ signals. Suspend to Hard Drive
saves system status, memory and screen image into
hard disk, then the power can be totally Off. Next time,
when power is turned On, the system goes back to
your original work within just few seconds. You need
AOZVHDD to reserve disk space. Refer to section

3.16 "Suspend to Hard Drive" for more information".

Power Management à Throttle Duty Cycle

Throttle Duty Cycle

12.5 %

25.0 %

37.5 %

50.0 %

62.5 %

75.0 %

87.5 %

Clock Throttling means at the Doze/Standby state, the
CPU clock count in a given time (not the frequency) is
reduced to the ratio specified in this parameter.
Actually, the period per CPU clock is not changed.
For example, a 66MHz CPU clock remains the same
30ns clock period when system goes into
Doze/Suspend. The chipset generates the STPCLK
(stop clock) signal periodically to prevent CPU for
accepting clock from clock generator. For full power
on, the CPU can receive 66M count in one second. If
the Slow Clock Ratio is set to 50%, the CPU will only
receive 33M clock count in one second. This will
effectively reduce CPU speed as well as CPU power.

Power Management à VGA Active Monitor

VGA Activity Monitor

Enabled
Disabled

To enable or disable the detection of VGA activity for
power down state transition.

Power Management à IRQ 8 Clock Event

3-21

AWARD BIOS

IRQ 8 Clock Event

Enabled
Disabled

To enable or disable the detection of IRQ8 (RTC)
event for power down state transition. OS2 has
periodically IRQ8 (RTC) interruptions, If IRQ8 is not
set to Disabled, OS/2 may fail to go into
Doze/Standby/Suspend mode.

Power Management à IRQ [3-7,9-15],NMI

IRQ [3-7,9-15],NMI

Enabled
Disabled

To enable or disable the detection of IRQ3-7, IRQ9-15
or NMI interrupt events for power down state
transition.

Power Management à Primary IDE 0
Power Management à Primary IDE 1
Power Management à Secondary IDE 0
Power Management à Secondary IDE 1
Power Management à Floppy Disk
Power Management à Serial Port
Power Management à Parallel Port

Primary IDE 0

Enabled
Disabled

These items enable or disable the detection of IDE,
floppy, serial and parallel port activities for power
down state transition. Actually it detects the read/write
to/from I/O or address port.

3-22

AWARD BIOS

3.6 PNP/PCI Configuration Setup

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

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)
PNP/PCI CONFIGURATION SETUP

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

PnP OS Installed : No
Resources Controlled By : Manual

Reset Configuration Data : Disabled

IRQ 3 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 4 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 5 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 7 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 9 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 10 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 11 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 12 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 14 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
IRQ 15 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP

DMA 0 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
DMA 1 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
DMA 3 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
DMA 5 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
DMA 6 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP
DMA 7 assigned to : PCI/ISA PnP

PCI IDE IRQ Map To : PCI-Auto
Primary IDE INT# : A
Secondary IDE INT# : B
Used MEM base addr : N/A
Used MEM Length : 8K

ESC: Quit
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load Setup Defaults
F7 : Load Turbo Defaults

PNP/PCI Configuration à PnP OS Installed

PnP OS Installed

Yes
No

Normally, the PnP resources are allocated by BIOS
during POST (Power-On Self Test). If you are using a
PnP operating system (such as Windows 95), set this
item to Yes to inform BIOS to configure only the

resources needed for booting (VGA/IDE or SCSI). The
rest of system resources will be allocated by PnP
operating system.

áâàß

: Select Item

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AWARD BIOS

PNP/PCI Configuration à Resources Controlled By

Resources Controlled
by

Auto
Manual

Setting this option to Manual allows you to individually
assign the IRQs and DMAs to the ISA and PCI
devices. Set this to Auto to enable the auto­configuration function.

PNP/PCI Configuration à Reset Configuration Data

Reset Configuration
Data

Enabled
Disabled

In case conflict occurs after you assign the IRQs or
after you configure your system, you can enable this
function, allow your system to automatically reset your
configuration and reassign the IRQs.

PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ3 (COM2)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ4 (COM1)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ5 (Network/Sound or Others)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ7 (Printer or Others)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ9 (Video or Others)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ10 (SCSI or Others)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ11 (SCSI or Others)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ12 (PS/2 Mouse)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ14 (IDE1)
PNP/PCI Configuration à IRQ15 (IDE2)

IRQ 3

Legacy ISA
PCI/ISA PnP

If your ISA card is not PnP compatible and requires a
special IRQ to support its function, set the selected
IRQ to Legacy ISA. This setting informs the PnP
BIOS to reserve the selected IRQ for the installed
legacy ISA card. The default is PCI/ISA PnP. Take
note that PCI cards are always PnP compatible
(except old PCI IDE card).

3-24

PNP/PCI Configuration à DMA 0
PNP/PCI Configuration à DMA 1
PNP/PCI Configuration à DMA 3
PNP/PCI Configuration à DMA 5
PNP/PCI Configuration à DMA 6
PNP/PCI Configuration à DMA 7

AWARD BIOS

DMA 0

Legacy ISA
PCI/ISA PnP

If your ISA card is not PnP compatible and requires a special
DMA channel to support its function, set the selected DMA
channel to Legacy ISA. This setting informs the PnP BIOS
to reserve the selected DMA channel for the installed legacy
ISA card. The default is PCI/ISA PnP. Take note that PCI
card does not require DMA channel.

PNP/PCI Configuration à PCI IDE IRQ Map To

PCI IDE IRQ Map To

ISA
PCI-Slot1
PCI-Slot2
PCI-Slot3
PCI-Slot4
PCI-Auto

Some old PCI IDE add-on cards are not fully PnP
compatible. These cards require you to specify the
slot in use to enable BIOS to properly configure the
PnP resources. This function allows you to select the
PCI slot for any PCI IDE add-on card present in your
system. Set this item to Auto to allow BIOS to

automatically configure the installed PCI IDE card(s).

PNP/PCI Configuration à Primary IDE INT#
PNP/PCI Configuration à Secondary IDE INT#

Primary IDE INT#

A
B
C
D

These two items, in conjunction with item "PCI IDE
IRQ Map To", specify the IRQ routing of the primary or
secondary channel of the PCI IDE add-on card (not
the onboard IDE). Each PCI slot has four PCI
interrupts aligned as listed in the table below. You
must specify the slot in the "PCI IDE IRQ Map To",
and set the PCI interrupt (INTx) here according to the
interrupt connection on the card.

PCI Slot Location 1 Location 2 Location 3 Location 4

3-25

AWARD BIOS

(pin A6) (pin B7) (pin A7) (pin B8)

Slot 1 INTA INTB INTC INTD
Slot 2 INTB INTC INTD INTA
Slot 3 INTC INTD INTA INTB
Slot 4 INTD INTA INTB INTC
Slot 5 (if any) INTD INTA INTB INTC

PNP/PCI Configuration à Used MEM Base Addr

Used MEM base addr

N/A
C800
CC00
D000
D400
D800
DC00

This item, in conjunction with the "Used MEM
Length", lets you set a memory space for non-PnP
compatible ISA card. This item specifies the
memory base (start address) of the reserved
memory space. The memory size is specified in the
"Used MEM Length".

PNP/PCI Configuration à Used MEM Length

Used MEM Length

8K
16K
32K
64K

If your ISA card is not PnP compatible and requires
special memory space to support its function, specify
the memory size in this parameter to inform the PnP
BIOS to reserve the specified memory space for
installed legacy ISA card.

3.7 Load Setup Defaults

The "Load Setup Defaults" option loads optimized settings for optimum system
performance. Optimal settings are relatively safer than the Turbo settings.
We recommend you to use the Optimal settings if your system has large
memory size and fully loaded with add-on card (for example, a file server using
double-sided 8MB SIMM x4 and SCSI plus Network card occupying the PCI
and ISA slots).

Optimal is not the slowest setting for this mainboard. If you need to verify a
unstable problem, you may manually set the parameter in the "BIOS Features
Setup" and "Chipset Features Setup" to get slowest and safer setting.

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AWARD BIOS

3.8 Load Turbo Defaults

The "Load Turbo Defaults" option gives better performance than Optimal
values. However, Turbo values may not be the best setting of this mainboard
but these values are qualified by the AOpen RD and QA department as the
reliable settings especially if you have limited loading of add-on card and
memory size (for example, a system that contains only a VGA/Sound card and
two SIMMs).

To attain the best system performance, you may manually set the parameters
in the "Chipset Features Setup" to get proprietary setting. Make sure that you
know and understand the functions of every item in Chipset Setup menu. The
performance difference of Turbo from Optimal is normally around 3% to 10%,
depending on the chipset and the application.

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AWARD BIOS

3.9 Integrated Peripherals

The following screen appears if you select the option "Integrated Peripherals"
from the main menu. This option allows you to configure the I/O features.

ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (XXXXXXXX)

INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS

AWARD SOFTWARE, INC.

IDE HDD Block Mode: : Enabled
IDE Primary Master PIO : Auto

IDE Primary Slave PIO : Auto
IDE Secondary Master PIO : Auto
IDE Secondary Slave PIO : Auto

IDE Primary Master UDMA : Auto
IDE Primary Slave UDMA : Auto
IDE Secondary Master UDMA : Auto
IDE Secondary Slave UDMA : Auto

On-Chip Primary PCI-IDE : Enabled
On-Chip Secondary PCI-IDE : Enabled
USB Legacy Support : Disabled
USB IRQ Released : No
Onboard FDC Controller : Enabled

Onboard UART 1 : AUTO
Onboard UART 2 : AUTO
Onboard UART 2 Mode : Standard

IR Duplex Mode : Half
Onboard Parallel Port : 378/IRQ7

Parallel Port Mode : Normal

****** Hardware Monitor ******

CPU Thermal (Temp.) : Monitor

ESC: Quit
F1 : Help PU/PD/+/- : Modify
F5 : Old Values (Shift) F2 : Color
F6 : Load Setup Defaults
F7 : Load Turbo Defaults

áâàß

Integrated Peripherals à IDE HDD Block Mode

IDE HDD Block Mode

Enabled
Disabled

This feature enhances disk performance by allowing
multisector data transfers and eliminates the interrupt
handling time for each sector. Most IDE drives,
except with old designs, can support this feature.

Integrated Peripherals à IDE Primary Master PIO
Integrated Peripherals à IDE Primary Slave PIO
Integrated Peripherals à IDE Secondary Master PIO
Integrated Peripherals à IDE Secondary Slave PIO

: Select Item

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AWARD BIOS

IDE Primary Master
PIO

Auto
Mode 1
Mode 2
Mode 3
Mode 4

Setting this item to Auto activates the HDD speed
auto-detect function. The PIO mode specifies the
data transfer rate of HDD. For example: mode 0 data
transfer rate is 3.3MB/s, mode 1 is 5.2MB/s, mode 2 is

8.3MB/s, mode 3 is 11.1MB/s and mode 4 is

16.6MB/s. If your hard disk performance becomes
unstable, you may manually try the slower mode.

Caution: It is recommended that you connect
the first IDE device of each channel to the
endmost connector of the IDE cable. Refer to
section 2.3 "Connectors" for details on how to
connect IDE device(s).

Integrated Peripherals à IDE Primary Master UDMA
Integrated Peripherals à IDE Primary Slave UDMA
Integrated Peripherals à IDE Secondary Master UDMA
Integrated Peripherals à IDE Secondary Slave UDMA

IDE Primary Master
UDMA

Auto
Disabled

This item allows you to set the Ultra DMA/33 mode
supported by the hard disk drive connected to your
primary IDE connector.

Integrated Peripherals à On-Chip Primary PCI IDE
Integrated Peripherals à On-Chip Secondary PCI IDE

On-Chip Primary PCI
IDE

Enabled
Disabled

This parameter lets you enable or disable the IDE
device connected to the primary IDE connector.

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AWARD BIOS

Integrated Peripherals à USB Legacy Support

USB Legacy Support

Enabled
Disabled

USB IRQ Released

Yes
No

This item lets you enable or disable the USB keyboard
driver within the onboard BIOS. The keyboard driver
simulates legacy keyboard command and let you use
USB keyboard during POST or after boot if you don't
have USB driver in the operating system.

Caution: You can not use both USB driver and
USB legacy keyboard at the same time.
Disable "USB Legacy Support" if you have
USB driver in the operating system.

USB device is default to use PCI INTD#, the same as
PCI slot4. If you installed PCI card on slot4 and
require to use INTD#, set this item to Yes. The USB
device will then be disabled.

Note: Normally, PCI VGA does not need PCI
interrupt, you may put PCI VGA on slot4.

Integrated Peripherals à Onboard FDC Controller

Onboard FDC
Controller

Enabled
Disabled

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.

3-30

Integrated Peripherals à Onboard UART 1
Integrated Peripherals à Onboard UART 2

AWARD BIOS

Onboard UART 1

Auto
3F8/IRQ4
2F8/IRQ3
3E8/IRQ4
2E8/IRQ3
Disabled

This item allow you to assign address and interrupt for
the board serial port. Default is Auto.

Note: If you are using an network card, make
sure that the interrupt does not conflict.

Integrated Peripherals à Onboard UART 2 Mode

Onboard UART 2
Mode

Standard
HPSIR
ASKIR

This item is configurable only if the "Onboard UART
2" is enabled. This allows you to specify the mode

of serial port2. The available mode selections are:

• Standard - Sets serial port 2 to operate in normal mode. This is the

default setting.

• HPSIR - Select this setting if you installed an Infrared module in your

system via IrDA connector (refer to section 2.3 "Connectors"). This
setting allows infrared serial communication at a maximum baud rate of
115K baud.

• ASKIR - Select this setting if you installed an Infrared module via IrDA

connector (refer to section 2.32.3 "Connectors"). This setting allows
infrared serial communication at a maximum baud rate of 19.2K baud.

3-31

AWARD BIOS

Integrated Peripherals à IR Duplex Mode

IR Duplex Mode

Full
Half

This item lets you set the duplex mode for the IR
communication. Full - Allows IR communication in bi­directional mode. Half - Allows IR communication in
single direction only.

Note: This option appears only if the IR
function is activated and the Onboard UART 2
Mode parameter is NOT set to Standard.

Integrated Peripherals à Onboard Parallel Port

Onboard Parallel Port

3BC/IRQ7
378/IRQ7
278/IRQ7
Disabled

This item controls the onboard parallel port address
and interrupt.

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

Integrated Peripherals à Parallel Port Mode

Parallel Port Mode

Normal
EPP
ECP
ECP + EPP

This item lets you set the parallel port mode. The
mode options are Normal (Standard and Bidirection
Parallel Port), EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) and ECP
(Extended Parallel Port). Normal is the IBM AT and
PS/2 compatible mode. EPP enhances the parallel
port throughput by directly writing/reading data to/from
parallel port without latch. ECP supports DMA and
RLE (Run Length Encoded) compression and
decompression.

Integrated Peripherals à ECP Mode Use DMA

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AWARD BIOS

ECP Mode Use DMA

3
1

This item lets you set the DMA channel of ECP mode.

Integrated Peripherals à CPU Thermal (Temp.)

CPU Thermal (Temp.)

Ignore
Monitor

This function lets you control the Thermal Detection
function. When you set this option to Monitor and the
temperature of CPU exceeds predefined value, then:

1. The PC speaker will beep 5 times.

2. The CPU cycle timer will descend about 35%.

Note:The CPU cycle timer won't be restored to
the original status until you reset the system.

3.10 Password Setting

Password prevents unauthorized use of your computer. If you set a password,
the system prompts for the correct password before boot or access to Setup.

To set a password:

1. At the prompt, type your password. Your password can be up to 8
alphanumeric characters. When you type the characters, they appear as
asterisks on the password screen box.

2. After typing the password, press <Enter> key.

3. At the next prompt, re-type your password and press again to confirm
the new password. After the password entry, the screen automatically
reverts to the main screen.

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

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AWARD BIOS

3.11 IDE HDD Auto Detection

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

This routine 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 do not match the ones used
to format the disk, the information on that disk will not be accessible. If the
auto-detected parameters displayed do not match those that used for your
drive, ignore them. Type N to reject the values and enter the correct ones

manually from the Standard CMOS Setup screen.

3.12 Save & Exit Setup

This function automatically saves all CMOS values before leaving Setup.

3.13 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.

3.14 NCR SCSI BIOS and Drivers

The NCR 53C810 SCSI BIOS resides in the same flash memory chip as the
system BIOS. The onboard NCR SCSI BIOS is used to support NCR 53C810
SCSI control card without BIOS code.

The NCR SCSI BIOS directly supports DOS, Windows 3.1 and OS/2. For
better system performance, you may use the drivers that come with the NCR
SCSI card or with your operating system. For details, refer to the installation
manual of your NCR 53C810 SCSI card.

3.15 BIOS Flash Utility

The BIOS Flash utility allows you to upgrade the system BIOS. To get the
AOpen Flash utility and the upgrade BIOS file, contact your local distributor or

3-34

AWARD BIOS

visit our homepage at http://www.aopen.com.tw. Please make sure that you
have the correct BIOS ready, the BIOS filename is normally like
AP5TR110.BIN, which means model AP5T BIOS revision 1.10.

There are two useful programs, Checksum utility CHECKSUM.EXE and
AOpen Flash utility AOFLASH.EXE. Follow the procedures below to upgrade
your BIOS.

[CHECKSUM.EXE]
This utility will help you to determine if the BIOS has been downloaded

correctly or not.

1. Execute

C:> CHECKSUM Biosfile.bin

Biosfile.bin is the filename of the BIOS code.

2. The utility will show "Checksum is ssss".

3. Compare the "ssss" with original checksum posted on Web or BBS. If they

are different, please do not proceed any further and try to download the
BIOS again.

[AOFLASH.EXE]
This utility will try to check the mainboard model, BIOS version and Super/Ultra

IO chip model. To ensure the correct BIOS file for the correct mainboard and
IO chip. This utility will permanently replace your original BIOS content after
flashing.

1. Bootup the system from DOS prompt without loading any memory manager

(HIMEM, EMM386, QEMM386, ...).

2. Execute

C:> AOFLASH Biosfile.bin

Biosfile.bin is the filename of the BIOS code.

3. After loading the new BIOS code, the utility will prompt you to save original

BIOS code into your HDD or floppy. Please press "Y" to store it as
"BIOS.OLD".

4. After the old BIOS has been successfully saved, press "Y" to replace BIOS.

5. DO NOT turn off the power during "FLASHING".

6. Reboot the system by turn off the power after "FLASHING".

7. Press "DEL" key to enter BIOS setup during POST.

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AWARD BIOS

8. Reload the "BIOS SETUP DEFAULT" and reconfigure other items as

previous set.

9. Save & Exit. Done!

Warning: DO NOT turn off the power during
"FLASHING". If the BIOS programming is not
successfully finished, the system will not be boot
again, and you may need to physically replace the
BIOS chip.

Tip: You may load back original BIOS "BIOS.OLD"
by the same procedure.

3.16 Suspend to Hard Drive

Suspend to Hard Drive saves your current work (system status, memory
and screen image) into hard disk, and then the system can be totally power off.
Next time, when power is on, you can resume your original work directly from
hard disk within few second without go through the Win95 booting process and
run your application again. If your memory is 16MB, normally, you need to
reserve at least 16MB HDD space to save your memory image. Note that you
have to use VESA compatible PCI VGA (AOpen PV60/PT60), Sound Blaster
compatible sound card and sound driver that supports APM (AOpen AW35 or
MP56) for Suspend to Hard Drive to work properly. Of course, we recommend
to use AOpen products for best compatibility.

To use Suspend to Hard Drive:

1. Go into BIOS setup, Power Management à Suspend Mode Option, select

"Suspend to Disk".

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AWARD BIOS

2. Go into BIOS setup, PNP/PCI Configuration à PnP OS Installed, select

"No". This can give BIOS the capability to allocate system resources for
Suspend to Hard Drive.

3. Bootup your system into DOS command prompt. If you are Win'95 user,

Please restart your Windows 95 under "Command Prompt" by pressing
"F8" while system shows "Windows 95 Starting ...". Choose "Safe Mode
Command Prompt Only" from selection so that system will start in DOS
command prompt.

4. Copy AOZVHDD.EXE to the root directory of your C: drive.

5. Option 1: Use /file switch (applied to FAT16 file system):

Please use following command to create a hidden file in the root directory
of your hard disk for Suspend to Hard Drive to save the system status and
memory image.

C:>AOZVHDD /c /file

Please make sure that you have enough continuous HDD space for
creating this hidden file. For example, if you have 32MB of system memory
and 4MB of VGA memory, you need at least 36MB (32MB + 4MB) of
continuous HDD space. If AOZVHDD failed to allocate the HDD space, you
may run "DEFRAG" Utility or "Disk Defragmenter" which come with MS­DOS or Win'95 to free HDD space.

3-37

AWARD BIOS

Option2: Use /partiton switch (applied to FAT16/FAT32 file system):

To create a separate partiton for Suspend to Hard Drive, please make sure
you have reserved a free partition. We suggest you reserve the free
partition which space is appropriate for your future memory expansion. For
example, if you have 32MB of system memory and 4MB of VGA memory
currently, but you plan to upgrade system memory to 64MB in the near
future, then you may reserve a 68MB (64MB+4MB) space by using a disk
utility (such as fdisk). Next, use following command to create a suspend
partition:

C:>AOZVHDD /c /partition

If there is no extra free partition and you don't want your data lost, please
do not use this partition method.

6. After creating above partition or hidden file, please reboot your system.

7. Push suspend switch (momentary mode) or use Win95 Suspend icon to

force system goes into Suspend to Hard Drive mode and then turn system
power off by power switch of your power supply.

8. Next time when you turn on your system, it will resume to your original work

automatically.

Warning: Note that Intel Bus Master and Ultra
DMA/33 IDE driver are not fully compatible with
Suspend to Hard Drive function, installing these
drivers may cause the system unstable. Under this
situation, please uninstall the drivers.

3-38

AWARD BIOS

Tip: Following VGA card have been tested &
recognized as VESA compatible VGA device.

AOpen PV90 (Trident 9680)
AOpen PT60 (S3 Virge/BIOS R1.00-01)
AOpen PV60 (S3 Tiro64V+)
AOpen PT70 (S3 Virge/DX)
ProLink Trident GD-5440
ProLink Cirrus GD-5430
ProLink Cirrus GD-5446
ATI Mach 64 GX
ATI 3D RAGE II
Diamond Stealth64D (S3 868)
Diamond Stealth64V (S3 968)
KuoWei ET-6000.

Tip: Following Sound card have been tested OK for
Suspend to Hard Drive.

AOpen AW32
AOpen AW35
AOpen MP56
Creative SB 16 Value PnP
Creative SB AWE32 PnP
ESS 1868 PnP
If your sound card can not work after resume from

Suspend to Hard Drive, check your sound card
vendor see if there is driver to support APM, and
install it again.

Note: The USB function has not been tested for
Suspend to Hard Drive. If you find any unstable
problem, please go into BIOS, Integrated Peripherals
à USB Legacy Support. Disable the USB Legacy
function.

3-39