AOpen AP5VM AP5VM User Manual

AP5VM

User's Guide

Printed in Taiwan

PART NO.: 49.87530.021
DOC. NO.: AP5VM-3-E9711E

AP5VM

Mainboard

User's Guide

Document Number : AP5VM-3-E9711E
Model and Revision : For AP5VM revision 2.xx and 3.xx
Manual Version : English, version E
Release Date : Nov 13, 1997

More help for latest information:
Taiwan http://www.aopen.com.tw
USA http://www.aopen-usa.com

http://www.aopenamerica.com

Europe http://www.aopen.nl

Copyright

Copyright  1997 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.
AMI is a registered trademark of American Megatrends Inc.
AWARD is a registered trademark of Award Software Inc.

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

iii

FCC Class B Radio Frequency

Declaration of Conformity

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

Purpose and Scope

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

Organization

Chapter 1, Overview, covers the introduction and specifications of the system
board.

Chapter 2, Hardware Installation, describes hardware jumpers, connectors and
memory configuration. There are user friendly drawings to locate jumper and
connector.

Chapter 3, AMI BIOS, explains the system BIOS and tells how to configure the
system by setting the BIOS parameters.

Chapter 4, Installing System Component, includes 3D drawing and step by
step procedures for first time DIY user to install the system board, CPU,
SIMM/DIMM, cable and add expansion cards.

Appendix A, Jumper Table Summary, gives you a tabular summary of the
jumper settings discussed in Chapter 2.

Appendix B, Frequently Asked Question, collects most frequently asked
question of this product.

Appendix C, Troubleshooting Guide, includes first aid information you need if
you meet trouble, the WWW address and worldwide service telephone/fax are
also included.

Appendix D, AOpen Best Products, includes the best sale and recommended
product specifications of AOpen.

v

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

Text entered by user,
default settings,
recommended selections

<Enter>, <Tab>,<Ctl>, <Alt>,
<Ins>, <Del>, 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

Contents

Chapter 1 Overview

1.1 Specifications .......................................1-2

Chapter 2 Hardware Installation

2.1 Jumper and Connector Locations.......2-2

2.2 Jumpers.................................................2-4

2.2.1 Setting the CPU Voltage...................2-5

2.2.2 Selecting the CPU Frequency...........2-9

2.2.3 Disabling the Onboard Super I/O

Controller........................................2-12

2.2.4 Disabling the PS/2 Mouse

Function..........................................2-13

2.2.5 Clearing the CMOS.........................2-14

2.2.6 Selecting the DIMM Type................2-15

2.3 Connectors..........................................2-16

2.3.1 Power Cable...................................2-16

2.3.2 CPU Fan.........................................2-17

2.3.3 PS/2 Mouse....................................2-17

2.3.4 Serial Devices (COM1/COM2).......2-18

2.3.5 USB Device (optional)....................2-19

2.3.6 Floppy Drive...................................2-20

vii

2.3.7 Printer.............................................2-20

2.3.8 IDE Hard Disk and CD ROM...........2-21

2.3.9 Hard Disk LED................................2-23

2.3.10 Panel Connector.............................2-24

2.3.11 Keyboard........................................2-26

2.3.12 IrDA Connector...............................2-27

2.4 Configuring the System Memory.......2-28

Chapter 3 AMI BIOS

3.1 Entering the AMI BIOS Setup...............3-1

3.2 Setup Menu ...........................................3-3

3.2.1 Standard Setup ................................3-3

3.2.2 Advanced Setup...............................3-7

3.2.3 Chipset Setup.................................3-12

3.2.4 Power Management Setup.............3-16

3.2.5 PCI/PnP Setup...............................3-19

3.2.6 Peripheral Setup.............................3-22

3.3 Security Setup.....................................3-24

3.4 Utility Setup.........................................3-27

3.5 Default Setup.......................................3-28

3.6 Exiting Setup.......................................3-30

viii

3.7 Onboard NCR SCSI BIOS...................3-31

3.8 AMI Flash Utility..................................3-31

Chapter 4 Installing System Component

4.1 Installing Memory Module....................4-1

4.1.1 Installing a SIMM...............................4-2

4.1.2 Removing a SIMM.............................4-2

4.1.3 Installing a DIMM...............................4-3

4.1.4 Removing a DIMM.............................4-4

4.2 Installing or Upgrading a CPU.............4-4

4.3 Installing the System Board.................4-5

4.4 Accesory Bracket and Cables..............4-6

4.4.1 Baby AT (PS/2) Power Cable...........4-7

4.4.2 Serial Port Bracket (COM1/COM2)..4 -7

4.4.3 PS/2 Mouse Bracket.........................4-8

4.4.4 Printer Bracket..................................4-8

4.4.5 USB Bracket.....................................4-9

4.4.6 Floppy Cable....................................4-9

4.4.7 IDE Cables for HDD and

CDROM..........................................4-10

4.4.8 Front-panel Switch and LED

Cables............................................4-10

ix

4.5 Installing Add-on Cards .....................4-11

Appendix A Jumper Table Summary

Appendix B Frequently Asked Question

Appendix C Troubleshooting

Appendix D AOpen Best Products

x

Chapter 1

Overview

The AP5VM is a high-performance Pentium-based system board that utilizes
the PCI/ISA architecture. It integrates the Intel 82430VX PCIset, a super I/O
controller, and a PCI mode 4 enhanced IDE controller with bus master
support to enhance system performance. It has four single in-line memory
module (SIMM) sockets and one Dual in-line memory module (DIMM) that
allow system memory expansion up to a maximum of 128MB. It also supports
256KB and 512KB pipelined-burst second-level cache onboard.

One main feature of AP5VM is the green power-management function that
extends energy conservation from system components to display monitor. It
complies with the power-saving standards of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star program.

The AP5VM board measures 220 mm x 280 mm.

1-1

Overview

1.1 Specifications

Form Factor
Board Size
CPU

System Memory

Second-level Cache
Chipset
Expansion Slots
Serial Port
Parallel Port

Floppy Interface

IDE Interface

USB Interface

PS/2 Mouse
Keyboard

BIOS
RTC

Baby AT
220 mm x 280 mm
Intel Pentium Processor P54C, PP/MT (P55C), AMD

K5/K6, Cyrix 6x86/6x86MX and IDT C6.
FPM (Fast Page Mode) or EDO (Extended Data

Output) 72-pin SIMM x4, and SDRAM 168-pin x1
maximum 128MB.

256KB or 512KB pipelined-burst cache onboard
Intel 82430VX PCIset
ISA x3 and PCI x4
Two serial ports UART 16C550 compatible
One parallel port supports standard parallel port

(SPP), enhanced parallel port (EPP) or extended
capabilities port (ECP).

Floppy interface supports 3.5 inches drives with
720KB, 1.44MB or 2.88MB format or 5.25 inches
drives with 360KB, 1.2MB format

Dual-channel IDE interface support maximum 4 IDE
hard disks or CDROM, mode 4 and bus master hard
disk drives are also supported.

Two USB ports supported by USB bracket, the BIOS
also supports USB driver to simulate legacy
keyboard.

PS/2 mouse supported by PS/2 mouse bracket.
Default AT compatible keyboard, mini-DIN PS/2

keyboard connector is optional.
AMI Plug-and-Play Flash ROM BIOS
Dallas DS12887A and DS12B887 compatible

1-2

Chapter 2

Hardware Installation

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

Caution: 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

PWR 1

JP20

JP18

JP4

COM1

COM2

JP10

JP9

JP7

1

2.1 Jumper and Connector Locations

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

3

I
S
A

BIO

KBC

USB

I

I

S

S

A

A

1

2

S

RTC

FAN

PCI
4

PCI
3

PCI
2

PCI
1

PRINTER

JP3

PS2 MS

KB

D

S

I
M
M

4

FDC1

IDE1IDE2

S

S

S

I
M
M

3

I

I

I

M

M

M

M

M

M

1

1

2

HDD LED

JP8

JP11

JP12

IrDA

PANEL

2-2

Hardware Installation

Jumpers:

JP1,JP2: CPU frequency ratio select
JP3,JP4: CPU external (bus) clock select
JP7: CPU core voltage setting (Vcore)
JP8: I/O voltage setting (Vio)
JP9,JP10, JP11,JP12 CPU type

(Single/Dual voltage, Vcpuio) selection
JP14: For clearing CMOS
JP18: Enable/disable onboard super I/O controller
JP20: Enable/disable onboard PS/2 mouse
JP25: DIMM memory type select

Connectors:

KB1: AT keyboard connector
PWR1: AT (PS/2) power connector
PS2 MS: PS/2 mouse connector
USB: USB connector
COM1: COM1 connector
COM2: COM2 connector
FDC1: Floppy drive connector
PRINTER: Printer connector
IDE1: IDE1 primary channel
IDE2: IDE2 secondary channel
FAN: CPU fan connector
IrDA: IrDA (Infrared) connector
HDD LED: HDD LED connector
PANEL: Front-panel (Multifunction) connector

2-3

Hardware Installation

3

3

2.2 Jumper Settings

Board jumpers are made of pin headers and plastic connecting caps. These
are included in the mainboard design to enable you to customize your
hardware. The onboard jumpers are normally set to its default and optimum
setting. Be sure you have basic knowledge of computer hardware and
understand the function of the jumper before you change any setting.

Pin 1 of a jumper is indicated by a bold line on the mainboard. You may also
find number indications on the board to specify the proper configuration of the
jumper.

To set a jumper, simply connect the plastic cap to the required pins. For
example, to set a jumper to 1-2, place the plastic cap on pins 1-2 of the
jumper. An OPEN setting means that no plastic cap connected to the jumper
pins.

1
2

Open

Short

1
2

Jumper set at 1-2

1
2

Jumper set at 2-3

1
2

2-4

2.2.1 Setting the CPU Voltage

11

12

11

12

11

12

11

12

11

12

Hardware Installation

JP7

1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10
11-12

CPU Core Voltage (Vcore)

JP7 is used to select CPU core
voltage (Vcore), normally it is set

3.45V (Intel P54C or IDT C6)

3.52V (Cyrix or AMD K5)

2.9V (K6-166/200 or M2)

2.8V (MMX P55C)

3.2V (AMD K6-233)

2.1V (Reserved)

to default 3.45V for INTEL
Pentium P54C. It must be
changed if you have CPU with
different core voltage, such as
INTEL PP/MT MMX (P55C),
AMD K5/K6 and Cyrix 6x86,
refer to the CPU specification for
more details.

JP7

1
3
5
7
9

3.45V
P54C

IDT C6

10

JP7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3.52V

6x86 or

K5

JP7

1

2
4
6
8

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2.9V

K6-166

1
3
5
7
9

2.8V

MMX P55C

K6-200

M2

Warning: The heat dissipation of Intel PP/MT-233Hz, AMD
K6-200/233MHz exceed the original design of this mainboard.
Please make sure that you have installed CPU fan properly if
Intel PP/MT-233 or AMD K6-200/233 is being selected to use.
It may cause your system unstable if you can not meet the
heat dissipation requirement from above CPU type. It is
recommended to adopt larger fan on these CPU for better air
flow in the system.

JP7

JP7

1

2
4
6
8

10

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3.2V

K6-233

2-5

Hardware Installation

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

JP8

1-2
3-4

I/O Voltage (Vio)

3.45V (default)

3.52V

JP8 is reserved for testing purposes
only. This jumper enables you to set
the voltage of the onboard chipset and
PBSRAM (Vio). For dual-voltage CPU,
JP8 also functions as CPU I/O voltage
(Vcpuio) controller. The default voltage
setting is 3.45V.

JP8

3.45V

JP8

3.52V

(default)

2-6

Hardware Installation

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

2 4

1 3

JP9

1-2 &
3-4

Open

JP10

Open

1-2 &
3-4

JP11

1-2 &
3-4

Open

JP12

Open

1-2 &
3-4

CPU Type (Vcpuio)

Single Voltage CPU
Vcpuio = Vcore (default)

Dual Voltage CPU
Vcpuio = Vio (PP/MT P55C)

Set the jumpers JP9, JP10, JP11, and JP12 according to the type of CPU
currently supported. These jumpers are actually for selecting the CPU I/O
voltage (Vcpuio). Normally, for single-voltage CPU such as P54C, AMD K5
and Cyrix 6x86, Vcpuio is equal to Vcore. However, for CPU that needs dual
voltage such as PP/MT (P55C) and Cyrix 6x86L, Vcpuio is different from Vcore
and must be set to Vio.

JP11 &
JP12

JP9 &
JP10

JP11 JP9

JP12 JP10

Single voltage

(Vcpuio = Vcore)

JP11 JP9

JP12 JP10

Dual voltage

(Vcpuio = Vio)

2-7

Hardware Installation

CPU
Type

Intel
P54C

Intel
MMX
(P55C)

AMD K5
(Single
voltage)

AMD
K6­166/200

AMD
K6-233

Cyrix
6x86

Cyrix
6x86L

Cyrix M2 2.9V 3.45V Vio 5-6 1-2 Open 1-2,

IDT C6 3.45V 3.45V Vcore 1-2 1-2 1-2,

Vcore Vio Vcpuio JP7 JP8 JP9 JP10 JP11 JP12

3.45V 3.45V Vcore 1-2 1-2 1-2,

2.8V 3.45V Vio 7-8 1-2 Open 1-2,

3.52V 3.45V Vcore 3-4 1-2 1-2,

2.9V 3.45V Vio 5-6 1-2 Open 1-2,

3.2V 3.45V Vio 9-10 1-2 Open 1-2,

3.52V 3.45V Vcore 3-4 1-2 1-2,

2.8V 3.45V Vio 7-8 1-2 Open 1-2,

Open 1-2,

3-4

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4

3-4

3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

3-4

3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

Caution: The above table lists the possible settings only for
the current CPUs on the market. The settings may vary in
case there is a new CPU product introduced in the market.
See your CPU specifications for details.

Open

3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

Open

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4
Open

3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4
Open

3-4

2-8

Hardware Installation

2.2.2 Selecting the CPU Frequency

JP1

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

JP2

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

CPU Frequency
Ratio

1.5x (3.5x)
2x

2.5x (1.75x)
3x

The Intel Pentium, Cyrix 6x86 and
AMD K5/K6 CPUs have different
internal (Core) and external (Bus)
frequency. The ratio of Core/Bus
frequency that the CPU uses to
multiply the external clock and
produce internal frequency is selected
by setting JP1 and JP2.

Core frequency = Ratio x External

bus clock

JP1 & JP2

1 2 3

1.5x (3.5x)

JP1 & JP2

1 2 3

2.5x (1.75x)

JP1 & JP2

1 2 3

2x

JP1 & JP2

1 2 3

3x

Note: Intel PP/MT MMX 233MHz is using 1.5x
jumper setting for 3.5x frequency ratio, and AMD
PR166 is using 2.5x setting for 1.75x frequency
ratio.

JP3

2-3
1-2
2-3

JP4

2-3
2-3
1-2

CPU External Clock

50MHz
60MHz
66MHz

JP3 and JP4 let you set the CPU
external clock (bus clock), i.e., the
clock generator frequency.

2-9

Hardware Installation

JP3 & JP4

1 2 3

50MHz

JP3 & JP4

1 2 3

60MHz

JP3 & JP4

1 2 3

66MHz

Caution: The below table lists the possible
settings only for the current CPUs on the
market. The settings may vary in case there is
a new CPU product introduced in the market.
See your CPU specifications for details.

Intel Pentium CPU Core

Frequency

P54C 75 75MHz = 1.5x 50MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 2-3
P54C 90 90MHz = 1.5x 60MHz 1-2 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
P54C 100 100MHz = 1.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
P54C 120 120MHz = 2x 60MHz 2-3 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
P54C 133 133MHz = 2x 66MHz 2-3 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
P54C 150 150MHz = 2.5x 60MHz 2-3 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
P54C 166 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
P54C 200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2

Ratio External Bus

Clock

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

Intel Pentium

P55C

PP/MT 150 150MHz = 2.5x 60MHz 2-3 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
PP/MT 166 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PP/MT 200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PP/MT 233 233MHz = 3.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

IDT C6 CPU Core

WinChip 180 180MHz = 3x 60MHz 1-2 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
WinChip 200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2

CPU Core

Frequency

Frequency

Ratio External Bus

Clock

Ratio External Bus

Clock

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

2-10

Hardware Installation

Cyrix 6x86 CPU Core

Frequency

P120+ 100MHz = 2x 50MHz 2-3 & 1-2 2-3 & 2-3
P150+ 120MHz = 2x 60MHz 2-3 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
P166+ 133MHz = 2x 66MHz 2-3 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

Cyrix M2 CPU Core

Frequency

MX-PR166 150MHz = 2.5x 60MHz 2-3 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
MX-PR200 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
MX-PR233 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
MX-PR266 233MHz = 3.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

AMD K5 CPU Core

Frequency

PR90 90MHz = 1.5x 60MHz 1-2 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
PR100 100MHz = 1.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
PR120 90MHz = 1.5x 60MHz 1-2 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
PR133 100MHz = 1.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
PR166 116MHz = 1.75x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2

AMD K6 CPU Core

Frequency

PR2-166 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PR2-200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PR2-233 233MHz = 3.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

Ratio External

Bus Clock

Ratio External Bus

Clock

Ratio External

Bus Clock

Ratio External

Bus Clock

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

Notes: The Cyrix 6x86 and AMD K5 CPUs use
P-rating for the reference of CPU benchmark.
Unlike the Intel P54C, their internal core frequency
is not exactly equal to P-rating marked on the
CPU. For example, the AMD PR133 frequency is
100MHz, but its performance is almost equal to
Intel P54C 133MHz.

The Intel VX chipset does not support CPU with
55MHz and 75MHz external bus clock; thus, this
motherboard cannot support Cyrix P133+ and C6-

150.

2-11

Hardware Installation

3

3

2.2.3 Disabling the Onboard Super I/O Controller

JP18

1-2
2-3

Onboard Super I/O

Enabled (default)
Disabled

The board is default by the manufacturer
to enable the onboard Super I/O
controller. 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,
set jumper JP18 to 2-3.

JP18

Enabled

1
2

JP18

Disabled

1
2

(default)

2-12

Hardware Installation

3

3

2.2.4 Disabling the PS/2 Mouse Function

JP20

1-2
2-3

PS/2 Mouse

Enabled (default)
Disabled

The PS/2 mouse function is normally
enabled and occupies IRQ12. To reassign
IRQ12 to another function, disable the PS/2
mouse function by setting jumper JP20 to
2-3.

JP20

Enabled

1
2

JP20

Disabled

1
2

(default)

2-13

Hardware Installation

2.2.5 Clearing the CMOS

JP14

1-2

Clear CMOS

Normal operation
(default)

2-3

Clear CMOS

Before you proceed, check your onboard CMOS
chip. The “clearing” procedures vary depending
on the CMOS chip type. Read the CMOS chip
label to determine the chip type.

For Dallas DS12887A:

You need to clear the CMOS if you forget
your system password. To clear the
CMOS, do the steps that follow the figure
below.

JP14

1
2

Normal Operation

JP14

1
2

Clear CMOS

(default)

1. Turn off the system power.

2. Locate JP14 and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds. Check your manual
for the correct jumper settings and location of the jumpers.

3. Reset JP14 to its normal setting by shorting pins 1-2.

4. Turn on the system power.

5. Press during bootup to enter the BIOS Setup Utility and specify a
new password, if needed.

2-14

Hardware Installation

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

For Dallas DS12B887, BENCHMARQ bq3287AMT, or SGS ST
M48T86 PCI chip:

1. Turn off the system power.

2. Locate JP14 and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds. Check your manual
for the correct jumper settings and location of the jumpers.

3. Turn on the system power.

4. Turn off the system power again.

5. Reset JP14 to its normal setting by shorting pins 1-2.

2.2.6 Selecting the DIMM Type

JP25

Open
1-2 & 3-4

Memory Type

SDRAM
EDO

JP25 lets you select your DIMM chip
type. The options are EDO or SDRAM.

JP25

SDRAM

JP25

EDO

2-15

Hardware Installation

2.3 Connectors

2.3.1 Power Cable

A standard baby AT (PS/2) power supply has two cables with six wires on each
cable. Plug in 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 PWR1 on
the mainboard.

Caution: Make sure that the power supply is
OFF before connecting or disconnecting the
power cable.

Black wire (GND)

Red wire (+5V)

PWR1

2-16

Hardware Installation

3 1 2 4

5 6

2.3.2 CPU Fan

The fan connector is marked FAN on the system board. Plug in the fan cable
to this 2-pin connector onboard. Attach the heatsink and fan to the CPU.
Check its orientation, make sure the air flow go through the heatsink.

+12V
GND

FAN

2.3.3 PS/2 Mouse

Insert a PS/2 bracket connector to the connector
marked PS2 MS on the mainboard. Then plug
in the PS/2 mouse cable to the mouse port on
the bracket.

PS2 MS

Pin

1
2
3
4
5
6

Air Flow

Heatsink

Description

MS DATA
NC
GND
+5V
MS CLK
NC

2-17

Hardware Installation

1 2

9 10

1 2

9 10

2.3.4 Serial Devices (COM1/COM2)

Plug in the 10-pin flat cable to the appropriate onboard connectors. The
COM1 connector is marked COM1 and the COM2 connector is marked COM2
on the mainboard. Then insert the serial device connector into the serial port
on the bracket.

COM2

COM1

2-18

2.3.5 USB Device (optional)

Hardware Installation

You need a USB bracket to
enable your system to support
additional USB device(s). To
attach a USB bracket, simply
insert the bracket cable to the
onboard connector marked
USB.

Pin

1
3
5
7
9

1

9 10

USB

Description

V0
D0­D0+
GND
NC

2

Pin

2
4
6
8
10

Description

V1
D1­D1+
GND
NC

2-19

Hardware Installation

33

1

26

2

25

2.3.6 Floppy Drive

To support a floppy drive, connect the 34-pin floppy drive cable to the floppy
drive connector marked FDC1 on the mainboard.

1342

FDC1

2.3.7 Printer

This connector allows you to install a printer to your system. To install, plug in
the 26-pin printer flat cable to the onboard parallel connector marked
PRINTER.

2-20

PRINTER

Hardware Installation

1

40

2

39

1

40

2

39

2.3.8 IDE Hard Disk and CD ROM

This mainboard supports two 40-pin IDE connectors marked as IDE1 and
IDE2. The IDE1 is also known as primary channel and IDE2 as secondary

channel. Each channel supports two IDE devices.
In order to enable the devices to work together, the two devices on each

channel must be set differently to master and slave mode. The device can
either be a hard disk or a CD-ROM. The setting of master or slave depends on
your IDE device jumper. See to your hard disk and CD-ROM manual.

To attach the IDE devices, connect your first IDE hard disk to master mode of
the primary channel. If you have second IDE device to install in your system,
connect it as slave mode on the same channel. The third and fourth devices, if
any, can be connected on secondary channel at master and slave
respectively.

IDE2

IDE1

Caution: The maximum specification of the IDE
cable is 46cm (18 inches). Make sure that your
cable does not exceed this length.

For better signal quality, we recommend that you
set the device connected to the end of the cable
master mode. Follow the suggested sequence to
install your new device (see the following figure).

2-21

Hardware Installation

(1st)

(2nd)

IDE1 (Primary Channel)

Slave

IDE2 (Secondary Channel)

Slave

(4th)

Master

Master

(3rd)

2-22

2.3.9 Hard Disk LED

4

4

4

Hardware Installation

The HDD LED connector is marked HDD LED
on the board. This connector is designed to
support various types of housing. Actually,
only two pins are necessary for the LED. If
your housing comes with a 4-pin connector,
simply attach it to the onboard connector. For
a 2-pin connector, you can insert it to pins 1-2
or pins 3-4. However, when connecting, take
note of the polarity of the pins.

+

1
2

-

3

-

+

HDD LED

4-pin connector

Pin

1
2
3
4

+

1
2

-

3

-

+

HDD LED

2-pin connector

at pin 1-2

Description

HDD LED
GND
GND
HDD LED

+

-

-

+

HDD LED

2-pin connector

at pin 3-4

1
2
3

2-23

Hardware Installation

1

11

10

20

+

+

+

+++

10

20

2.3.10 Panel Connector

The multifunction (panel) connector is a
20-pin connector marked PANEL on the
board. Attach the power LED, keylock,
speaker, reset switch, suspend switch, and
green mode LED connectors to the
corresponding pins as shown in the figure.

Some housings come with a 5-pin connector
for the keylock and power LED. Since the
pins for power LED and keylock functions
remained aligned, you can attach it to the
onboard multifunction connector.

GND

KEYLOCK

GND

RESET

POWER LED

SPEAKER

+5V

GND

NC

SPEAKER

1

11

10 20

PANEL

+5V
GND
GREEN LED
GND
SUSPEND SW
SUSPEND SW
GND
NC
RESET
GND

Keylock

Power LED

Speaker

PANEL

Other housings may have a 12-pin
connector. If your housing has this
type of connector, connect it to
PANEL as shown in the figure. Make
sure that the red wire of the
connector is attached to +5V.

Green LED

Suspend SW

Reset

1

11

PANEL

+5V

2-24

Hardware Installation

Notes: If your housing comes with Turbo switch and
Turbo LED connectors, you may use these connectors
for Suspend switch and Green mode LED functions,
respectively.

Pressing the Suspend switch allows you to manually set
the system to suspend mode. However, this is possible
only if the Power Management function in the BIOS
Setup menu is enabled.

2-25

Hardware Installation

KB1

2.3.11 Keyboard

The onboard keyboard connector is a 5-pin AT-compatible connector marked
KB1. The figure below shows how the keyboard connector as viewed from the
back panel of the housing.

Note: The mini DIN PS/2 keyboard connector
is optional.

PCB

2-26

Hardware Installation

2.3.12 IrDA Connector

Serial port 2 can be configured to support wireless infrared module via this
connector and application software such as Laplink. This module enables the
user to transfer files to or from laptops, notebooks, PDA and printers without
using cables. This mainboard supports IrDA (115Kbps, 1 meter), as well as
ASK-IR (19.2Kbps).

To install an infrared module, insert the
module cable to IrDA connector then enable
infrared function by BIOS setup. Make sure of
the correct cable orientation when connecting
the cable to the IrDA connector.

1
2
3
4
5
6

IrDA

Pin

1
2
3
4
5
6

Description

+5V
NC
IRRX
GND
IRTX
+3.3V

2-27

Hardware Installation

Bank1

Bank0

DIMM

168

2.4 Configuring the System Memory

Pin 1 of

(Single-in-line Memory Module) and one 168 pin
DIMM socket (Dual-in-line Memory Module) that

This mainboard has four 72 pin SIMM sockets

Pin 1 of

Pin 1 of

allow you to install system memory from minimum
8MB up to maximum 128MB.

The SIMM supported by this mainboard can be identified by 4 kinds of factors,
Intel VX chipset does not support 64M bit technology.

♦ Size: single side, 1Mx32 (4MB), 4Mx32 (16MB), and double side, 1Mx32x2

(8MB), 4Mx32x2 (32MB).

♦ Speed: 60ns or 70ns access time
♦ Type: FPM (Fast page mode) or EDO (Extended data output)
♦ Parity: without parity (32 bit wide)

The DIMM supported by this motherboard are always 64-bit wide SDRAM,
which can be identified by following factors:

I. Size: single side, 1Mx64 (8MB), 2Mx64 (16MB), 4Mx64 (32MB), 8Mx64

(64MB), 16Mx64 (128MB), and double side, 1Mx64x2 (16MB), 2Mx64x2
(32MB), 4Mx64x2 (64MB), 8Mx64x2 (128MB).

Tip: Here is a trick to check if your DIMM is
single-side or double-side -- if there are traces
connected to golden finger pin 114 and pin 129 of
the DIMM, the DIMM is probably double-side;
otherwise, it is single-side. Following figure is for
your reference.

2-28

Pin 129

Pin 114

Hardware Installation

buffered

non-buffered

Reserved

II. Speed: normally marked as as -12, which means the clock cycle time is

12ns and maximum clock of this SDRAM is 83MHz. Sometimes you can
also find the SDRAM marked as -67, which means maximum clock is
67MHz.

III. Buffered and non-buffered: This motherboard supports non-buffered

DIMMs. You can identify non-buffered DIMMs and buffered DIMMs
according to the position of the notch, following figure is for your reference:

Because the positions are different, only non-buffered DIMMs can be

inserted into the DIMM sockets on this motherboard. Although most of
DIMMs on current market are non-buffered, we still recommand you to ask
your dealer for the correct type.

IV. 2-clock and 4-clock signals: Although both of 2-clock and 4-clock signals

are supported by AP5VM, we strongly recommand you to choose 4-clock
SDRAM in consideration of reliability.

Tip: To identify 2-clock and 4-clock SDRAM, you
may check if there are traces connected to
golden finger pin 79 and pin 163 of the SDRAM. If
there are traces, the SDRAM is probably 4-clock;
Otherewise, it is 2-clock.

V. Parity: This motherboard supports standard 64 bit wide (without parity)

SDRAM.

Because Pentium processor has 64 bit bus width, the four SIMM sockets are
arranged in two banks of two sockets each, they are Bank0 and Bank1. Both
SIMMs in each bank must be in the same size and type. It is allowed to have
different speed and type in different bank, for example, 70ns FPM in one bank
and 60ns EDO in another bank, in such case, each bank is independently
optimized for maximum performance. The memory timing requires at least
70ns fast page mode DRAM chip, but for optimum performance, 60ns EDO
DRAM is recommended.

2-29

Hardware Installation

Warning: The default memory timing setting is 60ns to
obtain the optimal performance. Because of the
specification limitation, 70ns SIMM is recommended to
be used only for CPU external clock 60MHz.

Tip: EDO DRAM is designed to improve the DRAM read
performance. Unlike traditional fast page mode, that tri­states the memory output data to start the precharge
activity, EDO DRAM holds the memory data valid until
the next memory access cycle, which is similar to pipe­line effect and reduces one clock state.

There is no jumper setting required for the memory size or type. It is
automatically detected by the system BIOS. You can use any single side SIMM
and DIMM combination list below for BANK0/BANK1 or DIMM socket, and the
total memory size is to add them together. But because of chipset limitation,

the maximum is only 128MB.

SIMM1 SIMM2 Subtotal of

Bank0

None None 0MB None None 0MB
4MB 4MB 8MB 4MB 4MB 8MB
8MB 8MB 16MB 8MB 8MB 16MB
16MB 16MB 32MB 16MB 16MB 32MB

DIMM1 Size of DIMM Socket

None 0MB
8MB 8MB
16MB 16MB
32MB 32MB

SIMM3 SIMM4 Subtotal of

Total Memory Size = Subtotal of Bank0 + Subtotal of Bank1
+ Size of DIMM socket

Bank1

2-30

Hardware Installation

For double side memory module, there is one limitation. This mainboard
supports only 4 RAS# (Row address latch) signals for DRAM control. They can
only be occupied by one DRAM module, they can not be shared. The simple

rule is: If double side module at either Bank1 or DIMM, the other must be
empty. Bank0 has no such limitation.

Double side module at either
Bank1 or DIMM socket, the
other must be empty.

Following table explains more about the RAS limitation. You can see that
Bank1 1st side and DIMM 2nd side use the same RAS2#, and Bank1 2nd side
and DIMM 1st side use the same RAS3#. If you are using single side SIMM at
Bank1 and single side DIMM, it should be no problem. But if you are using
double side DIMM or double side SIMM at Bank1, the other must be empty.

RAS0#
RAS1#
RAS2#
RAS3#

Bank0
1st side

Bank0
2nd side

Bank1
1st side

Bank1
2nd side

DIMM
1st side

DIMM
2nd side

X

X

X X

X X

Caution: Make sure that you install the same SIMM type
and size for each bank.

Caution: There are some old DIMMs made by EDO or
FPM memory chip, they can only accept 5V power and
probably can not fit into the DIMM socket, make sure
you have 3.3V true SDRAM DIMM before your insert it.

2-31

Hardware Installation

Warning: Do not use SIMM and SDRAM DIMM together
unless you have 5V tolerance SDRAM (such as
Samsung or TI). The FPM/EDO operate at 5V while
SDRAM operates at 3.3V. If you combine them together
the system will temporary work fine; however after a few
months, the SDRAM 3.3V data input will be damaged by
5V FPM/EDO data output line.

There is an important parameter affects SDRAM performance, CAS Latency
Time. It is similar as CAS Access Time of EDO DRAM and is calculated as
number of clock state. The SDRAM that AOpen had tested are listed below. If
your SDRAM has unstable problem, go into BIOS "Chipset Features Setup",
change CAS Latency Time to 3 clocks.

Manufacturer Model Suggested CAS

Latency Time

Samsung KM416511220AT-G12 2 Yes
NEC D4S16162G5-A12-7JF 2 No
Hitachi HM5216805TT10 2 No
TI TMX626812DGE-12 2 Yes
TI TMS626812DGE-15 3 Yes
TI TMS626162DGE-15 3 Yes
TI TMS626162DGE-M67 3 Yes

5V Tolerance

The driving capability of new generation chipset is limited because the lack of
memory buffer (to improve performance). This makes DRAM chip count an
important factor to be taking into consideration when you install SIMM/DIMM.
Unfortunately, there is no way that BIOS can identified the correct chip count,
you need to calculate the chip count by yourself. The simple rule is: By visual
inspection, use only SIMM with chip count less than 24 chips, and use only
DIMM which is less than 16 chips.

Warning: Do not install any SIMM that contains more
than 24 chips. SIMMs contain more than 24 chips
exceed the chipset driving specification. Doing so may
result in unstable system behavior.

Warning: Due to loading issue, it is not recommended to
use x4 (bit) SDRAM chip.

2-32

Hardware Installation

Tip: The SIMM/DIMM chip count can be calculated by
following example:

1. For 32 bit non-parity SIMM using 1M by 4 bit DRAM
chip, 32/4=8 chips.

2. For 36 bit parity SIMM using 1M by 4 bit DRAM chip,
36/4=9 chips.

3. For 36 bit parity SIMM using 1M by 4 bit and 1M by
1 bit DRAM, the chip count will be 8 data chips(8=
32/4) plus 4 parity chips(4=4/1), total is 12 chips.

4. For 64 bit DIMM using 1M by 16 bit SDRAM, the chip
count is 64/16=4 chips.

Following table list the recommended DRAM combinations of SIMM and
DIMM:

SIMM
Data chip

1M by 4 None 1Mx32 x1 8 4MB Yes
1M by 4 None 1Mx32 x2 16 8MB Yes
1M by 4 1M by 1 1Mx36 x1 12 4MB Yes
1M by 4 1M by 4 1Mx36 x1 9 4MB Yes
1M by 4 1M by 4 1Mx36 x2 18 8MB Yes
1M by 16 None 1Mx32 x1 2 4MB Yes
1M by 16 None 1Mx32 x2 4 8MB Yes
1M by 16 1M by 4 1Mx36 x1 3 4MB Yes
1M by 16 1M by 4 1Mx36 x2 6 8MB Yes
4M by 4 None 4Mx32 x1 8 16MB Yes
4M by 4 None 4Mx32 x2 16 32MB Yes
4M by 4 4M by 1 4Mx36 x1 12 16MB Yes
4M by 4 4M by 1 4Mx36 x2 24 32MB Yes

SIMM
Parity chip

Bit size
per side

Single/
Double
side

Chip
count

SIMM
size

Recommended

2-33

Hardware Installation

DIMM
Data chip

1M by 16 1Mx64 x1 4 8MB Yes
1M by 16 1Mx64 x2 8 16MB Yes
2M by 8 2Mx64 x1 8 16MB Yes
2M by 8 2Mx64 x2 16 32MB Yes

Bit size per
side

Single/
Double side

Chip
count

DIMM size Recommended

Tip: 8 bit = 1 byte, 32 bit = 4 byte. The SIMM size is
represented by number of data byte (whether with or
without parity), for example, the size of single side SIMM
using 1M by 4 bit chip is 1Mx32 bit, that is, 1M x 4 byte =
4MB. For double side SIMM, simply multiply it by 2, that
is, 8MB.

Following table are possible DRAM combinations that is NOT recommended:

SIMM
Data chip

1M by 1 None 1Mx32 x1 32 4MB No
1M by 1 1M by 1 1Mx36 x1 36 4MB No
1M by 4 1M by 1 1Mx36 x2 24 8MB No
4M by 1 None 4Mx32 x1 32 16MB No
4M by 1 4M by 1 4Mx36 x1 36 16MB No

SIMM
Parity chip

Bit size
per side

Single/
Double
side

Chip
count

SIMM
size

Recommended

DIMM
Data chip

4M by 4 4Mx64 x1 16 32MB No
4M by 4 4Mx64 x2 32 64MB No

Bit size per
side

Single/
Double side

Chip
count

DIMM size Recommended

2-34

Chapter 3

AMI BIOS

This chapter tells how to configure the system by setting the BIOS parameters.

3.1 Entering the AMI BIOS Setup

To enter the AMI BIOS Setup, press . The AMI BIOS Setup Main Menu
appears as shown below.

The AMI BIOS is in Windows form. You can use either the keyboard or a
mouse to move between the items.

To select among the Setup menu groups, use to highlight the selected
group or simply click on the icon of the selected Setup menu.

To select among the options, you can either use the arrow keys to move the
highlight bar or simply click on the icon of the desired option.

3-1

AMI BIOS Utility

After making your selection, press or double-click on the icon to open
the selected menu option.

You may press to perform the following:

• Resolve an address conflict due to an IRQ
address assigned to multiple slots. For more
information on IRQ assignment, see the section

3.2.3 (Chipset Features Setup).

• Return to the BIOS default settings if the PnP
BIOS does not recognize the hardware
modifications under Windows 95.

To meet the PC market demands, ongoing hardware
and software enhancements are done on the system.
Therefore, it is possible that BIOS screens may be
changed without notice.

3-2

AMI BIOS Utility

3.2 Setup Menu

The figure below shows the Setup window. Use the arrow keys to highlight an
option.

3.2.1 Standard Setup

The following screen appears if you select Standard from the Setup
options:

You can input configuration values such as date, time and disk types in this
menu.

PRIMARY MASTER AND SLAVE/

SECONDARY MASTER AND SLAVE

These parameters allow you to configure the hard disks and the IDE devices
connected to your IDE connectors. To configure the hard disk connected to
the master port of the primary IDE connector, select Primary Master

and press . The following screen appears:

3-3

AMI BIOS Utility

To configure the hard disk connected to the slave port of the primary IDE
connector, select Primary Slave.

The secondary IDE connector also supports two IDE devices. To configure the
hard disk or the IDE device connected to the master port, select

Secondary Master. Choose Secondary Slave to configure the

device connected to the slave port.
The following are the parameters that you need to set to configure your hard

disks or the IDE devices:

3-4

AMI BIOS Utility

Type

This parameter lets you set the IDE device type that your system supports.
The options are User, Auto, CD-ROM, Type 1-46, and Not

Installed. Select Auto to automatically configure the installed hard

disk or IDE device. Select CD-ROM if you have a CD-ROM installed in your
system. If you have an old type HDD installed, you may need to enter the
HDD parameters manually. To do this, you must set this parameter to User.
Select Not Installed to bypass the function.

LBA/Large Mode

This enhanced IDE feature allows the system to use a hard disk with a
capacity of more than 528 MB. This is made possible through the Logical
Block Address (LBA) mode translation. Set the parameter to Off to disregard

the feature.

This parameter becomes non-configurable when the HDD Type parameter is
set to Auto.

Block Mode

This function enhances disk performance depending on the hard disk in use.
If enabled, it allows data transfers in block (multiple sectors) by increasing the
data transfer rate to 256 bytes/cycle. However, if your hard disk does not
support this function, set this parameter to Off.

This parameter becomes non-configurable when the HDD Type parameter is
set to Auto.

3-5

AMI BIOS Utility

32-bit Mode

Enabling this parameter improves system performance by increasing the hard
disk access to 32-bit mode. However, make sure that your hard disk supports
this function before you enable the parameter. Otherwise, set this parameter
to Off.

PIO Mode

Setting this parameter to On allows the system to use a faster hard disk drive.
If your hard disk does not support the PIO mode feature, set this parameter to

Off.

This parameter becomes non-configurable when the HDD Type parameter is
set to Auto.

HARD DISK TYPES

After you have set all the necessary parameters, press . A list of the
HDD drive parameters appears:

Select your hard disk type. Press or to move among the selections.
After you have made your selection, press .

If you cannot find your hard disk drive type on the list, select User. This
allows you to enter the disk parameters manually.

DATE/TIME

To set the date and time, highlight Date/Time and press . The
following screen appears:

3-6

AMI BIOS Utility

Select the arrow keys to move among the items. Press or click on or to
set the current time and date. Press or double-click on the Control

menu box at the upper-left corner of the window.

FLOPPY DRIVES A AND B

To configure the first floppy drive, select Floppy A. The following values
appear on screen:

After selecting the proper setting, press .
Select Floppy B and follow the same procedure to configure the second

floppy drive.

3.2.2 Advanced CMOS Setup

The following screen appears if you select the option Advanced from the
Setup menu:

3-7

AMI BIOS Utility

The first screen does not show all the parameters of the Advanced
Configuration menu. To scroll down the rest of the parameters, press .
Press or to highlight the desired parameter.

3-8

AMI BIOS Utility

Do not change the settings of the Advanced
Setup parameters if you are not a qualified
technician. Doing so may cause fatal system
failure.

Quick Boot

During boot up, the system performs power-on self test (POST) routines.
Enable the parameter if you want to skip some POST routines during the boot
process. Set this to Disabled to let the system perform all the POST

routines and follow the specified boot-up sequence.

Boot-up Sequence

The boot-up sequence allows you to specify the system search sequence.
The selections are C:, A:, CD-ROM , A:, C:, CD-ROM and

CD-ROM, A:, C:. If you have a bootable CD-ROM installed, you may

set the CD-ROM as the first priority. The default is A:, C:, CD-ROM.

Boot-up Numlock

Setting this parameter to On enables the numeric function of the numeric
keypad. Set this parameter to Off to disable the function. Disabling the
numeric function allows you to use the cursor control numeric keypad. The

default setting is Off.

3-9

AMI BIOS Utility

Floppy Drive Swap

This parameter 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. Disable the parameter to bypass the
function. The default is Disabled.

Floppy Drive Seek

When enabled, BIOS detects whether there is a floppy disk drive installed in
the system. Disable the parameter to skip the function.

Typematic Rate

This parameter allows you to control the speed at which the system registers
repeated keystrokes.

System Keyboard

Set this parameter to Present if there is a keyboard connected to the
system. If none, select Absent.

Primary Display

This function specifies the VGA type in use. The selections are VGA/EGA,

CGA 40 x 25, CGA 80 x 25, Mono, and Absent. The

default setting is VGA/EGA.

Password Check

This parameter lets you set when to check for the password. When set to

Always, a password prompt appears every time you turn on the computer

and when you enter Setup. When set to Setup, the password prompt
appears when you try to enter setup. The Optimal and Turbo default setting is

Setup.

OS/2 Compatible Mode

Enable the parameter if your system is utilizing an OS/2 operating system and
has a memory size of more than 64 MB. Otherwise, set this to Disabled.

The default setting is Disabled.

3-10

AMI BIOS Utility

Internal Cache

This function lets you enable or disable the internal cache.

External Cache

This function lets you enable or disable the external cache.

System BIOS Cacheable

Enabling this parameter allows you to cache the system BIOS to further
system performance. The default settings is Enabled.

C000 ~ DC00, 16K Shadow

These parameters are for shadowing expansion cards with ROM. You need to
know the specific addresses that ROMs use to shadow the expansion cards
before you set any of these parameters. If you do not know this information,
enable all the ROM shadow settings. This ensures shadowing of any present
ROMs and reduces the available memory . Select Cached if the data in the

chosen addresses are already copied into RAM.

The F000 and E000 addresses are exclusively
shadowed for BIOS.

3-11

AMI BIOS Utility

3.2.3 Chipset Features Setup

The Chipset Features Setup controls the board chipset settings. The controls
for this menu are the same as for the previous screens. The Chipset Features
Setup screen appears as follows.

To scroll down the rest of the parameters, press . Use or to
highlight the desired parameter.

Memory Hole

This option lets you assign the system memory area for ISA cards installed in
your system to avoid memory conflicts. The available settings are

512~640K, 15~16M and Disabled.

3-12

AMI BIOS Utility

DRAM Timing Setting

The selections for this parameter are 60 ns, 70 ns, and Manual. If
you select either 60 ns or 70 ns, the DRAM Timing subparameters
become non-configurable since BIOS automatically sets the values. Select

Manual if you want to specify your own parameter settings.

FAST MA TO RAS# DELAY

This option specifies the wait state between the master address (MA) and row
address strobe (RAS) signals. The selections are 1 clock and 2

clocks.

EDO:SPM READ BURST TIMING

This parameter adjusts the read wait state for Extended Data Out (EDO)
DRAM and Standard Page Mode (SPM) DRAM. Every time the CPU reads the
second-level cache miss, it reads four continuous memory cycles on four
continues addresses from the EDO and SPM cache.

The selections for this parameter are x444/X444, X333/X444,

X222/X333, and X3222/X333. The value of X depends on the DRAM

Lead-off Timing parameter setting.

DRAM WRITE BURST TIMING

This parameter adjusts the write wait state between the second-level and the
DRAM cache. The second-level cache is processed through write-back
method and each cache write process consists of four continuous cache write
cycles.

The parameter settings are X444, X333, and X222. Faster DRAMs
require shorter wait states. The value of X depends on the DRAM Lead-off
Timing parameter setting.

FAST RAS TO CAS DELAY

This option specifies the wait state between the row address strobe (RAS) and
column address strobe (CAS) signals. The available settings are 3 clocks

and 2 clocks.

DRAM LEAD-OFF TIMING

This option specifies the DRAM waiting time or the delay before data can be
accessed. Some DRAMs may require a longer delay to access data. The
selections are 11-7-3, 10-6-3, 11-7-4, and 10-6-4.

3-13

AMI BIOS Utility

REFRESH RAS# ASSERTION

This function controls the number of clocks required to assert RAS# for
refresh cycles. The available settings are 4 clocks and 5 clocks.

FAST EDO PATH SELECT

Enable this option to select a fast path for CPU to DRAM read cycles to
minimize the lead-off time. This is applicable only for EDO DRAMs. For other
DRAM types, we recommend that you set this to Disabled.

SDRAM CAS# LATENCY

This parameter controls the wait state between SDRAM row address strobe
and SDRAM CAS signals.

SDRAM RAS# TIMING

This parameter controls the RAS# precharge, RAS# active-to-precharge time,
and refresh-to-RAS# active signal delay.

8-bit I/O Recovery Time (Sysclk)

This parameter allows you to set the response time of the 8-bit I/O devices
connected to your system. The settings range from 1-8 SYSCLK and

Disabled.

16-bit I/O Recovery Time (Sysclk)

This parameter allows you to set the response time of the 16-bit I/O devices
connected to your system. The settings range from 1-4 SYSCLK and

Disabled.

ISA Clock Divisor

This option specifies the ISA bus clock divisor. The selections are

PCICLK/4 and PCICLK/3.

Peer Concurrency

Enable the parameter to allow the CPU to run secondary DRAM PCI master
cycles to target PCI peer devices. Select Disabled to hold the CPU bus.

The default setting is Disabled.

3-14

AMI BIOS Utility

PCI 2.1 Compliant

This parameter lets you enable or disable the PIIX3 PCI register passive
release functions. When enabled , the PIIX3 controls the USB operation to
make sure that the system complies with the PCI Revision 2.1 specification.
Select Disabled to disregard the functions.

USB Function Enabled

This parameter lets you enable or disable the USB device(s) connected to your
system, if any. The default is Disabled.

The USB function shares INTD with PCI slot 4.
Therefore, if you enable the USB function, only
PCI cards that do not require IRQ, such as VGA,
can be installed in slot 4. The PnP BIOS
assigns an IRQ to VGA if the VGA requests for
it.

3-15

AMI BIOS Utility

3.2.4 Power Management Setup

To take advantage of the power-management feature, select Power

Management from the Setup menu. The following screen appears:

To scroll down the rest of the parameters, press . Use or to
highlight the desired parameter.

Power Management/APM

This parameter enables or disables the advanced power-management
function.

3-16

AMI BIOS Utility

Instant On Time-out (Minutes)

This parameter is configurable only if the Power Management/APM parameter
is set to Instant On. This option lets you specify when to resume system
power after being in power-saving mode for a certain period of time.

Green Monitor Power-down State

This function lets you set when to power down your green PC monitor. The
options are Standby, Suspend, and Off. The default is Standby.

Video Card Power-down Mode

This option allows you to set when to power down your system display card.
The card function returns to full power once the system resumes to normal
mode. The selections are Standby, Suspend, and Disabled.

The default setting is Standby.

Hard Disk Power-down Mode

This option lets you set when to “spin down your IDE hard disk. The disk
returns to full speed once the system resumes to normal mode. The available
settings are Standby, Suspend, and Disabled. The default

setting is Suspend.

Hard Disk Time-out (Minutes)

This option lets you specify when to set the hard disk to the specified power­down mode. The settings range from 1 ~ 15 Minutes and

Disabled.

Standby Time-out (Minutes)

This function lets you set when to put the system into standby mode. In
standby mode, the CPU clock slows down. Any event detected returns the
system to full power. The settings range from 1 ~ 15 Minutes and

Disabled.

Suspend Time-out (Minutes)

This function lets you set when to put the system into suspend mode. In
suspend mode, the CPU clock stops. Any event detected returns the system
to full power. The settings range from 1 ~15 Minutes and Disabled.

3-17

AMI BIOS Utility

Slow Clock Ratio

When the system enters the standby mode, the CPU clock starts to slow
down. This parameter lets you set the “slow down” clock ratio. The
selections are from 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 1:32,

1:64, and 1:128.

Display Activity

This function lets you check the activity of the monitor. When set to

Monitor, any detected activity from the display resumes the system to

normal mode. When set to Ignore, the power management function
bypasses the display activities detected.

IRQ 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15

These parameters enable or disable specific I/O devices as wake up events in
the power management mode. Any activity detected from the enabled IRQs
resets the power-management timers and returns the system to normal mode.

3-18

AMI BIOS Utility

3.2.5 PCI/PnP Setup

The PCI/PNP Setup allows you to specify the setting for your PCI devices.
The screen below appears on screen if you select PCI/PnP from the Setup
menu.

To scroll down the rest of the parameters, press . Use or to
highlight the desired parameter.

Plug-and-Play Aware O/S

Enable this parameter only if you have a Plug-and-Play operating system,
such as Windows 95.

3-19

AMI BIOS Utility

PCI IRQ Priority Auto Setting

Set this parameter to Yes to automatically set the appropriate available
interrupt for each PCI slot. Select No if you prefer to manually set the
interrupts.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Available IRQ

These parameters are configurable only if the PCI IRQ Priority Auto Setting
parameter is set to No. When configurable, these let you specify the ranking
of the interrupts which you can assign to the PCI devices installed in your
system.

PCI VGA Palette Snoop

PCI devices support the palette snooping technique that enables the device to
control access to their palette registers. Enable this parameter to activate the
palette snooping function in the PCI VGA devices installed in the system.
Check your VGA card manual for more information about his function. The
default setting is Disabled.

PCI IDE Card

This function allows you to select the PCI slot(s) that you want to enable, if
there is any offboard PCI IDE card present. Set this parameter to Auto to
automatically configure the installed PCI card.

PCI IDE Primary IRQ

This parameter lets you assign an IRQ for the IDE device connected to your
primary IDE connector. The options are INTA, INTB, INTC, INTD,

Hardwired and Disabled. If the PCI IDE Card parameter is set to
Auto, this parameter becomes non-configurable.

PCI IDE Secondary IRQ

This parameter lets you assign an IRQ for the IDE device connected to your
secondary IDE connector. The options are INTA, INTB, INTC,

INTD, Hardwired and Disabled. If the PCI IDE Card parameter is

set to Auto, this parameter becomes non-configurable.

3-20

AMI BIOS Utility

Reserved Memory Size for ISA

This option lets you specify the memory area reserved for Legacy/ISA devices.

Reserved Memory Base for ISA

This option lets you specify the memory base address reserved for Legacy/ISA
devices.

3-21

AMI BIOS Utility

3.2.6 Peripheral Setup

Select Peripheral from the Setup menu and the following screen
appears.

Onboard FDC

This parameter enables or disables the floppy drive controller.

Onboard Serial Port 1

This parameter allows you to select the address for the first serial port. The
available settings are Auto, 3F8h, 2F8h, 3E8h, 2E8h, and

Disabled. Selecting Disabled deactivates the port.

Onboard Serial Port 2

This parameter allows you to select the address for the second serial port. The
available settings are Auto, 3F8h, 2F8h, 3E8h, 2E8h, and

Disabled. Selecting Disabled deactivates the port.

SERIAL PORT 2 MODE

This parameter allows you to specify the serial port 2 mode. The available
mode selections are:

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

default setting.

3-22

AMI BIOS Utility

• HPSIR - Select this setting only if the InfraRed (IR) function is

activated (i.e., an IR module is installed in your system). This setting
allows infrared serial communication at a maximum baud rate of 115K
baud.

• ASKIR - Select this setting only if the IR function is activated (i.e., an

IR module is installed in your system). This setting allows infrared serial
communication at a maximum baud rate of 19.2K baud.

Onboard Parallel Port

This parameter allows you to select the address for the parallel port. The
available settings are Auto, 378h, 278h, 3BCh, and

Disabled. Selecting Disabled deactivates the parallel port.

PARALLEL PORT IRQ

This parameter allows you to set the interrupt for the parallel port. The default
setting is 7.

PARALLEL PORT MODE

This parameter specifies the parallel port mode. The mode options are SPP,

EPP, and ECP. The default is SPP.

Onboard IDE

This parameter enables or disables the IDE device(s) connected to your
system. The selections are Primary, Secondary, Both, and

Disabled.

3-23

AMI BIOS Utility

3.3 Security Setup

The Security window contains the password and anti-virus features.

3.3.1 Supervisor Password

The use of password prevents unauthorized use of your computer. If you set a
Supervisor password, the system prompts for this password before granting
access to Setup or system boot, depending on the Password Check setting in
the Advanced CMOS Setup menu.

To set a Supervisor password, select Supervisor from the Security
window. The following screen appears:

Follow these steps to set up a password using the keyboard:

3-24

AMI BIOS Utility

1. Type in a six-character password using letters, numbers, or a
combination of both. When you type the characters, they appear as
asterisks on the password screen boxes.

2. Press <Enter>.

3. Retype the password when a password confirmation box appears asking
you to retype the password.

You may also use the mouse and the characters on the screen to set up a
password.

1. Click on six characters from the password screen. The characters
appear on the boxes as asterisks.

2. Click on <Enter>.

3. Enter the password when a confirmation box appears.

3.3.2 User Password

To set a User password, select User from the Security window. The
following screen appears:

For instructions on how to enter a password, follow the procedures listed in
section 3.3.1.

If you set a Supervisor and a User password, you
can enter either of the two entries when prompted
for a password before system boot or entering

3-25

AMI BIOS Utility

Setup.

3.3.3 Anti-virus

Select Anti-Virus from the Security window to display the following
option box.

The virus protection options allow you to enable or disable the virus protection
feature.

3-26

AMI BIOS Utility

3.4 Utility Setup

The Utility window lets you change WinBIOS Setup colors and language
setting.

3.4.1 Color Set

Select Color Set from the Utility window to display the following screen.

Use the arrow keys or simply click an option to select your desired background
color for WinBIOS.

3.4.2 Language

Select Language from the Utility window to display the following screen.

The system language currently supported is only English. Therefore, this
option is non-configurable and is for display only.

3-27

AMI BIOS Utility

3.5 Default Setup

The Default window allows you to select a group of settings for all WinBIOS
Setup options.

3.5.1 Original

When you select Original, a dialog box prompts you to restore the
original BIOS default values. Select No to keep your current settings. Select

Yes to restore the original values.

3.5.2 Optimal

When you select Optimal, a dialog box prompts you to load the values that
will help your system deliver optimum performance. Select Yes to load the
BIOS optimum values. Select No to keep your current settings.

3-28

AMI BIOS Utility

3.5.3 Turbo

When you select Turbo, a dialog box prompts you to load the Turbo values
to further enhance system performance. Select Yes to load the Turbo
values. Select No to keep your current settings.

In case your system operation becomes unstable and incompatibility problems
occur, unload the Turbo values and

3-29

AMI BIOS Utility

3.6 Exiting Setup

Carefully check your new settings when you have finished configuring the
system. If correct, write them down and keep the recorded values in a safe
place. If in the future, the battery loses power or the CMOS chip is damaged,
you will know what values to enter when you rerun setup.

Press to display the following screen.

Press or , then or simply click on an option to select. Select

Save changes and Exit to save the changes that you made. Select
Do not save changes and Exit to leave setup without saving

your changes. Select Continue if you want to make any more
configuration changes.

3-30

AMI BIOS Utility

3.7 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.

3.8 AMI Flash Utility

The AMI Flash Utility allows you to upgrade the system BIOS. To get the AMI
flash utility and the upgrade BIOS file, contact your local distributor or visit our
homepage at http://www.aopen.com.tw. The file name of AMI flash utility is
AMIFLASH.EXE, run this program under DOS, follow the instruction on the
screen, actually, you need only input the BIOS file name. After programming,
reboot your system for the new BIOS to take effect.

Warning: Make sure you use AMI Flash Utility
version 5.23 or later, the version before 5.23
has bug to program INTEL 12V Flash ROM,
and after the programming, the system may
fail to reboot.

Warning: Be sure you get the correct BIOS file
and carefully read the instruction and notice
from AOpen homepage. Use incorrect BIOS
file on incorrect version of mainboard may
damage your system.

3-31

Appendix A

Jumper Setting Summary

CPU Voltage Select

JP7

1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10
11-12

JP9

1-2 &
3-4

Open

CPU Core Voltage (Vcore)

3.45V (Intel P54C or IDT C6)

3.52V (Cyrix or AMD K5)

2.9V (AMD K6-166/200 or Cyrix M2)

2.8V (MMX P55C)

3.2V (AMD K6-233)

2.1V (Reserved)

JP10

Open

1-2 &
3-4

JP11

1-2 &
3-4

Open

Warning: The heat dissipation of Intel PP/MT-233Hz, AMD
K6-200/233MHz exceed the original design of this mainboard.
Please make sure that you have installed CPU fan properly if
Intel PP/MT-233 or AMD K6-200/233 is being selected to use.
It may cause your system unstable if you can not meet the
heat dissipation requirement from above CPU type. It is
recommended to adopt larger fan on these CPU for better air
flow in the system.

JP12

Open

1-2 &
3-4

CPU Type (Vcpuio)

Single Voltage CPU
Vcpuio = Vcore (default)

Dual Voltage CPU
Vcpuio = Vio (PP/MT P55C)

JP8

1-2
3-4

I/O Voltage (Vio)

3.45V (default)

3.52V

CPU Vcore Vio Vcpuio JP7 JP8 JP9 JP10 JP11 JP12

A-1

Jumper Table Summary

Type

Intel
P54C
Intel
MMX
(P55C)
AMD K5
(Single
voltage)
AMD
K6­166/200
AMD
K6-233
Cyrix
6x86
Cyrix
6x86L
Cyrix M2 2.9V 3.45V Vio 5-6 1-2 Open 1-2,

IDT C6 3.45V 3.45V Vcore 1-2 1-2 1-2,

CPU Frequency Select

3.45V 3.45V Vcore 1-2 1-2 1-2,
3-4

2.8V 3.45V Vio 7-8 1-2 Open 1-2,

3.52V 3.45V Vcore 3-4 1-2 1-2,
3-4

2.9V 3.45V Vio 5-6 1-2 Open 1-2,

3.2V 3.45V Vio 9-10 1-2 Open 1-2,

3.52V 3.45V Vcore 3-4 1-2 1-2,
3-4

2.8V 3.45V Vio 7-8 1-2 Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,
3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

Open 1-2,
3-4

Open 1-2,
3-4
Open 1-2,

3-4

Open

3-4

Open

3-4

3-4
Open

3-4

3-4
Open

JP1

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

Intel
Pentium

P54C 75 75MHz = 1.5x 50MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 2-3
P54C 90 90MHz = 1.5x 60MHz 1-2 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
P54C 100 100MHz = 1.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
P54C 120 120MHz = 2x 60MHz 2-3 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
P54C 133 133MHz = 2x 66MHz 2-3 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
P54C 150 150MHz = 2.5x 60MHz 2-3 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
P54C 166 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
P54C 200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2

Intel
Pentium

JP2

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

CPU Frequency
Ratio

1.5x (3.5x)
2x

2.5x (1.75x)
3x

CPU Core
Frequency

CPU Core
Frequency

JP3

2-3
1-2
2-3

Ratio External Bus

Clock

Ratio External

Bus Clock

JP4

CPU External
Clock

2-3
2-3
1-2

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

50MHz
60MHz
66MHz

A-2

Jumper Table Summary

PP/MT 150 150MHz = 2.5x 60MHz 2-3 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
PP/MT 166 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PP/MT 200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PP/MT 233 233MHz = 3.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

IDT C6 CPU Core

Frequency

WinChip 180 180MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
WinChip 200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2

Cyrix 6x86 CPU Core

Frequency

P120+ 100MHz = 2x 50MHz 2-3 & 1-2 2-3 & 2-3
P150+ 120MHz = 2x 60MHz 2-3 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
P166+ 133MHz = 2x 66MHz 2-3 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

Cyrix M2 CPU Core

Frequency

MX-PR166 150MHz = 2.5x 60MHz 2-3 & 2-3 1-2 & 2-3
MX-PR200 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
MX-PR233 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
MX-PR266 233MHz = 3.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

AMD K5 CPU Core

Frequency

PR90 90MHz = 1.5x 60MHz 1-2 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
PR100 100MHz = 1.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
PR120 90MHz = 1.5x 60MHz 1-2 & 1-2 1-2 & 2-3
PR133 100MHz = 1.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2
PR166 116MHz = 1.75x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2

Ratio External

Bus Clock

Ratio External

Bus Clock

Ratio External Bus

Clock

Ratio External

Bus Clock

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

AMD K6 CPU Core

Frequency

PR2-166 166MHz = 2.5x 66MHz 2-3 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PR2-200 200MHz = 3x 66MHz 1-2 & 2-3 2-3 & 1-2
PR2-233 233MHz = 3.5x 66MHz 1-2 & 1-2 2-3 & 1-2

Ratio External

Bus Clock

JP1 & JP2 JP3 & JP4

A-3

Jumper Table Summary

Enable/Disable Onboard Super I/O Controller

JP18

1-2
2-3

Onboard Super
I/O

Enabled (default)
Disabled

Enable/Disable PS/2 Mouse Function

JP20

1-2
2-3

PS/2 Mouse

Enabled (default)
Disabled

Clearing CMOS

JP14

1-2

2-3

Clear CMOS

Normal operation
(default)

Clear CMOS

DIMM Memory Type Select

JP25

Open
1-2 & 3-4

Memory Type

SDRAM
EDO

A-4

Appendix B

BIOS revision

(AP53-3)

Frequently Asked Question

Note: FAQ may be updated without notice. If
you cannot find the information that you need in
this appendix, visit our WWW home page,
(address: http://www.aopen.com.tw) and check
the FAQ area and other new information.

Q: How can I identify the mainboard BIOS version?

A: The AOpen mainboard BIOS version appears on the upper-left corner of the

POST (Power-On Self Test) screen. Normally, it starts with R and is found in
between the model name and the date. For example:

AP53/AX53 R3.80 Oct.22.1996

Q: How can I identify version of the mainboard?

A: The AOpen mainboard version appears as ppppp-x on the PCB, near the PCI

slot and is enclosed in a white bordered box. The ppppp is the project code
used by AOpen internally and -x is the version code. For example, for AP53
with 95140 project code and -3 version code, the mainboard version appears
on the PCB as follows:

AP53 95140-3 MADE IN TAIWAN

MB verison -3

B-1

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why the AOpen mainboards (MB) do not have cache module expansion

slot?

A: Faster CPU speed requires more difficult and complex MB timing design.

Every trace and components delay must be taken into consideration. The
expansion cache slot design will cause 2 or 3ns delay in PBSRAM timing, and
the extended trace length to the cache module through the golden finger will
further delay the timing by 1 or 2ns. This may result in unreliable system
once the cache module and slot becomes worn. All AOpen MBs support
512KB PBSRAM onboard. For better performance (around 3% higher than
256KB), we strongly recommend you to use 512KB onboard. Otherwise,
reliable 256KB is better than unreliable 512KB with cache module. AOpen is
the first company to promote this concept since the fourth quarter of 1995.

Q: Why do AOpen MBs have two regulators onboard?

A: Heat dissipation becomes a big problem when CPU speed increases. New

generation CPUs use lower voltage or split power plane to reduce power
dissipation. If you use dual-power PP/MT (P55C) CPU, then you need
separate requlators for 3.3V CPU io voltage and 2.8V CPU core voltage.
Refer to section 2.2 "Jumper Settings" for voltage of current CPUs available
on the market. Theoretically, the more regulators, the more reliable power
becomes. For VX chipset MB (AP5V), we even incorporated a third requlator
to support SDRAM. AOpen fully supports PP/MT and SDRAM in its product
line and this puts them ahead among other companies. There is one
exception, ATX MB may use 3.3V power from ATX power supply, it is
possible to reduce one regulator.

Q: What is the difference of Linear Regulator and Switching Regulator?

A: Switching regulator turns on/off Power FET with very high frequency and uses

L/C charge and discharge circuit to do voltage drop. The efficient is better but
voltage ripple and EMI noise is higher. The reason for mainboard designer to
consider switching regulator, is simply because they are worry about linear
regulator can not fully support the coming new CPU. Actually, this depends
on the design and layout quality of mainboard manufacturer. According to
AOpen RD's testing, Intel PP/MT-233, AMD K6-166/200/233 are all fine on
AP5T to run winstone97. (The CPU is at 53 degree C, heatsink is at 60
degree C and regulator IC is at 79 degree C). But for future CPU (perhaps
CPU of 1998), AOpen will still consider to phase-in switching regulator on
new version mainboard.

B-2

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is MMX?

A: MMX is the new single-line multiple-instruction technology of the new Intel

Pentium PP/MT (P55C) and Pentium II (Klamath) CPU. The AMD K6 and
Cyrix M2 will support MMX too. The MMX instructions are specifically useful
for multimedia applications (such as 3D video, 3D sound, video conference).
The performance can be improved if applications use these instructions. All
AOpen MBs have at least dual power onboard to support MMX. It is not
necessary to have special chipset for MMX CPU.

Q: What is USB (Universal Serial Bus)?

A: USB is a new 4-pin serial peripheral bus that is capable of cascading

low/medium speed peripherals (less than 10Mbit/s) such as keyboard,
mouse, joystick, scanner, printer and modem/ISDN. With USB, the traditional
complex cables from back panel of your PC can be eliminated.

You need the USB driver to support USB device(s). AOpen MBs are all USB
ready, you may get latest BIOS from AOpen web site
(http://www.aopen.com.tw). Our latest BIOS includes the keyboard driver
(called Legacy mode), that simulates USB keyboard to act as AT or PS/2
keyboard and makes it possible to use USB keyboard if you don't have driver
in your OS. For other USB devices, you may get the drivers from your
device vendor or from OS (such as Win95). Be sure to turn off "USB Legacy
Support" in BIOS "Chipset Setup" if you have another driver in your OS.

Q: What is P1394?

A: P1394 (IEEE 1394) is another standard of high-speed serial peripheral bus.

Unlike low or medium speed USB, P1394 supports 50 to 1000Mbit/s and can
be used for video camera, disk and LAN. Since P1394 is still under
development, , there is no P1394 device currently available in the PC market.
Also, there is no chipset that can support P1394. Probably in the near future,
a card will be developed to support P1394 device.

Q: What is SMBus (System Management Bus, also called I2C bus)?

A: SMBus is a two-wire bus developed for component communication

(especially for semiconductor IC). It is most useful for notebook to detect
component status and replace hardware configuration pin (pull-high or pull­low). For example, disabling clock of DIMM that does not exist, or detecting
battery low condition. The data transfer rate of SMBus is only 100Kbit/s, it
allows one host to communicate with CPU and many masters and slaves to
send/receive message. The SMBus may be used for jumpless mainboard, the
components which support SMbus are not ready yet, we will keep eyes on it.

Q: When can we have real jumperless mainboard?

A: PnP had achieved the goal of jumperless add-on card, but true jumperless

mainboard still has some technical concerns. For example, CPU clock and

B-3

Frequently Asked Questions

voltage do not have standard interface. Currently, the so called jumperless
mainboard is actually depends on the BIOS to detect or manually set the
CPU clock and voltage. If the setting is wrong, it will cause system unstable
or damage after long time use. The other disadvantage is, because some of
the jumper setting information is stored in CMOS, if the battery is lost or BIOS
setup is accidentally changed, end user (or distributor) may need to open the
housing and check the CPU again.

Most of all, you need a start voltage to boot CPU and go into BIOS for
jumperless setting. 2.85V may be OK for P55C and K6-166, but minimum
voltage of K6-233MHz is 3.1V, it can not boot if user plugs K6-233 onto
current jumperless mainboard.

We probably need to wait after the mature of SMbus, if CPU and clock
generator and other ICs are all SMbus compliance. Chipset can then detect
and report the system configuration right after power on. Then we can have
true jumperless mainboard.

Q: What is PBSRAM (Pipelined Burst SRAM)?

A: For Pentium CPU, the Burst means reading four QWord (Quad-word, 4x16 =

64 bits) continuously with only the first address decoded by SRAM. The
PBSRAM will automatically send the remaining three QWord to CPU
according to predefined sequence. The normal address decoding time for
SRAM is 2 to 3 clocks. This makes the CPU data read timing of four QWord
to be at least 3-2-2-2 and a total of 9 clocks if traditional asynchronous SRAM
is used. However, with PBSRAM, there is no need to decode address for rest
three Qword. Therefore, data read timing can be 3-1-1-1, that is equivalent to
6 clocks and is faster than asynchronous SRAM.

Q: What is EDO (Extended Data Output) memory?

A: The EDO DRAM technology of EDO is actually very similar to FPM (Fast

Page Mode). Unlike traditional FPM that tri-states the memory output data to
start the pre-charge activity, EDO DRAM holds the memory data valid until
the next memory access cycle, that is similar to pipeline effect and reduces
one clock state.

Q: What is SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM)?

A: The SDRAM is a new generation DRAM technology that allows DRAM to use

the same clock as the CPU host bus (EDO and FPM are asynchronous and
do not have clock signal). The idea is the same as "Burst" (refer to the
previous Q & A). It requires only one clock for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th QWord
(for example, 5-1-1-1 compares with EDO 5-2-2-2). The SDRAM comes in
64-bit 168-pin DIMM (Dual-in-line Memory Module) and operates at 3.3V.
Note that some old DIMMs are made by FPM/EDO and only operate at 5V.
Do not confuse them with SDRAM DIMM. AOpen is the first company to
support dual-SDRAM DIMMs onboard (AP5V), from Q1 1996.

B-4

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can SDRAM DIMM work together with FPM/EDO SIMM?

A: The FPM/EDO operate at 5V while SDRAM operates at 3.3V. The current

MB design provides different power to DIMM and SIMM but connects the data
bus together. If you combine SIMM and DIMM, the system will still work fine;
however, only temporarily. After a few months, the SDRAM 3.3V data input
will be damaged by 5V FPM/EDO data output line. Therefore, we strongly
NOT recommend DIMM and SIMM combined together. There is one
exception, if your SDRAM supports 5V tolerance (such as TI or Samsung),
which accepts 5V signal at 3.3V operating power, you can combine them.

Manufacturer Model Suggested CAS

Latency Time

Samsung KM416511220AT-G12 2 Yes
NEC D4S16162G5-A12-7JF 2 No
Hitachi HM5216805TT10 2 No
TI TMX626812DGE-12 2 Yes
TI TMS626812DGE-15 3 Yes
TI TMS626162DGE-15 3 Yes
TI TMS626162DGE-M67 3 Yes

5V Tolerance

Q: What is Bus Master IDE (DMA mode)?

A: The traditional PIO (Programmable I/O) IDE requires the CPU to involve in all

the activities of the IDE access including waiting for the mechanical events.
To reduce the workload of the CPU, the bus master IDE device transfers data
from/to memory without interrupting CPU, and releases CPU to operate
concurrently while data is transferring between memory and IDE device. You
need the bus master IDE driver and the bus master IDE HDD to support bus
master IDE mode. Note that it is different with master/slave mode of the IDE
device connection. For more details, refer to section 2.3 "Connectors".

Q: What is the Ultra DMA/33?

A: This is the new specification to improve IDE HDD data transfer rate. Unlike

traditional PIO mode, which only uses the rising edge of IDE command signal
to transfer data, the DMA/33 uses both rising edge and falling edge. Hence,
the data transfer rate is double of the PIO mode 4 or DMA mode 2. (16.6MB/s
x2 = 33MB/s).

The following table lists the transfer rate of IDE PIO and DMA modes. The
IDE bus is 16-bit, which means every transfer is two bytes.

Mode Clock per Clock Cycle Data Transfer rate

B-5

Frequently Asked Questions

33MHz
PCI

PIO mode 0 30ns 20 600ns (1/600ns) x 2byte = 3.3MB/s
PIO mode 1 30ns 13 383ns (1/383ns) x 2byte = 5.2MB/s
PIO mode 2 30ns 8 240ns (1/240ns) x 2byte = 8.3MB/s
PIO mode 3 30ns 6 180ns (1/180ns) x 2byte = 11.1MB/s
PIO mode 4 30ns 4 120ns (1/120ns) x 2byte = 16.6MB/s
DMA mode 0 30ns 16 480ns (1/480ns) x 2byte = 4.16MB/s
DMA mode 1 30ns 5 150ns (1/150ns) x 2byte = 13.3MB/s
DMA mode 2 30ns 4 120ns (1/120ns) x 2byte = 16.6MB/s

DMA/33

Q: What is PnP (Plug and Play)?

A: In the past, the IRQ/DMA and memory or I/O space of add-on cards are

normally set manually, i.e., by jumper or by proprietary utility. The user has to
check the user's guide for the correct setting. Sometimes, resource conflict
occurs and this leads to unstable system. The PnP specification suggests a
standard register interface for both BIOS and OS (such as Win95). These
registers are used by BIOS and OS to configure system resource and prevent
any conflicts. The IRQ/DMA/Memory will be automatically allocated by PnP
BIOS or OS.

Currently, almost all the PCI cards and most ISA cards are PnP compliant. If
you are still using a Legacy ISA card that cannot support PnP, set the
corresponding resource (IRQ/DMA/memory) to ISA in the BIOS "PCI/PnP
Setup".

30ns 4 120ns (1/120ns) x 2byte x2 = 33MB/s

count time

Q: What is ACPI (Advanced Configuration & Power Interface) and OnNow?

A: The ACPI is new power management specification of 1997 (PC97). It intends

to save more power by taking full control of power management to operating
system and not through BIOS. Because of this, the chipset or super I/O chip
needs to provide standard register interface to OS (such as Win97) and
provides the ability for OS to shutdown and resume power of different part of
chip. The idea is a bit similar to the PnP register interface.

ACPI defines momentary soft power switch to control the power state
transition. Most likely, it uses the ATX form factor with momentary soft power
switch. The most attractive part of ACPI for desktop user is probably the
"OnNow" feature, an idea from notebook. This feature allows you to
immediately resume to your original work without the long time waiting from
bootup, entering Win95 and running Winword. The AX5T with Intel TX
chipset can support ACPI.

B-6

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Modem Wake Up?

A: With the help of ACPI OnNow and ATX soft power On/Off, it is possible to

have system totally power off (The traditional suspend mode of power
management function does not really turn off the system power supply), and
wakeup to automatically answer a phone call such as answering machine or
to send/receive fax. You may identify the true power off by checking fan of
your power supply. Both external box modem and internal modem card can
be used to support Modem Wake Up, but if you use external modem, you
have to keep the box modem always power-on. AOpen AX5T/AX58 and
internal modem card implement special circuit (patent applied) and make
sure the modem card works properly without any power. We recommend you
choose AOpen modem card (F56 or MP56) for Modem Wake Up
applications.

Q: What is the Suspend to Hard Drive?

A: This is the same as Notebook. You can resume your original work directly

from hard disk without go through the Win95 booting process and run your
application again. Suspend to Hard Drive saves your current work (system
status, memory image) into hard disk. If your memory is 16MB, normally, you
need to reserve at least 16MB HDD space to save your memory image. ACPI
OnNow is possible to do the same function, since the ACPI specification is
not fully ready. AOpen AP5T/AX5T/AX58 support Suspend to Hard Drive
through BIOS. Note that you have to use VESA compatible VGA (AOpen S3
Trio64V+ PV60), Sound Blaster compatible sound card (AOpen AW32 or
MP32) for Suspend to Hard Drive to work properly. Of course, we recommend
to use AOpen products for maximum compatibility.

Q: Why will the system BIOS assign an IRQ to the PCI VGA card?

A: Based on the PCI/PnP specification, system BIOS will automatically assign

an IRQ to each PCI add-on card detected regardless of VGA requirement. If
you do not want BIOS to assign an IRQ to the installed PCI VGA card, enter
the BIOS PCI/PnP Setup and set the specific PCI slot IRQ Priority to "None".

Q: Does Pentium or Pentium Pro MB support Deturbo mode?

A: The Deturbo mode was originally designed to slow down CPU speed for old

applications (especially old games). It uses programming loop to wait or
delay special event. This programming method is considered very bad since
the delay of loop highly depends on the CPU speed and the application fails
at high-speed CPU. Almost all new applications (including games) use RTC
or interrupt to wait event. There is no need for Deturbo mode now. The
Turbo switch is now used as Suspend switch. However, some MBs still
support Turbo/Deturbo function via keyboard. You can set the system to
Deturbo by pressing <Ctrl> <Alt> <->. To back to Turbo mode, press <Ctrl>
<Alt> <+>. Note that the Deturbo mode has been removed in new MBs since
these require more code space in Flash ROM.

B-7

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Power Management Icon does not appear in the Windows 95 Control Panel

even though the APM under BIOS Setup is enabled.

A: This problem occurs if you did not enable the APM function before you install

Windows 95. If you have already installed Windows 95, re-install it after the
BIOS APM function is enabled.

Q: Why does the system fail to go into suspend mode under Win95?

A: This problem may be caused by your CDROM settings. The CDROM Auto

Insert Notification of Win95 is dafault enabled, the system will continue to
monitor your CDROM, auto-execute application when a CD diskette is
loaded, and prevents the system from entering into suspend mode. To
resolve this, go into Control Panel è System è Device Manager è CDROM
è Setting, and disable the "Auto Insert Notification" function.

Q: What is Windows 95 Registry?

A: The functions of Windows 95 Registry and the Windows 3.1 INI files are

almost the same. Both store the hardware and software configurations. The
only difference is that Registry is a database while INI is text file. You can run
REGEDIT.EXE to further understand the Registry structure. Checking and
studying the structure of this file will help you solve some configuration
problems.

Q: How to solve the error message "System Resource Conflict" on the

BIOS POST screen?

A: This error message appears when PnP BIOS detects a resource conflict while

initializing the system resource during POST. You may try to force the PnP
BIOS to reconfigure the resource by pressing <Ins> during POST.

Q: Which version of the Windows '95 that I am using?

A: You may determine the version of Windows '95 by following steps.

1. Double click "System" in "Control Panel".

2. Click "General".

3. Look for "System" heading & refer to following,

4.00.950 Windows 95

4.00.950A Windows 95 + Service Pack or OEM Service Release 1

4.00.950B OEM Service Release 2 or OEM Service Release 2.1

If you are running OSR 2.1, you may tell it from by checking "USB
Supplement to OSR2" in the list of installed program of Add/Remove

B-8

Frequently Asked Questions

program tool under Control Panel, and checking for version 4.03.1212 of the
Ntkern.vxd file in the Windows\System\Vmm32 folder.

Q: What is LDCM (LAN Desktop Client Manager)?

A: This is a software of Intel. The major goal is to provide an easy way for

corporate network administrator to monitor the status of all the clients
(workstation). You need at least DMI BIOS for LDCM. AOpen BIOS is also
DMI ready but unfortunately, Intel LDCM needs Intel network and ATI VGA
card to work properly. It is obviously not suitable for home user to pay LDCM
extra cost.

B-9