AOpen AX53-3 User Manual

Chapter 3

AMI BIOS Utility

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 c. 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 v to highlight the selected group
or simply click on the icon of the selected Setup menu.

3-1

AMI BIOS Utility

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

You can press h to enter the BIOS Setup screen. This
procedure allows you to do 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).

• Reset to BIOS default settings if the PnP BIOS

does not recognize the hardware modifications
under Windows 95.

3.2 Setup Menu

The screen below shows the Setup menu 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:

3-2

AMI BIOS Utility

This menu allows you to input configuration values such as date, time and disk
types.

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 e. The following screen appears:

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:

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

3-3

AMI BIOS Utility

disk or IDE device. Select CD-ROM or Auto 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. Set this to 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.

3-4

AMI BIOS Utility

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.

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. The default setting is 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.

3-5

AMI BIOS Utility

HARD DISK TYPES

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

Select your hard disk type. Press w or y to move among the selections. After
you have made your selection, press e.
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 e. The following
screen appears:

Use the arrow keys to move among the items. Press or click on + or - to set
the current time and date. Press e or double-click on the Control menu box in
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:

3-6

AMI BIOS Utility

After selecting the proper setting, press e.
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:

The first screen does not show all the parameters of the Advanced
Configuration menu. To scroll down the rest of the parameters, press }. Press

w or y to highlight the desired parameter.

3-7

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

3-8

AMI BIOS Utility

Power-on Delay

This parameter lets you set the POST waiting time for the HDD motor to
stabilize before system boot. The settings are from 1 to 15 seconds and

Disabled. The default setting is Disabled.

Boot-up Sequence

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

C:, CD-ROM / C:, CD-ROM, A: / CD-ROM, A:, C:,

and CD-ROM, C:, A:. 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 disregard the function. Disabling the
numeric function allows you to use the cursor control numeric keypad. The
default setting is Off.

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

Typematic Rate

This parameter determines the number of characters that can be entered per
second. The default is 30.

System Keyboard

Set this parameter to Present if there is a keyboard connected to the
system. Otherwise, select Absent.

3-9

AMI BIOS Utility

Primary Display

This function detects the type of VGA 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 or

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.

Parity Check

Set this parameter to Enabled if you install SIMMs with parity in your
system. Otherwise, set this parameter to Disabled. Since the DRAM can
still operate without enabling the parity scheme for SIMMs with parity, this
function is normally set to Disabled.

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.

Internal Cache

This function lets you enable or disable the internal cache.

External Cache

This function lets you enable or disable the external cache.

3-10

AMI BIOS Utility

System BIOS Cacheable

Enabling this parameter allows you to cache the system BIOS to further system
performance. Leave the parameter setting to its default (i.e., Disabled), to
prevent the system BIOS from being cached.

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 default setting is

Disabled.

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 w or y to highlight the
desired parameter.

3-12

AMI BIOS Utility

430HX Global Features

This option lets you enable or disable the 430HX chip features. To optimize
system performance, set this parameter to Enabled. Select Disabled to
disregard the option.
The default setting is Disabled.

Memory Hole

This option lets you reserve system memory area for ISA cards. The settings
are 512~640K, 15~16M, and Disabled.

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 1-7 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.

DRAM Timing

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.

DRAM REFRESH RATE

This option lets you specify the frequency at which the chipset refreshes the
DRAM to avoid data lost. The selections are 50 MHz, 60 MHz, and

66 MHz.

ISA CLOCK DIVISOR

This option specifies the ISA clock frequency. The selections are

PCICLK/4 and PCICLK/3.

3-13

AMI BIOS Utility

TURBO READ LEAD OFF

When enabled, BIOS skips the first input register in the DRAM when reading
data and therefore, speeds up the data read timings. Disable the option to
bypass the feature.

DRAM READ BURST TIMING

This parameter sets the timing for burst mode reads from DRAM. Everytime
the CPU reads the second-level cache miss, it reads four continuous memory
cycles on four continuous addresses from the DRAM.
The available parameter settings are X-4-4-4, X-3-3-3, and X-2-

2-2. Faster DRAMs require shorter wait states. The value of X depends on

the DRAM Lead-off Timing parameter setting. The default is X-4-4-4.

DRAM WRITE BURST TIMING

This parameter sets the timing for burst mode writes to DRAM. DRAM burst
write requests are generated by the CPU in four continuous addresses.
The available parameter settings are X-4-4-4, X-3-3-3, and X-2-

2-2. Faster DRAMs require shorter wait states. The value of X depends on

the DRAM Lead-off Timing parameter setting.

FAST RAS TO CAS DELAY (CLOCKS)

This option specifies the wait state between the row address strobe (RAS) and
column address strobe (CAS) signals. The available settings are 3 and 2.

DRAM LEAD-OFF TIMING (DLT)

This option specifies the lead-off time before data can be accessed. Some
DRAMs may require a longer delay to access data.

SPECULATIVE LEAD OFF

Enable the parameter to speed up the data read action by presenting the
DRAM controller read request before the controller chip decodes the data to
the final memory target (i.e., cache, DRAM or PCI).

TURN AROUND INSERTION

Enabling this option allows the CPU to insert one turn-around clock cycle to
the MD signals after asserting the MWE signal before enabling the MD
buffers. Set this to Disabled to select the back-to-back DRAM cycles for
asserting MWE signal.

3-14

AMI BIOS Utility

Peer Concurrency

Enable this parameter if you want to activate more than one PCI device.
Otherwise, set this to Disabled.

Memory Error Check Mode

This parameter allows you to set the DRAM error checking mode. The
options are ECC, Parity, and Disabled.

PCI 2.1 Compliant

This parameter lets you enable or disable the PIIX3 PCI register delay
transaction and 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. Disable the parameter to disregard the function. The default
is Disabled.

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 only if the VGA requests
for it.

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:

3-15

AMI BIOS Utility

To scroll down the rest of the parameters, press }. Use w or y 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 Timeout (Minutes)

This parameter is configurable only if the Power Management/APM parameter
is set to Instant On. This 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 and Suspend.

Display 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.

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.

Hard Disk Timeout (Minutes)

This option lets you set when to put the hard disk to the specified power-down
mode.

Standby Timeout (Minutes)

This function lets you set when to put the system to 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 min.

Suspend Timeout (Minutes)

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

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.

3-17

AMI BIOS Utility

IRQ 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15

If you set any of these parameters to Monitor, the chipset checks the activity of
the selected IRQs. Any activity detected prevents the system from entering the
power-saving mode.
If you set any of these parameters to Wake up, any activity detected from the
selected IRQs wakes the system from power-saving 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 if you select PCI/PnP from the Setup menu.

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

3-19

AMI BIOS Utility

Plug-and-Play Aware O/S

Enable this parameter only if you have a Plug-and-Play operating system such
as Windows 95. This is to ensure that the PnP cards are initialized during
POST and proper resources are allocated to each card by the Plug-and-Play
operating 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 activates the
palette snooping function in the PCI VGA devices. Check your VGA card
manual for more information about this function. The default setting is

Disabled.

PCI IDE Card

This function allows you to select the PCI slots that you want to enable, if
there are 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 card connector. The settings are INTA, INTB, INTC,

3-20

AMI BIOS Utility

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 card connector. The settings are INTA, INTB, INTC,

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

is set to Auto, this parameter becomes non-configurable.

PCI Slot 1, 2, 3, and 4 IRQ Priority

These parameters let you specify the appropriate interrupt for each occupied
PCI slots.

DMA Channel 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7

These lines allow you to assign the available DMA channels to either PnP
device or Legacy/ISA functions.

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

These lines allow you to assign the available IRQs to either PCI/PnP or
Legacy/ISA devices.

Reserved Memory Size for ISA

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

Reserved Memory Base for ISA

This option lets you specify the memory base of the specified memory area
reserved for Legacy/ISA devices to avoid conflict.

3.2.6 Peripheral Setup

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

3-21

AMI BIOS Utility

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.
Selecting Disabled deactivates the port.

Onboard Serial Port 2

This parameter allows you to select the address for the second serial port.
Selecting Disabled deactivates the port.

SERIAL PORT 2 MODE

This parameter is configurable only if the Onboard Serial Port 2 parameter is
enabled. This 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.

• 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.

3-22

AMI BIOS Utility

• 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. Selecting

Disabled deactivates the parallel port.

PARALLEL PORT IRQ

This parameter is configurable only if the Onboard Parallel Port is NOT set to

Auto. This allows you to set an IRQ for the parallel port function. The

available IRQ selections are 5 and 7.

PARALLEL PORT MODE

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

EPP and ECP.

Onboard IDE

This parameter enables or disables the onboard IDE controller.

3.3 Security Setup

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

3-23

AMI BIOS Utility

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 (refer to section 3.2.2).
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:

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 e.

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 e.

3. Enter the password when a confirmation box appears.

3-24

AMI BIOS Utility

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 Setup.

3-25

AMI BIOS Utility

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.

3.4 Utility Setup

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

3-26

AMI BIOS Utility

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 old
values. Select No to keep your current settings or Yes to restore the original
values.

3-28

AMI BIOS Utility

3.5.2 Optimal

When you select Optimal, a dialog box prompts you to load the optimal
values. Select No to keep your current settings or Yes to load the optimal
values. We recommend that you select Yes to ensure stable system
performance.

3.5.3 Turbo

When you select Turbo, a dialog box prompts you to load the Turbo values,
such as setting the DRAM speed to 60 ns. Select No to keep your current
settings or Yes to load the Turbo values.
Loading the Turbo values enhance system performance. However, if
instability problem occurs during system operation, we recommend that you
load the Optimal values.

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.

3-29

AMI BIOS Utility

Press y or w key then e 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.

3.7 NCR SCSI BIOS and Drivers

The NCR 53C810 SCSI BIOS resides in the same flash memory chip as the
system BIOS. To use the onboard NCR BIOS, 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.

3-30

AMI BIOS Utility

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

3-31