Chapter 1
Overview
MX3W is a new generation Socket 370 based system board that utilizes Intel
810 AGPset on Micro ATX PCI/ISA platform. This AGPset is designed for
Celeron PPGA CPU, and supports new architectures such as high speed AGP
graphic port, PC100 SDRAM, AMR slot, Ultra DMA 33/66, Bus master IDE,
PCI 2.2 and USB port. It has two Dual in-line Memory Module (DIMM) slots
that allow to install PC100 SDRAMs and expand up to a maximum of 512MB.
Also, MX3W uses 4M bit Flash ROM BIOS to reserve for future new functions.
In addition to the above features, MX3W also implements many special
features as follows.
Jumper-less Design Celeron PPGA VID signal and SMbus clock generator
provide CPU voltage auto-detection and allows the user to set the CPU
frequency through the CMOS setup, therefore no jumpers or switches are used.
The correct CPU information is saved into the EEPROM. With these
technologies, the disadvantages of the Pentium based jumper-less designs are
eliminated. There will be no worry of wrong CPU voltage detection and no need
to re-open the housing in case of CMOS battery loss. The only jumper left is to
clear the CMOS, which is a safety hook if you forget the password.
Battery-less This motherboard implements EEPROM and a special circuit
(patent applied) that allows you to save your current CPU and CMOS Setup
configurations without the need of a battery. The RTC (real time clock) can also
keep running as long as the power cord is plugged. If you lose your CMOS data
by accident, you can just reload the CMOS configurations from EEPROM and
the system will recover as usual.
ACPI Suspend to DRAM You can resume your original work directly from
DRAM without going through the Win98 booting process and run your
application again. Suspend to DRAM saves your current work into the system
memory.
ACPI Suspend to Hard Drive The conventional "Suspend to Hard Drive"
function is a private design of AOpen motherboards, the requirement to run it is
a BIOS revision and correct chipset that supports this function. However,
nowadays "Suspend to Hard Drive" has been become widely known as the "S4
1-1
Overview
- Hibernation" state defined in the ACPI specification; in this case not only the
BIOS itself but also the operation system (i.e. Windows98) and even the display
card are involved in the execution of this function. With regard to how to
implement this function, please refer to section “1.3 ACPI Suspend to Hard
Drive”.
0V Wake On Modem In conjunction with ATX soft power On/Off, it is possible
to have the system totally power off and wakeup to automatically answer a
phone call to serve as an answering machine or to send/receive a fax. The
most important break through is not only an externally cased modem but also
an internal modem card can be used to support Wake On Modem. This
motherboard and MP56 internal modem card implement a special circuit
(patent applied) to make sure the modem card works properly without any
power.
Wake On LAN This feature is very similar as the Wake On Modem feature, but
it is through a local area network. To use the Wake On LAN function, you must
have a network card that supports this feature and have installed proper
network management software, such as ADM.
Wake On RTC Timer The Wake Up Timer is more like an alarm, which wakes
up and powers on your system at a pre-defined time for a specific application. It
can be set to wake up everyday or on specific date within a month. The
date/time is accurate to within a second.
Wake On Keyboard This function allows you to power on your system by
clicking the hot key that you specified. Besides, you also may disable the
function of power button and let the system can only be powered on through
the preset keys (like a password).
Wake On Mouse This function allows you power on the system by clicking a
specified mouse button twice successively.
AC Power Auto Recovery A traditional ATX system should remain at power
off stage when AC power resumes from power failure. This design is
inconvenient for a network server or workstation, without an UPS, that needs to
keep power-on. This motherboard implements an AC Power Auto Recovery
function to solve this problem. In BIOS Setup settings if this item is set to
“Enabled” the system will automatically power-on after AC power resumes.
High Efficient Synchronous Switching Regulator Most of the current
switching designs are Asynchronous mode, which from the technical point of
view, still consumes very high power as well as heat. MX3W implements high
efficient synchronous switching design that the temperature of MOS FET is far
less than Schottky diode of asynchronous design.
Over Current Protection The Over Current Protection was very popular
implemented on the Baby AT or ATX 3.3V/5V/12V switching power supply.
However, the new generation Celeron PPGA CPU uses different voltage that
have regulator to transfer 5V to CPU voltage (for example, 2.0V), and make 5V
1-2
Overview
over current protection useless. MX3W with switching regulator onboard
support CPU over current protection, in conjunction with 3.3V/5V/12V power
supply provide the full line over current protection.
CPU and Housing Fan Monitoring This motherboard has one more "fan
monitoring" function to prevent system overheat. There are two fan connectors.
One is for the CPU and the other can be an extra housing fan. The system will
report an alarm fan malfunction through utility software such as Hardware
Monitoring Utility.
CPU Thermal Protection MX3W has a special thermal detection circuit to
have warning through application software when the temperature is higher than
a predefined value.
System Voltage Monitoring Further more, MX3W implements a voltage
monitoring system, As you turn on your system, this smart design will continue
to monitor your system working voltage. If any of the system voltage is over the
component's standard. There will be alarm though utility software such as
Hardware Monitor utility (Small Icon for Hardware Monitoring) for a warning to
user.
Full-range CPU core voltage This motherboard supports the CPU core
voltage from 1.3V to 2.05V, that can be applied to various CPU type in future.
Resetable Fuse This motherboard implements resetable fuses to prevent any
accidental short circuit caused by keyboard or USB devices hot plug.
FCC DoC certificate MX3W has passed FCC DoC test. The radiation is very
low, you can use any kind of housing.
Powerful Utility Software AOpen Bonus Pack CD disc contains many useful
utilities, such as Norton Antivirus, AOchip, Hardware Monitoring utility, and
Suspend to Hard Drive utility.
Note: This motherboard is battery-less, that means the RTC
(real time clock) can keep running without battery as long as
the power cord is plugged. But in case of power failure or the
power cord unplugged, you need to reset date and time from
"Standard CMOS Setup" section of BIOS Setup. For more
information, please see "Chapter 3 BIOS Setup".
1-3
Overview
1.1 Specifications
Form Factor
Board Size
CPU
System Memory
Chipset
Onboard AGP
Audio CODEC
Expansion Slots
Serial Port
Parallel Port
Floppy Interface
IDE Interface
USB Interface
PS/2 Mouse
Keyboard
RTC and Battery
BIOS
Micro ATX
244 mm x 220 mm
Celeron PPGA
168-pin DIMM x2, maximum 512 PC100 SDRAM.
Intel 810 AGPset
Intel I752 (Onboard 4MB Display Cache)
AD1881
PCI x3 and AMR x1
Two serial ports UART 16C550 compatible, and the
3rd UART for IR function.
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 , bus master hard disk
drives and Ultra DMA 33/66 mode hard drives are also
supported.
Two USB ports supported by USB bracket, the BIOS
also supports USB driver to simulate legacy keyboard.
Mini-Din PS/2 mouse connector onboard.
Mini-Din PS/2 keyboard connector onboard.
RTC within Intel ICH chipset. Lithium (CR-2032)
battery is an option, no battery is needed if power cord
is plugged.
AWARD Plug-and-Play, 4M bit Flash ROM BIOS.
1-4
Overview
1.2 ACPI Suspend to Hard Drive
For a detailed installation procedure please refer to the following procedure to
enable ACPI Suspend to Hard Drive on the AOpen MX3W motherboard. First
please check if your system meets the following requirements, then follow the
procedure step by step.
System Requirement
1. AOZVHDD.EXE 1.30b or later (http://www.aopen.com.tw/tech/mbdrv/
default.htm#Suspend to Hard Disk Drivers).
2. Delete config.sys and autoexec.bat.
I. Fresh installation
1. Execute "Setup.exe /p j" to install Windows 98.
2. After Windows 98's installation is completed, go to Control Panel --> Power
Management.
a. Set "Power Schemes -> System Standby" to "Never".
b. Click on "Hibernate" and select "Enable Hibernate Support" then "Apply".
c. Click on the "Advanced" tab, you'll see "Hibernate" on "Power Buttons".
Note that this option will only be seen after step b mentioned above has
been completed, otherwise only "Standby" and "Shutdown" will be shown.
Select "Hibernate" and "Apply".
3. Run AOZVHDD utility.
a. If you assign the whole disk to your Win 98 system (FAT 16 or FAT 32),
please run "aozvhdd /c /file" in DOS mode. Please remember sufficient
free space has to be reserved in the disk, e.g. if you have 64 MB DRAM
and 16 MB VGA card installed, the system needs at least 80 MB free
space. The utility will locate the space automatically.
b. If you assign an individual partition for Win 98, please run "aozvhdd /c
/partition". Of course, the system needs to provide unformatted an empty
partition.
4. Reboot system.
5. You've already implemented ACPI with Suspend-to-Harddisk. Click "Start ->
Shut Down -> Standby" then the screen will go off immediately. And 1
minute or so will be taken for the system to save what's in the memory to the
harddrive; the larger the memory size the longer this process will take.
1-5
Overview
II. Changing from APM to ACPI (Windows 98 only)
1. Run "Regedit.exe"
a. Go through the following path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SOFTWARE
MICROSOFT
WINDOWS
CURRENT VERSION
DETECT
b. Select "ADD Binary" and name it as "ACPIOPTION".
c. Right click and select Modify, add "01" after "0000" to make it "0000 01".
d. Save changes.
2. Select "Add New Hardware" under Control Panel. Allow Windows 98 to
detect new hardware. (It will find "ACPI BIOS" and remove "Plug and Play
BIOS")
3. Reboot system.
4. Clean boot into DOS and run "AOZVHDD.EXE /C /File"
III. Changing from ACPI to APM
1. Run "Regedit.exe"
a. Go through the following path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SOFTWARE
MICROSOFT
WINDOWS
CURRENT VERSION
DETECT
ACPI OPTION
b. Right click and select Modify, change "01" to "00" to make it "0000 02".
<Note> "02" means Windows 98 is ACPI acknowledged but disable ACPI
function.
c. Save changes.
1-6
Overview
2. Select "Add New Hardware" under Control Panel. Allow Windows 98 to
detect new hardware. (It will find "Plug and Play BIOS" and remove "ACPI
BIOS")
3. Reboot system.
4. Run "Add New Hardware" again and it will find "Advanced Power
Management Resource".
5. Click "OK".
1-7
Overview
1.3 ACPI Suspend to DRAM
This motherboard supports ACPI Suspend to DRAM function. With this function,
you can resume your original work directly from DRAM without going through
the Win98 booting process and run your application again. Suspend to DRAM
saves your current work into the system memory. To implement ACPI Suspend
to DRAM, please follow the procedures as below.
System Requirement
1. An ACPI OS is required. Currently, Windows 98 is the only choice. (Please
refer to 1.2 for details.)
2. The Intel INF Update Utility and the AGP driver must be installed properly.
Procedures
1. Changed the following BIOS settings.
BIOS Setup à Power Management à ACPI Function: Enabled.
BIOS Setup à Power Management à ACPI Standby: S3.
2. Go to Control Panel --> Power Management. Set “Power Buttons” to
“Standby”.
3. Press power button or standby button to wake up the system.
1-8
Overview
1.4 Wake On Keyboard/Mouse
This function allows you to power on your system by clicking a hot key or a
mouse button that you specified. Besides, you can also disable the function of
the power button and only the preset keys (like a password) can boot your
system.
Please follow the procedure below to enable Wake on Keyboard/Mouse
function.
1. Set JP28 at pin 2-3 is to enable this function
2. Go to BIOS Setup à Integrated Peripherals à Power On Function. You can
select various wakeup modes. For details, please refer to “Chapter 3
AWAED BIOS”
3. Save CMOS setup and Exit.
4. Successfully boot your system to Windows or DOS.
5. Now you can proceed the normal shutdown and next time you can use this
function to boot your system.
1-9
Overview
Caution: To implement this function, the 5V Stand
By current of ATX power supply must be greater
than 800mA.
Caution: Wake On Mouse function applies to PS/2
mouse only
Caution: The mouse can’t be moved between
double clicking.
Caution: If you set a Password but forget it, please
clear CMOS.
Caution: If you want to use Wake On Mouse
function in DOS, it is necessary to install the DOS
driver of the mouse.
1-10
Overview
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1.5 Zero Voltage Wake On Modem
The Wake on Modem discussed here is to wakeup from true power off
(identified by fan of power supply is off), This motherboard still supports
traditional green PC suspend mode but it is not discussed here.
With the help 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 0V Wake On Modem,
but if you use external modem, you have to keep the box modem always
power-on. AOpen MX3W 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 (For example, FM56-P,
FM56-H, etc.) for 0V Wake On Modem applications.
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1-11
Overview
For Internal Modem Card (AOpen FM56-P):
1. Go into BIOS setup, Power Management à 0V Wake On Modem, select
Enabled.
2. Setup your application, put into Windows 95.
3. Turn system power off by soft power switch.
4. Connect 4-pin Modem Ring-On cable from FM56-P RING connector to
MX3W connector WKUP.
5. Connect telephone line to FM56-P. You are now ready to use Wake On
Modem.
For External Box Modem:
1. Go into BIOS setup, Power Management à 0V Wake On Modem, select
Enabled.
2. Setup your application, put into Windows 95 Start Up.
3. Turn system power off by soft power switch.
4. Connect RS232 cable of external box Modem to COM1 or COM2.
5. Connect telephone line to external box Modem. Turn on Modem power (you
must keep Modem power always on). You are now ready to use Wake On
Modem.
Tip: External 0V Wake On Modem signal is detected
through COM1 or COM2. Internal modem card wake up
signal is detected through cable from connector RING (on
modem card) to WKUP (on mainboard).
1-12
Note: If you use external modem, the power of external
modem must be kept on to receive signal from telephone
line. Internal modem card has no such limitation.
Overview
1.6 System Voltage Monitoring
This motherboard implements a voltage monitoring system. As you turn on your
system, this smart design will continue to monitor your system’s working
voltage. If any of the system’s voltage is over the component's standard there
will be an alarm through application software such as the Hardware Monitoring
Utility to warn the user. The system voltage monitoring function monitors CPU
core voltage. It is automatically implemented by the BIOS and Hardware
Monitoring Utility (the program’s file name is like aohwxxx.exe, where xxx
means the version number), no hardware installation is needed.
1.7 Fan Monitoring
There are two fan connectors, one is for the CPU, and the other can be a
housing fan. The fan monitoring function is implemented by connecting a fan to
the 3-pin fan connector CPUFAN1 or FAN1 and installing the Hardware
Monitoring Utility.
1-13
Overview
1.8 CPU Thermal Protection
This motherboard implements special thermal protection circuits. When
temperature is higher than a predefined value, there will be warning through
application software such as the Hardware Monitoring utility to notify the user. It
is automatically implemented by the BIOS and the Hardware Monitoring Utility,
no hardware installation is needed.
1.9 Battery-less Design
To preserve the earth, AOpen MX3W implements the battery-less motherboard
design. There is no need to have battery for RTC (real time clock) and CMOS
Setup as long as ATX power cable is plugged. In case of the AC power is
shutdown or power cord is removed by accident, the CMOS Setup and system
configuration can be restored from EEPROM, only the system clock needed to
be re-set to current date/time.
For the convenience of end user, MX3W still shipped with one Lithium (CR-
2032) battery. If you prefer to use battery, you can still insert it into battery
socket. The RTC will still keep running even power cord is removed.
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