AOpen n250a-FR Easy Installation Guide

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n250a / n250a-FR / n250a-L

Realtek Gigabit LAN chip

(for n250a-FR and n250a-L)

Realtek 10/100Mbps LAN chip

AUX-IN Connector

Onboard AC’97 CODEC

Front Audio Connector

Sel

power-consuming PCI cards

32-bit PCI Expansion Slots x5

SYSFAN2 Connector

Silicon Image Serial ATA Controller

JP25 BIOS Protection Jumper

JP24 BIOS Rescue Jumper

Su

orts 150 MB/s Transfer Rate

JP2 Speaker output Jumper

JP15/JP16 Dr. Voice II Language

Selection Jumper (only for n250a-FR)

Die-hard BIOS x2 (only for n250a-FR)

JP14 CMOS Data Clear Jumper

that supports high

(only for n250a-FR)

Game

S/PDIF Connector

Case Open Connector

IEEE1394 Connectors x 2

(only for n250a-FR)

USB 2.0 Connector

(only for n250a-FR)

(only for n250a-FR)

(only for n250a-FR)

Front Panel Connector

(only for n250a-FR)

AOpen reserves the right to revise all the specifications and information contained in this document, which are subject to change without notice.

(for n250a)

CD-IN Connector

-Powered PCI Slot

Port Connector

IrDA Connector

Serial ATA Ports

PS/2 Mouse

Connector

PS/2

Keyboard

USB 2.0

SPP/EPP/ECP Parallel Port

Ports

COM 1 Port

COM 2 Port

JP28 PS2 KB/Mouse Wakeup
J

Resetable Fuse

AGP Protection LED

4-pin 12V ATX Power Connector

3300μF Low ESR Capacitor

CPUFAN Connector

SYSFAN1 Connector

AGP 8X Expansion Slot that
supports 8X AGP card(2.1GB/s)

184-pin DIMMsx3 support
DDR400/333/266
Max. To 3GB

754-pin CPU socket with Voltage
and Frequency Auto-detection
that supports AMD
CPU

NVIDIA nForce3 250 Chipsets
that support DDR400/333/266
and AGP 8X

IDE Connectors x 2
(ATA66/100/133 supported)

ATX Power Connector

FDD Connector

RJ45

LAN Jack

USB 2.0

Ports

er

Line-In

Speaker
Out

MIC-In

TM

AthlonTM 64

Everything you need to boot this
motherboard is included in this
Easy Installation Guide. For more
information, a complete Online

User's Manual can be found in the
Bonus Pack CD. Thanks for the

help of saving our earth.

Easy Installation Guide x 1

Enhanced Full Pictured Manual x 1

40-Wire IDE Cable x 1 (only for n250a-FR)

80-Wire ATA 133 Cable x 1

Floppy Drive Cable x 1

Serial ATA Cable x 1

Serial ATA Power Cable x 1

IEEE 1394 Cable x 1 (only for n250a-FR)

USB 2.0+Game Port Cable x 1 (only for n250a-FR)

S/PDIF Cable x 1 (only for n250a-FR)

Bonus Pack CD x 1

Norton Anti-Virus CD x 1

Silicon Image Serial ATA Driver Diskette x 1
(only for n250a-FR)

I/O Shield x 1

PART NO: 49.8AN02.E01

DOC. NO: N250AFR-EG-E0404A

1. Installing CPU

3. Installing Memory Modules

This motherboard supports AMD® Athlon 64 Socket 754 CPU. Be careful of CPU
orientation when you plug it into CPU socket.

CPU socket lever

1. Pull up the CPU socket lever and up
to 90-degree angle.

2. Locate Pin 1 in the socket and look
for a (golden) cut edge on the CPU
upper interface. Match Pin 1 and
cut edge. Then insert the CPU into
the socket.

3. Press down the CPU socket lever
and finish CPU installation.

Socket Pin 1

Golden Cut Edge

Note: If you do not
match the CPU socket Pin 1
and CPU cut edge well, you
may damage the CPU.

2. Installing CPU & System Fans

Plug in the CPU fan cable to the 3-pin CPUFAN connector. If you have chassis fan,
you can also plug it in SYSFAN1 or SYSFAN2 connector.

SENSOR

+12V

GND

CPUFAN Connector

DIMM slots are designed in Navy Blue or Electronic Blue which are very easy to
recognize. Insert the module straight down to the DIMM slot with both hands and
press down firmly until the DIMM module is securely in place.

Tab

Pin 1

Key

Note: The tabs of

the DIMM slot will
close-up to hold the
DIMM in place when the
DIMM touches the slot’s
bottom.

4. Connecting IDE and Floppy Cables

Connect 34-pin floppy cable and 40-pin, 80-wire IDE cable to floppy connector FDD
and IDE connector. Be careful of the pin1 orientation. Wrong orientation may cause
system damage.

Secondary

Slave (4th)

Secondary

Master (3rd)

IDE 2 (Secondary)

SYSFAN2 Connector

GND
+12V
SENSOR

SENSOR

+12V

GND

SYSFAN1 Connector

Note: Some CPU fans
do not have sensor pin so
they cannot support fan
monitoring.

Pin 1

FDD Connector

Pin 1

Slave (2nd)

Primary

IDE 1 (Primary)

Primary

Master (1st)

ATA 66/100/133

IDE Connector

This motherboard comes with a 20-pin and 4-pin ATX power connector as shown
below. Make sure you plug in the right direction. We strongly recommend you to
insert the 4-pin connector before connecting the 20-pin connector.

5. Connecting ATX Power Cables

6. Connecting Front Panel Cable

7. Power-on and Loading BIOS Setup

After you finish the setting of jumpers and connect correct cables. Power
on and enter the BIOS Setup, press <Del> during POST (Power On Self

Del

Test ) .

Choose "Load Setup Defaults" for recommended optimal

performance.

Warning: Please avoid of using "Load Turbo Defaults", unless you are sure your

system components (CPU, RAM, HDD, etc.) are good enough for turbo setting.

8. AOpen Bonus Pack CD

Attach the power LED, speaker, and reset switch connectors to the corresponding
pins. If you enable “Suspend Mode” item in BIOS Setup, the ACPI & Power LED
will keep flashing while the system is in suspend mode.

Locate the power switch cable from your ATX housing. It is 2-pin female
connector from the housing front panel. Plug this connector to the soft-power
switch connector marked SPWR.

You can use the autorun menu of Bonus CD disc. Choose the utility or driver, select
model name and complete installation.

S

CPU C

(

Setting CPU Voltage & Frequency

etting

This motherboard supports Voltage ID (VID) function to detect CPU voltage
automatically during power-on. However, if users are willing to do overclocking,
we also provide a range from 0.80V to 1.55V in the BIOS. Sometimes increasing
the original core voltage a little bit will lead the CPU overclock more properly.

Setting CPU Frequency

This motherboard is CPU jumper-less design, you can set CPU frequency through
1MHz stepping CPU Overclocking in the BIOS. CPU Core Frequency = CPU FSB
clock x CPU Ratio. However, all CPU now selling in the market belong to "Fixed
Multiplier". That means users can not adjust the CPU Ratio but only change CPU
FSB clock to achieve overclocking.

(Users do the overclocking at their own risk!!)

BIOS Setup > Frequency / Voltage Control > CPU Speed Setup

CPU Ratio From 4x to 25x step 1x

CPU Clock
(Adjustment manually)

CPU

Athlon 64 2800+ 1800MHz 200MHz

Athlon 64 3000+ 2000MHz 200MHz

Athlon 64 3200+ 2000MHz 200MHz

Athlon 64 3200+ 2200MHz 200MHz

Athlon 64 3400+ 2200MHz 200MHz

Athlon 64 3400+ 2400MHz 200MHz

Athlon 64 3700+ 2400MHz 200MHz

Note: With CPU speed changing rapidly, there might be faster CPU on
the market by the time you received this installation guide. This table is
kindly for your references only, please contact with your distributor for

more information.

Warning: Supposed you have had adjusted CPU ratio on your current CPU, and you
plan to replace a new CPU. Please use <Home> key or Clear CMOS to restore the default
setting when changing a new CPU, because the system will still implement the previous
CPU setting on the new one.

ore Voltage

FSB = 200 MHz-250 MHz by 1 MHz
Stepping CPU Overclocking

CPU

Core

CPU

Clock

L2

Cache

512KB

512KB

1024KB

512KB

1024KB

512KB

1024KB

Ratio

9x

10x

10x

11x

11x

12x

12x

Note: If your system
hangs or fails to boot
because of overclocking,
simply use <Home> key
to restore the default
setting or you can wait
the AOpen “Watch Dog
ABS” reset the system in
five seconds and system
will auto-detect
hardware again.

JP14 Clear CMOS

You can clear CMOS to restore system default
setting. To clear the CMOS, follow the procedure
below.

1. Turn off the system and unplug the AC power.

2. Remove ATX power cable from connector PWR2.

3. Locate JP14 and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds.

4. Return JP14 to its normal setting by shorting pin 1
& pin 2.

5. Connect ATX power cable back to connector PWR2.

Pin 1

Tip: When should I Clear CMOS?

1

Normal

default)

1

Clear CMOS

1. Boot fails because of overclocking…

2. Forget password…

3. Troubleshooting…

JP28 Keyboard/Mouse Wakeup Jumper

This motherboard provides keyboard / mouse wake-up function. You can use JP28
to enable or disable this function, which could resume your system from suspend
mode with keyboard or mouse. The factory default setting is “Disable” (1-2), and
you may enable this function by setting the jumper to 2-3.

Pin 1

Warning: NVidia nForce3 250 chipset supports maximum 200MHz system clock and

66MHz AGP clock; higher clock setting may cause serious system damage.

1

Disable

(Default)

1

Enable

USB 2.0 Connector

This motherboard provides eight USB 2.0 ports to connect USB devices, such as
mouse, keyboard, modem, printer, etc. There are four ports on the back panel.
You can use proper cables to connect the Front USB connector to USB modules or
front panel of chassis.

Pin 1

Pin 1

IEEE 1394 Connectors (only for n250a-FR)

This motherboard comes with AGERE 1394 Control Chip onboard, the IEEE 1394
provides data transfer rate up to 400Mb/s, and USB 1.0/1.1just has 12Mbps.
Hence, the IEEE 1394 interface can connect with the devices that need high data
transferring performance, such as digital camera, scanner or others IEEE 1394
devices. Please use the proper cable to connect with devices.

Pin 1

Gigabit LAN onboard (for n250a-FR and n250a-L)

On the strength of Gigabit LAN controller on board, this motherboard provides
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet for office and home use (for n250a, it is 10/100
Mbps). The Ethernet RJ45 connector is located on top of USB connectors. The right
hand side LED indicates link mode, it lights in orange whenever linking to network.
The left hand side LED indicates the transfer mode and it lights in green when data
is transferring in 100Mbps (never lights while in 10Mbps), but lights in orange
when transferring in Gigabit’s mode. To enable or disable this function, you may
simply adjust it through BIOS.

Transferring (Left)

Green 100Mbps

Orange Gigabit mode

Linking (Right)

Orange

Pin 1

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a newest audio transfer file format,
which provides impressive audio quality through optical fiber and allows you to
enjoy digital audio instead of analog audio. Through a specific audio cable, you can
connect the S/PDIF connector to other end of the S/PDIF audio module, which
bears S/PDIF digital output. Normally there are two S/PDIF outputs as shown, one
for RCA connector, the most common one used for consumer audio products, and
the other for optical connector with better audio quality. Same as outputs, you can
also connect RCA or optical audio products to input connectors on the module and
have the voice or music come out from your computer. However, you must have a
S/PDIF supported speaker/amplifier/decoder with S/PDIF digital input/output to
connect to the S/PDIF digital input/output to make the most out of this function.

(RCA)

S/PDIF OUT

S/PDIF IN

S/PDIF OUT

S/PDIF IN

(Optical)

S/PDIF Module

(User Upgrade Optional)

S/PDIF
Cable

Warning: Please be
noted that Hot-Plug in is not
allowed on IEEE 1394
header, because it will burn
the IC of the controller and
damage the motherboard.

S/PDIF Connector

Pin 1

Model name and BIOS version

If you encounter any trouble to boot you system, follow the procedures
accordingly to resolve the problem.

Model name and BIOS version can be found on upper left corner of first boot
screen (POST screen). For example:

Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG, An Energy Star Ally

Copyright (C) 2004, Phoenix Technologies, LTD.

n250a-FR R1.02 Mar. 01. 2004 AOpen Inc.

n250a-FR is model name of motherboard; R1.02 is BIOS version

Register Your Motherboard

Thanks for choosing AOpen product, please register this motherboard at

http://club.aopen.com.tw/productreg/

and to ensure high service quality and priority from AOpen. You will also have a
chance to play slot machine game to win prize from AOpen. Please prepare the
following information before you start: Model Name, Part Number (P/N),
Serial Number (S/N) and Purchase Date. The Part Number and Serial
number are printed on bar code label. You can find this bar code label on the
outside packing or on component side of PCB. For example:

to become a Gold member of Club AOpen,

P/N: 91.88110.201 is part number, S/N: 91949378KN73 is serial number.

Part No. Serial No.

Beep Sound Message

1 short(Beep) System booting is normally.

1 long - 1 short(Beep) DRAM ERROR

1 long - 2 short(Beep) Display card or monitor connected error

1 long - 3 short(Beep) Keyboard Error

Long(Beep) continuous DRAM hasn't inset correctly.

Phoenix-Award BIOS ERROR Message

Dear Customer,

Thanks for choosing AOpen products. We invite you to register at

http://www.aopen.com

quality service in the future. In order to maintain the best service to every
customer of us, we recommend you to follow the procedures below and seek help
from our branches according to the region you buy the product. With your help, we
can then continue to provide efficient and the best quality service to every
customer.

Thanks very much for your understanding!

to become a Gold Member of Club AOpen so as to ensure

Europe

AOpen Computer b.v.
Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Germany

AOpen Computer
GmbH.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Europe Email: [e-mail]
Pacific Rim http://www.aopen.com.tw/tech/default.htm
China: http://www.aopen.com.cn/tech/default.htm

Germany http://www.aopencom.de/tech/default.htm
America http://usa.aopen.com /tech/default.htm
Japan http://www.aopen.co.jp/tech/default.htm

China

艾爾鵬國際貿易(上海)有限
公司

Pacific Rim

AOpen Inc.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

America

AOpen America Inc.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Japan

AOpen Japan Inc.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]