Appendix B
Troubleshooting
In case you encounter any of the troubles listed below, follow the procedures
accordingly to resolve the problem. If the first corrective action listed did not
work, then try the next one.
Important: Make sure that you have tried listed
procedures in this appendix before you call your
distributor.
Tip: There are many useful information in our
homepage, such as jumper settings, latest BIOS,
drivers, and more FAQs. Visit our homepage to
see if there is answer of your problem.
Taiwan http://www.aopen.com.tw
USA http://www.aopen-usa.com
http://www.aopenamerica.com
Europe http://www.aopen.nl
No display
1. Check all jumper settings according to section 2.2 "Jumpers". Make sure
that you have set the proper jumpers especially those for CPU frequency,
core and IO voltage select functions. Ask your CPU dealer for the correct
CPU specifications.
2. Check the power cord or power switch of your system. The simple way to
identify power failure is to check the CPU fan and the power supply fan. If
these are not working, then the power is down.
3. Turn off the power and remove all add-on cards, connectors and SIMMs
from your mainboard. Then reinstall the VGA card and two SIMMs. Turn
on the power again. If you can see the POST (power-on-self-test) screen,
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Troubleshooting
the problem is your add-on cards or peripheral. try to reinstall the add-on
cards one by one to find out which card is causing the problem.
4. Check the monitor and VGA cable. Press the <Num Lock> key to
enable/disable the Num Lock function. If the Num Lock LED works
properly, this indicates that your CPU, SIMM and BIOS bootup sequence
are properly functioning. The problem may be caused by your VGA or
monitor.
Unstable system or HDD, HDD with bad sector. System
sometimes hangs or auto reboots.
1. Check all jumper settings according to section 2.2 "Jumpers". Make sure
that you have set the proper jumpers especially those for CPU frequency,
core and IO voltage select functions. Ask your CPU dealer for correct CPU
specification. The remarked CPU is very popular in the market, we
recommend that you use a Box CPU, i.e., CPU sold in package with
warranty card inside.
2. Check if your SIMM has less than 24 chips. Refer to section 2.4
"Configuring the System Memory" for details.
3. Set DRAM timing to 70ns and disable all enhanced chipset features in
BIOS. The default BIOS timing is 60ns for better performance. If you are
using an old SIMM or a remarked SIMM, you may need to manually slow
down the DRAM timing and disable the chipset features. Refer to chapter 3
"Chipset Features Setup" for details.
4. Disable the power management and USB functions. Some add-on cards,
drivers or applications may not be compatible with these functions.
5. Disable the external cache (2nd level cache) in chapter 3 "Advanced CMOS
Setup" (AMI) or "BIOS Features Setup" (AWARD). If the system works fine,
your cache module or onboard PBSRAM may be malfunction.
6. Enter BIOS and set the HDD "Block" and "32-bit" mode parameters to OFF.
Refer to Chapter 3 "Standard CMOS Setup" (AMI) or "Integrated
Peripherals" (AWARD) for details. Also, if possible set HDD PIO mode 2 or
3 to a slower transfer speed.
7. Turn off the power and remove all add-on cards, connectors and SIMMs
from your mainboard. Then reinstall the VGA card, two SIMMs and connect
only one hard disk to the end-most connector of the IDE cable. The IDE
cable length must not exceed 46cm (18inches), refer to section 2.3
"Connectors". If the system functions properly, reinstall the add-on cards
one by one. This will help you find out which card or device is causing the
problem. Be sure to connect the 2nd IDE device (HDD/CD-ROM) to the
primary channel slave mode.
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Troubleshooting
8. If your CPU bus frequency is 66MHz, set the CPU external/bus frequency to
60MHz, but leave the CPU core/bus frequency ratio unchanged. Normally,
CPU with 66MHz bus frequency works properly at slower speed, e.g.,
60MHz. This will help you identify if the CPU is remarked or if the
mainboard or add-on card is unstable at 66MHz.
Keyboard, Mouse, Printer or Floppy is not working properly.
1. Check the cable and bracket. Make sure that pin 1 of the cable is
connected to pin1 of the connector. Pin 1 of the flat cable is indicated by a
red-colored wire. Refer to section 2.3 "Connectors".
2. If possible, use another system to test the peripherals and cables. Check if
these are working properly.
3. If possible, use another peripheral to double check if the mainboard or the
cable is defective.
CMOS data lost, forget password.
1. Refer to section 2.2 "Jumpers". Locate the CMOS jumper and follow the
procedures on how to clear the CMOS. Load the BIOS optimal settings
(AMI) or load BIOS default settings (Award).
2. If your mainboard comes with a battery, simply change it. If your mainboard
comes with Dallas DS12887A compatible RTC, the occurrence of low
battery problem is very rare since RTC battery is expected to last for 7
years. In this case, you have to send the mainboard back to your
distributor.
Incompatible add-on card, peripheral, operating system, and
application.
1. Check all jumper settings according to section 2.2 "Jumpers".
2. Check if you have a Legacy ISA card (non PnP). If yes, set the IRQ and
DMA for this card to Legacy/ISA. Refer to Chapter 3 "PCI/PnP Setup"
section. If you are using a PnP operating system such as Win95, enable
the "Plug-and-Play Aware O/S" parameter in BIOS and let the OS configure
the system.
3. Disable all enhanced chipset features. Refer to Chapter 3 "Chipset
Features Setup" for details.
4. Disable the power management and USB functions. Some add-on cards,
drivers or applications are not compatible with these functions.
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Troubleshooting
5. Disable the external cache (2nd level cache) and system BIOS cacheable
or VGA BIOS cacheable parameters in BIOS. Refer to Chapter 3
"Advanced CMOS Setup" section. Some applications has trouble at higher
system speed.
6. Visit our WWW home page, (address http://www.aopen.com.tw), check
the FAQ area (frequently asked question) and download the latest BIOS, try
again with the latest BIOS.
Important: If problem still exist after you have done all
the corrective actions listed in this appendix, fill out the
attached problem report form. Write down your
configuration and error symptoms as detailed as
possible. The more detailed information you give us, the
faster we can identify and solve your problem. You can
copy this form and fax it to your distributor or send the
form via e-mail. Refer to Appendix B “Frequently Asked
Question” for information on how to identify the BIOS
and the mainboard versions.
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FROM:
Error
Symptom:
Troubleshooting
Technical Problem Report Form
Name:
TEL: FAX:
Email address:
Error Type:
(Please mark in
the box and list
the model and
version below.)
System
Configuration:
(Please list
model name
and version.)
q PS/2 mouse
q Printer
q Floppy
q IDE HDD
q Keyboard
q Sound/Modem
q SCSI CDROM
q Ethernet
q USB
q Win95
q Window NT
q UNIX
MB: _____________
CPU: ____________
HDD: ____________
VGA: ____________
Others:
q COM1/COM2, serial mouse.
q Parallel Tape
q Floppy Tape
q IDE CDROM
q VGA
q SCSI HDD
q SCSI Tape
q Tokenring
q DOS
q Windows 3.1
q OS/2
q Others: ______________
BIOS: _____________
SIMM: ____________
CDROM: __________
OS: _______________
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