How it Works
APC
Loading...
Gator ATX
User Manual
80 pgs2.53 Mb0
Table of contents
Loading...

APC Gator ATX User Manual

Download
X
Gator AT
Motherboard
Installation Guide
Table of Contents
Notice........................................................IV
Introduction............................................V
Chapter 1 Pre-Configuration...... 1
Step 1 Setting the Jumpers 3
Jumper Locations ............................................................. 4
CMOS Reset....................................................................... 5
ATX Power Supply Enhancements ................................. 5
ATA-Disk Connector Voltage Selection.......................... 5
Audio Jack Output Selection........................................... 6
CPU Voltage Selection ..................................................... 6
On-board Ethernet 10/100 Enabling................................ 6
Step 2 SDRAM, CPU, and Cables
Installation
Gator ATX Memory Configuration................................... 7
CPU Installation ................................................................ 7
Installing Cables ............................................................... 9
Power and Control Panel Cables .................................... 9
Installing Peripheral Cables............................................. 9
Index of Connectors ....................................................... 12
7
Chapter 2 Embedded BIOS 2000
Setup
Basic CMOS Configuration Setup Screen.................... 16
Features Configuration Setup Screen .......................... 21
Custom Configuration Setup Screen............................ 22
Shadow Configuration Setup Screen ........................... 23
Reset CMOS to Last Known Values.............................. 24
Reset CMOS to Factory Defaults................................... 24
Write to CMOS and Exit.................................................. 24
Exit without Changing CMOS ........................................ 24
.............................. 15
I
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Chapter 3 Upgrading.................... 25
Upgrading the Microprocessor...................................... 25
Upgrading the System Memory..................................... 25
Appendix A Technical
Specifications
Chipsets........................................................................... 27
System Memory .............................................................. 27
BIOS ................................................................................. 28
Embedded I/O.................................................................. 28
Industrial Devices ........................................................... 29
Miscellaneous ................................................................. 30
Memory Map .................................................................... 31
DMA Channels................................................................. 31
I/O Map ............................................................................. 32
PCI Configuration Space Map........................................ 33
Interrupts ......................................................................... 34
SMBUS ............................................................................. 34
PCI Interrupt Routing Map ............................................. 35
Connectors Pin-out......................................................... 35
.......... 27
Appendix B Flash BIOS
programming and codes
Troubleshooting POST................................................... 42
Critical Error BEEP Codes ............................................. 48
............................ 41
Appendix C On-Board Industrial
Devices
Post Code Display .......................................................... 51
ISA Bridge........................................................................ 51
On-board Ethernet .......................................................... 52
Serial Ports ...................................................................... 54
II
........................ 51
Appendix D On-Board Video
Controller................... 61
III
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Notice

The company reserves the right to revise this publication or to change its contents without notice. Information contained herein is for reference only and does not constitute a commitment on the part of the manufacturer or any subsequent vendor. They are in no way responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the use (or misuse) of this publication.
This publication and any accompanying software may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, translated or reduced to any machine readable form without prior consent from the vendor, manufacturer or creators of this publication, except for copies kept by the user for backup purposes.
Brand and product names mentioned in this publication may or may not be copyrights and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. They are mentioned for identification purposes only and are not intended as an endorsement of that product or its manufacturer.
First Edition.
January, 2003
IV
Introduction
Thank you for your purchase of the Gator ATX industrial embedded motherboard. The Gator ATX design was based on the Intel 845GE chipset providing the ideal platform to industrial applications. The Gator ATX design is based on the Intel Pentium IV-M (mPGA478) processor, the low power mobile Pentium IV.
With proper installation and maintenance, your Gator ATX will provide years of high performance and trouble free operation.
This manual provides a detailed explanation into the installation and use of the Gator ATX industrial embedded motherboard. This manual is written for the novice PC user/installer. However, as with any major computer component installation, previous experience is helpful and should you not have prior experience, it would be prudent to have someone assist you in the installation. This manual is broken down into 3 chapters and 4 appendixes.
Chapter 1 - System Board Pre-Configuration
This chapter provides all the necessary information for installing the Gator ATX. Topics discussed include: installing the CPU (if necessary), DRAM installation and jumper settings. Connecting all the cables from the system board to the chassis and peripherals is also explained.
Chapter 2 - BIOS Configuration
This chapter shows the final step in getting your system firmware setup.
Chapter 3 - Upgrading
The Gator ATX provides a number of expansion options including memory. All aspects of the upgrade possibilities are covered.
V
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Appendix A - Technical Specifications
A complete listing of all the major technical specifications of the Gator ATX is provided.
Appendix B - Flash BIOS Programming (optional) and Codes
Provides all information necessary to program your optional General Software Embedded 2000 Flash BIOS. POST Codes and beep codes are described in details.
Appendix C – On-Board Industrial Devices
Two on-board 10/100 (one 10/100/1000 optional) Ethernet controllers (second 10/100 Ethernet optional), ISA bridge, two serial ports (one optional RS422/485) and Post Code Display.
Appendix D - On-Board Video Controller
On-board CRT video controller.
Static Electricity Warning!
The Gator ATX has been designed as rugged as possible but can still be damaged if jarred sharply or struck. Handle the motherboard with care. The Gator ATX also contains delicate electronic circuits that can be damaged or weakened by static electricity. Before removing the Gator ATX from its protective packaging, it is strongly recommended that you use a grounding wrist strap. The grounding strap will safely discharge any static electricity build up in your body and will avoid damaging the motherboard. Do not walk across a carpet or linoleum floor with the bare board in hand.
Warranty
This product is warranted against material and manufacturing defects for two years from the date of delivery. Buyer agrees that if this product proves defective the manufacturer is only obligated to repair, replace or refund the purchase price of this product at manufacturer's
VI
discretion. The warranty is void if the product has been subjected to alteration, misuse or abuse; if any repairs have been attempted by anyone other than the manufacturer; or if failure is caused by accident, acts of God, or other causes beyond the manufacturer's control.
Gator ATX - An Overview
The Gator ATX represents the ultimate in industrial embedded motherboard technology. No other system board available today provides such impressive list of features:
CPU Support
• Supports full series of Intel Pentium IV-M (mPGA478 400MHz PSB - Mobile) processors.
Supported Bus Clocks
• 400MHz.
Memory
• Two DIMM sockets up to 2GB (unbuffered, non-ECC) DDR SDRAM, PC2100 (DDR 266MHz). Please, refer to chapter 3 for memory details.
On-Board I/O
• 2 Floppies up to 2.88 MB.
• Dual channel PCI 32-bit EIDE controller – UDMA 66/100
supported. One extra connector (mini-Header 44 pin) in parallel to IDE2 for Solid State IDE disk or any 44 pin IDE device support.
• Two high speed RS-232 serial ports 16 Bytes FIFO (16550). Com B optional RS-232 IrDA or optional RS-422/485.
• One Centronics™ compatible bi-directional parallel port. EPP/ECP mode compatible.
• One PS/2 mouse and one PS/2 keyboard connectors.
• Auxiliary Keyboard/Mouse header for front panel access.
VII
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
r
• Six Universal Serial Bus connectors, USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 compliant.
• Five 32-bit PCI slots, two 16-bit ISA slots (one sharing location with PCI slot 5) and one AGP 4x slot (Intel ADD compliant).
• DVO Header.
• Two RJ45 Ethernet connectors (second 10/100 optional, first
optional 10/100/1000).
• Power Button – advanced management support.
• Eight GPIOs in a Header.
• Automatic CPU voltage & temperature monitoring device.
• On-board Buzzer.
• Audio (AD1885) AC97 compliant. Microphone In, Stereo
Line In and Out, Auxiliary CD/Audio In.
• On-board POST Display Diagnostics.
ROM BIOS
• General Software Embedded 2000 BIOS with optional FLASH ROM.
On-Board CRT video controller
• Standard CRT video controller (Intel 845GE chipset).
• DVO connector.
• AGP 4X capable and ADD compliant.
Conventions Used in this Manual
Notes - Such as a brief discussion of memory types.
Important Information - such as static warnings, o
8
VIII
very important instructions.
When instructed to enter keyboard keystrokes, the text will be noted by this graphic.
r
p
l
d

Chapter 1 Pre-Configuration

This chapter provides all the necessary information for installing the Gator ATX into a standard PC chassis. Topics discussed include: installing the CPU (if necessary), DRAM installation and jumper settings.
Handling Precautions
The Gator ATX has been designed to be as rugged as possible but it can be damaged if dropped, jarred sharply or struck. Damage may also occur by using excessive force in performing certain installation procedures such as forcing the system board into the chassis or placing too much torque on a mounting screw.
Take special care when installing or removing the system memory DIMMs. Never force a DIMM into a socket. Screwdrivers slipping off a screw and scraping the board can break a trace or component leads, rendering the board unusable. Always handle the Gator ATX with care.
Products returned for warranty repair will be inspected for damage caused by imprope installation and misuse as described in the
revious section and the static warning below. Should the board show signs of abuse, the warranty will become void and the customer wil be billed for all repairs and shipping an handling costs.
Special Warranty Note:
Static Warning
The Gator ATX contains delicate electronic semiconductors that are highly sensitive to static electricity. These components, if subjected to a static electricity discharge, can be weakened thereby reducing the serviceable life of the system board. BEFORE THE BOARD IS REMOVED FROM ITS PROTECTIVE ANTISTATIC PACKAGING,
1
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
TAKE PROPER PRECAUTIONS! Work on a conductive surface that is connected to the ground. Before touching any electronic device, ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal object or, and highly recommended, use a grounding strap.
2
f

Step 1 Setting the Jumpers

Your Gator ATX is equipped with a large number of peripherals. As such, there are a large number of configuration jumpers on the board. Taken step by step, setting these jumpers is easy. We suggest you review each section and follow the instructions.
Special note about operating frequency:
Jumper Types
Jumpers are small copper pins attached to the system board. Covering two pins with a shunt closes the connection between them. The Gator ATX examines these jumpers to determine specific configuration information. There are two different categories of jumpers on the Gator ATX.
A. Two pin jumpers are used for binary selections such as enable, disable. Instructions for this type of jumper are open, for no shunt over the pins or closed, when the shunt covers the pins.
The Gator ATX has the ability to run at a variety o speeds without the need to change any crystal, oscillator or jumper.
B. Three or four pin jumpers are used for multiple selections. Instructions for these jumpers will indicate which two pins to cover. For example: for JPx 2-3 the shunt will be covering pins 2 and 3 leaving pins 1 and 4 exposed.
How to identify pin number 1 on Figure 1-1: Looking to the solder side (The board side without components) of the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), pin number 1 will have a squared pad J. Other pins will have a circular pad Q. They are numbered sequentially.
Double row jumpers are numbered alternately, i.e. pin number 2 is in the other row, but in the same column of pin number 1. Pin number 3 is in the same row of pin 1, but in the next column and so forth.
3
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Jumper Locations

Use the diagram below and the tables on the following pages to locate and set the on-board configuration jumpers.
Figure 1-1 Jumper Locations
4

CMOS Reset

This option is provided as a convenience for those who need to reset the CMOS registers. It should always be set to "Normal" for standard operation. If the CMOS needs to be reset, turn off the system, move J33/JP33 to 2-3, turn the system on, move jumper to 1-2 and press reset.
Table 1-1 CMOS Reset
Reset CMOS Normal Clear CMOS
J33/JP33 1-2* 2-3
* Manufacturer's Settings.

ATX Power Supply Enhancements

The Gator ATX has a Power on mode selection. The jumper JP4 selects the power on mode.
Table 1-2 POWER ON Mode Select
Power on
mode
Power on
immediately
Power on upon
PWR_SW signal
(Button press)
JP4 1-2* 2-3
* Manufacturer's Settings.

ATA-Disk Connector Voltage Selection

The ATA-Disk Connector J35 can provide either 5Vcc or 3.3Vcc. The jumper JP5 selects the voltage.
Table 1-3 ATA-Disk Connector Voltage Select
ATA-Disk
Voltage
5Vcc 3.3Vcc
JP5 1-2* 2-3
*Manufacturer's Settings.
5
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Audio Jack Output Selection

The audio output on the stacked audio jack connector J5 (green color) can be selected to be stereo line out or stereo headphone out (amplified signal). The jumper JP3 selects the audio output signals.
Table 1-4 Audio Output Mode Selection
Audio Output
Mode Selection
Headphone Line Out
JP3 1-3, 2-4 3-5, 4-6*
* Manufacturer's Settings.

CPU Voltage Selection

The Gator ATX can only support the Pentium IV-M Mobile CPU. Therefore, Jumper JP2 must always be selected to 2-3.
ATTENTION: changing this jumper may cause serious
8
Table 1-5 CPU Voltage Select
damage to your motherboard and CPU.
CPU Voltage Desktop Mobile
JP2 1-2 2-3*
* Manufacturer's Settings.

On-board Ethernet 10/100 Enabling

The On-Board Ethernet 10/100 (Intel 82559ER/82551ER) may be Enabled or Disabled. The jumper JP1 selects the option. The disable option also disables the 66MHz of the 10/100/1000 Ethernet controller when the optional 1Gb Ethernet is present, this is mandatory for the 1Gb option.
Table 1-6 On-Board Ethernet Select
On-Board
Ethernet
Enabled Disabled
JP1 1-2* 2-3
* Manufacturer's Settings.
6
p
p
Step 2 SDRAM, CPU, and Cables
Installation
Depending upon how your Gator ATX is configured you may need to install the following:
• SDRAM (DIMMs)
• CPU

Gator ATX Memory Configuration

The Gator ATX offers 2 DIMM memory sockets (Locations J30 and J31 – Figure 1-3). They can be configured with 2.5V unbuffered SDRAM DDR modules. It is very important that the quality of the DIMMs is good. Unreliable operation of the system may result if poor quality DIMMs are used. Always purchase your memory from a reliable source. Please, refer to chapter 3 for memory details.

CPU Installation

The Gator ATX currently supports the following CPUs:
• Full series of Intel Pentium IV-M 400MHz mPGA478 Mobile processors.
1. Improper installation of the CPU may cause
Locate the CPU socket on your Gator ATX system board (mPGA478 Socket – Location J22 – Figure 1-3). To install the processor, lift the lever of the ZIF socket and gently insert the CPU. The CPU will fit only in the right alignment. Make sure the CPU is inserted all the way. Lower the lever. Install the CPU fan. Make sure it is locked and connected to J26 (see pin-out in Appendix A).
ermanent damage to both the system board and the
CPU. -- Void of warranty
2. Always handle the CPU by the edges, never touch the ins.
3. Always use a heat-sink and a CPU fan.
7
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
The continued push of technology to increase performance levels (higher operating speeds) and packaging density (more transistors) is aggravating the thermal management of the CPU. As operating frequencies increase and packaging sizes decreases, the power density increases and the thermal cooling solution space and airflow become more constrained. The result is an increased importance on system design to ensure that thermal design requirements are met for the CPU.
The objective of thermal management is to ensure that the temperature of the processor is maintained within functional limits. The functional temperature limit is the range within which the electrical circuits can be expected to meet their specified performance requirements. Operation outside the functional limit can degrade system performance, cause logic errors or cause component and/or system damage. Temperatures exceeding the maximum operating limits may result in irreversible changes in the operating characteristics of the component.
If the Gator ATX industrial embedded motherboard is acquired without the CPU and the thermal solution, extremely care must be taken to avoid improper thermal management. All Intel thermal solution specifications, design guidelines and suggestions to the CPU being used must be followed. The Gator ATX warranty is void if the thermal management does not comply with Intel requirements.
Designing for thermal performance
In designing for thermal performance, the goal is to keep the processor within the operational thermal specifications. The inability to do so will shorten the life of the processor.
Fan Heatsink
An active fan heatsink can be employed as a mechanism for cooling the Intel processors. This is the acceptable solution for most chassis. Adequate clearance must be provided around the fan heatsink to ensure unimpeded air flow for proper cooling.
Airflow management
It is important to manage the velocity, quantity and direction of air that flows within the system (and how it flows) to maximize the volume of air that flows over the processor.
Thermal interface management
To optimize the heatsink design for the Pentium IV-M processor, it is important to understand the impact of factors related to the interface between the processor and the heatsink base. Specifically, the bond line thickness, interface material area, and interface material thermal
8
conductivity should be managed to realize the most effective thermal solution. Once used, the thermal interface should be discarded and a new one installed. Never assemble the heatsink with a previously used thermal interface.
This completes the installation of the CPU. Now is it a good time to double check both the CPU and DIMM installation to make sure that these devices have been properly installed.

Installing Cables

Power and Control Panel Cables

The Gator ATX gets power from the power connectors J36 and J14 (Figure 1-3).

Installing Peripheral Cables

Now it is a good time to install the internal peripherals such as floppy and hard disk drives. Do not connect the power cable to these peripherals, as it is easier to attach the bulky ribbon cables before the smaller power connectors. If you are installing more than one IDE drive double check your master/slave jumpers on the drives. Review the information supplied with your drive for more information on this subject.
Connect the floppy cable (not included) to the system board. Then connect remaining ends of the ribbon cable to the appropriate peripherals. Connect the serial port cable (included) and the auxiliary Keyboard/Mouse cable (not included) if using the alternative Keyboard/Mouse header connector. Finally, connect the IDE cable (not included) to the system. If using a Solid State Device, connect it to the mini-ATA connector. Then connect remaining ends of the ribbon cable to the appropriate peripherals. This concludes the hardware installation of your Gator ATX system. Now it is a good time to re-check all of the cable connections to make sure they are correct.
9
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
The connector hole layouts on the Gator ATX I/O Gasket (optional) are designed according to Intel ATX specifications.
Figure 1-2 Gator ATX I/O Gasket
10
Figure 1-3 Location of Components and Connectors
11
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Index of Connectors

Please refer to Appendix A for pin-out descriptions.
Table 1-7 Connectors description
Connector Description
J1 J2 J3 J4
J5
J6
J7
J8
J9 J11 J12 J13 J14 J15 J16 J17 J18 J19 J20 J21 J22 J23 J25 J26 J28 J29 J30 J31
Ethernet 1 (Optional 10/100/1000) RJ45
(Bottom)Keyboard – PS/2 (Top)Mouse – PS/2
Audio – Mic. In (pink), Line Out/Headphone
(green) and Line In (blue)
(Bottom) USB (Ports 2 & 3) - (Top) Ethernet 2
Keyboard/Mouse Header
ATX Power Aux. Connector
AGP Slot/ADD Connector
Intruder detection Header
VGA DB15
SER A
LPT - Parallel
(Optional)
SER B
Audio - Aux. In Header
Rear Chassis Fan
Audio – CD In Header
PCI Connector 5 PCI Connector 4 PCI Connector 3 PCI Connector 2 PCI Connector 1
ISA Slot 1 ISA Slot 2
CPU Socket
DVO Connector
CPU Fan
JTAG DDR DIMM Socket 0 DDR DIMM Socket 1
12
Connector Description
J32 J34 J35 J36 J37 J38 J39 J40 J41 J42
User's Notes:
USB Header (Ports 4 & 5)
Alt. Secondary IDE
Secondary IDE
ATX Power Connector
Front Panel Header
USB Header (Ports 0 & 1)
Keylock Header
GPIO Header
Floppy Disk Drive Connector
Primary IDE
13
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
User's Notes:
14
Chapter 2 Embedded
BIOS 2000 Setup
Your Gator ATX features General Software Embedded BIOS 2000. The system configuration parameters are set via the BIOS setup. Since the BIOS Setup resides in the ROM BIOS, it is available each time the computer is turned on.
General Software’s EMBEDDED BIOS brand BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) pre-boot firmware is the industry’s standard product used by most designers of embedded X86 computer equipment in the world today. Its superior combination of configurability and functionality enables it to satisfy the most demanding ROM BIOS needs for embedded designers. Its modular architecture and high degree of configurability make it the most flexible BIOS in the world.
When your platform is powered on, Embedded BIOS tests and initializes the hardware and programs the chipset and other peripheral components. During this time, Power On Self Test (POST) progress codes are written by the system BIOS to I/O port 80h, allowing the user to monitor the progress with a special monitor. Appendix B lists the POST codes and their meanings. During early POST, no video is available to display error messages should a critical error be encountered; therefore, POST uses beeps on the speaker to indicate the failure of a critical system component during this time. Consult Appendix B for a list of Beep codes used by the BIOS.
Starting BIOS Setup
When a keyboard and video device are attached, the GatorATX can display either a traditional character-based PC BIOS display with memory count-up, or it can display a graphical POST with splash screen and progress icons. Both POST displays accept a <DEL> key press to enter the setup screen, and both display boot-time progress activity displays. The graphical display shows the status of file system devices, but omits character-based PCI resource display. The text-based POST displays the memory count-up and the PCI resource assignment table.
15
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
BIOS Setup Main Menu
The Gator ATX is configured from within the Setup Screen System, a series of menus that can be invoked from POST by pressing the <DEL> key.
Once in the Setup Screen System, the user can navigate with the UP and DOWN arrow keys from the main. TAB and ENTER are used to advance to the next field, and ‘+’ and ‘-’ keys cycle through values, such as those in the Basic Setup Screen.
The BIOS Setup main menu is organized into 14 windows. Each window is discussed in this chapter.
Each window contains several options. Clicking on each option activates a specific function. The BIOS Setup options and functions are described in this chapter. Some options may not be available in your BIOS. The windows are:
• Basic CMOS Configuration
• Features Configuration
• Custom Configuration
• Shadow Configuration
• Reset CMOS to Last Known Values
• Reset CMOS to Factory Defaults
• Write to CMOS and Exit
• Exit Without Saving CMOS

Basic CMOS Configuration Setup Screen

The drive types, boot activities, and POST optimizations are configured from the Basic Setup Screen (Figure 2-1). In order to use disk drives with your system, you must select appropriate assignments of drive types in the left-hand column. Then, if you are using true floppy and IDE drives (not memory disks that emulate these drives), you need to configure the drive types themselves in the Floppy Drive Types and IDE Drive Geometry sections. Finally, you’ll need to configure the boot sequence in the middle of the screen. Once these selections have been made, your system is ready to use.
16
b
w
Figure 2-1: The Embedded BIOS Basic Setup Screen is used to configure drives, boot actions, and POST.
Configuring Drive Assignments
Embedded BIOS allows the user to map a different file system to each drive letter. The BIOS allows file systems for each floppy (Floppy0 and Floppy1), and each IDE drive (Ide0, Ide1, Ide2, and Ide3). Figure 2-1 shows how the first floppy drive (Floppy0) is assigned to drive A: in the system, and then shows how the first IDE drive (Ide0) is assigned to drive C: in the system. To switch two floppy disks around or two hard disks around, just map Floppy0 to B: and Floppy1 to A:, and for hard disks map Ide0 to D: and Ide1 to C:.
Caution: Take care to not skip drive A: when making floppy disk assignments, as well as drive C: when making hard disk assignments. The first floppy should be A:, and the first hard drive should be C:. Also, do not assign the same file system to more than one drive letter. Thus, Floppy0 should not be used for
oth A: and B:. The BIOS permits this to allo embedded devices to alias drives, but desktop operating systems may not be able to maintain cache coherency with such a mapping in place.
17
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Date/Time
Select the Date/Time option to change the date or time. The current date and time are displayed. Enter new values through the displayed window.
NumLock
Set this option to Disabled to turn the Num Lock key off when the computer is booted so you can use the arrow keys on both the numeric keypad and the keyboard.
Seek at Boot
Set this option to the device that will perform a Seek operation at system boot. The settings are Floppy (default), IDE, Both, and None.
Typematic Rate
The settings are 30 cps (default), 24, 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, and 6.
Typematic Delay
The settings are 250 ms (default), 500 ms, 750 ms, 1000 ms, and disabled.
Config Box
Set this option to show the configuration box during boot. The settings are Enabled (default) and Disabled.
Memory Test Tick
The settings are Enabled (default) and Disabled.
18
Memory Test
This option configures the test that will be performed on the Low memory (below 1 MB) and the High Memory (above 1MB). The settings are Full (exhaustive testing), Standard, and Fast. The default is StdLo and FullHi.
Loader Parity Checking Debug Breakpoints Debugger Hex Case
These options are not available.
Show “Hit Del”
Set this option to Disabled to prevent the message
Hit <DEL> if you want to run Setup
from appearing on the first BIOS screen when the computer boots. The setting is either Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Enabled.
F1 Error Wait
If this option is set to Enabled, the BIOS waits for the user to press <F1> before continuing. If this option is set to Disabled, the BIOS continues the boot process without waiting for <F1> to be pressed.
Configuring Floppy Drive Types
Choose either Floppy Drive 0 or 1 to specify the floppy drive type. The settings are 360 KB 5¼", 1.2 MB 5¼", 720 KB 3½",
1.44 MB 3½" and 2.88 MB 3½".
Floppy0 refers to the first floppy disk drive on the drive ribbon cable (normally drive A:), and Floppy1 refers to the second drive (drive B:).
19
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Configuring IDE Drive Types
The following table shows the drive assignments for Ide0-Ide3:
File System Controller Master/Slave
Ide0 Primary (1f0h) Master Ide1 Primary (1f0h) Slave Ide2 Secondary (170h) Master Ide3 Secondary (170h) Slave
To use the primary master IDE drive in your system (the typical case), just configure Ide0 in this section, and map Ide0 to drive C: in the Configuring Drive Assignments section.
The IDE Drive Types section lets you select the type for each of the four IDE drives: None, User, Physical, LBA, or CHS.
The User type allows the user to select the maximum cylinders, heads, and sectors per track associated with the IDE drive. This method is now rarely used since LBA is now in common use.
The Physical type instructs the BIOS to query the drive’s geometry from the controller on each POST. No translation on the drive’s geometry is performed, so this type is limited to drives of 512MB or less. Commonly, this is used with embedded ATA PC Cards.
The LBA type instructs the BIOS to query the drive’s geometry from the controller on each POST, but then translate the geometry according to the industry-standard LBA convention. This supports up to 128GB drives. Use this method for all new
drives.
The CHS type instructs the BIOS to query the drive’s geometry from the controller on each POST, but then translate the geometry according to the Gator CHS convention. Using this type on a drive previously formatted with LBA or Physical geometry might show data as being missing or corrupted.
EMBEDDED BIOS supports user-defined steps in the boot sequence. When the entire system has been initialized, POST executes these steps in order until an operating system successfully loads. In addition, other pre-boot features can be run before, after, or between operating system load attempts.
The following actions are supported:
20
Drive A: - D: Boot operating system from specified drive. The standard boot record will be invoked, causing DOS, Windows95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP, Linux, or other industry-standard operating systems to load.
CDROM: Boot from the first IDE CDROM found that contains an El Torito bootable CDROM.
None: No action; POST proceeds to the next activity in the sequence.
Reboot: Reboot the board.
Debugger; MFGMODE; DOS in ROM; Alarm; Maintenance; RAS; Power Off; CLI: Options not available.

Features Configuration Setup Screen

Advanced Power Management
Set this option to Enabled the power management and APM (Advanced Power Management) features. The settings for this option are: Disabled (default) and Enabled.
Graphical/Audio POST
Set this option to Enabled (default) the Splash Screen during boot. The settings for this option are: Disabled and Enabled (default).
POST Memory Manager
The settings are Enabled and Disabled (default).
21
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
System Management BIOS
The settings are Enabled (default) and Disabled. This option assembles the SMBIOS (formerly DMI) information.

Custom Configuration Setup Screen

The hardware-specific features are configured with the Custom Setup Screen.
L2 Cache
This option enables or disables the L2 Cache.
(Redir Debugger)
This option is not available.
Parallel Port
This option enables (default) or disables the Parallel Port.
Parallel Port IRQ
This option specifies the IRQ always used by the parallel port. The settings are (IRQ) 5 and (IRQ) 7 (default).
Parallel Port Address
This option specifies the base I/O port address of the parallel port on the motherboard. The settings are 378h (default), 278h and 3BCh.
Parallel Port Mode
This option specifies the parallel port mode. The settings are: Printer (default), ECP/EPP 1.7, SPP, SPP/EPP 1.9, ECP, ECP/EPP 1.9, and SPP/EPP 1.7.
22
SER A
This option enables (default) or disables the Serial Port A.
SER A Address
This option specifies the base I/O port address of the Serial port A on the motherboard. The settings are 3F8h (default), 2F8h, 3E8h, 2E8h, 338h, 220h, 228h, and 238.
SER A IRQ
This option specifies the IRQ of the Serial port A on the motherboard. The settings are 4 (default), 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, and 15.
SER B
This option enables (default) or disables the Serial Port B.
SER B Address
This option specifies the base I/O port address of the Serial port B on the motherboard. The settings are 3F8h, 2F8h (default), 3E8h, 2E8h, 338h, 220h, 228h, and 238.
SER B IRQ
This option specifies the IRQ of the Serial port A on the motherboard. The settings are 4, 3 (default), 5, 7, 12, 14, and 15.

Shadow Configuration Setup Screen

The Shadow Configuration Setup Screen (Figure 2-2) allows the selective enabling and disabling of shadowing in 16KB sections, except for the top 64KB of the BIOS ROM, which is shadowed as a unit. Normally, shadowing should be enabled at C000/C400 (to enhance VGA ROM BIOS performance) and then E000­F000 should be shadowed to maximize system ROM BIOS performance.
23
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Figure 2-2: The Embedded BIOS Shadow Setup Screen is used to configure ROM shadowing.

Reset CMOS to Last Known Values

Loads the CMOS to the last known values.

Reset CMOS to Factory Defaults

The Fail-Safe CMOS factory Setup option settings can be loaded by selecting the Reset CMOS to Factory Defaults. Use this option as a diagnostic aid if the system is behaving erratically.

Write to CMOS and Exit

Exit BIOS saving the changes.

Exit without Changing CMOS

This option allows exiting the BIOS setup without saving any change to the CMOS.
24

Chapter 3 Upgrading

Upgrading the Microprocessor

The latest revision of the Gator ATX currently supports full series of Intel Pentium IV-M (mPGA478 400MHz PSB - Mobile) processors. Please, check the manufacturer’s web site for details and revisions regarding CPU speed. Since the Gator ATX features CPU auto-sensing device there is no jumper to be set when changing the CPU.

Upgrading the System Memory

The Gator ATX allows an upgrade of the system memory with up to 2GB unbuffered SDRAM DDR DIMM modules in two memory slots. Only non-ECC modules are supported. It is very important that the quality of the DIMMs is good. Unreliable operation of the system may result if poor quality DIMMs are used. Always purchase your memory from a reliable source. DDR266 memory modules are the only ones that can be used. DDR200 and DDR333 memory modules cannot be used
System Memory Features:
• 2.5 V (only) 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMMs with gold-plated contacts.
• Unbuffered, unregistered single-sided or double-sided DIMMs.
• Maximum total system memory: 2 GB; minimum total system memory: 32 MB .
• DDR266 MHz (PC2100) DDR SDRAM DIMMs only.
• Serial Presence Detect (SPD).
• Do not use ECC DIMMs.
• Do not use Registered DIMMs.
• Do not use DDR200 DIMMs.
• Do not use DDR333 DIMMs.
• Double sided x16 DIMMs are not supported.
25
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
The following table lists the supported DDR DIMM Configurations:
Table 3-1 Supported DDR DIMM Configurations
DIMM Capacity
32 MB 4 SS 64 Mbit 4 4 M x 16 64 MB 8 SS 64 Mbit 8 8 M x 8 64 MB 4 SS 128 Mbit 4 8 M x 16 128 MB 16 DS 64 Mbit 8 8 M x 8 8 8 M x 8 128 MB 8 SS 128 Mbit 8 16 M x 8 128 MB 4 SS 256 Mbit 4 16 M x 16 256 MB 16 DS 128 Mbit 8 16 M x 8 8 16 M x 8 256 MB 8 SS 256 Mbit 8 32 M x 8 256 MB 4 SS 512 Mbit 4 32 M x 16 512 MB 16 DS 256 Mbit 8 32 M x 8 8 32 M x 8 512 MB 8 SS 512 Mbit 8 64 M x 8 1024 MB 16 DS 512 Mbit 8 64 M x 8 8 64 M x 8
# of Dev./ DIMM
# of Sides
DRAM Tech.
Front Side Population Count Config Count Config
Back Side Population
User's Notes:
26
Appendix A Technical
Specifications

Chipsets

Core Logic
North Bridge - Intel 845GE.
South Bridge – Intel ICH4.
Peripheral I/O
Standard Microsystems (SMSC) LPC47M192.
Micro Processor Support
Full series of Intel Pentium IV-M (mPGA478 400MHz PSB ­Mobile) processors.

System Memory

Memory Capacity
Up to 2GB unbuffered SDRAM DDR DIMM Modules. Please, refer to chapter 3 for memory details.
Memory Type
Two sockets for JEDEC standard (184 pins) DIMMs. The memory configuration is set automatically through BIOS via SPD. Supports SDRAM DDR 2.5V PC2100 (DDR 266 MHz) memory modules. Only non-ECC, unbuffered modules are supported. Please, refer to chapter 3 for memory details.
27
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

BIOS

System BIOS
Flash BIOS
General Software Embedded BIOS 2000 with Flash BIOS option.
Optional feature for System BIOS. Flash programming built into the BIOS. BIOS to be flashed is read from a floppy when system booted from MS-DOS.

Embedded I/O

Floppy
2 Floppies up to 2.88 MB.
IDE
Dual channel PCI 32-bit EIDE controller – UDMA 66/100 supported. One extra connector (mini-Header 44 pin) in parallel to IDE2 for Solid State IDE disk or any 44 pin IDE device support.
Serial Ports
Two high speed RS-232 serial ports 16 Bytes FIFO (16550/16550D). Com B optional RS-232 IrDA or optional RS-422/485.
Parallel Port
One Centronics™ compatible bi-directional parallel port. EPP/ECP mode compatible.
28
Mouse Port
One PS/2 mouse and one PS/2 keyboard connectors.
Auxiliary Keyboard/Mouse header for front panel access.
USB Interfaces
Six Universal Serial Bus connectors. USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 compliant.
On-board Ethernet
Two RJ45 Ethernet connectors (second 10/100 optional, first optional 10/100/1000).
On-board Buzzer
Audio
Audio (AD1885) AC97 compliant. Microphone In, Stereo Line In and Out, Auxiliary CD/Audio In.

Industrial Devices

Temperature and Voltage Device
Automatic CPU voltage & temperature monitoring device (optional).
Power Management
Power button function: advanced power management support.
General Purpose I/O lines
Eight general purpose I/O lines in a header.
On-Board POST Display Diagnostics
29
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Miscellaneous

CMOS/Battery
RTC with lithium battery. No external battery is required.
Control Panel Connections
Reset, Keylock, Soft Power. LEDs for power and IDE.
CPU Socket
Standard ZIF (Zero Insertion Force), mPGA 478.
Form Factor
ATX form factor (12” x 8.2”).
PCB Construction
Six Layers, dry film mask.
Manufacturing Process
Automated surface mount.
Table A-1 Environmental
Environmental Operating Non-operating
Temperature
Humidity
Shock 2.5G @ 10ms 10G @ 10ms
Vibration 0.25 @ 5-100Hz 5 @ 5-100Hz
0° to +55° C -40° to +65° C
5 to 95% @ 40° C
non-condensing
5 to 95% @ 40° C
non-condensing
30

Memory Map

Address Range Decimal
960K-1M
896K-960K
768K-896K
640K-768K
633K-640K
512K-633K
0K- 512K
Address Range Hexadecimal
0F0000­0FFFFF 0E0000­0EFFFF
0C0000­0DFFFF
0A0000­0BFFFF
09E400­09FFFF
080000­09E3FF
000000­07FFFF
Size Description
64 KB Upper BIOS
64 KB Lower BIOS
Expansion
128 KB
128 KB
7KB
121 KB
512 KB
Card BIOS and Buffer Standard PCI/ISA Video Memory BIOS Reserved Ext. Conventional memory Conventional memory

DMA Channels

DMA # Data Width System Resource 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8- or 16-bits 8- or 16-bits Parallel port (for ECP) (if selected) 8- or 16-bits Floppy Drive 8- or 16-bits Parallel port (for ECP) (if selected) Reserved- cascade channel 16-bits Open 16-bits Open 16-bits Open
31
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

I/O Map

Address (hex) Description
0000-000F DMA 1 0020-0021 Interrupt Controller 1 0040 Timer/Counter 0 0041 Timer/Counter 1 0042 Timer/Counter 2 0043 Timer Control Word 0060 Keyboard Controller Byte _ Reset IRQ 0061 NMI Status and Control 0070, bit 7 NMI enable 0070, bits 6:0 RTC Index 0071 RTC Data 0072 RTC Extended Index 0073 RTC Extended Data
0080-008F
0092 Port 92 00A0-00A1 Interrupt Controller 2 00B2-00B3 APM control 00C0-00DE DMA 2 00F0 Coprocessor Error 0170 _ 0177 Secondary IDE channel 01F0 _ 01F7 Primary IDE channel 0278-027F LPT2 (if selected) 02E8-02EF COM4 (default) 02F8-02FF COM2 (default) 0310 Watch-Dog Timer (if selected) 0376 Secondary IDE channel command port 0377 Floppy channel 2 command 0377, bit 7 Floppy disk change, channel 2 0377, bits 6:0 Secondary IDE channel status port 0378-037F LPT1 (default) 03B4-03B5 Video (VGA) 03BA Video (VGA) 03BC-03CD LPT3 (if selected) 03C0-03CA Video (VGA) 03CC Video (VGA) 03CE-03CF Video (VGA) 03D4-03D5 Video (VGA) 03DA Video (VGA)
32
DMA page registers / POST code display also located at 0080h
Address (hex) Description
03E8-03EF COM3 (default) 03F0-03F5 Floppy Channel 1 03F6 Primary IDE channel command port 03F7 Floppy Channel 1 command 03F7, bit 7 Floppy disk change channel 1 03F7, bits 6:0 Primary IDE channel status report 03F8-03FF COM1 (default) 0CF8-0CFB - 4 bytes 0CF9 Reset control register 0CFC-0CFF - 4 bytes
PCI configuration address register
PCI configuration data register

PCI Configuration Space Map

Bus # Device # Function # Description 00 00 00 845GE (Host Bridge) 00 01 00 845GE PCI to PCI Bridge 00 02 00 845GE VGA Controller 00 1D 00 ICH4 USB UHC 1 00 1D 01 ICH4 USB UHC 2 00 1D 02 ICH4 USB UHC 3 00 1D 07 ICH4 USB EHC 00 1E 00 Hub Interface to PCI Bridge 00 1F 00 ICH4 LPC Bridge 00 1F 01 ICH4 Master IDE Controller 00 1F 03 ICH4 SMBus Controller 00 1F 05 ICH4 AC97 Audio Controller 01 00 00 AGP Card 02 06 00 NSC PCI to ISA Bridge 02 08 00 LAN2 Controller (optional) 02 09 00 LAN1 Controller 02 0A 00 PCI expansion slot 1 02 0B 00 PCI expansion slot 2 02 0D 00 PCI expansion slot 3 02 0D 00 PCI expansion slot 4 02 0E 00 PCI expansion slot 5
33
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Interrupts

IRQ System Resource NMI I/O channel check 0 Reserved, interval timer 1 Reserved (keyboard) 2 Reserved (cascade) 3 COM2* 4 COM1* 5 User Available for PCI 6 Floppy Drive 7 LPT1* 8 Real time clock 9 User Available for PCI 10 User Available for PCI 11 User Available for PCI 12 PS/2 mouse port 13 Reserved (math coprocessor) 14 Primary IDE 15 Secondary IDE
*Default, but can be changed to another IRQ

SMBUS

Device Slave Address SIO 00101101b Optional EEPROM 10100110b DIMM0 01010000b DIMM1 01010001b Clock Chip Write 11010010b Clock Chip Read 11010011b
34

PCI Interrupt Routing Map

ICH4 Signal PCI Slot 1 PCI Slot 2 PCI Slot 3 PCI Slot 4 PCI Slot 5 Ethernet 1 Ethernet 2 IDE INTA Audio INTA ISA Br. AD22 USB 1 INTA USB 2 INTA USB 3 INTA USB 2.0 INTA SMBus INTA AGP INTA INTB VGA INTA
ID
PIRQA PIRQB PIRQC PIRQD PIRQ E PIRQF PIRQG PIRQH
SEL
AD26 INTA INTB INTC INTD
AD27 INTB INTC INTD INTA
AD28 INTC INTD INTA INTB
AD29 INTD INTA INTB INTC
AD30 INTB INTC INTD INTA
AD25 INTA
INTA

Connectors Pin-out

How to identify pin number 1: Looking to the solder side (The board side without components) of the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), pin number 1 will have a squared pad J. Other pins will have a circular pad Q.
How to identify other pins: Connectors type DB, PS/2, RJ45, Power ATX and USB are industry standards. DB connectors, for instance, are numbered sequentially. The first row is numbered in sequence (be aware that male and female connectors are mirrored – male connectors are numbered from left to right when viewed from front and female connectors are numbered from right to left when viewed from front). The following rows resume the counting on the same side of pin number 1. The counting is NOT circular like Integrated Circuits (legacy from electronic tubes).
1z2z3z4z5z 6z7z8z9z
DB9 Male Front view
54321 9876
DB9 Female Front view
35
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Header connectors are numbered alternately, i.e. pin number 2 is in the other row, but in the same column of pin number 1. Pin number 3 is in the same row of pin 1, but in the next column and so forth.
1 3z 5z 7z 9z 2z 4z 6z 8z10z
Table A-9 Serial Port SER A DB9 Connector
Header 10 pin connector View from solder side of the PCB
Pin# Serial Port DB9M – J2
1 DCD 2 RX 3 TX 4 DTR 5 GND 6 DSR 7 RTS 8 CTS 9 RI
Table A-10 Serial Port SER B Header Connector
Pin# Serial Port Header - J8
1 DCD - RS-422/485RXA(opt.) 2 DSR 3 RX - RS-422/485TXB(opt.) 4 RTS 5 TX - RS-422/485TXA(opt.) 6 CTS 7 DTR 8 RI – RS-422/485RXB(opt.) 9 GND
10 Key
36
Table A-11 J3 Ethernet 1 RJ45
Pin# Ethernet RJ45 – J3
1 TX+ 2 TX­3 RX+ 4 Shorted to 5 5 Shorted to 4 6 RX­7 Shorted to 8 8 Shorted to 7
Table A-12 J7 USB/Ethernet 2 (optional) Connector
Pin# USB Connector – J7A
1 +5V – USB2 2 -D – USB2 3 +D – USB2 4 GROUND – USB2 5 +5V – USB3 6 -D – USB3 7 +D – USB3 8 GROUND – USB3
Pin#
Ethernet 2 (optional) Connector –
J7B
1 TX+ 2 TX­3 RX+ 4 Shorted to 5 5 Shorted to 4 6 RX­7 Shorted to 8 8 Shorted to 7
37
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Table A-13 J6 Parallel DB25 Connector
Pin# Parallel DB25F – J6
1 -STROBE 2 +DATA BIT 0 3 +DATA BIT 1 4 +DATA BIT 2 5 +DATA BIT 3 6 +DATA BIT 4 7 +DATA BIT 5 8 +DATA BIT 6
9 +DATA BIT 7 10 ACK1 11 BUSY 12 PAPER EMPTY 13 SLCT 14 AUTOFEED 15 ERROR 16 INIT 17 SLCT IN
18-25 GND
Table A-14 J9 Keyboard/Mouse Header Connector
Pin# Keyboard/Mouse Header - J11
1 Mouse CLK
2 Keyboard CLK
3 HDD LED
4 Keyboard Data
5 VCC
6 VCC
7 GND
8 Mouse Data
9 GND
10 Key
38
Table A-15 J32 USB Ports 4 & 5 Header Connector
Pin# USB Header – J32
1 +5V – USB5
2 +5V – USB4
3 -D – USB5
4 -D – USB4
5 +D – USB5
6 +D – USB4
7 GROUND – USB5
8 GROUND – USB4
Table A-16 CPU Fan, Rear Chassis Fan, , Intruder, andKeylock.
Connector Description
J26
J12
J28
J39
CPU FAN (pin out for PCB rev.3+)
1) Sense 2)+12V 3) GND (PWM)
Rear Chassis FAN
1)Sense 2)+12V 3) GND (PWM)
Intruder
1)Sense 2) GND
Keylock
1)Keylock# 2) GND
Table A-17 J38 USB Ports 0 & 1 Header Connector
Pin# USB Header – J38
1 +5V – USB0
2 +5V – USB1
3 -D – USB0
4 -D – USB1
5 +D – USB0
6 +D – USB1
7 GROUND – USB0
8 GROUND – USB1
39
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Table A-18 J40 GPIO Header Connector
Pin# GPIO Header – J40
1 GPIO34
2 GPIO35
3 GPIO36
4 GPIO37
5 GPIO38
6 GND
7 GPIO39
8 GPIO40
9 GPIO41 10 GPIO42 11 GPIO43 12 GND
Table A-19 J37 Front Panel Header Connector
Pin# Front Panel Header – J37
1 HDD LED Anode
2 Power LED Green Blink
3 HDD LED Cathode
4 Power LED Yellow Blink
5 Reset - GND
6 Power Switch
7 Reset
8 Power Switch - GND
9 +5V 10 NC 11 Infra Red Rx (Opt.) 12 GND 13 GND 14 Power LED Cathode - GND 15 Infra Red Tx (Opt.) 16 Power LED Anode
40
Appendix B Flash BIOS
programming and codes
The Gator ATX offers the optional FLASH BIOS. When installed, you will be able to update your BIOS without having to replace the EPROM. The General Software embedded BIOS 2000 will read the new BIOS file from a floppy disk when running MS-DOS, replace the old BIOS and ask you to reboot your computer.
When updating your BIOS, make sure you have a disk with the correct BIOS file (its size should be 4Mb (512kB)).
How to reflash the BIOS:
About the General Software Reflash utility:
Reflash is a simple utility that loads a valid Embedded BIOS image, and uses the media driver from the BIOS within that image to reflash the BIOS. Be aware that this operation MUST NOT BE INTERUPTED! A power outage may be fatal. No recovery method is provided, since Embedded BIOS does not support a boot block recovery structure at this time.
Running Reflash from the command line:
• Boot from MS-DOS without loading EMM386.exe and HIMEM.SYS.
• Have a directory containing the following files:
o Reflash.exe o Reflash.cmd o BIOS.bin o BIOS.abs
Where “BIOS” is the BIOS revision file that you want to load in the flash part.
• Type reflash and hit <enter>.
• Answer yes to the confirmation question.
• Reboot the machine when the procedure is over.
41
Gator ATX – Installation Guide

Troubleshooting POST

Embedded BIOS writes progress codes, also known as POST codes, to I/O port 80h during POST, in order to provide information to OEM developers about system faults. These POST codes may be monitored by the On-board POST Display.
Table B-1 Embedded BIOS 2000 POST Codes
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_START 00h Start POST (BIOS is
POST_STATUS_CPUTEST 01h Start CPU register test. POST_STATUS_DELAY 02h Start power-on delay. POST_STATUS_ DELAYDONE POST_STATUS_ KBDBATRDY POST_STATUS_ DISABSHADOW POST_STATUS_ CALCCKSUM POST_STATUS_ CKSUMGOOD POST_STATUS_BATVRFY 08h Verifying BAT command to
POST_STATUS_KBDCMD 09h Start KBC command. POST_STATUS_KBDDATA 0ah Start KBC data. POST_STATUS_ BLKUNBLK POST_STATUS_KBDNOP 0ch Start KBC NOP command. POST_STATUS_SHUTTEST 0dh Test CMOS RAM shutdown
POST_STATUS_ CMOSDIAG POST_STATUS_CMOSINIT 0fh Initialize CMOS contents. POST_STATUS_ CMOSSTATUS POST_STATUS_ DISABDMAINT POST_STATUS_ DISABPORTB
executing).
03h Power-on delay finished.
04h Keyboard BAT finished.
05h Disable shadowing & cache.
06h Compute ROM CRC, wait
for KBC.
07h CRC okay, KBC ready.
KB.
0bh Start pin 23,24 blocking &
unblocking.
register.
0eh Check CMOS checksum.
10h Initialize CMOS status for
date/time.
11h Disable DMA, PICs.
12h Disable Port B, video
display.
42
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_BOARD 13h Initialize board, start
memory detection. POST_STATUS_ TESTTIMER POST_STATUS_ TESTTIMER2 POST_STATUS_ TESTTIMER1 POST_STATUS_ TESTTIMER0 POST_STATUS_ MEMREFRESH POST_STATUS_ TESTREFRESH POST_STATUS_TEST15US 1ah Test 15usec refresh ON/OFF
POST_STATUS_TEST64KB 1bh Test base 64KB memory. POST_STATUS_TESTDATA 1ch Test data lines. POST_STATUS_TESTADDR 20h Test address lines. POST_STATUS_ TESTPARITY POST_STATUS_ TESTMEMRDWR POST_STATUS_SYSINIT 23h Prepare system for IVT
POST_STATUS_ INITVECTORS POST_STATUS_ 8042TURBO POST_STATUS_ POSTTURBO POST_STATUS_ POSTVECTORS POST_STATUS_ MONOMODE POST_STATUS_ COLORMODE POST_STATUS_ TOGGLEPARITY POST_STATUS_ INITBEFOREVIDEO
14h Start timer tests.
15h Test 8254 T2, for speaker,
port B.
16h Test 8254 T1, for refresh.
17h Test 8254 T0, for 18.2Hz.
18h Start memory refresh.
19h Test memory refresh.
time.
21h Test parity (toggling).
22h Test Base 64KB memory.
initialization.
24h Initialize vector table.
25h Read 8042 for turbo switch
setting.
26h Initialize turbo data.
27h Modification of IVT.
28h Video in monochrome mode
verified.
29h Video in color mode
verified.
2ah Toggle parity before video
ROM test.
2bh Initialize before video ROM
check.
43
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_ VIDEOROM POST_STATUS_ POSTVIDEO POST_STATUS_ CHECKEGAVGA POST_STATUS_ TESTVIDEOMEMORY POST_STATUS_RETRACE 30h Scan for video retrace
POST_STATUS_ ALTDISPLAY POST_STATUS_ ALTRETRACE POST_STATUS_ VRFYSWADAPTER POST_STATUS_ SETDISPMODE POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40A POST_STATUS_ SETCURSOR POST_STATUS_ PWRONDISPLAY POST_STATUS_ SAVECURSOR POST_STATUS_BIOSIDENT 39h Display BIOS identification
POST_STATUS_HITDEL 3ah Display “Hit <DEL> to ...”
POST_STATUS_VIRTUAL 40h Prepare protected mode test. POST_STATUS_DESCR 41h Prepare descriptor tables. POST_STATUS_ENTERVM 42h Enter virtual mode for
POST_STATUS_ENABINT 43h Enable interrupts for
POST_STATUS_ CHECKWRAP1 POST_STATUS_ CHECKWRAP2 POST_STATUS_ HIGHPATTERNS
2ch Passing control to video
ROM.
2dh Control returned from video
ROM.
2eh Check for EGA/VGA
adapter.
2fh No EGA/VGA found, test
video memory.
signal.
31h Primary retrace failed.
32h Alternate found.
33h Verify video switches.
34h Establish display mode.
35h Initialize ROM BIOS data
area.
36h Set cursor for power-on
msg.
37h Display power-on message.
38h Save cursor position.
string.
message.
memory test.
diagnostics mode.
44h Initialize data for memory
wrap test.
45h Test for wrap, find total
memory size.
46h Write extended memory test
patterns.
44
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_ LOWPATTERNS POST_STATUS_ FINDLOWMEM POST_STATUS_ FINDHIMEM POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40B POST_STATUS_ CHECKDEL POST_STATUS_ CLREXTMEM POST_STATUS_ SAVEMEMSIZE POST_STATUS_ COLD64TEST POST_STATUS_ COLDLOWTEST POST_STATUS_ ADJUSTLOW POST_STATUS_ COLDHITEST POST_STATUS_ REALMODETEST POST_STATUS_ ENTERREAL POST_STATUS_ SHUTDOWN POST_STATUS_DISABA20 55h Disable A20 line. POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40C POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40D POST_STATUS_ CLRHITDEL POST_STATUS_ TESTDMAPAGE POST_STATUS_ VRFYDISPMEM POST_STATUS_ TESTDMA0BASE
47h Write conventional memory
test patterns.
48h Find low memory size from
patterns.
49h Find high memory size from
patterns.
4ah Verify ROM BIOS data area
again.
4bh Check for <DEL> pressed.
4ch Clear extended memory for
soft reset.
4dh Save memory size.
4eh Cold boot: Display 1st
64KB memtest.
4fh Cold boot: Test all of low
memory.
50h Adjust memory size for
EBDA usage.
51h Cold boot: Test high
memory.
52h Prepare for shutdown to real
mode.
53h Return to real mode.
54h Shutdown successful.
56h
57h Check ROM BIOS data area
58h Clear “Hit <DEL>“
59h Test DMA page register file.
60h Verify from display
61h Test DMA0 base register.
Check ROM BIOS data area
again.
again.
message.
memory.
45
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_ TESTDMA1BASE POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40E POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40F POST_STATUS_PROGDMA 65h Program DMA controllers. POST_STATUS_ INITINTCTRL POST_STATUS_ STARTKBDTEST POST_STATUS_KBDRESET 80h Issue KB reset command. POST_STATUS_ CHECKSTUCKKEYS POST_STATUS_ INITCIRCBUFFER POST_STATUS_ CHECKLOCKEDKEYS POST_STATUS_ MEMSIZEMISMATCH POST_STATUS_ PASSWORD POST_STATUS_ BEFORESETUP POST_STATUS_ CALLSETUP POST_STATUS_ POSTSETUP POST_STATUS_ DISPPWRON POST_STATUS_DISPWAIT 8ah Display “Wait...” message. POST_STATUS_ ENABSHADOW POST_STATUS_ STDCMOSSETUP POST_STATUS_MOUSE 8dh Test and initialize mouse. POST_STATUS_FLOPPY 8eh Test floppy disks. POST_STATUS_ CONFIGFLOPPY POST_STATUS_IDE 90h Test hard disks. POST_STATUS_ CONFIGIDE
62h Test DMA1 base register.
63h Checking ROM BIOS data
area again.
64h Checking ROM BIOS data
area again.
66h Initialize PICs.
67h Start keyboard test.
81h Check for stuck keys.
82h Initialize circular buffer.
83h Check for locked keys.
84h Check for memory size
mismatch.
85h Check for password or
bypass setup.
86h Password accepted.
87h Entering setup system.
88h Setup system exited.
89h Display power-on screen
message.
8bh Shadow system & video
BIOS.
8ch Load standard setup values
from CMOS.
8fh Configure floppy drives.
91h Configure IDE drives.
46
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40G POST_STATUS_ CHECKSEG40H POST_STATUS_ SETMEMSIZE POST_STATUS_ SIZEADJUST POST_STATUS_INITC8000 96h Initialize before calling
POST_STATUS_CALLC8000 97h Call ROM BIOS extension
POST_STATUS_POSTC8000 98h ROM C800h extension
POST_STATUS_ TIMERPRNBASE POST_STATUS_ SERIALBASE POST_STATUS_ INITBEFORENPX POST_STATUS_INITNPX 9ch Initialize numeric
POST_STATUS_POSTNPX 9dh Numeric coprocessor
POST_STATUS_ CHECKLOCKS POST_STATUS_ ISSUEKBDID POST_STATUS_RESETID 0a0h KB ID flag reset. POST_STATUS_ TESTCACHE POST_STATUS_ DISPSOFTERR POST_STATUS_ TYPEMATIC POST_STATUS_MEMWAIT 0a4h Program memory wait
POST_STATUS_CLRSCR 0a5h Clear screen. POST_STATUS_ ENABPTYNMI POST_STATUS_INITE000 0a7h Initialize before calling
92h Checking ROM BIOS data
area.
93h Checking ROM BIOS data
area.
94h Set base & extended
memory sizes.
95h Adjust low memory size for
EBDA.
C800h ROM.
at C800h.
returned.
99h Configure timer/printer data.
9ah Configure serial port base
addresses.
9bh Prepare to initialize
coprocessor.
coprocessor.
initialized.
9eh Check KB settings.
9fh Issue keyboard ID
command.
0a1h Test cache memory.
0a2h Display soft errors.
0a3h Set keyboard typematic rate.
states.
0a6h Enable parity and NMIs.
ROM at E000h.
47
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Mnemonic Code Code System Progress Report
POST_STATUS_CALLE000 0a8h Call ROM BIOS extension
at E000h. POST_STATUS_POSTE000 0a9h ROM extension returned. POST_STATUS_ DISPCONFIG POST_STATUS_ INT19BOOT POST_STATUS_ LOWMEMEXH POST_STATUS_ EXTMEMEXH POST_STATUS_PCIENUM 0b3h Enumerate PCI busses.
0b0h Display system
configuration box.
00h Call INT 19h bootstrap
loader.
0b1h Test low memory
exhaustively.
0b2h Test extended memory
exhaustively.

Critical Error BEEP Codes

Embedded BIOS tests much of the hardware early in POST before messages can be displayed on the screen. When system failures are encountered at these early stages, POST uses beep codes (a sequence of tones on the speaker) to identify the source of the error.
The following is a comprehensive list of POST beep codes for the system BIOS. BIOS extensions, such as VGA ROMs and SCSI adapter ROMs, may use their own beep codes, including short/long sequences, or possibly beep codes that sound like the ones below. When diagnosing a system failure, remove these adapters if possible before making a final determination of the actual POST test that failed.
Table B-2 Flash BIOS Beep Errors
Mnemonic Code
POST_BEEP_REFRESH 1 Memory refresh is not
POST_BEEP_PARITY 2 Parity error found in 1st
POST_BEEP_BASE64KB 3 Memory test of 1st
POST_BEEP_TIMER 4 T1 timer test failed.
POST_BEEP_CPU 5 CPU test failed.
48
Beep
Count
Description of
Problem
working.
64KB of memory.
64KB failed.
Mnemonic Code
POST_BEEP_GATEA20 6 Gate A20 test failed.
POST_BEEP_DMA 7 DMA page/base register
POST_BEEP_VIDEO 8 Video controller test
POST_BEEP_KEYBOARD 9 Keyboard test failed.
POST_BEEP_SHUTDOWN 10 CMOS shutdown
POST_BEEP_CACHE 11 External cache test
POST_BEEP_BOARD 12 General board
POST_BEEP_LOWMEM 13 Exhaustive low memory
POST_BEEP_EXTMEM 14 Exhaustive extended
POST_BEEP_CMOS 15 CMOS restart byte test
POST_BEEP_ADDRESS_LINE 16 Address line test failed.
POST_BEEP_DATA_LINE 17 Data line test failed.
POST_BEEP_INTERRUPT 18 Interrupt controller test
POST_BEEP_PASSWORD 1 Incorrect password used
Beep
Count
Description of
Problem
test failed.
failed.
register test failed.
failed.
initialization failed.
test failed.
memory test failed.
failed.
failed.
to access SETUP.
49
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
User's Notes:
50
Appendix C On-Board
Industrial Devices
The Gator ATX offers On-board two (optional second one) 10/100 Ethernet controllers (First one optional 10/100/1000) and two serial ports (one RS-422/485 optional). The Gator ATX also offers two other On-Board Industrial devices: One ISA bridge and a Post Code display that will help you on troubleshooting.

Post Code Display

The POST code display is a device implemented on the Gator ATX to help on failure diagnostics. A POST code is transmitted by the BIOS during the POST (Power On Self Test). It is a number that refers to the state or test condition of a circuit or group of circuits. Knowing the results of these tests (hence the POST code) can be very important in debugging a system.
POST Checkpoint Codes
When Embedded BIOS 2000 performs the Power On Self Test, it writes diagnostic codes checkpoint codes to I/O port 0080h where the POST code display is connected. Please, refer to Appendix B for POST codes description.

ISA Bridge

The Gator ATX features a National Semiconductor PC87200 PCI to ISA Bridge. The PC87200 Enhanced Integrated PCI-to-ISA bridge works with an LPC chipset to provide ISA slot support.
The following summarizes the PCI to ISA bridge features:
- 5.0 V tolerant PCI and ISA interfaces.
- Slave mode serialized IRQ support for both quiet and continuous modes.
- PC/PCI DMA support.
- Supports ISA bus mastering.
- PCI 2.1 compliant 33 MHz bus.
- Supports PCI initiator-to-ISA and ISA master-to-PCI cycle translations.
51
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
- Subtractive agent for unclaimed transactions.
- Parallel to Serial IRQ conversion including IRQ3,4,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,14,15.
- Supports 2 ISA slots directly without buffering.
- Slow slew rate on edges.

On-board Ethernet

The Gator ATX features two 10/100 Ethernet controllers. Ethernet controller 1 is an Intel 82559ER (or 82551ER), that may optionally be upgraded to an Intel 82540EM, which is a 10/100/1000Mbps device. The optional Ethernet controller 2 is the Intel ICH4 internal MAC + Intel 82562EM PHY.
The 82559ER/551ER is a 32-bit PCI controller that features enhanced scatter-gather bus mastering capabilities, which enable the 82559ER/551ER to perform high-speed data transfers over the PCI bus. The 82559ER/551ER bus master capabilities enable the component to process high-level commands and to perform multiple operations, thereby off-loading communication tasks from the system CPU.
It can operate in either full duplex or half duplex mode. In full duplex mode it adheres to the IEEE 802.3x Flow Control specification. Half duplex performance is enhanced by a proprietary collision reduction mechanism.
It can be enabled or disabled through jumper JP1.
The ICH4’s integrated LAN controller (optional second Ethernet) includes a 32-bit PCI controller that provides enhanced scatter-gather bus mastering capabilities and enables the LAN controller to perform high-speed data transfers over the PCI bus. Its bus master capabilities enable the component to process high level commands and perform multiple operations, which lowers processor utilization by off-loading communication tasks from the processor. Two large transmit and receive FIFOs of 3 KB each help prevent data underruns and overruns while waiting for bus accesses. This enables the integrated LAN controller to transmit data with minimum interframe spacing (IFS).
The ICH4 integrated LAN controller can operate in either full-duplex or half-duplex mode. In full- duplex mode the LAN controller adheres with the IEEE 802.3x Flow Control specification. Half duplex
52
performance is enhanced by a proprietary collision reduction mechanism.
The following summarizes the ICH4 LAN controller features:
- Compliance with Advanced Configuration and Power Interface and PCI Power Management standards.
- Support for wake-up on interesting packets and link status change.
- Support for remote power-up using Wake on LAN (WOL) technology.
- Deep power-down mode support.
- Support of Wired for Management (WfM) Rev 2.0.
- Backward compatible software with 82557, 82558 and 82559.
- TCP/UDP checksum off load capabilities.
- Support for Intel’s Adaptive Technology.
The Intel 82540EM (optional for Ethernet 1) combines Intel’s fourth­generation Gigabit MAC design, with fully integrated, physical-layer circuitry to provide a standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface for 1000BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and 10BASE-T applications (802.3,
802.3u, 802.3ab).
The Intel 82540EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller architecture is optimized to deliver both high-performance networking and PCI bus efficiency with the lowest power and smallest size. Using state logic design with a pipelined DMA Unit and 128-bit-wide buses for the fastest performance, the 82540EM controller handles Gigabit Ethernet traffic with low network latency and minimal internal processing overhead. The controller’s architecture includes independent transmit and receive queues to limit PCI bus traffic, and a PCI interface that maximizes the use of bursts for efficient bus usage. The Intel 82540EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller prefetches up to 64 packet descriptors in a single burst for efficient PCI-bandwidth usage. A 64KB, on-chip packet buffer maintains superior performance as available PCI bandwidth changes. Advanced interrupt moderation hardware manages interrupts generated by the 82540EM controller to further improve system efficiency. In addition, using hardware acceleration, the controller also offloads tasks from the host processor, such as TCP/UDP/IP checksum calculations and TCP segmentation.
53
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
The RJ45 Ethernet Connector pin-out of Ethernet 1 can be seen on Table A-11, and the RJ45 Ethernet Connector (USB/RJ45 combo) pin­out of Ethernet 2 (optional) can be seen on Table A-12.

Serial Ports

The Gator ATX has two fixed RS-232 serial ports SER A and SER B (RS-422/485 optional).
TIA/EIA-232
RS is the abbreviation for recommended standard. Usually, it is based on or is identical to other standards, e.g., EIA/TIA-232-F. TIA/EIA­232, previously known as RS-232 was developed in the 1960’s to interconnect layers of the interface (ITU–T V.11), but also the pignut of the appropriate connectors (25-pin D-type or 9-pin DB9S) (ISO 2210) and the protocol (ISSUED-T V.24). The interface standard specifies also handshake and control lines in addition to the 2 unidirectional receive data line (RD) and transmit data line (TD). The control lines data carrier detect (DCD), data set ready (DSR), request to send (RTS), clear to send (CTS), data terminal ready (DTR), and the ring indicator (RI) might be used, but do not necessarily have to be (for example, the PC-serial-mouse utilizes only RI, TD, RD and GND). Although the standard supports only low speed data rates and line length of approximately 20 m maximum, it is still widely used. This is due to its simplicity and low cost.
Electrical
TIA/EIA-232 has high signal amplitudes of ±(5 V to 15 V) at the driver output. The triggering of the receiver depends on the sign of the input voltage: that is, it senses whether the input is above 3 V or less than –3 V. The line length is limited by the allowable capacitive load of less than 2500 pF. This results in a line length of approximately 20 m. The maximum slope of the signal is limited to 30 V/ms. The intention here is to limit any reflections that can occur to the rise-and fall-times of the signal. Therefore, transmission line theory does not need to be applied, so no impedance matching and termination measures are necessary.
Do not connect termination resistor when operating in RS-232 mode.
54
Protocol
Different from other purely electrical-layer-standards, TIA/EIA-232 defines not only the physical layer of the interface (ITU-T V.11), but also the pinout of the appropriate connectors (25-pin D-type or 9-pin DB9S) (ISO 2210) and the protocol (ITU-T V.24). The interface standard specifies also handshake and control lines in addition to the 2 unidirectional receive data line (RD) and transmit data line (TD). The control lines might be used, but do not necessarily have to be.
RS-232 is Single-Ended Point-to-point Transmission
Single-Ended, Point-to-Point
Single-ended transmission is performed on one signal line, and the logical state is interpreted with respect to ground. For simple, low­speed interfaces, a common ground return path is sufficient; for more advanced interfaces featuring higher speeds and heavier loads, a single return path for each signaling line (twisted pair cable) is recommended. The figure below shows the electrical schematic diagram of a single­ended transmission system.
Advantages of Single-Ended Transmission
The advantages of single-ended transmission are simplicity and low cost of implementation. A single-ended system requires only one line per signal. It is therefore ideal for cabling, and connector costs are more important than the data transfer rate, e.g. PC, parallel printer port or serial communication with many handshaking lines, e.g. EIA-232. Cabling costs can be kept to a minimum with short distance communication, depending on data throughput, requiring no more than
55
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
a low cost ribbon cable. For longer distances and/or noisy environments, shielding and additional ground lines are essential. Twisted pair cables are recommended for line lengths of more than 1 meter.
TIA/EIA-422
TIA/EIA-422 (RS-422) allows a multi-drop interconnection of one driver, transmitting unidirectionally to up to 10 receivers. Although it is not capable of bidirectional transfer, it is still applicable and used for talker-audience scenarios.
Electrical
TIA/EIA-422 (ITU-T V.11) is comparable to TIA/EIA-485. It is limited to unidirectional data traffic and is terminated only at the line- end opposite to the driver. The maximum line length is 1200m, the maximum data rate is determined by the signal rise- and fall-times at the receiver’s side (requirement: <10% of bit duration). TIA/EIA-422 allows up to ten receivers (input impedance of 4 kΩ attached to one driver. The maximum load is limited to 80 Ω. Although any TIA/EIA­485 transceiver can be used in a TIA/EIA-422 system, dedicated TIA/EIA-422 circuits are not feasible for TIA/EIA-485, due to short circuit current limitations. The TIA/EIA-422 standard requires only short circuit limitation to 150 mA to ground, while TIA/EIA-485 additionally has to limit short circuit currents to 250 mA from the bus pins to –7 V and 12 V to address malfunctions in combination with ground shifts.
RS-422 is terminated only at the line-end opposite to the driver even if there is only one receiver.
56
Protocol
Not applicable/none specified.
RS-422 is Differential and may be either Point-to-Point or Multi­Drop Connected
Differential, Point-to-Point
Differential, Multi-Drop
Differential Transmission
For balanced or differential transmission, a pair of signal lines is necessary for each channel. On one line, a true signal is transmitted, while on the second one, the inverted signal is transmitted. The receiver detects voltage difference between the inputs and switches the output depending on which input line is more positive. As shown below, there is additionally a ground return path.
Balanced interface circuits consist of a generator with differential outputs and a receiver with differential inputs. Better noise performance stems from the fact that noise is coupled into both wires of
57
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
the signal pair in much the same way and is common to both signals. Due to the common mode rejection capability of a differential amplifier, this noise will be rejected. Additionally, since the signal line emits the opposite signal like the adjacent signal return line, the emissions cancel each other. This is true in any case for crosstalk from and to neighboring signal lines. It is also true for noise from other sources as long as the common mode voltage does not go beyond the common mode range of the receiver. Since ground noise is also common to both signals, the receiver rejects this noise as well. The twisted pair cable used in these interfaces in combination with a correct line termination—to avoid line reflections—allows very high data rates and a cable length of up to 1200 m.
Advantages of Differential Transmission
Differential data transmission schemes are less susceptible to common­mode noise than single-ended schemes. Because this kind of transmission uses two wires with opposite current and voltage swings compared to only one wire for single-ended, any external noise is coupled onto the two wires as a common mode voltage and is rejected by the receivers. This two-wire approach with opposite current and voltage swings also radiates less electro-magnetic interference (EMI) noise than single-ended signals due to the canceling of magnetic fields.
TIA/EIA-485
Historically, TIA/EIA-422 was on the market before TIA/EIA-485. Due to the lack of bi-directional capabilities, a new standard adding this feature was created: TIA/EIA-485 . The standard (TIA/EIA-485-A or ISO/IEC 8284) defines the electrical characteristics of the interconnection, including driver, line, and receiver. It allows data rates in the range of 35 Mbps and above and line lengths of up to 1200 m. Of course both limits can not be reached at the same time. Furthermore, recommendations are given regarding wiring and termination. The specification does not give any advice on the connector or any protocol requirements.
Electrical
TIA/EIA-485 describes a half-duplex, differential transmission on cable lengths of up to 1200 m and at data rates of typically up to 35 Mbps (requirement similar to TIA/EIA-422, but tr<30% of the bit duration, there are also faster devices available, suited for higher rates
58
under certain load-conditions). The standard allows a maximum of 32 unit loads of 12 kΩ, equal to 32 standard nodes or even higher count with increased input impedance. The maximum total load should not drop below 52 Ω. The common-mode voltage levels on the bus have to maintain between –7 V and 12 V. The receivers have to be capable to detect a differential input signal as low as 200 mV.
RS-485 is terminated at both sides of the common bus, even if only two stations are connected to the backbone.
Protocol
Not applicable/none specified; exceptions: SCSI systems and the DIN­Bus DIN66348.
RS-485 is Differential and Multi-Point Connected
Differential Transmission
Please, read the Differential Transmission explanation in the previous RS-422 section.
59
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
Termination Resistors
Follow instructions in the previous RS-422 and RS-485 sections. The termination resistors available are rated to 120Ω.
Ground Connections
All 422- and 485-compliant system configurations shown up to this point do not have incorporated signal-return paths to ground. Obviously, having a solid ground connection so that both receivers and drivers can talk error free is imperative. The figure below shows how to make this connection and recommends adding some resistance between logic and chassis ground to avoid excess ground-loop currents. Logic ground does not have any resistance in its path from the driver or receiver. A potential problem might exist, especially during transients, when a high-voltage potential between the remote grounds could develop. Therefore, some resistance between them is recommended.
60
Appendix D On-Board
Video Controller
The Gator ATX has an On-board video controller. The On-board video controller is based on the Intel 82845GE GMCH.
82845GE GMCH Integrated Graphics Support
The 82845GE GMCH provides a highly integrated graphics accelerator while allowing a flexible integrated system graphics solution High­bandwidth access to data is provided through the system memory port. The GMCH can access graphics data located in system memory at 2.1 GB/s (DDR266). The GMCH uses Intel’s Direct Memory Execution model to fetch textures from system memory. The GMCH includes a cache controller to avoid frequent memory fetches of recently used texture data.
The GMCH is able to drive an integrated DAC, and/or two DVO ports (multiplexed with AGP) capable of driving an ADD card. The DAC is capable of driving a standard progressive scan analog monitor with resolutions up to 2048x1536 at 60 Hz. The DVO ports are capable of driving a variety of TV-Out, TMDS, and LVDS transmitters.
The GMCH’s IGD contains several functional units. The major components in the IGD are the graphics engines, planes, pipe, and ports. The GMCH has a 3D/2D Instruction Processing unit to control the 3D and 2D engines. Data is input to the IGD’s 2D and 3D engines from the system memory controller. The output of the engines are surfaces sent to memory, which are then retrieved and processed by GMCH’s planes.
The GMCH contains a variety of planes (e.g., primary display, overlay, cursor, and VGA). The IGD does not support VGA memory accesses during graphics accelerator operations (e.g., 2D and 3D engine activity). The Intel graphics driver controls VGA and high-resolution graphics interaction. VGA and high resolution interaction will remain exclusive. A plane consists of a rectangular shaped image that has characteristics such as source, size, position, method, and format. These planes get attached to source surfaces that are rectangular memory surfaces with a similar set of characteristics. They are also associated with a destination pipe. A pipe consists of a set of combined planes and
61
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
a timing generator. The GMCH has a single display pipe, which means that the GMCH can support a single display stream. A port is the destination for the result of the pipe. The GMCH contains three display ports, one analog (DAC), and two digital (DVO ports B and C). The ports will be explained in more detail in a subsequent section.
The entire IGD is fed with data from the memory controller. The performance of the IGD is directly related to the amount of bandwidth available. If the engines are not receiving data fast enough from the memory controller, the rest of the IGD will also be affected.
Display Interfaces
The 82845GE GMCH has three display ports, one analog and two digital. Each port can transmit data according to one or more protocols. The digital ports are connected to an external device that converts one protocol to another. Examples of this are TV encoders, external DACs, LVDS transmitters, and TMDS transmitters. Each display port has control signals that may be used to control, configure, and/or determine the capabilities of an external device.
The GMCH has one dedicated display port, the analog port. DVO ports B and C are multiplexed with the AGP interface. When a system utilizes an AGP connector, DVO ports B and C can be utilized via an ADD (AGP Digital Display) card. Ports B and C can also operate in dual-channel mode, where the data bus is connected to both display ports, allowing a single device to take data at twice the pixel rate.
The GMCH’s analog port uses an integrated 350 MHz RAMDAC that can directly drive a standard progressive scan analog monitor up to a resolution of 2048x1536 pixels with 32-bit color at 60 Hz.
The GMCH’s DVO ports are each capable of driving a 165 MHz pixel clock. Each port is capable of driving a digital display up to 1600x1200 at 60 Hz. When in dual-channel mode, the GMCH can drive a flat panel up to 2048x1536 at 60 Hz or dCRT/HDTV up to 1920x1080 at 85 Hz.
The GMCH is compliant with Digital Visual Interface (DVI) Specification, Revision 1.0. When combined with a DVI compliant external device and connector, the GMCH has a high-speed interface to a digital display (e.g., flat panel or digital CRT).
62
Analog Display Port Characteristics
The analog display port provides a RGB signal output along with a HSYNC and VSYNC signal. There is an associated DDC signal pair that is implemented using GPIO pins dedicated to the analog port. The intended target device is for a CRT-based monitor with a VGA connector. Display devices such as LCD panels with analog inputs may work satisfactory but no functionality has been added to the signals to enhance that capability.
Integrated RAMDAC
The display function contains a RAM-based Digital-to-Analog Converter (RAMDAC) that transforms the digital data from the graphics and video subsystems to analog data for the CRT monitor. The GMCH’s integrated 350 MHz RAMDAC supports resolutions up to 1920x1080 at 85 Hz and 2048x1536 at 60 Hz. Three 8-bit DACs provide the R, G, and B signals to the monitor.
VESA/VGA Mode
VESA/VGA mode provides compatibility for pre-existing software that sets the display mode using the VGA CRTC registers. Timings are generated based on the VGA register values and the timing generator registers are not used.
DDC (Display Data Channel)
DDC is a standard defined by VESA. Its purpose is to allow communication between the host system and display. Both configuration and control information can be exchanged allowing plug­and- play systems to be realized. Support for DDC 1 and 2 is implemented. The GMCH uses the DDCA_Clk and Data to communicate with the analog monitor.
Digital Display Interface
The GMCH has several options for driving digital displays. The GMCH contains two DVO ports that are multiplexed on the AGP interface. When an external AGP graphics accelerator is not present, the GMCH can use the multiplexed DVO ports to provide extra digital display options. These additional digital display capabilities may be
63
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
provided through an ADD card, which is designed to plug in to a 1.5 V AGP connector.
Digital Display Channels – DVOB and DVOC
The shared DVO ports each support a pixel clock up to 165 MHz and can support a variety of transmission devices. When using a 24-bit external transmitter, it will be possible to pair the two DVO ports in dual-channel mode to support a single digital display with higher resolutions and refresh rates. In this mode, the GMCH is capable of driving pixel clock up to 330 MHz.
ADD Card
The multiplexed DVO ports can be used via an ADD card. The ADD card fits in a 1.5 V AGP connector.
TMDS Capabilities
The GMCH is compliant with Digital Visual Interface (DVI) Specification, Revision 1.0. When combined with a DVI compliant
external device and connector, the GMCH has a high-speed interface to a digital display (e.g., flat panel or digital CRT). When combining the two multiplexed DVO ports, the GMCH can drive a flat panel up to 2048x1536 at 60 Hz or a dCRT/HDTV up to 1920x1080 at 85 Hz. Flat Panel is a fixed resolution display. While the GMCH has no native panel fitting capabilities, it supports panel fitting in the transmitter, receiver, or an external device. The GMCH, however, provides unscaled mode where the display is centered on the panel.
LVDS Capabilities
The GMCH can use the multiplexed DVO ports to drive an LVDS transmitter. A Flat Panel is a fixed resolution display. While the GMCH has no native panel fitting capabilities, it supports panel fitting in the transmitter, receiver, or an external device. The GMCH provides unscaled mode where the display is centered on the panel. The GMCH supports scaling in the LVDS transmitter through the DVOB (or DVOC)_STL pin, multiplexed with DVOB (or DVOC)_FLD.
LVDS module solution available from the Gator ATX manufacturer.
64
TV-Out Capabilities
While traditional TVs are not digital displays, the GMCH uses a digital display channel to communicate with a TV-Out transmitter. For that reason, the GMCH considers a TV-Output to be a digital display. The GMCH supports NTSC/PAL/SECAM standard definition formats. The GMCH generates the proper timing for the external encoder.
DDC (Display Data Channel)
The GMCH supports the DDC2B protocol to initiate the transfer of EDID data. The multiplexed digital display interface uses the M_I2C bus to interrogate the external transmitter.
Optional High Speed (Dual-Channel) Interface
The multiplexed digital display ports can operate in a single 24-bit mode. The 24-bit mode uses the 12-bit DVOC data pins combined with the DVOB data pins to make a 24-bit bus. This doubles the transfer rate capabilities of the port. In the single port case, horizontal periods have a granularity of a single pixel clock; in the double case, horizontal periods have a granularity of two pixel clocks. In both cases, data is transferred on both edges of the differential clock. The GMCH can output the data in a high-low fashion, with the lower 12 bits of the pixel on one DVO port and the upper 12 bits of data on the other DVO port. In this manner, the GMCH transfers an entire pixel per clock edge (2 pixels per clock). In addition to this, the GMCH also can transfer dual­channel data in odd-even format. In this mode, the GMCH transfers all odd pixels on DVOC and all even pixels on DVOB. In this format, each DVO port sees both the high and low half of the pixel, but only sees half of the pixels transferred. As in high-low mode, two full pixels are transferred per clock period. The high-low ordering within each pixel can be modified through DVO control registers.
DVO Modes
In single-channel mode, the order of pixel transmission (high-low vs. low-high) can be adjusted via the data ordering bit of that DVO port’s control register. As mentioned above, when in dual –channel mode, the GMCH can transmit data in a high-low or odd-even format. In high­low mode, software can choose which half goes to which port. A 0 = DVOB Lo/DVOC Hi, and a 1 = DVOB Hi/ DVOC Lo. In odd/even mode, the odd pixels will always go out to DVOC and even pixels will
65
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
always go out to DVOB. Which DVO port is even and which is odd cannot be switched, but the data order bit can be used to change the active data order within the even and odd pixels. The GMCH considers the first pixel to be pixel zero and sends it out to DVOB.
Synchronous Display
Microsoft Windows* 98 and Windows* 2000 have enabled support for multi-monitor display. Synchronous mode will display the same information on multiple displays. Since the GMCH has several display ports available for its single pipe, it can support synchronous display on two displays, unless one of the displays is a TV. No synchronous display is available when a TV is in use. The GMCH does not support two synchronous digital displays. The GMCH cannot drive multiple displays concurrently (different data or timings). In addition, the GMCH cannot operate in parallel with an external AGP device. The GMCH can, however, work in conjunction with a PCI graphics adapter.
Connectors J23 (AGP/ADD), J25 (DVO) and J1 (VGA) have standard industry pin outs.
66
User's Notes:
67
Gator ATX – Installation Guide
User's Notes:
68
MN-G4GAX-01
Loading...
Buy Points How it Works FAQ Contact Us Questions and Suggestions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms of Use