ASUS P2E-VM User Manual

R

P2L-VM/P2E-VM

Pentium® II microATX Motherboard

USER’S MANUAL

USER'S NOTICE

No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be repro­duced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in
any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes,
without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).

ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PAR­TICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS,
EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDEN­TAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF
PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSI­NESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL
OR PRODUCT.

Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or
altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2)
the serial number of the product is defaced or missing.

Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trade­marks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or
explanation and to the owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

• Intel, LANDesk, and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.

• IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines.

• Symbios is a registered trademark of Symbios Logic Corporation.

• Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

• Soft Synthesizer is a trademark of the Yamaha Corporation.

• Adobe and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
The product name and revision number are both printed on the product itself. Manual revi-

sions are released for each product design represented by the digit before and after the period
of the manual revision number. Manual updates are represented by the third digit in the manual
revision number.

For previous or updated manuals, BIOS, drivers, or product release information, contact ASUS
at http://www.asus.com.tw or through any of the means indicated on the following page.

SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FUR­NISHED FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT
ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COM­MITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR
ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUD­ING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.

Copyright © 1998 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.

Product Name: ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM
Manual Revision: 1.02
Release Date: June 1998

2 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

ASUS CONTACT INFORMATION

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.

Marketing

Address: 150 Li-Te Road, Peitou, Taipei, Taiwan 112
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

Fax: [phone]
BBS: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
WWW: www.asus.com.tw
FTP: ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS

ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL

Marketing

Address: 6737 Mowry Avenue, Mowry Business Center, Building 2

Newark, CA 94560, USA
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

Fax: [phone]
BBS: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
WWW: www.asus.com
FTP: ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS

ASUS COMPUTER GmbH

Marketing

Address: Harkort Str. 25, 40880 Ratingen, BRD, Germany
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

Hotline: [phone]
BBS: 49-2102-448690
Email: [e-mail]
WWW: www.asuscom.de
FTP: ftp.asuscom.de/pub/ASUSCOM

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 3

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 7

How this manual is organized.......................................................... 7

Item Checklist .................................................................................. 7

II. FEATURES .................................................................................... 8

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Motherboard Features............................ 8

Parts of the ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Motherboard.................. 11

III. INSTALLATION .......................................................................... 12

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Motherboard Layout .............................. 12

1. Jumpers ........................................................................................ 14

Installation Steps.............................................................................. 14

2. System Memory (DIMM) ........................................................... 17

DIMM Memory Installation ................................................. 18

3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)................................................... 19

Pentium II Processor............................................................. 19

AAVID Heatsink .................................................................. 23

Elan V ital Heatsink............................................................... 23

4. Expansion Cards .......................................................................... 24

Expansion Card Installation Procedure ................................ 24

Assigning IRQs for Expansion Cards................................... 24

Assigning DMA Channels for ISA Cards............................. 25

ISA Cards and Hardware Monitor ........................................ 25

5. External Connectors.................................................................... 26

Power Connection Procedures ................................................... 35

IV. BIOS SOFTWARE ........................................................................ 36

Support Software ............................................................................. 36

Flash Memory Writer Utility...................................................... 36

Main Menu ........................................................................... 36

Managing and Updating Your Motherboard’s BIOS.................. 38

6. BIOS Setup ................................................................................. 39

Load Defaults ....................................................................... 40

Standard CMOS Setup ............................................................... 40

Details of Standard CMOS Setup:........................................ 40

BIOS Features Setup .................................................................. 43

Details of BIOS Features Setup............................................ 43

Chipset Features Setup ............................................................... 46

Details of Chipset Features Setup......................................... 46

4 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

CONTENTS

Power Management Setup.......................................................... 49

Details of Power Management Setup ................................... 49

PNP and PCI Setup .................................................................... 52

Details of PNP and PCI Setup .............................................. 52

Load BIOS Defaults ................................................................... 54

Load Setup Defaults ................................................................... 54

Supervisor Password and User Password .................................. 55

IDE HDD Auto Detection .......................................................... 56

Save & Exit Setup ...................................................................... 57

Exit Without Saving ................................................................... 57

V. Support CD ...................................................................................... 58

Support CD Main Menu............................................................. 58

A. PC Probe Utility............................................................................. 59

B. Video Driver (Windows 95/98)...................................................... 65

Other V ideo Drivers....................................................................... 85

C. Video Player ................................................................................... 99

D. Audio Driver................................................................................... 103

E. Audio Software............................................................................... 105

F. ASUS LAN Card (Optional).......................................................... 115

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 5

FCC & DOC COMPLIANCE

Federal Communications Commission Statement

This device complies with FCC Rules Part 15. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:

• This device may not cause harmful interference, and

• This device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installa­tion. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if
not installed and used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interfer­ence by one or more of the following measures:

• Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

WARNING! The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the

graphics card is required to assure compliance with FCC regulations. Changes or
modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for com­pliance could void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

Canadian Department of Communications Statement

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications.

6 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

I. INTRODUCTION

How this manual is organized

This manual is divided into the following sections:

I. Introduction: Manual information and checklist
II. Features: Information and specifications concerning this product
III. Installation: Instructions on setting up the motherboard
IV. BIOS Software: Instructions on setting up the BIOS software
V. Support CD: Information on the included support software

Item Checklist

Please check that your package is complete. If you discover damaged or missing
items, please contact your retailer.

(1) ASUS Motherboard
(1) Retention mechanism & heatsink support for CPU
(2) Attach mount bridges

Manual / Checklist

I. INTRODUCTION

(1) IDE ribbon cable for master and slave drives
(1) Floppy ribbon cable for (1) 5.25inch floppy and (2) 3.5inch floppies
(1) Bag of spare jumper caps

(1) Support drivers and utilities
(1) Motherboard User’s Manual

COM2 bracket (optional)
COM2 + TV-Out bracket (optional)
ASUS DIMM memory module (optional)
ASUS PCI-L101 Wake-on-LAN 10/100 Fast Ethernet Card (optional)

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 7

II. FEATURES

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Motherboard Features

The ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM motherboard is carefully designed for the demanding
PC user who wants many features in a small package.

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Specifications:

• microATX: Features ASUS’ custom designed microATX form factor.

II. FEATURES

Features

• Multi-Speed: Supports the Intel Pentium® II (233MHz–333MHz) and Celeron™

(266MHz and faster) processors.

• Intel AGPset: Features Intel’ s 440LX or 440EX AGPset with I/O subsystems.

• Onboard AGP VGA: Features ATI 3D Rage Pro AGP 2X VGA chipset onboard

with 8MB SDRAM memory.

• Onboard Audio (optional): Features surround sound audio onboard with digital

audio SPDIF (Sony/Philips digital interface) input/output. 16-bit full-duplex Sound
Blaster 16/PRO compatible with stereo voice up to 48KHz sampling. Features 3D
positional audio supporting Microsoft Direct Sound 3D DirextX 5.0.

• V ersatile Memory: Supports two DIMM sockets to support 8MB-128MB 168-

pin 3.3Volt SDRAM/EDO memory modules up to 256MB.

• Ultra DMA/33 BM IDE/Floppy: Comes with an onboard PCI Bus Master IDE

controller with two connectors that supports four IDE devices in two channels,
supports Ultra DMA/33, PIO Modes 0 to 4 and Bus Master IDE DMA Modes 0 to
2, and supports Enhanced IDE devices, such as T ape Backup and CD-ROM drives.
Supports two drives of either 5.25-inch (360KB or 1.2MB) or 3.5-inch (720KB,

1.44MB, or 2.88MB) disk drives. Supports Japanese “Floppy 3 mode” (3.5-inch
disk drive: 1.2MB) and LS-120 floppy disk drives (3.5-inch disk drive: 120 MB,

1.44MB, 720K). BIOS also supports IDE CD-ROM or SCSI device boot-up.

• Multi-Cache: Supports a Pentium

0KB Pipelined Burst Level 2 cache in the Single Edge Contact (SEC) cartridge.

®

II processor with either 512KB, 128KB, or

• Super Multi-I/O: Provides two high-speed UART compatible serial ports and

one parallel port with EPP and ECP capabilities. UART2 can also be directed
from COM2 to the Infrared Module for wireless connections.

• AMC: Supports an ATI-compatible TV tuner card on the A TI Multimedia Connector

• TV-Out: Supports viewing on a standard television with the optional onboard

ImpacTV2 and an optional TV-Out bracket with SVHS and RCA connectors.

• IrDA: Supports an optional IrDA-compliant module for wireless interface.

The P2L-VM Motherboard adds:

• Versatile Memory: Supports three DIMM sockets to support 8MB-128MB

168-pin 3.3Volt SDRAM/EDO memory modules up to 384MB.

• Data Integrity: Features Error Checking and Correction (ECC) through the

440LX chipset and ECC supported DIMM.

8 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

II. FEATURES

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Special Features:

• ACPI Ready: Features ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)

which is also implemented on all ASUS “smart” series motherboards. ACPI
provides more Energy Saving Features for future operating systems (OS) sup­porting OS Direct Power Management (OSPM) functionality. With these fea­tures implemented in the OS, PCs can be ready around the clock, yet satisfy all
the energy saving standards. To fully utilize the benefits of ACPI, an ACPI­supported OS such as Windows 98 must be used.

• Desktop Management Interface (DMI): Supports DMI through BIOS which

allows hardware to communicate within a standard protocol, creating a higher
level of compatibility. (Requires DMI-enabled components.)

• Easy Installation: Incorporates BIOS that supports autodetection of hard disk

drives, PS/2 mouse, and Plug and Play devices to make the setup of hard disk
drives, expansion cards, and other devices virtually automatic.

• Enhanced ACPI & Anti-Boot Virus BIOS: Features a programmable BIOS

(Flash EEPROM), offering enhanced ACPI for W indows 98 compatibility , built­in hardware-based virus protection, and autodetection of most devices for virtu­ally automatic setup.

Features

II. FEATURES

• PC ’98 Compliant: Meets PC ’98 compliancy in both the BIOS and hardware

levels of ASUS smart series motherboards. The new PC ’98 requirements for
systems and components are based on the following high-level goals: Support
for Plug and Play compatibility and power management for configuring and
managing all system components, and 32-bit device drivers and installation pro­cedures for both Windows 95 or its successor and Windows NT.

• Symbios SCSI BIOS: Supports optional ASUS SCSI controller cards through

onboard firmware.

• Wake on LAN: Supports Wake on LAN activity through optional ASUS

PCI-L101 Fast Ethernet card.

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Performance

• Concurrent PCI: Supports concurrent PCI, allowing multiple PCI transfers

from PCI master buses to memory to CPU.

• Double the IDE Transfer Speed: Supports Ultra DMA/33 Bus Master IDE,

which can improve data transfers up to 33MB/s. The best of all is that this new
technology is compatible with existing ATA-2 IDE specs so there is no need to
upgrade current hard drives or cables.

• SDRAM Optimized Performance: Supports the new generation memory , Syn-

chronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), which increases the
data transfer rate from 264MB/s max (using EDO memory) to 528MB/s max
(using SDRAM).

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 9

II. FEATURES

Features

II. FEATURES

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Intelligence

• Auto Fan Off: The system fans will power off automatically even in sleep
mode. This function reduces both energy consumption and system noise, and

is an important feature to implement silent PC systems.

• Boot Virus Protection: Anti-boot virus protection programmed into the BIOS.

• Dual Function Power Button: The system can be in one of two states, one is

the sleep mode and the other is the Soft-Off mode. Pushing the power button for
less than 4 seconds places the system into Sleep mode. When the power button
is pressed for more than 4 seconds, it enters the Soft-Off mode.

• Fan Status Monitoring and Alarm: To prevent system overheat and system
damage, the CPU fan and system fans can be monitored for RPM and failure.
Each fan can be set for its normal RPM range and alarm thresholds.

• Keyboard Power Up: Keyboard Power Up can be enabled or disabled to allow
the computer to be powered on by pressing the space bar on the keyboard.

• Message LED (requires ACPI OS support): Chassis LEDs now act as infor­mation providers. Through the way a particular LED illuminates, the user can
determine the stage the computer is in. A simple glimpse provides useful infor­mation to the user.

• Remote Ring On (requires external modem): This allows a computer to be
turned on remotely through an external modem. With this benefit on-hand, any
user can access vital information from their computer from anywhere in the world!

• System Resources Alert: T oday’ s operating systems such as W indows 95, W in­dows NT , and OS/2, require much more memory and hard drive space to present
enormous user interfaces and run large applications. The system resource moni­tor will warn the user before the system resources are used up to prevent pos­sible application crashes. Suggestions will give the user information on manag­ing their limited resources more efficiently.

• Temperature Monitoring and Alert: To prevent system overheat and system
damage, there are heat sensors to monitor the CPU (the Pentium II processor
requires a special heatsink with a thermal sensor) and system temperatures to
warn of damaging temperatures.

• Voltage Monitoring and Alert: System voltage levels are monitored to ensure
stable current to critical motherboard components. Voltage specifications are
more critical for future processors, so monitoring is necessary to ensure proper
system configuration and management.

• Power Supply Fan Control: Supports power supply fan monitoring, fan shut-
down, and fan speed control when using ATX 2.01 compatible power supply.

• S.MA.R.T.: Supports S.M.A.R.T . IDE devices for increased hardware monitor -
ing capabilities.

10 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

II. FEATURES

Parts of the ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Motherboard

ATI Multimedia
Connector

T: PS/2 Mouse
B: PS/2 Keyboard

T: USB Port 1
B: USB Port 2

Serial COM 1
Intel 440LX or

440EX AGPset
Parallel Port
SEC CPU Socket

(for Pentium II)
VGA Connector

T: Joystick/MIDI
Connector

B: Audio Ports
Serial COM 2

3 PCI Slots

2 DIMM on 440EX
3 DIMM on 440LX

ATX Power

Power Supply
Fan Control

ATI 3D Rage Pro
AGP 2X VGA Chipset

ImpacTV2
(optional)

8MB VGA
Memory

II. FEATURES

Motherboard Parts

Onboard 16-bit Audio
(optional)

2 ISA Slots
Hardware Monitor

Multi-I/O,
Keyboard
Controller

Intel PIIX4 PCIset
with RTC

ASUS ASIC

Programmable
Flash ROM

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 11

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM Motherboard Layout

PS/2

Top: Mouse

Bottom: Keyboard

USB

Top: USB 1

Bottom: USB 2

COM1

Motherboard Layout

III. INSTALLATION

PARALLEL PORT

VGA

Line

Line

(optional)

GAME/AUDIO

Mic

Hardware

Monitor

Out

In

In

CD1

(optional)

AUX

16-bit
Audio

Chipset

Row

01

01

23

45

COM2

CD2

SPDIF

KBPWR

BUS Frequency

FS0

FS2

FS1

Controller

ATXPWR

ATX Power Connector

PWR_FAN

Power
Supply Fan
Control

ATI Multimedia Connector (optional)

DIMM Socket 1 (64/72-bit, 168-pin module)

DIMM Socket 2 (64/72-bit, 168-pin module)

DIMM Socket 3 (64/72-bit, 168-pin module) P2L-VM only

Intel 440LX

or 440EX

AGPset

Single Edge Contact Slot

Multi-I/O,
Keyboard

WOL_CON

PCI Slot 1

PCI Slot 2

R

PCI Slot 3

ISA Slot 1

ISA Slot 2

CPU_FAN

RTCPU

Intel PIIX4

PCIset, RTC

TV_CON
(optional)

INT_EN

ATI 3D Rage

Pro AGP 2X

VGA

Chipset

2Mbit Flash EEPROM
(Programmable BIOS)

ImpacTV2

Chipset

(optional)

2 MB

SDRAM

VGAEN

Floppy Drives

CR2032 3V
Lithium Cell
BIOS Power

SMB

ASUS

ASIC

CLRCMOS

Freq. Ratio
BF0
BF1
BF2
BF3

2 MB

SDRAM

2 MB

SDRAM

2 MB

SDRAM

Primary IDE

CHA_FAN

Secondary IDE

IR

IDELED

VPANEL

Panel Connectors

(Greyed items are optional at the time of purchase.)

12 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

Jumpers

1) INT_EN p. 14 VGA Interrupt Setting (Enable/Disable)

2) VGAEN p. 14 VGA Setting (Enable/Disable)

3) CLRCMOS p. 15 Real Time Clock RAM (Clear CMOS)

4) KBPWR p. 15 Keyboard Power Up (Enable/Disable)

5) FS0, FS1, FS2 p. 16 CPU External Clock (BUS) Frequency Selection

6) BF0, BF1, BF2, BF3 p. 16 CPU:BUS Frequency Ratio

Expansion Slots

1) DIMM Sockets p. 17 168-Pin DIMM Memory Support

2) SEC CPU Slot p. 19 Single Edge Contact CPU Support

3) ISA Slot 1, 2 p. 25 16-bit ISA Bus Expansion Slots

4) PCI Slot 1, 2, 3 p. 25 32-bit PCI Bus Expansion Slots

Hardware Monitor

1) RTCPU p. 22 CPU Thermal Sensor Connector

Connectors

1) KEYBOARD p. 26 PS/2 Keyboard Connector (6-pin Female)

2) MOUSE P. 26 PS/2 Mouse Connector (6-pin Female)

3) PRINTER p. 27 Parallel Port Connector (25-pin Female)

4) COM1 p. 2 7 Serial Port COM1 Connector (9-pin Male)

5) VGA p. 27 Monitor (VGA) Output Connector (15 pin female)

6) AUDIO (optional) p. 28 Audio Port Connectors (Three 1/8” Female) (optional)

7) GAME (optional) p. 28 Joystick/Midi Connector (15-pin Female) (optional)

8) USB p. 29 Universal Serial BUS Ports 1 & 2 (T wo 4-pin Female)

9) PRIMARY/SECONDARY IDE p. 29 Primary/Secondary IDE Connectors (T wo 40-1pins)

10) IDELED p . 29 IDE LED Activity Light (2 pins)

11) FLOPPY p. 30 Floppy Disk Drive Connector (34-1pins)

12) CD1/CD2/AUX (optional) p. 30 Stereo Audio In Connectors (Three 4 pins)

13) SPDIF (optional) p. 30 Digital Audio Interface (6 pins)

14) IR p. 31 IrDA-Compliant Infrared Module Connector (5 pins)

15) WOL_CON p. 31 Wake on LAN Connector (3-pins)

16) LED (PANEL) p. 32 System Message LED (2 pins)

17) SMI (PANEL) p. 32 SMI Switch Lead (2 pins)

18) PWR (PANEL) p. 32 ATX Power & Soft-Off Switch Lead (2 pins)

19) RESET (PANEL) p. 32 Reset Switch Lead (2 pins)

20)

KEYLOCK (
KEYLOCK (

21)

22) SPEAKER (PANEL) p. 32 Speaker Output Connector (4 pins)

23) CHA_, CPU_, PWR_FAN p. 33 Chassis, CPU, Power Supply Fan Connectors (Three 3-pin)

24) ATXPWR p. 33 ATX Power Supply Connector (20 pins)

25) CTL_CON p. 33 Power Supply Fan Connector (6 pins)

26) COM2 p. 34 Serial Port COM2 Connector (10-1 pins)

27) TV_CON (optional) p. 34 T V-Out Connector for External TV -Out Bracket (6-1 pins)

PANEL
PANEL

)
)

p. 32 System Power LED Lead (3 pins)
p. 32 Keyboard Lock Switch Lead (2 pins)

*

III. INSTALLATION

Motherboard Layout

*

The onboard hardware monitor uses the address 290H-297H so legacy ISA cards

must not use this address; otherwise, conflicts will occur.

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 13

III. INSTALLATION

Jumpers

III. INSTALLATION

Installation Steps

Before using your computer, you must complete the following steps:

1. Set Jumpers on the Motherboard

2. Install System Memory Modules

3. Install the Central Processing Unit (CPU)

4. Install Expansion Cards

5. Connect Ribbon Cables, Cabinet Wires, and Power Supply

6. Setup the BIOS Software

WARNING! Computer motherboards, baseboards and components, such as SCSI

cards, contain very delicate Integrated Circuit (IC) chips. To protect them against
damage from static electricity , you should follow some precautions whenever you
work on your computer .

1. Unplug your computer when working on the inside.

2. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. If you do
not have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a
metal object, such as the power supply case.

3. Hold components by the edges and try not to touch the IC chips, leads or
connectors, or other components.

4. Place components on a grounded antistatic pad or on the bag that came with
the component whenever the components are separated from the system.

1. Jumpers

1. VGA Interrupt Selection (INT_EN) and 2. VGA Setting (VGAEN)

The INT_EN jumper allows you to set the VGA interrupt method. The default
disables the chipset’s internal interrupt routing. Some TV-Tuner or MPEG cards
may require that the interrupt be assigned by the onboard chipset, in which case
enable INT_EN. The VGAEN jumper allows you to enable or disable the onboard
VGA. Disable the onboard VGA if you are using a VGA card on the expansion slot.

INT_EN

1
2
3

R

Disable

(Default)

INT_EN

1
2
3

Enable

Setting INT_EN

Enable [2-3]
Disable [1-2] (def)

Setting VGAEN

Enable [1-2] (def)
Disable [2-3]

P2L-VM/P2E-VM VGA Settings

VGAEN

1
2
3

Enable

(Default)

VGAEN

1
2
3

Disable

14 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

3. Real Time Clock (RTC) RAM (CLRCMOS)

The CMOS RAM is powered by the onboard button cell battery. To clear the
RTC data: (1) Unplug your computer, (2) Short solder points, (3) Turn on your
computer, (4) Hold down <Delete> during bootup and enter BIOS setup to re­enter user preferences.

RTC RAM CLRCMOS

Clear CMOS [short solder points momentarily]

R

CLRCMOS

P2L-VM/P2E-VM Clear RTC RAM

4. Keyboard Power Up (KBPWR)

This allows you to disable or enable the keyboard power up function. Set this
jumper to Enable if you wish to use your keyboard (by pressing the spacebar) to
power up your computer. This feature requires an ATX power supply that can
supply at least 300mAmp on the +5VSB lead. The default is set to Disable
because not all computers have the appropriate ATX power supply. Your com­puter will not power on if you set this to Enable and if you do not have the right
ATX power supply.

Setting KBPWR

Disable [1-2] (default)
Enable [2-3]

KBPWR

1
2

R

3
Disable

(Default)

KBPWR

1
2
3

Enable

Jumpers

III. INSTALLATION

P2L-VM/P2E-VM Keyboard Power Up

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 15

III. INSTALLATION

Jumpers

III. INSTALLATION

5. CPU External (BUS) Frequency Selection (FS0, FS1, FS2)

These jumpers tell the clock generator what frequency to send to the CPU. These
allow the selection of the CPU’ s External frequency (or BUS Clock). The BUS Clock
times the BUS Ratio equals the CPU's Internal frequency (the advertised CPU speed).

6. CPU to BUS Frequency Ratio (BF0, BF1, BF2, BF3)

These jumpers set the frequency ratio between the Internal frequency of the CPU
and the External frequency (called the BUS Clock) within the CPU. These must
be set together with the above jumpers CPU External (BUS) Frequency Selection.

123

123

123

123

BF2

BF1

123

83MHz

BF0BF3

R

P2L-VM/P2E-VM CPU Settings

FS0
FS1
FS2

60MHz

66MHz

68MHz

BF1

BF1

75MHz

BF0BF3

1
2
3

BF0BF3

CPU Bus Frequency

BF1

BF0BF3

BF2

1
2
3

3.0x(3/1)

BF1

BF2

1
2
3

4.5x(9/2) 5.0x(5/1)

CPU Core:Bus Frequency Multiple

BF2

1
2
3

3.5x(7/2) 4.0x(4/1)

BF0BF3

BF2

1
2
3

WARNING! Do not overclock your processor. Frequencies above 66MHz ex-

ceed the specifications for the onboard Intel Chipset and are not guaranteed to be
stable. Overclocking can cause undue stress on the CPU and motherboard. It
may result in a slower speed or other unpredictable outcomes. The table on the
following page shows the approved CPUs and their settings.

Set the jumpers by the Internal speed of your processor as follows:

(BUS Freq.) (Freq. Ratio)

CPU Model Speed F. Ratio BUS F. FS0 FS1 FS2 BF0 BF1 BF2 BF3

Intel Pentium II 333MHz 5.0x 66MHz [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3]
Intel Pentium II 300MHz 4.5x 66MHz [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3] [1-2] [2-3]
Intel Pentium II 266MHz 4.0x 66MHz [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3] [2-3] [1-2] [2-3]
Intel Pentium II 233MHz 3.5x 66MHz [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3] [2-3]

Intel Pentium II Processor in a SEC Cartridge
(233-333MHz 512KB/128KB/0KB L2 Cache)

NOTE: Voltage Regulator Output Selection (VID) is not needed for the Pentium II

processor because it sends a VID signal directly to the onboard power controller.

16 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

2. System Memory (DIMM)

Only Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMM) can be used with this motherboard.
Sockets are available for 3.3Volt (power level) Unbuffered Synchronous DRAMs
(SDRAM) or EDO DRAM of either 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128MB. One side (with memory
chips) of the DIMM module takes up one Row on the motherboard.

To utilize the chipset’s Error Checking and Correction (ECC) feature, you must use a
DIMM module with 9 chips per side (standard 8 chips/side + 1 ECC chip) and make
the proper settings in the BIOS Chipset Features Setup. (NOTE: ECC is not available
on the 440EX motherboard.)

IMPORTANT: Memory speed setup is required through "Auto Configuration" in

BIOS Chipset Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE.

WARNING: Memory modules must have 18 chips or less. Memory modules with

more that 18 chips exceeds specifications and may cause unstable operation.

Install memory in any combination as follows:

DIMM Location 168-pin DIMM Memory Modules Total Memory
Socket 1 (Rows 0&1) SDRAM/EDO 8, 16, 32, 64, 128MB x1
Socket 2 (Rows 2&3) SDRAM/EDO 8, 16, 32, 64, 128MB x1
Socket 3 (only 440LX) SDRAM/EDO 8, 16, 32, 64, 128MB x1

Total System Memory (Max 384MB) =

ASUS Memory Examples:

ECC EDO DIMM (9 chips) 72bits

Non-ECC SDRAM DIMM (8 chips) 64bits

System Memory

III. INSTALLATION

General DIMM Notes: (not true for all memory modules)

• Four possible memory chips are available: EDO or SDRAM with and without ECC.

• SDRAM chips are generally thinner with higher pin density than EDO chips.

• BIOS shows EDO or SDRAM memory on bootup screen.

• 8 chip/side modules do not support ECC, only 9 chip/side modules support ECC.

• Single sided modules are usually 16 or 64 MB, double sided are usually 8, 32, or 128MB.

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 17

DIMM Memory Installation

Insert the module(s) as shown. Because the number of pins are different on either
side of the breaks, the module will only fit in the orientation as shown. DIMM
modules are longer and have different pin contact on each side and therefore have a
higher pin density. SIMM modules have the same pin contact on both sides.

III. INSTALLATION

System Memory

III. INSTALLATION

Lock

R

20 Pins 60 Pins 88 Pins

P2L-VM/P2E-VM 168-Pin DIMM Sockets

The DIMMs must be 3.3V Unbuffered for this motherboard. T o determine the DIMM
type, check the notches on the DIMMs (see figure below).

168-Pin DIMM Notch Key Definitions (3.3V)

DRAM Key Position

RFU

Buffered

Unbuffered

Voltage Key Position

5.0V

Reserved

3.3V

The notches on the DIMM module will shift between left, center, or right to identify
the type and also to prevent the wrong type from being inserted into the DIMM slot on
the motherboard. You must tell your retailer the correct DIMM type before purchas­ing. This motherboard supports four clock signals.

18 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

This motherboard provides a Single Edge Contact (SEC) slot for a Pentium II pro­cessor packaged in an SEC cartridge.

Pentium II Processor

WARNING! Be sure that sufficient air is circulating across the processor’s pas-

sive heatsink. Without sufficient circulation, the processor could overheat and
damage both the processor and the motherboard. It is recommended that you
install an auxiliary fan.

You should check to see that you have the following 9 items. (NOTE: The pictures
in the following pages will have the same item numbers next to them for your refer­ence. The design and color of your items may be slightly different.)

(1)

(2)

Attach Mount Bridges (Items 1,2)

Top Bar (4)

(5)

Heatsink Support Base/Top Bar (Items 4-7)

Pin

Posts

(6)

Base (7)

Lock Holes

Captive Nut

(3)

Pentium II Retention Mechanism (Item 3)

(8)

Larger Fin should
be on the bottom.

Pentium II Processor Heatsink (Item 8)

Heatsink bottom Groove
for the Support Top Bar

CPU

III. INSTALLATION

Intel Pentium II Processor in a SEC Cartridge
(233-333MHz 512KB/128KB/0KB L2 Cache)

CPU (Item 9)

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 19

III. INSTALLATION

The Motherboard As Shipped

Four screws should be showing next to each corner of the SEC CPU Slot using two
attach mount bridges from the underside of the motherboard.

(1)

SEC CPU slot

III. INSTALLATION

CPU

(2)

NOTE: Encircled items are screws
from the mount bridges (1 & 2)

Installing the Pentium II Processor:

1. Mount the Pentium II Retention Mechanism: The retention mechanism is

designed to fit into the SEC slot only one way.
TIP: Orient the mechanism’ s lock holes toward the motherboard’ s chipsets (see

motherboard layout for the location of the Intel chipset).
Be sure to align the notch in the mechanism with the small rib on one side of the

slot and that the mechanism is properly seated on the board. Then, screw the
captive nuts in place.

WARNING! Do not overtighten the captive nuts. Doing so could damage your

motherboard. Tighten captive nuts to no more than 6±1 inch/pound.

Lock holes

(3)

Captive nut

Captive nut

20 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

2. Mount the Heatsink: Place the SEC cartridge face down on a flat surface and lay

the heat sink flush on the back (metal side) of the SEC cartridge. Check the orien­tation of the heatsink against the pictures. The thicker fin must be orientated
toward the bottom. The top clamp is wider than the bottom clamp so only this
orientation will fit. With a screw driver, push the clamps one at a time into the
SEC cartridge. Be sure that the heatsink is firmly pressed against the SEC car­tridge. When correctly installed, no light must be showing through between the
thermal pad of the heatsink and the SEC cartridge.

WARNING! If the heatsink is not mounted tightly against the SEC cartridge,

the CPU will overheat. You may install an auxiliary fan to provide adequate
circulation across the processor’s passive heatsink.

(8)

Push Clamp

Push Clamp

SEC Cartridge with Heatsink (Side View)

(9)

Push each end of the clamps until they lock

(8)

Lock

(9)

The thermal pad & SEC cartridge should not have a gap!

SEC Cartridge with Heatsink (Top View)

Lock

3. Insert the SEC Cartridge: Push the SEC cartridge’s two locks inward (the

preceding picture shows the locks in the outward position and inward in the
picture below). With the heatsink facing the motherboard’s chipsets, press the
cartridge gently but firmly until it is fully inserted.

(9)

(8)

Push lock inward

CPU

III. INSTALLATION

(3)

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 21

III. INSTALLATION

CPU

III. INSTALLATION

4. Secure the SEC Cartridge: Secure the SEC cartridge in place by pushing the

SEC cartridge locks outward so that the lock shows through the retention
mechanism’s lock holes.

(3)

(3)

(8)

5. Secure the Heatsink: Install the heatsink support base into the motherboard.

This is not, however, necessary if you use a heatsink with fan (see next page).
The support base is necessary to secure the heatsink (without fan). Secure the
heatsink by sliding the heatsink support top bar into the bottom groove of the
heatsink until it locks into the heatsink support base posts.

(9)

(8)

Heatsink support
top bar (4)

Heatsink support

base post
Heatsink support
base (7)

6. Attach the Thermal Sensor Connector (optional): If you have purchased the

specially designed fan and thermal monitor heatsink, you can connect the ther­mal sensor wire to the motherboard through this connector.

R

RTCPU

P2L-VM/P2E-VM CPU Thermal Sensor Connector

22 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

The heatsinks shown in this manual are for reference purposes only. The recom­mended heatsinks for the Pentium II processor are those with three-pin fans that can
be connected to the CPU fan connector on the motherboard. These heatsinks have
the added benefits of proper heat dissipation and with the hardware monitor, the
ability to monitor the fan’s RPM and use the alert function through the included
LANDesk Client Manager (LDCM) software.

AAVID Heatsink

The procedures for installing the AAVID heatsink with fan is similar as that for the
heatsink without a fan. You will not, however , be able to use the heatsink support top
bar because of the fan. The heatsink support top bar will, however, still be included
in the package, in case you use a heatsink without a fan.

Elan Vital Heatsink

The procedures for installing the Elan V ital heatsink with fan is also similar as that for
the heatsink without a fan. The Elan Vital heatsink, however, comes with a lever to
clamp the heatsink into the SEC cartridge. Mount the heatsink in the orientation as
shown then flip the lever from “Unlock” to “Lock.” You will not be able to simulta­neously use the heatsink support top bar because of the fan. The heatsink support top
bar will, however, still be included in the package, in case you use a heatsink without
a fan.

CPU

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 23

III. INSTALLATION

4. Expansion Cards

WARNING! Unplug your power supply when adding or removing expansion

cards or other system components. Failure to do so may cause severe damage to
both your motherboard and expansion cards.

Expansion Card Installation Procedure

1. Read the documentation for your expansion card and make any necessary hard­ware or software settings for your expansion card, such as jumpers.

2. Remove your computer system’s cover and the bracket plate on the slot you
intend to use. Keep the bracket for possible future use.

3. Carefully align the card’s connectors and press firmly.

III. INSTALLATION

Expansion Cards

4. Secure the card on the slot with the screw you removed above.

5. Replace the computer system’s cover.

6. Set up the BIOS if necessary

7. Install the necessary software drivers for your expansion card.

Assigning IRQs for Expansion Cards

Some expansion cards need to use an IRQ to operate. Generally, an IRQ must be
exclusively assigned to one use. In a standard design, there are 16 IRQs available
but most of them are already in use, leaving 6 IRQs free for expansion cards. If your
motherboard has audio onboard, an extra 3 IRQs will be used, leaving 3 IRQs free.

Both ISA and PCI expansion cards may require to use IRQs. System IRQs are avail­able to cards installed in the ISA expansion bus first, then any remaining IRQs are
available to PCI cards. Currently , there are two types of ISA cards. The original ISA
expansion card design, now referred to as legacy ISA cards, requires that you con­figure the card’ s jumpers manually and then install it in any available slot on the ISA
bus. You may use the Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD.EXE) utility located in the W in­dows directory to see a map of your used and free IRQs. If you use W indows 95, the
Resources tab under Device Manager displays the resource settings being used by
a particular device (to gain access, double-click the System icon under the Control
Panel program). Ensure that no two devices share the same IRQs or your computer
will experience problems when those two devices are in use at the same time.

(such as IRQ xx Used By ISA: Yes in PNP AND PCI SETUP)

24 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

To simplify this process, this motherboard has complied with the Plug and Play
(PNP) specification which was developed to allow automatic system configuration
whenever a PNP-compliant card is added to the system. For PNP cards, IRQs are
assigned automatically from those available.

If the system has both Legacy and PNP ISA cards installed, IRQs are
assigned to PNP cards from those not used by Legacy cards. The PCI and PNP
configuration of the BIOS setup utility can be used to indicate which IRQs are being
used by Legacy cards. For older Legacy cards that do not work with the BIOS, you
can contact your vendor for an ISA Configuration Utility.

An IRQ number is automatically assigned to PCI expansion cards after those used
by Legacy and PNP ISA cards. In the PCI bus design, the BIOS automatically
assigns an IRQ to a PCI slot that has a card in it that requires an IRQ. To install a
PCI card, you need to set something called the INT (interrupt) assignment. Since all
the PCI slots on this motherboard use an INTA #, be sure that the jumpers on your
PCI cards are set to INT A.

Assigning DMA Channels for ISA Cards

Some ISA cards, both legacy and PnP, may also need to use a DMA (Direct Memory
Access) channel. DMA assignments for this motherboard are handled the same way
as the IRQ assignment process described earlier. You can select a DMA channel in
the PCI and PnP configuration section of the BIOS Setup utility.

IMPORTANT : To avoid conflicts, reserve the necessary IRQs and DMAs for legacy
ISA cards (under PNP AND PCI SETUP of the BIOS SOFTWARE, choose Yes in IRQ
xx Used By ISA and DMA x Used By ISA for those IRQs and DMAs you want to reserve).

ISA Cards and Hardware Monitor

The onboard hardware monitor uses the address 290H-297H, so legacy ISA cards
must not use this address or else conflicts will occur.

Expansion Cards

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 25

III. INSTALLATION

5. External Connectors

WARNING! Some pins are used for connectors or power sources. These are

clearly distinguished from jumpers in the Motherboard Layout. Placing jumper
caps over these connector pins will cause damage to your motherboard.

IMPORTANT : Ribbon cables should always be connected with the red stripe on the

Pin 1 side of the connector. The four corners of the connectors are labeled on the
motherboard. Pin 1 is the side closest to the power connector on hard drives and
floppy drives. IDE ribbon cable must be less than 46cm(18in.), with the second drive
connector no more than 15cm (6in.) from the first connector.

1. PS/2 Keyboard Connector (6-pin Female)
This connection is for a standard keyboard using a PS/2 plug (mini DIN). This
connector will not allow standard AT size (large DIN) keyboard plugs. You
may use a DIN to mini DIN adapter on standard AT keyboards.

PS/2 Keyboard (6-pin Female)

2. PS/2 Mouse Connector (6-pin Female)

The system will direct IRQ12 to the PS/2 mouse if one is detected. If not de­tected, expansion cards can use IRQ12. See “PS/2 Mouse Control” in BIOS
Features Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE.

PS/2 Mouse (6-pin Female)

26 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

3. Parallel Port Connector (25-pin Female)

You can enable the parallel port and choose the IRQ through “Onboard Parallel
Port” in Chipset Features Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE.
NOTE: Serial printers must be connected to the serial port.

Parallel (Printer) Port (25-pin Female)

4. Serial Port COM1 Connector (9-pin Male)

One serial port is ready for a mouse or other serial devices. A second serial port
is available using a serial port bracket connected from the motherboard to an
expansion slot opening. See “Onboard Serial Port” in Chipset Features Setup of
the BIOS SOFTWARE for settings.

Serial Port (9-pin Male) COM 1

5. Monitor (VGA) Output Connector (15-pin Female)

This connector is for output to a VGA-compatible device.

VGA Monitor (15-pin Female)

Connectors
DMA Channels

III. INSTALLATION

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 27

III. INSTALLATION

Connectors

III. INSTALLATION

6. Audio Port Connectors (Three 1/8” Female) (with optional onboard audio)
Line Out can be connected to headphones or preferably powered speakers.
Line In allows tape players or other audio sources to be recorded by your com-

puter or played through the Line Out. Mic allows microphones to be connected
for inputing voice.

MicLine InLine Out

1/8" Stereo Audio Connectors

7. Joystick/Midi Connector (15-pin Female) (with optional onboard audio)
You may connect game joysticks or game pads to this connector for playing
games. Connect Midi devices for playing or editing audio.

Joystick/Midi (15-pin Female)

8. Universal Serial BUS Ports 1 & 2 (Two 4-pin Female)

Two USB ports are available for connecting USB devices.

USB 1

Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2

28 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

9. Primary / Secondary IDE connectors (Two 40-1pin IDE)

These connectors support the provided IDE hard disk ribbon cable.
After connecting the single end to the board, connect the two plugs at the other
end to your hard disk(s). If you install two hard disks, you must configure the
second drive to Slave mode by setting its jumper accordingly . Please refer to the
documentation of your hard disk for the jumper settings. BIOS now supports
SCSI device or IDE CD-ROM bootup (see “HDD Sequence SCSI/IDE First” &
“Boot Sequence” in the BIOS Features Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE) (Pin

20 is removed to prevent inserting in the wrong orientation when using
ribbon cables with pin 20 plugged).

TIP: You may configure two hard disks to be both Masters using one ribbon

cable on the primary IDE connector and another ribbon cable on the secondary
IDE connector. You may install one operating system on an IDE drive and
another on a SCSI drive and select the boot disk through BIOS Features Setup.

NOTE: Orient the red markings
(usually zigzag) on the IDE
ribbon cable to

PIN 1

R

PIN 1

Secondary IDE Connector

Primary IDE Connector

P2L-VM/P2E-VM IDE Connectors

10. IDE activity LED (2-pin IDELED)

This connector supplies power to the cabinet’s IDE activity LED. Read and
write activity by devices connected to the Primary or Secondary IDE connectors
will cause the LED to light up.

TIP: If the case-mounted LED does not light,
try reversing the 2-pin plug.

R

Connectors

III. INSTALLATION

P2L-VM/P2E-VM IDE Activity LED

ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual 29

IDELED

III. INSTALLATION

Connectors

III. INSTALLATION

11. Floppy Disk Drive Connector (34-1pin FLOPPY)

This connector supports the provided floppy drive ribbon cable. After connect­ing the single end to the board, connect the two plugs on the other end to the
floppy drives. (Pin 5 is removed to prevent inserting in the wrong orienta-

tion when using ribbon cables with pin 5 plugged).

NOTE: Orient the red markings on
the floppy ribbon cable to

R

PIN 1

Floppy Disk Drive Connector

P2L-VM/P2E-VM Floppy Disk Drive Connector

12. Stereo Audio In Connectors (4-pin CD1, CD2, AUX)

CD1, CD2, and AUX connectors can be used to receive stereo audio input from an
internal CD-ROM drive or other sound sources such as a TV tuner or MPEG card.

Right Audio Channel
Ground

L

Ground

G

Left Audio Channel

G

CD1

R

AUX

R

CD2

Left Audio Channel
Ground
Ground
Right Audio Channel

PIN 1

NOTE: AUX has the same pin

definitions as CD1

P2L-VM/P2E-VM Stereo Audio In Connectors

13. Digital Audio Interface (6-pin)

This connector is the digital link between the motherboard and your audio de­vices such as CD player, sampler, or DAT recorder. It allows the digital trans-

mission of audio data in SPDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) Format.

SPDIF

TTL: Short this, if output device is TTL level

SPDIFO: Digital Signal OUT

SPDIFI: Digital Signal IN

R

P2L-VM/P2E-VM Digital Audio Interface

30 ASUS P2L-VM/P2E-VM User’s Manual