ASUS P2LN User Manual

R

P2L-N/P2E-N

Pentium® II NLX Motherboards

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.

• Sound Blaster AWE32 and SB16 are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd.

• 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 MA Y APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUD­ING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.

Copyright © 1998 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.

Product Name: ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N
Manual Revision: 1.02
Release Date: May 1998

2 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N 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 Ave, 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-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 3

CONTENTS

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

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

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

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

Features of the ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N Motherboard .........................8

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

Riser Card Back .......................................................................11

Riser Card Front ....................................................................... 11

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

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

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

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

2. System Memory (DIMM) .........................................................15

DIMM Memory Installation ...............................................16

3. Central Processing Unit (CPU).................................................17

Pentium II Processor...........................................................17

AAVID Heatsink ................................................................21

Elan V ital Heatsink.............................................................21

4. Expansion Cards ........................................................................22

Expansion Card Installation Procedure ..............................22

Assigning IRQs for Expansion Cards.................................22

Assigning DMA Channels for ISA Cards...........................23

ISA Cards and Hardware Monitor ......................................23

5. External Connectors..................................................................24

Front Panel Descriptions ..........................................................29

Power Connection Procedures .................................................33

IV. BIOS SOFTWARE ......................................................................34

Support Software ...........................................................................34

Flash Memory Writer Utility....................................................34

Main Menu .........................................................................34

Managing and Updating Your Motherboard’s BIOS................36

6. BIOS Setup ...............................................................................37

Load Defaults .....................................................................38

Standard CMOS Setup .............................................................38

Details of Standard CMOS Setup:......................................38

BIOS Features Setup ................................................................41

Details of BIOS Features Setup..........................................41

Chipset Features Setup .............................................................44

Details of Chipset Features Setup.......................................44

4 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

CONTENTS

Power Management Setup........................................................47

Details of Power Management Setup .................................47

PNP and PCI Setup ..................................................................50

Details of PNP and PCI Setup ............................................50

Load BIOS Defaults .................................................................52

Load Setup Defaults .................................................................52

Supervisor Password and User Password ................................53

IDE HDD Auto Detection ........................................................54

Save & Exit Setup ....................................................................55

Exit Without Saving .................................................................55

V. Support CD ....................................................................................56

Support CD Main Menu...........................................................56

A. PC Probe Utility...........................................................................57

B. Video Driver (Windows 95).........................................................63

B. Other Video Drivers.....................................................................83

C. Video Player .................................................................................97

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

E. Audio Software...........................................................................109

F. ASUS LAN Card (Optional)...................................................... 119

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N 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:

• Reorient 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-N/P2E-N 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

(2) Attach mount bridges (preinstalled)

Manual / Checklist

I. INTRODUCTION

(1) IDE ribbon cable for one hard disk drive
(1) Floppy ribbon cable for one 3.5inch floppy disk drive
(1) Support drivers and utilities
(1) Motherboard User’s Manual
(1) System housing User’s Manual

(1) NLX Form-factor system housing, riser card, and power supply
DIMM memory module

3.5inch Floppy Drive
Slim CD-ROM and cable
ASUS PCI-L101 Wake-on-LAN 10/100 Ethernet Card (optional)

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 7

II. FEATURES

Features

II. FEATURES

Features of the ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N Motherboard

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

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N Specifications:

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

®

• Multi-Speed: Supports the Intel Pentium

(266MHz and faster) processors.

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

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

several memory options from 2MB to 8MB.

• Onboard Audio: Has ESS 16-bit audio onboard.

• Versatile Memory: Is equipped with two DIMM sockets to support 8MB-

128MB 168-pin 3.3Volt SDRAM/EDO memory modules up to 256MB.

II (233MHz–333MHz) and Celeron™

• Riser Card: Provides NLX power, primary IDE, floppy drive, LAN wake up

connector, 2 PCI slots, 1 ISA slot, 2 USB ports, and IrDA.

• TV Out: Supports optional onboard TV out funtion using ImpacTV2 chipset.

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

ler with two connectors that supports four IDE devices in two channels, sup­ports Ultra DMA/33, PIO Modes 3 and 4 and Bus Master IDE DMA Mode 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” (3.5­inch disk drive: 1.2MB) and LS-120 floppy disk drives (3.5-inch disk drive: 120
MB, 1.44MB, 720K). BIOS supports IDE CD-ROM or SCSI device boot-up.

• Onboard IrDA: Has an infrared port on the riser card for wireless interface.

®

• Multi-Cache: Supports a Pentium

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

• Slim CD-ROM: Supports a notebook-sized slim CD-ROM drive.

• 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.

II processor with either 512KB, 256KB, or

The P2L-N Motherboard adds:

• Data Integrity: Error Checking and Correction (ECC) through the 440LX

chipset and ECC supported DIMM.

8 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

II. FEATURES

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N Special Features:

• ACPI Ready: ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is also imple-

mented on all ASUS smart series of motherboards. ACPI provides more Energy
Saving Features for future operating systems (OS) supporting OS Direct Power
Management (OSPM) functionality . W ith these features implemented in the OS,
PCs can be ready around the clock, yet satisfy all the energy saving standards.
T o fully utilize the benefits of ACPI, an ACPI-supported OS such as the succes­sor of Windows 95 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 setup of hard disk drives,
expansion cards, and other devices virtually automatic.

• Enhanced ACPI & Anti-Boot V irus BIOS: Programmable BIOS (Flash EEPROM),

offering enhanced ACPI for Windows 98 compatibility, built-in hardware-based
virus protection, and autodetection of most devices for virtually automatic setup.

Features

II. FEATURES

• PC ’97 Compliant: Both the BIOS and hardware levels of ASUS smart series

of motherboards meet PC ’97 compliancy. The new PC ‘97 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-N/P2E-N Performance

• Concurrent PCI: Concurrent PCI allows multiple PCI transfers from PCI mas-

ter buses to memory to CPU.

• Double the IDE Transfer Speed: ASUS smart series of motherboards with

Intel chipsets improves IDE transfer rate using Ultra DMA/33 Bus Master IDE,
which can handle data transfer 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: ASUS smart series of motherboards sup-

port the new generation memory, Synchronous 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-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 9

II. FEATURES

Features

II. FEATURES

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N 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 a 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

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.

10 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

II. FEATURES

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

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

Intel 440LX or
440EX AGPset

COM 1

T: Parallel Conn.
B: Serial Conn.

COM 2

TV Out S-Video
Conn.(optional)

TV Out RCA
Conn.(optional)

VGA
Connector

Joystick/MIDI
Connector

Onboard ESS Audio

2 DIMM Sockets

SEC CPU Socket
(for Pentium II)

Intel PIIX4 PCIset

ASUS ASIC
Keyboard BIOS,

Multi-I/O
Onboard VGA memory

(SGRAM or SDRAM)
ATI 3D Rage Chipset

ImpacTV2 TV Out
Programmable

Flash ROM
VGA Memory

Upgrade Socket
2 PCI Slots

II. FEATURES

Motherboard Parts

Riser Card Front

1 ISA Slot

NLX Slot

Riser Card Back

IrDA Port
2 USB Ports

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 11

Floppy Drive
Connector

Primary IDE
Connector

NLX Power
Connector

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N Motherboard Layout

Motherboard Layout

III. INSTALLATION

COM 1 COM 2

Parallel
Port

II

®

Pentium

®

Intel 440LX
or 440EX
AGPset

Single Edge Contact CPU Slot for Intel

RT4

CPU Thermal
Sensor Lead

CPU_FAN

PS/2

MOUSE (TOP PORT)
KEYBOARD (BOTTOM)

RJ-45

R

RCA

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

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

VGA

Jack Connector

1

Intel PIIX4
Chipset

Row

01

23

Joystick/MIDI

Onboard Audio
(Enable/Disable)

ESS
Audio

0/1/2MB
SGRAM
(depending
on model)

0/1/2MB
SGRAM
(depending
on model)

PCI Slot 2

PCI Slot 1
ISA Slot 1

NLX Ext.

Riser Card Front

Infrared

ATI 3D Rage
Pro AGP 2X
VGA Chipset

Impac
TV2

VGA Memory Upgrade Socket

1

AMC

LAN LED

Wake on LAN

Riser Slot

Primary IDE

Riser Slot

CMOS Power

CR2032

3 Volt Cell

Keyboard
BIOS, RTC,
& Multi-I/O

Flash EEPROM

(Programmable BIOS)

Riser Slot

ASUS
ASIC

Hardware
Monitor

Floppy Drive Conn.

Panel Conn.

CDROM Connector

MIC Con.

USB1&2

NLX Power

Riser Card Back

12 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

Jumpers

1) JP1 p. 13 Audio Setting (Enable/Disable)

Expansion Slots

1) DIMM Sockets p. 15 168-Pin DIMM Memory Expansion Sockets

2) SEC CPU Slot p. 17 Single Edge Contact CPU Support

3) SLOT 1* p. 22 16-bit ISA Bus Expansion Slots*

4) PCI 1, 2 p. 22 32-bit PCI Bus Expansion Slots

Hardware Monitor

1) RT4 p. 20 Pentium II Processor Thermal Sensor Connector

Connectors

1) PS2KBMS p. 24 PS/2 Keyboard Connector (6-pin Female)

2) PS2KBMS p. 24 PS/2 Mouse Connector (6-pin Female)

3) GAME p. 24 Joystick or MIDI Connector (15-pin Female)

4) PRINTER p. 25 Parallel (Printer) Port Connector (25-pin Female)

5) COM1, COM2 p. 25 Serial Port COM1 and COM2 (Two 9-pin Male)

6) VGA p. 25 VGA Compatible Connector (15-pin Female)

7) COM-OUT (optional) p. 25 Television Connector (RCA & 4-pin Female S-Video)

8) USB p. 26 Universal Serial BUS Ports 1 & 2 (Two 4-pin Female)

9) IR p. 26 Infrared Module

10) POWER p. 26 NLX Motherboard Power Connector (20-pin Block)

11) IDE1 p. 27 Primary IDE Connector (40-pin Block)

12) FLOPPY p. 27 Floppy Drive Connector (34-pin Block)

13. LAN_LED, WOL_ p. 27 LAN Activity Connectors (2-pin & 3-pin)

14) PAN_CON p. 28 Front Panel Display LEDs and Switches (16-1 pin)

15) MIC_CON p. 28 Front Panel Microphone Jack Connector (2 pin)

16) AMC p. 30 ATI Multimedia Connector (40-3 pin Block)

17) AUDIO p. 30 Back Panel Audio Connectors (10-1 pin Block)

18) CPU_FAN p. 30 CPU Fan Power (3-pin Block)

Map of Board

III. INSTALLATION

19) VGA Memory p. 31 Onboard VGA Memory Expansion Sockets (40 pins)

20) CDROM p. 31 CD-ROM Drive Connector (50-1 pins)

*

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

must not use this address or else conflicts will occur.

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 13

III. INSTALLATION

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.

III. INSTALLATION

Jumpers

Installation Steps

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

1. Set Jumpers on the Motherboard (if necessary)

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

1. Jumpers

1. Audio Setting (JP1)

This jumper allows you to enable or disable the onboard audio. This is normally
set to enable unless you add an audio expansion card in which case you would
need to disable the onboard audio to prevent hardware conflicts.

JP1

3
2
1

Audio Disable

R

P2E-N Onboard Audio Setting

JP1

3
2
1

Audio Enable

14 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

2. System Memory (DIMM)

Only Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMM) can be used with this motherboard.
T wo sockets are available for 3.3V olt (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 parity chip) and make
the proper settings in the BIOS Chipset Features Setup. (NOTE: ECC is only avail-
able on the P2L-N 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

Total System Memory (Max 256MB) =

ASUS Memory Examples:

ECC EDO DIMM (9 chips)

System Memory

III. INSTALLATION

Non-ECC SDRAM DIMM (8 chips)

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-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 15

III. INSTALLATION

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

P2E-N 168 Pin DIMM Memory Sockets

The Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) must be 3.3V Unbuffered for this moth­erboard. You can identify the type of DIMM module by the illustration below:

168-Pin DIMM Notch Key Definitions (3.3V)

R

88 Pins

60 Pins

20 Pins

Lock

DRAM Key Position

RFU

Buffered

Unbuffered

Voltage Key Position

5.0V

Reserved

3.3V

The notch on the DIMM module will shift between left, center, or right to identify the
type and also to prevent the wrong type of DIMM to be inserted into the DIMM socket
on the motherboard. Four clock signals are supported on this motherboard. You must
ask your retailer for the specifications before purchasing memory modules.

16 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N 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/256KB/0KB L2 Cache)

CPU (Item 9)

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 17

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

18 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N 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 full inserted.

(9)

(8)

Push lock inward

CPU

III. INSTALLATION

(3)

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 19

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

RT4

P2E-N CPU Thermal Sensor Connector

20 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N 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 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 also 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-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 21

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

2. Remove your computer system’s cover and the bracket plate on the slot you

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

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

5. Replace the computer system’s cover.

III. INSTALLATION

Expansion Cards

6. Set up the BIOS if necessary

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

III. INSTALLATION

hardware or software settings for your expansion card, such as jumpers.
intend to use. Keep the bracket for possible future use.

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

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.

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 Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD.EXE) utility located in the Win­dows 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.

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 Microsoft’s Diagnostic (MSD.EXE)
utility included in the Windows directory to see a map of your used and free IRQs.
For Windows 95 users, the “Control Panel” icon in “My Computer,” contains a
“System” icon which gives you a “Device Manager” tab. Double clicking on a spe­cific device give you “Resources” tab which shows the Interrupt number and ad­dress. Make sure that no two devices use the same IRQs or your computer will
experience problems when those two devices are in use at the same time.

22 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

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 Microsoft’s Diagnostic (MSD.EXE)
utility included in the Windows directory to see a map of your used and free IRQs.
For Windows 95 users, the “Control Panel” icon in “My Computer,” contains a
“System” icon which gives you a “Device Manager” tab. Double clicking on a
specific device give you “Resources” tab which shows the Interrupt number and
address. Make sure that no two devices use the same IRQs or your computer will
experience problems when those two devices are in use at the same time.

T o 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 does 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).

Expansion Cards

III. INSTALLATION

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.

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 23

III. INSTALLATION

5. External Connectors

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

clearly separated from jumpers in “Map of the Motherboard.” Placing jumper
caps over these will cause damage to your motherboard.

IMPORTANT: Ribbon cables should always be connected with the r ed stripe on
the Pin 1 side of the connector. The four corners of the connectors ar e 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 18in. (46cm), with the
second drive connector no more than 6in. (15cm) from the first connector.

III. INSTALLATION

Connectors

1. PS/2 Keyboard Connector (6 pin Female)
This connector is for a standard keyboard using an 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.

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)

PS/2 Keyboard (6-pin Female)

3. Joystick/MIDI Connector (15 pin Female)

This connector is for a standard joystick or MIDI device.

Joystick/Midi (15-pin Female)

24 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

4. Parallel Printer 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 SOFTW ARE. NOTE: Serial printers
must be connected to the serial port.

Parallel (Printer) Port (25-pin Female)

5. Serial Port COM1 and COM2 Connectors (Two 9 pin Male)

The two serial ports can be used for pointing devices or other serial devices. See
“Onboard Serial Port” in Chipset Features Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE.

COM 2

Serial Ports (9-pin Male)

COM 1

6. VGA Connector (15 pin Female)

This connector is for displaying on a standard VGA-compatible device.

TV Out Connectors

RCA

S-Video (4-pin Female)

7. TV Out Connectors (RCA and 4 pin Female S-Video) (optional)

These connectors are for displaying on a television using the RCA connector or
the S-Video connector.

TV Out Connectors

Connectors
DMA Channels

III. INSTALLATION

III. INSTALLATION

RCA

S-Video (4-pin Female)

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 25

III. INSTALLATION

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

Two USB ports are available for connecting USB devices.

III. INSTALLATION

Connectors

Port 1

Port 2

Riser Card Back

USB1&2

The USB connectors show
through the front system panel.

USB Connectors

9. IrDA / Fast IR-Compliant Infrared Module

This is an onboard infrared module for wireless transmitting and receiving data
through the front panel infrared lense.

The infrared port sends data
through the front system panel.

Infrared Port

10. NLX Power Supply Connector (20 pin NLXPWR)

This connector connects to an NLX power supply. The plug from the power
supply will only insert in one orientation because of the different hole sizes. Find
the proper orientation and push down firmly making sure that the pins are aligned.

IMPORTANT: Be sure that the NLX power supply can deliver at least
720mAmp on the 5volt standby lead (5VSB). Y ou may experience difficulty
in powering on your system without this specification.

+3.3 Volts

-12.0 Volts

Ground

Pwr Sup On

Ground

Ground

Ground

-5.0 Volts

+5.0 Volts

+5.0 Volts

Ground

Ground

Ground

NLX Power Connector

Power OK

+12.0 Volts

+5V Standby

5.0 Volts
+5.0 Volts

+3.3 Volts

+3.3 Volts

26 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

11. Primary IDE Connector (40-1 pin IDE)

This connector supports the provided IDE hard disk drive ribbon cable. After
connecting one end to the riser card, connect the other end to a hard disk drive.
The primary IDE channel supports both a master and a slave IDE device but the
system housing size only permits a standard IDE hard drive to be installed.

Primary IDE Connector

Pin 1

Orient the red stripe on the
IDE ribbon cable to Pin 1

IDE (Hard Disk Drive) Connector

12. 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive Connector (34-1 pin FLOPPY)

This connector supports the provided floppy drive ribbon cable. After connect­ing the single end to the riser card, connect the other end to a 3.5inch floppy disk
drive.

Riser Card Front

Pin 1

Floppy Disk Drive Connector

Riser Slot

Floppy Drive Conn.

Panel Conn.

Orient the red stripe on the
floppy ribbon cable to Pin 1

13. LAN Activity Connectors (2 pin LAN_LED & 3 pin WOL_CON)

These connectors support Local Area Network (LAN) cards such as the ASUS
PCI-L101 with output signals for data transfer activity . The LAN_LED connec­tor allows the front panel LED to blink during transfer activity between the
network and the computer . The WOL_CON connector allows the system to power
up when there is a wakeup package (signal) received from the network.

LAN activity LED

Riser Card Front

Connectors

III. INSTALLATION

LAN Activity Connectors

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 27

Riser Slot

Wake on LAN activity

III. INSTALLATION

14. Riser Front Panel Connector (16-1 pin)

This connector is used to connect the front panel display LED’s and buttons to
the motherboard through a ribbon cable.

III. INSTALLATION

Connectors

Riser Card Front

Riser Slot

Front Panel Display and Buttons

The front panel display &
buttons connect to the
riser card through a ribbon
cable.

Pin 1

15. Riser Front Panel Microphone Connector (2 pin)

This connector is used to connect the front panel microphone jack to the moth­erboard through a ribbon cable.

Riser Card Front

The front panel’s 1/8inch micro­phone jack connects to the riser
card through a ribbon cable.

Riser Slot

Front Panel Microphone Jack

28 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual

III. INSTALLATION

Front Panel Descriptions

ABCEF HIDJGKLM

A. System Power LED

Lights when the system is powered on and blinks when it is in sleep mode.

B. NLX Power Button/ Soft Power Button

Switches between ON, OFF, and SLEEP mode. The functions are controlled
and configurable through the “Power Up Control” in the POWER MANAGE­MENT SETUP of the BIOS SOFTWARE.

C. Floppy Drive Bay

Accepts a standard 3.5inch floppy drive, LS-120, or other compatible devices.

D. Network Activity LED

Blinks when data is transfered to or from a network card. (The network card
requires an external LED wire connected to the Riser card’s LAN_LED.)

E. IDE Activity LED

Blinks when data is transfered via the IDE channels, includes the CD-ROM.

F. Message LED

The LED will remain lit when there is no modem activity and blink when there
is data being transfered or waiting in the inbox. Requires ACPI OS support.

G. Reset Button

Switch used for rebooting the computer without having to use the power switch

H. Volume Down Button

Decreases the onboard audio amplifier’s volume.

I. Volume Up Button

Increases the onboard audio amplifier’s volume.

J. CD-ROM Drive Bay

Accepts only a notebook-size CD-ROM.

K. Microphone Jack

Accepts a 1/8inch connector from a microphone or other audio source.

L. USB Port1 and Port2

Accepts 15 USB devices on each port.

M. Infrared Window

Allows transmission and reception of infrared signals by the onboard module.

Connectors

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual 29

III. INSTALLATION

16. ATI Multimedia Connector (40-3 pin AMC)

This connector is used for ATI video accessories such as video capture cards or
television tuners.

R

III. INSTALLATION

Connectors

2
1

40
39

P2E-N ATI Multimedia Connector

17. Audio Connectors (Three 1/8inch. Female)

These connectors are provided for audio input and output signals.

Motherboard Audio Conn. Back Panel Audio Conn.

10

9

Back Panel Audio Jacks

Speaker Out

Line Out

R

P2E-N Audio Jack Connector

2
1

A ribbon cable connects the Motherboard
Audio Conn. to the Back Panel Audio Conn.

Line In

18. CPU Fan Connector (3 pin)

This connector support a cooling fan of 500mAMP (6WATT) or less.

R

CPU Fan Power

(NC)

+12 Volt

Ground

P2E-N 12Volt Cooling Fan Power

30 ASUS P2L-N/P2E-N User’s Manual