DFI K8M800 Infinity User Manual

K8M800 INFINITY

System Board
User’s Manual

81810436

Copyright

This publication contains information that is protected by copyright.
No part of it may be reproduced in any form or by any means or
used to make any transformation/adaptation without the prior writ­ten permission from the copyright holders.

This publication is provided for informational purposes only. The
manufacturer makes no representations or warranties with respect to
the contents or use of this manual and specifically disclaims any
express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any
particular purpose. The user will assume the entire risk of the use or
the results of the use of this document. Fur ther, the manufacturer
reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes to its
contents at any time, without obligation to notify any person or
entity of such revisions or changes.

© 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Trademarks

Windows® 98, Windows® 98 SE, Windows® ME, Windows® 2000,
Windows NT® 4.0 and Windows® XP are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation. AMD and AthlonTM are registered trademarks
of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIA® is a registered trademark of
VIA Technologies, Inc. Award is a registered trademark of Award
Software, Inc. Other trademarks and registered trademarks of prod­ucts appearing in this manual are the properties of their respective
holders.

Caution

To avoid damage to the system:

• Use the correct AC input voltage range

To reduce the risk of electric shock:

• Unplug the power cord before removing the system chassis
cover for installation or servicing. After installation or servicing,
cover the system chassis before plugging the power cord.

..

.

..

Battery:

• Danger of explosion if battery incorrectly replaced.

• Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommend
the manufacturer.

• Dispose of used batteries according to the battery manufactur­er’s

instructions.

FCC and DOC Statement on Class B

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 when the equipment is operated in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instruction manual, 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:

by

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.

• Connect the equipment into 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.

Notice:

1. The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority
to operate the equipment.

2. Shielded interface cables must be used in order to comply with
the emission limits.

About this Manual

This user’s manual contains detailed information about the system
board. If, in some cases, some information doesn’t match those
shown in the multilingual manual, the multilingual manual should al­ways be regarded as the most updated version. The multilingual
manual is included in the system board package.

To view the user’s manual, insert the CD into a CD-ROM drive. The
autorun screen (Mainboard Utility CD) will appear. Click the
“TOOLS” icon then click “Manual” on the main menu.

Notice

The system board and accessories you receive in the package may
not come similar to the information stated in this manual. This may
differ in accordance to the sales region or models in which it was
sold. For more information about the standard package in your
region, please contact your dealer or sales representative.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Features and Specifications..................................................................................

1.2 Package Checklist.........................................................................................................

Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation

2.1 System Board Layout .............................................................................................

2.2 System Memory.............................................................................................................

2.3 CPU..........................................................................................................................................

2.4 Jumper Settings...............................................................................................................

2.5 Rear Panel I/O Ports................................................................................................

2.6 I/O Connectors.............................................................................................................

Chapter 3 - BIOS Setup

3.1 Award BIOS Setup Utility....................................................................................

3.2 VIA RAID BIOS............................................................................................................

3.3 Updating the BIOS.....................................................................................................

7

15

16
17
19
25
28
40

51
97
98

Chapter 4 - Supported Softwares

4.1 Desktop Management Interface.....................................................................

4.2 Drivers, Utilities and Software Applications.........................................

4.3 3D Audio Configuration........................................................................................

4.4 Installation Notes..........................................................................................................

100
103
114
115

1

Introduction

Appendix A - System Error Messages

A.1 POST Beep........................................................................................................................

A.2 Error Messages...............................................................................................................

Appendix B - Troubleshooting

B.1 Troubleshooting Checklist.....................................................................................

116
116

118

6

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Features and Specifications

1.1.1 Features

Processor

• AMD AthlonTM 64 (3400+)

• Socket 754

Chipset

• VIA® chipset
North bridge: VIA® K8M800

- 1600MTps HyperTransport interface

- Integrated UniChrome2 3D/2D graphics controller
South bridge: VIA® VT8237

- 16-bit "Ultra V-Link" host controller

- 533MB/sec. V-Link interface

Introduction

1

Memory

• Supports single channel (64-bit wide) memory interface

• Two 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets

• Supports up to 2GB using PC2100 (DDR266), PC2700
(DDR333) or PC3200 (DDR400) unbuffered single/double-sided
DDR SDRAM DIMM

BIOS

• Award BIOS, Windows
compatible

• Genie BIOS provides:

- CPU/DRAM overclocking

- AGP/DRAM overvoltage

• 4Mbit flash memory

• AMD Cool‘n’QuietTM technology

• Supports CMOS Reloaded which allows storing multiple user­defined configurations to save, load and name the configurations

®

98/2000/ME/XP Plug and Play

7

1

Introduction

Energy Efficient Design

• Supports ACPI specification and OS Directed Power
Management

• Wake-On-Events include:

- Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse

- Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse

- Wake-On-Ring (external modem)

- Wake-On-LAN

- RTC timer to power-on the system

• System power management supported

• CPU stopped clock control

• Hardware supports SMI green mode

• Microsoft®/Intel® APM 1.2 compliant

• Soft Power supported - ACPI v1.06 specification

• AC power failure recovery

• CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature
and fan during system boot-up

Onboard Graphics Features

• Integrated UniChrome2 3D/2D graphics controller

• Integrated S3 Graphics with 2D/3D acceleration

- Optimized Unified Memory Architecture (UMA)

- Supports 16/32/64MB Frame Buffers size

- 200MHz Graphics Engine Clock

- 128-bit data buses between north bridge and graphics core

• Supports 2D acceleration features

• Supports 3D acceleration features

Audio Features

• AC'97 2.2 extension compliant codec

• Supports Microsoft

• AC’97 supported with full duplex, independent sample rate
converter for audio recording and playback

• S/PDIF-in/out compressed digital output

• 6-channel audio output via software

®

DirectSound/DirectSound 3D

8

Introduction

Onboard LAN Features

• Gigabit ethernet controller suppor ts 10/100/1000Mbps

• Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T), 802.3u (100BASE-TX)
and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards

• Integrated power management functions

• Supports wire for management

Serial ATA Interface with RAID

• Supports two SATA (Serial ATA) interfaces which are compliant
with SATA 1.0 specification (1.5Gbps interface)

• Supports RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD

IEEE 1394 Interface

• VIA VT6307 PCI 1394 integrated host controller

• Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec ports

1

IDE Interface

• Supports ATA/33, ATA/66, ATA/100 and ATA/133 hard drives

Accelerated Graphics Port (A.G.P.)

• Supports AGP 8x up to 2133MB/sec. and AGP 4x up to
1066MB/sec. bandwidth for 3D graphics applications

Rear Panel I/O Ports

• 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port

• 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port

• 1 DB-9 serial por t

• 1 DB-25 parallel por t

• 1 DB-15 VGA port

• 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports

• 1 RJ45 LAN port

• 1 IEEE 1394 port

• 3 audio jacks: line-in, line-out and mic-in

9

1

Introduction

I/O Connectors

• 2 connectors for 4 additional external USB 2.0/1.1 ports

• 1 connector for 1 external IEEE 1394 port

• 1 connector for 1 external serial port (optional)

• 1 front audio connector for external line-out and mic-in jacks

• 1 CD-in internal audio connector

• 1 S/PDIF-in/out connector

• 1 IrDA connector

• 2 Serial ATA connectors

• 2 IDE connectors

• 1 floppy connector

• 2 ATX power supply connectors

• 2 fan connectors

Expansion Slots

• 1 AGP slot

• 3 PCI slots

PCB

• 4 layers, microATX form factor

• 24.5cm (9.65") x 23cm (9.06")

1.2 Special Features of the System Board

AMD Athlon

The system board supports the AMD AthlonTM 64 processor. AMD
Athlon
applications by allowing both 32-bit and 64-bit applications to run
simultaneously on the same platform. The operating system and
software are able to process more data and access a tremendous
amount of memory which improves the overall system performance.

2T timing which provides better system stability is supported in CG
or later revisions of the AMD Athlon
the memory timing in the “1T/2T Memory Timing” field of the BIOS.
Refer to the Advanced Chipset Features section (“DRAM
Configuration” section) in chapter 3 for more information.

TM

TM

64

64 provides superior computing for many software

TM

64 processor. You can select

10

AMD Cool‘n’QuietTM Technology

Introduction

1

The AMD Cool‘n’Quiet
CPU’s tasks and utilization status. When the CPU’s task slows down,
the system effectively lowers power consumption by lowering its
CPU speed and voltage, subsequently decreasing its noise level.

CPU Overheat Protection

• Monitors CPU temperature during system boot-up

• Supports shutdown temperature - automatic shutdown upon
system overheat

CMOS Reloaded

CMOS Reloaded is a technology that allows storing multiple user­defined BIOS settings by using the BIOS utility to save, load and
name the settings. This is especially useful to overclockers who
require saving a variety of overclocked settings and being able to
conveniently switch between these settings simultaneously.

TM

technology allows the system to detect the

S/PDIF

S/PDIF is a standard audio file transfer format that transfers digital
audio signals to a device without having to be converted first to an
analog format. This prevents the quality of the audio signal from
degrading whenever it is converted to analog. S/PDIF is usually
found on digital audio equipment such as a DAT machine or audio
processing device. The S/PDIF connector on the system board sends
surround sound and 3D audio signal outputs to amplifiers and
speakers and to digital recording devices like CD recorders.

6-channel Audio

The audio jacks at the rear panel will support 6-channel audio only
when the audio utility is configured to support this function. The mic­in at the rear will be disabled. Use the front audio’s mic-in jack.

11

1

Introduction

Serial ATA Interface with RAID

Serial ATA is a storage interface that is compliant with SATA 1.0
specification. With speed of up to 1.5Gbps, it improves hard drive
performance faster than the standard parallel ATA whose data
transfer rate is 100MB/s. The system board allows configuring RAID
on SATA drives. It suppor ts RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD.

IEEE 1394 Interface

IEEE 1394 is fully compliant with the 1394 OHCI (Open Host
Controller Interface) 1.1 specification. It supports up to 63 devices
that can run simultaneously on a system. 1394 is a fast external bus
standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400Mbps. In
addition to its high speed, it also supports isochronous data transfer
which is ideal for video devices that need to transfer high levels of
data in real-time. 1394 supports both Plug-and-Play and hot
plugging.

IrDA Interface

The system board is equipped with an IrDA connector for wireless
connectivity between your computer and peripheral devices. The
IRDA (Infrared Data Association) specification supports data
transfers of 115K baud at a distance of 1 meter.

USB Ports

The system board supports USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 ports. USB 1.1
supports 12Mb/second bandwidth while USB 2.0 supports 480Mb/
second bandwidth providing a marked improvement in device
transfer speeds between your computer and a wide range of
simultaneously accessible external Plug and Play peripherals.

Dual Function Power Button

Depending on the setting in the “Soft-Off By PWR-BTTN” field of
the Power Management Setup, this switch will allow the system to

12

enter the Soft-Off or Suspend mode.

Introduction

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

AGP is an interface designed to support high performance 3D
graphics cards. It utilizes a dedicated pipeline to access system
memory for texturing, z-buffering and alpha blending. The AGP slot
supports AGP 8x with up to 2.13GB/sec. bandwidth and AGP 4x
with up to 1066MB/sec. bandwidth for 3D graphics applications.
AGP in this system board will deliver faster and better graphics to
your PC.

Wake-On-Ring

This feature allows the system that is in the Suspend mode or Soft
Power Off mode to wake-up/power-on to respond to calls coming
from an external modem or respond to calls from a modem PCI
card that uses the PCI PME (Power Management Event) signal to
remotely wake up the PC.

1

Important:

If you are using a modem add-in card, the 5VSB power source
of your power supply must support a minimum of ≥720mA.

Wake-On-LAN

This feature allows the network to remotely wake up a Soft Power
Down (Soft-Off) PC. It is supported via the onboard LAN port or
via a PCI LAN card that uses the PCI PME (Power Management
Event) signal. However, if your system is in the Suspend mode, you
can power-on the system only through an IRQ or DMA interrupt.

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

720mA.

Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse

This function allows you to use the PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 mouse
to power-on the system.

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

720mA.

13

1

Introduction

Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse

This function allows you to use a USB keyboard or USB mouse to
wake up the system.

Important:

• If you are using the Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
function for 2 USB ports, the 5VSB power source of your
power supply must support ≥1.5A.

• If you are using the Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
function for 3 or more USB ports, the 5VSB power source
of your power supply must support ≥2A.

RTC Timer to Power-on the System

The RTC installed on the system board allows your system to auto­matically power-on on the set date and time.

AC Power Failure Recovery

When power returns after an AC power failure, you may choose to
either power-on the system manually or let the system power-on
automatically.

ACPI

The system board is designed to meet the ACPI (Advanced Con­figuration and Power Interface) specification. ACPI has energy saving
features that enables PCs to implement Power Management and
Plug-and-Play with operating systems that support OS Direct Power
Management.

Virus Protection

Most viruses today destroy data stored in hard drives. The system
board is designed to protect the boot sector and partition table of
your hard disk drive.

14

1.2 Package Checklist

The system board package contains the following items:

; The system board
; A user’s manual
; One IDE cable for ATA/33/66/100/133 IDE drives
; One 34-pin floppy disk drive cable
; One Serial ATA cable
; One SATA RAID floppy diskette
; One I/O shield
; One “Mainboard Utility” CD

If any of these items are missing or damaged, please contact your
dealer or sales representative for assistance.

Introduction

1

15

2

Hardware Installation

Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation

2.1 System Board Layout

CPU fan

1

COM 1

VGA

KB/Mouse

Parallel

+12V power

1

VIA

K8M800

Socket 754

DDR 1 DDR 2

AT X

power

1

IDE 1 IDE 2

1394_1,
USB 1-2

LAN, USB 3-4

Front

audio

Audio
Codec

1

BIOS

Line-in
Line-out
Mic-in

1

1

S/PDIF

I/O

chip

CD-in

1

Giga
LAN

1

IrDA

COM 2

Battery

1

Clear CMOS (JP3)

USB 5-6

1

USB 7-8

1

1394_2

1

PCI 1 slot

PCI 2 slot

PCI
3 slot

COM 2 on the system board is optional.

VIA

VT6307

AGP slot

VIA

VT8237

5V/5VSB power

SATA 2

1

1

SATA 1

PWR-LED

1

RESET

HD-LED

select (JP1)

1

Chassis fan

ATX-SW

SPEAKER

1

1

FDD

1

1

16

Warning:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your system board, proces­sor, disk drives, add-in boards, and other components. Perform the
upgrade instruction procedures described at an ESD workstation only.
If such a station is not available, you can provide some ESD
protection by wearing an antistatic wrist strap and attaching it to a
metal part of the system chassis. If a wrist strap is unavailable,
establish and maintain contact with the system chassis throughout
any procedures requiring ESD protection.

2.2 System Memory

Hardware Installation

2

DDR 1
DDR 2

The system board supports DDR SDRAM DIMM. Double Data
Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) is a type of SDRAM that doubles the
data rate through reading and writing at both the rising and falling
edge of each clock. This effectively doubles the speed of operation
therefore doubling the speed of data transfer. Refer to chapter 1
(System Memory section) for detailed specification of the memory
supported by the system board.

Note:

If you are installing double rank DDR400 on both DDR 1 and
DDR 2 sockets, the maximum DRAM speed will automatically
be limited to the speed of a DDR333. However, the BIOS
provides the option of manually adjusting the speed to
DDR400 by selecting “200” in the “Max Memclock (Mhz)”
field (Advanced Chipset Features submenu) of the BIOS.

17

2

Hardware Installation

BIOS Setting

Configure the system memory in the Advanced Chipset Features
submenu (“DRAM Configuration” section) of the BIOS.

2.2.1 Installing the DIM Module

A DIM module simply snaps into a DIMM socket on the system
board. Pin 1 of the DIM module must correspond with Pin 1 of the
socket.

Notch

Key

Tab

Pin 1

1. Pull the “tabs” which are at the ends of the socket to the side.

2. Position the DIMM above the socket with the “notch” in the
module aligned with the “key” on the socket.

3. Seat the module vertically into the socket. Make sure it is
completely seated. The tabs will hold the DIMM in place.

Tab

18

2.3 CPU

2.3.1 Overview

The system board is equipped with a surface mount 754-pin CPU
socket. This socket is exclusively designed for installing an AMD CPU.

2.3.2 Installing the CPU

1. Make sure the PC and all other peripheral devices connected to
it has been powered down.

2. Disconnect all power cords and cables.

3. Locate the 754-pin CPU socket on the system board.

Hardware Installation

2

X

19

2

Hardware Installation

4. Unlock the socket by pushing the lever sideways, away from the
socket, then lifting it up to a 90o angle. Make sure the lever is lifted
to at least this angle otherwise the CPU will not fit in properly.

Lever

5. Position the CPU above the socket. The gold mark on the CPU
must align with the corner of the CPU socket (refer to the
enlarged view) shown below.

Important:

Handle the CPU by its edges and avoid touching the pins.

Gold mark

20

Hardware Installation

6. Insert the CPU into the socket until it is seated in place. The
CPU will fit in only one orientation and can easily be inserted
without exerting any force.

Important:

Do not force the CPU into the socket. Forcing the CPU into
the socket may bend the pins and damage the CPU.

2

7. Once the CPU is in place, push down the lever to lock the
socket. The lever should click on the side tab to indicate that the
CPU is completely secured in the socket.

Side tab

21

2

Hardware Installation

2.3.3 Installing the Fan and Heat Sink

The CPU must be kept cool by using a CPU fan with heat sink.
Without sufficient air circulation across the CPU and heat sink, the
CPU will overheat damaging both the CPU and system board.

Note:

• Use only certified fan and heat sink.

• The fan and heat sink package usually contains the fan and

heat sink assembly, and an installation guide. If the
installation procedure in the installation guide differs from
the one in this section, please follow the installation guide in
the package.

1. Before you install the fan / heat sink, you must apply a thermal
paste onto the top of the CPU. The thermal paste is usually
supplied when you purchase the CPU or fan heat sink assembly.
Do not spread the paste all over the surface. When you later
place the heat sink on top of the CPU, the compound will
disperse evenly.

Do not apply the paste if the fan / heat sink already has a patch
of thermal paste on its underside. Peel the strip that covers the
paste before you place the fan / heat sink on top of the CPU.

2. The system board comes with the retention module base already
installed.

Retention
module base

22

Hardware Installation

3. Place the heat sink on top of the CPU. Now hook one side of
the retention clip onto the retention module base by fitting the
holes on the retention clip into the retaining tabs of the retention
module base.

Retaining
tab

Retention clip

Retention module base

Side View

2

Retaining

tabs

Retaining
tabs

Top View

23

2

Hardware Installation

4. Hook the other side of the retention clip (the one near the
retention lever) so that the holes on the retention clip also fit
into the retaining tabs of the retention module base.

Note:

You will not be able to secure the fan and heat sink
assembly in place if it did not fit properly onto the
retention module base.

Retention lever

5. Move the retention lever to its opposite side then push it down
to lock the fan and heat sink assembly to the retention module
base.

Note:

Make sure there is sufficient air circulation across the CPU
fan and heat sink.

24

6. Connect the CPU fan’s cable connector to the CPU fan connec­tor on the system board.

2.4 Jumper Settings

2.4.1 Clear CMOS Data

Hardware Installation

2

JP3

312312

X

1-2 On: Normal

(default)

If you encounter the following,

a) CMOS data becomes corrupted.
b) You forgot the keyboard, super visor or user password.
c) You are unable to boot-up the computer system because the

processor’s clock was incorrectly set in the BIOS.

you can reconfigure the system with the default values stored in the
ROM BIOS.

To load the default values stored in the ROM BIOS, please follow
the steps below.

2-3 On:

Clear CMOS Data

1. Power-off the system and unplug the power cord.

2. Set JP3 pins 2 and 3 to On. Wait for a few seconds and set JP3
back to its default setting, pins 1 and 2 On.

3. Plug the power cord and power-on the system.

If your reason for clearing the CMOS data is due to incorrect
setting of the processor’s clock in the BIOS, please proceed to
step 4.

25

2

Hardware Installation

4. After powering-on the system, press <Del> to enter the main
menu of the BIOS.

5. Select the Frequency/Voltage Control submenu and press <En­ter>.

6. Set the “CPU Clock” field to its default setting or an appropriate
bus clock. Refer to the Frequency/Voltage Control section in
chapter 3 for more information.

7. Press <Esc> to return to the main menu of the BIOS setup
utility. Select “Save & Exit Setup” and press <Enter>.

8. Type <Y> and press <Enter>.

26

2.4.2 5V/5VSB Power Select

Hardware Installation

2

JP1

X

(default)

JP1 is used to select between 5V and 5VSB power. Selecting 5VSB
will allow you to use a PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 mouse or a USB device
to wake up the system.

BIOS Setting

Configure the PS/2 and USB device wake up function in the Power
Management Setup submenu (“IRQ/Event Activity Detect” section) of
the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

312 312

2-3 On: 5VSB1-2 On: 5V

27

2

Hardware Installation

2.5 Rear Panel I/O Ports

PS/2

Mouse

COM 1 VGAPS/2 K/B

The rear panel I/O ports consist of the following:

• PS/2 mouse port

• PS/2 keyboard port

• Parallel por t

• COM 1 port

• VGA port

• IEEE 1394_1 port

• USB ports

• LAN port

• Line-in jack

• Line-out jack

• Mic-in jack

Parallel

1394_1

USB 1-2 USB 3-4

LAN

Line-in

Line-out

Mic-in

28

Hardware Installation

2.5.1 PS/2 Mouse and PS/2 Keyboard Ports

2

PS/2 Mouse

PS/2 Keyboard

W

The system board is equipped with an onboard PS/2 mouse
(Green) and PS/2 keyboard (Purple) por ts - both at location CN1
of the system board. The PS/2 mouse port uses IRQ12. If a mouse
is not connected to this port, the system will reserve IRQ12 for
other expansion cards.

.

.

.

.

.

Warning:

.

.

.

Make sure to turn off your computer prior to connecting or
disconnecting a mouse or keyboard. Failure to do so may dam­age the system board.

Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse

The Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse function allows you to use the
PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 mouse to power-on the system. To use this
function:

• Jumper Setting:

JP1 must be set to “2-3 On: 5VSB”. Refer to “5V/5VSB Power
Select” in this chapter for more information.

29

2

Hardware Installation

• BIOS Setting:

Configure the PS/2 wake up function in the Power Management
Setup submenu (“IRQ/Event Activity Detect” section) of the
BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

720mA.

30

2.5.2 Serial Port

COM 1

Hardware Installation

2

W

DSR

DTR

SG

TD

CTS

RTS

RI

W

9

RD

2
1

CD

COM 2

(optional)

The system board is equipped with an onboard serial port (Teal/
Turquoise) at location CN4 for COM 1. It is also equipped with an
optional 9-pin connector at location J6 for COM 2.

To connect COM 2, please refer to the following description. The
serial port may be mounted on a card-edge bracket. Install the card­edge bracket to the system chassis then insert the cable connector
to J6. Make sure the colored stripe on the ribbon cable is aligned
with pin 1 of J6.

The serial por ts are RS-232C asynchronous communication ports
with 16C550A-compatible UARTs that can be used with a modem,
serial printer, remote display terminal or other serial devices.

BIOS Setting

Select the serial por ts’ I/O address in the Integrated Peripherals
submenu (“Super IO Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to chapter
3 for more information.

31

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.3 Parallel Port

Parallel

W

The system board has a standard parallel port (Burgundy) at loca­tion CN7 for interfacing your PC to a parallel printer. It suppor ts
SPP, ECP and EPP.

Setting

SPP
(Standard Parallel Port)

ECP
(Extended Capabilities Port)

EPP
(Enhanced Parallel Port)

BIOS Setting

Select the parallel port’s mode in the Integrated Peripherals submenu
(“Super IO Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for
more information.

Allows normal speed operation but
in one direction only.

Allows parallel por t to operate in
bidirectional mode and at a speed
faster than the SPP’s data transfer
rate.

Allows bidirectional parallel port op­eration at maximum speed.

Function

32

2.5.4 VGA Port

Hardware Installation

2

W

VGA

The system board can only be used with an analog video monitor.
Connect the monitor’s 15-pin D-shell cable connector to the VGA
port (Blue) at location CN2. If your monitor supports analog video
but does not have a 15-pin D-shell connector, see your monitor
dealer for the adapter or optional cable. After you plug the monitor
cable into the VGA port, gently tighten the cable screws to hold the
connector in place. Some monitors have a switch that chooses
between analog and TTL (or digital) operation. If your monitor has
such a switch, set it for analog.

BIOS Setting

Configure the onboard VGA in the Advanced Chipset Features
submenu (“AGP and P2P Bridge Control” section) of the BIOS. Re­fer to chapter 3 for more information.

Driver Installation

Install the “VGA Drivers”. Refer to chapter 4 for more information.

33

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.5 Universal Serial Bus Ports

USB 2
USB 1

W

W

USB 4
USB 3

X

USB 5-6

USB 7-8

VCC

2
1

VCC

+Data

-Data

-Data
+Data

Ground

N. C.

Key

Ground

Four onboard USB 2.0/1.1 ports (Black) are at locations CN6 (USB
1-2) and CN5 (USB 3-4) of the system board.

J7 (USB 5-6) and J8 (USB 7-8) connectors allow you to connect 4
additional USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The USB por ts may be mounted on a
card-edge bracket. Install the card-edge bracket to the system
chassis then insert the connector that is attached to the USB port
cables to J7 or J8.

10

9

34

BIOS Setting

Configure the onboard USB in the Integrated Peripherals submenu
(“VIA OnChip PCI Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3
for more information.

Hardware Installation

Driver Installation

You may need to install the proper drivers in your operating system
to use the USB device. Refer to your operating system’s manual or
documentation for more information.

If you are using a USB 2.0 device, install the “VIA USB 2.0 Drivers”.
Refer to chapter 4 for more information.

Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse

The Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse function allows you to use a
USB keyboard or USB mouse to wake up the system.

• Jumper Setting:

JP1 must be set to “2-3 On: 5VSB”. Refer to “5V/5VSB Power
Select” in this chapter for more information.

2

• BIOS Setting:

Configure the USB device wake up function in the Power Man­agement Setup submenu (“IRQ/Event Activity Detect” section) of
the BIOS must be set accordingly. Refer to chapter 3 for more

information.

Important:

• If you are using the Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
function for 2 USB ports, the 5VSB power source of your
power supply must support ≥1.5A.

• If you are using the Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
function for 3 or more USB ports, the 5VSB power source
of your power supply must support ≥2A.

35

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.6 IEEE 1394

1394_1

1394_2

Ground

TPA-

2

1

TPA+

Ground

W

Ground

TPB-

+12V (fused)

10

W

9

Key

TPB+

+12V (fused)

The system board is equipped with an onboard IEEE 1394 port at
location CN6 (IEEE 1394_1) of the system board.

It is also equipped with an IEEE 1394 connector at location J9
(1394_2) for connecting an additional 1394 device. Your 1394 por t
may come mounted on a card-edge bracket. Install the card-edge
bracket to the system chassis then insert the connector that is
attached to the 1394 port cable to J9. Make sure pin 1 of the
cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of the J9. You can now connect
an IEEE 1394 device to the port.

36

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard 1394 in the Integrated Peripherals
submenu (“VIA OnChip PCI Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to
chapter 3 for more information.

2.5.7 RJ45 Fast-Ethernet Port

Hardware Installation

2

RJ45 LAN

The system board is equipped with an onboard RJ45 fast-ethernet
LAN port at location CN5 of the system board. It allows the
system board to connect to a local area network by means of a
network hub.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard LAN in the Integrated Peripherals
submenu (“VIA OnChip PCI Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to
chapter 3 for more information.

W

Driver Installation

Install the “VIA LAN Drivers”. Refer to chapter 4 for more informa­tion.

37

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.8 Audio (Rear Audio Jacks and Front Audio)

Line-in

Line-out

Mic-in

W

9

10

AuD_L_Return

Key

AuD_R_Return

AuD_Vcc

GND

AuD_L_Out

N. C.

AuD_R_Out

Mic Power
Mic

12

W

Front audio

Line-in, Line-out and Mic-in

The line-in, line-out and mic-in jacks are at location CN3 of the
system board. A jack is a one-hole connecting interface for inserting
a plug.

• Line-in Jack (Light Blue)

This jack is used to connect any audio devices such as Hi-fi set,
CD player, tape player, AM/FM radio tuner, synthesizer, etc.

• Line-out Jack (Lime)

This jack is used to connect external speakers for audio output

from the system board.

• Mic-in Jack (Pink)

This jack is used to connect an external microphone.

38

Hardware Installation

Front Audio

The front audio connector (J1) allows you to connect to the line-out
and mic-in jacks that are at the front panel of your system. Using
this connector will disable the rear audio’s line-out and mic-in func­tions.

Remove the jumper caps from pins 5-6 and pins 9-10 of J1 prior to
connecting the front audio cable connector. Make sure pin 1 of the
cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of J1. If you are not using this
connector, make sure to replace the jumper caps back to their
original pin locations.

2

Pins 5-6 and 9-10 short
(default)

Pins 5-6 and 9-10 open

Driver Installation

Install the “Audio Drivers”. An audio software application program
will at the same time be installed into your system. This program will
allow you to configure 2-channel, 4-channel and 6-channel audio
modes as well as configure the audio effects. Refer to chapter 4 for
more information.

The front audio is disabled.
The rear audio is enabled.

The front audio is enabled.
The rear audio is disabled.

39

2

Hardware Installation

2.6 I/O Connectors

2.6.1 CD-in Internal Audio Connector

Ground

Left audio

channel

1

The CD-in (J2) connector is used to receive audio from a CD-ROM

drive, TV tuner or MPEG card.

Ground

Right audio
channel

4

W

40

2.6.2 S/PDIF-in/out Connector

SPDIF out

Key

GND

+5V

SPDIF in

Hardware Installation

2

15

The S/PDIF-in/out connector (J4) is used to connect external S/PDIF
ports. The S/PDIF ports may be mounted on a card-edge bracket.
Install the card-edge bracket to the system chassis then connect the
audio cable connector to J4. Make sure pin 1 of the audio cable
connector is aligned with pin 1 of J4. You can now connect an
external audio output device to the S/PDIF port.

W

41

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.3 Floppy Disk Drive Connector

34

33

X

21

The system board is equipped with a shrouded floppy disk drive
connector for connecting two standard floppy disk drives. To prevent
improper floppy cable installation, the shrouded floppy disk header
has a keying mechanism. The 34-pin connector on the floppy cable
can be placed into the header only if pin 1 of the connector is
aligned with pin 1 of the header.

Connecting the Floppy Disk Drive Cable

42

Install one end of the floppy disk drive cable into the shrouded
floppy disk header (J21) on the system board and the other end­most connector to the drive you want to designate as Drive A. If
you are connecting another drive (Drive B), install the middle
connector of the cable to the drive. The colored edge of the daisy
chained ribbon cable should be aligned with pin 1 of J21.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable this function in the Integrated Peripherals submenu
(“Super I/O Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for
more information.

2.6.4 Serial ATA Connectors

Hardware Installation

2

SATA 2

SATA 1

The system board is equipped with two Serial ATA connectors for
connecting Serial ATA devices. Connect one end of the Serial ATA
cable to J15 (SATA 2) or J16 (SATA 1) and the other end to your
Serial ATA device.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard SATA in the Integrated Peripherals
submenu (“VIA OnChip IDE Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to
chapter 3 for more information.

Configuring RAID on SATA Drives

The system board allows configuring RAID on SATA drives. It sup­ports RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD. The following must be set ac­cordingly.

17

TXN

GND

RXP

RXN

GND

TXP

GND

• BIOS Setting

Configure RAID (e.g. creating or deleting RAID) in the VIA RAID
BIOS. You can enter this utility by pressing the <Tab> key during
system boot up. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

• Drivers and Utility

Install the VIA SATA RAID Drivers and Utility. Refer to chapter 4
for more information.

43

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.5 IDE Disk Drive Connectors

IDE 1

39

40

21

40

IDE 1

IDE 2

21

The system board is equipped with two shrouded PCI IDE headers
that will interface four Enhanced IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics)
disk drives. To prevent improper IDE cable installation, each shrouded
PCI IDE header has a keying mechanism. The 40-pin connector on
the IDE cable can be placed into the header only if pin 1 of the
connector is aligned with pin 1 of the header.

39

IDE 2

Each IDE connector supports 2 devices, a Master and a Slave. Use
an IDE ribbon cable to connect the drives to the system board. An
IDE ribbon cable have 3 connectors on them, one that plugs into an
IDE connector on the system board and the other 2 connects to
IDE devices. The connector at the end of the cable is for the Master
drive and the connector in the middle of the cable is for the Slave
drive.

Connecting the IDE Disk Drive Cable

Install one end of the IDE cable into the IDE 1 header (J17) on the
system board and the other connectors to the IDE devices.

If you are adding a third or fourth IDE device, use another IDE
cable and install one end of the cable into the IDE 2 header (J19)
on the system board and the other connectors to the IDE devices.

44

Hardware Installation

Note:

Refer to your disk drive user’s manual for information about
selecting proper drive switch settings.

Adding a Second IDE Disk Drive

When using two IDE drives, one must be set as the master and the
other as the slave. Follow the instructions provided by the drive
manufacturer for setting the jumpers and/or switches on the drives.

The system board supports Enhanced IDE or ATA-2, ATA/33,
ATA/66, ATA/100 or ATA/133 hard drives. We recommend that you
use hard drives from the same manufacturer. In a few cases, drives
from two different manufacturers will not function properly when
used together. The problem lies in the hard drives, not the system
board.

2

Important:

If you encountered problems while using an ATAPI CD-ROM
drive that is set in Master mode, please set the CD-ROM drive
to Slave mode. Some ATAPI CD-ROMs may not be recognized
and cannot be used if incorrectly set in Master mode.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard primary or secondary IDE in the
Integrated Peripherals submenu (“VIA OnChip IDE Device” section)
of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

45

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.6 IrDA Connector

IRRX

N. C.

Ground

VCC

IRTX

15

Connect your IrDA cable to connector J5 on the system board.

Note:

The sequence of the pin functions on some IrDA cable may be
reversed from the pin function defined on the system board.
Make sure to connect the cable to the IrDA connector
according to their pin functions.

BIOS Setting

Configure IrDA in the Integrated Peripherals submenu (“Super IO
Device” section) of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more
information.

Driver Installation

W

46

You may need to install the proper drivers in your operating system
to use the IrDA function. Refer to your operating system’s manual or
documentation for more information.

2.6.7 Cooling Fan Connectors

Hardware Installation

Power

Ground

X

13

Sense

CPU fan

2

1

3

X

Chassis fan

Connect the CPU fan’s cable connector to the CPU fan connector
(J20) on the system board. The chassis fan connector (J10) is used
to connect an additional cooling fan. The cooling fans will provide
adequate airflow throughout the chassis to prevent overheating the
CPU and system board components.

BIOS Setting

The “PC Health Status” submenu of the BIOS will display the current
speed of the CPU fan. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

Ground
Power
N. C.

47

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.8 Power Connectors

43

+12V

Ground

2

20

+5V

+5V

-5V
Ground
Ground

Ground
PS-ON
Ground

-12V

3.3V

111

X

Ground

PW-OK

Ground

Ground

X

Ground

+12V

1

10

+12V

5VSB

+5V

+5V

3.3V

3.3V

Use a power supply that complies with the ATX12V Power Supply
Design Guide Version 1.1. An ATX12V power supply has a standard
20-pin ATX main power connector and a 4-pin +12V power
connector that must be inserted onto CN9 and CN8 connectors
respectively.

The 4-pin +12V power connector enables the delivery of more
+12VDC current to the processor’s Voltage Regulator Module
(VRM).

The system board requires a minimum of 250 Watt power supply
to operate. Your system configuration (amount of memor y, add-in
cards, peripherals, etc.) may exceed the minimum power requirement.
To ensure that adequate power is provided, use a 300 Watt (or
greater) power supply.

48

2.6.9 Front Panel Connectors

Hardware Installation

2

ATX-SW

PWR-LED

2
1

J14

HD-LED

X

HD-LED: Primary/Secondary IDE LED

This LED will light when the hard drive is being accessed.

RESET: Reset Switch

This switch allows you to reboot without having to power off the
system thus prolonging the life of the power supply or system.

SPEAKER: Speaker Connector

This connects to the speaker installed in the system chassis.

ATX-SW: ATX Power Switch

Depending on the setting in the BIOS setup, this switch is a “dual
function power button” that will allow your system to enter the Soft­Off or Suspend mode. Refer to “Soft-Off By PWRBTN” in the Power
Management Setup (Chapter 3).

RESET

SPEAKER

20
19

49

2

Hardware Installation

PWR-LED: Power/Standby LED

When the system’s power is on, this LED will light. When the system
is in the S1 (POS - Power On Suspend) state, it will blink every
second.

Note:

If a system did not boot-up and the Power/Standby LED did
not light after it was powered-on, it may indicate that the CPU
or memory module was not installed properly. Please make
sure they are properly inserted into their corresponding socket.

HD-LED

(Primary/Secondary IDE LED)

Reserved

ATX-SW

(ATX power switch)

Reserved

RESET

(Reset switch)

SPEAKER

(Speaker connector)

PWR-LED

(Power/Standby LED)

Pin

Pin Assignment

3

HDD LED Power

5

HDD

14

N. C.

16

N. C.

8

PWRBT+

10

PWRBT-

18

N. C.

20

N. C.

7

Ground

9

H/W Reset

13

Speaker Data

15

N. C.

17

Ground

19

Speaker Power

2

LED Power (+)

4

LED Power (+)

6

LED Power (-) or Standby Signal

50

Chapter 3 - BIOS Setup

3.1 Award BIOS Setup Utility

The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is a program that takes care
of the basic level of communication between the processor and
peripherals. In addition, the BIOS also contains codes for various
advanced features found in this system board. This chapter explains
the Setup Utility for the Award BIOS.

After you power up the system, the BIOS message appears on the
screen and the memory count begins. After the memory test, the
following message will appear on the screen:

Press DEL to enter setup

BIOS Setup

3

If the message disappears before you respond, restart the system or
press the “Reset” button. You may also restart the system by
pressing the <Ctrl> <Alt> and <Del> keys simultaneously.

When you press <Del>, the main menu screen will appear.

51

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.1 Standard CMOS Features

Use the arrow keys to highlight “Standard CMOS Features” and
press <Enter>. A screen similar to the one below will appear.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

3.1.1.1 Date

The date format is <day>, <month>, <date>, <year>. Day displays
a day, from Sunday to Saturday. Month displays the month, from
January to December. Date displays the date, from 1 to 31. Year
displays the year, from 1994 to 2079.

3.1.1.2 Time

The time format is <hour>, <minute>, <second>. The time is based
on the 24-hour military-time clock. For example, 1 p.m. is 13:00:00.
Hour displays hours from 00 to 23. Minute displays minutes from
00 to 59. Second displays seconds from 00 to 59.

52

BIOS Setup

3.1.1.3 IDE Primary Master, IDE Primary Slave, IDE Secondary Master
and IDE Secondary Slave

Move the cursor to the “IDE Primary Master”, “IDE Primary Slave”,
“IDE Secondary Master” or “IDE Secondary Slave” field, then press
<Enter>. The following screen will appear.

3

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

IDE HDD Auto-Detection

Detects the parameters of the drive. The parameters will automati­cally be shown on the screen.

IDE Primary Master/Slave and IDE Secondary Master/Slave

The drive type information should be included in the documentation
from your hard disk vendor. If you select ”Auto”, the BIOS will auto­detect the HDD & CD-ROM drive at the POST stage and show
the IDE for the HDD & CD-ROM drive. If a hard disk has not
been installed, select “None”.

Access Mode

For hard drives larger than 528MB, you would typically select the
LBA type. Cer tain operating systems require that you select CHS or
Large. Please check your operating system’s manual or Help desk on
which one to select.

53

3

BIOS Setup

Capacity

Displays the approximate capacity of the disk drive. Usually the size
is slightly greater than the size of a formatted disk given by a disk
checking program.

Cylinder

This field displays the number of cylinders.

Head

This field displays the number of read/write heads.

Precomp

This field displays the number of cylinders at which to change the
write timing.

Landing Zone

This field displays the number of cylinders specified as the landing
zone for the read/write heads.

Sector

This field displays the number sectors per track.

3.1.1.4 Drive A and Drive B

These fields identify the types of floppy disk drives installed.

None No floppy drive is installed
360K, 5.25 in. 5-1/4 in. standard drive; 360KB capacity

1.2M, 5.25 in. 5-1/4 in. AT-type high-density drive; 1.2MB capacity
720K, 3.5 in. 3-1/2 in. double-sided drive; 720KB capacity

1.44M, 3.5 in. 3-1/2 in. double-sided drive; 1.44MB capacity

2.88M, 3.5 in. 3-1/2 in. double-sided drive; 2.88MB capacity

54

3.1.1.5 Video

This field selects the type of video adapter used for the primary
system monitor. Although secondary monitors are supported, you do
not have to select the type. The default setting is EGA/VGA.

EGA/VGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter/Video Graphics Array. For

CGA 40 Color Graphics Adapter. Power up in 40-column

CGA 80 Color Graphics Adapter. Power up in 80-column

Mono Monochrome adapter. Includes high resolution mono-

3.1.1.6 Halt On

BIOS Setup

3

EGA, VGA, SVGA and PGA monitor adapters.

mode.

mode.

chrome adapters.

This field determines whether the system will stop if an error is
detected during power up. The default setting is All Errors.

No Errors The system boot will not stop for any errors detected.
All Errors The system boot will stop whenever the BIOS detects

a non-fatal error.

All, But Keyboard The system boot will not stop for a keyboard

All, But Diskette The system boot will not stop for a disk error;

All, But Disk/Key The system boot will not stop for a disk or

3.1.1.7 Base Memory

Displays the amount of base (or conventional) memory installed in
the system. The value of the base memory is typically 512K for
systems with 512K memory installed on the motherboard or 640K
for systems with 640K or more memory installed on the
motherboard.

error; it will stop for all other errors.

it will stop for all other errors.

keyboard error; it will stop for all other errors.

55

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.1.8 Extended Memory

Displays the amount of extended memory detected during boot-up.

3.1.1.9 Total Memory

Displays the total memory available in the system.

56

3.1.2 Advanced BIOS Features

The Advanced BIOS Features allows you to configure your system
for basic operation. Some entries are defaults required by the system
board, while others, if enabled, will improve the performance of your
system or let you set some features according to your preference.

BIOS Setup

3

The screen above list all the fields available in the Advanced BIOS Features
submenu, for ease of reference in this manual. In the actual CMOS setup, you have
to use the scroll bar to view the fields. The settings on the screen are for reference
only. Your version may not be identical to this one.

3.1.2.1 Virus Warning

This field protects the boot sector and partition table of your hard
disk drive. When this field is enabled, the Award BIOS will monitor
the boot sector and partition table of the hard disk drive. If an
attempt is made to write to the boot sector or partition table of
the hard disk drive, the BIOS will halt the system and an error
message will appear.

After seeing the error message, if necessary, you will be able to run
an anti-virus program to locate and remove the problem before any
damage is done.

Many disk diagnostic programs which attempt to access the boot
sector table will cause the warning message to appear. If you are
running such a program, we recommend that you first disable this
field. Also, disable this field if you are installing or running certain
operating systems like Windows
system may not install nor work.

®

98/2000/ME/XP or the operating

57

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.2.2 CPU Internal Cache and External Cache

These fields speed up the memory access. The default is Enabled,
which provides better performance by enabling cache.

3.1.2.3 CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking

The processors supported by the system board come with built-in
Level 2 cache. By default, ECC is enabled to check the Level 2 cache.
If you are not using this function, set this field to Disabled.

3.1.2.4 Quick Power On Self Test

This field speeds up Power On Self Test (POST) whenever the
system is powered on. The BIOS will shorten or skip some check
items during POST. To attain the shortest POST time, select “Ena­bled”.

3.1.2.5 First Boot Device, Second Boot Device, Third Boot Device and
Boot Other Device

Select the drive to boot first, second and third in the “First Boot
Device” “Second Boot Device” and “Third Boot Device” fields
respectively. The BIOS will boot the operating system according to
the sequence of the drive selected. Set “Boot Other Device” to
Enabled if you wish to boot from another device.

3.1.2.6 Swap Floppy Drive

When this field is enabled and the system is booting from the floppy
drive, the system will boot from drive B instead of drive A. When
this field is disabled and the system is booting from the floppy drive,
the system will boot from drive A. You must have two floppy drives
to use this function.

58

3.1.2.7 Boot Up Floppy Seek

When enabled, the BIOS will check whether the floppy disk drive
installed is 40 or 80 tracks. Note that the BIOS cannot distinguish
between 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88M drive types as they are all 80
tracks. When disabled, the BIOS will not search for the type of floppy
disk drive by track number. Note that there will not be any warning
message if the drive installed is 360KB.

3.1.2.8 Boot Up NumLock Status

This allows you to determine the default state of the numeric
keypad. By default, the system boots up with NumLock on wherein
the function of the numeric keypad is the number keys. When set to
Off, the function of the numeric keypad is the arrow keys.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.2.9 Typematic Rate Setting

Disabled Continually holding down a key on your keyboard will

cause the BIOS to report that the key is down.

Enabled The BIOS will not only repor t that the key is down,

but will first wait for a moment, and, if the key is still
down, it will begin to repor t that the key has been
depressed repeatedly. For example, you would use such
a feature to accelerate cursor movements with the
arrow keys. You can then select the typematic rate and
typematic delay in the “Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)”
and “Typematic Delay (Msec)” fields below.

3.1.2.10 Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)

This field allows you to select the rate at which the keys are
accelerated.

3.1.2.11 Typematic Delay (Msec)

This field allows you to select the delay between when the key was
first depressed and when the acceleration begins.

59

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.2.12 Security Option

This field determines when the system will prompt for the password

- everytime the system boots or only when you enter the BIOS
setup. Set the password in the Set Supervisor/User Password
submenu.

System The system will not boot and access to Setup will be

denied unless the correct password is entered at the
prompt.

Setup The system will boot, but access to Setup will be denied

unless the correct password is entered at the prompt.

3.1.2.13 APIC Mode

Leave this field in its default setting.

3.1.2.14 MPS Version Control for OS

This field is used to select the MPS version that the system board is
using.

3.1.2.15 OS Select for DRAM > 64MB

Select the “OS2” option only if the system that is running an OS/2
operating system has greater than 64MB RAM.

3.1.2.16 Video BIOS Shadow

Determines whether video BIOS will be copied to RAM. Video Shadow
will increase the video speed. Note that some graphics boards require
that this option be disabled. The default value is Enabled.

Enabled Video shadow is enabled.
Disabled Video shadow is disabled.

60

3.1.2.17 Full Screen Logo Show

This field is applicable only if you want a particular logo to appear
during system boot-up.

Enabled The logo will appear in full screen during system boot-

up.

Disabled The logo will not appear during system boot-up.

3.1.2.18 Small Logo(EPA) Show

Enabled The EPA logo will appear during system boot-up.
Disabled The EPA logo will not appear during system boot-up.

BIOS Setup

3

61

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.3 Advanced Chipset Features

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

This section gives you functions to configure the system based on
the specific features of the chipset. The chipset manages bus speeds
and access to system memory resources. These items should not

be altered unless necessary. The default settings have been chosen

because they provide the best operating conditions for your system.
The only time you might consider making any changes would be if
you discovered some incompatibility or that data was being lost
while using your system.

62

3.1.3.1 AGP & P2P Bridge Control

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

BIOS Setup

3

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

AGP Aperture Size

This field is relevant to the memory-mapped graphics data of the
AGP card installed in your system. Leave this in its default setting.

AGP 2.0 Mode

This field allows you to select the AGP mode (data transfer rate) that
your AGP card supports to enable enhanced graphics performance with

high bandwidth speeds.

1X provides data transfer rate of up to 264MB/sec.
2X provides data transfer rate of up to 528MB/sec.
4X provides data transfer rate of up to 1066MB/sec.

AGP Driving Control

Set this field to Manual only if there are compatibility problems with
some AGP cards. When set to Manual, you must select a value in the
“AGP Driving Value” field.

63

3

BIOS Setup

AGP Driving Value

This field is used to select a value for the AGP Driving control. We rec­ommend that you leave this field in its default setting.

AGP Fast Write

Select Enabled to support the AGP Fast Write function.

AGP Master 1 WS Write

Set this field to Enabled to add one clock tick to AGP write
operations.

AGP Master 1 WS Read

Set this field to Enabled to add one clock tick to AGP read opera­tions.

AGP 3.0 Calibration Cycle

Set this field to Enabled to support the AGP 3.0 calibration cycle
operations.

DBI Output for AGP Trans.

This field, when enabled, will provide better stability to the entire
system. The default is Enabled.

VGA Share Memory Size

This field is used to select the memory size that will be shared by the
VGA.

OnChip VGA

This field is used to select the mode of the onboard VGA. The
options are 2.0 Mode and 3.0 Mode.

64

3.1.3.2 DRAM Configuration

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

BIOS Setup

3

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

Current FSB Frequency

This field will show the detected FSB of the CPU.

Current DRAM Frequency

This field will show the detected frequency of the DDR SDRAM
DIMM.

Max Memclock (Mhz)

This field is used to select the maximum memory clock If you are
installing double rank DDR400 on both DDR 1 and DDR 2
sockets, the maximum DRAM speed will automatically be limited to
the speed of a DDR333. However, you can manually adjust the
speed to DDR400 by selecting the “200” option in this field.

65

3

BIOS Setup

1T/2T Memory Timing

2T timing which provides better system stability is supported in CG
or later revisions of the AMD Athlon
or 2T memory timing in this field. This field will not appear if you are
using a CPU whose version is older than the CG revision.

Auto Automatically detects the memory timing.
1T Sets the memory timing to Performance mode. Select this

2T Sets the memory timing to Normal mode. Select this

CAS# Latency (Tcl)

This field is used to select the clock cycle of the CAS latency time.
The option selected specifies the time before SDRAM starts a read
command after receiving it.

TM

64 CPU. You can select 1T

mode for better system performance.

mode if you encounter system instability. (default)

RAS# to CAS# Delay (Trcd)

This field is used to select the RAS# to CAS# delay time when
reading and writing to the same bank.

Min RAS# Active Time (Tras)

This field is used to select the minimum RAS# active time.

Row Precharge Time (Trp)

The field is used to select the row precharge time (precharge to
active or auto-refresh of the same bank.)

66

3.1.3.3 LDT & PCI Bus Control

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

BIOS Setup

3

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

Upstream LDT Bus Width

This field is used to select the upstream data width. The options are
8 bit and 16 bit.

Downstream LDT Bus Width

This field is used to select the downstream data width. The options
are 8 bit and 16 bit.

LDT Bus Frequency

This field is used to select the LDT bus frequency. The options are
Auto, 200MHz, 400MHz, 600MHz and 800MHz.

PCI1 Master 0 WS Write and PCI2 Master 0 WS Write

When enabled, writes to the PCI bus are executed with zero wait
state.

PCI1 Post Write and PCI2 Post Write

The options are Enabled and Disabled.

67

3

BIOS Setup

PCI Delay Transaction

When enabled, this function frees up the PCI bus for other PCI
masters during the PCI-to-ISA transactions. This allows PCI and ISA
buses to be used more efficiently and prevents degradation of
performance on the PCI bus when ISA accesses are made.

3.1.3.4 Memory Hole

This field is used to select the memory area that must not be
addressed to the ISA bus.

3.1.3.5 VLink Data Rate

8x The speed of VLink which links the North Bridge and South

Bridge is 8x.

4x The speed of VLink which links the North Bridge and South

Bridge is 4x.

3.1.3.6 Init Display First

This field is used to select whether to initialize the AGP, onboard
VGA or PCI first when the system boots.

AGP When the system boots, it will first initialize the AGP.
Onboard When the system boots, it will first initialize the

onboard VGA.

PCI Slot When the system boots, it will first initialize PCI.

3.1.3.7 System BIOS Cacheable

When this field is enabled, accesses to the system BIOS ROM ad­dressed at F0000H-FFFFFH are cached, provided that the cache
controller is enabled. The larger the range of the Cache RAM, the
higher the efficiency of the system.

68

3.1.4 Integrated Peripherals

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.4.1 VIA OnChip IDE Device

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

69

3

BIOS Setup

OnChip SATA

This field is used to enable or disable the onboard SATA.

IDE DMA Transfer Access

This field, when Enabled, will enhance the IDE DMA transfer of an
IDE hard disk drive.

OnChip IDE Channel0 and OnChip IDE Channel1

These fields allow you to enable or disable the primary and second­ary IDE controller. The default is Enabled. Select Disabled if you want
to add a different hard drive controller.

IDE Prefetch Mode

This allows data and addresses to be stored in the internal buffer of
the chip, thus reducing access time. Enable this field to achieve better
performance.

Primary Master/Slave PIO and Secondary Master/Slave PIO

PIO means Programmed Input/Output. Rather than have the BIOS
issue a series of commands to effect a transfer to or from the disk
drive, PIO allows the BIOS to tell the controller what it wants and
then let the controller and the CPU perform the complete task by
themselves. Your system supports five modes, 0 (default) to 4, which
primarily differ in timing. When Auto is selected, the BIOS will select
the best available mode after checking your drive.

Auto The BIOS will automatically set the system according

to your hard disk drive’s timing.

Mode 0-4 You can select a mode that matches your hard disk

drive’s timing. Caution: Do not use the wrong setting
or you will have drive errors.

70

BIOS Setup

Primary Master/Slave UDMA and Secondary Master/Slave UDMA

These fields allow you to set the Ultra DMA in use. When Auto is
selected, the BIOS will select the best available option after checking
your hard drive or CD-ROM.

Auto The BIOS will automatically detect the settings for

you.

Disabled The BIOS will not detect these categories.

IDE HDD Block Mode

Enabled The IDE HDD uses the block mode. The system BIOS

will check the hard disk drive for the maximum block
size the system can transfer. The block size will depend
on the type of hard disk drive.

Disabled The IDE HDD uses the standard mode.

3

71

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.4.2 VIA OnChip PCI Device

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identi­cal to this one.

VIA-3058 AC97 Audio

Auto Select this option when using the onboard audio

codec.

Disabled Select this option when using a PCI sound card.

Onboard 1394 Controller

This field is used to enable or disable the onboard 1394.

Onboard Giga Bits LAN

This field is used to enable or disable the onboard GigaLAN.

72

BIOS Setup

OnChip USB Controller

This field is used to select the USB ports you want enabled.

OnChip EHCI Controller

If you are using USB 2.0, this field must be set to Enabled.

USB Emulation

Off DOS does not support USB device.
KB/MS DOS supports USB legacy keyboard and USB

legacy mouse but does not support any USB
storage device.

On DOS supports USB legacy keyboard, USB legacy

mouse and USB storage device.

3

USB Keyboard Support

By default, USB Keyboard Support is Disabled. However, if you are
using a USB keyboard under DOS, make sure to enable this
function.

73

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.4.3 Super IO Device

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

Onboard FDC Controller

Enabled Enables the onboard floppy disk controller.
Disabled Disables the onboard floppy disk controller.

Onboard Serial Port 1 and Onboard Serial Port 2

Auto The system will automatically select an I/O address for

the onboard serial port 1 and serial port 2.

3F8/IRQ4, 2F8/IRQ3, 3E8/IRQ4, 2E8/IRQ3 Allows you to manu-

ally select an I/O address for the onboard serial port 1
and serial por t 2.

Disabled Disables the onboard serial port 1 and/or serial port 2.

UART Mode Select

This field is used to select the type of IrDA standard supported by
your IrDA device. For better transmission of data, your IrDA
peripheral device must be within a 30
of 1 meter.

o

angle and within a distance

74

BIOS Setup

UR2 Duplex Mode

Half Data is completely transmitted before receiving data.
Full Transmits and receives data simultaneously.

Onboard Parallel Port

378/IRQ7, 3BC/IRQ7, 278/IRQ5 Selects the I/O address and

IRQ for the onboard parallel port.

Disabled Disables the onboard parallel port.

Parallel Port Mode

The options are SPP, EPP, ECP and ECP+EPP. These apply to a
standard specification and will depend on the type and speed of
your device. Refer to your peripheral’s manual for the best option.

3

SPP

Allows normal speed operation but in one direction only.

ECP (Extended Capabilities Port)

Allows parallel port to operate in bidirectional mode and at a
speed faster than the normal mode’s data transfer rate.

EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port)

Allows bidirectional parallel port operation at maximum speed.

If you selected EPP, the “EPP Mode Select” field is configurable. If you
selected ECP, the “ECP Mode Use DMA” field is configurable. If you
selected ECP+EPP, both “EPP Mode Select” and “ECP Mode Use
DMA” are configurable.

ECP Mode Use DMA

This is used to select the DMA channel of the parallel port.

75

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.5 Power Management Setup

The Power Management Setup allows you to configure your system
to most effectively save energy.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

3.1.5.1 ACPI Function

This function should be enabled only in operating systems that
support ACPI. Currently, only Windows
ports this function. When this field is enabled, the system will ignore
the settings in the “HDD Power Down” field.

3.1.5.2 Power Management Option

This field allows you to select the type (or degree) of power saving
by changing the length of idle time that elapses before the “HDD
Power Down” field is activated.

Min Saving Minimum power saving time for the “HDD Power

Down” = 15 min.

Max Saving Maximum power saving time for the “HDD Power

Down” = 1 min.

User Define Allows you to set the power saving time in the

“HDD Power Down” field.

®®

®

®®

98SE/2000/ME/XP sup-

76

3.1.5.3 HDD Power Down

This is selectable only when the Power Management field is set to
User Define. When the system enters the HDD Power Down mode
according to the power saving time selected, the hard disk drive will
be powered down while all other devices remain active.

3.1.5.4 Suspend Mode

This is configurable only when the Power Management field is set to
“User Define”. When the system enters the power saving time set in
this field, the CPU and onboard peripherals will be shut off.

3.1.5.5 Video Off Option

Always On The system BIOS will never turn off the screen.
Suspend -> Off The screen is off when the system is in the

Suspend mode.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.5.6 Video Off Method

This determines the manner in which the monitor is blanked.

V/H SYNC + Blank This selection will cause the system to turn

Blank Screen This option only writes blanks to the video buffer.
DPMS Initializes display power management signaling. Use

this option if your video board supports it.

3.1.5.7 MODEM Use IRQ

This field is used to set an IRQ channel for the modem installed in
your system.

off the vertical and horizontal synchronization
ports and write blanks to the video buffer.

77

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.5.8 Soft-Off by PWRBTN

This field allows you to select the method of powering off your
system.

Delay 4 Sec. Regardless of whether the Power Management func-

tion is enabled or disabled, if the power button is
pushed and released in less than 4 sec, the system
enters the Suspend mode. The purpose of this
function is to prevent the system from powering off
in case you accidentally “hit” or pushed the power
button. Push and release again in less than 4 sec to
restore. Pushing the power button for more than 4
seconds will power off the system.

Instant-Off Pressing and then releasing the power button at

once will immediately power off your system.

3.1.5.9 Run VGABIOS if S3 Resume

When this field is set to Auto, the system will initialize the VGA BIOS
when it wakes up from the S3 state. This can be configured only if
the “ACPI Suspend Type” field is set to “S3(STR)”.

3.1.5.10 AMD K8 Cool ‘n’ Quiet Control

Auto Enables the AMD Cool‘n’Quiet

function allows the system to detect the CPU’s tasks
and utilization status. When the CPU’s task slows
down, the system effectively lowers power

consumption by lowering its CPU speed and voltage,
subsequently decreasing its noise level.

Disabled Disables the AMD Cool‘n’QuietTM technology.

3.1.5.11 Hammer Fid Control

This field is used to manually select the CPU’s operating frequency.

TM

technology. This

78

3.1.5.12 Hammer Vid Control

This field is used to manually select the CPU’s voltage.

Important:

Manually changing the CPU’s operating frequency and/or
voltage are not guaranteed to provide better system
performance. It may cause damage or result to the CPU’s or
system’s instability.

3.1.5.13 IRQ/Event Activity Detect

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The following
screen will appear.

BIOS Setup

3

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

PS2KB Wakeup Select

This field allows you to use a function key or password to wake up
the system.

Hot Key Use any of the function keys, between F1 and F12,

to wake up the system.

Password Use a password to wake up the system. Select this

option and press <Enter>. Enter your password. You
can enter up to 5 characters. Type in exactly the
same password to confirm, then press <Enter>.

Important:

If you forgot the password, you must power-off
the system, unplug the power cord and clear
the CMOS data by setting JP3 pins 2 and 3 to
On. Refer to chapter 2 for more information.

79

3

BIOS Setup

PS2KB Wakeup from S3/S4/S5

The options in this field will allow you to use the PS/2 keyboard to
wake up the system from the S3, S4 or S5 state.

PS2MS Wakeup from S3/S4/S5

This field, when enabled, allows you to use a PS/2 mouse to wake
up the system from the S3, S4 or S5 state.

USB Resume from S3

This field, when enabled, allows you to use a USB device to wake up
the system.

Note:

To fully enable the USB wake up function, you must install the
VIA Suspend Wakeup Patch utility. The patch utility is included
in the provided CD. Refer to chapter 4 for more information.

VGA

When set to On, the system will respond and wake up to any VGA
activity.

LPT & COM

Select the port you would like the system to respond and wake up
when an event occurs on that port.

HDD & FDD

When set to On, the system will respond and wake up to any hard
drive or floppy drive activity.

PCI Master

When set to On, the system will respond and wake up to any PCI
or bus master activity.

80

BIOS Setup

PowerOn by PCI Card

Enabled This field should be set to Enabled only if your PCI

card such as LAN card or modem card uses the PCI
PME (Power Management Event) signal to remotely
wake up the system. Access to the LAN card or PCI

card will cause the system to wake up. Refer to the

card’s documentation for more information.

Disabled The system will not wake up despite access to the

PCI card.

Wake Up on LAN/Ring

This field allows you to enable the Wake-On-LAN and Wake-On­Ring function. When enabled, it will remotely wake up the system via
the network. or via an external modem.

3

RTC Alarm Resume

Enabled When Enabled, you can set the date and time you

would like the Soft Power Down (Soft-Off) PC to
power-on in the “Date (of Month)” and “Resume
Time (hh:mm:ss)” fields. However, if the system is be­ing accessed by incoming calls or the network prior
to the date and time set in these fields, the system
will give priority to the incoming calls or network.

Disabled Disables the automatic power-on function. (default)

Date (of Month)

0 The system will power-on everyday according to the

time set in the “Resume Time (hh:mm:ss)” field.

1-31 Select a date you would like the system to power-on.

The system will power-on on the set date, and time set
in the “Resume Time (hh:mm:ss)” field.

Resume Time (hh:mm:ss)

This is used to set the time you would like the system to power-on.
If you want the system to power-on everyday as set in the “Date
(of Month)” field, the time set in this field must be later than the
time of the RTC set in the Standard CMOS Features submenu.

81

3

BIOS Setup

IRQs Activity Monitoring

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. The “Primary
INTR”, and “IRQ3” - “IRQ15” fields will appear.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

When enabled, access to the specified IRQ will cause the system to
wake up completely from the power management mode. When disa­bled, the system will not wake up from the power management
mode despite access to the specified IRQ.

82

3.1.6 PnP/PCI Configurations

This section describes configuring the PCI bus system. It covers
some very technical items and it is strongly recommended that only
experienced users should make any changes to the default settings.

BIOS Setup

3

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

3.1.6.1 PNP OS Installed

If you selected “Yes”, the BIOS will detect the Plug and Play devices
for some compatible resources.

3.1.6.2 Reset Configuration Data

Enabled The BIOS will reset the Extended System Configuration

Data (ESCD) once automatically. It will then recreate a
new set of configuration data.

Disabled The BIOS will not reset the configuration data.

3.1.6.3 Resources Controlled By

The Award Plug and Play BIOS has the capability to automatically
configure all of the boot and Plug and Play compatible devices.

Auto(ESCD) The system will automatically detect the settings for

you.

Manual Choose the specific IRQ in the “IRQ Resources”

field.

83

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.6.4 IRQ Resources

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>. This field is used to
set each system interrupt to either Reserved or PCI Device.

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

3.1.6.5 PCI/VGA Palette Snoop

This field determines whether the MPEG ISA/VESA VGA cards can
work with PCI/VGA or not.

Enabled MPEG ISA/VESA VGA cards work with PCI/VGA.
Disabled MPEG ISA/VESA VGA cards does not work with PCI/

VGA.

3.1.6.6 Assign IRQ for VGA

When Enabled, the system automatically assigns an IRQ for the VGA
card installed. Your VGA card will need an IRQ only when using the
video capture function of the card. If you are not using this function
and a new device requires an IRQ, you can set this field to Disabled.
The IRQ (previously occupied by the VGA card) will be available for
your new device.

84

Note:

When Disabled, a “Yellow” mark will appear in Windows 95’s
Device Manager.

3.1.6.7 Assign IRQ for USB

When Enabled, the system automatically assigns an IRQ for the USB
device connected to your system. However, if you are not using USB
devices and an ISA slot requires an IRQ, set this field to Disabled. The
IRQ previously occupied by the USB device will be available for the
ISA slot.

Note:

When Disabled, a “Yellow” mark will appear in Windows 95’s
Device Manager.

BIOS Setup

3

85

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.7 PC Health Status

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

3.1.7.1 Shutdown Temperature

You can prevent the system from overheating by selecting a tem­perature in this field. If the system detected that its temperature
exceeded the one set in this field, it will automatically shutdown.

3.1.7.2 Voltage Battery

This field will show the detected voltage of the battery.

3.1.7.3 Fan 1 Speed

This field will show the current fan speed of the CPU fan in RPM
(Revolutions Per Minute).

86

3.1.8 Genie BIOS Setting

The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your version may not be identical
to this one.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.8.1 Auto Detect PCI Clk

When enabled, the system will automatically send clock signals to
existing PCI device.

3.1.8.2 Spread Spectrum

Leave this field in its default setting. Do not alter this setting unless
advised by an engineer or technician.

3.1.8.3 CPU Clock

This field provides several options for selecting the external system
bus clock of the processor. The available options allow you to adjust
the processor’s bus clock by 1MHz increment.

Important:

Selecting an external bus clock other than the default setting
may result to the processor’s or system’s instability and are not
guaranteed to provide better system performance.

87

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.8.4 DIMM Voltage Control

This field allows you to manually select higher voltage supplied to the
DRAM. If you want to use the DRAM’s default voltage, leave this
field in its default setting.

Important:

Although this function is supported, we do not recommend that
you use a higher voltage because unstable current may be
supplied to the system board causing damage.

3.1.8.5 AGP Voltage Control

This field allows you to manually select higher voltage supplied to the
AGP. If you want to use the default voltage, leave this field in its
default setting.

Important:

Although this function is supported, we do not recommend that
you use a higher voltage because unstable current may be
supplied to the system board causing damage.

88

3.1.9 CMOS Reloaded

CMOS Reloaded is a technology that allows storing multiple user­defined BIOS settings. This is especially useful to overclockers who
require saving a variety of overclocked settings and being able to
conveniently switch between these settings simultaneously. Highlight
CMOS Reloaded in the main menu then press <Enter>.

BIOS Setup

3

The screen above list all the fields available in the CMOS Reloaded submenu, for
ease of reference in this manual. In the actual CMOS setup, you have to use the
scroll bar to view the fields. The settings on the screen are for reference only. Your
version may not be identical to this one.

CMOS Reloaded is especially helpful to overclockers who often go
through the tiresome trial and error process of repeatedly changing
the BIOS settings to come up with the most ideal overclocked
setting. By being able to save and load the settings, it eliminates the
tedious job of remembering several settings and/or repeatedly
resetting settings during the trial process. The settings are stored in
the SEEPROM. SEEPROM is divided into 5 banks - the backup bank
and the 4 user defined banks.

89

3

BIOS Setup

Auto Save Bootable Setting

This field is used to automatically save the last bootable setting from
CMOS to an area in the SEEPROM referred to as the backup bank.
To use this function:

1. Set this field to Enabled.

2. Select “Save & Exit Setup” in the main menu then press <Enter>.

3. Type <Y> then press <Enter>.

If the changes to the setting allowed the system to boot, the setting
will be stored in the SEEPROM. In other words, if the system did not
boot up, the setting will not be stored. You may then follow the
steps in the next section to load the last bootable setting.

Load Last Bootable Setting

If, during the trial and error process, the setting resulted to the
system’s instability or worse yet, not being able to boot up the
system, please follow the steps below to use the Load function.

Note:

You can use the Load function only if you have set the “Auto
Save Bootable Setting” to Enabled.

1. If the system did not boot up properly but you were able to
enter the BIOS utility:
a. Select “CMOS Reloaded” in the main menu then press

<Enter>.

b. Move the cursor to “Load Last Bootable Setting” then press

“Load”.

c. Press <Y> to load the last bootable setting that was stored

in the backup bank.

2. If you cannot enter the BIOS utility:
a. Use JP3 to clear the CMOS. Refer to chapter 2 for more

information about clearing CMOS.

b. Enter the BIOS utility then perform steps 1a to 1c.

90

Saving, Loading and Naming BIOS Settings

For overclockers who require different sets of settings for various
system environments or operating systems, CMOS Reloaded allows
you to save, load and name up to four sets of BIOS settings - in
the “User Defined Setting Bank #1” to “User Defined Setting Bank
#4” fields.

Save Setting to Bank With

This field is used to select the type of setting you would like saved
to a User Defined Setting Bank when you use the “Save to this
Bank” function of that bank.

Current BIOS Setting This option will save the current BIOS setting

to the User Defined Setting Bank.

Last BIOS Setting This option will save the last saved BIOS

setting to the User Defined Setting Bank.

BIOS Setup

3

User Defined Setting Bank #1/2/3/4

Bank Description

To name the BIOS setting, move the cursor to “Bank Description”
then press <Enter>. You can enter up to 60 characters. Providing a
name to the BIOS setting will allow you to easily remember the
settings in the bank.

Save to this Bank

To save the BIOS setting, move the cursor to “Save to this Bank”
then press <Enter>. Type <Y> then press <Enter>. This will save the
current setting or the last saved setting to this bank; depending on
the option selected in the “Save Setting to Bank With” field.

If you want to immediately reboot to use the new settings, make
sure to save before you exit the BIOS setup utility by selecting “Y”
in the “Save & Exit Setup” submenu.

91

3

BIOS Setup

Load from this Bank

To load the setting saved in the bank, move the cursor to “Load
from this Bank” then press <Enter>. The setting in this bank will
replace the current setting. Make sure to save before you exit the
BIOS setup utility by selecting “Y” in the “Save & Exit Setup”
submenu.

Hotkey

You can now load a BIOS setting during system boot up; bypassing
the lengthy process of entering the BIOS utility to load a setting.
Move the cursor to “Hotkey” then press <Enter>. Select the key you
would like to use to load the settings from the bank. When the
system boots up, press the key to load the setting.

92

3.1.10 Load Optimized Defaults

The “Load Optimized Defaults” option loads optimized settings from

the BIOS ROM. Use the default values as standard values for your
system. Highlight this option in the main menu and press <Enter>.

BIOS Setup

3

Type <Y> and press <Enter> to load the Setup default values.

93

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.11 Set Supervisor Password

If you want to protect your system and setup from unauthorized
entry, set a supervisor’s password with the “System” option selected
in the Advanced BIOS Features. If you want to protect access to
setup only, but not your system, set a supervisor’s password with the
“Setup” option selected in the Advanced BIOS Features. You will not
be prompted for a password when you cold boot the system.

Use the arrow keys to highlight “Set Supervisor Password” and
press <Enter>.

Type in the password. You are limited to eight characters. When
done, the message below will appear:

Confirm Password:

You are asked to verify the password. Type in exactly the same
password. If you type in a wrong password, you will be prompted
to enter the correct password again. To delete or disable the
password function, highlight “Set Supervisor Password” and press
<Enter>, instead of typing in a new password. Press the <Esc> key
to return to the main menu.

94

3.1.12 Set User Password

If you want another user to have access only to your system but

not to setup, set a user’s password with the “System” option se­lected in the Advanced BIOS Features. If you want a user to enter a
password when trying to access setup, set a user’s password with
the “Setup” option selected in the Advanced BIOS Features.

Using user’s password to enter Setup allows a user to access only
“Set User Password” that appears in the main menu screen. Access
to all other options is denied.

Use the arrow keys to highlight “Set User Password” and press
<Enter>.

BIOS Setup

3

Type in the password. You are limited to eight characters. When
done, the message below will appear:

Confirm Password:

You are asked to verify the password. Type in exactly the same
password. If you type in a wrong password, you will be prompted
to enter the correct password again. To delete or disable the
password function, highlight “Set User Password” and press <Enter>,
instead of typing in a new password. Press the <Esc> key to return
to the main menu.

95

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.13 Save & Exit Setup

When all the changes have been made, highlight “Save & Exit Setup”
and press <Enter>.

Type “Y” and press <Enter>. The modifications you have made will
be written into the CMOS memory, and the system will reboot. You
will once again see the initial diagnostics on the screen. If you wish to
make additional changes to the setup, press <Ctrl> <Alt> <Esc>
simultaneously or <Del> after memory testing is done.

96

3.1.14 Exit Without Saving

When you do not want to save the changes you have made,
highlight “Exit Without Saving” and press <Enter>.

BIOS Setup

3

Type “Y” and press <Enter>. The system will reboot and you will
once again see the initial diagnostics on the screen. If you wish to
make any changes to the setup, press <Ctrl> <Alt> <Esc> simulta­neously or <Del> after memory testing is done.

3.2 VIA RAID BIOS

The VIA RAID BIOS utility is used to configure and manage RAID
on Serial ATA drives.

After you power up the system and all hard disk drives have been
detected, the VIA RAID BIOS status message screen will appear.
Press the <Tab> key to enter the utility. The utility allows you to
build a RAID system using two Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives.

97

3

BIOS Setup

3.3 Updating the BIOS

To update the BIOS, you will need the new BIOS file and a flash
utility, AWDFLASH.EXE. You can download them from DFI’s web site
or contact technical support or your sales representative.

1. Save the new BIOS file along with the flash utility
AWDFLASH.EXE to a floppy disk.

2. Reboot the system and enter the Award BIOS Setup Utility to
set the first boot drive to “Floppy”.

3. Save the setting and reboot the system.

4. After the system booted from the floppy disk, execute the flash
utility by typing AWDFLASH.EXE. The following screen will appear.

Award BIOS Flash Utility V.8.15B

(C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(The current BIOS information will appear in this area.)
File Name to Program :

5. Type the new BIOS file name onto the gray area that is next to
“File Name to Program” then press <Enter>.

98

BIOS Setup

6. The following will appear.

Do You Want to Save BIOS (Y/N)

This question refers to the current existing BIOS in your system.
We recommend that you save the current BIOS and its flash
utility; just in case you need to reinstall the BIOS. To save the
current BIOS, press <Y> then enter the file name of the current
BIOS. Otherwise, press <N>.

7. The following will then appear.

Press “Y” to Program or “N” to Exit

8. Press <Y> to flash the new BIOS.

3

99

4

Supported Software

Chapter 4 - Supported Software

4.1 Desktop Management Interface (DMI)

The mainboard comes with a DMI built into the BIOS. DMI, along with
the appropriately networked software, is designed to make inventory,
maintenance and troubleshooting of computer systems easier. With DMI,
a network administrator or MIS engineer can remotely access some
information about a particular computer system without physically going
to it. Quite often a service call may be unnecessary as the problem
can be solved remotely.

The DMI utility in the BIOS automatically records various information
about your system configuration. Information about the type and speed
of CPU, type and amount of memory for each memory slot, BIOS
revision level, types of add-in PCI boards and components, certain re­vision numbers of hardware installed, etc. are automatically detected
and stored in the DMI pool, which is a part of the mainboard's Plug
and Play BIOS. Additional information, such as ISA based peripherals,
which may not be automatically detected, can be manually recorded
in the DMI pool by using the Add DMI menu. The DMI pool data is
then verified or updated whenever the system hardware or setup is
altered.

100

4.1.1 Running the DMI Utility

To run the DMI utility, type: DMICFG.EXE. You can download this utility
from ftp.dfiusa.com - /utilities/DMI directory.

The DMI utility must run in real mode with at least 180K of base
memory. Memory managers like HIMEM.SYS (required by Windows)
must not be installed. You may do this by using one of the 3 meth­ods listed below.

1. Boot up from a system diskette without the AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS files,

2. “REM” HIMEM.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS, or

3. Press <F5> during bootup to bypass your AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS files.