ECS P6LX2-A User Manual
P6LX2-A Mainboard
User ’s Manual
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
Table Of Contents – 2
FCC & DOC ComplianceFCC & DOC Compliance
FCC & DOC Compliance
FCC & DOC ComplianceFCC & DOC Compliance
Federal Communications Commission StatementFederal Communications Commission Statement
Federal Communications Commission Statement
Federal Communications Commission StatementFederal 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 the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and the 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.
WW
arar
ning!ning!
W
ar
ning! The use of shielded cables for the connection of the monitor to the graphics
WW
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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.
ning!ning!
Canadian DeparCanadian Depar
Canadian Depar
Canadian DeparCanadian Depar
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.
Version 1.0
Copyright © September 1997 All rights reserved
This publication may not be copied, reproduced, translated, transmitted or reduced to
any printed or electronic medium or to any machine readable form, or stored in a retrieval
system, either in whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders.
The contents of this publication are subject to change. The manufacturer reserves the
right to alter the contents of this publication at any time and without notice. The contents of
this publication may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors and is supplied for informational use only.
Products are noted in this publication for identification purposes only. Microsoft is a
registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Pentium is a
trademark of Intel Corporation. All other product names or brands may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
tment of Communications Statementtment of Communications Statement
tment of Communications Statement
tment of Communications Statementtment of Communications Statement
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
Table Of Contents – 3
Section 1: P6LX2-A Package & Product Information ....1.1
Manual Features ..................................................................................1.1
Package Contents..................................................................... 1.3
Mainboard Features ................................................................. 1.4
Component Information ........................................................... 1.6
Expansion Slots ................................................................................... 1.6
Memory Sockets & Modules ..............................................................1.7
CPU Sockets & CPU.............................................................................1.8
Port & Controller Connections ............................................................1.8
Section 2: Using Your Mainboard ...............................2.1
System Controls........................................................................ 2.1
Hardware Controls & Indicators ........................................................2.1
CMOS Setup Utility Controls............................................................... 2.3
Hardware Features...................................................................2.6
Onboard Ports.................................................................................... 2.6
Connectors ......................................................................................... 2.6
Optional Hardware Connectors .......................................................2.10
The CPU Retention Modules ....................................................2.12
Firmware & Software.............................................................. 2.14
How To Use The CMOS Setup Utility ................................................2.14
Clearing CMOS..................................................................................2.14
Flashing The BIOS..............................................................................2.16
Bus Master Drivers............................................................................2.16
SCSI Support Software ......................................................................2.16
Section 3: Reconfiguring Your Mainboard ..................3.1
Installing Expansion Cards ........................................................ 3.1
ISA Cards & Slots.................................................................................3.1
Configuring Expansion Card Resources In CMOS Setup.................. 3.2
Adding System Memory ........................................................... 3.5
Memory Configurations..................................................................... 3.5
Installing A CPU Upgrade .........................................................3.8
The Basic Procedure .......................................................................... 3.8
Configuring Internal Clock Speed & Factor....................................... 3.8
CPU Jumper Table & Illustrations...................................................... 3.9
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
Table Of Contents – 4
Adding An IDE Peripheral.........................................................3.12
IDE Transfer Modes...........................................................................3.12
Installing IDE Devices.........................................................................3.14
Adding SCSI Devices ................................................................3.15
SCSI Device IDs ..................................................................................3.16
SCSI Termination ...............................................................................3.16
Installing an AGP Card............................................................ 3.16
Section 4: P6LX2-A Reference Information ................4.1
Using This Section..................................................................... 4.1
Jumper Configuration & Connector Summary ......................... 4.3
The AGP Slot............................................................................ 4.8
The RAIDport™ Slot ................................................................. 4.8
Supported CPUs....................................................................... 4.8
System Memory Specifications ................................................ 4.9
CMOS Setup Utility Summary .................................................4.10
Using the CMOS Setup Utility............................................................4.10
Accessing The CMOS Setup Utility....................................................4.10
Standard CMOS Setup ......................................................................4.14
BIOS Features Setup..........................................................................4.18
Chipset Features Setup ....................................................................4.23
Power Management Setup ............................................................. 4.25
PNP/PCI Configuration......................................................................4.31
Load BIOS Defaults........................................................................... 4.34
Load Optimum Settings ................................................................... 4.34
Integrated Peripherals ..................................................................... 4.35
PC Health Monitor............................................................................4.40
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.1
In This Section:
About This Manual
Package Contents
Mainboard Features
Component Information
P6LX2-A Package & Product Information
This manual contains all the information you’ll need to use
the P6L2X-A mainboard. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the design and organization of the manual.
Manual Features
This manual is divided into four sections:
• Section 1: Package & Product Information
A brief overview of what comes in the mainboard package, its
basic features, layout and component information.
• Section 2: Using Your Mainboard
Information on mainboard features that you may make use of
in operating your computer.
• Section 3: Reconfiguring Your Mainboard
How to change or upgrade the mainboard configuration.
• Section 4: Reference Information
A summary of the mainboard’s settings and specifications.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.2
The manual uses some icons to call your attention to impor-
tant information. The icons appear in the sidebar and represent
the following:
G
C
D
N
• Important information
• A recommendation or good idea
• A warning or bad idea
• Danger warning
Online Manual Format
If the support disk for your mainboard is a CD-ROM disc, a
copy of the printed manual may be stored on the disc in Adobe
Acrobat format. If so, it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version
3.0 or later to view it. Acrobat Reader for Microsoft Windows95
may also be supplied on the Support Disk. If not, you can obtain
a free copy of the Reader software from the Abobe web site which
is currently at www.adobe.com as well as other locations.
If you have the online manual, you may want to install Acro-
bat Reader on your system hard disk. You can copy the manual
over as well so that the manual is readily available without having to hunt up the Support Disk when you want to view it.
If you are unfamiliar with Acrobat Reader, please take a mo-
ment to view the Reader Online Guide which is available under
the Help menu when you run Reader.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.3
Package Contents
The P6LX2-A mainboard package contains the following items.
Please inspect the package contents and confirm that everything
is there. If anything is missing or damaged, call your vendor for
instructions before proceeding. The package includes:
• P6LX2-A Mainboard
• Two CPU Retention Modules
• Cable Pack:
– 1 Floppy cable
– 1 IDE cable
– 1 50-pin Wide SCSI cable (with SCSI option)
• Support Disk:
– IDE Bus Master Drivers
– Adaptec SCSI support software (with SCSI option)
– BIOS Flash Utility
– Infrared Module support software
– Intel LANDesk Client Manager software
The mainboard comes with a variety of software as noted
above. The software is in individual folders with a “readme” file
that has more information about it. Please locate the folder for
the software you need and check this file. The LANDesk Client
Manager software comes with a User Manual in Adobe Acrobat
format which you can either view onscreen or print out.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.4
Mainboard Features
This mainboard is a highly integrated ATX design that incor-
porates many features on the board. The mainboard includes the
following features:
• T wo Slot 1 CPU slots support Pentium II CPUs up to 333MHz
– Supports single or dual CPU configurations
– Dual CPUs must be the same speed & version
• Intel 82440LX (PAC) and 82371AB (PIIX4) chipsets
• Super I/O chip
• NS LM78 Microprocessor System Hardware Monitor
– Supports LANDesk Client Manager PC Health Monitor
• Memory Modules:
– 4 DIMM sockets
– Supports up to 512MB SDRAM or 1GB EDO
• Onboard SCSI (optional)
– Adaptec AIC-7880 SCSI controller
– Adaptec RAIDport™ slot for ARO-1130 RAID controller card
– 50-pin Wide SCSI connector
– 68-pin Ultra Wide SCSI connector
– SCSI support software for several Operating Systems
• External Ports
– COM1 & COM2 serial ports, Parallel port
– PS/2 Mouse & Keyboard connectors, dual USB ports
• Expansion Card Slots
– Five PCI 2.1–compliant PCI slots
– If SCSI option is installed, PCI5 is Slave mode only
– Two 16-bit ISA slots (ISA1 shares with PCI4)
– One AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot
– RAIDport™ slot extension (extends PCI4)
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.5
ISA 2, 1
JP3
JP1
PCI 5,4,3,2,1
RAID Port
SCSIN, SCSIW
J3
IR header
J1
J2
CPUFan1
JP6
AGP Slot
Floppy
COM1
Parallel
CHASFAN
DIMM4
DIMM3
DIMM2
DIMM1
COM2
CPU #1 Slot
CPU #2 Slot
CPUFan2
IDE2
IDE1
Mouse
Keybd
USB
ATX Power
P6LX2-A Layout
The illustration above shows
the connectors, sockets and
ports and the mainboard.
The COM1 and COM2 ports
are underneath the Parallel
port.
The USB ports and the PS/2
ports – Keyboard (lower) and
Mouse (upper) – are stacked
one above the other.
Please see pages 4.6 and 4.7
for a full list of the onboard
connectors.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.6
Component Information
This section is a brief description of the components on the
mainboard that you might need to know about if you want to
upgrade or change your system configuration. If your mainboard
is already installed in a system, it isn’t necessary for you to review this section.
This mainboard uses the A TX ‘form factor’, a design that inte-
grates many features onto the board including some number of
external ports.
Expansion Slots
The mainboard has seven expansion slots for system expan-
sion or ‘add-on’ cards. T wo are ISA slots, the others are PCI slots.
When you get an expansion card, it must use one of these to
connect to the computer.
The ISA expansion slots are a legacy of the original IBM PC/
A T design. They are 16-bit slots that run at a moderate bus speed.
There are many kinds of expansion cards that use this slot design
to connect to the computer, some of the most common being
sound and modem cards.
PCI slots are the current high-speed 32-bit standard for sys-
tem expansion cards. They operate at a faster speed and have a
greater data throughput than ISA cards.
Expansion cards often make use of system resources, which
requires managing the system resource configuration. Most newer
expansion cards support the ‘Plug and Play’ standard that allows
an Operating System like Windows95 to automatically detect
them and configure system resources as needed. Some older ISA
designs may not support this standard and may therefore require
manual configuration. You should consult the specifications or
documentation for a card to determine if this is the case and what
needs do be done to properly configure the card.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.7
The RAIDport™ Slot Extension
The slot extension to PCI4 is for the Adaptec RAIDport™ tech-
nology that allows you to add an Adaptec ARO-1130 or compatible RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) controller
card. The card uses both the PCI slot and the extension.
With a RAID controller card installed, either or both SCSI types
on the mainboard can be used to establish a RAID array. Please
see Section 2 for information on using this feature.
The AGP Slot
The AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot is for an AGP 3D
video display card. Unlike PCI-based display cards, the AGP technology provides sufficient data throughput and speed to facilitate fully enabled 3-Dimensional and multimedia graphics display. AGP display cards using this dedicated slot are available
from a variety of vendors.
The AGP slot also requires Operating System support. Windows 98 directly supports AGP and other support methods may
be forthcoming. Please see Section 2 for more information.
Onboard SCSI Connections
This mainboard uses an Adaptec SCSI controller that supports
two SCSI implementations. The 50-pin connector on the board
and the supplied ribbon cable are for SCSI-2 Wide SCSI. The 68pin connector is for the SCSI-3 Ultra Wide SCSI feature.
Support software and additional documentation for the SCSI
hardware is on the Support Disk that comes with the mainboard.
Please see Section 3 for information on using these.
Memory Sockets & Modules
There are four memory module sockets on the mainboard
which use 168-pin DIMM memory modules. The sockets function independently , enabling very flexible memory configuration
with a variety of memory options up to a total of 512MB SDRAM
or 1GB EDO memory. For more information see Adding System
Memory in Section 3.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
1: Package & Product Information – 1.8
CPU Sockets & CPUs
The Slot 1 CPU slots support the full range of Pentium II CPUs
from Intel. The mainboard comes with two retention modules
which mount on the mainboard to provide guide rails and latch
receptacles for the latches on the Pentium II. Installing a CPU in a
Slot1 is easy. The CPU slides into the guide rails, inserts in the
slot and secures to the retention module with the attached springloaded latches.
If you want to install a CPU upgrade or are installing a CPU
on the board for the first time, please refer to ‘Installing a CPU’ in
Section 3: Reconfiguring Your Mainboard.
Port & Controller Connections
There are several ports and connectors on the mainboard. Some
are external ports and others are internal connectors that connect
to other parts of the computer or internal options.
External Ports
This mainboard has several external ports and connectors in-
cluding the COM1 and COM2 serial ports, a Parallel port, two
USB ports and PS/2-type keyboard and mouse ports. These external ports are all accessible at the rear of the computer when
the mainboard is installed.
Internal Connectors
There are also several connectors built onto the mainboard,
including connectors for four Enhanced IDE devices in two channels, two floppy disk drives and the Wide and Ultra Wide SCSI
ports. There are also connectors for a cooling fans and modem
ring-in cable.
Details about these connectors are in Section 4: Reference In-
formation.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.1
In This Section:
System Controls
Hardware Features
The Retention Module
Firmware & Software
Using Your Mainboard
This section covers the system control features and status indicators that connect to the mainboard, some of the hardware
features and provides an overview of the software that comes
with or is built-into the mainboard.
System Controls
There are two topics in this section, a explanation of the hardware controls and status indicators that connect from the mainboard to your system case and some information about the parts
of the CMOS Setup Utility that allow you customize some system features.
Hardware Controls & Indicators
There are some control features and status indicators that connect from the mainboard to your system case, which is sometimes called the ‘Enclosure’ or ‘Chassis.’ These are:
• Power Status Indicator
• Suspend Switch
• Suspend Status Indicator
• Reset Switch
• Keyboard Lock
• Hard Disk Drive Activity Indicator
• Power Switch
All of these case features connect to the mainboard via connector J3. Not all system cases have all of these features, so your
system may not have all of them. The functions and options for
these are shown in the table on the next page.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.2
Hardware Control & Indicator Connectors
Feature
Power Status LED:
When lighted indicates that system is turned on
Suspend Switch:
Puts the system into Suspend state under Operating Systems that support
this power management feature.
Suspend LED:
When lighted indicates the system is suspended.
Reset Switch:
Pressing the Reset switch restarts the system.
Keyboard Lock:
Disables keyboard via a lock on the front panel.
HDD Activity LED:
Flashes when hard disk drive is active.
Power Switch:
Turns the system power on and off. Default sets this to dual function as
power and suspend switch. Press once for Suspend, hold for >4 seconds
for Off. To set as Power only (Instant Of f), change the setting in the Power
Management section of the CMOS Setup utility.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.3
CMOS Setup Utility Controls
T wo sections of the CMOS Setup Utility allow you to configure how some of your system’s features work. These are:
• BIOS Features Setup
• Power Management Setup
The CMOS Setup Utility is a program that is permanently
stored in the BIOS chip on the mainboard. The utility creates a
system hardware configuration record that it stores in a small
amount of battery-supported memory on the board. The BIOS
uses this record to function as an interface between the system
hardware and the operating system. Most of the settings in the
CMOS Setup Utility are made automatically, so you won’t normally need to use this program. You can, however, customize
some of the operational features to suit how you prefer to use
the system.
The screen illustrations on the next two pages show the Setup
Default settings for these two sections of the utility.
The CMOS Setup Utility Summary in Section 4: Reference
Information, lists the setting options for each section of the utility including the two noted above.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.4
CMOS Setup Utility –
BIOS Features Setup
This section of the setup utility
allows you to configure some
system features including Virus Warning, Boot Sequence
and Security Option.
Virus Warning –
When enabled, monitors the
primary hard disk boot sector and warns of any attempt
to write to it.
Boot Sequence –
Controls the order in which
the system checks disk drives
for a boot disk.
Security Option –
Sets the level of password
protection for the system for
both the Supervisor and User
passwords.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.5
CMOS Setup Utility –
Power Management Setup
This section of the setup utility
allows you to configure the
power management features
supported by the BIOS. These
can also operate in tandem
with Operating System power
management features.
You can use the Min Saving
or Max Saving default modes
or you can configure the
power management features
individually in the User Define
mode.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.6
Hardware Features
This section is a brief overview of information about the
mainboard’s hardware features.
Onboard Ports
There are several external ports on the mainboard. These are
ports standard to most personal computers:
• COM1 Serial Port
A high-speed serial port which can also be configured as the
COM3 port in the CMOS Setup Utility.
• COM2 Serial Port (on supplied Port Bracket)
A high-speed serial port which can also be configured as the
COM4 port in the CMOS Setup Utility.
• Parallel Port
The parallel port can be configured as a Standard, ECP or EPP
parallel port in the CMOS Setup Utility
• PS/2 Keyboard Port (lower) & PS/2 Mouse Port (upper)
• USB ports – two ports (stacked)
• Wide and Ultra Wide SCSI connectors
Connectors
There are several connectors on the mainboard for connecting
additional ports and internal peripheral devices
• IDE 1 – Primary IDE Channel
Connector for the Primary Master and Slave IDE devices.
• IDE 2 – Secondary IDE Channel
Connector for the Secondary Master and Slave IDE devices.
• Floppy Connector
Connector for two floppy disk drives.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.7
CMOS Setup Utility –
Integrated Peripherals
This section of the setup utility
configures the IDE and Floppy
controllers and the settings for
the external ports
This section enables and configures the optional USB and
Infrared features.
The SCSI features operate independent of the CMOS Setup
utility so there are no settings
for the onboard SCSI features
here
The screen illustration shows
the settings when Optimum
Settings are loaded.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.8
Cooling Fan Connectors
The is a cooling fan power connector on the mainboard that
supports a CPU cooling fan with power management features. If
you connect this type of fan, and the ‘CPU F AN Off In Suspend’
line in the CMOS Setup utility’s Power Management Setup section is set to Enabled, the system will turn the fan off when the
system is in Suspend mode.
Modem Wake-Up
The J2 connector on the mainboard is for connecting a signal
cable from a modem that supports a modem ring system wakeup feature. With such a modem installed and connected to the
mainboard via this connector , the system will wake up from Suspend mode when an incoming call is received by the modem.
The ‘Ring-In Event’ line in the CMOS Setup utility’s Power
Management Setup section must be set to Enabled for this feature to function.
LAN Wake-Up
The J1 connector on the mainboard is for connecting a signal
cable from a LAN card that supports LAN wake-up via Intel WOL
(Wake-up On LAN). With such a car d installed and connected to
the mainboard via this connector, the system will wake up from
Suspend mode when wake-up is initiated over a LAN.
If you install a LAN card with this feature the system power
supply must provide 5-Volt current greater than 700ma.
ATX Power Supply
With an ATX power supply, the system will turn the power
off automatically when exiting Windows95.
UltraDMA Hard Disk Drive Support
This mainboard supports hard disks that use UltraDMA data
transfer . You attach an UltraDMA drive to one of the IDE cables.
If you use the Optimum Settings feature in the CMOS Setup
utility the system will automatically detect the drive and configure the system to use it.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.9
CMOS Support Battery
The disk shaped battery on the mainboard is a Lithium Ion
battery that supports the small amount of onboard memory where
the CMOS Setup utility’ s configuration record is stored. The battery will last for a number of years and can conceivably outlast
the usage period of the computer it is in.
If the battery fails, the system will not retain the CMOS Setup
configuration and the system will need to be reconfigured every
time you turn it on. If this happens, replace the battery with the
same type as is installed. You can get a replacement at many
electronics supply stores, computer stores and other places that
sell a variety of batteries for various uses.
Optional Hardware Connectors
There are additional feature connectors on the mainboard for
optional ports. These require optional external port hardware.
The Onboard SCSI Connectors & Controller
The two SCSI connectors on the mainboard are controlled by
the onboard Adaptec SCSI controller. It controls both the Wide
SCSI (SCSI-2) and the Ultra Wide SCSI (SCSI-3) features.
The Wide SCSI feature uses the 50-pin connector on the mainboard and can support up to seven SCSI devices in a chain. The
ribbon cable that comes with the board has connectors for two
devices. If you want to install more than two internal SCSI devices to the Wide SCSI controller you will need a cable with more
connectors on it. If you get another cable, it can have more connectors on it than you have immediate use for. The controller
will ignore any connectors that are not connected to devices.
The Ultra Wide feature uses the 68-pin connector on the mainboard. If you want to use this feature you will need to purchase
an internal SCSI-3 cable to connect devices to the mainboard.
Software for the onboard SCSI features is on the Support Disk
that comes with the mainboard. There is also documentation that
further explains the software and how to use it.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.10
The RAIDport™ & Onboard SCSI
The RAIDport™ and onboard SCSI controller and ports are
optional hardware which are not installed on some versions of
this mainboard.
The Adaptec RAIDport™ technology is a slot extension that
extends the PCI4 slot into an expansion slot for the Adaptec ARO1130 RAID controller card. With this card installed you can set
up RAID arrays using the supported RAID levels. You can use
either or both of the onboard SCSI ports to connect hard disks
for the array.
The Ultra Wide SCSI port will support up to fifteen devices,
the Wide SCSI port will support up to seven. If you connect an
array to one of the ports, you can still use the other port to connect other SCSI devices, for example, a SCSI CD–ROM drive.
This also allows you to configure one SCSI port as an external
port while still maintaining one port for RAID (or other) use.
The documentation that accompanies the SCSI software on
the Support Disk has further explanation of how to use the
RAIDport™ to set up a RAID array. There is also information on
the ARO-1130 RAID controller card.
IR Ports
There is one standard and one optional connector on the main-
board which support an IR (infrared) port module that enables
wireless communication between the computer and other computers and devices with an infrared port. The default IR connector, IR, is for IrDA or ASKIR infrared modules and the optional
FIR connector is for Fast IR.
The infrared port module is an optional component. If it is
installed, you must set the UART 2 line in the Integrated Peripherals section of the CMOS Setup utility to the appropriate IR
mode used by the module.
Support software and documentation for the IR port is on the
Support Disk that comes with the mainboard.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.11
The CPU Retention Modules
The Pentium II CPU requires a mounting frame that attaches
to the mainboard to guide the CPU during installation and secure
it to the mainboard. This frame is called a “retention module”
and two are supplied with the mainboard. If you received this
mainboard installed in a system, at least one retention module
will already be installed. If you purchased the mainboard to install yourself, you will need to install a retention module on the
mainboard before you install the board in a system case.
Each module comes with two mounting brackets which insert through holes in the mainboard from the underside. The module is simple to install and will require either a flat-head or Philipshead screw driver. To install the module do as follows:
1. Take precautions against static electric discharge before you
start. It is best to have an anti-static surface to place the main-
board on while you work on it and also an anti-static wrist
strap. If you don’t have an anti-static surface to work on, place
the board on the anti-static bag it comes in. If you don’t have
a wrist-strap (inexpensive and available at electronics stores),
try to touch something metal, perhaps the system case, before
you touch the mainboard.
2. The two mounting brackets insert through mounting holes in
the mainboard. The holes are at the four corners of each Slot 1
CPU slot. Press the two mounting bolts on each bracket
through the holes in the mainboard so that they protrude
through the board. Y ou may need to push a little to seat them.
3. The module slides over the Slot 1 CPU slot. You have to ori-
ent it correctly for it to sit flat on the mainboard. Look at the
left end of the slot (as in the mainboard illustration in Section
1). There is an orientation foot on the slot that slides into the
orientation notch on the retention module. Look at the mod-
ule and find the notch. Orient the module to the CPU slot.
4. Slide the retention module over the CPU slot. If you have it
oriented correctly it will slide on easily and sit flat on the board.
The retaining nuts mounted in the module should fit over the
mounting bolts that protrude through the mainboard.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.12
5. Secure the retention module to the mainboard by screwing
the retaining nuts down with a screwdriver. The module should
be secure, but don’t overtighten the nuts.
There are receptacles at the top of the guide rails that the
mounting latches on the Pentium II fit into. When you install the
CPU the latches should snap into the receptacles. Follow the Intel
instructions that come with the Pentium II to install the CPU
properly.
Firmware & Software
The mainboard hardware is supported by both firmware and
software components. Firmware is software that is stored on a
chip on the board rather than on disk media.
The firmware component you interface with on this main-
board is the CMOS Setup Utility. This utility establishes various
settings used by the BIOS, the basic software that is an interface
between the system hardware and software.
The software component is comprised of software drivers that
support the PCI IDE controller and some of the other hardware
features.
How To Use The CMOS Setup Utility
The CMOS Setup Utility options are listed in detail in Section
4: Reference Information. This section is just a brief explanation
of how to run the program to adjust settings as noted in this and
the next section.
To run the CMOS Setup Utility, press the Del or Delete key
while the computer is starting up, before the operating starts to
load. The utility’s main screen will appear as shown on the next
page. To navigate the pr ogram, use the controls shown on the
screen. The utility has several sections. Many of the features configured by the utility are set to operate automatically when the
‘Setup Defaults’, the recommended mode, are used. With Setup
Defaults loaded you can still customize various settings.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.13
CMOS Setup Utility –
This is the main screen for the
setup utility from which you
access its various sections.
The function and use of each
section is covered in Section
4: Reference Information.
Clearing CMOS
Under some unusual circumstances the configuration record
created by the CMOS Setup utility and stored on the mainboard
can become corrupted and unusable, possibly leading to the board
being unable to operate properly. If this happens, the CMOS
record can be cleared by setting jumper JP3 to the clear setting for
a moment and then setting it back to the Normal setting. Refer to
Section 4 for more information.
P6LX2-A User’s Manual
2: Using Your Mainboard – 2.14
Flashing The BIOS
This mainboard uses the Award BIOS. The BIOS is stored on
a programmable flash memory chip on the mainboard. Updates
to the BIOS can be installed by installing a new BIOS file on the
flash chip, which replaces the existing one. You do this using
software that comes on the Support Disk. There is an explanation of how to install a BIOS update in a ‘readme’ text file included with the program.
Bus Master Drivers
This mainboard comes with software drivers, for various Op-
erating Systems, that enable the PCI controller to operate in ‘Bus
Master’ mode. The drivers are on the Support Disk. The included
‘readme’ file has information on the drivers and installation information.
SCSI Support Software
There is a variety of support software for the onboard SCSI
and RAIDport™ features on the Support Disk that comes with
the mainboard. Software for various Operating Systems is included. The software also has documentation in each directory
to explain what it is and, where needed, how to use it.
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