FIC CE31-A User Manual

CE31-A

MAINBOARD

MANUAL

DOC No.: 098B09
Rev. : A0
Date : 4, 1999
Part No. : 25-10936-20

Notice

Handling Precautions

Warning:

1. Static electricity may cause damage to the integrated circuits on

the motherboard. Before handling any motherboard outside of its
protective packaging, ensure that there is no static electric charge
in your body.

2. There is a danger of explosion if the battery is incorrectly
replaced. Replace only with the same or an equivalent type
recommended by the manufacturer.

3. Discard used batteries according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.

Observe the following basic precautions when handling the motherboard
or other computer components:

n Wear a static wrist strap which fits around your wrist and is

connected to a natural earth ground.

n Touch a grounded or anti-static surface or a metal fixture such as a

water pipe.

n Avoid contacting the components on add-on cards, motherboards,

and modules with the golden fingers connectors plugged into the
expansion slot. It is best to handle system components by their
monting brackets.

The above methods prevent static build-up and cause it to be discharged
properly.

Trademark

All trademarks mentioned in this manual are registered properly of
the respective owners.

Handling Precautions

This manual may not, in whole or in part, be photocopied, reproduced,
transcribed, translated, or transmitted in whatever form without the
written consent of the manufacturer, except for copies retained by the
purchaser for personal archival purposes.

T able of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Overview

Package Checklist .......................................................................... 1 - 2

The CE31-A Mainboard ............................................................ 1- 3

Main Features................................................................................ 1-4

Intelligent Properties...................................................................... 1- 6

ACPI Ready ................................................................................... 1- 7

Chapter 2 Installation Procedures

1). Set System Jumpers ................................................................. 2- 2

Quick Reference............................................................................. 2 - 3

Mainboard Layout .................................................................... 2-7

Clear Password: CLR_PWD .............................................. 2- 9

Clear CMOS: J4 ................................................................. 2- 9

Internal USB Port Enable: J3.............................................. 2-10

2). Install RAM Modules .............................................................. 2-10

SDRAM..................................................................................... 2-10

RAM Module Configuration..................................................... 2-11

Install and Remove DIMMs ...................................................... 2-11

3). Install the CPU .......................................................................... 2-12

4). Install Expansion Cards............................................................. 2-13

5). Connect Devices....................................................................... 2-15

Floppy Diskette Drive Connector: FLOPPY ...................... 2-15

IDE HDD Device Connectors: PRIMARY, SECONDARY.. 2-16

A TX Power Connector: POWER ....................................... 2-16

CPU Fan Connector: F AN1 ............................................... 2-17

W ake-On-LAN Connector: WOL ...................................... 2-17

Front Panel Block Connector ............................................ 2-18

PCI Audio Card Connector: SB_LINK .............................. 2-19

Infrared Connector: IR....................................................... 2-19

PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Connector: KB, MS ............... 2-20

Universal Serial Bus Connectors: USB0, USB1, CONN1 ... 2-20

Printer Connector: LPT...................................................... 2-21

Serial Port Connectors: COM1, COM2 .............................. 2-21

Joystick/MIDI Connector: GAME..................................... 2-22

Audio I/O Jacks: L_OUT , L_IN, MIC_IN .......................... 2-22

Video Graphics Acceleartor Connector: VGA ................... 2-23

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Chapter 3 BIOS Setup

CMOS Setup Utility ....................................................................... 3- 1

Standard CMOS Setup................................................................... 3- 2

Hard Disk Configurations.......................................................... 3-2

Software Turbo Speed............................................................... 3 -3

BIOS Features Setup...................................................................... 3- 3

Chipset Features Setup.................................................................. 3-6

Power Management Setup ............................................................. 3-9

PNP/PCI Configuration .................................................................. 3-13

Load BIOS Defaults ....................................................................... 3-14

Load Setup Defaults ...................................................................... 3-14

Integrated Peripherals.................................................................... 3-15

Supervisor/User Password ............................................................ 3-19

IDE HDD Auto Detection .............................................................. 3-19

Save and Exit Setup ....................................................................... 3-19

Exit without Saving ........................................................................ 3-20

Chapter 4 FAQ s

General F AQs................................................................................. 4-1

BIOS F AQs .................................................................................... 4 - 5

Windows 98 FAQs ......................................................................... 4-7

Windows 95 FAQs ......................................................................... 4-8

Intel CPU F AQs ............................................................................. 4- 9

ii

Overview

Chapter 1

Overview

The CE31-A is a MicroA TX sized Socket 370 motherboard with onboard V ideo
and Audio, and support for Ultra DMA/66. The CE31-A supports the Intel®
Celeron PPGA 300-500 MHz processor at 66MHz Front side bus, and is ready
to support 100MHz Front Side Bus in the event of any future CPU upgrades.
Based around the SIS Eagle chipset, the CE31-A is a feature rich mainboard
offering the very latest in quality onboard integrated functions.

Quality stereo sound is provided by the ESS Solo-1 onboard audio chip, which
is equipped with Headphone AMP, while graphics capabilities are provided
by the SIS 6326 2D/3D, which is embedded in the North Bridge. The option of

DVD playback software and a TV-out connection, allows DVD playback on
a TV, instead of just a monitor . This special feature is enabled by FIC’s unique
licensing agreement with CSS.

With support for Ultra DMA/66 and its high-speed interface, hard drive per­formance and data transfer speeds are significantly increased. The CE31-A
has 2 DIMM, providing up to 1 GB of SDRAM, and has 3 PCI and 1 ISA
expansion slot. UMA mode can be selected through the BIOS at either 4MB or
8MB, while non UMA mode is offered as a manufacturing option. The CE31­A is ACPI ready, ensuring improved power management, and is PC98 and Y2K
compliant. Other key features of the CE31-A are Keyboard/Mouse Power On
and CD Pro with enhanced drivers. A hardware monitoring facility provides
effective system control and protection.

The CE31-A offers a complete set of standard I/O features, such as 2 serial
ports, 1 parallel port, 1 PS/2 mouse and keyboard connector and 2 USB con­nectors. There are also connectors for 1 VGA, 1 media, mono-in for modem,
CD-in, W ake-on-LAN and W ake-on-Ring.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Package Checklist

If you discover any item below was damaged or lost, please contact your
vendor.

Ö The mainboard

Ö This user manual
Ö One floppy disk drive cable
Ö One printer and COM1 cable
Ö One HDD cable
Ö One COM2 cable
Ö One USB cable (optional)
Ö Software utilities

1 - 2

The CE31-A Mainboard

Overview

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Main Features

■ Easy Installation

||BIOS with support for Plug and Play , auto detection of IDE hard drives,
||LS-120|drives, IDE ZIP drives, Windows 95, W indows 98, Windows NT,
||and OS/2.

■ Leading Edge Chipset

SiS Eagle chipset includes a CPU interface controller, integrated memory
controller, integrated power management unit, concurrent PCI (PCI v .2.0,

2.1, 2.2), 3D video, IDE and ISA bus controller.

■ Flexible Processor Support

Onboard Socket 370 supports leading-edge processors:
Celeron™ PPGA processors 300A/333/366/400/433/466/500 MHz and up.

|

■ V arious External Bus and CPU/Bus Frequency Ratio Support

The board supports the Bus frequency of 66 / 75 / 83 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 112
/ 124 / 133MHz and the CPU/Bus frequency ratio of 2x / 2.5x / 3x / 3.5x / 4x
/ 4.5x / 5x / 5.5x / 6x / 6.5x / 7x / 7.5x / 8x by a switching voltage regulator
which accepts 1.8V to 2.8V .|||(Please read Install the CPU in Chapter 2 for
more information).

■ V ersatile Main Memory Support

Accepts up to 1GB RAM using two DIMMs of 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256,
512MB with support for lightning-fast SDRAM (66/100MHz).

■ ISA and PCI Expansion Slots

One 16-bit ISA Bus and three 32-bit PCI Bus expansion slots provide the
room to install a full range of add-on cards.

■ Onboard IrDA Connector

An IrDA connector for wireless infrared connections is available.

1 - 4

Overview

■ Enhanced PCI Bus Master IDE Controller with Ultra DMA/33 and

Ultra DMA/66 Support
Integrated Enhanced PCI Bus Master IDE controller features two dual­channel connectors that accept up to four Enhanced IDE devices, includ­ing CD-ROM and T ape Backup Drives, as well as Hard Disk Drives sup­porting the new Ultra DMA/66 protocol. Standard PIO Mode 3, PIO Mode
4, DMA Mode 2, DMA Mode 4 devices are also supported.

■ USB Support

A fly cable comes with the board for allowing convenient, high-speed
Plug and Play connections (up to four USB ports) to the growing number
of USB compliant external peripheral devices on the market.

■■

■ Remote W ake-Up Support

■■

One LAN wake-up connector, WOL, supports LAN cards equipped for
remote wake-up functionality; also, an additional W ake-On-Ring connec­tor awakes the system while the ring signal via modem.

■■

■ Super Multi Input/Output (I/O) Support

■■

Integrated Plug and Play multi-I/O chipset features two high-speed UART
16550 compatible serial ports, one IR connector, one EPP/ECP capable
parallel port, and one FDD connector.

■■

■ SB-LINKÔ for the Audio Card with PCI Bus

■■

The 2x3 pin SB-LINKÔ header accepts the Creative CT4600 series PCI
audio cards with PCI solution to connect the Legacy Sound BlasterÒ
compatible audio to the PCI bus.

■■

■ Compact ESS Solo-1 Audio Subsystem for Sound and Game

■■

The onboard audio provides DirectMusic accelerator. It also provides
OPL3, Sound Blaster Pro, MPU401 UART mode and Joystick function for
various PC games on real DOS mode that without software drivers. The
board came with three audio jacks: MIC_IN, L_IN, L_OUT; and one con­nector for joystick with MIDI interface.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Intelligent Properties

This mainboard comes equipped with the most advanced new features that
not only optimize the performance of the latest processors but also enhance
the manageablity, power management capabilities, and user-friendliness of
your system. This section provides detailed information on these features,
and how they are implemented on the mainboard.

■■

■ Optimized CeleronÔ PPGA Processor Performance

■■

The mainboard utilizes the advanced features of the SiS Eagle chipset to
optimize the unrivaled performance of the CeleronÔ PPGA processor
with MMXÔ technology, allowing you to enjoy a richer video, audio,
digital imaging and communications experience from the latest generation
of multimedia software.

■ Capability of Conference via Modem

The board equipped a MONO connector to allow users to talk with other
people at remote end via a modem.

■ Connection with a T elevision (Optional)

The manufacturing optional connector, TV1, makes use of a television as
a monitor for software games and other tasks by a cable from the board to
the TV .

1 - 6

Overview

ACPI Ready

This mainboard fully implements the new ACPI (Advanced Configuration and
Power Interface) 1.0 Hardware and BIOS requirement. If you install ACPI aware
operating system, such as Windows 98, you fully utilized the power saving
under ACPI.

It is compatible with all other none ACPI operating systems. If you want to
setup ACPI feature under Windows 98, please follow the description below:
Run Windows 98 setup by using setup/p j on the command line for installing
Windows 98 with the ACPI control feature.
If you type setup without the parameter /p j, Windows 98 will be installed as
APM, PnP mode, no ACPI will be used.

For more detail information, please visit the web site of Microsoft. Its address
is: www.microsoft.com/hwtest/.

The major features of ACPI were listed as follows:

■ Soft-Off Support

The mainboard’s Soft-Off feature allows you to turn off your computer
using the operating system. This feature requires a power supply witha
soft-off power controller.

■ Remote Ring-On

The Remote Ring-On function allows your computer to be turned on
remotely via a modem while it is in sleep mode. This feature is particularly
usefully when you are expecting a fax late night and leave only your
modem on to minimize power consumption. As soon as possible the phone
rings, the modem automatically turn on the system, which answers the
phone and downloads the fax. Then the computer shuts off again, thereby
minimizing its consumption of power. The Remote Ring-On function
requires a power supply with a soft-off power controller.

■ R TC Alarm

The RTC alarm feature allows you to preset the computer to wake-up at a
certain time allowing you to implement a number of useful functions, such
as automatically sending out a fax late at night.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

This Page Left Blank for Note

1 - 8

Installation Procedures

Chapter 2

Installation Procedures

The mainboard has several user-adjustable jumpers on the board that allow you to
configure your system to suit your requirements. This chapter contains information
on the various jumper settings on your mainboard.

To set up your computer, you must complete the following steps:

■ Step 1 - Set system jumpers

■ Step 2 - Install system RAM modules

■ Step 3 - Install the Central Processing Unit (CPU)

■ Step 4 - Install expansion cards

■ Step 5 - Connect ribbon cables, cabinet wires, and power supply

■ Step 6 - Set up BIOS software (see Chapter Three)

■ Step 7 - Set up supporting software tools

WARNING: Excessive torque may damage the mainboard. When
using an electric screwdriver on the mainboard, make sure that
the torque is set to the allowable range of 5.0 ~ 8.0kg/cm.

Mainboard components contain very delicate Integrated Circuit
(IC) chips. To prevent static electricity from harming any of the
mainboard’s sensitive components, you should follow some
precautions whenever working on the computer:

1. Unplug the computer when working on the inside.

2. Hold components by the edges and try not to touch the IC

||||chips, leads, or circuitry.

3. Wear an anti-static wrist strap which fits around the wrist.

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

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

1). Set System Jumpers

Jumpers are used to select the operation modes for your system. Some jump­ers on the board have three metal pins with each pin representing a different
function. A “1” is written besides pin 1 on jumpers with three pins. To set a
jumper, a black cap containing metal contacts is placed over the jumper pin/s
according to the required configuration. A jumper is said to be shorted when
the black cap has been placed on one or two of its pins. The types of jumpers
used in this manual are shown below:

2 - 2

NOTE: Users are not encouraged to change the jumper settings
not listed in this manual. Changing the jumper settings improperly
may adversely affect system performance.

Installation Procedures

This Chapter is intended to aid quick and easy installation.
In the event that more detailed information is required, please
consult the Installation Procedures Chapter.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

2 - 4

Installation Procedures

1). Clear CMOS, Clear Password

2). CPU Fan Installation

This connector is linked to the CPU fan. When the system is in suspend mode, the
CPU fan will turn off; when it reverts back to full on mode, the fan will turn back on.

Without sufficient air circulation, the CPU may overheat and cause damage to
both the CPU and the mainboard.

Damage may occur to the mainboard and/or the CPU fan if these pins are
incorrectly used. These are not jumpers, do not place jumper caps over these
pins.

3). Front Panel Block
Cable Connection

4). Other Enabled/Disabled Jumpers

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

5). Load BIOS Setup Default

Load BIOS Defaults

BIOS defaults contain the most appropriate values of the system parameters
that allow minimum system performance. The OEM manufacturer may change
the defaults through MODBIN before the binary image burns into the ROM.

Load Setup Defaults

Selecting this field loads the factory defaults for BIOS and Chipset Features
which the system automatically detects.

6). How to Upgrade BIOS

1 . Format a bootable system floppy diskette by typing the command format

a:/s in command mode.

2 . V isit the the web site of the vendor and visit the BIOS Update page in the

related T echnical Support section.

3. Select the BIOS file you need and download it to your bootable floppy
diskette.

4 . Insert the bootable diskette containing the BIOS file into the floppy dis-

kette drive.

5 . Assuming that the floppy diskette drive is A, reboot the system by using

the A: drive. At the A: > prompt, run the BIOS upgraded file by executing
the Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its appropriate extension.

Do not turn off or reset the computer during the flash process or if there is
a problem.

2 - 6

Mainboard Layout

Installation Procedures

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

ONBOARD MARK MEANING P AGE

Jumpers

J4 Clear CMOS Data 2 - 9
CLR_PWD Clear Password 2 - 9
J3 Internal USB Port Enable 2 - 10

Slots

DIMM1/2 DIMM Memory Module Support 2 - 11
PCI1/2/3 PCI Bus Expansion Slot (32-bit) 2 - 14
ISA1 ISA Bus Expansion Slot (16-bit) 2 - 14

Connectors

FLOPPY Floppy Diskette Drive Connector 2 - 15
PRIMARY, SECONDARY IDE HDD Device Connectors 2 - 16
POWER ATX Power Connector 2 - 16
FAN1 CPU Fan Connector 2 - 17
WOL W ake on LAN Connector 2 - 17
Front Panel Block Connectors for LEDs and

Connector Switches on Front Panel 2 - 18
SB_LINK PCI Audio Card Connector 2 - 19

IR Infrared Port Module Connector 2 - 19
KB/MS PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Connector 2 - 20
USB0/1, CONN1 Universal Serial Bus Connector 2 - 20
LPT (Parallel Port) Printer Connector 2 - 21
COM1, COM2 Serial Port Connectors 2 - 21
GAME Joystick/MIDI Connector 2 - 22
L_OUT, L_IN, MIC_IN Audio I/O Jacks 2 - 22
VGA Video Graphics Accelerator 2 - 23

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Installation Procedures

Clear Password: CLR_PWD

This switch allows you to enable or to disable both the keyboard and system
password settings. You may need to adjust it if you forget your password. To
clear the password setting: (1). Turn off your computer , (2). Enable this feature
by setting the it at Enable, (3). Turn on your computer to boot screen, (4). Turn
off your computer, (5). Disable the Clear Password feature by setting it at
Disable, (6). Turn on your computer .

CMOS Clear: J4

The CMOS RAM is powered by the onboard button cell battery. To clear the
R TC data: (1) T urn off your computer, (2) Move this jumper to “Enable,” (3)
Move the jumper back to “Disable,” (4) Turn on your computer , (5) Hold down
the <Delete> key during bootup and enter BIOS Setup to re-enter user prefer­ences.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Internal USB Port Enable: J3

This jumper allows you to enable or to enable the internal USB connector,
CONN1, while it is needed. If the CONN1 is used, the USB1 will be disabled
automatically. If the CONN1 not being used, please keep J3 at disabling status.

2). Install RAM Modules

SDRAM

The working space of the computer is the Random Access Memory (RAM).
The system cannot act upon data unless it is loaded into RAM. When more
memory is added, the working memory of the computer is larger , thereby in­creasing total performance. The mainboard RAM is comprised of two 168–pin
Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMMs). Each DIMM socket is able to sup­port up to 512MB lightning-fast SDRAM.

SDRAM features an onchip burst counter that can be utilized to increment
column addresses for very fast burst access, which means that SDRAM al­lows new memory access to be initiated before the preceding access has been
finished.

Before making DRAM upgrades you should verify the type and speed of the
RAM currently installed from your dealer. Installing mixtures of RAM types
other than those described in this manual will have unpredictable results.

2 - 10

Installation Procedures

RAM Module Configuration

The mainboard provides two onboard DIMM sockets allowing 3.3V (unbuf­fered) SDRAM DIMM modules. Either 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, or 512MB DIMM
can be installed on these two sockets. The maximum total memory supported
is up to 1GB.

NOTE: This mainboard supports DIMMs with access speeds of
12ns, 10ns, or faster.

Install and Remove DIMMs

SDRAM DIMM modules have different pin contact on each side and there­fore have a higher pin density. Complete the following procedures when in­stalling DIMMs:

NOTE: Do not use memory modules with more than 18 chips per
module. Modules with more than 18 chips exceed the design speci­fications of the memory subsystem and will be unstable.
The notch on the DIMM module will shift between left, center, or
right to identify the type and also to prevent the wrong type from
being inserted into the DIMM slot on the mainboard. Ask your re­tailer for the specifications before purchasing.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

1 . Locate the DIMM slots on the mainboard.

2. Install the DIMM straight down into the DIMM slot with both hands.

3. The clip on both ends of the DIMM slot will close up to hold the DIMM
in place when the DIMM touches the slot’s bottom.

Press the clips with both hands to remove the DIMM.

3). Install the CPU

The CPU module resides in the ZIF PGA370 socket on the motherboard.

2 - 12

Installation Procedures

CAUTION:

1. Always turn the system power off before installing or removing
any device.

2. Always observe static electricity precautions. See “Handling Pre­cautions” at the start of this manual.

3. Inserting the chip incorrectly may damage the chip.

T o install the CPU, do the following:

1 . Lift the lever on the side of the CPU socket.

2. Handle the chip by its edges and try not to touch any of the pins.

3 . Place the CPU in the socket. The chip has a notch to correctly locate the

chip. Align the notch with pin one of the socket. Pin one is located in the
blank triangular area. Do not force the chip. The CPU should slide easily
into the socket.

4 . Swing the lever to the down position to lock the CPU in place.

5. See the following sections for information on the CPU jumpers settings.

4). Install Expansion Cards

This section describes how to connect an expansion card to one of your
system’s expansion slots. Expansion cards are printed circuit boards that,
when connected to the mainboard, increase the capabilities of your system.
For example, expansion cards can provide video and sound capabilities. The
mainboard features one 16-bit ISA bus and three 32-bit PCI bus expansion
slots.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

CAUTION: Make sure to unplug the power supply when adding or
removing expansion cards or other system components. Failure to
do so may cause severe damage to both the mainboard and
expansioncards.
Always observe static electricity precautions.
Please read “Handling Precautions” at the start of this manual.

T o install an expansion card, follow the steps below:

1. Remove the computer chassis cover and select an empty expansion
slot.

2. Remove the corresponding slot cover from the computer chassis.
Unscrew the mounting screw that secures the slot cover and pull
the slot cover out from the computer chassis. Keep the slot cover
mounting screw nearby.

3 . Holding the edge of the peripheral card, carefully align the edge

connector with the expansion slot.

4. Push the card firmly into the slot. Push down on one end of the
expansion card, then the other. Use this “rocking” motion until the
add–on card is firmly seated inside the expansion slot.

2 - 14

Installation Procedures

5. Secure the board with the mounting screw removed in Step 2. Make
sure that the card has been placed evenly and completely into the
expansion slot.

6 . Replace the computer system’s cover.

7 . Setup the BIOS if necessary.

8. Install the necessary software drivers for the expansion card.

5). Connect Devices

Floppy Diskette Drive Connector: FLOPPY

This connector provides the connection with your floppy disk drive.
The red stripe of the ribbon cable must be the same side with the Pin 1.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

IDE HDD Device Connectors: PRIMARY, SECONDARY

These two connectors are used for your IDE hard disk drives, CD drives, LS­120|drives, or IDE ZIP drives. The red stripe of the ribbon cable must be the
same side with the Pin 1.

ATX Power Connector: POWER

This 20-pin male block connector is connected to the A TX power supply. The
plug from the power supply will only insert in one orientation because of the
different hole sizes. Find the proper orientation and push down firmly making
sure that the pins are aligned.

2 - 16

Installation Procedures

CPU Fan Connector: FAN1

This connector is linked to the CPU fan. When the system is in suspend mode,
the CPU fan will turn off; when it reverts back to full–on mode, the fan will turn
back on. Please refer to the CPU fan installation manual for more information.

Wake-On-LAN Connector: WOL

This 3-pin connector allows the remote LAN server to wake up the system
with a LAN card installed. Please also refer to the LAN card installation guide
for related information.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Front Panel Block Connector

This block connector concludes the connectors for linking with IDE LED,
power LED, remote power button, message LED, suspend button, reset but­ton and speaker on the front panel of the system case. Please identify polari­ties of plug wires for the case speaker and LEDs. Please ask vendor about this
information when you buy them and install the system by yourself. The plug
wires’ polarities of this buttons will not affect the function.

Power LED (A) is connected with the system power indicator to indicate
whether the system is on/off. When the system enter the suspend mode, it
blinks.

Remote Power Button (B) is connected with remote power (soft power) switch.
Push this switch will turn off and on the system instead of turning the power
switch on the power supply.

Message LED (C) is connected with the message LED. When the system is
running normally , the indicator is off. It is controlled by the operating system
or application software.

Suspend Button (D) is connected with suspend mode switch.

Reset Button (E) is connected to the reset switch. Push this switch to reboot

the system instead of turning power switch off and on.

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Installation Procedures

Speaker (F) is connected with the case speaker.

IDE LED (G) is connected IDE device indicator. This LED will blink when the

hard disk drives are activated.

PCI Audio Card Connector: SB_LINK

This 6-pin male connector allows you to connect to your CreativeÒ ’s sound
card or compatible.

Infrared Connector: IR

This 5-pin connector is used to link with your IR device to allow transmission
of data to another system that also supports the IR feature. This module
mounts to a small opening on system cases that supports this feature.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Connector: KB, MS

These two 6-pin female connectors are used for your PS/2 keyboard and PS/2
mouse.

Universal Serial Bus Connectors: USB0, USB1, CONN1

These two connectors that integrated on the edge of the board are used for
linking with USB peripheral devices. Also, this board provides a pinhead,
CONN1, for linking with the USB socket on the front panel of some system
cases. If the CONN1 connector is used (the jumper J3 must be set at Enabled),
either USB0 or USB1 connector will be disabled. Y our operating system must
support USB features, such as MS Windows 98, MS W indows 95 OSR2.5 with
USB Supplement.

2 - 20

Installation Procedures

Printer Connector: LPT

This 25-pin D-Sub female connector is attached to your printer.

Serial Port Connectors: COM1, COM2

COM1 (9-pin D-sub male connector) and COM2 (9-pin male connector) allow
you to connect with your devices that use serial ports, such as a serial mouse
or a modem.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Joystick/MIDI Connector: GAME

This 15-pin female connector allows you to connect game joysticks or game
pads for playing games. Connect MIDI devices for playing or editing audio.

Audio I/O Jacks: L_OUT, L_IN, MIC_IN

L_OUT can be connected to headphones or preferably powered speakers.
L_IN allows tape players or other audio sources to be recorded by your com­puter or played through the L_OUT . MIC_IN allows microphones to be con­nected for input voice.

2 - 22

Installation Procedures

Video Graphics Accelerator Connector: VGA

This 15-pin female D-sub connector is connected to your display monitor.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

This Page Left Blank for Note

2 - 24

BIOS Setup

Chapter 3

BIOS Setup

The mainboard comes with the A ward BIOS chip that contains the ROM Setup
information of your system. This chip serves as an interface between the
processor and the rest of the mainboard’s components. This section explains
the information contained in the Setup program and tells you how to modify
the settings according to your system configuration.

CMOS Setup Utility

A Setup program, built into the system BIOS, is stored in the CMOS RAM.
This Setup utility program allows changes to the mainboard configuration
settings. It is executed when the user changes system configuration; user
changes system backup battery; or the system detects a configuration error
and asks the user to run the Setup program. Use the arrow keys to select and
press Enter to run the selected program.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Standard CMOS Setup

The Standard CMOS Setup screen is displayed above. Each item may have
one or more option settings. The system BIOS automatically detects memory
size, thus no changes are necessary. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item
and then use the PgUp or PgDn keys to select the value you want in each item.

Hard Disk Configurations

TYPE: Select User to fill the remaining fields. Select Auto to detect the
HDD type automatically (recommended).

SIZE: The hard disk size. The unit is Mega Bytes.
CYLS: The cylinder number of the hard disk.
HEAD: The read/write head number of hard disk.
PRECOMP: The cylinder number at which the disk drive changes the

write current.
LANDZ: The cylinder number that the disk drive heads (read/write) are
seated when the disk drive is parked.

SECTOR: The sector number of each track defined on the hard disk.

MODE: Select Auto to detect the mode type automatically. If your hard

disk supports the LBA mode, select LBA or Large. However, if your hard
disk cylinder is more than 1024 and does not support the LBA function, set
at Large. Select Normal if your hard disk supporting cylinders is below

1024.

3 - 2

BIOS Setup

Software Turbo Speed

The BIOS supports Software Turbo Speed feature. Instead of pressing the
Turbo Speed Button on the front panel, simply press the Alt, Ctrl, and +
keys at the same time to enable the Turbo Speed feature; and press the Alt,
Ctrl, and - keys at the same time to disable the feature.

BIOS Features Setup

Anti-Virus Protection

This feature starts the virus scan tool to detect if boot virus in boot sector
of the first hard disk drive when booting up.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

CPU Internal Cache

When enabled, improves the system performance. Disable this item when
testing or trouble-shooting. The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

External Cache

When enabled, supports an optional cache SRAM. This feature allows
you to disable the cache function when the system performance is un­stable to run some software. The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking

This feature allows users to activate the CPU’s Level 2 cache’ s error check
and correction function. The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Quick Power On Self T est

When enabled, allows the BIOS to bypass the extensive memory test.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Boot From LAN First

This feature makes the system bootable by the remote server via LAN.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Boot Sequence

Allows the system BIOS to first try to boot the operating system from the
selected disk drive. The options are: A, C, SCSI (Default); C, A, SCSI; C,
CDROM, A; CDROM, C, A; D, A, SCSI; E, A, SCSI; F , A, SCSI; SCSI, A, C;
SCSI, C, A; C Only; LS/ZIP , C.

Swap Floppy Drive

Allows you to switch the order in which the operating system accesses
the floppy drives during boot up. The options are: Enabled, Disabled (De­fault).

Boot Up Floppy Seek

When enabled, assigns the BIOS to perform floppy diskette drive tests by
issuing the time-consuming seek commands. The options are: Enabled
(Default), Disabled.

Boot Up Numlock Status

When set to On, allows the BIOS to automatically enable the Num Lock
Function when the system boots up. The options are: On (Default), Off.

Memory Parity Check

This feature enables BIOS to perform automatic memory checking upon
detection of ECC or parity DRAM. The options are: Enabled, Disabled
(Default).

Typematic Rate Setting

The term typematic means that when a keyboard key is held down, the
character is repeatedly entered until the key is released.
The options are: Disabled (Default), Enabled.

3 - 4

BIOS Setup

Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)

This feature is available only if the above item, T ypematic Rate Setting, is
set at Enabled. Sets the rate of a character repeat when the key is held
down. The options are: 6 (Default), 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30.

Typematic Delay (Msec)

This feature is available only if the item, Typematic Rate Setting, is set at
Enabled. Sets the delay time before a character is repeated.
The options are: 250 (Default), 500, 750, 1000 millisecond.

Security Option

Allows you to set the security level of the system.
The options are: Setup (Default), System.

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop

Set this feature to be enabled if any ISA adapter card installed in the
system requires the VGA palette snoop function.
The options are: Disabled (Default), Enabled.

Assign IRQ For VGA

If your PCI VGA addon card does not need an IRQ, select at Disabled to
release an IRQ for system use.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

OS Select For DRAM > 64MB

If your operating system (OS) is OS/2, select the option OS2. Otherwise,
stay with the default setting Non-OS2.
The options are: Non-OS2 (Default), OS2.

HDD S.M.A.R.T . Capability

S.M.A.R.T . stands for Self-Monitoring and Analysis Reporting Technol­ogy which allows your hard disk drive to report any read/write errors and
issues a warning with LDCM installed.
The options are: Disabled (Default); Enabled.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Report No FDD For WIN 95

When the field under the Standard CMOS Setup Menu for Drive A and/or
Drive B is set at None, users must set this field is set at Y es for it to function
properly. Otherwise, set at No, even if field for Drive A and/or Drive B is set
at None, system will still detect and recognize of a floppy drive(s).
The options are: Y es (Default), No.

Video BIOS Shadow

Allows the BIOS to copy the video ROM code of the add-on video card to
the system memory for faster access.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Chipset Features Setup

SDRAM CAS Latency

If the CAS latency of your installed SDRAM DIMM is 2, set it at 2 to
enhance system performance. If the CAS latency is 3, stay with the
default setting of 3T . The options are: 3T (Default), 2T .

System BIOS Cacheable

When enabled, allows the ROM area F000H-FFFFH to be cacheable when
cache controller is activated. The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Video BIOS Cacheable

When enabled, allows the system to use the video BIOS codes from SRAMs,
instead of the slower DRAMs or ROMs.

3 - 6

BIOS Setup

The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Memory Hole at 15M-16M

When set at Enabled, the memory hole at the 15MB address will be relo­cated to the 15-16MB address range of the ISA cycle when the CPU access
the 15-16MB address area. When set at Disabled, the memory hole at the
15MB address will be treated as a DRAM cycle when the CPU acesses the
15-16MB address area. The options are: Enabled, Disabled (Default).

AGP Aperture Size

It allows you to select the main memory frame size for AGP use.
The options are 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 (Default), 128MB.

PCI Delay Transaction

Enable this feature to abort the current PCI master cycle and to accept the
new PCI master request, it reaccepts the original PCI master and returns
the PCI data phase to the original PCI master. It will enhance the system
performance. The options are: Enabled, Disabled (Default).

SDRAM Synchronous Mode

Enabling this feature will cause CPU and memory to use the same clock
frequency; for example, 66/66MHz, 100/100MHz. Diabling it will cause CPU
and memory to have different clock frequency; for example, 66/100, 100/
66MHz. The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

SDRAM Clock Frequency

The feature allows you to select the SDRAM clock frequency. The se­lected option must be the same with the CPU Host/SDRAM Clock. This
item appears if SDRAM Synchronous Mode is set at Disabled.
The options are: 100MHz (Default), 83, 66, 75.

CPU Clk High Than SDRAM

When CPU clock is higher than SDRAM clock, please set at this item to be
Y es; for example, 100/66MHz. Set it to be No will cause CPU clock is lower
than SDRAM clock; for instance, 66/100MHz. The selected option must
be the same with the CPU Host/SDRAM Clock. This item appears if
SDRAM Synchronous Mode is set at Disabled.

The options are: Y es (Default), No.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk

Set this field at Enabled to allow auto detection of DIMM clock speed.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Spread Spectrum

This feature is used to set the spread Spectrum to be center spread type or
down spread type. The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

CPU Host/SDRAM Clock

Select Default or select a timing combination for the CPU and the PCI bus.
When set to Default, BIOS uses the actual CPU and PCI bus clock values.
The options are: Default (Default); 90/90MHz; 83/55MHz; 95/63MHz; 66/
100MHz; 105/105MHz; 112/74MHz; 124/82MHz; 133/88MHz; 66/66MHz;
75/75MHz; 83/83MHz; 95/95MHz; 100/100MHz; 112/112MHz; 124/124MHz;
133/133MHz.

CPU Clock Ratio Setting

When set at Manual, it allows users to select the ratios of internal CPU
frequency to the bus frequency manually in the feature appears below.
The options are: Default (Default), Manual.

Processor Core Frequency

This feature lists all the options of the ratio.
The options are: x 1.5, x 2.0, x 3.0, x 4.0, x 5.0, x 2.5, x 3.5, x 4.5, x 5.5 (Default),

x 6.0, x 7.0, x 6.5, x 7.5, x 8.0.

Current CPU T emperature

This feature will report the CPU internal temperature.

Current CPUFAN1 Speed

These fields display the current speed of the CPU fan, if your computer
contains a monitoring system.

Cur. Chassis F AN Spd

These fields display the current speed of he chassis fan, if your computer
contains a monitoring system.

+12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore

These fields display the power supply voltages.

3 - 8

BIOS Setup

Power Management Setup

Power Management

This item allows you to adjust the power management features. Select

Disable for disabling global power management features. Select User De-
fine for configuring your own power management features. Min Saving

initiates all predefined timers in their minimum values. Min Saving, on the
other hand, initiates maximum values.
The options are: User Define (Default), Min Saving, Max Saving, Disable.

Video Off Option

It provides the selections of the video display power saving mode. The
option Suspend->Off allows the video display to go blank if the system
enters Suspend mode. The option Susp, Stdby->Off allows the video
display to go blank if the system enters Standby and Suspend mode. The
option All Modes - >Off allows the video display to go blank if the system
enters Doze mode or Suspend mode. The option Always On allows the
video display to stay in Standby mode even when the system enters Doze
or Suspend mode.
The options are: Suspend-> Off (Default), Susp, Stdby -> Off, All Modes

-> Off, Always On.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Video Off Method

The option V/H SYNC+Blank allows the BIOS to blank off screen display
by turning off the V-Sync and H-Sync signals sent from add-on VGA card.
DPMS Supported allows the BIOS to blank off screen display by your
add-on VGA card which supports DPMS (Display Power Management
Signaling function). Blank Screen allows the BIOS to blank off screen
display by turning off the red-green-blue signals.
The options are: V/H SYNC+Blank, DPMS Supported (Default), Blank
Screen.

Doze Speed (div by)

When in Doze mode, this feature sets the CPU speed to be 2/8 of full
speed. The options are: 1/8, 2/8 (Default), 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8.

Stdby Speed (div by)

When in Standby mode, this feature sets the CPU speed to be 1/8 of full
speed. The options are: 1/8 (Default), 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8.

MODEM Use IRQ

The feature allows users to select the IRQ# of the system that is the same
IRQ# as the modem use.
The settings are: Auto, 3 (Default), 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11.

HDD Off After

The option lets the BIOS turn the HDD motor off when system is in Sus­pend mode. Selecting 1 Min..15 Min allows you define the HDD idle time
before the HDD enters the Power Saving Mode.
The options 1 Min..15 Min will not work concurrently . When HDD is in the
Power Saving Mode, any access to the HDD will wake the HDD up.
The options are: Disable (Default), 1 Min..15 Min.

Doze Mode

When disabled, the system will not enter Doze mode. The specified time
option defines the idle time the system takes before it enters Doze mode.
The options are: Disable (Default), 10 Sec, 1, 10, 30 Min, 1, 2, 4 Hour.

Standby Mode

When disabled, the system will not enter the Standby mode. The specified
time option defines the idle time before enters Standby mode. The options
are: Disable (Default), 10 Sec, 1, 10, 30 Min, 1, 2, 4 Hour.

3 - 10

BIOS Setup

Suspend Mode

When disabled, the system will not enter Suspend mode. The specified
time option defines the idle time the system takes before it enters Suspend
mode. The options are: Disable (Default), 10 Sec, 1, 10, 30 Min, 1, 2, 4 Hour.

HDD Ports Activity

When the HDD access occurs, it will make the system resume from the low
power mode if set at Enabled.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

COM Ports Activity

When the COM port access occurs, it will make the system resume from
the low power mode if set at Enabled.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

LPT Ports Activity

When the LPT port access occurs, it will make the system resume from the
low power mode if set at Enabled.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

VGA Activity

When the VGA access occurs, it will make the system resume from the low
power mode if set at Enabled.
The options are: Enabled, Disabled (Default).

IRQ[3-7,9-15], NMI

Enable this feature will keep the system not in the Suspend mode when
IRQ3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, NMI.
The options are: Disabled (Default) or Enabled.

IRQ 8 Break Suspend

Enable this feature will make IRQ8 to resume the system from Suspend
mode. The settings are: Disabled (Default) or Enabled.

Power Button Over Ride

The selection Delay 4 Sec. will allow the system shut down after 4 seconds
after the power button is pressed. The selection Instant-Off will allow the
system shut down immediately once the power button is pressed.
The settings are Delay 4 Sec. (Default) or Instant-Off.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Wake On Ring

An input signal on the serial Ring Indicator (RI) line (in other words, an
incoming call on the modem) awakens the system from a soft off state.
The settings are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Wake On Lan

When set at Enabled, an input signal comes from the other client/server on
the LAN awakes the system from a soft off state if connected over LAN.
The settings are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Wake On PCI PME

When set at Enabled, a Power Management Event (PME) come from PCI
device will make the system from soft-off state.
The settings are: Disabled (Default), Enabled.

Power Up by Alarm

Enabling it will make the system power on when real time clock (RTC) alarm
happen power on. The settings are: Disabled (Default), Enabled.

Month Alarm, Day of Month Alarm, Week Alarm (SUN, ..., SA T), Time
(hh:mm:ss)

These features allow you to set the time of the alarm starts when Power Up
by Alarm is set to be Enabled.

3 - 12

BIOS Setup

PNP/PCI Configuration

Slot 1/2/3 Use IRQ No.

Some PCI devices would need to use an IRQ on the PCI bus. Selecting
Auto allows the PCI controller to automatically allocate an IRQ.
The options are: Auto (default); 3 to 5; 7; 9 to 12; 14; 15.

Resources Controlled By

If set at Auto, the BIOS arranges all system resources. If there exists con­flict, select Manual. The options are: Auto (Default), Manual.
The manual options of IRQ- / DMA- assigned to are: Legacy ISA, PCI/ISA
PnP .

Reset Configuration Data

When enabled, allows the system to clear the last BIOS configuration data
and reset with the default data.
The options are: Enabled, Disabled (Default).

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Load BIOS Defaults

BIOS defaults contain the most appropriate values of the system parameters
that allow minimum system performance. The OEM manufacturer may change
the defaults through MODBIN before the binary image burns into the ROM.

Load Setup Defaults

Selecting this field loads the factory defaults for BIOS and Chipset Features
which the system automatically detects.

3 - 14

BIOS Setup

Integrated Peripherals

Internal PCI/IDE

This feature allows you to enable or disable onchip IDE channels.
The options are: Both (Default), Primary , Secondary, Disabled.

IDE Primary Master PIO

Allows an automatic or a manual configuration of the PCI primary IDE hard
disk (master) mode. The options are: Auto (Default), Mode 0, Mode 1,
Mode 2, Mode 3, Mode 4.

IDE Primary Slave PIO

Allows an automatic or a manual configuration of the PCI primary IDE hard
disk (slave) mode. The options are: Auto (Default), Mode 0, Mode 1, Mode
2, Mode 3, Mode 4.

IDE Secondary Master PIO

Allows an automatic or a manual configuration of the PCI secondary IDE
hard disk (master) mode. The options are: Auto (Default), Mode 0, Mode 1,
Mode 2, Mode 3, Mode 4.

IDE Secondary Slave PIO

Allows an automatic or a manual configuration of the PCI secondary IDE
hard disk (slave) mode. The options are: Auto (Default), Mode 0, Mode 1,
Mode 2, Mode 3, Mode 4.

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Primary Master UltraDMA

Allows you to select the first PCI IDE channel of the first master hard disk
mode or to detect it by the BIOS if the hard disk supports UDMA (Ultra
DMA, faster than DMA). The options are: Auto (Default), Disabled.

Primary Slave UltraDMA

Allows you to select the first PCI IDE channel of the first slave hard disk
mode or to detect it by the BIOS if the hard disk supports UDMA (Ultra
DMA, faster than DMA). The options are: Auto (Default), Disabled.

Secondary Master UltraDMA

Allows you to select the second PCI IDE channel of the secondary master
hard disk mode or to detect it by the BIOS if the hard disk supports UDMA
(Ultra DMA, faster than DMA). The options are: Auto (Default), Disabled.

Secondary Slave UltraDMA

Allows you to select the second PCI IDE channel of the secondary slave
hard disk mode or to detect it by the BIOS if the hard disk supports UDMA
(Ultra DMA, faster than DMA). The options are: Auto (Default), Disabled.

POWER ON Function

Allows you to set the method for powering-on the system. The default
option of BUTTON-ONLY allows system power-on using the standard
system case mounted ON/OFF switch. The option Password allows you
to set up to 5 alphanumeric characters to power-on the system. The option
Hot KEY allows you to set which of the 12 keyboard function keys (<F1>
to <F12>) in combination with the <Ctrl> key to power-on the system.
The option Keyboard 98 allows you to power on the system with the
Power ON key. The option Mouse Left/Right allows you to use the PS/2
mouse to power-on the system by double-clicking on the mouse button.
The options are: BUTTON ONLY (Default); Password; Hot KEY, Key­board 98, Mouse Left, Mouse Right.

3 - 16

BIOS Setup

KB Power ON Password

Allows you to set up to 5 alphanumeric characters use in powering-on the
system. To set password, set the above item POWER ON Function to
Password, then using the keyboard’ s down arrow key move cursor to this
item KB Power ON Password and press the <Enter> key . A box will appear
asking you to input the password desired to power-on the system.

Hot Key Power ON

When set POWER ON Function at Hot Key, this feature will appears on
the monitor. It allows you to select a hot key to power on your computer.
The options are: Ctrl-F1 (Default), Ctrl-F2, Ctrl-F3, Ctrl-F4, Ctrl-F5, Ctrl-F6,
Ctrl-F7, Ctrl-F8, Ctrl-F9, Ctrl-F10, Ctrl-F2, Ctrl-F11, Ctrl-F12.

KBC input clock

This feature allows you to select different KBC input clocks which your
keyboard actually supported. Please read your keyboard manual also for
more information. The options are: 8 (Default), 12, 16 MHz.

Onboard FDC Controller

When enabled, the floppy diskette drive (FDD) controller is activated.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

Onboard Serial Port 1

If the serial port 1 uses the onboard I/O controller, you can modify your
serial port parameters. If an I/O card needs to be installed, COM3 and
COM4 may be needed. The options are: 3F8/IRQ4 (Default), 3E8/IRQ4,
2F8/IRQ3, 2E8/IRQ3, Auto, Disabled.

Onboard Serial Port 2

If the serial port 2 uses the onboard I/O controller, you can modify your
serial port parameters. If an I/O card needs to be installed, COM3 and
COM4 may be needed. The options are: 2F8/IRQ3 (Default), 3E8/IRQ4,
2E8/IRQ3, 3F8/IRQ4, Auto, Disabled.

UR2 Mode

This feature allows you to select IR modes if the serial port 2 is used as an
IR port. Stay with the default setting, Standard, if you use COM2 as the
seial port, instead of as an IR port.
The options are: Sharp IR, IrDA SIR, Standard (Default).

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Onboard Parallel Port

Allows you to select from a given set of parameters if the parallel port uses
the onboard I/O controller.
The options are: 378/IRQ7 (Default), 278/IRQ5, 3BC/IRQ7, Disabled.

Parallel Port Mode

Allows you connect with an advanced printer.
The options are: SPP (Default), ECP , ECP+EPP , EPP1.7, EPP1.9.

ECP Mode Use DMA

This feature allows you to select Direct Memory Access (DMA) channel if
the ECP mode selected.The options are: 3 (Default), 1.

PS/2 mouse function

This feature allows you to release IRQ12 for using the PS/2 mouse.
The options are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

USB Controller

Disable this option if you are not using the onboard USB feature.
The options are: Disabled, Enabled (Default).

USB Keyboard Support

Disable this option if you are not using the onboard USB feature.
The options are: Disabled (Default), Enabled.

Init Display First

When you install an AGP VGA card and/or a PCI VGA card on the board,
this feature allows you to select the first initiation of the monitor display
from which card. The options are: PCI Slot (Default), AGP .

VGA Shared Memory Size

This feature is used to decide the size of the onchip VGA shared memory
from the system memory.
The options are: 2 MB, 4 MB (Default), 8 MB.

Onboard Audio

When you install an audio addon card, please set at Disabled. The options
are: Enabled (Default), Disabled.

3 - 18

BIOS Setup

Supervisor/User Password

To enable the Supervisor/User passwords, select the item from the Standard
CMOS Setup. Y ou will be prompted to create your own password. Type your
password up to eight characters and press Enter. You will be asked to confirm
the password. Type the password again and press Enter. To disable password,
press Enter twice when you are prompted to enter a password. A message
appears, confirming the password is disabled.

Under the BIOS Feature Setup, if Setup is selected under the Security Option
field and the Supervisor/User Password is enabled, you will be prompted
password every time you try to enter the CMOS Setup Utility. If System is
selected and the Supervisor/User Password is enabled, you will be requested
to enter the Password every time when you reboot the system or enter the
CMOS Setup utility.

IDE HDD Auto Detection

The IDE Hard Disk Drive Auto Detection feature automatically configures
your new hard disk. Use it for a quick configuration of new hard drives. This
feature allows you to set the parameters of up to four IDE HDDs. The option
with (Y) are recommended by the system BIOS. Y ou may also keys in your own
parameters instead of setting by the system BIOS. After all settings, press Esc
key to return the main menu. For confirmation, enter the Standard CMOS
Setup feature.

Save and Exit Setup

After you have made changes under Setup, press Esc to return to the main
menu. Move cursor to Save and Exit Setup or press F10 and then press Y to
change the CMOS Setup. If you did not change anything, press Esc again or
move cursor to Exit Without Saving and press Y to retain the Setup settings.
The following message will appear at the center of the screen to allow you to
save data to CMOS and exit the setup utility:

SAVE to CMOS and EXIT (Y/N)?

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Exit without Saving

If you select this feature, the following message will appear at the center of the
screen to allow you to exit the setup utility without saving CMOS modifica­tions:

Quit Without Saving (Y/N)?

3 - 20

Chapter 4

FAQs

General FAQs

How do I know my BIOS version?

Spot it on the boot screen, click [Pause/Break] button to write it down.

How to install a PS/2 mouse?

Enable PS/2 in Advanced Setup (AMI BIOS).There is a label on the board
which points to pin number one when connecting the PS/2 mouse adapter
on the board. The Pin number two is not connected because the female
connector (on PS/2 Mouse adapter) doesn't have wire on number two slot.
The PS/2 mouse port is a 5 pins pin header which is located beside key­board socket.

How do I know which PCB Revision my motherboard is?

Some motherboards have more than one PCB Revision. This is written in
the top left corner of the motherboard, next to the ISA slots. In some cases
different PCB revisions may not all support the same processors, or may
require different BIOSes. This is indicated where applicable.

FAQ

Can I use ECC memory?

Yes, provided your chipset supports it. Check your manual (Overview
section) or consult the chipset manufacturer's Web site (Intel or VIA).

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

My FIC Pentium-based motherboard PCI 2.1-compliant?

Y es. All FIC Pentium-based motherboards are PCI 2.1-compliant.

How do I know which FLASH chip I have?

Partially remove the sticker from the chip and see the name of the manufac­turer. Usually the jumper setting is set correctly in the factory.

What is the purpose of KB_LOCK pins located on the front panel con­nector?

T o lock the keyboard access to the system (if short). This feature works in
conjunction with keylock found on some computer cases - when it is locked,
it shots the two KB_LOCK pins and prevents keyboard access to the
system.

What the DMI utility is used for?

DMI Configuration Utility can be used to maintain the Management infor­mation Format database (MIFD). DMI is also able to auto-detect and record
information pertinent to a computers system such as the CPU type, CPU
speed and internal/external frequencies and memory size. The onboard
BIOS detects as much system information as possible and stores it in a
4KB Block in the motherboards Flash EPROM and allows the DMI to
retrieve data from this database. The DMI utility also allows the system
integrator or end user to add additional information into the MIFD such as
serial numbers, housing configuration and vendor information. Those in­formation cannot be detected by the motherboards BIOS and has to manu­ally entered through the DMI Configuration utility and updated into the
MIFD.

Is my FIC Pentium-based motherboard PCI 2.1-compliant?

Y es. All FIC Pentium-based motherboards are PCI 2.1-compliant.

4 - 2

Where can I get the drivers for PCI set motherboards?

FIC motherboards are based on Intel® and VIA® chipsets, who also make
the drivers. T o download drivers you need, visit Drivers and Utilities Page.
There you will see links to F AQs and other W eb sites that explain in detail
how to install the drivers.

How can I get the USB drivers?

Download Microsoft USB Supplement and a set of generic USB Drivers
from Drivers and Utilities Page. You must have Windows 950B (Service
Release II, "Windows97") to install these.These drivers resolve the yellow
exclamation mark problem (Unknown Devices, USB) in Device Manager.

How do I use DMI Utility?

Very carefully, because otherwise your system can become totally unus­able after altering and saving some configuration on DMI. DMI Utility
should not be run from Windows or DOS version higher than v6.22.

If you accidentally alter some settings using DMI Utility under Windows95
(or MS-DOS that comes with it), flash the system BIOS immediately, do not
reboot. In some cases, using Win95 as operating system (for applying
DMI Utility) shows insufficient error message while trying to load the
Flash utility, that's why we recommend to use DOS 6.22. In that case, the
other option is to use the Boot Block feature on the BIOS. Use an ISA VGA
card for the system to allow them to boot at least on drive "A" (using DOS

6.22 of course) so you will be able to flash the BIOS at least. If you use DMI

from Windows95 DOS prompt or Restart in MS-DOS mode, you will not be
able to restart the PC.

FAQ

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CE31-A Mainboard Manual

Why not update BIOS?

In 90% of cases, a BIOS update is released to address a problem with a
particular piece of hardware or software.Therefore, the new BIOS gives the
system some new (different) parameters to work with. Newer BIOS'es con­tain all fixes from previous versions. If the fix list of a new BIOS does NOT
address any of problems that you may have, it is unreasonable to update
BIOS only for sake of it, because you may be using a combination of
hardware/software that is incompatible and yet-untested with the BIOS
version you're upgrading to.

It is recommended to refrain from updating BIOS without a good reason. If
you don't see your problem listed in the fix list, do not update BIOS - better
go to a shareware Web site (winfiles.com, shareware.com, tucows.com)
and update your software or do something les dangerous.

And finally , some 10% of BIOS updates contain new CPU ID strings and
code enhancements (ACPI, etc.). For those an update is recommended
only when it is necessary (i.e. the processor ID does not display properly,
the system must have ACPI, etc.).

A typical situation occurs when a user wants to update BIOS because the
new version supports a CPU he/she "plans" to buy sometime in the future.
With some bad luck, the user ends up with a wrong BIOS (wrong PCB, or
chipset, or I/O or all of them) and a fried BIOS.

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BIOS FAQs

How do I flash a new BIOS?

The mainboard package provides BIOS flash software tool in the software
utility CD-ROM. This software feature is provided for upgrading BIOS
use. Play the CD-ROM, click on Browse CD, select Flash, then choose the
BIOS vendor that provided the BIOS this board came with. Please print the
relating README file and read it first. For more information about, please
visit FIC Online at www .fic.com.tw.

Downloading BIOS File

Format a bootable system diskette, visit the FIC website at www .fic.com.tw.
Click BIOS/Drivers Update item under BIOS group, then select the BIOS
file you need. Download it to your bootable diskette.

Upgrading BIOS File

Place the bootable diskette containing the BIOS file in the diskette drive
(Assume the diskette drive is A.), and reboot the system by A drive. At the
A: > prompt, execute the BIOS upgrading procedure by entering the Flash
BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.

Command: {flash tool file}{space}{downloaded BIOS file} <Enter>
The other parameters are listed in the relating README file, please read it
if need.

FAQ

After press Enter key , type Y to the message Press “Y” to Continue, “N”
to Reboot. Press Enter key. When the message Press Any Key to Reboot ,

the procedure is completed. Press any key to reboot.

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What is "Hardware-based intelligent virus protection"?

This is a new BIOS feature based on anti-virus (AV) softwere that protects
the system from boot-time viruses. It is intellgent in the sense that it uses
rules modeled after virii's behavior. For example, it can tell the dif ference
between normal writing to HDD boot sector and virus-attempted writing.
It unloads after boot-up so it does not provide total protection and is not
intended to serve as replacement for regular anti-virus software.

This utility includes only Scan funcition and not Virus Delete function. It is
not necessary to "update" virus definition files because there are none.

When I try to flash BIOS I get an error message saying about a wrong
part number. Why?

Flash EPROM ("BIOS") chips used on FIC motherboards vary (Intel, AMD,
Fujitsu, etc.). As far as this problem is concerned, there are two possible
reasons:

a) you may have used a wrong BIOS or flash utility. Verify that both the
BIOS file and the flash utility are the right versions.

b) the flash utility you used did not recognize the type of flash EPROM
installed on your motherboard. Verify that you have the right files and if
you're sure in that, ignore the warning.

I updated my BIOS and am not very much pleased with the result (slower
performance, new bugs, etc.). What now?

Restore the old BIOS or wait until a newer BIOS is available. Y ou should
use the flash utility supplied with the old BIOS and NOT the flash utility
you got with the new BIOS. If you do not know what flash utility it was,
consult the Web support pages or contact technical support.

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FAQ

Windows 98 FAQs

What's the proper install prcedure for VIA-based motherboards?

There are four steps:

1) Go to BIOS Setup and enable USB

2) Install Win98 on your system

3) Download and install the VIA IrQ routing miniport driver from our Driv-

ers and Utilities page

4) Download and install the VIA AGP driver from the same page (for MVP3

& VP3 chipsets only).
Windows98 comes with PCI Bridge patch included so you don't need to
install it. In case you have more PCI devices always put the first PCI device
on PCI Slot 2 and remember to enable USB in BIOS.

Why does my VIA chipset-based motherboard crash under Windows98?

This problem is caused by incorrect assignment of IRQ by Microsoft(r)
Windows98. MiniPort driver released by VIA reassigns these IRQs. The
driver has not been relased by FIC yet but it can be found on the FIC FTP
server. Drivers approved by FIC can be downloaded from Drivers and
Utilities page.

I need Windows98 drivers for my (VIA chipset-based) FIC motherboard!

Windows98 contains all drivers necessary. Therefore you need not use
any of the drivers supplied on the CD-PRO/floppy .
For VIA chipset based motherboards, there is a problem with the way
Windows98 assigns IRQs to devices - some may remain "invisible". This
is the IRQ rooting problem desribed above (download the driver).
Another driver you might wish to update (not recommended unless you
are experiencing problems) is VIA Bus Master IDE driver. It is shipped with
MS Windows98 but newer versions are available for download.
Another thing you might wish to update is your VxD driver, also available
on Drivers and Utilities page.

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I flashed BIOS and now Windows won't boot.. I get a VxD error mes­sage.

This happens sometimes and is a software problem. Y ou will have to rein­stall Windows based on new BIOS. Windows must have found new set­tings (registers) different from the old BIOS, so Vxd error message
will pop up if these are not found.

My Sound Blaster Live does not work under DOS. Why?

Creative Labs specifies that it does not work under DOS but it does work
in DOS mode under Windows

Windows 95 FAQs

What is the proper install order of graphics-related VIA drivers?

1)Install Windows, 2) If your motherboard has an AGP port, load Vxd

driver v . 2.9. 4) Load display card driver.

Why does my VIA chipset-based system crash when the system at­tempts to access UDMA HDD?

This problem appears under Windows 95 OSR2 and OSR 2.1. Microsoft
made two updated versions of drivers that cause the problem. Please down­load them at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q171/3/53.asp

How can I know if a software (example: WindowsNT) is compatible with
FIC motherboards?

Each FIC motherboard is tested with a variety of operating systems and
applications. Compatibility reports are published every time new model or
updated model of a motherboard is released.Compatibility reports can be
downloaded from individual motherboard support pages or from the FIC
FTP Server (opens in a new window).

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FAQ

Windows95 shows an exclamation mark next to USB device on my
motherboard. Is there any driver that canhelp me?

The only reason why you can see that Exclamation mark on USB serial Bus
& PCI Bridge is that Windows95 didn't support it. You will need to install
its drivers to fix it.

Intel CPU FAQs

What's the difference between Celeron(tm) CPU packages SEPP and
PPGA?

Celeron SEPP is a Slot-1 version of the processor. Celeron PPGA is the
type that fits on Socket 370. For more information, visit http://www.intel.com.

How do I know what Intel CPU I've got?

CPU ID is a string by which a CPU identifies itself to BIOS. Since processor
marking can be changed andsome processors can run even at higher fre­quencies than they're manufactured for, remarked processors can be found
on the market. Since they usually do run at the remarked frequency, in that
case it is hard to find out what CPU you actually have. T o learn what Intel
CPU you really have, download Intel's utility CPUID.EXE and run it in real
mode (boot from a floppy and run it under DOS).

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