Freetech A7F121T, A7F121, A7F121M A7F121/A7F121T/P6F121 User Manual

P6F121 Mainboard Manual

Friday, March 02, 2001

Copyright Notice

©Copyright 2000
The information contained in this user’s manual and all accomp any-

ing documentation is copyrighted and all rights are reserv ed. This
publication may not, in whole or in part, be reproduced, transcribed,
stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language or com­puter language, or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the
prior written consent from the manufacturer, except for copies re­tained by the purchasers for their personal archival purposes.

The manufacturer reserves the right to revise this user’s manual and
all accompanying documentation and to make changes in the con­tent without obligation to notify any perso n or organization of the
revision or change.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE VENDOR BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE
THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, THE
VENDOR SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, OR DATA STORED OR USED WITH THE
PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING,
REPLACING, OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, OR DATA.

All trademarks mentioned in this document are acknowledged.
The specifications in this manual are subject to change without no-

tice.

Preface

Using This Manual

This manual is designed to help you build a reliable Personal Co m­puter based on the P6F121 platform.

Chapter 1—Quick Reference

This chapter is for advanced users who want to quickly assemble a
system. The mainboard layout along with jumper and switch settings,

and memory configuration are provided.

Chapter 2—Introduction

This chapter includes an introduction, a checklist of the items that
ship with this mainboard, and a summary of the principal features
and com ponents.

Chapter 3—Hardware Installation

This chapter explains how to prepare your mainboard for use and
how to make the various connections to other computer components

and peripheral items.

Chapter 4—BIOS Configuration

This chapter explains how to use the system setup utility that is
stored in the mainboard’s firmware.

Chapter 5—Driver and Utility

This chapter briefly describes the drivers and utility programs that
are packaged with the mainboard.

ii

Preface

Table of Contents

1. P6F121 QUICK REFERENCE 1

1.1. Mainboard Layout..........................................................1

1.2. I/O Ports ........................................................................2

1.3. Panel Connector............................................................2

1.4. Jumpers and Switch.......................................................3

1.5. PCI and AGP Frequency Settings..................................3

1.6. Connectors ....................................................................3

1.7. Memory Installation........................................................3

2. INTRODUCTION 4

2.1. Overview........................................................................4

2.2. Mainboard Specifications and Features.........................5

2.2.1. Hardware.............................................................................................5

2.2.2. Software ...............................................................................................6

2.2.3. Environment........................................................................................7

2.3. Mainboard Layout..........................................................8

2.4. Microprocessor............................................................10

2.5. CPU Packaging ...........................................................10

2.6. Chipset........................................................................10

3. HARDWARE INSTALLAT ION 12

3.1. Unpacking....................................................................12

3.2. Installation ...................................................................13

3.3. Safety Measures..........................................................13

3.4. Connector/Jumper Location.........................................14

3.5. Attaching Connectors...................................................15

3.5.1. Front Panel Connectors..................................................................15

3.5.2. Infrared (IR) Connectors................................................................16

3.5.3. CD-ROM Connectors......................................................................16

3.5.4. Wake on LAN/Modem Connectors................................................17

3.5.5. Floppy Drive Connector.................................................................17

3.5.6. IDE Connectors................................................................................18

3.5.7. Back Panel Connectors...................................................................18

3.6. Installing the CPU........................................................23

3.6.1. Before You Begin..............................................................................23

3.6.2. Installation Procedure .....................................................................23

3.6.3. Removing the Processor..................................................................24

3.6.4. Installing System Memory...............................................................25

3.6.5. Setting Jumpers and Switch ............................................................27

iii

Preface

3.6.6. Auto Power On .................................................................................28

4. BIOS CONFIGURATIO N 29

4.1. Entering Setup.............................................................30

4.2. Standard CMOS Setup................................................32

4.3. BIOS Features Setup...................................................36

4.4. Chipset Features Setup...............................................39

4.5. Integrated Peripherals..................................................43

4.6. Power Management.....................................................47

4.7. PnP/PCI Configuration.................................................52

4.8. PC Health Status Option..............................................54

4.9. Frequency/Voltage Control..........................................55

4.10. Load Fail-Safe Defaults Option.................................56

4.11. Load Optimized Defaults Option...............................57

4.12. Set Supervisor/User Password.................................57

4.13. Save & Exit Setup ....................................................58

4.14. Exit Without Saving..................................................58

5. DRIVER AND UTILIT Y 59

5.1. Flash Utility..................................................................59

5.2. VIA 4-in-1 Driver..........................................................59

5.3. System Environment Monitor.......................................60

5.3.1. Hardware Monitor System Setup...................................................60

5.3.2. Setting the Threshold.......................................................................61

5.4. ATA66 Controller Options............................................62

5.5. VIA AC 97 Audio Codec...............................................62

5.6. Online Services............................................................63

iv

1. P6F121 Quick Reference

This section is for users to get started using the mainboard straight away.

1.1. Mainboard Layout

PS/2

mouse/keyboard

ports

USB

ports

Parallel

and

serial

ports

Game
and
audio
ports

COM2

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

CN1 J1

CD 1

CD 2

FREE

LOCK

DIMM2

DIMM1

DIMM3

ON

1 2 3 4

SW3

FDD

IDE1

ID E2

PCI4 PC I3 PC I2 PCI1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

1. Socket-462 CPU socket (Socket -462)

2. ATX power connector (POWER)

3. DIMM module sockets (DIMM1~3)

4. CPU FSB Switch (SW3)

5. CPU fan connector (CPU FAN)

6. Floppy drive connector (FDC)

7. Accelerated Graphics Port slot (AGP)

8. IDE connector (IDE1)

9. IDE connector (IDE2)

IR

15

14

+

3V

17

10. Wake on Modem (WOM) connector

11. Wake on LAN (WOL) connector

BA T

12. Infrared (IR) connector

13. PCI expansion slots (PCI1~5)

14. RTC battery

15. Flash BIOS

16. Front panel connectors (PANEL1)

17. ISA expansion slot (ISA)

18. Secondary fan connector (SYSTEM FAN)

16

JP1

JP2

18

J7

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Parallel port (LPT1)

COM 1

Microphone

1.2. I/O Ports

PS/2

mouse

PS/2

keyboard

USB

ports

Game port

Line-out
Line-in

Serial port

VGA port

1.3. Panel Connector

The following illustration shows the front panel connector pin as­signments:

POWER
SWITCH

RESET
BUTTON

STANDBY

LED

HDD
LED

Ground

Power on/off

+5V

Reset Single

LED anode

LED cathode

LED anode

LED cathode

Pin 1

Ground

Keylock

LED anode

Non
LED cathode

+5V

Ground

Ground

Speaker-out

POWER LED
& KEYLOCK

SPEAKER

2 I/O Ports

P6F121 Quick Reference

1.4. Jumpers and Switch

1-2: Normal Mode JP1
2-3: Clear CMOS RAM

SW3
4 3 2 1 CPU PCI

OFF OFF OFF OFF 133 33
ON OFF OFF ON 115 38
OFF OFF ON OFF 100 33

1.5. PCI and AGP Frequency Settings

The PCI and AGP frequency settings are automatically set by the
system.

1.6. Connectors

WOL Wake On LAN Connector: This 3-pin header is used for

WOM Wake On Modem Connector: This 3-pin header is used

IR Infrared (IR) Connector: This 5-pin header is used to

remote wake up of the computer through a network card.

for remote wake up of the computer through a modem.

connect an infrared (IR) port for use of IR devices.

1.7. Memory Installation

168-Pin DIMM SDRAM Memory Configuration

Bank 0 (DIMM1) 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB
Bank 1 (DIMM2) 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB
Bank 2 (DIMM3) 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB
Total 8 MB to 1.5 GB

This concludes Chapter 1. Chapter 2 covers the mainboard’s specifi­cations and features.

Jumpers and Switch 3

2. Introduction

2.1. Overview

The P6F121 is a high quality, high performance, enhanced function
mainboard that supports 64-bit AMD Athlon DuronSocket 462

processors. This mainboard is designed around the latest and fastest
VIA KT133/KM133 chipset in a standard ATX form factor.

The mainboard delivers workstation-level performance with an inte­grated AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port), bus mastering EIDE
(Enhanced IDE) controller, and concurrent PCI bus. The mainboard
accommodates SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) memory and sup­ports ATA-33/66/100.

The mainboard achieves the highest reliability by supporting ECC
(Error Checking and Correction) memory protection, enabling the
mainboard to achieve superior data integrity and fault -tolerance in re-

spect to memory errors while running applications.
In addition to superior hardware capabilities, features like bus ma s-

tering EIDE driver, Plug and Play, Soft -off, APM (Advanced Power
Management), ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface),
Keyboard Turn On, External Modem Ring On, Wake On LAN
(WOL), Watchdog timer wake up, Fan Off in sleeping state and
BIOS upgradability are provided with this platform.

Introduction

2.2. Mainboard Specifications and Features

2.2.1. Hardware

CPU AMD Athlon/Duron Socket 462 processors
VRM Onboard Voltage Regulator Module

Provides 1.3V to 3.5V operating voltage

Coprocessor CPU has built-in floating point unit
Speed System bus clock 100 MHz

AGP clock 66 MHz
AGP 1x/2x/4x
PCI bus clock 33 MHz
ISA bus clock 8.33~9.35 MHz

Chipset KT133/KM133:

VT8363/VT8365 system controller
VT82C686A PCI to ISA bridge

DRAM Three 168-pin DIMM sockets

Supports 8 MB to 1.5 GB memory
Supports SDRAM, and VCM SDRAM memory types

EIDE
Controller

Enhanced
I/O

I/O Options

Mouse and
Keyboard

Supports four IDE devices in two channels
Supports PIO mode 0 through mode 4 drives
Supports Bus Mastering DMA mode 2 drives
Supports Bus Mastering Ultra DMA-33/66 drives
Supports ATA -66 for South Bridge 686A
Supports ATA -100 for South Bridge 686B
Supports Iomega ZIP or LS-120 removable drives

One floppy disk controller
One Standard/EPP/ECP parallel port connector
One 16550 compatible serial port connectors
One VGA port
Two USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports
One IrDA compatible infrared (IR) connector
One connector for front panel USB ports 2

PS/2 mouse connector
PS/2 keyboard connector

Mainboard Specifications and Features 5

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Expansion
Slots

Power
Management

System
Management

Voltage
Regulator

Form Factor ATX form factor 22.5 cm x 30.5 cm (8.8-inch x 12.0-inch)

One AGP-4X (V2.0) slot
Five 32-bit PCI slots
One 8/16-bit ISA slot
Compliant with EPA, APM 1.2 and ACPI
ATX soft-off power control
Power – on by external modem ring
Power – on by alarm
Power – on by Wake On LAN (WOL)

CPU temperature warning and system temperature
detection
CPU and system voltage detection
CPU and secondary fan RPM detection

Switching regulator
CPU voltage auto-detection

2.2.2. Software

BIOS AWARD AGP/PCI BIOS

2M-bit Flash BIOS with ESCD (Extended System
Configuration Data) block

Supports APM, ACPI, Plug and Play, Multi-Boot, DMI
and EIDE devices

Supports high-capacity LS-120 and ZIP removable
media drive

Driver and
Utility

Operating
System

IDE Bus mastering Ultra DMA driver
Flash utility for BIOS upgrade
System Environment Monitoring Utility
ESS 1989 audio drivers

Operates with MS_DOS, Windows 3.x/95/98/2000/NT,
OS/2, Novell Netware/UnixWare 1.1, and SCO Unix 4.2

6 Mainboard Specifications and Features

Introduction

2.2.3. Environment

Ambient Temperature 0ºC to 50ºC (operating)
Relative Humidity 0 to 85% (operating)
Vibration 0 to 500 Hz
DC Voltage 4.9V to 5.2V
DC Voltage 1.3V to 3.50V
DC Voltage -5V, +12V, -12V, +5VSB 5% tolerance

Mainboard Specifications and Features 7

Mainboard User’s Man ual

2.3. Mainboard Layout

1 2 3 4

20
19

5

18

17

16

15

1314

12

Note: Because of optional items and design changes, your
mainboard may not be identical to the one shown in the illus-

tration.

6

8

9

10

11

8 Mainboard Layout

Introduction

Key to Mainboard Components

No. Name Function

1 POWER ATX power connector
2 Soket462 CPU socket
3 VIA VT8363/VT8365 system controller
4 DIMM1~3 Memory module slots
5 SW3 CPU FSB switch
6 FDC Floppy drive connector
7 IDE1 IDE 1 connector (white)
8 IDE2 IDE 2 connector (black)

VIA VT82C686A ATA -66 PCI to ISA bridge 9

VIA VT82C686B ATA -100 PCI to ISA bridge
10 USB2 Connector for USB port 2
11 Front Panel Connector for front panel switches and indi-

12 BAT RTC battery
13 U19 Flash BIOS
14 PCI1~5 32-bit PCI expansion slots
15 ISA ISA expansion slot
16 AGP Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot
17 Game port (top); Audio port (bottom)
18 Parallel port (top); Serial and VGA ports

19 Two USB ports
20 PS/2 mouse (top); PS/2 keyboard (bottom)

cators

(bottom)

Mainboard Layout 9

Mainboard User’s Man ual

2.4. Microprocessor

The mainboard is designed to operate with the following processors:

Processor Type Speed FSB

AMD Athlon/Duron

600 MHz ∼1.4 GHz

An onboard switching voltage regulator provides the required 1.3 to

3.5 volts for the processor. The processor sends five VID (Voltage
Identification) signals to the switching voltage regulator. The switch­ing regulator generates the correct voltage for the processor.

2.5. CPU Packaging

Socket-462 CPUs are packaged in a PGA configuration.

2.6. Chipset

The P6F121 supports the VIA KT133/KM133 chipset. The chipset
comes in pairs—the North Bridge chip and the South Bridge chip.

200 MHz

North Bridge

Southbridge

• CPU interface controller (200 MHz FSB)

• AGP interface controller (AGP 4x)

• Integrated DRAM controller

(Synchronous 100/133 MHz SDRAM)

• Fully synchronous PCI 2.2 bus interface

• Data buffering:
♦ CPU-to-AGP
♦ CPU-to-DRAM
♦ CPU-to-PCI
♦ AGP-to-DRAM
♦ AGP-to-PCI
♦ PCI-to-AGP
♦ PCI-to-DRAM

• Interface between the PCI and ISA buses

• Power Management Logic

• USB controller

• EIDE controller 686A (ATA -33/66)

10 Microprocessor

Introduction

• EIDE controller 686B (ATA -33/66/100)

• Seven DMA channels

• One timer/counter

• Two 8-channel interrupt controllers

• NMI logic and SMI interrupt logic

• PCI/ ISA bus arbitrator

• SMBus interface

• Power management Logic

• Realtime clock (RTC)

• ACPI controller

This concludes Chapter 2. Chapter 3 covers hardware installation.

Chipset 11

3. Hardware Installation

This chapter explains how to use your mainboard to build a powerful
computer system. At a minimum, you will need the following com­ponents in order to build a fully functioning system.

• Computer case with ATX power supply

• Socket-462 Processor

• One SDRAM memory module

• One floppy disk drive

• One UDMA-33/66 IDE har d disk drive

• One CD-ROM drive

• One display monitor

• One PS/2 mouse

• One PS/2 keyboard

• One set of loudspeakers

Of course, you can use the system I/O ports and expansion slots to
add many more features and components to your system than the

items listed above.

3.1. Unpacking

The P6F121 mainboard package contains the following items:

q One mainboard
q One IDE 40-pin ribbon cable
q One floppy 34-pin ribbon cable
q Driver and utility CD
q User's manual

After removing the mainboard from its anti-static bag, place it on a
grounded or anti-static surface (component side up). Inspect the

mainboard and contact your vendor immediately if it is damaged.

Hardware Installation

3.2. Installation

The P6F121 is designed to fit into a standard ATX form factor chas­sis. The pattern of the mounting holes and the position of the back
panel connectors meet the ATX system board specification. The
chassis comes with various mounting fasteners, which are made of
metal or plastic. It is highly recommended to use as many metal fa s­teners as possible to mount the mainboard in the chassis for better
grounding.

To install the mainboard you need to install the CPU and DIMM
memory modules, attach the connectors, and set the correct CPU

speed in the CMOS setup.

3.3. Safety Measures

Computer components and electronic circuit boards can be damaged
by discharges of static electricity. Working on computers that are still
connected to a power supply can be extremely dangerous. Follow the

simple guidelines below to avoid damaging your computer:

• Always disconnect the mainboard from the ATX power

supply, and disconnect the computer from the power outlet
whenever you are working inside the computer case.

• If possible, wear a grounded wrist strap when you are in-

stalling the mainboard or working inside the computer case.
Alternatively, discharge any stati c electricity by touching
the bare metal chassis of the computer case, or the bare
metal body of any other grounded appliance.

• Hold electronic circuit boards by the edges only. Do not

touch the components on the board unless it is necessary to
do so. Do not flex or stress the circuit board.

• Leave each component inside the static-proof packaging

that it ships with until you are ready to use the component
for the installation.

Installation 13

Mainboard User’s Man ual

3.4. Connector/Jumper Location

COM2

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

J1

CN1

CD1

CD2

AGP

FREE

LOCK

DIMM3

DIMM2

DIMM1

1 2 3 4

ON

SW3

FDD

IDE1

IDE2

IR

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PCI1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

JP1

+

3V

BAT

JP2

J7

14 Connector/Jumper Location

Hardware Installation

Pin 1

Front Panel Connectors

3.5. Attaching Connectors

3.5.1. Front Panel Connectors

There are six connectors on the mainboard for speaker, switches, and
indicator lights on the system’s front panel.

D IMM3

D IMM2

D IMM1

ON

1 234

S W3

C OM2

J 2

P W

J3

J4J5J6

J1

C N 1

C D1

CD 2

A GP

IR

P CI4 P C I3 PC I2 PC I1

WOLWOM

PC I5

IS A

FREE

LOCK

B AT

POWER
SWITCH

FD D

RESET
BUTTON

ID E 1

ID E 2

STANDBY
BUTTON

JP 2

JP1

+

3V

J7

HDD
LED

Power on/off

+5V

Reset Single

Ground

Standby

LED anode

LED cathode

GroundGround

Keylock

LED anode

Non
LED cathode

+5V

Ground

Ground

Speaker-out

POWER LED
& KEYLOCK

SPEAKER

Attaching Connectors 15

Speaker

Power

LED &

Keylock

HDD LED

STB LED

Reset

PW SW

This 4-pin connector connects to the case-mounted speaker.
This 5-pin connector connects to the case-mounted key-

lock switch and the power LED. The keylock switch is
used to lock the keyboard for security purposes.

This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted HDD
LED to indicate hard disk activity.

This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted STB
LED to indicate a standby status. The LED remains lit
even when the system is off to indicate that AC power is
available. When the system enters standby mode, the
LED starts blinking.

This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted reset
switch and is used to reboot the system.

This 2-pin connector connects to the case -mounted Power but ton.

Mainboard User’s Man ual

3.5.2. Infrared (IR) Connectors

This 5-pin connector connects to an optional wireless transmitting
and receiving infrared module via a cable and a bracket. Configure
BIOS to enable the IrDA port if you attach an infrared module to this
connector. Refer to Integrated Peripherals in Chapter 4 for details.

DIMM3

DIMM 2

DIMM 1

ON

1 23 4

COM2

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

CN1 J1

CD1

CD2

AGP

IR

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PC I1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

FREE

LOCK

SW3

Infrared Connector

IR

FDD

IDE1

IDE2

JP1

JP2

+

3V

BAT

J7

Transmitter

IR

Receiver

+5V

Pin 1

3.5.3. CD-ROM Connectors

IR

Ground

IRM_IRR

These connectors enable you to connect a CD-ROM to the main­board and receive stereo audio input.

DIM M3

DIMM2

DIMM1

ON

12 34

C OM2

FREE
LOCK

SW3

CD-ROM Connectors

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

C N1 J1

CD1

CD2

AGP

IR

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PCI1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

FDD

Left audio channel

Right audio channel

IDE1

IDE2

JP1

JP2

3V

+

J7

BAT

Ground

Pin 1

CD1 CD2

Left audio channel
Ground

GroundGround
Right audio channel

16 Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

Wake On Modem Connector

3.5.4. Wake on LAN/Modem Connectors

These 3-pin headers are used for remote wake up of the computer
through a network or modem signal.

D IMM3

D IMM2

D IMM1

ON

1 234

C OM2

P W

J3J2J4J5J6

C N1 J1

C D1

C D2

PC I4 P CI3 P CI2 P CI1

WOLWOM

P CI5

IS A

FREE
LOCK

AGP

IR

Note: You must enable the Wake On LAN/Wake On Modem
features in the BIOS setup if you use this feature. Refer to the

Power Management section in Chapter 4 for details.

SW3

Pin 1

FD D

+5VSB+5V SB

Ground

Wake-up Si gnal

ID E1

ID E2

Wake On LAN Connector

WOLWOM

JP1

JP 2

3V

+

J7

B AT

Wake-up S ignal

Pin 1

Groun d

3.5.5. Floppy Drive Connector

A floppy disk drive ribbon cable has two connectors to support two
floppy disk drives. The connector with twisted wires always connects
to drive A; the connector with untwisted wires connects to drive B.
You must orient the cable connector so that the pin 1 (color) edge of
the cable corresponds with pin 1 of the I/O port connector.

DIMM3

DIMM2

DIMM1

123 4

ON

Floppy Disk Drive Connector

C OM2

J 2

PW

J 3

J 4

J 5

J 6

J1

C N1

CD 1

C D 2

A GP

IR

FREE

LOCK

SW3

FD D

ID E 1

ID E2

Pin 1

IS A

Attaching Connectors 17

PC I4 PC I3 P CI2 PC I1

WOLWOM

P C I5

JP 2

JP1

+

3V

J7

B AT

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Pin 1

3.5.6. IDE Connectors

An IDE drive ribbon cable has two connectors to support four IDE
drives. If a rib bon cable connects to two IDE drives at the same time,
one of them has to be configured as Master and the other has to be
configured as Slave by setting the drive select jumpers on the drive.

DIMM3

DIMM 2

DIMM 1

ON

1 23 4

COM2

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

J1

CN1

CD1

CD2

AGP

IR

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PC I1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

FREE

LOCK

SW3

FDD

IDE1

IDE2

JP1

JP2

+

3V

BAT

J7

Consult the documentation that came with your IDE drive for details
on jumper locations and settings. You must orient the cable connec­tor so that the pin 1 (color) edge of the cable corresponds to pin 1 of

the I/O port connector.

IDE Connectors

IDE1

Pin 1

IDE2

Note: 1. The CPU ratio is auto-detected by the system.

3.5.7. Back Panel Connectors

The back panel provides external access to PS/2 style keyboard and
mouse connectors, one serial ports, one VGA port, one parallel port,
dual USB ports, a game port and audio ports which are integrated on
the mainboard. The figures below show the location of the back
panel I/O connectors.

PS/2 Mouse and PS/2 Keyboard Ports

Connect a PS/2 mouse to the green 6-pin mini DIN connector. The system
will automatically assign IRQ 12 to the PS/2 mouse if one is connected.

18 Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

Parallel Port

PS/2

mouse
PS/2

keyboard

Connect a PS/2 keyboard to the purple 6-pin mini DIN connector. If
you want to connect a standard AT size (large DIN) connector, you

must use an adapter.

Universal Serial Bus Ports

You can connect two USB devices or USB hubs to the USB ports.

USB

Ports

The USB ports provide a hardware interface for low-speed peripher­als such as the keyboard, mouse, joystick, scanner, printer and
telephony devices, and also support MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 digital
video. The USB ports have a maximum bandwidth of 12 Mbits/sec
(equivalent to 1.5 Mbytes/sec), and up to 127 devices can be at­tached. Fast devices can use the full bandwidth, while lower-speed
ones can transfer data using a 1.5 Mbits/sec sub-channel.

Parallel Port

Connect a printer or other parallel device to the burgundy-colored 25- pin
parallel port. You can set the parallel port IRQ and parallel port mode in

BIOS. Refer to Integrated Peripherals in Chapter 4 for details.

Attaching Connectors 19

Mainboard User’s Man ual

COM 1

Serial Port and VGA Connectors

Connect a serial device such as a mouse or modem to the turquoise 9­pin serial port. You can set the serial port IRQs in BIOS. The VGA
port is used to connect an external monitor. Refer to Integrated Pe-
ripherals in Chapter 4 for details.

Serial port

VGA port

Note: Serial printers must be connected to the serial port.

Game Port

You can connect a joystick, game pad, or other game device to the
gold 15-pin game port. You can also connect a MIDI device for pla y-

ing or editing audio.

Game Port

20 Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

Audio Port Connectors

You can connect various audio devices to these audio jacks. Connect
headphones or powered speakers to the lime -colored lineout connec­tor. Connect a tape player or another audio source to the light blue
Line-in connector to record audio on your computer or to play audio
through your computer’s sound chip and speakers. Connect a micro­phone to the pink microphone connector to record audio to your
computer.

Line-out
Line-in
Microphone

Power Supply Connector

The ATX power supply has a single lead connector with a clip on
one side of the plastic housing. There is only one way to plug the
lead into the ATX power connector. Press the lead connector down
until the clip snaps into place and secures the lead onto the connector.

DIMM3

DIMM 2

DIMM 1

ON

12 3 4

CO M2

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

CN1 J1

CD 1

CD2

AG P

IR

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PCI1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

FREE

LOCK

SW3

FDD

Power Supply On

IDE1

IDE2

JP1

JP2

+

3V

BAT

J7

Warning: Incorrect installation of the power supply could

result in serious damage to the mainboard and connected
peripherals. Make sure the power supply is unplugged from
the AC outlet before connecting the leads from the power
supply.

Power Connector

PW

+3.3V

-12V

Ground

Ground
Ground
Ground

-5V

+5V
+5V

+3.3V
+3.3V

Ground
+5V
Ground
+5V

Ground
Power good
+5V Standby

-12V

Attaching Connectors 21

Mainboard User’s Man ual

FAN Connectors

M

CPU/System Fan Power Supplies

There are two fan connectors on the mainboard for the cooling fans.
The connectors support fans of 12V DC/500mAMP (six watt) or less.
When the system goes into sleep state, fans should be shut down to
eliminate audible noise and reduce power consumption. You can
monitor the fan speed by way of the VT82C686A chip (providing the

fan comes with a tachometer output).
You can monitor the fans’ RPM with the Hardware Doctor utility.

Refer to System Environment Monitor in Chapter 5 for details.

DIMM 3

DIMM 2

DIMM 1

ON

1 23 4

COM2

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

CN 1 J1

CD1

C D2

AGP

IR

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PCI1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

FREE

LOCK

SW3

FDD

IDE1

IDE2

JP1

JP2

+

3V

J7

BAT

Pin 1

Pin 1

+12V

Speed/RPM

+12V

Speed/RP

Ground

SYSFAN1 CPUFAN

Ground

22 Attaching Connectors

3.6. Installing the CPU

3.6.1. Before You Begin

1. Be sure that your processor kit includes the following

items:

♦ One processor with the fan or heat sink attached
♦ One power cable (for CPU with cooling fan attached)

2. Place the mainboard on a workbench (not in a chassis). Be

sure that the mainboard is empty (that is, no DIMMs, ca­bles, or cards are installed) and that the holes for the fan or
heat sink support pegs are empty.

3.6.2. Installation Procedure

1. On the motherboard, identify the CPU Socket-462 and the

cooling fan power -supply connector CPU FAN.

COM2

J2

PW

J4

J3

J5

J6

J1

CN1

CD 1

CD 2

AGP

IR

Hardware Installation

DIMM3

DIMM2

DIMM1

ON

1 2 3 4

FREE

LOCK

SW3

FDD

ID E1

IDE2

CPU Socket 462

CPU Fan Power Supply

FREE

LOCK

PCI4 PC I3 PCI2 PC I1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

JP1

JP2

+

3V

J7

BA T

FAN1

2. Push the CPU socket lever slightly to the side and then

raise it as far as it can go.

3. Identify the pin-1 corner of the Socket-462. The pin-1 cor-

ner is on the same side as the locking lever, as shown in the
illustration below.

Installing the CPU 23

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Socket Lever

4. Identify the pin-1 corner of the processor (the pin-1 corner

on the processor has a beveled edge).

5. Align the pin-1 corners and drop the processor into the

Socket-462. The processor should drop into place without
any force. If it doesn’t seat properly, check that you have
the pin-1 corner in the correct position.

6. Swing the locking lever down to lock the processor in place

and latch the lever under the catch on the side of the socket.

7. Plug the cable from the heat sink/cooling fan assembly into

the processor cooling fan power supply CPU FAN.

8. Configuration of the processor is carried out using the sys-

tem setup utility as described in Chapter 4. Configure the
processor the first time you turn on the assembled com­puter.

CPU
Processor

Pin-1

3.6.3. Removing the Processor

First, remove the mainboard from the chassis. To remove the proces­sor from the mainboard, follow these steps:

1. Disconnect the fan power cable from the mainboard.

2. Push the CPU socket lever slightly to the side and then

raise it as far as it can go. You will feel a resistance as the
processor is freed from the socket.

3. Remove the processor.

24 Installing the CPU

Hardware Installation

168-pin DIMM

3.6.4. Installing System Memory

Maximum system memory supported by the mainboard is 1.5 GB.
The mainboard has three DIMM Sockets. Memory can be installed

using 168-pin SDRAM DIMM memory modules. There are no
jumper settings required for the memory size or type, which is auto­matically detected by the BIOS.

Editor’s Note:

Please corrected the number of pins in the draw ing.

DIMM3

DIMM2

DIMM1

ON

1 234

COM2

P W

J3

J4J5J6

CN 1 J1

C D1

CD 2

PC I4 P CI3 PC I2 PC I1

WOLWOM

PC I5

ISA

FREE
LOCK

J 2

AGP

IR

SW3

FD D

ID E1

ID E2

JP2

JP1

+

3 V

J7

B AT

Memory modules

Lock

DIMM 1

DIMM 2

DIMM 3

88 pins

60 pins

Lock

20 pins

You must use 3.3V unbuffered DIMMs in the mainboard. To deter­mine the DIMM type, check the notches on the DIMMs.

DRAM key position Voltage key position

Buffered

Unbuffered

3.3V

Reserved

RFU 5.0V

Installing the CPU 25

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Due to the high-speed design of the mainboard, the memory modules
must meet the following requirements:

DRAM TYPE SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM)

Module Size

Requirements

Single Sided Asymmetric

1Mx64, 4Mx64, 8Mx64, 16Mx64

Double-Sided Asymmetric

2Mx64, 4Mx64, 8Mx64, 16Mx64, 32Mx64

Extended Data Output

EDO

• DRAM Speed
60 ns or faster

• RAS Access Time
60 ns or faster

• CAS Access Time
20 ns or faster

• DIMM module

• Speed Grade

• CAS latency

SDRAM

Synchronous DRAM

3.3V unbuffered

66.6 MHz or faster

3 or faster

Install the 168-pin SDRAM modules in any combination as follows:

BANK 0 (DIMM1) 8/16/32/64/128/256/512 MB
BANK 1 (DIMM2) 8/16/32/64/128/256/512 MB
BANK 2 (DIMM3) 8/16/32/64/128/256/512 MB
Total System Memory 8 ~ 1.5 GB

26 Installing the CPU

Hardware Installation

3.6.5. Setting Jumpers and Switch

Refer to the following illustration and instructions to set the jumpers
and switch on your mainboard.

DIMM3

DIMM2

DIMM1

ON

1 2 3 4

COM2

FREE

LOCK

SW3

CPU FSB Switch

1 23 4

ON

Sw3

PW

J3J2J4J5J6

CN 1 J1

CD 1

CD 2

AGP

IR

FDD

IDE1

IDE2

J3J4J5

J6

Clear CMOS/Password Settings

PCI4 PCI3 PCI2 PCI1

WOLWOM

PCI5

ISA

JP1

JP2

+

3V

J7

BA T

Jp1

Pin 1

Frontside BUS Speed Switch

Use thi s switch to set the system’s frontside bus (FSB) speed.

SW3

4 3 2 1 CPU PCI
OFF OFF OFF OFF 133 33
ON OFF OFF ON 115 38
OFF OFF ON OFF 100 33

Editor’s Note:
Need information on J3 to J6.

Installing the CPU 27

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Clear CMOS/Password Jumper

You may need to clear the CMOS if your system cannot boot up b e­cause you forgot your password, the CPU clock setup is incorrect, or
the CMOS settings need to be reset to default values after the system
BIOS has been updated.

Refer to the following solutions to reset your CMOS setting:

Solution A

1. Power off the system and disconnect the power cable.

2. Place a shunt to short pin 2 and pin 3 of JP1 for five se c-

onds.

3. Place the shunt back to pin 1 and pin 2 of JP1.

4. Power on the system.

Solution B

If the CPU clock setup is incorrect, you may not be able to boot up.
In this case, follow these instructions:

1. Turn the system off, then on again. The CPU will auto-

matically boot up using standard parameters.

2. As the system boots, enter BIOS and set up the CPU clock.

Note: If you are unable to enter BIOS setup, turn the system on
and off a few times, or press <INSERT> when booting up to

have the system boot up with standard parameters.

3.6.6. Auto Power On

After losing AC power, the system will not turn on automatically
when the power comes back unless you set the options in BIOS.

This concludes Chapter 3. Chapter 4 covers the BIOS setup pr ogram.

28 Installing the CPU

4. BIOS Configuration

After the hardware configuration of the mainboard is finished, and
the system hardware has been assembled, the system may be pow­ered up. At this point, CMOS setup should be run to ensure that

system information is correct.
The mainboard employs the latest Award BIOS CMOS chip with

support for Windows Plug and Play. This CMOS chip contains the
ROM Setup instructions for configuring the mainboard’s BIOS. The
BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) Setup program is a menu
driven utility that enables you to make changes to the system con­figuration and tailor your system to suit your individual work needs.
It is a ROM-based configuration utility that displays the system’s
configuration status and provides you with a tool to set system pa­rameters. These parameters are stored in non-volatile battery-backed­up CMOS RAM that saves this information even when the power is
turned off. When the system is turned back on, t he system is config­ured with the values found in CMOS.

Using easy-to-use pull down menus, you can configure such items as:

• Hard drives, diskette drives, and peripherals

• Video display type and display options

• Password protection from unauthorized use

• Power management features

The settings made in the Setup program intimately affect how the
computer performs. It is important, therefore, first to try to under­stand all the Setup’s options, and second, to make settings
appropriate for the way you use the computer. This chapter provides

clear explanations for all Setup options.

Mainboard User’s Man ual

This program should be executed under the following conditions:

• When changing the system configuration

• When a configuration error is detected by the system and

you are prompted to make changes to the Setup program

• When resetting the system clock

• When setting the CPU clock speed so that it automatically

runs either fast or slow

• When redefining the communication ports to prevent any

conflicts

• When making changes to the Power Management conf igu-

ration

• When changing the password or making other changes to

the security setup

Normally, CMOS setup is needed when the system hardware is not
consistent with the information contained in the CMOS RAM, when­ever the CMOS RAM has lost power, or the system features need to
be changed.

4.1. Entering Setup

When the system is powered on, the BIOS will enter the Power-On
Self Test (POST) routines. These routines perform various diagnostic
checks; if an error is encountered, the error will be reported in one of
two different ways:

1. If the error occurs before the display device is initialized, a

series of beeps will be transmitted.

2. If the error occurs after the display device is initialized, the

screen will display the error message.

30 Entering Setup

BIOS Configuration

After the POST routines are completed, the following message ap­pears:

“Press DEL to enter SETUP”

To access the AWARD BIOS SETUP program, press the <DEL> key
to display the “CMOS SETUP UTILITY” screen:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Standard CMOS Features
Advanced BIOS Features
Advanced Chipset Features
Integrated Peripherals
Power Management Setup
PnP/PCI Configurations
PC Health Status

Esc : Quit F9 : Menu in BIOS ↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : Select Item
F10 : Save & Exit Setup

Time, Date, Hard Disk Type . . .

Frequency/Voltage Control
Load Fail-Safe Defaults
Load Optimized Defaults
Set Supervisor Password
Set User Password
Save & Exit Setup
Exit Without Saving

Figure 4-1: Setup utility main screen

These screens provide access to the utility’s various functions.
Listed below are explanations of the keys displayed at the bottom of

the screen:

Key Function
Esc Escape key: Exits the current menu

←← ↓↓ ↑↑ →→

+/−/PU/PD

Cursor keys: Scroll through the items on a menu
Plus, minus, Page Up and Page Down keys: Modify the

selected field’s values
F10 F10 key: Saves the current configuration and exits setup
F1 F1 key: Displays a screen that explains all key functions
F5 F5 key: Loads previously saved values to CMOS
F6 F6 key: Loads a minimum configuration for troubleshooting.
F7 F7 key: Loads optimum set of values for peak performance

Entering Setup 31

Mainboard User’s Man ual

4.2. Standard CMOS Setup

Standard CMOS Setup is the same for all three chipsets. Selecting
“STANDARD CMOS SETUP “on the main program screen displays

the following menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Date (mm:dd:yy) Tue, July 11 2000
Time (hh:mm:ss) 12 : 8 : 59

IDE Primary Master Press Enter None
IDE Primary Slave Press Enter None

USB
Ports

IDE Secondary Master Press Enter None
IDE Secondary Slave Press Enter None

Drive A 1.44M, 3.5 in.
Drive B None

Video EGA/VGA
Halt On All,But Keyboard

Base Memory 640K

Extended Memory 64512K
Total Memory 65536K

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : Move Enter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General Help

F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Figure 4-2: Standard CMOS setup screen

The Standard CMOS Setup utility is similar for all three chipsets and
is used to configure the following features:

Standard CMOS Features

Item Help

Menu Level
Change the day, month,

year and century.

Date: Month, Day, Year
Time: Hour, Minute, and Second. Use 24 Hour clock format (for PM

numbers, add 12 to the hour, you would enter 4:30 p.m. As 16:30).
IDE Devices: Your computer has two IDE channels (Primary and

Secondary) and each channel can be installed with one or two de­vices (Master and Slave). Use these items to configure each device
on the IDE channel. Press Enter to display the IDE sub-menu:

32 Standard CMOS Setup

BIOS Configuration

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright © 1984 – 2000 Award Software

IDE HDD Auto-Detection Press Enter
IDE Primary Master Auto

Access Mode Auto

Capacity 0 MB
Cylinder 0

Head 0
Precomp 0
Landing Zone 0
Sector 0

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General

Help F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

IDE Primary Master

Item Help

Menu Level
To auto-detect the

HDD’s size, head . . . on
this channel

IDD HDD Auto-Detection: Press <Enter> while this item is high­lighted if you want the Setup Utility to automatically detect and
configure a hard disk drive on the IDE channel .

If your system has an IDE hard drive, you can use this utility to de­tect its parameters and enter them into the Standard CMOS Setup

automatically.
If the auto-detected parameters displayed do not match the ones that

should be used for your hard drive, do not accept them. Press the
<N> key to reject the values and enter the correct ones manually in
the Standard CMOS Setup screen.

Note: If you are setting up a new hard disk drive that supports
LBA mode, more than one line will appear in the parameter

box. Choose the line that lists LBA for an LBA drive.

Do not choose “Large” or “Normal” if the hard disk drive is already
fully formatted when you installed it. Select the mode that was used
to format it.

Standard CMOS Setup 33

Mainboard User’s Man ual

IDE Primary/Secondary Master/Slave: If you leave this item at
“Auto,” the system will automatically detect and configure any IDE
devices it finds. If it fails to find a hard disk, change the value to
“Manual” and then manually configure the drive by entering the
characteristics of the drive in the items below (Capacity, Cylinder,
Head, Precomp, etc.). Refer to your drive’s documentation or look on
the drive if you need to obtain this information. If no device is in­stalled, change the value to “None.”

Access Mode: This item defines some special ways that can be used
to access IDE hard disks such as LBA (Logical Block Addressing).
Leave this value at “Auto” and the system will automatically decide

the fastest way to access the hard disk drive.
Press <Esc> to close the IDE device sub-menu and return to the

Standard CMOS Features page.
Floppy Drive A and Floppy Drive B: Options for these fields are:

• None (Not Installed)

• 360K, 5.25 in.

• 1.2M, 5.25in.

• 720K, 3.5in.

• 1.44M, 3.5in.

• 2.88M, 3.5in.

The “Not Installed” option could be used as an option for diskless
workstations.

Video: Set this field to the type of graphics card installed in your sys­tem. If you are using a VGA or higher resolution card, choose the

“EGA/VGA” option. The options are:

• EGA/VGA (default)

• CGA 40

• CGA 80

• MONO

34 Standard CMOS Setup

BIOS Configuration

Halt On: This setting determines which type of errors will cause the
system to halt during bootup. The options are:

• All Errors

• No Errors

• All, But Keyboard (default)

• All, But Diskette

• All, But Disk/Key

Base/Extended/Total Memory: These items are automatically de­tected by the system at start up time. These are display-only fields.

You cannot make changes to these fields.
After you have made your selections in the Standard CMOS Setup

screen, press <ESC> to go back to the main screen.

Standard CMOS Setup 35

Mainboard User’s Man ual

4.3. BIOS Features Setup

Selecting “BIOS Features Setup” on the main program screen dis­plays this menu, which allows you to define advanced information
about your system. You can make modifications to most of these
items without introducing fatal errors to your system. Note that the

page has a scroll-bar to scroll down to more items.

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Anti-Virus Protection Disabled
CPU Internal Cache Enabled
External Cache Enabled
CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking Enabled
Quick Power On Self Test Disabled
First Boot Device Floppy
Second Boot Device HDD-0
Third Boot Device LS120
Boot Other Device Enabled
Swap Floppy Drive Disabled
Boot Up Floppy Seek Enabled
Boot Up NumLock Status On
Gate A20 Option Normal
Typematic Rate Setting Disabled

x Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) 6
x Typematic Delay (Msec) 250

Security Option Setup

OS Select For DRAM > 64MB Non-OS2

Video BIOS Shadow Enabled

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General

Help F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Advanced BIOS Features

Item Help

Menu Level
Allows you to choose

the VIRUS warning
feature for IDE Hard
Disk boot sector
protection. If this
function is enabled
and someone attempts
to write data into this
area, BIOS will show a
warning message on

screen and alarm beep

Figure 4-3: BIOS features setup

The following explains the options for each feature:
Anti-Virus Protection: When enabled, any attempt to write to the

boot sector or partition table will halt the system and cause a warning
message to appear. If this happens, you can use an anti-virus utility
on a virus free, bootable floppy diskette to reboot and clean your sys­tem. The default setting is “Disabled.”

CPU Internal Cache: This Setting enables the CPU internal cache.
The default setting is “Enabled.”

36 BIOS Features Setup

BIOS Configuration

External Cache: This setting enables the Level 2 cache. The default
setting is “Enabled.”

CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking: This item enables or disables ECC
(Error Correction Code) error checking on the CPU cache memory.

The default setting is “Enabled.”
Quick Power On Self Test: This will skip some diagnostic checks

during the Power On Self Test (POST) to speed up the booting pro c­ess. The default setting is “Disabled.”

1st/2nd/3rd Boot Device: Use these three items to select the priority
and order of the devices that your system searches for an operating
system at start -up time. The default settings are “Floppy,” “HDD-0,”

and “LS120,” respectively.
Boot Other Device: If you enable this item, the system will search

all other possible locations for an operating system if it fails to find
one in the devices specified under the first, second, and third boot

devices. The default setting is “Enabled.”
Swap Floppy Drive: If you have two floppy diskette drives in your

system, this item allows you to swap the assigned drive letters so that
drive A becomes drive B, and drive B becomes drive A. The default
setting is “Disabled.”

Boot Up Floppy Seek: If this item is enabled, it checks the geometry
of the floppy dis k drives at start -up time. You don’t need to enable
this item unless you have an old diskette drive with 360K capacity.

The default setting is “Enabled.”
Boot Up Numlock Status: If set to “Off,” the cursor controls will

function on the numeric keypad. The default setting is “On.”
Gate A20 Option: This option accesses memory above 1 MB using

the fast gate A20 line when set to “Fast”. The other option is “No r­mal.” (default)

Typematic Rate Setting: If set to “Enabled,” enables you to set the
Typematic Rate and Typematic Delay. The default setting is “Dis-

abled.”

BIOS Features Setup 37

Mainboard User’s Man ual

• Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec): This setting controls the

speed at which the system registers repeated keystrokes.
The choices range from 6 to 30 Chars/Sec. The default se t­ting is “6” Chars/Sec.

• Typematic Delay (Msec): This setting controls the time

between the display of the first and second characters.
There are four delay choices: 250ms, 500ms, 750ms and
1000ms. The default setting is “250” ms.

Security Option: This setting controls the password feature. The op­tions are “Setup” and “System.” Selecting “Setup” will protect the
configuration settings from being tampered with. Select “System” if
you want to use the password feature every time the system boots up.
The default setting is “Setup.” You can create your password by u s­ing the “SUPERVISOR/USER PASSWORD” utility in the main

program screen.
OS Select For DRAM > 64MB: Set to “OS2” if the system memory

size is greater than 64 MB and the operating system is OS/2. The d e­fault setting is “Non-OS2.”

Video BIOS Shadow: When set to “Enabled” (default), copies the
VGA BIOS into system DRAM.

C8000-CBFFF Shadow to DC000-DFFFF Shadow: When set to
“Enable,” the ROM with the specified address is copied into system
DRAM. It will also reduce the size of memory available to the sys-

tem. The default setting for the shadow feature is “Disabled.”
After you have made your selections in the BIOS Features Setup

screen, press <ESC> to go back to the main screen.

38 BIOS Features Setup

BIOS Configuration

4.4. Chipset Features Setup

Selecting “Chipset Features Setup” on the main program screen dis­plays this menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Advanced Chipset Features

DRAM Timing by SPD Disabled
SDRAM Cycle Length 3
Bank Interleave Disabled
DRAM Clock Host CLK
Memory Hole Disabled
PCI Master Pipeline Req Enabled
P2C/C2P Concurrency Enabled
Fast R-W Turn Around Disabled
System BIOS Cacheable Enabled
Video RAM Cacheable Enabled
AGP Aperture Size 64M
AGP-4x Mode Enabled
AGP Driving Control Auto

X AGP Driving Value DA

K7 CLK_CTL Select Optimal
OnChip USB Enabled
USB Keyboard Support Disabled
OnChip Sound Auto

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General Help

F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Item Help

Menu Level

Figure 4-4: Chipset features setup

This screen controls the settings for the board’s chipset. All entries related

to the DRAM timing on the screen are automatically configured. Do not

make any changes unless you are familiar with the chipset.

DRAM Timing by SPD: Enable this item if you want the system

SPD (Serial Presence Detect) to automatically detect the speed of the
installed memory modules.

SDRAM Cycle Length: This field enables you to set the CAS la­tency time in HCLKs of 2/2 or 3/3. The system board designer
should have set the values in this field, depending on the DRAM in­stalled. Do not change the values in this field unless you change

specifications of the installed DRAM or the installed CPU.
Bank Interleave: Enable this item to increase memory speed. When

enabled, separate memory banks are set for odd and even addresses

Chipset Features Setup 39

Mainboard User’s Man ual

and the next byte of memory can be accessed while the current byte
is being refreshed. The default setting is “Disabled”.

DRAM Clock: Enables the user to select the DRAM Clock.
Memory Hole: If Set to “Enabled”, when the system memory size is

equal to or greater than 16M bytes, the physical memory address
from 15M to 16M will be passed to PCI or ISA and there will be a 1
MB hole in your system memory . This option is designed for some
OS with special add-in cards which need 15-16 MB memory space.
The default setting is “Disabled.”

PCI Master Pipeline Req: The default is “E nabled.”
P2C/C2P Concurrency: When disabled, the CPU bus is occupied

during the entire PCI operation period. The default is “Enabled.”

Fast R -W Turn Around: When this is enabled, the chipset will in-

sert one extra clock to the turn-around of back -to-back DRAM
cycles. Options are: The default is “Disabled.”

System BIOS Cacheable: When set to “Enabled” (default), the Sy s­tem BIOS will be cached for faster execution.

Video RAM Cacheable: When enabled, the graphics card’s local
memory will be cached for faster execution. However, if any pro­gram writes to this memory area, a system error may result. The
default is “E nabled.”

AGP Aperture Size (MB): This option determines the effective size
of the AGP Graphic Aperture, where memory-mapped graphic data

structures are located.
AGP-4X Mode: This item allows you to enable or disable the cach-

ing of display data for the video memory of the processor. Enabling
can greatly improve the display speed. If your graphics display card
does not support this feature, you need to disable this item. The de­fault is “E nabled.”

AGP Driving Control: This item can be used to signal driving cur­rent on AGP cards to “Auto or “Manual.” Some AGP cards need
stronger than normal driving current in order to operate. The default
is “Auto.”

40 Chipset Features Setup

BIOS Configuration

AGP Driving Value: When the previous item AGP Driving Control
is set to Manual, you can u se this item to set the AGP current driving

value. The default is “DA.”
K7 CLK_CTL Select: This item adjusts the CPU clock to match the

internal clock. The default is “Optimal.”
OnChip USB: This should be enabled if your system has a USB in-

stalled on the system board and you wish to use it. The default is
“Enabled.”

USB Keyboard Support: Enables function when the USB keyboard
is being used. Disabled (default) when an AT keyboard is used.

OnChip Sound: When set to “Disable,” the onboard audio chip is
turned off. The default is “Auto.”

OnChip Modem: This should be enabled if your system has a mo­dem installed on the system board and you wish to use it. The default

is “Auto.”
CPU to PCI Write Buffer: When enabled, up to four words of data

can be written to the PCI bus without interrupting the CPU. When
disabled, a write buffer is not used and the CPU read cycle will not
be completed until the PCI bus signals that it is ready to receive the
data. The default is “E nabled.”

PCI Dynamic Bursting: When enabled, every write transaction goes
to the write buffer. “Burstable” transactions then burst on the PCI bus

and “nonburstable” transactions do not. The default is “Enabled.”
PCI Master 0 WS Write: When enabled, writes to the PCI bus are

executed with zero wait states. The default is “Enabled.”
PCI Delay Transaction: The chipset has an embedded 32-bit posted

write buffer to support delay transactions cycles. Enable to support
compliance with PCI specification version 2.1. The default is “En-

abled.”
PCI#2 Access #1 Retry: When enabled, the AGP Bus (PCI#1) ac-

cess to PCI Bus (PCI#2) is executed with the error retry feature. The
default is “Enabled.”

Chipset Features Setup 41

Mainboard User’s Man ual

AGP Master 1 WS Write: This implements a single delay when
writing to the AGP Bus. By default, two -wait states are used by the

system, allowing for greater stability. The default is “Disabled.”
AGP Master 1 WS Read: This implements a single delay when

reading to the AGP Bus. By default, two -wait states are used by the
system, allowing for greater stability. The default is “Disabled.”

Memory Parity/ECC Check: Enable this item to allow BIOS to
perform a parity/ECC check to the POST memory tests. Enable only
if the system DRAM supports parity/ECC checking. Default is “Dis-

abled”.
CPU Vcore Select: Enables you to set the CPU Vcore voltage. Op-

tions are:

• Default (default)

• +0.05V

• +0.1V

• +0.2V

• +0.3V

• +0.4V

• -0.05V

• -0.1V

After you have made your selections in the Chipset Features Setup
screen, press <ESC> to go back to the main screen.

42 Chipset Features Setup

BIOS Configuration

4.5. Integrated Peripherals

Selecting “Integrated Peripherals” on the main program screen dis­plays this menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

On-Chip IDE Channel0 Enabled
On-Chip IDE Channel1 Enabled
IDE Prefetch Mode Enabled
Primary Master PIO Auto
Primary Slave PIO Auto
Secondary Master PIO Auto
Secondary Slave PIO Auto
Primary Master UDMA Auto
Primary Slave UDMA Auto
Secondary Master UDMA Auto
Secondary Slave UDMA Auto
Init Display First PCI Slot
IDE HDD Block Mode Enabled
Onboard FDD Controller Enabled
Onboard Serial Port 1 Auto
Onboard Serial Port 2 Auto
UART 2 Mode Standard

X IR Function Duplex Half
X TX,RX inverting enable No, Yes

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General Help

F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Figure 4-5: Integrated peripherals

Integrated Peripherals

Item Help

Menu Level

OnChip IDE Channel 0/1: This option enables or disables the on­board IDE controller. The default setting is “Enabled.”

IDE Prefetch Mode: The onboard IDE drive interfaces supports IDE
prefetching, for faster drive accesses. If you install a primary and/or
secondary add-in IDE interface, set this field to “Disabled” if the in­terface does not support prefetching. The default setting is

“Enabled.”
IDE Primary/Secondary Master/Slave PIO: When set to “Auto”

the BIOS will automatically set the mode to match the transfer rate of
the hard disk. If the system won’t boot up when set to “Auto” set it

Integrated Peripherals 43

Mainboard User’s Man ual

manually to a lower mode, e.g., from Mode 3 to Mode 2. All IDE
drives should work with PIO mode 0. There are six options:

• Auto (default)

• Mode 0

• Mode 1

• Mode 2

• Mode 3

• Mode 4

IDE Primary/Secondary Master/Slave UDMA: When set to
“Auto” the BIOS will automatically load the Ultra DMA 33 driver to
match the transfer rate of IDE hard disk drives that support Ultra

DMA 33 mode. The options are “Auto” (default) and “Disabled.”
Init Display First: This item sets whether the PCI Slot or AGP is ac-

tivated first. The options are “PCI Slot” (default) and “AGP”.
IDE HDD Block Mode: Enable this field if your IDE hard drive

supports block mode. Block mode enables BIOS to automatically de­tect the optimal number of block read and writes per sector that the

drive can support. The default setting is “Enabled.”
Onboard FDD Controller: This option enables the onboard floppy

disk drive controller. The default setting is “Enabled.”
Onboard Serial Port 1/2: These options are used to assign the I/O

addresses for the two onboard serial ports. They can be assigned as
follows:

• Disabled (disables the onboard serial port)

• 3F8/ IRQ4

• 2F8/ IRQ3

• 3E8/ IRQ4

• 2E8/ IRQ3

• Auto (default)

UART 2 Mode Select: Enables you to select the infrared communi­cation protocol—Standard (default), IrDA, or ASKIR. IrDA is
Hewlett Packard’s infrared communication protocol with a maximum
baud rate up to 115.2K bps. ASKIR is Sharp’s infrared communic a-

tion protocol with a maximum baud rate up to 57.6K bps.

44 Integrated Peripherals

BIOS Configuration

IR Function Duplex: This field is available when UART 2 Mode is
set to either ASKIR or HPSIR. This item enables you to determine
the infrared (IR) function of the onboard infrared chip. Full-duplex
means that you can transmit and send information simultaneously.
Half duplex (default) is the transmission of data in both directions,

but only one direction at a time.
TX, RX inverting enable: Defines the voltage level for Infrared

module RX (receive) mode and TX (transmit) mode. This setting has
to match the requirements of the infrared module used in the system.

The options are:

• Yes, No

• No, Yes (default)

• No, No

• Yes, Yes

Onboard Parallel Port: This option is used to assign the I/O address
for the onboard parallel port. The options are:

• Disabled (disables the onboard parallel port).

• 3BC/IRQ7

• 378/IRQ7 (default)

• 278/IRQ5

Onboard Parallel Mode: There are four options—”Normal” (de­fault), “EPP” (Enhanced Parallel Port), “ECP” (Extended
Capabilities Port), and “ECP/EPP.” Change the mode from “Normal”

to the enhanced mode only if your peripheral device can support it.
ECP Mode Use DMA: When the onboard parallel port is set to ECP

mode, the parallel port has the option to use DMA “3” (default) or
DMA “1.”

Parallel Port EPP Type: Sets the EPP specification. There are two
options—”EPP1.9” (default) and “EPP1.7.”

Onboard Legacy Audio: Enables the onboard legacy audio func­tion. If this item is enabled the following items become available.

Sound Blaster: Enables or disables a Sound Blaster card if installed.
SB I/O Base Address: This item lets you set the I/O base address for

the Sound Blaster card. There are four options:

Integrated Peripherals 45

Mainboard User’s Man ual

• 220H (default)

• 240H

• 260H

• 280H

SB IRQ Select: This item lets you set the Interrupt Request (IRQ)
for the Sound Blaster card. There are four options:

• IRQ 5 (default)

• IRQ 7

• IRQ 9

• IRQ 10

SB DMA Select: This item lets you select the DMA for the Sound
Blaster card. There are four options:

• DMA 0

• DMA 1 (default)

• DMA 2

• DMA 3

MPU-401: Use this item to enable or disable the MPU-401 function
for the game port. The default is “Disabled.”

MPU-401 I/O Address: Use this item to set the I/O address for the
game port. There are four options:

• 300-303H

• 310-313H

• 320-323H

• 330-333H (default)

Note: To use the MPU-401 standard on the game port you need
to use a MIDI adapter.

Game Port (200-207H): This item shows the I/O address for the
game port.

If you ma ke any changes to the onboard FDD controller, serial ports
or parallel ports in this setup, save the changes and turn off the sys­tem. After powering up the system, ensure that the changes have

taken effect.

46 Integrated Peripherals

BIOS Configuration

4.6. Power Management

Power Management Setup controls the mainboard’s “Green” fea­tures. Selecting “Power Management Setup” on the main program

screen displays this menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

ACPI Function Enabled

Power Management Press Enter
ACPI Suspend Type S1(POS)
PM Control by APM Yes
Video Off Option Suspend --> Off
Video Off Method V/H SYNC+Blank
MODEM Use IRQ 3
Soft-Off by PWRBTN Instant-Off

Wake Up Events Press Enter

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General

Help F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Figure 4-6: Power management setup

Power Management Setup

Item Help

Menu Level

ACPI Function: When set to “Enabled,” turns on the ACPI Func­tion. The default setting is “Enabled.”

Note: ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is
a power management specification that makes hardware status
information available to the operating system. ACPI enables a
PC to turn its peripherals on and off for improved power man­agement. It also allows the PC to be turned on and off by
external devices, so that mouse or keyboard activity wakes up

the computer.

Power Management 47

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Power Management: This item enables you to choose the type of
Power Management you want. Selecting Power Management and

pressing <Enter> displays the following screen:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Power Management User Define
HDD Power Down Disable
Doze Mode Disable

Suspend Mode Disable

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General

Help F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Power Management

Item Help

Menu Level

Power Management: This item acts like a master switch for the
power-saving modes and hard disk timeouts. If this item is set to Max
Saving, power-saving modes occur after a short timeout. If this item
is set to Min Saving, power-saving modes occur after a longer time­out. If the item is set to User Define, you can insert your own

timeouts for the power -saving modes.
HDD Power Down: The IDE hard drive will spin down if it is not

accessed within a specified length of time. Options are from “1 Min ”
to “15 Min” and “Disable.” The default is “Disable.”

Doze Mode: The system speed will change from turbo to slow if no
Power Management events occur for a specified length of time. Full
power function will return when a Power Management event is de-

tected. The default is “Disable.”
Suspend Mode: The CPU clock will be stopped and the video signal

will be suspended if no Power Management events occur for a speci­fied length of time. Full power function will return when a Power
Management event is detected. Options are from “1 Min” to “1

Hour” and “Disable.” The default is “Disable.”

48 Power Management

BIOS Configuration

ACPI Suspend Type: Use this item to define how your system sus­pends. In the default, S1(POS), the suspend mode is equivalent to a
software power down. If you select S3 (STR), the suspend mode is a
suspend to RAM – the system shuts down with the exception of a re-

fresh current to the system memory.
PM Control by APM: This field allows you to control the PC Moni-

tor’s power management features via Intel-Microsoft Advanced
Power Manageme nt software. Once you have enabled the APM inter­face, some settings made in the BIOS Setup program may be
overridden by APM. The default is “Yes.”

Video Off Option: This option defines if the video is powered down

when the system is put into suspend mode. The default is “Suspend -­> Off.”

Video Off Method: This setting controls the video off method in
power saving mode. The default setting is “V/H SYNC+Blank”
which disables V/H SYNC signals and blanks the screen. Other op­tions are “DPMS” and “Blank Screen.” The “DPMS” option allows
the BIOS to control the video card if it has the DPMS (Display
Power Management System) feature. The “Blank Screen” option is

used when you do not have a “Green” monitor.
MODEM Use IRQ: If you want an incoming call on a modem to

automatically resume the system from a power-saving mode, use this
item to specify the interrupt request line (IRQ) that is used by the
modem. You might have to connect the fax/modem to the mainboard
Wake On Modem connector for this feature to work. The default is
“3.”

Soft-Off by PWRBTN: When set to “Instant-Off” (default), pressing
the power button will turn off the system power. When set to “Delay
4 Sec.” you have to press the power button and hold it for more than
4 seconds to turn off the system power. Otherwise, the system just
goes into suspend mode. The options are “Instant-Off” and “Delay 4
Sec.”

Power Management 49

Mainboard User’s Man ual

Wake Up Events: This item opens a submenu that enables you to set
events that will resume the system from a power saving mode. Select

Wake Up Events and pr ess <Enter> to display the following menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

VGA OFF
LPT & COM LPT/COM
HDD & FDD ON
PCI Master OFF
Resume by Ring Disabled
Resume by Alarm Disabled

x Date (of Month) 0
x Resume Time (hh:mm:ss) 0 48 0

Primary INTR ON
IRQs Activity Monitoring Press Enter

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : Move Enter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General Help

F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Wake Up Events

Item Help

Menu Level

VGA: When set to “On,” the system power will resume the system
from a power saving mode if there is any VGA activity. Default is

“Off.”
LPT & COM: When this item is enabled, the system will restart the

power-saving timeout counters when any activity is detected on the
serial ports, or the parallel port. Default is “LPT/COM.”

HDD & FDD: When set to “On,” any activity from one of the listed
system peripheral devices wakes up the system.

PCI Master: When set to “On,” any activity from one of the listed
devices wakes up the system.

Resume by Ring: When set to “Enabled,” any activity on the Mo­dem port will wake up the system from a power saving mode. The

options are “Enabled” and “Disabled” (default).
Resume by Alarm: when set to “Enabled”, you may set the date

(day of the month), hour, minute and second to turn on your system.
When set to set “0” (zero) for the day of the month, the alarm will
power on your system every day at the specified time.

50 Power Management

BIOS Configuration

Primary INTR: This item opens a submenu that enables you to set
IRQs that will resume the system from a power saving mode. Select
IRQs Activity Monitoring and press <Enter> to display the following
menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

IRQ 3 (COM2) Enabled
IRQ 4 (COM1) Enabled
IRQ 5 (LPT2) Enabled
IRQ 6 (Floppy Disk) Enabled
IRQ 7 (LPT1) Enabled
IRQ 8 (RTC Alarm) Disabled
IRQ 9 (IRQ2 Redir) Disabled
IRQ 10 (Reserved) Disabled
IRQ 11 (Reserved) Disabled
IRQ 12 (PS/2 Mouse) Enabled
IRQ 13 (Coprocessor) Enabled
IRQ 14 (Hard Disk) Enabled

IRQ 15 (Reserved) Disabled

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General

Help F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

IRQs Activity Monitoring

Item Help

Menu Level

Set Primary INTR to “ON” to allow you to enable or disable IRQ 3
through IRQ 15 activity monitoring. Set it to “OFF” to disable IRQ
activity monitoring.

Set any IRQ to “Enabled” to allow activity at the IRQ to wake up the
system from a power saving mode.

Press the <ESC> key to go back to the main program screen after you
have made your selections in the Power Management Setup screen.

Power Management 51

Mainboard User’s Man ual

4.7. PnP/PCI Configuration

Both the ISA and PCI buses on the Mainboard use system IRQs (In­terrupt ReQuests) and DMAs (Direct Memory A ccess). You must set
up the IRQ and DMA assignments correctly through the PnP/PCI
Configuration Setup utility; otherwise, the mainboard will not work

properly.
Selecting “PnP/PCI CONFIGURATION” on the main program

screen di splays this menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

PNP OS Installed No
Reset Configuration Data Disabled

Resources Controlled by Auto(ESCD)
x IRQ Resources Press Enter

x DMA Resources Press Enter

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop Disabled
Assign IRQ For VGA Enabled

Assign IRQ For USB Enabled

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : Move Enter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General Help

F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Figure 4-7: PNP/PCI configuration

PnP/PCI Configurations

Item Help

Menu Level
Default is Disabled.

Select Enabled to
reset Extended System
Configuration Data
(ESCD) when you exit
Setup if you have
installed a new add-on
and the system
reconfiguration has
caused such a serious
conflict that the OS
cannot boot.

PnP OS Installed: Setting this option to “Yes” allows the PnP OS
(instead of BIOS) to assign the system resources such as IRQ and I/O

address to the ISA PnP device. The default setting is “No.”

52 PnP/PCI Configuration

BIOS Configuration

Reset Configuration Data: The system BIOS supports the Plug and
Play feature so the resources assigned to each peripheral have to be
recorded to prevent them from conflicting. The location to store the
assigned resources is called ESCD (Extended System Configuration
Data) which is located in the system flash EEPROM. If this option is
set to “Disabled,” the ESCD will update automatically when the new
configuration varies from the last one. If set to “Enable,” the ESCD
will be cleared and updated and then this option will automatically be

set to “Disabled.”
Resources Controlled By: The default setting is “Auto” which will

detect the system resources and automatically assign the relative
IRQs and DMAs for each peripheral The other option is “Manual”
which allows you to control IRQs and DMAs individually..

IRQ and DMA Assigned to: These fields only become available if
the Resources Controlled By field is set to “Manual.” If there is a
legacy ISA device which uses an IRQ or a DMA, set the correspond­ing IRQ or DMA to “Legacy ISA”; otherwise, you should set this
field to “PCI/ISA PnP.”

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop: This item is designed to overcome some
problems that can be caused by some non-standard VGA cards. This
board includes a built-in VGA system that does not require palette

snooping so you must leave this item disabled.
Assign IRQ for USB/VGA: Names the interrupt request (IRQ) line

assigned to the USA/VGA (if any) on your system. Activity of the
selected IRQ always awakens the system.

After you have made your selections in the PNP/PCI Configuration
Setup, press the <ESC> key to go back to the main program screen.

PnP/PCI Configuration 53

Mainboard User’s Man ual

4.8. PC Health Status Option

On mainboards that support hardware monitoring, this item lets you
monitor the parameters for critical voltages, critical temperatures, and

fan speeds.
Selecting “PC Health Status” on the main program screen displays

this menu:

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Current CPU Temp.
Current System Temp.
Current CPU FAN speed
Current FAN2 speed
Vccp

2.5V
Vcc3
5V
12V

PC Health Status

Menu Level

Item Help

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General Help

F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Figure 4-8: PC Health Status configuration

System Component Characteristics: These fields provide you with

information about the systems current operating status. You cannot
make changes to these fields. The following information is di splayed:

• CPU temperature

• System temperature

• CPU FAN speed (in RPMs)

• FAN2 speed (in RPMs)

• Vccp (CPU Core voltage)

• 2.5V (power supply’s 2.5 volt)

• Vcc3 (onboard 3.3 volt)

54 PC Health Status Option

BIOS Configuration

• 5V (power supply’s 5 volt)

• 12V (power supply’s 12 volt)

After you have made your selections in the PC Health Status Setup,
press the <ESC> key to go back to the main program screen.

4.9. Frequency/Voltage Control

This item enables you to set the clock speed and system bus for your
system. The clock speed and system bus are determined by the kind

of processor you have installed in your system.

CMOS Setup Utility – Copyright (C) 1984 – 2000 Award Software

Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk Disabled
Spread Spectrum Modulated Disabled
CPU Hst/PCI Clock Default
Method In Linear Funct. Increase

CPU HOST By Linear Funct. 0

Frequency/Voltage Control

Menu Level

Item Help

↑↑ ↓↓ →→ ←← : MoveEnter : Select +/-/PU/PD:Value: F10: Save ESC: Exit F1:General

Help F5:Previous Values F6:Fail-Safe Defaults F7:Optimized Defaults

Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk: When this item is enabled, BIOS will
disable the clock signal of free DIMM and PCI slots.

Spread Spectrum Modulated: If you enable spread spectrum, it can
significantly reduce the EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) gener-

ated by the system. The default is “Enabled.”
CPU Host/PCI Clock: This item can be used to set the system bus

frequency for the installed processor. The options are:

• Default

• 100/33 MHz

• 103/34 MHz

• 105/35 MHz

• 112/37 MHz

Frequency/Voltage Control 55

Mainboard User’s Man ual

• 115/38 MHz

• 120/40 MHz

• 124/41 MHz

• 133/33 MHz

• 136/34 MHz

• 140/35 MHz

• 145/36 MHz

• 150/38 MHz

• 155/39 MHz

Method In Linear Funct.: The default is “Increase.”
CPU HOST By Linear Funct.:. The default is “0.”

After you have made your selections in the Frequency/Voltage Co n­trol Setup, press the <ESC> key to go back to the main program

screen.

4.10. Load Fail-Safe Defaults Option

This option opens a dialog box that lets you install fail-safe defaults
for all appropriate items in the whole setup utility.

Use this option if you have changed your system and it does not o p­erate correctly or does not power up. When you select “Load Fail­Safe Defaults” from the main menu, you see the following screen:

Load Fail-Safe Defaults (Y/N)? N

Press the “Y” key and then [Enter] to install the defaults. Press the
“N” key and then [Enter] to return to the previous screen without in­stalling the defaults. The fail-safe defaults place no great demands
on the system and are generally stable. If your system is not func­tioning correctly, try installing the fail-safe defaults as a first step in
getting your system working properly again. If you only want to in­stall fail-safe defaults for a specific option, select and display that

option, and then press the F6 key.

56 Load Fail-Safe Defaults Option

BIOS Configuration

4.11. Load Optimized Defaults Option

This option opens a dialog box that lets you install optimized defaults
for all appropriate items in the whole Setup Utility. Press the <Y>
key and then <Enter> to install the defaults. Press the <N> key and
then <Enter> to not install the defaults. The optimized defaults place
demands on the system that may be greater than the performance
level of the components, such as the CPU and the memory. You can
cause fatal errors or instability if you install the optimized defaults
when your hardware does not support them. If you only want to in­stall setup defaults for a specific option, select and display that
option, and then press the <F7> key.

4.12. Set Supervisor/User Password

The “Supervisor/User Password” utility sets the password. The
mainboard is shipped with the password disabled. If you want to
change the password, you must first enter the current password, then
at the prompt enter your new password. The password is case sensi­tive. You can use up to eight alphanumeric characters. Press <Enter>
after entering the password. At the next prompt, confirm the new

password by retyping it and pressing <Enter> again.
To disable the password, press <Enter> instead of entering a new

password when the “Enter Password” dialog box appears. A message
appears confirming that the password has been disabled.

If you have set supervisor and user passwords, only the supervisor
password allows you to enter the BIOS Setup Program.

Note: If you forget your password, the only way to solve this
problem is to discharge the CMOS memory by turning power
off and placing a shunt on jumper JP12 to short pin 2 and pin
3 for five seconds, then putting the shunt back to pin 1 and pin
2 of JP12.

Load Optimized Defaults Option 57

Mainboard User’s Man ual

4.13.Save & Exit Setup

Selecting this option and pressing <Enter> will save the new setting
information in the CMOS memory and continue with the booting

process.

4.14.Exit Without Saving

Selecting this option and pressing <Enter> will exit the Setup Utility
without recording any new values or changing old ones.

This concludes Chapter 4. Chapter 5 describes the drivers and utility

programs that are packaged with the mainboard.

58 Save & Exit Setup

5. Driver and Utility

5.1. Flash Utility

The BIOS of the P6F121 mainboard can be upgraded by using a
Flash utility. A new version of the BIOS can be downloaded from the
factory's BBS and Web site. The system BIOS is stored in a 1 M-bit
Flash EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed by the Flash

utility.
There are two files in the FLASH directory:

• FLASH.EXE Flash utility for AWARD BIOS upgrade

• README.TXT Text file of instructions

The Flash utility will not work with any memory manager software
running in the system. In order to make sure no memory manager
software is running, boot your system from a bootable floppy diskette
which does not contain CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files.
If you are using MS-DOS 6.x, you can press the <F5> function key
when the “Starting MS-DOS..” message appears on the screen to b y­pass the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.

5.2. VIA 4-in-1 Driver

A 4-in-1 driver has been designed for the VIA Apollo Pro chipset.
You can install AGP, IRQ, ACPI and IDE drivers together from the
manufacturer’s support CD. The installation file is “4-in­1/Setup.exe.” You do not need to install the drivers one by one—the
VIA 4-in-1 installation program will automatically detect and install
the drivers.

Installation is in two steps:
Step 1: Insert the manufacturer’s CD-ROM into your PC’s CD-ROM

drive.
Step 2: Run “4-in-1\Setup.exe” from your operating system to start

the installation. Follow the instructions on your screen.

Mainboard User’s Man ual

5.3. System Environment Monitor

The System Environment Monitoring utility along with the onboard
VT82C686A system monitor chip enables you to monitor your sys­tem’s operating characteristics such as temperature, fan speed and
CPU voltage. Using this utility, you can define the upper and lower
limits of these monitored parameters. A pre-warning message will
pop up on the screen when the monitored parameters move out of the
preset range. This software must be installed under Windows 9x.
However, the feature version may run on different operating systems,

such as Wi ndows NT.

5.3.1. Hardware Monitor System Setup

The Installation Steps:

1. Insert the manufacturer’s CD-ROM into your CD-ROM

drive.

2. Install Hardware Monitor System from the directory

“Monitor\Setup.exe” on the CD-ROM to start the installa­tion.

3. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the instal-

lation. After setup is completed, you need to restart the
computer before you can activate the program.

60 System Environment Monitor

Driver and Utility

4. Click on the “VIA Hardware Monitor System” icon to ac-

cess the program.

5.3.2. Setting the Threshold

Set the threshold for system temperature, voltages and fan speeds.

System Environment Monitor 61

Mainboard User’s Man ual

5.4. ATA66 Controller Options

When using the ATA66 controller, the BIOS setting will allow users
to “Set Device Mode” and “Select Boot Sequence.”

Setting Device Mode: Choose UDMA (0~4), PIO (0~4), and MW
DMA (0~2) setting options transfer mode for any hard disks

(ATA66) controlled by VT82C686A.
Select Boot Sequence: This option allows users to choose the boot

sequence for the hard disk(s). (No options will be shown if there is a
bootable disk on default IDE channels.)

5.5. VIA AC 97 Audio Codec

This folder has software and drivers for the VIA codec sound system
that is integrated on this mainboard. The VIA codec allows the sys­tem to generate optimal sound effects. Drivers are provided for DOS

and Windows NT/2000/98/95.

Windows Installation

Use the SETUP.EXE application in the \DRIVER\VIA\AUDIO\
folder.

DOS Installation

Browse to the \DRIVER\VIA\AUDIO\DOS folder and run
INSTALL.EXE.

62 ATA66 Controller Options

Driver and Utility

5.6. Online Services

Flexus Computer Technology, under the Freetech brand name, has
consistently won recognition for excellence in the design and manu-

facturing of high quality mainboards!
Our products are globally recognized among the leading cost-

performance mainboards in the industry today and we are a certified
ISO-9002 manufacturer!

Our customers are our partners! Flexus practices partnership service
“not customer service”! Our attention to partnership service is ag­gressive and proactive, by using our global partnership service
system. We create value for our partners in the high-end market and
we are always ready to see to our partners’ requirements, because at

Flexus, we believe our partners’ success is our success!
If you need technical support, information on products, or updated

versions of the BIOS, drivers and utilities access the Internet and
point your browser to:

www.freetech.com

Online Services 63