Freetech A7F156 Incomplete manual

A7F156

MOTHER BOARD

USER’S MANUAL

DEC.10.2002

Ver. 1

Copyright Notice

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

accompanying documentation is copyrighted and all rights are
reserved. 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 person 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
notice.

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Using This Manual

This manual is designed to help you build a reliable Personal
Com puter based on the A7F156 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 components.

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.

Perface

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.

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Perface

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Table of Contents

1. A7F156 QUICK REFERENCE ................................

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

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

1.3. Front Panel Connector ................................

1.4. Jumpers................................................................

1.5. PCI and AGP Frequency Settings

1.6. Memory Installation ................................

1.7. Connectors................................................................

2. INTRODUCTION................................

2.1. Overview................................................................

2.2. Mainboard Specifications and Features

2.2.1. Hardware ................................................................

2.2.2. Software................................................................

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

2.4. Microprocessor................................

2.5. AC97 Codec................................

2.6. Chipset................................................................

2.7. RAID................................................................

3. HARDWARE INSTALLATION................................

3.1. Unpacking................................................................

3.2. Installation................................................................

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

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

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

3.5.1. Front Panel Connectors (JP1) ................................

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2
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3
3
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Perface

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4. BIOS CONFIGURATION ................................

3.5.2. Audio CD -In Connector (CD1)................................

3.5.3. Audio AUX -IN Connector (AUX1)

3.5.4. Infrared Connector (IR) ................................

3.5.5. LAN/Modem Wake up connectors (WOL1)

3.5.6. Front USB Header (USB2~3 )................................

3.5.7. Floppy Drive Header (F DD1)................................

3.5.8. IDE Connectors ................................

3.5.9. Back Panel Connectors ................................

3.5.10. Power Supply Connector (PW2) ................................

3.5.11. CPU/System FAN Power Supplies

3.5.12. PCI Connector (PCI1~PCI6) ................................

3.5.13. CPU Thermal Diode (D15) ................................

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

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

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

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

3.7. Installing System Memory................................

3.8. Setting Jumpers................................................................

3.8.1. Clear CMOS Jumper (JBAT1) ................................

3.8.2. CPU FSB (JCK1)................................

3.8.3. DIMM Voltage (JV1)................................

3.9. Auto Power On................................................................

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

4.2. Standard CMOS Features................................

4.3. Advanced BIOS Features................................

4.4. Advanced Chipset Features................................

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

4.6. Power Management Setup................................

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4.7. PnP/PCI Configurations................................

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

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

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

4.11. Load Optimized Defaults Option

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

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

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

5. DRIVER AND UTILITY................................

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

5.2 CD Driver Overview................................

5.2.1. VIA 4 In 1 driver ................................

5.2.2. AC97 Audio Driver ................................

5.3 Online Services................................................................

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

1. A7F156 Quick Reference

1.1. Mainboard Layout

1.

CPU SOCKET462

2.

ATX power connector (PW2)

3.

184-pin DIMM DDR module sockets (DIMM1~3)

4.

IDE connector (IDE1)

5.

IDE connector (IDE2)

6.

IDE connector (IDE3) [Optional]

7.

IDE connector (IDE4) [Optional]

8.

Floppy drive connect (FDD1)

9.

PCI expansion connector (PCI 1 ~ PCI 6)

10.

Accelerated Graphics Port slot (AGP1)

11.

Front Panel connectors (JP1)

12.

USB ports connector (USB2)

13.

USB ports connector (USB3)

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

IR connector (IR)
Auxiliary -In connectors (AUX1)
CD-In connectors (CD1)
LAN/Modem Wake up Connector(WOL1)
SYSTEM FAN
CPU FAN
DIMM Voltage(JV1)
CPU FSB(JCK1)
CMOS Jumper (JBAT1)
CPU Thermal Diode (D15)
RTC Battery
Flash BIOS

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1.2. I/O Ports

1.3. Front Panel Connector (JP1)

The following illustration shows the front panel connector pin
assignments:

I/O Port

1.4. Jumper

A7F156 Quick Reference

1-2 Normal Mode
2-3 Clear CMOS
1-2 100MHz FSB

Open 133MHz FSB

2-3 166MHz FSB
Voltage 2.5V 2.6V 2.7V 2.8V
Pin 1-2 ON OFF OFF OFF

Pin 3-4 OFF ON OFF OFF
Pin 5-6 OFF OFF ON OFF
Pin 7-8 OFF OFF OFF ON

(DIMM Voltage)

JBAT1

JCK1

(CPU FSB)

JV1

1.5. PCI and AGP Frequency Setting

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

1.6. Memory Installation

Note: This mainboard supports up to two double-sided or two

single-sided DIMMs when the DDR DRAM interface is
operating at 133 MHz. Installing DDR DIMM modules that
exceed these specifications requires that the BIOS
down-shifts the DRAM clocks to 100 MHz through a
two-wire interface of the system clock generator.

184-Pin DIMM DDR SDRAM Memory Configuration.

Each 184-pin DIMM bank can install from 64MB up to 1GB of
PC1600/PC2100/PC2700 compliant 2.5V single or double side
buffered with or without ECC DDR SDRAM modules.

Bank 0 (DIMM1) 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB
Bank 1 (DIMM2) 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB
Bank 2 (DIMM3) 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB

Total 3 GB

Jumper

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Mainboard User’s Manual

4

pin header is used for connecting

pin header is used

used for remote wake up of the computer through a

1.7. Connectors

CPU FAN

System FAN

USB2~3

IR

WOL1

CD1

AUX1

CPU FAN : This 3-

a CPU fan.

System FAN : This 3-pin header is for connecting
the case fan that keeps the system cool.

Front USB connector : This 10-pin header is used
connecting front panel USB port 3 or 4 or 5 or 6.

Infrared (IR) connector : This 5­connect an IR port for use of IR devices.

Wake On LAN Connector : This 3-pin header is

network card.

CD-IN connector : This 4-pin header is used for
connecting the CD ROM audio input to the sound
card.

Auxiliary-IN connector : This 4-pin header is an
auxiliary input connector.

ATX power connector : This 20-pin header is

PW2

connect the power supply plug to ATX power
connector to provide Pentium 4 standard power for
devices.

Connectors

A7F156 Quick Reference

2. Introduction

2.1. Overview

The high quality A7F156 is a high performance, enhanced function
mainboard that supports Socket-A(Socket-462) processors that
support a 333 MHz front side bus (FSB). This mainboard is designed
around the latest and fastest VIA KT400 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 DDR SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) memory and
supports ATA33/66/100/133.
In addition to superior hardware capabilities, provided with this
platform are these features:

—Supports Socket 462 processors
—Supports a 66/100/133 memory bus
—Support for AGP 8X
—Supports up to 3 GB of PC1600/PC2100/PC2700 DDR SDRAM
—Advanced ECC memory controller
—Supports six USB2.0 ports accommodating Plug and Play devices
—Soft-off APM (Advanced Power Management)
—ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
—External modem ring on
—LAN wake up
—BIOS upgrade

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Mainboard User’s Manual

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133/100/66

Support ATAPI compliant devices including DVD

2.2. Mainboard Specifications and Features

2.2.1. Hardware

CPU AMD Socket 462 processors package,

compatible Auto-detection CPU

VRM Onboard Voltage Regulator Module

Provides 1.05V to 1.825V operating voltage

Coprocessor
Speed

Chipset VIA KT400 supports

DRAM Three 184-pin DDR sockets, up to 3GB

EIDE
Controller

CPU has built -in floating point unit
333/266/200 MHz FSB Athlon XP Socket -A
system
PCI bus clock 33 MHz

AGP 8X mode
PC1600/PC2100/PC2700 DDR SDRAM and

VT8235 (super-I/O integrated peripheral
controller) support Ultra ATA100/133

Supports 64 MB to 1GB DDR SDRAM memory
types

Dual channel master mode hard disk cont roller

supporting four Enhanced IDE devices

Transfer rate up to 133MB/sec to cover PIO

mode 4, multi-word DMA mode 2 drivers, and
UltraDMA-133 interface

Increased reliability using UltraDMA-

transfer protocols

Thirty-two levels (doublewords) of prefetch and

write buffers

Dual DMA engine for concurrent dual channel

operation

device

Support PCI native and ATA compatibility modes

Mainboard Specification and Feature

Introduction

in,

Complete software driver support

Sound Chip 1 stereo DirectSound channel with source /

volume control / mixer

AC97 2. 2 compliant

Enhanced I/O One floppy disk controller

One Standard/EPP/ECP parallel port connector
Two 16550 compatible serial port connectors
Two USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports
One audio port connector, include line-out, line­mic-in, and midi/game ports

I/O Options Two connectors for front panel USB ports 3/4, 5/6

One IrDA compatible infrared (IR) connector

Mouse PS/2 mouse connector

Keyboard PS/2 keyboard connector

Expansion
Slots

Power
Management

System
Management

Voltage
Regulator

One 32-bit 4X / 8X AGP slot
Six 32-bit PCI slots

Compliant with EPA, APM 1.2 and ACPI
ATX soft-off power control
Power on by keyboard and mouse
Power on by external modem ring
Power on by alarm
Power on by LAN wake up
Fan off in sleep mode

CPU and system voltage detection
CPU and secondary fan RPM detection

Switching regulator
CPU voltage auto-detection

Form Factor ATX form factor

Board Size 23 cm x 30.5 cm (9.1 x 12-inch)

Mainboard Specification and Feature

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2.2.2. Software

BIOS AWARD AGP/PCI BIOS

2M-bit Flash BIOS with ESCD (Extended

System Configuration Data) block

Supports APM, Plug and Play, Multi-Boot, DMI

and EIDE devices

Supports ACPI

Supports high-capacity LS-120 and ZIP

removable media drive

Driver and
Utility

Operating
System

IDE Bus mastering Ultra DMA driver

AC97 codec audio driver

Flash utility for BIOS upgrade

System Environment Monitoring Utility

Operates with MS_DOS, Windows

3.x/9x/ME/XP/2000/NT, OS/2, Novell

NetWare/UnixWare, and SCO Unix

Mainboard Specification and Feature

2.3. Mainboard Layout

to the one shown in the

Introduction

Note: Because of optional items and design changes, your

mainboard may not be identical
illustration.

Mainboard Layout

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Mainboard User’s Manual

Key to Mainboard Components

NO. Name Function

1 Socket 462 CPU socket
2 PW2 ATX standard power connector
3 DIMM1~3 DDR SDRAM Memory module slots
4 IDE1 IDE 1 connector (blue)
5 IDE2 IDE 2 connector (blue)
6 IDE3 IDE 3 connector (red) [Optional]
7 IDE4 IDE 4 connector (red) [Optional]
8 FDD1 Floppy drive connector
9 PCI 1~6 32-bit PCI Slots

10 AGP1 Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) Slot

11 JP1 Front Panel Connector
12 USB2 Front USB Connector
13 USB3 Front USB Connector
14 IR IrDA compliant Infrared (IR) connector
15 AUX1 Audio AUX -In header
16 CD1 Audio CD-In header
17 WOL1 LAN/Modem Wake up Connector
18 System FAN System FAN Connector
19 CPU FAN CPU FAN Connector
20 JV1 DIMM Voltage 2.5V~2.8V
21 JCK1 CPU FSB Jumper
22 JBAT1 Clear CMOS
23 D15 CPU Thermal Diode
24 BAT1 RTC battery
25 U19 Flash BIOS

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Mainboard Layout

2.4. Microprocessor

The mainboard is designed to operate with the following processor:

Processor Type Speed FSB
AMD XP1500+~XP2700+ 200 / 266 / 333 MHz

An onboard switching voltage regulator provides the required 1.05
to 1.825 volts for the processor. The processor sends five VID
(Voltage identification) sig nals to the switching voltage regulator.
The switching regulator generates the correct voltage for the
processor.

The mainboard’s CPU socket is a surface mount, Socket 462 type
ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket. The socket has 478 pins with 50
mil pin pi tch.

Note: ZIF sockets are sockets designed for easy insertion of pin

grid array (PGA) chips. The chip is dropped into the
socket, and a lever is used to secure the chip in place.

Introduction

2.5. AC 97 Codec

l 18-bit ADC and 20-bit DAC resolution
l Compliant with AC’97 2.2 specifications
l 18-bit stereo full-duplex CODEC with independent and

variable sampling rate

l 3D Stereo enhancement
l No external crystal/clock required
l Power supply digital: 3.3V; analog: 5V/3.3V
l Standard 48-pin LQFP package

Microprocessor

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Mainboard User’s Manual

2.6. Chipset

The A7F156 supports the VIA KT400 chipset. The KT400 chipset is
optimized for the Pentium 4 processor .

In addition to future application support, the KT400 chipset was
designed with the following features:

l Advanced packaging technology and industry leading electrical

design innovations ensure long-term system reliability over wide
operating conditions.

l The AGP8X interface providing the most advanced graphics support

available, enabling graphics bandwidth of over 1GB/s.

l Two USB controllers provide high-performance peripherals with 480

Mbps of bandwidth, while enabling support for up to six USB ports.

l AC97 (ALC201A) two channels of audio.(Optional)

l AC97(ALC650) implementation delivers six channels of audio for

enhanced sound quality and full surround sound capability.

l Dual Ultra ATA/100/133 controllers support faster IDE transfers to

storage devices.

2.7. RAID (Optional)

Bus mastering design allows utilization of a RAID (Redundant
Array of Independent Disks). A RAID is a set of two or more hard
disks and a specialized disk controller, which controls the RAID
function. Using a RAID, the user can write and read to more than
one disk at the same time, that is, complete data duplication can be
achieved, or, excess data can be transferred to another disk. The
problems of disk failure are minimized with the use of a RAID.

This concludes Chapter 2. Chapter 3. covers hardware installation.

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Chipset

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 compo nents
in order to build a fully functioning system.

l Computer case with P4 standard ATX power supply
l Socket 462 Processor
l One DDR SDRAM memory module
l One floppy disk drive
l One UDMA -66/100 IDE hard disk drive
l One CD-ROM drive
l One display monitor
l One mouse
l One PS/2 keyboard
l One set of loudspeakers

3.1. Unpacking

The A7F156 mainboard package contains the following items:

l One mainboard
l One IDE 66/100 40-pin ribbon cable
l One floppy 34-pin ribbon cable
l Driver and utility CD
l User’s manual

After removing the m ainboard from its anti-static bag, place it on a
grounded or antistatic surface (component side up). Inspect the
mainboard and contact your vendor immediately if it is damaged.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

3.2. Installation

The A7F156 is designed to fit into a standard ATX form facto r
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 m any metal
fasteners as possible to mount the mainboard in the chassis for better
grounding.
To install the mainboard you need to install the CPU and DDR
memory modules, attach the connectors, and set the correct CPU
speed in the CMOS setup.

3.3. Safety Me asures

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 you
computer:

l 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.

l If possible, wear a grounded wrist strap when you are

installing the mainboard or working inside the computer case.
Alternatively, discharge any static electricity by touching the
bare metal chassis of the computer case, or the bare metal
body of ay other grounded appliance.

l 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.

l Leave each component inside the static-proof packaging that it

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

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Installation

Hardware Installation

3.4. Connect or/Jumper Location

Connector/Jumper Location

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Mainboard User’s Manual

mounted Standby

is off to indicate that AC power is available.

mounted and the

3.5. Attaching Connectors

3.5.1. Front Panel Connectors (JP1)

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

PW SW This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted Power

button.

RESET This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted reset

switch and is used to reboot the system.

SBLED This 2-pin connector connects to the case-

HLED This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted HDD

PWRLED &

RLED

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

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LED to indicate a standby status. The LED remains Lit even
when the system
When the system enters standby mode, the LED starts
blinking.

LED to indicate hard disk activity.
This 5-pin connector connects to the case­power LED. The RLED switch is used to indicate Raid
activity.

Attaching Connectors

3.5.2. Audio CD-In Connector (CD1)

This connector enables you to connect a CD-ROM to the mainboard
and receive stereo audio input.

3.5.3. Audio AUX-IN Connectors (AUX1)

Hardware Installation

This connector enables you to connect a stereo audio input from
CD-ROM, TV -tuner, or MPEG card.

Attaching Connectors

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Mainboard User’s Manual

3.5.4. Infrared Connector (IR)

This 5-pinheader 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.

3.5.5. LAN/Modem Wake up connectors (WOL1)

This 3-pin header is used for remote wake up of the computer
through a network or modem signal.

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Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

3.5.6. Front USB Header (USB2~3)

The mainborad provides two onboard 10-pin of dual USB port (port
3,port 4, port 5 and port 6) header. The header on the same signal
with USB port 1 and port 2 on the back panel.

3.5.7. Floppy Drive Header (FDD1)

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 c onnector 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.

Attaching Connectors

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Mainboard User’s Manual

3.5.8. IDE Connectors

An IDE drive ribbon cable has two connectors to support two IDE
drives. If a ribbon 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.

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.

(Optional)
(Optional)

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Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

3.5.9. Back Panel Connectors

The back panel provides e xternal access to PS/2 style keyboard and
mouse connectors, two serial ports, one parallel port, dual USB ports,
and audio Line-out, Line-in, Mic-in, game/midi 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 Key board 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.

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.

LAN Port

Connect a device to the LAN port on the back panel.

Universal Serial Bus Ports

You can connect two USB2.0 devices or USB hubs to the USB
ports.

Attaching Connectors

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Mainboard User’s Manual

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 USB2.0 ports have a maximum bandwidth of 480
Mbits/sec (equivalent to 60 Mbytes/sec), and up to 127devices can be
attached. Fast devices can use the full bandwidth, while lower-speed
ones can transfer data using a 60 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.

Serial Port

Connect a serial device such as a mouse or modem to the 9-pin
serial port. You can set the serial port IRQs in BIOS. Refer to
integrated Peripherals in Chapter 4 for details.

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

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Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

Audio Line -Out Port

You can connect various audio devices to this audio jacks. Connect
headphones or powered speakers to the line-colored lineout
connector.

Audio Line -In Port

You can 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.

Audio Mic-In Port

You can connect a microphone to the pink microphone connector to
record audio to your computer.

Audio MIDI/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
playing or editing audio.

Attaching Connectors

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Mainboard User’s Manual

serious damage to the mainboard and connected peripherals.

3.5.10. Power Supply Connector (PW2)

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 to ATX power connector. Press the lead connector down
until the clip snaps into place and secures the lead onto the
connector.

Warning:

Incorrect installation of the power supply could result in

Make sure the power supply is unplugged from the AC outlet
before connecting the leads from the power supply.

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Attaching Connectors

Hardware Installation

3.5.11. CPU/System Fan Power Supplies

There are three fan connectors on the mainboard for the cooling fans.
The connectors support fans of 12VDC/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 VT8235 Chip (providing the
fan comes with a tachometer output).

Attaching Connectors

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Mainboard User’s Manual

3.5.12. PCI Connector (PCI1~PCI6)

PCI connector is one of equipment interfaces that connects
peripheral equipment and motherboard. Its transfer speed is faster
than traditional ISA. PCI is the mainstream transfer interface for
extra adopter.

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Attaching Connectors

3.5.13. CPU Thermal Diode (D15)

When CPU temperature is overhead the system will shutdown. Red
LED of CPU thermal diode will light up. You should press “power
button” over 4 seconds, then system can be booted up.

Hardware Installation

Attaching Connectors

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Mainboard User’s Manual

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.

2. Push the CPU socket level slightly to the side and then raise it
as far as it can go.

28

Installing the CPU

Hardware Installation

3. Identify the pin-1 corner of the Socket 462. The pin-1 corner is
on the same side as the locking lever, as shown in the
illustration below.

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
Socket462. 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 system
setup utility as described in Chapter 4. Configure the processor
the first time you turn on the assembled computer.

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.

Installing the CPU

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3.7. Installing System Memory

Maximum system memory supported by the mainboard is 3GB.
The mainboard has two DIMM Sockets. Memory can be installed

using 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM memory modules. These are no
jumper settings required for the memory size or type, which is
automatically detected by the BIOS.

You must use 2.5V DIMMs in the mainboard. To determine the
DIMM type, check the notches on the DIMMs.

Install the 184-pin DDR SDRAM modules in any combination as
follows:

Bank 0 (DIMM1) 64MB/128MB/512MB/1GB
Bank 1 (DIMM2) 64MB/128MB/512MB/1GB
Bank 2 (DIMM3) 64MB/128MB/512MB/1GB
Total System Memory 64MB ~ 3GB

30

Setting Jumpers

3.8. Setting Jumpers

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

Hardware Installation

3.8.1. Clear CMOS Jumper (JBAT1)

You may need to clear the CMOS if your system cannot boot up
because you forgot your password, the CPU clock setup is incorrect,
or the CMOS setting need to 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 JBAT1 for five

3. Place the shunt back to pin 1 and pin 2 of JBAT1 .

4. Power on the system.

Setting Jumpers

seconds.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

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
automatically 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.

3.8.2. CPU FSB (JCK1)

The 3-pin header is used for CPU FSB. You can set “100 MHz” or
“133 MHz”, “166 MHz”.

3.8.3. DIMM Voltage (JV1)

The 8-pin header is used for DIMM voltage. You can set “2.5V”,
“2.6V”, “2.7V”, “2.8V”.

3.9. 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 4 covers the BIOS setup program.

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Setting Jumpers

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 cha nges 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-backed-up CMOS RAM that saves this information even when the
power is turned off. When the system is turned back on, the system is
configured with the values found in CMOS.

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

u Hard drives, diskette drives, and peripherals
u Video display type and display options
u Password protection from unauthorized use
u 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.

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This program should be executed under the following conditions:

u When changing the system configuration

u When a configuration error is detected by the system and you

are prompted to make changes to the Setup program

u When resetting the system clock

u When setting the CPU clock speed so that it automatically

runs either fast or slow

u When redefining the communication ports to prevent any con

flicts

u When making changes to the Power Management

configuration
u 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.

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

34

Entering Setup

BIOS Configuration

“Press DEL to enter SETUP”

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

higf

+/-/PU/PD

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 35

Cursor keys: Scroll through the items on a menu
Plus, minus, Page Up and Page Down keys: Modify the
selected field’s values

Mainboard User’s Manual

4.2. Standard CMOS Features

Standard CMOS Features is the same for all three chipsets. Selecting
“Standard CMOS Features” on the main program screen displays
the following menu:

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

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).

u 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.”

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Standard CMOS Features

BIOS Configuration

Drive A and Drive B : Select the type of floppy disk drive installed
in your system. The options are:

—

360K, 5.25 in

—

1.2M, 5.25in

—

720K, 3.5in

—

1.44M, 3.5in

—

2.88M, 3.5in

—

None” (Not Installed)

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:

—

MONO

—

CGA 40

—

CGA 80

—

EGA/VGA

Halt On : This setting determines which type of errors will cause the

system to halt during boot up. The options are:

—

All Errors

—

No Errors

—

All, But Keyboard

—

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.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

4.3. Advanced BIOS Features

Selecting “Advanced BIOS Features” 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.

The following explains the options for each feature:

Virus Warning : 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.”

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”.

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Advanced BIOS Features

BIOS Configuration

Processor Number Feature : Some new processors are installed
with a unique processor number. This number may be used for
verification in Internet transactions and e -commerce. If you prefer
not to use or distribute the unique processor number,set this item to
Disabled to suppress the processor number. 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
process. The default setting is “Enabled”.

First/Second/Third 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”, or “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 disk 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 “Disabled”.

Boot Up Num Lock 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” (default). The other option
is “Normal”.

Advanced BIOS Features 39

Mainboard User’s Manual

Typematic Rate Se tting : If set to “Enabled,” enables you to set the
Typematic Rate and Typematic Delay. The default setting is
“Disabled”.

u 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
setting is “6” Chars/Sec.

u 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.” Selecti ng “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
using the “SUPERVISOR/USER PASSWORD” utility in the main
program screen.

MPS Version Control For OS : Selects the operating system
multiprocessor support version. The default setting is “1.4”.

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
default setting is “Non-OS2”.

Video BIOS Shadow : This function, when enabled allows VGA
BIOS to be copied to the system.

Small Logo (EPA) Show : Enables and disables the EPA logo when
booting up. The default setting is “Disabled”.

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

40

Advanced BIOS Features

4.4. Advanced Chipset Features

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

This option displays a table of items that define critical timing
parameters of the mainboard. You should leave the items on this page
at their default values unless you are very familiar with the technical
specification of your system hardware. If you change the values
incorrectly, you may introduce fatal errors or recurring instability
into your system.

BIOS Configuration

Advanced Chipset Features 41

Mainboard User’s Manual

u DRAM Clock/Drive Control

Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen:

Current FSB Frequency : This item display the front side bus (FSB)
frequency. This is a display-only item. You cannot make changes to
this field.

Current DRAM Frequency : This item display the front side bus
(DRAM) frequency. This is a display-only item. You cannot make
changes to this field.

DRAM Clock : This item enabled you to manually set the DRAM
Clock. We recommend that you leave this item at the default.

DRAM Timing : Set this By SPD to Enabled the system to
automatically set the SDRAM timing by SPD (Serial Prese nce
Detect). SPD is an EEPROM chip on the DIMM module that stores
information about the memory chips it contains, including size, speed,
voltage row and column addresses, and manufacturer. If you disable
this item, you can use the following three items to manually set the
timing parameters for the system memory.

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Advanced Chipset Features

BIOS Configuration

l DRAM CAS Latency : This item enables you to

optimize the speed at which data is accessed in a column
by defining CAS latency time. The CAS latency defines
the time delay (in CLKs) before SDRAM starts a read
command after receiving it. Because reading data in a
row is twice as fast, reducing this number can increase
performance at the expense of stability. We recommand
that you leave this item at the default value. The default
setting is “1.5”.

l Bank Interleave : Enable this item to increase memory

speed. When enabled, separate memory banks are set for
odd and even addresses and the next byte of memory can
be accessed while the current byte is being refreshed.

l Precharge to Active(Trp) : This item allows you to

precharge Command to Active Command Period. The
Choice: 2T or 3T

l Active to Precharge(Tras) : This item allows you to

Active Command to Precharge Command Period. The
Choice: 5T or 6T

l Active to CMD(Trcd) : This item allows you to Active

to CMD. The Choice: 2T or 3T

DRAM Burst Length : This item describes which burst lengths are
supported by the devices on the mainboard.

Dram Queue Depth : This item allows you to select DRAM Queue
Depth level. The options are “4 level”, “3 level” and “2 level”.

DRAM Command Rate : This item enables you to specify the
waiting time for the CPU to issue the next command after issuing the
command to the DDR memory. We recommend that you leave this
item at the default value.

Advanced Chipset Features 43

Mainboard User’s Manual

Write Recovery Time : These registers are normally set at system
initialization time and not accessed after during normal system
operation.

DRAM tWTR : DDR 400 tWIR timing control. The options are
“1T” and “3T”.

Press <Esc > to return to the Advanced Chipset Feature page.

44

Advanced Chipset Features

BIOS Configuration

u AGP & P2P Bridge Control

Scroll to this item and press <Enter > to view the following screen:

AGP Aperture Size : This item defines the size of the aperture if

you use an AGP graphics adapter. The AGP aperture refers to a
section of the PCI memory a ddress range used for graphics memory.
We recommend that you leave this item at the default value.

AGP Mode : This item allows you to enable or disable the caching
of display data for the processor video memory. Enabling AGP-4X
Mode can greatly improve th e display speed. Disable this item if
your graphics display card does not support this feature

AGP Driving Control : This item is 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. We recommend that you
set this item to the default.

l AGP Driving Value : When AGP Driving Control is set

to Manual, use this item to set the AGP current driving
value.

AGP Fast Write : This item lets you enable or disable the caching of
display data for the video memory of the processor. Enabling this
item can greatly improve the display speed. Disable this item if your
graphic display card does not support this feature.

Advanced Chipset Features 45

Mainboard User’s Manual

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, providing greater stability.

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

DBI Output for AGP Trans : AGP 8X transfer mode only. The
options are “Disabled” and “Enabled”.

Press <Esc > to return to the Advanced Chipset Feature page.

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Advanced Chipset Features

BIOS Configuration

u CPU & PCI Bus Control

Scroll to this item and press <Enter > to view the following screen:

PCI1 Master 0 WS Write : When this item enabled, writing

to the PCI bus is executed with zero wait state.
The Choice: Enabled or Disabled.

PCI2 Master 0 WS Write : When this item enabled, writing
to the AGP bus is executed with zero wait state.
The Choice: Enabled or Disabled.

PCI1 Post Write : This Item enable/disable AGP post write
function, which means when CPU accessing the AGP data,
the chipset can queue the instruction when the AGP bus is
busy,then write the data when AGP bus is busy,then write
the data when AGP bus is available.
The Choice:Enabled or Disabled.

PCI2 Post Write : This Item enable/disable AGP post write
function, instruction when the AGP bus is busy,then write the
data when AGP bus is busy,then write the data when AGP
bus is available.
The Choice:Enabled or Disabled.

Advanced Chipset Features 47

Mainboard User’s Manual

V Link 8X Support : North bridge supports a high speed 8-bit 8X
66MHz Quad data transfer interconnect (V -Link) to the south bridge.

PCI Delay Transaction : The mainboard’s chipset has an embedded
32-bit post write buffer to support delay transactions. Select Enabled
to support compliance with PCI specification version 2.1.

Press <Esc > to return to the Advanced Chipset Feature page.

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.”

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

Video RAM Cacheable : When e nabled, 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.”

CPU Vcore Select : You can select CPU core voltage. The options
are default 1.1~1.85.

Press <Esc > to return to the previous screen.

48

Advanced Chipset Features

BIOS Configuration

4.5. Integrated Peripherals

Selecting “Integrated Peripherals” on the main program screen
displays field.

This option displays a list of item that defines the operation of
peripheral components on the system’s input/output ports.

USB 2.0 Support : You can select Enabled or Disabled USB2.0.

Power Management Setup 49

Mainboard User’s Manual

u VIA OnChip IDE Device

Scroll to this item and press <Enter > to view the following screen :

OnChip IDE Channel 0 : The chipset contains a PCI IDE

interface with support to two IDE channels. Select Enabled to
activate the primary IDE interface; select Disabled to deactivate
this interface
The choice: Enabled or Disabled.

OnChip IDE Channel 1 : The chipset contains a PCI IDE
interface with support to two IDE channels. Select Enabled to
activate the primary IDE interface; select Disabled to deactivate
this interface
The choice: Enabled or Disabled.

IDE Prefetch Mode : The onboard IDE drive interface supports IDE
prefetching, for faster drive access. If you install a primary and
secondary add-on IDE interface, set this field to Disabled if the
interface does not support prefetching.

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Power Management Setup

BIOS Configuration

Primary/Secondary Master/Slave PIO : The four IDE PIO
(Programmed Input/Output) fields let you set a PIO mode (0-

4) for each of the four IDE devices that the onboard IDE
interface supports. Modes 0 through 4 provide successively
increased performance. In Auto mode, the system automatically
determines the best mode for each device. The choice:
Auto, Mode 0, Mode 1, Mode 2, Mode 3, or Mode 4.

Primary/Secondary Master/Slave UDMA : Ultra DMA/100
implementation is possible only if your IDE hard drive supports
it and the operating environment includes a DMA driver
(Windows 95 OSR2 or a third-party IDE bus master driver). If
both of your hard drive and your system software support
Ultra DMA/100, select Auto to enable BIOS support.
The choice: Auto or Disabled.

Press <Esc > to return to the Integrated Peripherals screen.

Power Management Setup 51

Mainboard User’s Manual

u VIA OnChip PCI Device

Scroll to this item and press <Enter > to view the following screen :

VIA-3058 AC97 Audio : Auto and disabled the onboard audio chip.

Disable this item if you are going to install a PCI audio add-on card.

VIA-3043 OnChip LAN : This item allows you to control the
onboard LAN.
The choice: Enabled or Disabled.

Press <Esc > to return to the Integrated Peripherals screen.

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Power Management Setup

BIOS Configuration

u Super IO Device

Scroll to this item and press <Enter > to view the following screen :

Onboard FDC Controller : This option enables the onboard floppy

disk drive controller.

Onboard Serial Port 1 : This option is used to assign the I/O
address and address and interrupt request (IRQ) for onboard serial
port 1 (COM1).

Onboard Serial Port 2 : This option is used to assign the I/O
address and address and interrupt request (IRQ) for onboard serial
port 2 (COM2).

UART Mode Select : This field is available if the Onboard Serial
Port 2 field is set to any option but Disabled. UART Mode Select
enables you to select the infrared communication protocol-Normal
(default), IrDA, or ASKIR. IrDA is an infrared communication
protocol with a maximum baud rate up to 115.2K bps. ASKIR is
Sharp’s infrared communication protocol with a maximum baud rate
up to 57.6K bps.

Power Management Setup 53

Mainboard User’s Manual

RxD , TxD Active : Define the voltage level for Infrared module
RxD(receive) mode and TxD(transmit) mode. This setting has to
match the requirements of the infrared module used in the system.
The options are :

— Hi, Lo (default)
— Lo, Hi
— Lo, Lo

— Hi, Hi

IR Transmission Delay : When set to “Enabled”(default), utilizes
the capability of the mainboard to allow faster infrared transmission
rates. The options are “Enabled” and “Disabled”

UR2 Duplex Mode : This field is available when UART 2 Mode
Selects is set to either ASKIR or IrDA. This item enables you to
determine the infrared (IR) function of the onboard infrared chip. The
option are “Full” and “Halt” (default).Full-duplex means that you can
transmit and send information simultaneously. Half-duplex is the
transmission of data in both directions, but only one direction at a
time.

Use IR Pins : Use this item to set the IR pins. The options are
“IR-Rx2Tx2”(default) and “RxD2, TxD2”.

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

— 378 / IRQ7 (default)
— 278 / IRQ5
— 3BC / IRQ7

— Disabled (disables the onboard parallel port).

Parallel Port Mode : There are four options: “SPP” (Standard
Parallel Port), “EPP” (Enhanced Parallel Port), “ECP” (Extended
Capabilities Port) and “ECP+EPP” and “Normal”. Change the mode
from “SPP”(default) to the enhanced mode only if your peripheral
device can support it.

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Power Management Setup

BIOS Configuration

EPP Mode Select : Sets the EPP specification. There are two option
“EPP1.7”(default) and “EPP1.9”.

ECP Mode Use DMA : When the onboard parallel port is set to ECP
mode, the parallel port can use DMA “3” or DMA “1”.

Game Port Address : Enables you to specify the I/O address of the
game port. Options are “Disabled”,”201”(default), and “209”.

Midi Port Address : Enables you to specify the I/O address of the
MIDI port. Options are “Disabled”,”330”(default), and “300” and
“290”.

Midi Port IRQ : Enables you to specify the IRQ address of the
MIDI port if installed. Option are “5 ” and “10”(default).

Press <Esc > to return to the Integrated Peripherals screen.

Init Display First : Use this item to specify whether your graphics
adapter is installed in one of the PCI slots or is integrated on the
mainboard.

OnChip USB Controller : Enable this item if you plan to use the
Universal Serial Bus ports on this mainboard.

USB Keyboard/Mouse Support : Enable this item if you plan to
use a USB keyboard/mouse.

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 reads and writes per sector that
the drive can support and improve the speed of access to IDE
devices.

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

Power Management Setup 55

Mainboard User’s Manual

external devices, so that mouse or keyboard activity wakes up the

4.6. Power Management Setup

This option lets you control system power management. The system
has various power-saving modes including powering down the hard
disk, turning off the video, suspending to RAM, and software power
down that allows the system to be automatically resumed by certain
events.

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

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

computer.

56

Power Management Setup

BIOS Configuration

ACPI Suspend Type : Use this item to define how your system
suspends. If set to S1(POS) (default), the suspend mode is equivalent
to a software power down. If set to S3(STR), the suspend mode is a
suspend to RAM the system shuts down with the exception of a
refresh current to the system memory.

Power Management Option : This item acts like a master switch for
the power-saving modes and hard disk timeout. 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 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.

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.”

Video Off Option : This option define if the video is powered down
when the system is put into suspend mode.

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

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Mainboard User’s Manual

Soft-Off by PWRBTN : When set to “Insta nt-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”.

Run VGABIOS if S3 Resume : The options are “Auto”, “Yes”,
“No”. This item sets to run VGA BIOS when S3 resume.

u IRQ/Event Activity Detect

Scroll to this item and press <Enter > to view the following screen :

PS2KB Wakeup Select : This Option allows you to set hot key

combination to turn on the system by keyboard.

PS2KB /PS2MS Wakeup from S3/S4/S5 : This option enables you
to allow keyboard or mouse activity to awaken the system from
power saving mode.

USB Resume from S3 : When set to Enabled, the system power will
resume the system from a power saving mode if there is any USB
port activity.

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Power Management Setup

BIOS Configuration

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.

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 Off, any PCI device set as the Master will
not power on the system.

Power On by PCI Card : Use the item to enable PCI activity to
wakeup the system from a power saving mode.

Modem Ring Resume : 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).

RTC Alarm Resume : When set to Enabled, the following two
fields become available and you can set the date (day of the month),
hour, minute and second to turn on your system. When set to 0 (zero)
for the day of the month, the alarm will power on your system every
day at the specified time.

l Date(of Month) : This item selects the alarm date.

Key in a DEC number:Min=1, Max=31.

l Resume Time(hh:mm:ss) :

This item selects the alarm Time.
[hh]
Key in a DEC number:Min=0, Max=23.
[mm/ss]
Key in a DEC number:Min=0, Max=59.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

u IRQs Activity Monitoring

Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen:

Primary INTR

Press Enter to on/off the wake up ability of a specified IRQ.
The choice: OFF, or ON.

In the following is a list of IRQ's, Interrupt ReQuests,
which can be exempted much as the COM ports and LPT
ports above can. When an I/O device wants to gain the
attention of the operating system, it signals this by
causing an IRQ to occur.When the operating system is
ready to respond to the request,it interrupts itself and
performs the service.When On mode exist, activity will
neither prevent the system
from going into a power management mode nor awaken it.

IRQ3 (COM 2 )
IRQ4 (COM 1)
IRQ5 (LPT 2)
IRQ6 (Floppy Disk)
IRQ7 (LPT 1)
IRQ8 (RTC Alarm)
IRQ9 (IRQ2 Redir)
IRQ10 (Reserved)
IRQ11 (Reserved)

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Power Management Setup

IRQ12 ( PS / 2 Mouse )
IRQ13 (Coprocessor)
IRQ14 (Hard Disk)
IRQ15 (Reserved)
The choice: Disabled or Enabled.

Press <Esc > to return to the previous screen.

BIOS Configuration

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Mainboard User’s Manual

4.7. PnP/PCI Configuration

This option displays a table of items that configures how PnP (Plug
and Play) and PCI expa nsion cards operate in your in your system.
Both the ISA and PCI buses on the Mainboard use system IRQs
(Interrupt Requests) and DMAs (Direct Memory Access). You must
set up the IRQ and DMA assignments correctly through the PnP/PCI
Configurations Setup utility; otherwise, the mainboard will not
properly.

Selecting PnP/PCI Configurations on the main program screen
displays this menu:

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.

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

l IRQ Resources : The submenu allows you to

individually assign an interrupt type for interrupts IRQ3
to IRQ15.

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop : This item is designed to overcome
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 VGA/USB : Names the inte rrupt request (IRQ) line
assigned to the USB/VGA (if any) on your system. Activity of the
selected IRQ always awakens the system.

Press <Esc > to return to the previous screen.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

4.8. PC Health Status

On mainboards the 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:

CPU Warning Temperature: Since the mainboard support CPU
temperature monitoring and overhear alert. This item allows the user
to set the threshold of CPU warning temperature. When CPU
temperature over the threshold, system will slow down clock to
prevent CPU damage.
The Choice:Disabled,50 C/122 F,53 C/127 F,56 C/133 F,60 C/140 F,
63 C/145 F,66 C/151 F,70 C/158 F

l Current System Temp
l Current CPU Temperature
l Current CPUFAN Speed
l Current System FAN Speed
l Vcore
l Vagp
l + 5 V
l +12 V
l -12 V

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PC Health Status

BIOS Configuration

l - 5 V
l V BAT(V)
l 5VSB(V)

Shutdown Temperature : Enables you to set the maximum
temperature the system can reach before powering down.

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

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Mainboard User’s Manual

4.9. Frequency/Voltage Control

This item enables you to set the clock speed ad system bus for your
system. The clock speed ad system bus are determined by the kind of
processor you have installed in your system.

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

Spread Spectrum : If you enable spread spectrum, it can
significantly reduce the EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference)
generated by the system.

CPU Host/PCI Clock: This item can be used to set the system bus
frequency for the installed processor. The options are:

l Default (default)
l 66/33 MHz
l 70/35 MHz
l 75/38 MHz
l 80/40 MHz
l 83/42 MHz
l 100/33 MHz
l 103/34 MHz
l 105/35 MHz

66

Frequency/Voltage Control

BIOS Configuration

l 110/37 MHz
l 115/38 MHz
l 133/33 MHz
l 137/34 MHz
l 140/35 MHz
l 145/36 MHz
l 150/38 MHz

CPU Ratio : Use this item to select a multiplier for the system front
side bus (FSB) frequency. The value of the multiplier must be set so
that: Multiplier x Front side Bus Frequency = CPU Clock Speed.

For example, if you have a processor that is rated to run at 450 MHz
and the system in running a front side bus frequency of 100 MHz,
you should select a multiplier of 4.5 so that:

4.5 (Multiplier) x 100 MHz (front side bus) = 450 MHz (CPU clock)

After you have made your selections in the Frequency / Voltage
Control Setup, press the <Esc > to return to the previous screen.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

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 Setup Utility:

Press <Y> and then <Enter> to install the defaults. Press <N> and
then <Enter> to not install 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 <F6>.

4.11. Load Optimized Defaults

This option opens a dialog box that lets you install optimized
defaults for all appropriate items in the Setup Utility. Press <Y>
and then <Enter> to install the defaults. Press <N> 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 <F7>.

4.12. Set Supervisor/User Passwords

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.

68

Save & Exit Setup Option

short pin 2 and pin 3 for five seconds, then putting the

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 a ppears 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

shunt back to pin 1 and pin 2 of JP12.

4.13. Save & Exit Setup Option

BIOS Configuration

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 ex it 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.

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Mainboard User’s Manual

5. Driver and Utility

5.1 Flash Utility

The BIOS of the A7F156 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 D:\DRIVER\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 AUTOEXE.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 by
pass the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.

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5.2. CD Driver Overview

To start your mainboard CD disc, insert into your CD-ROM drive
and the CD AutoRun screen should appear. If the AutoRun screen
does not appear, double click or run D:\ Autorun.exe (assuming that
your CD-ROM drive is drive D:)

The A7F156 CD include

1. Install Mainboard Software (VIA)

2. Install Audio Device Software (AC97)

Driver and Utility

Click the links to install the listed software, read the online
manual, read a list of the mainboard’s features, or browse to the
Freetech homepage.

You can also browse the CD and install the software manually
from Windows Explorer We recommend that you install all of the
supplied software and drivers item for maximum performance.

CD Driver Overview 71

Mainboard User’s Manual

This folder has 4 in 1drivers for Windows NT/ME/XP/2000/98/95.

The Installation Steps:

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

2. Click Driver Install.

3. Select the folder Driver \Via\4in1driver for WIN NT/ME/XP

/2000/98/95 to start the installation:

4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the
installation. After setup is completed, you need to restart the
computer.

Software and drivers are provided for the ALC650 codec sound
system that is integrated on this mainboard. The ALC650 codec
allows the system to generate optimal sound effects. Drivers are
provided for Windows NT/ME/XP/2000/98/95.

The manual Installation Steps:

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

drive.

2. Click Driver Install.

3. Select the folder Driver \Sound\ALC driver for WIN NT/ME

/XP /2000/98/95 to start the installation:

4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the
installation. After setup is completed, you need to restart the
computer.

72

CD Driver Overview

5.3. Online Services

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

Driver and Utility

CD Driver Overview

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