LanPorty UT nF3 250Gb User Guide

System Board
User’s Manual

81000414

Copyright

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

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

© 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Trademarks

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

Caution

To avoid damage to the system:

• Use the correct AC input voltage range

To reduce the risk of electric shock:

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

..

.

..

Battery:

• Danger of explosion if battery incorrectly replaced.

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

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

instructions.

FCC and DOC Statement on Class B

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference
will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:

by

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from
that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for
help.

Notice:

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

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

About this Manual

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

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

Notice

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

Warranty to the product does not cover....

1. Warranty does not cover damages or failures that arised from
misuse of the product, inability to use the product, unauthorized
replacement or alteration of components and product
specifications.

2. The warranty is void if the product has been subjected to
physical abuse, improper installation, modification, accidents or
unauthorized repair of the product.

3. Unless otherwise instructed in this user’s manual, the user may
not, under any circumstances, attempt to perform service,
adjustments or repairs on the product, whether in or out of
warranty. It must be returned to the purchase point, factory or
authorized service agency for all such work.

4. We will not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental or
consequencial damages to the product that has been modified
or altered.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Specifications......................................................................................................................

1.2 Special Features of the System Board.....................................................

1.3 Package Checklist.........................................................................................................

Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 3 - Award BIOS Setup Utility

3.1 The Basic Input/Output System.....................................................................

3.2 NVRAID BIOS...............................................................................................................

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

7
10
15

16
17
20
26
29
40

54
99

100

Chapter 4 - Supported Softwares

4.1 Drivers, Utilities and Software Applications.....................................

4.2 Installation Notes......................................................................................................

102
110

1

Introduction

Appendix A - System Error Messages

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

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

Appendix B - Troubleshooting

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

111
111

113

6

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Specifications

Processor

• AMD AthlonTM 64 (up to 3700+)

• Socket 754

System Bus

• 1600MT/s HyperTransport interface

Chipset

• nVIDIA

System Memory

• Three 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets

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

• Supports up to 3GB memory when using DDR333
Supports up to 2GB memory when using DDR400

• Supports PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) DDR
SDRAM DIMM

• Supports x8/x16, non-ECC, up to 512Mb DDR devices

• Supports unbuffered DIMM

®

nForce3 250Gb

Introduction

1

BIOS

• Award BIOS

• CPU/DRAM/AGP overclocking

• CPU/DRAM/Chipset overvoltage

• 4Mbit flash memory

• AMD Cool‘n’Quiet

Energy Efficient Design

• Supports ACPI specification and OS Directed Power
Management

• Supports ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function

• Wake-On-Events include:

- Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse

- Wake-On-Ring (external modem)

- Wake-On-LAN

- RTC timer to power-on the system

• AC power failure recovery

TM

technology

7

1

Introduction

Hardware Monitor

• Monitors CPU/system temperature

• Monitors 12V/5V/3.3V/Vcore/Vbat/5Vsb/Vchipset/Vdram/Vagp
voltages

• Monitors the speed of the CPU fan, chassis fan and 2nd fan

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

Audio Features

• AC’97 CODEC

• 8 Channels DA Converters with 48KHz rate

• Stereo AD Converters with 48KHz rate

• Microsoft

• S/PDIF-in/out interface

Onboard LAN Features

• Marvell 88E1111 Gigabit PHY

• 10/100/1000BASE-T IEEE 802.3 compliant

®

DirectSound/DirectSound 3D

IDE Interface with NVIDIA RAID

• Two IDE connectors support four UltraDMA 133Mbps hard
drives

• NVIDIA RAID supports spanning across Serial ATA and Parallel
ATA

• RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD

Serial ATA Interface with NVIDIA RAID

• Four Serial ATA interfaces with speed up to 1.5Gbps

- Two Serial ATA ports supported by nForce3 250Gb chip

- Two Serial ATA ports supported by Marvell SATA PHY

• NVIDIA RAID supports spanning across Serial ATA and Parallel
ATA

• RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD

IEEE 1394 Interface(Optional)

• VIA VT6307 controller

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

Accelerated Graphics Port (A.G.P.)

• Supports AGP 8x up to 2132MB/sec. and AGP 4x up to
1066MB/sec. bandwidth for 3D graphics applications

• Supports 0.8/1.5V add-in cards

8

Introduction

Rear Panel I/O Ports

• 1 PS/2 mouse port

• 1 PS/2 keyboard port

• 1 DB-25 parallel por t

• 2 S/PDIF RCA jacks (S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out)

• 1 DB-9 serial port

• 1 IEEE 1394 port(Optional)

• 1 RJ45 LAN port

• 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports

• Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks

• Center/subwoofer, rear R/L jacks and side R/L

I/O Connectors

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

• 1 connector for 1 external IEEE 1394 port(Optional)

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

• 1 CD-in internal audio connector

• 1 S/PDIF connector for optical cable connection

• 1 IrDA connector

• 4 Serial ATA connectors

• 2 IDE connectors

• 1 floppy connector

• 1 20-pin ATX power connector

• 1 4-pin ATX 12V power connector

• 1 front panel connector

• 3 fan connectors

• EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)

1

Expansion Slots

• 1 AGP 8x/4x slot

• 5 PCI slots

PCB

• ATX form factor

• 30.5cm (12") x 24cm (9.44")

9

1

Introduction

1.2 Special Features of the System Board

AMD Athlon

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

2T timing which provides better system stability is supported in CG
or later revisions of the AMD Athlon
the memory timing in the Genie BIOS Setting submenu (“DRAM
Configuration” section) of the BIOS.

AMD Cool‘n’Quiet

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

TM

TM

64

TM

64 processor. AMD

64 provides superior computing for many software

TM

64 processor. You can select

TM

Technology

CPU Overheat Protection

CPU Overheat Protection has the capability of monitoring the CPU’s
temperature during system boot up. Once the CPU’s temperature
exceeded the temperature limit pre-defined by the CPU, the system
will automatically shutdown. This preventive measure has been added
to protect the CPU from damage and insure a safe computing
environment.

10

Introduction

DDR

DDR (Double Data Rate) is a type of SDRAM that doubles the
data rate through reading and writing at both the rising and falling
edge of each clock. This effectively doubles the speed of operation
therefore providing two times faster data transfer.

Note:

If you are installing more than one double rank DDR400, the
maximum DRAM speed will automatically be limited to the
speed of a DDR333. However, the BIOS provides the option
of manually adjusting the speed to DDR400 by selecting
“200” in the “DRAM Frequency Set (Mhz)” field (Genie BIOS
Setting submenu, DRAM Configuration section) of the BIOS.

S/PDIF

1

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

8-channel Audio

The 6 audio jacks at the rear I/O panel supports 8-channel audio
output.

Serial ATA Interface

Serial ATA is a storage interface that is compliant with SATA 1.0
specification. With speed of up to 1.5Gbps, it improves hard drive
performance faster than the standard parallel ATA.

NVIDIA RAID

NVIDIA RAID supports spanning across Serial ATA and Parallel
ATA. It suppor ts RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD.

11

1

Introduction

IEEE 1394 Interface(Optional)

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

IrDA Interface

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

USB Ports

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

Dual Function Power Button

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

the Soft-Off or Suspend mode.

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

AGP is an interface designed to support high performance 3D
graphics cards. It utilizes a dedicated pipeline to access system
memory for texturing, z-buffering and alpha blending. The AGP slot
supports AGP 8x (0.8V) with up to 2.13GB/sec. bandwidth and
AGP 4x (1.5V) with up to 1066MB/sec. bandwidth for 3D graphics
applications. AGP in this system board will deliver faster and better
graphics to your PC.

12

Introduction

Wake-On-Ring

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

Important:

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

Wake-On-LAN

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

1

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

720mA.

Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse

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

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

720mA.

RTC Timer to Power-on the System

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

AC Power Failure Recovery

When power returns after an AC power failure, you may choose to
either allow the system to power-on automatically or leave the
system in Off state.

13

1

Introduction

ACPI

The system board is designed to meet the ACPI (Advanced Con­figuration and Power Interface) specification. ACPI has energy saving
features that enables PCs to implement Power Management and
Plug-and-Play with operating systems that support OS Direct Power
Management. Currently, only Windows
the ACPI function allowing you to use the Suspend to RAM function.

With the Suspend to RAM function enabled, you can power-off the
system at once by pressing the power button or selecting “Standby”
when you shut down Windows
go through the sometimes tiresome process of closing files, applica­tions and operating system. This is because the system is capable of
storing all programs and data files during the entire operating session
into RAM (Random Access Memory) when it powers-off. The
operating session will resume exactly where you left off the next time
you power-on the system.

®®

®

®®

98/2000/ME/XP supports

®®

®

®®

98/2000/ME/XP without having to

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

1A.

Virus Protection

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

14

1.3 Package Checklist

The system board package contains the following items:

; The system board
; A user’s manual
; Two IDE round cables
; One floppy round cable
; Two Serial ATA data cables
; One Serial ATA power cable
; One “nVRAID Driver” diskette
; One I/O shield
; One “Mainboard Utility” CD

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

Introduction

1

15

2

Hardware Installation

Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation

2.1 System Board Layout

S/PDIF-

in

S/PDIF-

out

COM

KB/Mouse

Marvell

88E

IEEE 1394_1,
USB 1-2

LAN,
USB 3-4

Line-in
Front R/L
Mic-in

Center/Subwoofer
Rear R/L
Side R/L

1111

Gigabit

PHY

+12V power

2nd fan

1

IEEE 1394_2

1

CPU fan

DDR 1

DDR 2

DDR 3

DRAM
Power LED

FDD

ATX

power

Socket 754

1

1

1

SATA 3

SATA 4

1

1

1

SEC IDE1PRI IDE

VIA

6307

1

PCI 1

AGP

16

I/O

chip

System beep

select (JP5)

Audio
Codec

1

Front audio

1

1

S/PDIF

CD-in

1

PCI 2

PCI 3

1

IrDA

PCI 4

PCI 5

Standby
Power LED

BIOS

Chassis fan

1

nVIDIA

nForce3-250Gb

USB 5-6 USB 7-8

1 1

SATA 1

SATA 2

1

Clear CMOS (JP2)

ATX-SW

PWR-LED

1

HD-LED

RESET

Marvell

88SR3020

SPEAKER

1

1

Battery

Power

Reset

Warning:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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

2.2 System Memory

Warning:

When the DRAM Power LED lit red, it indicates that power is
present on the DDR sockets. Power-off the PC then unplug the
power cord prior to installing any memory modules. Failure to do so
will cause severe damage to the motherboard and components.

Hardware Installation

2

DDR 1
DDR 2
DDR 3

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

17

2

Hardware Installation

Maximum system memory:

• Supports up to 3GB memory when using DDR333

• Supports up to 2GB memory when using DDR400

Note:

If you are installing more than one double rank DDR400, the
maximum DRAM speed will automatically be limited to the
speed of a DDR333. However, the BIOS provides the option
of manually adjusting the speed to DDR400 by selecting
“200” in the “DRAM Frequency Set (Mhz)” field (Genie BIOS
Setting submenu, DRAM Configuration section) of the BIOS.

BIOS Setting

Configure the system memory in the Genie BIOS Setting submenu
(“DRAM Configuration” section) of the BIOS.

2.2.1 Installing the DIM Module

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

Tab

Pin 1

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

Notch

Key

Tab

18

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

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

2.2.2 Memory Configuration

Install DDR DIMMs according to the memory configuration below.

Hardware Installation

2

No. DIMM 1

1

single rank

1

empty

1

empty

1

double rank

1

empty

1

empty

2

single rank

2

single rank

2

single rank

2

single rank

2

double rank

2

double rank

2

double rank

2

double rank

2

empty

2

empty

2

empty

2

empty

3

single rank

3

single rank

3

single rank

3

single rank

3

double rank

3

double rank

3

double rank

3

double rank

DIMM 2

empty

single rank

empty

empty

double rank

empty

single rank

double rank

empty

empty

single rank

double rank

empty

empty

single rank

single rank

double rank

double rank

single rank

single rank

double rank

double rank

single rank

single rank

double rank

double rank

DIMM 3 1T 2T

empty

empty

single rank

empty

empty

double rank

empty

empty

single rank

double rank

empty

empty

single rank

double rank

single rank

double rank

single rank

double rank

single rank

double rank

single rank

double rank

single rank

double rank

single rank

double rank

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR333

DDR400

DDR333

DDR333

DDR200

DDR200

DDR200

DDR333

DDR200

DDR200

DDR200

DDR333

DDR200

DDR200

DDR200

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR333

DDR400

DDR333

DDR400

DDR400

DDR400

DDR333

DDR400

DDR333

DDR333

DDR333

DDR333

DDR333

DDR333

DDR333

19

2

Hardware Installation

2.3 CPU

2.3.1 Overview

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

2.3.2 Installing the CPU

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

2. Disconnect all power cords and cables.

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

X

20

Hardware Installation

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

Lever

2

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

Important:

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

Gold mark

21

2

Hardware Installation

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

Important:

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

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

Side tab

22

2.3.3 Installing the Fan and Heat Sink

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

Note:

• Use only certified fan and heat sink.

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

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

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

Hardware Installation

2

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

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

Retention
module base

23

2

Hardware Installation

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

Retaining
tab

Retention clip

Retention module base

Side View

Retaining

tabs

Retaining
tabs

Top View

24

Hardware Installation

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

Note:

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

Retention lever

2

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

Note:

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

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

25

2

Hardware Installation

2.4 Jumper Settings

2.4.1 Clear CMOS Data

312312

JP2

If you encounter the following,

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

processor’s clock/ratio was incorrectly set in the BIOS.

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

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

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

2. Set JP2 pins 2 and 3 to On. Wait for a few seconds and set JP2
back to its default setting, pins 1 and 2 On.

1-2 On: Normal

X

(default)

2-3 On:

Clear CMOS Data

26

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

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

Hardware Installation

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

5. Select the Genie BIOS Setting submenu and press <Enter>.

6. Set the processor’s clock/ratio to its default setting or an appro­priate bus clock or ratio. Refer to the Genie BIOS Setting section
in chapter 3 for more information.

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

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

2

27

2

Hardware Installation

2.4.2 System Beep Select

JP5

312 312

X

1-2 On:

PC Speaker

JP5 is used to select the system’s beep messages and warnings to
come from the line-out (front R/L) jack or the PC speaker.

2-3 On:
Line-out

(Front R/L)

28

2.5 Rear Panel I/O Ports

PS/2

Mouse

Parallel

IEEE

1394_1

Hardware Installation

Line-out (Front R/L)

RJ45
LAN

Line-in

Center/
Subwoofer

Rear R/L

Side R/L

2

PS/2

K/B

S/PDIF-out

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

• PS/2 mouse port

• PS/2 keyboard port

• Parallel por t

• S/PDIF-in jack

• S/PDIF-out jack

• COM port

• IEEE 1394_1 port (optional)

• USB ports

• LAN port

• Line-in jack

• Line-out (Front right/left) jack

• Mic-in jack

• Center/subwoofer jack

• Rear right/left jack

• Side right/left jack

COMS/PDIF-in

USB 1-2 USB 3-4

Mic-in

29

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.1 PS/2 Mouse and PS/2 Keyboard Ports

PS/2 Mouse

PS/2 Keyboard

W

The system board is equipped with an onboard PS/2 mouse
(Green) and PS/2 keyboard (Purple) ports - both at location CN2
of the system board. The PS/2 mouse port uses IRQ12. If a mouse
is not connected to this port, the system will reserve IRQ12 for
other expansion cards.

.

.

.

.

.

Warning:

.

.

.

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

Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse

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

• BIOS Setting:

Configure the PS/2 keyboard/mouse wake up function in the
Integrated Peripherals submenu of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3
for more information.

Important:

The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support

≥

720mA.

30

2.5.2 Parallel Port

Parallel

Hardware Installation

2

W

The system board has a standard parallel port (Burgundy) at loca­tion CN1 for interfacing your PC to a parallel printer. It suppor ts
SPP, ECP and EPP.

Setting

SPP
(Standard Parallel Port)

ECP
(Extended Capabilities Port)

EPP
(Enhanced Parallel Port)

BIOS Setting

Select the parallel port’s mode in the Integrated Peripherals submenu
of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

Allows normal speed operation but
in one direction only.

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

Allows bidirectional parallel port op­eration at maximum speed.

Function

31

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.3 S/PDIF

S/PDIF-in

S/PDIF-out

SPDIF out

Key

GND

+5V

15

SPDIF in

W

J3

W

The system board is equipped with an onboard S/PDIF-in RCA jack
(red) and a S/PDIF-out RCA jack (yellow) at locations CN5 and
CN7 respectively.

The S/PDIF connector at location J3 is for optical S/PDIF cable con­nection. Connect the optical audio cable connector of your S/PDIF
module to J3. Make sure pin 1 of the audio cable connector is
aligned with pin 1 of J3.

DO NOT use RCA S/PDIF and optical S/PDIF at the same time.

32

2.5.4 Serial Port

Hardware Installation

2

W

COM

The system board is equipped with an onboard serial port (Teal/
Turquoise) at location J1. The serial port is an RS-232C asynchronous
communication port with 16C550A-compatible UARTs that can be
used with a modem, serial printer, remote display terminal or other
serial devices.

BIOS Setting

Select the serial por t’s I/O address in the Integrated Peripherals
submenu of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

33

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.5 IEEE 1394 (Optional)

1394_1

10 9

Ground

+12V (fused)

TPB- TPB+

Ground

TPA-

1394_2

The system board is equipped with an onboard IEEE 1394 port at
location CN3 (IEEE 1394_1) of the system board.

It is also equipped with an IEEE 1394 connector at location J8
(1394_2) for connecting an additional 1394 device. Your 1394 port
may come mounted on a card-edge bracket. Install the card-edge
bracket to the system chassis then insert the connector that is
attached to the 1394 port cable to J8. Make sure pin 1 of the
cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of the J8.

W

Key

+12V (fused)

Ground
TPA+

12

W

34

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard 1394 in the Genie BIOS Setting
submenu of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

2.5.6 RJ45 Fast-Ethernet Port

Hardware Installation

2

RJ45 LAN

The system board is equipped with an onboard RJ45 fast-ethernet
LAN port at location CN4 of the system board. It allows the
system board to connect to a local area network by means of a
network hub.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard LAN in the Genie BIOS Setting
submenu of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

W

Driver Installation

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

35

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.7 Universal Serial Bus Ports

USB 2

USB 1

USB 4
USB 3

W

W

X

Ground

N. C.

+Data

-Data

VCC

2

1

10

9

USB 5-6

USB 7-8

VCC

-Data
+Data

Ground

Key

Four onboard USB 2.0/1.1 ports (Black) are at locations CN3 (USB
1-2) and CN4 (USB 3-4) of the system board.

J17 (USB 5-6) and J18 (USB 7-8) connectors allow you to connect
4 additional USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The USB por ts may be mounted on
a card-edge bracket. Install the card-edge bracket to the system
chassis then insert the connector that is attached to the USB port
cables to J17 or J18.

BIOS Setting

Configure the onboard USB in the Integrated Peripherals submenu of
the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

36

Hardware Installation

Driver Installation

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

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

2

37

2

Hardware Installation

2.5.8 Audio (Rear Panel Audio and Front Audio)

Line-in

Front R/L

Mic-in

W

Center/

Subwoofer

Rear R/L W

Side R/L

AuD_R_Return

Front audio

AuD_Vcc

GND

2

1

Mic

Mic Power

AuD_L_Return

Key

10

W

9

N. C.

AuD_L_Out

AuD_R_Out

Rear Panel Audio

Line-in (Light Blue)

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

Line-out - Front Right/Left Jack (Lime)

This jack is used to connect to the front right and front left speakers
of the audio system.

Mic-in Jack (Pink)

This jack is used to connect an external microphone.

38

Center/Subwoofer Jack (Orange)

This jack is used to connect to the center and subwoofer speakers
of the audio system.

Hardware Installation

Rear Right/Left Jack (Black)

This jack is used to connect to the rear right and rear left speakers
of the audio system.

Side Right/Left Jack (Gray)

This jack is used to connect to the side left and side right speakers
of the audio system.

Front Audio

The front audio connector (J2) allows you to connect to the line-out
and mic-in jacks that are at the front panel of your system. Using
this connector will disable the rear audio’s line-out and mic-in func­tions.

Remove the jumper caps from pins 5-6 and pins 9-10 of J2 prior to
connecting the front audio cable connector. Make sure pin 1 of the
cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of J2. If you are not using this
connector, make sure to replace the jumper caps back to their
original pin locations.

2

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

Pins 5-6 and 9-10 open

Driver Installation

Install the “Audio Drivers”. An audio software application program
will at the same time be installed into your system. Refer to chapter
4 for more information.

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

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

39

2

Hardware Installation

2.6 I/O Connectors

2.6.1 CD-in Internal Audio Connector

Ground Ground

Left audio

channel

Right audio
channel

14

The CD-in (J4) connector is used to receive audio from a CD-ROM

drive, TV tuner or MPEG card.

W

40

2.6.2 Floppy Disk Drive Connector

Hardware Installation

2

34

33

X

21

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

Connecting the Floppy Disk Drive Cable

Install one end of the floppy disk drive cable into the shrouded
floppy disk header (J23) on the system board and the other end­most connector to the drive you want to designate as Drive A. If
you are connecting another drive (Drive B), install the middle
connector of the cable to the drive. The colored edge of the daisy
chained ribbon cable should be aligned with pin 1 of J23.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable this function in the Integrated Peripherals submenu
of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

41

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.3 Serial ATA Connectors

SATA 3

SATA 4

17

SATA 1

SATA 2

Connect one end of the Serial ATA cable to J11 (SATA 3), J10
(SATA 4), J21 (SATA 1) or J20 (SATA 2) and the other end to your
Serial ATA device.

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard SATA in the Genie BIOS Setting
submenu of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

Configuring RAID on Serial ATA Drives

The system board allows configuring RAID across Serial ATA drives
and Parallel ATA drives. It supports RAID 0, RAID 1, 0+1 and
JBOD. The following must be set accordingly.

TXP

GND

TXN

GND

RXP

RXN

GND

42

1. Set the “IDE RAID” field to “Enabled”. (Integrated Peripherals
submenu - “IDE Function Setup” section of the Award BIOS.)

2. Configure the “Ext Phy SATA 1 RAID” to “Ext Phy SATA 4
RAID” fields appropriately. (Integrated Peripherals submenu - “IDE
Function Setup” section of the Award BIOS.)

3. Run the NVIDIA RAID BIOS utility by pressing the <F10> key
after the system powers-up. The utility is used to configure and
manage RAID on both Serial ATA and Parallel ATA drives.

Hardware Installation

4. Install the NVRAID driver by using the provided “nVRAID
Driver” floppy diskette. The driver must be installed if you are in
the process of installing Windows® XP or Windows® 2000 on
RAID configured Serial ATA drives.

5. Install the NVIDIA Windows nForce Drivers.

For steps 1 to 3, refer to chapter 3 for more information. For steps
4 and 5, refer to chapter 4 for more information.

2

43

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.4 IDE Disk Drive Connector

40

SEC IDE

PRI IDE

21

SEC IDE

Configuring RAID on IDE Drives

The system board allows configuring RAID across Parallel ATA drives
and Serial ATA drives. It supports RAID 0, RAID 1, 0+1 and JBOD.
For optimal performance, install identical drives of the same model
and capacity. The drives’ matched performance allows the RAID array
to function better as a single drive.

39

40

21

PRI IDE

39

1. Set the “IDE RAID” field to “Enabled”. (Integrated Peripherals
submenu - “IDE Function Setup” section of the Award BIOS.)

2. Configure the “Primary IDE Master RAID” to “Secondary IDE
Slave RAID” fields appropriately. (Integrated Peripherals submenu

- “IDE Function Setup” section of the Award BIOS.)

3. Run the NVIDIA RAID BIOS utility by pressing the <F10> key
after the system powers-up. The utility is used to configure and
manage RAID on both Serial ATA and Parallel ATA drives.

4. Install the NVIDIA Windows nForce Drivers.

For steps 1 to 3, refer to chapter 3 for more information. For step
4, refer to chapter 4 for more information.

44

Hardware Installation

Connecting the IDE Disk Drive Cable

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

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

2

Install one end of the IDE cable into the Primary IDE header (J25)
on the system board and the other connectors to the IDE devices.
If you are adding a third or fourth IDE device, use another IDE
cable and install one end of the cable into the Secondary IDE
header (J22) on the system board and the other connectors to the
IDE devices.

Note:

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

Adding a Second IDE Disk Drive

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

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

45

2

Hardware Installation

Important:

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

BIOS Setting

Enable or disable the onboard primary or secondary IDE in the
Integrated Peripherals submenu of the BIOS. Refer to chapter 3 for
more information.

46

2.6.5 IrDA Connector

IRRX

N. C.

VCC

Ground

IRTX

Hardware Installation

2

15

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

Note:

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

BIOS Setting

Configure IrDA in the Integrated Peripherals submenu of the BIOS.
Refer to chapter 3 for more information.

Driver Installation

W

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

47

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.6 Cooling Fan Connectors

X

31

Ground

Power

CPU fan

Power

Ground

Sense

Sense

X

13

2nd fan

Power

Ground

13

X

Connect the CPU fan’s cable connector to the CPU fan connector
(J16) on the system board. The 2nd fan connector (J6) and chassis
fan connector (J15) are used to connect additional cooling fans. The
cooling fans will provide adequate airflow throughout the chassis to
prevent overheating the CPU and system board components.

Sense

Chassis fan

BIOS Setting

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

48

Hardware Installation

2.6.7 DRAM Power LED and Standby Power LED

DRAM Power LED

Standby Power LED

2

DRAM Power LED

This LED will light when the system’s power is on.

Standby Power LED

This LED will light when the system is in the standby mode.

49

2

Hardware Installation

2.6.8 Power Connectors

X

X

+12V

5VSB

PW-OK

Ground

+5V

Ground

+5V

Ground

3.3V

3.3V

+12V

10

20

+5V

+5V

-5V
Ground

Ground
Ground

PS-ON
Ground

-12V

3.3V

111

12

GroundGround

+12V

3

4

Use a power supply that complies with the ATX12V Power Supply
Design Guide Version 1.1. An ATX12V power supply has a standard
20-pin ATX main power connector and a 4-pin +12V power
connector that must be inserted onto J24 and CN9 connectors
respectively.

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

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

50

2.6.9 Front Panel Connectors

Hardware Installation

2

ATX-SW

PWR-LED

2
1

J14

HD-LED

X

HD-LED: Primary/Secondary IDE LED

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

RESET: Reset Switch

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

SPEAKER: Speaker Connector

This connects to the speaker installed in the system chassis.

ATX-SW: ATX Power Switch

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

RESET

SPEAKER

20
19

51

2

Hardware Installation

PWR-LED: Power/Standby LED

When the system’s power is on, this LED will light. When the system
is in the S1 (POS - Power On Suspend) or S3 (STR - Suspend To
RAM) state, it will blink every second.

Note:

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

HD-LED

(Primary/Secondary IDE LED)

Reserved

ATX-SW

(ATX power switch)

Reserved

RESET

(Reset switch)

SPEAKER

(Speaker connector)

PWR-LED

(Power/Standby LED)

Pin

Pin Assignment

3

HDD LED Power

5

HDD

14

N. C.

16

N. C.

8

PWRBT+

10

PWRBT-

18

N. C.

20

N. C.

7

Ground

9

H/W Reset

13

Speaker Data

15

N. C.

17

Ground

19

Speaker Power

2

LED Power (+)

4

LED Power (+)

6

LED Power (-) or Standby Signal

52

2.6.10 EZ Touch Switches

Hardware Installation

2

Power Switch

Reset Switch

X

The presence of the power switch and reset switch on the system
board are user-friendly especially to DIY users. They provide
convenience in powering on and/or resetting the system while fine
tuning the system board before it is installed into the system chassis.

53

3

BIOS Setup

Chapter 3 - BIOS Setup

3.1 Award BIOS Setup Utility

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

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

Press DEL to enter setup

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

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

54

3.1.1 Standard CMOS Features

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

BIOS Setup

3

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

3.1.1.1 Date

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

3.1.1.2 Time

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

55

3

BIOS Setup

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

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

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

IDE HDD Auto-Detection

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

Primary IDE Master/Slave and Secondary IDE Master/Slave

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

Access Mode

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

56

BIOS Setup

Capacity

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

Cylinder

This field displays the number of cylinders.

Head

This field displays the number of read/write heads.

Precomp

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

3

Landing Zone

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

Sector

This field displays the number sectors per track.

3.1.1.4 Drive A and Drive B

These fields identify the types of floppy disk drives installed.

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

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

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

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

57

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.1.5 Video

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

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

EGA, VGA, SVGA and PGA monitor adapters.

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

mode.

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

mode.

Mono Monochrome adapter. Includes high resolution mono-

chrome adapters.

3.1.1.6 Halt On

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

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

a non-fatal error.

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

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

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

3.1.1.7 Base Memory

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

error; it will stop for all other errors.

it will stop for all other errors.

keyboard error; it will stop for all other errors.

58

3.1.1.8 Extended Memory

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

3.1.1.9 Total Memory

Displays the total memory available in the system.

BIOS Setup

3

59

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.2 Advanced BIOS Features

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

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

60

3.1.2.1 Removable Device Priority

This field is used to select the boot sequence of the removable
devices. Move the cursor to this field then press <Enter>. Use the
Up or Down arrow keys to select a device then press <+> to
move it up or <-> to move it down the list.

BIOS Setup

3

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

61

3

BIOS Setup

3.1.2.2 Hard Disk Boot Priority

This field is used to select the boot sequence of the hard drives.
Move the cursor to this field then press <Enter>. Use the Up or
Down arrow keys to select a device then press <+> to move it up
or <-> to move it down the list.

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

62

3.1.2.3 CD ROM Boot Priority

This field is used to select the boot sequence of the CD-ROM
drives. Move the cursor to this field then press <Enter>. Use the
Up or Down arrow keys to select a device then press <+> to
move it up or <-> to move it down the list.

BIOS Setup

3

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

3.1.2.4 Virus Warning

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

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

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

®

95/98/2000/ME/XP or the operat-

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BIOS Setup

3.1.2.5 CPU Internal Cache and External Cache

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

3.1.2.6 Quick Power On Self Test

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

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

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

3.1.2.8 Swap Floppy Drive

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

3.1.2.9 Boot Up Floppy Seek

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

64

3.1.2.10 Boot Up NumLock Status

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

3.1.2.11 Gate A20 Option

This field allows you to select how gate A20 is handled. Gate A20 is
a device used to address memory above 1 Mbyte. Initially, gate A20
was handled via the keyboard controller. Today, while keyboards still
provide this support, it is more common, and much faster, for the
system chipset to provide support for gate A20. A20 refers to the
first 64KB of extended memory.

BIOS Setup

3

Fast The chipset controls Gate A20.
Normal A pin in the keyboard controller controls Gate A20.

3.1.2.12 Typematic Rate Setting

Disabled Continually holding down a key on your keyboard will

cause the BIOS to report that the key is down.

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

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

3.1.2.13 Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)

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

3.1.2.14 Typematic Delay (Msec)

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

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BIOS Setup

3.1.2.15 Security Option

This field determines when the system will prompt for the password

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

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

denied unless the correct password is entered at the
prompt.

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

unless the correct password is entered at the prompt.

3.1.2.16 APIC Mode

Leave this field in its default setting.

3.1.2.17 MPS Version Control for OS

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

3.1.2.18 OS Select for DRAM > 64MB

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

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

The system board supports SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and
Reporting Technology) hard drives. SMART is a reliability prediction
technology for ATA/IDE and SCSI drives. The drive will provide
sufficient notice to the system or user to backup data prior to the
drive’s failure. The default is Disabled. If you are using hard drives
that support S.M.A.R.T., set this field to Enabled. SMART is
supported in ATA/33 or later hard drives.

66

3.1.2.20 Full Screen Logo Show

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

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

up.

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

3.1.2.21 Small Logo(EPA) Show

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

BIOS Setup

3

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BIOS Setup

3.1.3 Advanced Chipset Features

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

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

be altered unless necessary. The default settings have been chosen

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

3.1.3.1 AGP Aperture Size (MB)

This field is used to select the size of the system RAM that can be
allocated to the AGP for graphics purposes. Aperture refers to a
portion of the PCI memory address range that is dedicated for the
graphics memory address space. Host cycles that hit the aperture
range are forwarded to the AGP without any translation.

68

3.1.3.2 AGP 3.0 Speed

This field is configurable only when you are using an AGP 3.0 mode
card that supports AGP 8x with up to 2.13GB/sec. bandwidth. You can
also select another mode from the options available in this field.

3.1.3.3 AGP 2.0 Speed

This field is used to configure AGP 2.0 mode card that supports AGP
4x with up to 1066MB/sec. bandwidth. You can also select another
mode from the options available in this field.

3.1.3.4 AGP Fast Write

This field is used to enable or disable the AGP Fast Write function.
AGP Fast Write allows the CPU to send data directly to the
graphics controller - skipping the system memory. This improves the
speed accordingly.

3.1.3.5 AGP SideBand Address

Auto The system will run according to the mode of the AGP

card installed on the system board.

Disabled Disables AGP 3.0 mode.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.3.6 CPU Thermal-Throttling

Thermal throttling regulates the thermal environment by alternating
between running the processor at full speed and placing the processor
in a sleep state whenever the upper limits of the thermal envelop are
reached.

3.1.3.7 Special I/O for PCI Card

Set this field to Enabled to configure the “Base I/O Address” and “I/O
Length” fields.

3.1.3.8 System BIOS Cacheable

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

higher the efficiency of the system.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.4 Integrated Peripherals

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

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3.1.4.1 IDE Function Setup

IDE RAID

Set this field to Enabled to configure RAID on Parallel ATA drives.

Primary IDE Master RAID and Primary IDE Slave RAID

Set this field to Enabled to configure RAID on the primary IDE’s
master and slave channels.

Secondary IDE Master RAID and Secondary IDE Slave RAID

Set this field to Enabled to configure RAID on the secondary IDE’s
master and slave channels.

Ext Phy SATA 1 RAID, Ext Phy SATA 2 RAID, Ext Phy SATA 3
RAID and Ext Phy SATA 4 RAID

BIOS Setup

3

Set this field to Enabled to configure RAID on SATA drives.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.4.2 OnChip Primary IDE and OnChip Secondary IDE

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

3.1.4.3 Primary Master/Slave PIO and Secondary Master/Slave PIO

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

Auto The BIOS will automatically set the system according

to your hard disk drive’s timing.

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

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

3.1.4.4 Primary Master/Slave UDMA and Secondary Master/Slave
UDMA

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

Auto The BIOS will automatically detect the settings for

you.

Disabled The BIOS will not detect these categories.

3.1.4.5 IDE Prefetch Mode

72

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

3.1.4.6 Init Display First

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

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

AGP.

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

3.1.4.7 OnChip USB

This field is used to enable or disable USB 1.1 and/or USB 2.0.

3.1.4.8 USB KB/Storage Support

If you are using a USB keyboard or USB storage devices, set this
field to Enabled.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.4.9 USB Mouse Support

If you are using a USB mouse, set this field to Enabled.

3.1.4.10 IDE DMA Transfer Access

This field is used to enable or disable the DMA transfer function of
an IDE hard drive.

3.1.4.11 IDE HDD Block Mode

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

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

Disabled The IDE HDD uses the standard mode.

3.1.4.12 Power On By Button

Set this field to Enabled if you are using the power button to
power-on the system.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.4.13 Power On By Mouse

Disabled Disables the power on by mouse function.
Mouse Move When this option is selected, move the mouse to

power-on the system.

Mouse Click When this option is selected, double-click the mouse

button to power-on the system.

3.1.4.14 Power On By Keyboard

Disabled Disables the power on by keyboard function.
Password When this option is selected, set the password you

would like to use to power-on the system in the
“KB Power On Password” field.

Hot Key When this option is selected, select the function key

you would like to use to power-on the system in
the “Hot Key Power On” field.

Any Key Press any key to power-on the system.
Keyboard 98 When this option is selected, press the “wake up”

key of the Windows
power-on the system.



98 compatible keyboard to

3.1.4.15 KB Power On Password

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

The power button will not function once a keyboard password has
been set in this field. You must type the correct password to power­on the system. If you forgot the password, power-off the system and
remove the battery. Wait for a few seconds and install it back
before powering-on the system.

3.1.4.16 Hot Key Power On

This field is used to select a function key that you would like to use
to power-on the system.

3.1.4.17 Onboard FDC Controller

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

74

3.1.4.18 Onboard Serial Port 1

Auto The system will automatically select an I/O address

for the onboard serial port.

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

manually select an I/O address for the onboard
serial por t.

Disabled Disables the onboard serial port.

3.1.4.19 Onboard IRDA Select

Auto Automatically detects the IrDA device.
Disabled Disables the onboard IrDA.

3.1.4.20 IR Mode Select

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

BIOS Setup

o

angle and within a distance

3

3.1.4.21 UR2 Duplex Mode

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

3.1.4.22 Onboard Parallel Port

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

IRQ for the onboard parallel port.

Disabled Disables the onboard parallel port.

3.1.4.23 Parallel Port Mode

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

SPP

Allows normal speed operation but in one direction only.

ECP (Extended Capabilities Port)

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

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BIOS Setup

EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port)

Allows bidirectional parallel port operation at maximum speed.

3.1.4.24 ECP Mode Use DMA

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

3.1.4.25 PWRON After PWR-Fail

Off When power returns after an AC power failure, the

system’s power is off. You must press the Power
button to power-on the system.

On When power returns after an AC power failure, the

system will automatically power-on.

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3.1.5 Power Management Setup

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

BIOS Setup

3

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

3.1.5.1 ACPI Function

This function should be enabled only in operating systems that
support ACPI. Currently, only Windows
ports this function. When this field is enabled, the system will ignore
the settings in the “HDD Power Down” field. If you want to use the
Suspend to RAM function, make sure this field is enabled then select
“S3(STR)” in the field below.

3.1.5.2 ACPI Suspend Type

This field is used to select the type of Suspend mode.

S1(POS) Enables the Power On Suspend function.
S3(STR) Enables the Suspend to RAM function.

®®

®

®®

98SE/2000/ME/XP sup-

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BIOS Setup

3.1.5.3 Power Management

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

Min Saving Minimum power saving time for the “HDD Power

Down” = 15 min.

Max Saving Maximum power saving time for the “HDD Power

Down” = 1 min.

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

“HDD Power Down” field.

3.1.5.4 Video Off Method

This determines the manner in which the monitor is blanked.

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

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

this option if your video board supports it.

3.1.5.5 HDD Power Down

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

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

78

3.1.5.6 HDD Down In Suspend

The default setting is Disabled. When enabled, the hard drive will be
powered off once the system enters the Suspend mode.

3.1.5.7 Soft-Off by PBTN

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

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

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

Instant-Off Pressing and then releasing the power button at

once will immediately power off your system.

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.5.8 WOL (PME#) From Soft-Off

Set this field to Enabled to wake up the system via the onboard
LAN or via a LAN card that uses the PCI PME (Power
Management Event) signal to remotely wake up the system. Access
to the LAN card will cause the system to wake up. Refer to the
card’s documentation for more information.

3.1.5.9 WOR (RI#) From Soft-Off

Set this field to Enabled to wake up the system via an external
modem or via a modem card that uses the PCI PME (Power
Management Event) signal to remotely wake up the system. Access
to the modem card will cause the system to wake up. Refer to the
card’s documentation for more information.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.5.10 Power-On By Alarm

Enabled When Enabled, you can set the time you would like the

Soft Power Down (Soft-Off) PC to power-on in the
“Time (dd:hh:mm) of Alarm” field. However, if the
system is being accessed by incoming calls or the net­work prior to the time set in the field, the system will
give priority to the incoming calls or network.

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

3.1.5.11 Day (of Month) Alarm

0 The system will power-on everyday according to the

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

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

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

3.1.5.12 Time (hh:mm:ss) of Alarm

This is used to set the time you would like the system to power-on.

80

3.1.6 PnP/PCI Configurations

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

BIOS Setup

3

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

3.1.6.1 Reset Configuration Data

Enabled The BIOS will reset the Extended System Configuration

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

Disabled The BIOS will not reset the configuration data.

3.1.6.2 Resources Controlled By

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

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

you.

Manual Choose the specific IRQ in the “IRQ Resources”

field.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.6.3 IRQ Resources

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

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

3.1.6.4 PCI/VGA Palette Snoop

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

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

VGA.

82

3.1.7 PC Health Status

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

BIOS Setup

3

3.1.7.1 Shutdown Temperature

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

3.1.7.2 CPUFan Fully On If CPUTemp

This field is used to select the CPU temperature that will allow the
CPU fan to rotate at full speed.

3.1.7.3 CPUFan Turn Off If CPUTemp

This field is used to select the CPU temperature that will allow the
CPU fan to rotate at a start speed which is the slowest speed.

Note:

1. If the CPU temperature runs between the highest (set in
the “CPUFan Fully On If CPUTemp” field) and lowest (set in
the “CPUFan Turn Off If CPUTemp” field) temperature, the
system will automatically adjust the CPU fan’s speed
according to the temperature.

2. If you want to reduce the CPU fan’s noise or prevent CPU
overheat, select a lower temperature in the “CPUFan Fully
On If CPUTemp” field to allow the CPU fan to rotate full
speed at the selected lower temperature.

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3

BIOS Setup

3.1.7.4 ChaFan Fully On If SYSTemp

This field is used to select the system temperature that would allow
the chassis fan to rotate at full speed.

3.1.7.5 ChaFan Turn Off If SYSTemp

This field is used to select the system temperature that would allow
the chassis fan to rotate at a start speed which is the slowest
speed.

Note:

If the system temperature runs between the highest (set in
the “ChaFan Fully On If SYSTemp” field) and lowest (set in the
“ChaFan Turn Off If SYSTemp” field) temperature, the system
will automatically adjust the chassis fan’s speed according to
the temperature.

3.1.7.6 ATX +3.3V Voltage, ATX +5.0V Voltage, ATX +12V Voltage,
AGP Slot Voltage, ATX +5VSB Voltage, Battery Voltage, CPU
Temperature, SYS Temperature 1/2, CPU/Chassis/2nd Fan
Speed

These fields will show the output voltage, temperature and fan speed
of the monitored devices or components.

84

3.1.8 Genie BIOS Setting

BIOS Setup

3

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

3.1.8.1 DRAM Configuration

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

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

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3

BIOS Setup

DRAM Frequency Set (Mhz)

This field is used to set a memory clock limit on the system. This will
prevent the memory speed from running faster than this frequency.

Command Per Clock (CPC)

This field is used to enable the DRAM commands and address that
will be driven for 2 clock cycles and select the second phase of the
2 clock command and address.

CAS Latency Control (Tcl)

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

RAS# to CAS# Delay (Trcd)

When DRAM refreshes, both rows and columns are addressed
separately. This field is used to select the delay time from RAS (Row
Address Strobe) to CAS (Column Address Strobe) when reading
and writing to the same bank. The lesser the clock cycle, the faster
the DRAM’s performance.

Min RAS# Active Time (Tras)

This field is used to select the minimum time RAS takes to read
from and write to a memory cell.

Row Precharge Time (Trp)

This field is used to select the number of cycles that is allowed for
Row Address Strobe (RAS) to precharge. If insufficient time is
allowed for the RAS to accumulate its charge before DRAM
refreshes, refreshing may be incomplete and DRAM may fail to retain
data.

86

Row Cycle Time (Trc)

This field is used to select the row cycle time, RAS# active or auto
refresh of the same bank.

BIOS Setup

Row Refresh Cyc Time (Trfc)

This field is used to select the row refresh cycle time. Auto refresh
active to RAS# active or RAS# to auto refresh - similar to Trc.

Row to Row Delay (Trrd)

This field is used to select the row to row delay time of different
banks.

Write Recovery Time (Twr)

This field is used to select the write recovery time when the DRAM
safely registers the last write data. This is the time from the last write
data to precharge.

Write to Read Delay (Twtr)

3

This field is used to select the write to read delay time. This is
measured from the rising edge of the last non-masked data strobe
to the rising edge of the next read command.

Read to Write Delay (Trwt)

This field is used to select the read to write delay time. Although this
is not a DRAM specified timing parameter, it is related to the routing
latencies on the clock forwarded bus. This is measured from the first
address bus slot which is not associated with part of the read burst.

Refresh Period (Tref)

This field is used to select the number of clock cycles between each
refresh.

Write CAS Latency (Twcl)

This field is used to select the write CAS latency time.

DRAM Drive Strength

This field is used to select a level of the DRAM drive strength.

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3

BIOS Setup

Max Async Latency

This field is used to select the DRAM maximum asynchronous
latency time.

Read Preamble Time

This field is used to select the time prior to the max-read DOS
return when the DOS receiver is turned on.

Idle Cycle Limit

This field is used to select the cycle of MemCLKs before forcibly
closing (precharging) an open page.

Dynamic Counter

This field is used to enable the dynamic idle cycle counter.

R/W Queue Bypass

This field is used to select the number of times the first operation in
the DCI read/write queue can be bypassed before the arbiter is
overridden and the first operation is chosen.

Bypass Max

This field is used to select the number of times the first entry in
DCQ can be bypassed in arbitration before the arbiter choice is
disallowed.

32 Byte Granularity

This field is used to determine whether the burst counter should be
enabled to optimize data bus bandwidth for 32-byte access.

88

3.1.8.2 FSB Bus Frequency

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

Important:

Selecting a bus frequency other than the default setting may
result to the CPU’s or system’s instability and are not
guaranteed to provide better system performance.

3.1.8.3 AGP Bus Frequency

This field is used to select the AGP clock.

3.1.8.4 Clock Spread Spectrum

BIOS Setup

3

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

3.1.8.5 LDT Downstream Width

This field is used to select the LDT downstream width. The options
are Auto and 8-bit.

3.1.8.6 LDT Upstream Width

This field is used to select the LDT upstream width. The options are
Auto and 8-bit.

3.1.8.7 LDT/FSB Frequency Ratio

This field is used to select the frequency ratio of the LDT/FSB.

3.1.8.8 CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio

This field is used to select the frequency ratio of the CPU/FSB.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.8.9 K8 Cool ‘n’ Quiet Control

Auto Enables AMD’s Cool‘n’Quiet technology. This function

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

changing its CPU speed and voltage, subsequently
decreasing its noise level.

Disabled Disables AMD’s Cool‘n’Quiet technology.

3.1.8.10 CPU Core Voltage

This field will show the CPU’s current voltage.

3.1.8.11 Chipset Voltage

This field will show the chipset’s current voltage.

3.1.8.12 DRAM 2.5V Voltage

This field will show the DRAM’s current voltage.

3.1.8.13 CPU VID Control

This field allows you to manually adjust to a higher core voltage that
is supplied to the CPU. If you want to use the CPU’s default core
voltage, leave this field in its default setting. The CPU’s Vcore will be
generated according to the CPU VID configuration.

Important:

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

3.1.8.14 CPU VID Special Control

This field provides more options to further adjust the voltage of the
CPU.

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3.1.8.15 Chipset Voltage Control

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

Important:

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

3.1.8.16 DRAM Voltage Control

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

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Important:

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

3.1.8.17 SATA 1/SATA 2 Control

This field is used to enable or disable SATA 1 and/or SATA 2.

3.1.8.18 SATA 3/SATA 4 Control

This field is used to enable or disable SATA 3 and/or SATA 4.

3.1.8.19 AC97 Audio

Auto Select this option when using the onboard audio.
Disabled Select this option when using a PCI sound card.

3.1.8.20 Onboard 1394 Control(Optional)

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

3.1.8.21 MAC LAN (nVIDIA)

This field is used to enable or disable the onboard LAN controller.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.8.22 MAC Media Interface

The options are MII, RGMII and Pin Strap.

3.1.8.23 Machine MAC(NV) Address

Enable this field to enter the MAC(NV) Address in the field below.

3.1.8.24 MAC(NV) Address Input

Move the cursor to this field and press <Enter>, then enter the
MAC address.

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3.1.9 Load Fail-Safe Defaults

The “Load Fail-Safe Defaults” option loads the troubleshooting
default values permanently stored in the ROM chips. These settings
are not optimal and turn off all high performance features. You
should use these values only if you have hardware problems.
Highlight this option in the main menu and press <Enter>.

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If you want to proceed, type <Y> and press <Enter>. The default
settings will be loaded.

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BIOS Setup

3.1.10 Load Optimized Defaults

The “Load Optimized Defaults” option loads optimized settings from

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

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

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3.1.11 Set Supervisor Password

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

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

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

Confirm Password:

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

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BIOS Setup

3.1.12 Set User Password

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

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

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

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

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

Confirm Password:

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

3.1.13 Save & Exit Setup

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

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

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3.1.14 Exit Without Saving

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

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

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3.2 NVRAID BIOS

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

Important:

Before you run the NVIDIA RAID BIOS utility, make sure the
RAID function in the Integrated Peripherals submenu (“IDE
Function Setup” section) of the Award BIOS is configured
properly.

After you power up the system and all hard disk drives have been
detected, the NVRAID BIOS status message screen will appear.
Press the <F10> key to enter the utility. The utility allows you to
build a RAID system on SATA drives and Parallel ATA drives.

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BIOS Setup

3.3 Updating the BIOS

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

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

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

3. Save the setting and reboot the system.

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

Award BIOS Flash Utility V.8.15B

(C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(The current BIOS information will appear in this area.)

File Name to Program :

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

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