Lucky Star KTAPRO (686A), KTAPRO (686B) User Manual

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KTAPRO

(VIA VT8363A (KT133A) Chipset)

ATX Form Factor

Main Board

User's Manual

(Ver.:1.0)

Copyright© 2001 by this company. No part of this document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means without prior written permission. This manual and the information contained herein are protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Revision History Revision Date Release Notes Ref.NO

1.0 Mar-2001 First Official Release 3053330

Warning and Disclaimer This manual is designed to provide information about the AMD

Athlon™ processor main board. Every effort has been made to make this manual as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. All the information is provided on an 'as is' basis. The author and his corresponding publishing company shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this manual or from the use of the system board that accompanies it.

Information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice. The manufacturer of the system board will not be held responsible for technical or editorial omissions made herein, nor for the incidental or consequential damages resulting from its furnishing, performance, functionality or use. Subsequent changes to this manual will be incorporated into the next edition. We welcome any suggestion regarding this manual or our computer products.

Trademarks

●IBM® is a registered trademark of International Business

Machines

● Microsoft® is a registered trademark of Microsoft® Corporation.

● PCI

● AWARD

is a registered trademark of PCI Special Interest Groups.

is a registered trademark of Award Software Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction………………………………………………..….…………3

1-1 Main Specifications…………………………………………………………………………4 1-2 Other Features………………………………………………………………………..……6

1-3 Package Contents……………………………………………..……………………....……7

Chapter 2 Hardware Installation………………………….……………………….…8

2-1 Mainboard Overview…………………………………..…………………………..………..8 2-1-1 Short Description of Main Sockets and Connectors………………………………………9 2-2 CPU Installation………………. ………………………………………………………10 2-2-1 CPU Frequency setting….………………………………….……...…………………….13 2-2-2 CPU and System Cooling……………………………………………….…………………17

2-3 Memory………………………………..……………………………………………………19 2-3-1 Memory Installation l…………………………………………………………….………20 2-4 PCI and ISA…….…………………………………………………….….………………22 2-4-1 Wake On Lan Header……………………………………………………………………23 2-4-2 Wake On Modem Header…………………………………………………………………23 2-4-3 IO Voltage Selection………………………………………………………………………24 2-5 AGP Slot…………………………………………………………………………………25 2-6 Interrupts…………………………………………………………………………………27 2-7 On Board Audio…………………………………………………………………………31 2-7-1 Backpanel Audio Connectors……………………………………………………………31 2-7-2 Onboard Audio Connectors………………………………………………………………31 2-8 AMR (Audio Modem Riser) ……………………………………………………………32 2-9 Back Panel Connectors……………………………………………………………………33

Fan Headers………………………..……………………………………………………17

2-9-1 PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard………………………………………………………………33 2-9-2 USB…………………………………………………………………………………………34 2-9-3 Serial Ports…………………………………………………………………………………34 2-9-4 Parallel Port………………………………………………………………………………35 2-10 IrDA(Infrared Remote Link) ……………………………………………………………35 2-11

2-12 FDD1(Floppy Disk) ………………………………………………………………37 2-13 PWR1(ATX Power Supply) ……………………………………………………38 2-14 Front Panel Connectors………………………………………………………………39

IDE1 and IDE2 ………………………………………………………………………36

Chapter 3 Software Installation……………………………………………………41

3-1 Driver Installation…………………………………………………………………………41 3-2 Registry Error When Installing The VIA 4-IN-1 Drivers……………………………….42

Chapter 4 The BIOS…………………………………………………………………43

4-1 Updating the BIOS………………………………………………………………………44 4-2 T h e C M O S

Memory………………………………………………………………………45 4-3 The BIOS Setup Pages……………………………………………………………………47 4-3-1 Standard CMOS Setup…………………………………………………………………50 4-3-2 Advanced BIOS Features………………………………………………………………54 4-3-3 Advanced Chipset Features………………………………………………………..……59 4-3-4 Integrated Peripherals…………………………………………………………..……...64 4-3-5 Power Management Setup…………………………………………………………….69 4-3-6 PNP/PCI Configuration Setup………………………………………………………….74 4-3-7 PC Health Status…………...…………………………………………………………76 4-3-8 Frequency/Voltage Control.……………………………………………………………77 4-3-9 Passwords…………………………………………………………………………………79

Chapter 5 Frequently Asked Questions……………………………………………81

5-1 Boot Issues………………………………………………………………………….………81 5-2 System Cooling……………………………………………...….………………………….83 5-2-1 Suitable Socket a CPU Coolers…………………………...….………………………….84 5-2-2 Video Issues………………………………………………………………………………86 5-3 Memory Issues…………………………………………………………….……………...87

Chapter 6 Appendix…………………………………………………………………89

Important Warnings:

WARNING: NEVER run the processor without the heatsink properly and

STOP

firmly attached. This will damage the processor within SECONDS. Also do NOT try to use Pentium Heatsinks, these will NOT fit and do NOT provide adequate cooling.

WARNING: Make sure your power supply can deliver the power your

STOP

system needs. We recommend AT LEAST a 250W power supply. Even better, get a 300W power supply, especially when using many peripherals.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Thank you for purchasing this high quality Motherboard, we are confident that you will be able to use this motherboard to your full satisfaction. This manual is divided into 6 main sections, as described below:

Introduction

The introduction contains information on the main specifications for this motherboard, the package contents and cautionary notes.

Hardware Installation

The Hardware Installation section is the most important in the manual. It describes in detail how to set the motherboard up for operation. Read all information and follow all steps, especially if you are a new user.

Software Installation

The software section describes the drivers that need be installed to make your OS operate properly. The drivers are provided on the driver CD.

BIOS Setup

Information on how to enter the BIOS setup and change settings is given here. In addition all individual BIOS items are described. Although some BIOS setting information is given in the hardware installation section where appropriate, refer to the BIOS Setup Section for details.

Trouble Shooting

In the case you run into trouble using your motherboard, this section will provide you with much information and practical tips to help you solve your problem. Some of the tips are also given in the Hardware and Software Installation Sections where relevant.

Appendix

Provides useful information

1-1 Main Specifications

 Supported CPUs

Can support the least Socket A-based AMD™ Athlon XP, Athlon & Duron CPUs. AthlonTM XP (1200+, 1300+, 1400+, 1500+, 1600+, 1700+, 1800+)

Athlon Duron

 Chipset Northbridge

The VIA™ VT8363A (VIA Apollo KT133A) system controller supports a 200/266 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB); up to 1.5GB of PC133/PC100 SDRAM / VC 133 Virtual Channel Memory (VCM) SDRAM; The KTAPRO complies with AGP 2.0 specifications for 4X, 2X, and 1X AGP modes and PCI 2.2. bus interface with support for 5 PCI masters. It was designed especially to deliver enhanced AMD Athlon™ / Duron™ processor system performance.

 Chipset Southbridge

The VIA VT82C686B PCI Super-I/O Integrated Peripheral Controller (PSIPC) supports UltraDMA/100, which allows burst mode data transfer rates of up to 100MB/sec; AC97 audio (Using the on-board VIA 1611A Audio Codec); USB controller with root hub and four function ports.

 Memory

This motherboard comes equipped with three Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) sockets to support Intel PC133/PC100-compliant (64, 128, 256, or 512MB) DIMM modules up to 1.5GB. In addition NECs VC133-compliant Virtual Channel (VC) SDRAM is also supported. (VC SDRAM is a new DRAM architecture that greatly improves the system memory ability to service high multimedia requirements.)

 PCI Expansion Slots

With five 32-bit PCI (Rev. 2.2) expansion slots, which can support Bus Master PCI cards, such as LAN or Video-grabber cards (PCI supports up to 133MB/s maximum throughput), this motherboard is ready for the most demanding applications.

 ISA Expansion Slot

With one 16-bit ISA expansion slot, which can accepts plug-in boards that control the sound, and other peripherals.

(600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1100, 1200,1300, 1400MHz)

(700, 750, 800, 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1100MHz)

 AGP Slot

This motherboard comes with an AGP Pro Slot with Support for AGP/AGP Pro cards for high performance. The AGP 133MHz 4X mode is supported as well, further increasing system performance.

 AMR Slot

An Audio Modem Riser (AMR) slot also is supported, a very affordable audio and/or modem riser card can be used in combination with this slot.

 USB interface

With support for up to 4 USB ports, two on the back panel and two on-board, this motherboard provides ample USB expansion room.

 IDE interface

This motherboard comes with an onboard PCI Bus Master IDE controller with two connectors that support four ATA66/33 devices on two channels (ATA100 is also supported for this motherboard that come with the 686B southbridge). Supports UDMA/66, UDMA/33, PIO Modes 3 & 4 and Bus Master IDE DMA Mode 2, and Enhanced IDE devices, such as CD-R/ RW, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, Tape Backup and LS-120 drives.

 Super Multi-I/O

This functionality is integrated into the southbridge of the chipset. It provides two high-speed UART compatible serial ports and one parallel port with EPP and ECP capabilities.

 Infrared (IrDA) Connector

This functionality is also integrated into the southbridge of the chipset. The IrDA connector supports an optional IR remote control device for wireless interfacing with external peripherals, personal gadgets, or an optional remote controller.

1-2 Other Features

 Wake-On-LAN and Wake-On-Modem

These 3 pin connectors allow the motherboard to wake up on network (WOL) or Modem (WOM) activity.

 PC Status Monitoring

This functionality provides a reliable way to examine and manage system status information, such as CPU and system voltages, temperatures, and fan speed. This information is available in the BIOS or through the VIA Hardware Monitor Software.

System BIOS

This motherboard comes with a 2MB BIOS that provides CPU/ SDRAM frequency and CPU Vcore adjustments, boot block write protection, and HD/ SCSI/ CD/ Floppy boot selection. DMI is also supported through BIOS, which allows hardware to communicate within a standard protocol creating a higher level of compatibility.

Color-coded Connectors

The Back-panel connectors of this motherboard are all color coded. This allows the user to easily locate certain connectors.

1-3 Package Contents



This Motherboard



1 Manual



1 Driver Installation CD-ROM



1 IDE ATA 66/100 Flat-Cable



1 Floppy Disk Drive Flat-Cable

Please verify that all items listed above are included in your motherboard package. If one of the items is missing, please contact the dealer where you bought your motherboard.

Chapter 2 Hardware Installation

2-1 Mainboard overview

COM1

COM2

LINE-OUT

LINE-IN

MIC-IN

K/B & MOUSE

USB1

SOUND CODEC

FAN 1

JP 3

USB2

FAN 3

Socket462

RT 1

FAN 2

N I

I _

SW 1

1234

JP 5

JP 1

VIA

VT8363A

ATX Pow er

IDE1

FDC1

IDE2

AMR1

COMS Clear

JBAT1

FAN 4

Sw2

2 1

JP 6

RT 2

S O

I B

B M

PW-LED

PW-ON

SPEAKER

RESET

HD-LED

TB-LED

EXTSIM

AGP PRO1

PCI1

WOL1WOM1

PCI2

IrDA

VIA

VT82C686B

PCI3

PCI4

PCI5

Battery

ISA1

2-1-1 Short description of main sockets and connectors

 Socket 462 (CPU Socket)

Insert your Athlon or Duron CPU into this socket. See the description is the CPU Installation section below for more information.

 DIMM 1,2,3

These are the memory module slots. Please refer to the Memory Installation section.

 IDE 1,2

Insert the IDE cable from your HDD/CD-ROM devices to these connectors.

 ATX power

The power cable coming from your ATX power supply must be inserted to this connector.

 AGP Pro Slot

Insert an AGP or AGP Pro video card into this slot.

 PCI Slots

For expansion PCI Cards (Network, Modem, SCSI, etc).

 ISA slot

For expansion ISA cards(Sound card, etcs)

 AMR Slot

A Modem Riser card can be inserted into this slot.

Other components and jumper settings will described in the respective sections that follow.

2-2 CPU Installation

The first step in the installation of your CPU is the insertion of the CPU into the 462-pin CPU socket. Please follow the steps as outlined below carefully to avoid damage to the CPU.

Avoid Static Electricity

The AMD Athlon and AMD Duron processors and your motherboard contain sensitive electronic components that can be easily damaged by static electricity. We recommend that you leave the processor in its original packaging until you are ready to install it. You should only touch the edges of the processor, NEVER touch the processor pins to avoid static discharge.

First take a moment to inspect your CPU for obvious damage due to shipping or handling. Be sure that no noticeable damage exists before proceeding. You should have the following items:

 1 AMD Athlon or AMD Duron processor.  1 good heatsink and fan assembly.

Step 1

The following figure shows the processor socket. Note that the release lever on the right side of the socket is down and latched. This position is used to lock the processor in place. The lever must be raised to install the processor. To do this, first push the lever sideways to unlatch it, then raise it all the way up (approximately 90 degrees).

Step 2

The processor pin array at the top two corners is angled and has no pins in the corners. Notice that at the top of the socket on the motherboard (near where it says "Socket 462") the corners also do not have positions for pins. The processor must be positioned so the pins match up properly. When you do that, the corner of processor that is cut off will be positioned next to the release pivot.

It should take no force to install the processor, this is a zero insertion force (ZIF) socket. If it takes any force you are doing something wrong. Check the pin alignment and also make sure the release lever is raised up completely. After placing the CPU lower the release lever to lock the processor in place.

Now with the processor properly installed, you can proceed to install the heatsink. It is important to note that If you have never installed a heatsink on an AMD Athlon or AMD Duron processor before it may be difficult. We recommend you do a dry run a few times before doing the final installation. To allow you to do this read the following instructions. Do not remove the film on the thermally conductive compound until you are ready to do the final installation.

STOP

WARNING: Never run the processor without the heatsink properly

and firmly attached.

Step3

The picture below shows the bottom of the heatsink. Notice the step in the heatsink surface, this portion fits over the top of the socket, where the legend "Socket 462" is molded into the plastic. The heatsink must be mounted with this step above the top of the socket or the heatsink will not be touching the processor properly.

The next picture shows the removal of the plastic film from the thermally conductive compound. The thermal compound is a thin layer of material that increases the efficiency of the heatsink by filling microscopic surface voids in the processor or heatsink surface with a thermally conductive material. Please do not remove the plastic film until you have practiced installing the heatsink and mounting the clips on the socket. It can take a few tries to get used to doing this.

The following picture shows a side view of the heatsink with the retaining clip at the bottom of the heatsink. Make sure this retaining clip is at the bottom of the heatsink before trying to install it.

The following picture shows the non-moveable end of the heatsink retaining clip installed on the lug at the bottom of the processor socket. This end of the clip simply slides over the lug when you tilt the heatsink / fan assembly towards the lug. Now lock the locking clip for the retaining strap over the lug at the other (pivot end) of the processor socket. This is an easy procedure after you do it a few times, but initially it will require you to use a finger on one hand to push the latch down and use your other hand to push the latch in. This is the part you need to practice to install the clip properly. When you are holding the heatsink, make sure you do apply pressure to the fan. You could damage it and cause thermal failure of the processor.

STOP

Now connect the wire from the heatsink fan to the FAN 3 connector on the motherboard. This connector is keyed and can only be installed one way. If you use a heatsink assembly that has two cooling fans, connect one to FAN 3 and the other to FAN 2. For more information on the FAN connectors, refer to the FAN connector section later in this section.

WARNING: Be careful not to scrape the motherboard during the mounting

of the fan or else damage may occur to the motherboard.

2-2-1 CPU Frequency settings

The frequency the CPU runs at internally depends on the FSB (Front Side Bus) Frequency that is provided to it and the multiplier setting. As example, a 800MHz CPU would run at 100MHz with a multiplier setting of 8x.

Frequency

The KTAPRO motherboard allows for setting of the frequency through the BIOS. To change the CPU frequency, go to the Voltage / Frequency Control page in the BIOS setup, the CPU Host / PCI Clock item will allow you select the CPU frequency. This is explained in more detail in the BIOS section.

Multiplier

The KTAPRO motherboard allows you use the default CPU multiplier. This can be selected through JP1. If JP1 is open, the default CPU multiplier (recommended) is used by the motherboard, if JP1 is closed, the multiplier set by SW1 is used.

JP1: Multiplier Source Select: CPU Default SW1 Override

JP1 Setting

Closing JP1 allows setting of the multiplier through SW1, refer to the table below:

SW1: Multiplier Override

SW1 Ratio SW1 Ratio SW1 Ratio SW1 Ratio

5.5

6.5

You need to close JP1 only in case you plan to run the CPU at a frequency higher than it was specified for (known as overclocking). Note however that we do not guarantee proper functioning of your system if you overclock your CPU. In case of overclocking the fan becomes even more important, since the higher frequency causes the CPU to generate more heat.

7.5

8.5

9.5

10.5

11.5

12.5

SW2:External Frequency Selection

CPU

100MHz

133MHz

This potion tells the clock generator what frequency to send to the CPU, DRAM and the PCI bus. This allows the selection of the CPU’s External Frequency(or Bus Clock). The Bus Clock multiplied by the Frequency Multiple equals the CPU’s Intemal frequency (the advertifed cpu speed).

1 2

ON ON

OFF OFF

The following list contains the standard settings for the AMD Athlon and Duron CPUs known at time of publication:

CPU Name Multiplier Bus Frequency

Athlon 1.2GHz 12.0x 100MHz Athlon 1.2GHz 9.0x 133MHz Athlon 1.13GHz 8.5x 133MHz Athlon 1GHz 7.5x 133MHz Athlon 1GHz 10.0x 100MHz Athlon 950MHz 9.5x 100MHz Athlon 900MHz 9.0x 100MHz Athlon 850MHz 8.5x 100MHz Athlon 800MHz 8.0x 100MHz Athlon 750MHz 7.5x 100MHz Athlon 700MHz 7.0x 100MHz Athlon 650MHz 6.5x 100MHz Athlon 600MHz 6.0x 100MHz Duron 700MHz 7.0x 100MHz Duron 650MHz 6.5x 100MHz Duron 600MHz 6.0x 100MHz

CPU Technical Background

The CPU socket on your KTAPRO motherboard is known as Socket A. This name was given to it by AMD, it supports both the Duron™ and the AMD Athlon™ processors.

Athlon CPU

There are several types of Athlon CPUs, Model 1, 2 and 4. The principal difference between the earlier Athlon Model 1 and Model 2 processors and the model 4 is the use of 256kB on-die cache, rather than 512kB of off-die cache. This allows the cache to run at the clockspeed of the processor, rather than at a fraction (1/3, 2/5, 1/2) as in the earlier Athlons. This constraint is the principal performance limit for the higher speed Athlon Model 2 processors. The use of on-die cache also allows the CPU to use a 0.05V lower core voltage and a corresponding reduction in power consumption of approximately 10-20%. This reduces the temperature of the processor. There are two model 4 socket A CPUs, one using copper interconnects and the other aluminium. The former is coloured blue and the latter green. The copper-based Athlon CPUs run cooler than the aluminium versions.

Duron CPU

The Duron is AMDs low cost processor. It is very similar to the Athlon, using the same Socket A interface. The principal difference between the Athlon and the Duron is in the amount of full speed on-die L2 cache (64k rather than 256k) and a core voltage of 1.5v rather than 1.7v to 1.8v, meaning a lower power consumption of just 22W. According to tests it runs at about 90% of the performance of an Athlon of the same clock frequency and at about 92-99% of the performance of an Athlon Model 1 or 2 of the same clock frequency. It easily beats the same clock speed Intel Celeron processor and often out-classes even the Pentium-III of the same specification. The following gives a technical summary of the main CPU features: System Bus:The processor system bus is the first x86 platform bus running at or above 200MHz. At present, AMD Athlon processors are available with 266MHz and 200MHz system buses. As one of the fastest x86 processor buses currently available, the design delivers as high as 100 percent more peak bandwidth than any x86 system bus. Floating Point Engine: The AMD Athlon processor includes the first fully pipelined, superscalar floating point engine for x86 platforms. The resulting floating point capability is the most powerful ever delivered in an x86 processor. Enhanced 3DNow!™ Technology: The first x86 instruction set to use superscalar SIMD floating point techniques. Enhanced 3DNow! technology adds 24 instructions-19 to improve MMX integer math calculations and enhance data movement for Internet streaming applications and 5 DSP extensions for soft modem, soft ADSL, Dolby Digital, and MP3 applications.

Cache Architecture: The AMD Athlon processor boasts a 384K total full-speed on-chip system cache including 128K L1 cache--four times that of Intel's Pentium® III processor--and 256K on-chip full-speed L2 cache.

2-2-2 CPU and System Cooling

Any attempt to operate the AMD Athlon™ Processor without a suitable cooling solution will result in permanent damage to the processor and potentially other components within the system.

Fan Headers

This motherboard allows the use of in all 4 FANS. Of these 4 FANS, 2 can be used by the CPU Heatsink assembly (Some heatsink assembly come with 2 FANs). The other 2 FAN Headers allow connection of a Chassis Fan and a Power Supply FAN respectively. For a the location of the FAN connectors, refer to the following picture:

FAN 3

FAN 1

FAN 2

1234

2 1

GND

+12V

SENSE

FAN 4

 FAN3: CPU Main FAN , FAN2: CPU Secondary FAN  FAN1: Chassis FAN  FAN4: POWER Supply FAN

The lay-out of all FAN Headers is the same, please refer to the picture below: (Note: RPM sens only for FAN3 & FAN4)

RPM Sens

12V

GND

Cooling Technical Background

As processor technology pushes to faster speeds and higher performance, thermal management becomes increasingly crucial when building computer systems. Maintaining the proper thermal environment is key to reliable, long-term system operation. The overall goal in providing the proper thermal environment is keeping the processor module below its specified maximum plate temperature.

Heatsinks induce improved processor heat dissipation through increased surface area and concentrated airflow from attached fans. In addition, interface materials allow effective transfers of heat from the processor to the heatsink. You can go the AMD website (www.amd.com

Note: If your case comes with a case FAN or a possibility to install a case FAN, we recommend you use it.

) to find a list of AMD recommended FANs.

2-3 Memory

This motherboard supports only Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs). Three sockets are available for 3.3Volt unbuffered SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory). The sizes that are supported are: 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, or 512MB, memory sizes between 8MB to 1.5GB can be formed this way. This motherboard also supports NECs Virtual Channel (VC) SDRAMs. Refer to the picture below for the position of the DIMM slots:

3 4

DIMM1

DIMM2

DIMM3

Memory speed is controlled through the BIOS, on the Advanced Chipset Features Setup page you will find several items related to SDRAM speed. Refer to the BIOS section for more details.

WARNING:

STOP

 DIMM modules that have more than 18 chips are not supported on this

motherboard. (Due to signal integrity)

 If the system CPU bus operates at 100MHz/133MHz, use only

PC100-/PC133-compliant DIMMs. (System won’t boot otherwise)

 DO NOT attempt to mix PC133 SDRAMs with VCM SDRAMs.

2-3-1 Memory Installation

The DIMM modules can be inserted in DIMM slots 1 to 3. Because of the two notches in the DIMM module it can be inserted in only one way. Please refer to the picture below for information on how to insert the DIMM modules.

WARNING:

STOP

Make sure that you unplug your power supply when adding or removing memory modules or other system components. Failure to do so may cause severe damage to both your motherboard and expansion cards

Memory Technical Background

Memory Facts

 All new motherboards support SPD (Serial Presence Detect) DIMMs. These DIMMs

have a little EEPROM (memory IC) on the module that allows the BIOS to read the specifications for the DIMM module.

 The BIOS shows the amount and type of SDRAM memory on the bootup screen.  Single-sided DIMMs come in 16, 32, 64,128, 256MB; double-sided come in 32, 64,

128, 256, 512MB.

DIMM Type

The type of buffer and the working voltage of a DIMM module can be read from the position of the two notches. Please refer to the following diagram for more information:

SDRAM BUFFER TYPE

RFU

Buffere

Unbuffered

VCRAM

Virtual Channel RAM is a technology that was initially developed by NEC. VCRAM increases the memory bus efficiency and performance of the memory module by providing a set of fast static registers between the memory core and I/O pins, resulting in reduced data access latency and reduced power consumption. Each data request from a memory master contains separate and unique characteristics. Multiple requests from multiple memory masters can cause page trashing and bank conflicts, which result in low memory bus efficiency. The VCRAM architecture assigns virtual channels to each memory master. Since virtual channels maintain the individual characteristics of each memory master request, bus efficiency is dramatically increased.

SDRAM VOLTAGE

5.0V

3.3V

Undefined

2-4 PCI and ISA

The PCI slots allow for expansion cards to be added to the system. Expansion cards come in a great variety, Video cards, SCSI cards, Sound cards to name but a few. Refer to the picture below for the location of the PCI and ISA slots:

PCI and ISA

1234

2 1

PCI1

PCI2

PCI3

PCI4

PCI5

ISA1

General steps to install a new Expansion Card:

 Read the documentation for your expansion card and make any necessary hardware

or software settings for your expansion card, such as jumpers.

 Remove the cover of your computer system case and the bracket plate on the slot you

intend to use. Retain the bracket for possible future use.

 Carefully align the card to the slot and press firmly.  Now secure the card in the slot with the screw you removed.  Replace the computer case cover.  Set up the BIOS if necessary (This includes interrupts)  Install the necessary software drivers for your expansion card.

If you run into problems with expansion cards this may be due to interrupt issues. Please refer to the interrupt section later in this chapter.

2-4-1 Wake On LAN Header

The Wake On LAN Header is described under the PCI section because the WOL Header can accept a cable from a PCI LAN Card that supports Wake On LAN. For the pin lay-out of the WOL header, please refer to the picture below.

5V-Stand by

GND

Wake-Up

WOL Technical Background

The Wake-On-LAN feature provides the capability to remotely power-on client systems that support Wake-On-LAN by simply sending a Wake-On-LAN packet. After waking up files can be uploaded to or downloaded from the client. With this feature, network administrators can flexibly perform client maintenance during off-hours so that Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) will be lower. Wake-On-LAN is a remote management tool with advantages that can reduce system management workload, provide flexibility to the system administrator's job, and of course save time-consuming efforts and costs.

Using Wake-On-LAN on your system requires a LAN adapter that supports the Wake-On-LAN and software such as LDCM Rev 3.1x or later that can send and receive wake-up packets.

2-4-2 Wake On Modem Header

The Wake On Modem Header is described under the PCI section because the WOM Header can accept a cable from a PCI Modem Card that supports Wake On Modem (Also known as Wake On Ring). For the pin lay-out of the WOL header, please refer to the picture below.

5V-Stand by

GND

Wak e-U p

After connecting the WOM cable from your modem to the WOM header, you can set the BIOS to allow the system to wake up when the Modem Card receives a Ring signal.

2-4-3 IO Voltage Selection

This motherboard allows modifying of the 3.3V IO Voltage. The following lists all the devices on the motherboard that use this voltage:

 PCI Slots  Memory  Southbridge (to which the IDE and FDD connectors are also connected)

As can be seen, many devices are fed from this 3.3V IO Voltage. Normally setting this voltage to 3.3V is recommended. But if you ‘overclock’ your system it will become more stable by increasing the IO voltage.

The PCI Bus is normally supposed to run at 33MHz (the PCI and CPU frequencies can be set through the frequency/ voltage control page in the BIOS setup), if it runs at a higher frequency and your system is not stable you may try increasing the IO voltage to 3.4V or

3.5V. Note that we do not guarantee proper system functioning when it is not operating within its specifications.

Refer to the following table for the IO voltage settings:

3.3V 3.4V 3.5V 3.6V

JP3

setting

2-5 AGP Slot

Your Motherboard supports AGP cards up to 4X mode, yielding high graphics performance. To use 4X mode AGP cards, make sure to enable the 4X mode in the BIOS, on the Advanced Chipset Features page.

AGP slot

1234

AGP slot

The following picture shows the position of the AGP port:

Take the following steps to install your AGP card:  Remove the cover of your computer system case and the bracket plate on the slot you

intend to use. Retain the bracket for possible future use.

 Carefully align the card to the AGP slot and press firmly. AGP Pro cards are longer

but will fit in the AGP slot.

 Now secure the card in the slot with the screw you removed.  Replace the computer case cover.  Set up the BIOS to support 4X mode if your AGP card supports it.  Install the necessary software drivers for your AGP card (See the Software

Installation chapter)

AGP Technical Background

Speed of data transfers

The PCI Bus runs at 33MHz, the AGP at double that frequency, 66MHz. This is independent of the mode that is used. AGP cards currently are available in 3 modes, 1X, 2X and 4X. These are explained in more detail below:

 1X mode: The data is clocked only at the rising edge of the clock. Since the databus

is 32 bits (4 bytes) wide the transfer rate is 66 x 4 = 264MB/s.

 2X mode: The data is clocked on both the rising and falling edge of the clock,

yielding a transfer rate of 133 x 4 = 532MB/s.

 4X mode: The sideband signals allow a transfer rate of 266 x 4 = 1064MB/s. 4X

mode is only supported in the AGP 2.0 Specification.

Note that the transfer rates above are ideal rates, the real transfer rates will be lower due to main memory latency.

Sideband signals

The 32-bit bus in AGP is used for both address and data. While transactions (reads or writes) are running, commands (address + commands) cannot be issued for queuing until the transactions finish. Sideband addressing prevents this by separating the commands and transactions paths. So, the transactions can keep on running without intervening with commands.

Memory Sharing

Texture data take a large amount of memory in 3D games. If the memory on the AGP card is insufficient performance will suffer. Consider a graphics card with 4 Mbytes memory. Under resolution 800x600 with 16-bit color depth & 16-bit Z-buffer, 2.74Mbytes are used under double buffer configuration and only 1.36Mbytes are left for texture cache. That is not enough for most games, so textures will constantly be swapped in and out of local memory. Now with textures located in the shared AGP memory, only one access is required. That is, from AGP memory to frame buffer instead of a copy from system memory to VGA local memory, and next, from VGA local memory to frame buffer. The amount of memory shared is known as the AGP Aperture, the size can be set in the BIOS. Other names for memory sharing are AGP Execute Mode, DME, and DIME.

2-6 Interrupts

Because Interrupts are an important part of the motherboard, and many customers run into trouble when adding expansion cards that need interrupts, we have added this section on interrupts. First of all, what are interrupts? When a device (like the Harddisk Controller) is told to provide some information it may not be able to provide it right away. (The Harddisk needs to fist seek the location of the information for instance). If the CPU would be forced to wait for the information unacceptable delays would occur. That is where interrupts come in, if the device has completed the action it was supposed to do, it will generate an interrupt. Now the CPU can read (or write) the information it needs without any delays. While the device is performing the requested operation the CPU is free to perform other tasks, when the device finishes the interrupt notifies the CPU. The original XT PC upon which many of the modern PC standards are founded had 16 interrupt lines available for devices. (Another name for interrupt is IRQ, which is short for InterRupt reQuest). Because the Expansion Bus used on those first PCs was the ISA bus, these interrupts are also known as ISA interrupts. As IRQ2 was used for cascading two 8 line IRQ controllers, IRQ2 was unavailable (this is true even in modern day systems, that need to stay compatible). The following table details the standard ISA IRQ assignments:

IRQ line Assigned to IRQ line Assigned to

0 System Timer 8 Real Time Clock (RTC) 1 Keyboard Controller 9 Available 2 Cascade (not available) 10 Available 3 Serial Port 1 11 Available 4 Serial Port 2 12 PS/2 Mouse Port 5 Sound Card (or LPT 2) 13 Math Coprocessor 6 Floppy Disk Controller 14 Primary IDE Controller 7 Printerport 1 (LPT 1) 15 Secondary IDE Controller

As can be seen, many interrupts are fixed and only a few are available. The interrupts on the ISA Bus are not shareable. That means if a device is using an interrupt, then that interrupt can not be used by another device. With the introduction of the PCI bus things got more complicated. The PCI Bus supports 4 Interrupts, known as INT-A, INT-B, INT-C and INT-D. The good thing about PCI interrupts is that devices can share them, but the limitation that the driver for that device must support interrupt sharing. If the driver does not support interrupt sharing, then other PCI devices cannot share the PCI interrupt used by that device.

Plug and Play Interrupts

Because of the interrupts under the ISA specification being fixed by hardware, many conflict situations occurred. To solve this problem the PnP (Plug and Play) specification was developed. PnP devices tell the BIOS what system resources they require, and the BIOS assigns system resources in a way that avoids conflict situations. The PnP BIOS can only assign interrupts that are NOT used by legacy ISA devices (See the table above). The set of interrupts that is available to the PnP BIOS for assignment to PnP devices is called the PnP Interrupt pool. PnP PCI Devices can be assigned whatever IRQ is available from the PnP Interrupt pool, but PnP ISA devices provide the PnP BIOS with a list of what IRQs can be assigned to it, the PnP BIOS will then assign an IRQ from the PnP Interrupt pool from that list. Of the interrupts assigned to legacy ISA devices, some can be made available (released) to the PnP Interrupt pool. Some Legacy device interrupts can by definition not be released. The following table explains how to free legacy ISA interrupts for use by the PnP Interrupt pool.

How to set the BIOS to release the IRQ to the PnP interrupt pool Interru

pt line IRQ 0 Fixed, not available IRQ 1 Fixed, not available IRQ 2 Fixed, not available

IRQ 6 Fixed, not available IRQ 7 IRQ 7: PCI / ISA PnP Onboard Parallel Port: disabled IRQ 8 Fixed, not available IRQ 12 IRQ 12: PCI / ISA PnP IRQ 12 will be released automatically if no PS/2

IRQ 13 Fixed, not available IRQ 14 IRQ 14: PCI / ISA PnP On-chip IDE channel 0: Disabled IRQ 15 IRQ 15: PCI / ISA PnP On-chip IDE channel 1: Disabled Note: IRQs not mentioned (5, 9, 10, 11) are always availabe to the PnP interrupt pool.

If you use an ISA Card that does not support PnP (an ISA legacy card), the interrupt used by the card must be set to Legacy ISA instead of PCI / ISA PnP in the BIOS. This will make sure that the interrupt used by the ISA card is not included in the PnP interrupt pool.

PnP / PCI Configuration page Integrated Peripherals

IRQ 3: PCI / ISA PnP Onboard Serial Port 2: disabled IRQ 3

Note: If set to Auto, IRQ3 will be released only if COM2 has no device attached to it.

IRQ 4: PCI / ISA PnP Onboard Serial Port 1: disabled IRQ 4

Note: If set to Auto, IRQ4 will be released only if COM1 has no device attached to it.

mouse is used.

PCI Interrupts

The PCI interrupts (INT A ~ D) are routed to free interrupts in the PnP interrupt pool by the BIOS. PCI cards all support PnP, so the BIOS knows what system resources they require. The A,B,C,D Interrupt Request lines are mapped to physical devices in the following way:

PCI slot 1 PCI slot 2 PCI slot 3 PCI slot 4 PCI slot 5 AGP port USB INT A INT B INT C INT D

USB and PCI slot 1 and PCI slot 3 use the same interrupt, and AGP, PCI slot 5 use the same interrupt. Because PCI interrupts are shareable this is OK. The BIOS contains the following items related to PCI interrupts:

BIOS item Settings Explanation Assign IRQ to USB

Assign IRQ to VGA

X X X X

X X X

Enabled/disabled If the USB ports are not used, the user can set this item

to disabled. This will make sure that PCI INT D is only granted to PCI slot 1, PCI slot 3.

Enabled/disabled Most modern VGA cards require an interrupt to function.

If yours does not, disable this item to free the PCI interrupt.

ACPI Interrupt

The ACPI specification defines that devices that support ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) can issue interrupts to the OS to notify it of an ACPI event. This interrupt is called the SCI (System Control Interrupt), and it is always mapped to IRQ 9. If ACPI is enabled (see the FAQ chapter, ACPI section), PCI devices will be able to make use of IRQ 9, because PCI interrupts are shareable. But ISA PnP cards can not use IRQ9 if ACPI is enabled.

Therefore the BIOS contains an item that allows the user to disable ACPI. This will release IRQ 9 to the PnP interrupt pool for use by ISA PnP cards.

Assignment Sequence

The interrupts are assigned to the devices in the following sequence:

1. The fixed interrupts are hardwired and are left out of the assignment process (IRQs

0,1,2,6,8 and 13)

2. The BIOS determines what legacy ISA devices have been disabled in the BIOS setup

and releases these IRQs into the PnP interrupt pool

3. The PnP interrupt pool now contains the free interrupts that can be assigned to PnP

devices. There are 2 possible ways of assignment now, depending on the setting in the BIOS for the PnP OS installed item. (On the PnP/PCI Configuration Setup page). If set to no, the A sequence applies, if set to yes the B sequence.

A PnP OS Installed: No The BIOS will now assign all interrupts

1. The BIOS first assigns the interrupts to the ISA PnP cards from the interrupt pool.

The interrupts (if available) are assigned in the following order: 15, 11, 10, 12, 14, 3,

4, 5, 7, 9. As mentioned, if ACPI if enabled, IRQ 9 will not be available.

2. Now the BIOS assigns the PCI interrupts from the remaining interrupts in the pool.

The interrupts are assigned in the A, D, B, C order. (With other words, the AGP IRQ

is first assigned, then the USB IRQ with the others trailing). The USB, VGA and

ACPI IRQs can be disabled in the BIOS as mentioned before.

B PnP OS Installed: Yes The BIOS will only assign the PCI interrupts. The interrupts are assigned in the same order as mentioned above.

After assigning the interrupts control is passed to the OS. The OS will now assign the ISA PnP interrupts from the remaining IRQs in the pool. However, since ISA PnP cards pass the OS a list of IRQs that can be assigned to it, if the OS finds that all the IRQWs on the list are already assigned, it may reassign an IRQ that was assigned to PCI by the BIOS. This means concretely that the OS can change BIOS settings, and that settings made in the BIOS are not necessarily correct when using a PnP OS.

2-7 On board Audio

This motherboard southbridge supports AC’97, a standard that allows low cost Audio and Modem Codecs to be added to the motherboard. Your motherboard comes with a VIA VT1611 Audio codec. The AC’97 standard defines primary and secondary codecs, the onboard VIA codec is configured as the primary codec. A secondary AC’97 codec can be added to the motherboard through the AMR slot, refer to the next section for information on that.

2-7-1 Backpanel audio connectors

The backpanel Audio connectors allow connection of speakers, a microphone, and MIDI devices etc. Refer to the following picture:

Gamep ort / MIDI

LINE-OUT

LINE-IN

MIC-IN

The Gameport can be used with joysticks, or alternatively as MIDI port. The Line-out is for speakers, be sure to use only amplified speakers. The Line-IN and Mic-IN are inputs that can be used for recording.

2-7-2 Onboard audio connectors

The onboard connectors can be used with additional devices, refer to the picture below:

CD_IN1

AUX_IN1

PHN1

 The CD_IN1 input is for the CD-ROM Audio connector.  The AUX_IN1 input is for use with a DVD Add-on card with a Line-in connector.  The PHN1 input is for use with a modem with an internal voice connector.

2-8 AMR (Audio Modem Riser)

As explained in the audio section the AMR slot allows a expansion card to make use of the AC’97 functionality. If you want to use a primary codec on the AMR Card then you must set jumper 5 accordingly, see the following table

JP5: Primary Codec Select Onboard Audio Codec is

primary codec

JP5 Setting

Note: pin 1 can be recognized by the thicker white line around it.

312

AMR Card codec is primary codec

12 3

2-9 back panel connectors

The back-panel contains most standard IO connectors. Please refer to the picture below:

PRT

PS/2 Mouse

Connector

PS/2 KB

Connector

USB 1

COM1

COM2

2.-9-1 PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard

These connectors allow for a PS/2 style mouse and keyboard to be connected.

PS/2 Keyboard

The keyboard can be plugged in in only one way. Please do not force the connector in, it may get damaged by use of excessive force. It is easy to make the mistake of reversing the PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors. If your keyboard does not work, check this first. The keyboard must be inserted into the lower connector.

PS/2 Mouse

The mouse can be plugged in in only one way. Please do not force the connector in, it may get damaged by use of excessive force.

2-9-2 USB

This motherboard supports 4 USB connectors in all. Two of those USB connectors are available through the back-panel. The lay-out of the USB connector is as follows: If you want to make use of the other onboard USB ports you will need to purchase a USB extension cable / bracket. This will connect to the onboard USB2 header. For the lay-out of the USB2 header, refer to the following table:

USB 1

+Vcc DATA- DATA+ GND

Pin 1 Pin 2 Pin 3 Pin 4 Pin 5 Pin 6 Pin 7 Pin 8

USB2

+5V GND DATA1- DATA2+ DATA1+ DATA2- GND +5V

USB2

2-9-3 Serial Ports

The serial ports can be used to connect devices such as a serial mouse and a modem. A serial mouse is usually connected to COM1. Please refer to the following table for the pin lay-out of the serial ports:

DCD (Data Carrier Detect) Pin 6 DSR (Data Set Ready)

Pin 1

SIN (Serial IN or Receive Data)

Pin 2

SOUT (Serial OUT or transmit data)

Pin 3

DTR (Data Terminal Ready)

Pin 4

GND

Pin 5

RTS (Request To Send)

Pin 7

CTS (Clear To Send)

Pin 8

RI (Ring Indicate)

Pin 9

2-9-4 Parallel Port

The parallel or printer port is used, as its name suggests, primarily to connect printers. But devices like cameras and scanners do also come with parallel port interfaces. The pin lay-out of the parallel port is as follows:

Strobe Pin 10 ACK#

Pin 1 Pin 2 Pin 3 Pin 4 Pin 5 Pin 6 Pin 7 Pin 8 Pin 9

Data 0 Data 1 Data 2 Data 3 Data 4 Data 5 Data 6 Data 7

Pin 11 Pin 12 Pin 13 Pin 14 Pin 15 Pin 16 Pin 17 18-25

BUSY PE SELECT AUTO FEED# ERR# INIT# SLIN# GND

2-10 IrDA (InfraRed Remote Link)

If you want to make use of an InfraRed Remote device you can use IR1, a 5-pin header on the motherboard. You will need to buy a separate IR device from your dealer. The motherboard supports both ASKIR and HPSIR specifications, you will need to set the standard you want to use in the BIOS on the integrated peripherals page. The pin lay-out of IR1 is as follows:

2-11 IDE 1 and IDE 2

The IDE connectors are used to connect IDE devices such as Harddisks and CD-ROM drives to the motherboard. Each connector constitutes an IDE channel, each channel accepts 2 IDE devices, one Master and one Slave. The IDE 1 connector is also known as the primary channel, IDE 2 is the secondary channel. Therefore the primary Master is the IDE device connected to IDE 1 as Master, the primary Slave is the IDE device connected to IDE 1 as Slave. Jumpers on the IDE device determine Master and Slave settings. Your harddisk or CD-ROM should have a sticker with jumper settings. Make sure that you set these jumpers correct. Please use the following advise as reference:

 If you have only device connected to an IDE connector, always set it as Master.  If you have one HDD and CD-ROM in your system, then connect the HDD to IDE 1

as Master, and the CD-ROM to IDE 2 as Master.  If you have one Harddisk and one CD-ROM connected to the same IDE connector,

set the HDD to Master and the CD-ROM to Slave.

Ultra DMA

This motherboard supports Ultra DMA 66 IDE devices, if your southbridge is the 82C686B it will even support Ultra DMA 100. If the UDMA mode for the IDE channels are set to auto in the BIOS the motherboard will use the fastets possible interface to comminucate with your IDE devices. (Note however that windows may not support UDMA 100 yet, see the FAQ chapter) For the location of the IDE connectors, refer to the following picture:

IDE 1 IDE 2

40-pin

2-12 FDD1 (Floppy Disk)

The floppy disk connector allows connection of a floppy drive. In all two floppy drives can be connected to the motherboard, known as floppy A and B. The BIOS allows you to disable the floppy controller if you do not use any floppy drives, that will free an Interrupt. The BIOS also allows swapping of floppy A and B although this will not be useful to most users. For the floppy disk connector location, refer to the following picture:

Floppy

2-13 PWR1 (ATX power supply)

The ATX power supply connector is where your power supply plug must be inserted. Note that this motherboard only supports ATX style power supplies, AT style power supplies are not supported. Note the following:  We recommend use of at least a 250W power supply, if you use a very fast CPU (>

900MHz) and have many peripheral devices we recommend use of a 300W power

supply. Do not save on the power supply, it feeds the whole system.  If you use WOL and WOM, make sure that power supply can support at least 720mA

on the 5V standby line. Anything LESS is unacceptable. Even better, get a 1A 5V

standby power supply. For the lay-out of the AXT connector, please refer to the following picture:

TX Power

12V

5VSB

PW-OK

GND

3.3V

-5V

GND

PS-ON

GND

-12V

3.3V

2-14 Front panel connectors

The front panel connector strip is located near the battery and the BIOS IC. It will allow you to connect LEDs and Switches in your case to the motherboard. Please refer to the following picture for the lay-out of the front panel connector strip:

- W

E K A E P S

T E S E R

D E L

- D H

D E L

- B T

M S

- T X E

Descriptions of each individual connector follow:

 PW-LED

The Power LED connector allows you to connect a three pin LED from the case. Notice the polarity, LEDs will only light up if the polarity is correct.

 PW-ON

The Power ON connector is to be used with the push-button power switch in the case. This push button should be a momentarily contact type switch (that is, it should not lock in the ON state but flip back OFF as soon as you release it). All ATX cases come with such a switch. The BIOS allows you to select the power down mode. Either power down immediately on a button push, or with a 4 second delay.

 Speaker

The speaker connector is for the internal case speaker. This speaker will enable the BIOS to give spoken messages in case of boot up trouble. The BIOS beep codes also use this speaker. For Games and Music this speaker will not be used, but rather the back panel line-out connector.

 Reset

The reset connector is for connection of the reset switch. This switch, when pressed, will immediately reset the system (that is, no matter what you where doing, the system will restart. This is very similar to powering to system off and then on again). Note that Windows, Linux and other operating systems do not appreciate the use of the reset switch. When you are working under windows, always use the shutdown feature under the start button (Yes, very logical).

 HDD LED

This LED will light up whenever one of your IDE devices is being accessed. Usually this will be a harddisk, as such the name HDD LED.

 TB-LED

This is the Turbo LED, this LED is always on and is similar in function to the Power LED.

 Ext-SMI

This is the External System Management Interrupt Button connector. Connect the second button on your ATX case to this connector. Pressing that button will force the system into suspend mode. (The BIOS allows specifying of the suspend state, and of the wake-up events that can wake the system up again).

Chapter 3 Software Installation

It is recommended to do a clean installation of Windows when you first install your motherboard. Immediately after installing Windows 98 or Windows 2000 you should install the latest VIA drivers for the motherboard. The original VIA drivers are included on the driver CD which accompanied this motherboard, but the latest drivers can be found at

http://www.via.com.tw/drivers/index.htm

3-1 Driver Installation

The following installation procedure for Windows 98(SE) is a safe way of installation of all drivers:

 Boot into DOS using a start up floppy, now

Use FDISK to create DOS partition on disk (this destroys existing data on disk) Format C: /S to format disk (this destroys existing data on disk)

 Install Windows  Install the latest VIA 4in1 service pack from CD

Go to the 4 in 1 directory on the CD and run the setup.exe file

 Install the latest VIA Sound driver from CD

Go to the VIA AC97 directory on the CD and run the setup.exe file

 Optional: Install the latest DirectX and latest patches.

Go to the Direct X directory on the CD and run the setup.exe file

 Install the latest video drivers.

This driver must have come with your AGP / PCI graphics card

 Optional: Install the latest sound card drivers.

Only necessary if you use a sound card. Disable the onboard sound in that case and do not install the VIA sound driver.

 Install the other latest drivers, e.g. joystick, graphics tablet, etc  Install the applications.

The principle is to work up from the most basic software towards the higher level applications. It may be advisable to defrag before and after installing DirectX, but this should be unnecessary if the disk was formatted before installation.

or www.viatech.com/drivers/index.htm.

3-2 Registry error when installing the VIA 4in1 drivers

Some users have the onboard IDE controllers disabled, because SCSI disks are used. Installation of the VIA 4in1 drivers under Windows98 then gives a "Registry error! Please reboot computer" error message while the setup file unpacks. Enabling the IDE controllers during the installation will solve this issue.

Chapter4 The BIOS

The BIOS is a piece of software (Basic Input Output System) that performs most low level tasks. When you start up your system, the BIOS is the first code that gets to run. The BIOS resides in a FLASH ROM, and the code in the FLASH ROM can be updated through a special utility called AWDFLASH. (Award Flash). This is generally not necessary, but in some cases updating the BIOS is necessary to support new devices that were not on the market at the time the motherboard was released. For the physical location of the BIOS FLASH ROM IC on your motherboard, refer to the picture below:

BIOS

The BIOS IC is inserted in an IC socket, which means that it can be removed and exchanged for another IC if necessary.

Is updating my BIOS necessary?

As a general rule if your system is functioning properly and you are not an experienced user, do not try to update the BIOS. Only if you have specific problems that a BIOS update may solve may it be advisable to update the BIOS. The update process is pretty complex, and you should bear in mind that if updating the BIOS goes wrong you may render your system unbootable. Therefore, do not update unless you know what you are doing.

Finding the latest official BIOS revision

For the latest official BIOS revision, please go to our website at www.lucky-star.com.tw On the support page you can find the latest BIOS files for our motherboards.

4-1 Updating the BIOS

As said, this procedure is complicated, ONLY update your BIOS when you experience

problems with your system. Because each BIOS release completely overwrites the previous version and there is no need to update to intermediate BIOS releases when updating the BIOS. Therefore always use the latest BIOS revision when doing a BIOS update. The BIOS update procedure is as follows:

 In order to flash update the BIOS, you will need 2 files:

The BIOS binary file (.bin file from the website) AWDFLASH.EXE utility file. (This utility can be downloaded from our website)

 Create a directory on your C harddisk drive: and name it FLASH  Put the BIOS .bin file and the AWDFLASH utility in the FLASH directory.

You may want to jot the BIOS .bin file name down on a piece of paper.

 Restart the computer, press DEL to go into the BIOS, then please disable the

following: System BIOS Cacheable (in Advanced Chipset Features) Video BIOS Shadow (in Advanced BIOS Features) Save the changes by selecting ‘save and exit’, and restart the computer.

 Press Ctrl + F5 just before Windows is starting up (right after the second BIOS screen)

for a DOS boot, you will see the message "Windows is bypassing all your startup

files". You end up at a DOS prompt.

 Now type cd FLASH to change to the newly created directory.  Here type AWDFLASH mybios.bin /py /cc /sn /cd, where mybios.bin is the file name

for the BIOS binary file you want your BIOS to upgrade to. Now the upgrading will

begin.

WARNING:

STOP

 After the upgrading has ended press F1 to reset, press DEL to go into BIOS and make

Load Setup Defaults. Go into the Frequency/Voltage Control page to adjust your CPU speed and voltage (please make sure the CPU voltage matches your CPU specs, in case of doubts leave it to ‘default’).

Save your settings and you are done.

Do NOT in any way disturb the system during upgrading. If for any reason the system is stalled your system may not be able to boot again.

the following changes:

4-2 The CMOS memory

The BIOS uses the CMOS memory to store all the settings that have been made through the BIOS Setup pages.

Battery

The CMOS memory remembers all settings, even when the system is switched off, by use of a 3V Lithium battery. If this battery runs low CMOS is unable to keep its settings and you will need to replace the battery. The BIOS will give you an error message wgen it detects a low battery voltage. The error message ‘CMOS checksum error’ may also point to a low battery problem.

Restoring default settings

You can load default values into the CMOS memory by selecting ‘Load Optimized Defaults’ in the BIOS Setup. If you need to force the CMOS settings to default without entering the BIOS Setup page you can use the JBAT1 jumper. For the location of the jumper and the battery, refer to the following picture:

Battery JBAT1

Normally JBAT1 will be in the 1-2 position, this will connect the battery to the southbridge of the chipset which contains the CMOS memory. If JBAT1 is temporarily set to 2-3 this will interrupt the battery electricity flow, and the CMOS memory will be erased, this will however only work if the power supply is not switched on. Now at the next reboot the BIOS will automatically load the CMOS default values.

Take the following steps to clear CMOS memory:

 Take the power cord from the power supply.  Temporarily set JBAT1 to 2 – 3, and set it back to 1 – 2.  Put the power cord back and restart the system, the default values will be

loaded.

JBAT1 Setting:

Retain CMOS settings Clear CMOS Settings

JBAT1

12 3

The following part of this chapter will describe the individual BIOS Setup pages and all the items that can be adjusted to fine tune your system.

12 3

4-3 The BIOS Setup Pages

To enter the BIOS Setup pages, take the following steps:

 Start up the system.  After memory counting has finished, press [DEL] to enter the BIOS Setup

pages.

Now the following menu will appear:

Standard CMOS Features

Advanced BIOS Features

Advanced Chipset Features

Integrated Peripherals

Power Management Setup

PnP/PCI Configurations

Esc : Quit F9: Menu in BIOS

F10 : Save & Exit Setup

Time, Date, Hard Disk Type . . .

Selecting items

To Select items, use the following method:

 Use the arrow keys to move between items and select fields.  Press [enter] to enter the selected submenu.

Submenus

All items that start with a " are submenus. Pressing [enter] when a submenu is selected will enter that submenu.

PC Health Status

Frequency/Voltage Control

Load Optimized Defaults

Set Password

Save & Exit Setup

Exit Without Saving

↑ ↓ → ← : Select Item

Modifying selected items

The [Up]/[Down] keys can be used to modify values within the selected fields. Note that some fields also let you enter values directly.

Hot Keys

Throughout the BIOS Setup Pages the hot keys will give you access to a group of commands. Refer to the following table for the hot keys and their function:

Key Command Description

F10 Save & Exit Setup Saves the changes made and reboots the system.

[Esc] Quit Returns to the previous menu

Help General Help

Help Help for specific item

Previous values Restores the previous values. These are the values that the

F7 Optimized Defaults Loads all options with the Optimized Default values.

user started the current session with.

Save & Exit Setup

When you select the [SAVE & EXIT SETUP] option from the Main Menu, all changes that you made will be saved to the CMOS memory and the setup utility will exit, rebooting your system.

Standard CMOS Features

Advanced BIOS Features

Advanced Chipset Features

Integrated Peripherals

Power Manag

PnP/PCI Conf

PC Health Status

Save to CMOS and Exit (Y/N)?

Pressing [Y] and [enter] will save the changes, pressing [N] and [enter] will keep the old settings.

Frequency/Voltage Control

Load Optimized Defaults

Set Supervisor Password

Set User Password

xit Setup

ithout Saving

Exit Without Saving

Selecting ‘Exit Without Saving’ will exit Setup without saving changes to CMOS.

Standard CMOS Features

Advanced BIOS Features

Advanced Chipset Features

Integrated Peripherals

Power Manag

PnP/PCI Conf

PC Health Status

Pressing [Y] and [enter] will Exit without saving, pressing [N] and [enter] will not Exit.

Quit without Saving (Y/N)?

Frequency/Voltage Control

Load Optimized Defaults

Set Supervisor Password

Set User Password

xit Setup

ithout Saving

4-3-1 Standard CMOS Setup

Select the [STANDARD CMOS SETUP] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

Standard CMOS Features

Date (mm:dd:yy) Sat, Nov 18, 2000 Item Help

Time (hh:mm:ss) 11 : 51 : 58

IDE Primary Master

IDE Primary Slave

IDE Secondary Master

IDE Secondary Slave

Drive A 1.44M, 3.5 in.

Drive B None

Video EGA / VGA

Halt On All, But Keyboard

Base Memory: 640K

Extended Memory: 31744K

Total Memory: 32768K

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select + / - / PU / PD: value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

Change the day, month, year and

Century

Menu Level "

This screen allows you to change the basic CMOS Settings such as date and time, harddisk type etc. After you have made the changes you need to make press [ESC] to return to the main menu.

Date and Time

Default Possible Settings Notes Date

Weekday, month, day ,year

Type the current date. (weekday auto changes)

Using the P-Up / P-Dn keys to toggle is possible

Time

hh:mm:ss Type the current time 24-hour clock format. (15:15:00

= 3:15:00)

IDE Devices

When you select one of the IDE devices, a submenu will pop up. Refer to the picture below.

IDE xxxx

IDE HDD Auto Detection Press Enter Item Help

IDE Primary Master Auto

Access Mode Auto

Capacity 0 MB

Cylinder 0

Head 0

Precomp 0

Landing Zone 0

Sector 0

Menu Level " "

To auto-detect the HDD’s size, head… on this channel

This Menu is the same for all 4 IDE devices:

 Primary Master IDE 1 first device  Primary Slave IDE 1 second device  Secondary Master IDE 2 first device  Secondary Slave IDE 2 second device

Val u es Meaning

IDE HDD Auto Detection

Press Enter Pressing Enter will make the BIOS auto detect the IDE device

on this channel. The result will be displayed below, starting with the ‘capacity’ item. (These items are read only)

IDE xxx Auto This will auto detect the device at each boot up.

Manual This will use the setting set by the user. No auto detection at

start up will take place.

None This setting means no device is present. This will prevent the

BIOS from looking for a device and speed up booting.

Access

CHS Selects the CHS access mode.

Mode

LBA Logical Block Addressing, for HDD drives larger than 504MB

(All modern HDDs) Large For very large HDDs. Auto The BIOS will automatically detect the best access mode.

Drive A and Drive B

The Drive A / B items allow you select the type of device that you have attached to the Floppy (FDD1) connector on the motherboard. You can select between different floppy disk drive types by using the Page-Up and Page-Down keys. If you press [enter] while Drive A or B is selected the following menu will pop up that will allow to choose a device as well:

Drive X

None … [ ]

360K, 5.25 in. ... [ ]

1.2M, 5.25 in. … [ ] 720K, 3.5 in. … [ ]

1.44M, 3.5 in. …

[  ]

2.88M, 3.5 in. … [ ]

↑ ↓

: Move Enter:Accept ESC: Abort

Video

The Video item allows you to select a video mode. Since most modes are outdated we advise you to always select EGA/VGA. You can select between different video modes by using the Page-Up and Page-Down keys. If you press [enter] a menu pops up. (Mono is for a monochrome screen that can only display one color)

Video

EGA/VGA …

[ ]

CGA 40 ... [ ] CGA 80 … [ ] MONO … [ ]

↑ ↓

: Move Enter:Accept ESC: Abort

Halt On

The BIOS will stop booting when an error is detected. You can set through this item what errors will stop the system booting. You can select between different error modes by using the Page-Up and Page-Down keys.

Val u es Meaning

All Errors Stop booting on all errors. No Errors Always Boot, no matter what error is detected.

Stop booting on all errors, but not on a keyboard error.

Stop booting on all errors, but a diskette error.

Stop booting on all errors, but keyboard and diskette errors.

Halt On

All, but keyboard

All, but diskette All, but disk/key

4-3-2 Advanced BIOS Features

Select the [Advanced BIOS Features] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

Advanced BIOS Features

Virus Warning Disabled Item Help

CPU Internal Cache Enabled

External Cache Enabled

CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking Enabled

Quick Power On Self Test Enabled

First Boot Device Floppy

Second Boot Device HDD 0

Third Boot Device LS 120

Boot Other Device Enabled

Swap Floppy Drive Disabled

Boot Up Floppy Seek Enabled

Boot Up NumLock Status On

Typematic Rate Setting Disabled

X Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) 6

X Typematic Delay (Msec) 250

Security Option Setup

OS Select For DRAM > 64 MB NonOS-2

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

Video BIOS Shadow Enabled

C8000 – CBFFF Disabled

CC000 – CFFFF Disabled

D0000 – D3FFF Disabled

D4000 – D7FFF- Disabled

D8000 – DBFFF Disabled

DC000 – DFFFF Disabled

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select + / - /PU / PD: value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

The screen is not as long on your monitor. You can use the arrow keys to scroll down and up the page. The following explains all individual items and their meaning.

Menu Level "

Virus protection

Val u es Meaning

Virus War ni ng

Enabled The BIOS will give a beep and a warning whenever an attempt

is made to write to the boot sector of the HDD. Disabled The BIOS will allow write attempts to the boot sector

CPU Cache settings

Val u es Meaning

Enabled This will enable the Internal L1 cache of your CPU. CPU

Internal Cache

Cache

Cache ECC checking

Quick Power On Self Test Val u es Meaning

Quick Power On Self Test

Disabled (Not recommended)

Enabled This will enable the Internal L2 cache of your CPU. External Disabled (Not recommended)

Enabled This will enable CPU Internal L2 cache ECC (Error Checking). CPU L2 Disabled (Not recommended)

Enabled The BIOS will execute test routines that test most parts of the

motherboard during boot up.

Disabled The BIOS will skip the tests, speeding up the boot process.

Errors will on the other hand not be detected.

Boot Devices

The first to third boot device items allow you to select what device the system should boot from. If the BIOS fails to boot from the first boot device, it will attempt to boot from the second boot device, if that fails too, the third boot device is tried. If you set the boot other device item to enabled, the BIOS will try to boot from other devices if the first to third choices all fail. If you set this item to disabled, the BIOS will not boot if the first to third devices all fail to boot. The list you can choose from for the first to third device is the same, refer to the table below:

Val u es Meaning

Floppy The system attempt to boot from diskette.

(first boot device default)

LS 120 The system will attempt to boot from an attached LS 120

drive. (Third boot device default)

HDD 0 The system will attempt to boot from the first HDD.

(Second boot device default)

SCSI The system will attempt to boot from the first device attached

to the first SCSI interface.

First ~ Third boot device

CD-ROM The system will attempt to boot from the first CD-ROM

found. HDD1 The system will attempt to boot from the second HDD. HDD2 The system will attempt to boot from the third HDD. HDD3 The system will attempt to boot from the fourth HDD. ZIP100 The system will attempt to boot from an attached ZIP 100

drive LAN The system will attempt to boot over the network. You will

require a LAN card with boot BIOS for this option to

function. Disabled This disables booting from this device.

Floppy Drive Settings

Val u es Meaning

Swap Floppy Drive

Enabled This will swap floppy A and B. Most systems not even have 2

floppy drives, so this item is irrelevant .

Disabled Floppy A and B are not swapped

Boot-up Floppy Seek

Enabled The BIOS will test whether the floppy has 40 or 80 tracks

during boot up. All new floppy drives are 80 tracks.

Disabled The BIOS will not test the amount of tracks.

Keyboard Typematic Rate and Delay Settings

If you set the typematic rate setting item to disabled, the system will use the defaults of 6 and 250 for the rate and delay items. If you set it to enabled you can select the values yourself. Refer to the table below:

Val u es Meaning

Typematic Rate

6 ~ 30 This value sets the amount of time a character is repeated per

second if it is kept down on the keyboard. Choose from the following values: 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30.

Typematic Delay

250 ~ 1000 This value sets the amount of time in ms before a character

starts repeating after it was pressed on the keyboard. Choose from 250, 500, 750 and 1000 ms.

Security Option

The security option item allows you to select when the password needs to be entered. Refer to the table below:

Val u es Meaning

Security Option

Setup Password must be entered only when the user wants to enter the

BIOS setup.

System The password must always be entered at boot.

OS Select for DRAM > 64MB

Val u es Meaning

OS select for DRAM > 64MB

Non-OS2 If your OS is not OS2, always select this setting. OS2 Select this setting only if your OS is OS2

HDD SMART Capability

Val u es Meaning

HDD Smart Capability

Enabled Some Harddisks support SMART, a diagnostic standard that

allows the HDD to tell the system about problems. Enable this item only if your HDD supports SMART.

Disabled Default setting.

Shadow Options

The shadow options allow the BIOS to shadow (write to RAM) certain parts of the BIOS code. This will speed up running the code, since running from RAM is much faster than running from FLASH ROM

The individual memory ranges refer to BIOS code that may be present on expansion cards. Normally you will not need to enable shadowing for these ranges. Refer to the table below for details:

Val u es

Video BIOS Shadow

Enabled This will allow the BIOS to write the video BIOS to RAM.

Disabled No shadowing is allowed.

Meaning

This will speed up execution and is the default setting.

xxxxx –xxxxx Shadow

Enabled This enables shadowing of the selected memory range. Set to

enabled only when you are sure an expansion card uses this

memory range. Disabled Default setting.

4-3-3 Advanced Chipset Features

Select the [Advanced BIOS Features] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

Advanced BIOS Features

DRAM timing by SPD Enabled Item Help

X DRAM Clock 100MHz

X SDRAM Cycle Length 3

X Bank Interleave Disabled

Memory Hole Disabled

PCI Master Pipeline Req. Enabled

P2C / C2P Concurrency Enabled

Fast R/W Turn Around Disabled

System BIOS Cacheable Enabled

Video RAM Cacheable Enabled

AGP Aperture size 128MB

AGP-4X mode Enabled

AGP Driving Control Auto

X AGP Driving Value DA

On chip USB Enabled

USB Keyboard Support Disabled

Onchip Sound Auto

Onchip Modem Disabled

CPU to PCI Write Buffer Enabled

PCI Dynamic Bursting Enabled

PCI Master 0 WS write Enabled

PCI Delay Transaction Enabled

PCI #2 Access #1 Retry Enabled

AGP Master 1 WS Write Disabled

AGP Master 1 WS Read Disabled

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select + / - /PU / PD: value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

The screen is not as long on your monitor. You can use the arrow keys to scroll down and up the page. The following explains all individual items and their meaning.

Menu Level "

DRAM timing

If the DRAM Timing by SPD item is set to Enabled, the three items below will automatically be set be the BIOS. To do this the BIOS will read information out of the SPD EPROM that is located on the DIMM module, this information will tell the BIOS how to best access the memory. If you set this item to disabled, you can set the memory access items yourself. A word of warning though, if you are not familiar with DRAM settings do NOT make any changes (for the sake of system stability). Refer to the table below for the meaning of the individual DRAM items:

Val u es Meaning

DRAM Clock

100 MHz If your DIMM modules are PC-100 compliant, select this

setting.

133 MHz Only when your DIMM modules are PC-133 compliant can you

use this setting. In case of instability always select 100MHz.

DRAM Cycle Length

Bank Interleave

2 2 is the fastest setting, use this setting only if your DIMM

modules support CAS 2

3 This is the default setting, always use this setting when the

system is unstable.

Disabled This is the safest setting (default). 2bank This setting is faster than disabled. 4 bank This is fastest setting.

Memory Hole

Some old devices need a memory hole to be present between 15M and 16M. CPU Cycles matching the hole will be passed on to the PCI bus instead of accessing the memory. Normally you can disable this setting, but if one of your devices needs it set it to enabled.

Val u es Meaning

Memory Hole

Disabled There is no memory hole. 15M – 16M A memory hole exists between 15 and 16MB.

PCI Bus Timing Settings

The following settings are all related to PCI timing, there is no need to change them from their default setting unless you are an experienced user.

Val u es Meaning

PCI Master Pipeline Req.

Enabled A PCI Master can request a pipeline. Disabled No pipeline is granted to any Master.

P2C / C2P concurrency

Fast R-W turn around

CPU to PCI write buffer

PCI dynamic bursting

PCI Master 0 WS write

PCI delay transaction

Enabled The CPU Host is free for other transactions while a PCI

transaction takes place. Disabled The CPU Host bus is always forced to wait while a PCI

transaction takes place.

Enabled If a memory read is addressed to a location whose latest write

is being held in a buffer before being written to memory, the

read is satisfied through the buffer contents, and the read is

not sent to the DRAM. Disabled This feature is disabled.

Enabled When enabled CPU writes to PCI are buffered, the CPU will

not have to wait for the transaction to finish. Disabled The CPU will have to wait for each PCI write to finish before

a new write can be initiated.

Enabled All transactions are buffered, and transactions that are

burstable (successive) will be conducted in a PCI burst

transaction. Disabled PCI burst transactions are disabled.

Enabled Disabled

Enabled The chipset has a write buffer that supports delayed

transactions. Enable this item for PCI 2.1 compliance. Disabled This will shut down use of the integrated buffer, no delayed

transactions are allowed.

PCI #2 Access #1 retry

Enabled When #2 (AGP port) tries to access #1 (PCI) and an error

occurs, the transaction will be tried again. Disabled No retry will occur.

AGP Settings

Val u es Meaning

This item allows setting of the portion of the main memory that

AGP Aperture Size

4 – 128MB

is assigned to the AGP card. Normally about half or less of the total memory should be assigned. Choose from 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128MB, default is 128MB.

AGP 4X Mode

AGP Driving Control

AGP Driving Va l ue

Enabled Set to enabled only if your AGP card supports 4x mode Disabled For AGP cards that support 1x and 2x mode.

Auto The BIOS sets the value automatically Manual The AGP Driving Value item below can be used to set the value.

This value sets the timing of the signal that the video card driver

00 - FF

uses to communicate over the AGP bus. The range is from 00 – FF Hex (00 – 255 Dec). The default value is DA. For more information on settings see the FAQ chapter.

AGP Bus Timing Settings

The following settings are related to AGP timing, there is no need to change them from their default setting unless you are an experienced user.

Val u es Meaning

AGP Master 1 WS Write

AGP Master 1 WS Read

Enabled AGP Writes are executed with 1 wait state, enable only if your

AGP card supports this.

Disabled AGP Writes take longer than 1 wait state, default setting.

Enabled AGP Reads are executed with 1 wait state, enable only if your

AGP card supports this.

Disabled AGP Reads take longer than 1 wait state, default setting.

Cache Settings

The following settings are related to cacheability of video RAM and the system BIOS, change them only if you are an experienced user.

Val u es Meaning

Enabled This will enable caching of the system BIOS memory section.

System BIOS Cacheable

Video RAM Cacheable

Disabled This will not cache any BIOS code, meaning that BIOS code

Enabled This will enable caching of Video memory, which speeds up

Disabled No caching of Video data is done, meaning that Video data will

This means that BIOS code can run faster when called often.

will have to be read from memory each time.

video operations. This can only be done if the Video card does not access the video memory itself it the mean time.

have to be read from / written to memory each time.

USB Settings

Val u es Meaning

Onchip USB

Enabled This will enable use of the USB functionality integrated into the

chipset.

Disabled If you do not make use of USB, use this setting.

USB Keyboard Support

Enabled Set to enabled if you make use of a USB keyboard. Disabled If you do not use a USB keyboard, use this setting.

On Chip Devices

Val u es Meaning

Onchip Sound

Onchip Modem

Auto The BIOS scans for a on board Sound device and enables it. Disabled The BIOS does not enable on board sound devices.

Auto The BIOS scans for a on board Modem and enables it Disabled The BIOS does not enable on board modems.

4-3-4 Integrated Peripherals

Select the [Integrated Peripherals] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

Integrated Peripherals

Onchip IDE channel 0 Enabled Item Help

Onchip IDE channel 1 Enabled

IDE Prefetch Mode Enabled

Primary Master PIO Auto

Primary Slave PIO Auto

Secondary Master PIO Auto

Secondary Slave PIO Auto

Primary Master UDMA Auto

Primary Slave UDMA Auto

Secondary Master UDMA Auto

Secondary Slave UDMA Auto

Init Display First AGP

IDE HDD Block Mode Enabled

Onboard FDD Controller Enabled

Onboard Serial Port 1 Auto

Onboard Serial Port 2 Auto

UART 2 Mode Standard

X IR Function Duplex Half

X TX, RX Inverting Enable No, Yes

Onboard Parallel Port 378/IRQ7

Onboard Parallel Mode Normal

ECP Mode Use DMA 3

Parallel port EPP type EPP1.9

Onboard legacy audio Enabled

Sound Blaster Disabled

SB IO Base Adrress 220H

SB IRQ Select IRQ 5

SB DMA Select DMA 1

MPU-401 Disabled

MPU-401 IO Address 330 – 333H

Game Port (200 –207) Enabled

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select + / -/ PU / PD: value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

Menu Level "

The screen is not as long on your monitor. You can use the arrow keys to scroll up and down the page.

IDE Channel Settings

The following table explains IDE channel settings and what they mean:

Val u es Meaning

Onchip IDE Channel 0

Enabled Enables the use of the first (primary) IDE channel. Disabled This will disable the use of the first (primary) IDE channel.

Onchip IDE Channel 1

xxx PIO

Enabled Enables the use of the secondary IDE channel. Disabled This will disable the use of the secondary IDE channel.

Auto The BIOS will assign a PIO mode to this device automatically

when appropriate

xxx - UDMA

Mode 0 Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4

Auto The BIOS will automatically use Ultra DMA Mode if the IDE

Select a PIO Mode here. PIO mode 0 is slowest, PIO mode 4 is fastest, check your HDD to see what PIO mode it supports.If your IDE device supports UDMA mode, then it best to enable that mode since it is considerably faster than PIO mode. (Set to auto for auto-detection)

device supports it.

Disabled This will disable the use of Ultra DMA for this device.

IDE HDD Block Mode

Enabled Block mode allows faster transfer of data between the system

and the HDD. Most modern HDDs support it.

Disabled Block Mode is not used.

Display Initialization

Val u es Meaning

Inie Display First

PCI Slot The BIOS will first search for a VGA adapter on the PCI bus, if

one is found it will be used as primary display.

AGP The AGP Bus is first scanned.

Floppy Drive

Val u es Meaning

Onboard FDD Controller

Enabled This will allow use of a floppy drive. Disabled If you do not need a floppy drive, set this item to disabled.

COM ports (Serial Ports)

Val u es Meaning

Onboard serial port 1 / 2

Auto The bios will automatically use serial ports. Disabled If you do not need the serial port in question, set this item to

disabled. 3F8/IRQ4 2F8/IRQ3

Set an IO address and an IRQ to be used by serial

ports. 3E8/IRQ4 2E8/IRQ3

IR Control

Val u es Meaning

UART 2 Mode

IR Function Duplex

TX, RX inverting enable

Standard This will assign UART 2 to serial port 2, the IR port is disabled.

The two items below can not be changed. ASKIR Allows use of the IR port in ASKIR mode. HPSIR Allows use of the IR port in ASKIR mode.

Half Select if your IR device supports Half duplex only. Full For IR devices that support full duplex.

No, No Will not invert any signal No, Yes Will invert the RX signal (Default) Yes, No Will invert the TX signal Yes, Yes Will invert both signals

Parallel Port (Printer Port)

Val u es Meaning

On board Parallel Port

Disable Disables use of the parallel port. 3BC / IRQ7 378 / IRQ7

Select an IO Address and an IRQ to be used by the parallel port. 278 / IRQ5

On board Parallel Mode

Normal This is the standard printer port configuration. EPP Enables use of EPP devices. ECP Enables use of EPP devices. EPP / ECP Enables use of EPP / ECP devices.

ECP mode use DMA

Parallel port EPP type

1 or 3 Select either DMA channel 1 or 3 (This is only relevant if ECP

was selected above). Default is channel 3.

EPP1.7 or EPP1.9

Select the EPP mode. (This is only relevant if EPP was selected

above). Default is EPP1.9.

Legacy Audio

Val u es Meaning

Onboard Legacy Audio

Sound Blaster

Enabled This will software that requires legacy audio (such as DOS)

games to function properly. Disabled Legacy Audio is disabled.

Enabled If you added a Sound Blaster or compatible sound card to your

system, the three items below allow specifying details about IO

and IRQ.. Disabled No Sound Blaster (or compatible) cards in the system.

SB IO Base ADdress

SB IRQ Select

SB DMA Select

220H – 280H

Specify the IO Base Address for your Sound Blaster card.

Choose from 220, 240, 260 and 280H. Default is 220H.

5,7,9,10 Specify the IRQ for your Sound Blaster card. Default is IRQ 5.

0, 1, 2, 3 Specify the DMA Channel for your Sound Blaster card. The

Default is DMA Channel 1.

MIDI

Val u es Meaning

MPU-401

MPU-401 IO address

Enabled Allows of use of MIDI. Disabled No need for MIDI.

300 – 303 330 – 333

Select the IO address for the MIDI functionality. Choose from

300 – 303, 310 – 313, 320 – 323 and 330 – 333.

Game Port

Val u es Meaning

Game Port

Enabled This will allow you to make use of the game port (joy sticks

etc) Disabled If you do not need the game port, set this item to disabled.

4-3-5 Power Management Setup

Select the [Power Management Setup] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

Power Management Setup

ACPI Function Enabled Item Help

Power Management

ACPI Suspend type S1(POS)

PM controlled by APM Ye s

Video Off Option Suspend -> Off

Video Off Method V/H Synch + Blank

Modem Use IRQ 3

SoftOff by Powerbutton Instant Off

Wake UP Events

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select PU / PD / + / - : value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

Press Enter

Menu Level "

Press Enter

ACPI Function

For a detailed description of ACPI and what it does, refer to the FAQ chapter, ACPI section. ACPI can be either enabled or disabled on this BIOS Setup page. For the ACPI Suspend type there are two options:

 S1 (POS)  S3 (STR)

STR is the so called Suspend to RAM suspend type. This will save the sytem context all to RAM and it will shut down the system. The standby voltage of the power supply backs up the RAM contents. (Therefore we recommend to use a power supply that can support a current of 1A at the standby line). When the user want the system to wake up again, the sytem is powered up, the BIOS detects a STR and the system restores itself to where it left off. Start up time is much faster than a normal boot would take.

Power Management

Pressing [enter] when the power management item is selected will have the following sub menu appear:

Power Management

Power Management User Define Item Help

HDD Power Down Disabled

Doze Mode Disabled

Suspend Mode Disabled

Menu Level " "

Refer to the following table for an explanation of the items above:

Val u es Meaning

Power Management

User Define The three items below can be set by the user Min Saving The three items below are set to: disabled, 1 hour, 1hour

respectively. Max Saving The three items below are set to: disabled, 1 min, 1min

respectively.

HDD Power Down

Doze Mode

Suspend Mode

PM control

PM control by APM

Video Options

1 – 15 Min Will power down the HDD if it is idle for the amount of

minutes selected here. Disabled Will not power down the HDD.

1 Min to 1 Hour

Selecting a time will force the system into doze mode after

being idle for that time. Choose from the following time

intervals: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40 min and 1 Hour Disabled The system will never enter doze mode.

1 Min to 1 Hour

Selecting a time will force the system into suspend mode after

being idle for that time. Choose from the following time

intervals: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40 min and 1 Hour Disabled The system will never enter suspend mode.

Yes Power Management will be done through the APM (Advanced

Power Management) interface. Select this setting for Windows

OSes. (Not Win NT) No The BIOS will control PM directly.

Video Off Option

Video Off Method

Modem IRQ

Modem Use IRQ

Power Button

Soft off by power button

Wake Events

Always On The monitor will always be on, no matter what the state of the

system

Suspend-> Off The monitor will be turned of in suspend mode. The item

below will specify what off method to use.

All modes -> Off The monitor will be turned off in doze and suspend mode. The

item below will specify what off method to use.

Blank Screen The screen will be blank (black) only. V/H sync + blank DPMS support If your monitor supports DPMS, it can be switched off

NA This disables the modem IRQ 3 - 11 Select an IRQ line that will be assigned to your modem here.

Instant-off Switches the system off immediately when pressing

Delay 4 Sec This requires you to press the power button for at

The vertical and horizontal sync pulses will be stopped, and the screen will be blank.

through that.

Choose from: 3 (default), 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11.

the power button.

least 4 seconds before the system switches off.

When the system has entered doze or suspend mode, it can wake up through a wake event. These wake up events are triggered by interrupts that are monitored by the BIOS. If you press [Enter] when the Wake Up Events item is selected you will see the following sub menu appear:

Wake Up Events

VGA OFF Item Help

LPT & COM LPT / COM

HDD & FDD ON

PCI Master OFF

Modem Ring Resume Disabled

RTC Alarm resume Disabled

Date (of Month) 0

Resume time (hh:mm:ss) 0 : 0 : 0

Primary INTR ON

IRQs Activity Monitoring

Press Enter

Menu Level " "

Refer to the following table for more details:

VGA

LPT & COM

HDD & FDD

PCI MAster

Modem Ring Resume

RTC Alarm Resume

Date (of Month)

Resume time

Primary INTR

OFF Will not allow the system to wake up on the VGA IRQ ON When a VGA IRQ occurs the system will wake up.

None Neither LPT or COM IRQs will wake the system up. LPT A LPT (printer port) IRQ will wake up the system COM A COM (serial port) IRQ will wake up the system LPT/COM Both LPT and COM can wake up the system

OFF Will not allow the system to wake up on HDD / FDD IRQs ON When a HDD / FDD IRQ occurs the system will wake up.

OFF Will not allow the system to wake up on a IRQ from a PCI

master. ON The system will wake up on a PCI master IRQ.

Disabled The system will not wake up on a modem ring signal. Enabled When the modem detects a ring signal, the system will wake up.

Disabled The system will not wake up on a RTC Alarm. Enabled When the time set in the two items below is reached, the RTC

will generate an IRQ and the system will wake up.

0 - 31 Set the day of month for the system to wake up on.

xx:xx:xx Set the time (hh:mm:ss) for the system to wake up on.

ON You can select IRQs that allow the system to wake up in the

IRQ Activity Monitoring item below.

IRQ Activity Monitoring

If you select ON for the Primary INTR item, pressing [Enter] on the Monitoring item will show the following sub menu.

OFF The IRQ Activity Monitoring item is disabled

IRQ Activity

Wake Up Events

IRQ3 (COM 2) Enabled Item Help

IRQ4 (COM 1) Enabled

IRQ5 (LPT 2) Enabled

IRQ6 (Floppy Disk) Enabled

IRQ7 (LPT 1) Enabled

IRQ8 (RTC Alarm) Disabled

IRQ9 (IRQ2 Redirection) Disabled

IRQ10 (Resenved) Disabled

IRQ11 (Reserved) Disabled

IRQ12 (PS/2 Mouse) Enabled

IRQ13 (Coprocessor) Enabled

IRQ14 (HDD) Enabled

IRQ15 (Reserved) Disabled

You can select IRQs that will allow the system to wake up if activity is detected on them. Setting to enabled allows an IRQ to wake up the system.

Menu Level " " "

4-3-6 PnP / PCI Configurations

Select the [PnP / PCI Configurations] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

PnP / PCI Configurations

PnP OS Installed NO Item Help

Reset Configuration Data Disabled

Resources Controlled by Auto (ESCD)

X IRQ Resources Press Enter

X DMA Resources Press Enter

PCI/VGA Palette snoop Disabled

Assign IRQ for VGA Enabled

Assign IRQ for USB Enabled

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select + / - /PU / PD: value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

Menu Level "

PnP Aware OS

Val u es Meaning

PnP OS Installed

No If your OS is not capable of handling PnP (Such as Win NT)

this item should be set to No. Yes If your OS is PnP aware (Such as windows 95, 98, 2000 etc) set

this item to Yes.

Reset Configuration Data

Val u es Meaning

Reset Configuration Data

Disabled This will not reset the system configuration data (IRQs, DMAs)

on reboot. Enabled This will reset the configuration data. Remember to enable this

item every time you make a change to your system (such as

switching PCI cards etc).

PCI / VGA Palette Snoop

Val u es Meaning

PCI / VGA Palette Snoop

Disabled Default setting. Enabled This will allow the system to look at the palette the VGA uses to

display. Some applications speed up with this setting but it is

mostly obsolete.

Assign IRQs

Val u es Meaning

Assign IRQ for VGA

Enabled This will assign an interrupt to your VGA card. Make sure to

enable this item if your card needs one. Disabled The BIOS will not assign an interrupt to the VGA card

Assign IRQ for USB

Enabled If you plan to make use of USB devices, set this item to

enabled. Disabled The BIOS will not assign an interrupt to USB.

Resources

If you set the Resources Controlled by item to Auto (ESCD), the BIOS will manage all resources for you. If you set it to manual to two items below will allow you to assign the resources manually.

Val u es Meaning

IRQ-x assigned to (x = 3 to 15)

DMA-x assigned to (x = 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7)

PCI/ISA PnP

This setting means the BIOS will assign the interrupt as needed.

This means that it is not fixed to a device Legacy ISA If you need to make sure that a certain interrupt is assigned to

an ISA device, set that interrupt to legacy ISA.

PCI/ISA PnP

This setting means the BIOS will assign the DMA Channel as

needed, it is not fixed to a device Legacy ISA If you need to make sure that a certain DMA channel is

assigned to an ISA device, set that channel to legacy ISA.

4-3-7 PC Health Status

Select the [PC Health Status] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

PC Health Status

Current CPU Temp. 50 Item Help

Current System Temp. 40

Current CPU FAN 1 Speed 4000

Current CPU FAN 2 Speed 0

Vcore

3.3V

12V

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select PU / PD / + / - : value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

Menu Level "

The values shown in this picture are just examples, the values shown on screen reflect the real status of your system. All items on this page are read only. A short description of each item follows:

Meaning

Current CPU Te mp .

This item reflects the CPU temperature as measured by RT1, the thermistor located under the CPU. Temperatures over 60 degrees are too high and a better cooling solution must be found for the CPU

Current system Temp.

This item reflects the system temperature as measured by RT2, the thermistor located close to the BIOS IC. Temperatures over 45 degrees are too high and a better cooling solution must be found for the computer case (like adding a case FAN)

Current CPU FAN 1 Speed

Current CPU FAN 2 Speed

Voltage X

The speed of the CPU FAN connected to FAN 1 is displayed here. If you have problems with this item, please refer to the FAQ chapter boot section.

The speed of the CPU FAN connected to FAN 2 is displayed here

The Voltage for the voltage line (Vcore, 3.3V, 5V, 12V) are displayed here. A small deviation of the ideal value is not a problem because voltages always fluctuate.

4.3.8 Frequency / Voltage Control

Select the [Frequency / Voltage Control] option from the Main Menu and press [Enter] key.

Frequency / Voltage Control

Auto Detect DIMM / PCI Clock Disabled Item Help

Spread Spectrum Modulated Disabled

CPU Host / PCI Clock Default

CPU Core Voltage Default

↑ ↓ → ←

: Move Enter: Select + / - / PU / PD: value F10: save ESC: Exit F1: General Help

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

The following table will explain the items in more detail:

Val u es Meaning

Auto Detect DIMM / PCI Clock

Enabled If set to enabled the BIOS will detect the values for the PCI and

DIMM clocks

Disabled If disabled, the BIOS will use the values set on this page and on

the Advanced Chipset Features page.

Spread Spectrum Modulated

Enabled If set to enabled, the clock generator will modulate each clock

signal with a low frequency signal. This will improve EM (Electro-Magnetic) Interference.

Disabled The clock generator will not modulate the clock signals

Menu Level "

CPU Host / PCI Clock

Default Or 90/30 – 166/41

This item allows setting of the CPU and PCI bus frequencies. If set to default, the BIOS will select the values automatically. Otherwise, if you have a 100MHz FSB CPU we recommend you use the 100 / 33 Setting. If you have a 133Mhz FSB CPU we recommend you use the 133 / 33 setting. Any other setting will make the system operate without it specifications and we can not guarantee proper functioning in that case. The other settings are:

90 / 30 95 / 31 100 / 33 101 / 33 102 / 34 103 / 34 105 / 35 107 / 35 109 / 36 110 / 36 111 / 37 113 / 37 115 / 38 117 / 39 120 /40 125 / 31 130 / 32 133 / 33 135 / 33 137 / 34 139 / 34 140 / 35 143 / 35 145 / 36 148 / 37 150 / 37 155 / 38 166 / 41

CPU Core Voltage

Default

1.5 – 1.85

This item allows setting of the CPU core voltage. If set to

default, the BIOS will select the value automatically. If

you set it manually yourself, be sure not to increase the

voltage too much, since this may lead to CPU damage.

The possible voltages are:

1.5V, 1.55V, 1.6V, 1.65V, 1.70V, 1.75V, 1.80V, 1.85V

4-3-9 Passwords

The BIOS Setup program allows you to specify passwords in the Main menu. The passwords control access to the BIOS during system startup. The passwords are not case sensitive. In other words, it makes no difference whether you enter a password using upper or lowercase letters. The BIOS Setup program allows you to specify two separate passwords:

 Supervisor password  User password.

The function of the supervisor password depends on the setting for the Security Option item on the Advanced BIOS Features page. If set to System, the supervisor password must be given every time the system boots, if set to setup, the password must be given only when you want to enter the BIOS Setup. The user password has the same functionality, with the only difference that anybody logging in with the user password may only change the user password when entering the BIOS Setup page. All other items in the BIOS Setup will be disabled (unchangeable). When both passwords are disabled, anyone may access all BIOS Setup program functions.

Setting the password

To set the Supervisor password, select the Set Supervisor Password item in the main BIOS Setup Menu. Now a dialog will pop up asking you to enter a password.

Standard CMOS Features

Advanced BIOS Features

Advanced Chipset Features

Integrated Peripherals

Power Manag

PnP/PCI Conf

PC Health Status

Enter Password:

Now you can enter your password, after entering the password the menu will pop up again and will ask you to reconfirm the password. After entering and pressing [enter] the password will be stored to CMOS RAM and the password will be enabled.

Frequency/Voltage Control

Load Optimized Defaults

Set Supervisor Password

Set User Password

xit Setup

ithout Saving

Disabling the password

To disable the password, simply press [enter] without entering any other letters or numbers. This will disable the password, the BIOS will tell you by displaying the following dialog:

Standard CMOS Features

Advanced BIOS Features

Advanced Chipset Features

Integrated Peripherals

Power Manag

PnP/PCI Conf

PC Health Status

Password Disabled!!!

Press any key to continue

Frequency/Voltage Control

Load Optimized Defaults

Set Supervisor Password

Set User Password

xit Setup

ithout Saving

Password Unknown

If you forgot the password, you can clear the password by erasing the CMOS RAM. The RAM data containing the password information is powered by the onboard button cell battery. Please refer to the CMOS RAM section earlier in this chapter. After clearing the CMOS memory, hold down <Delete> during bootup and enter BIOS setup to re-enter user preferences.

Chapter 5 Frequently Asked Questions

5-1 Boot Issues

AWARD BIOS Beep Codes

In case of errors the AWARD BIOS will send beeps to the system speaker. Although the spoken error messages replace the beep codes, it may still be convenient to know what the beep codes mean.

Beeps Meaning

No beep at all This means your motherboard is dead, either due to a defective or

underrated power supply, poorly seated CPU or RAM, or a

Dead-On-Arrival (DOA) board. One beep The board is working fine. Long-short-short This means no video card detected (or a poorly seated video card) Repeated single tone This is a memory problem (could be the DIMM, the memory

controller or the internal CPU cache memory). two-tone siren Generally caused by overheating or out of specification voltages. Rapid beeps this means a key is stuck on your keyboard, it is not properly

plugged in, or the keyboard is incompatible in some way The AWARD BIOS offers no other codes, any other error messages are displayed on the screen. (As explained above)

Below you will find a list of other possible causes of boot problems. Please go through them one by one to find the source of your boot problem if the methods described above did not help you.

AGP Speed setting

If AGPx4 is enabled in the BIOS (Advanced Chipset Features page) and you do not use AGP card, or your AGP graphics card that doesn't support 4x mode? disable it in those cases

USB devices

The board may fail to start the memory check during the boot sequence, this may be related to a USB device (such as a scanner) attached to the system. Try disconnecting all USB devices from the system.

Proper insertion of the CPU and other parts

If the board does not boot up at all but the FANs are working it may be that the CPU is incorrectly seated in the motherboard. Also, if using an AGP graphics card, verify that it is seated correctly. Try without the AGP card screwed into the case, this can sometimes cause the AGP card to rest in the slot at an angle. Also try reseating your DIMMs (Press them into their sockets firmly, but do not apply too much force)

My machine does not boot, FANs turn on, but the floppy light just stays on

Your floppy disk cable may be connected the wrong way round. Try reversing it. If this doesn't help check the floppy drive ribbon cable. At one end of the cable, seven of the strands should be split and twisted compared with the rest of the ribbon. If not, and your cable is completely flat throughout, then you need to get a ribbon cable with a "twist" in.

5-2 System Cooling

In older computer systems cooling was not a big issue. But with CPU speed constantly increasing improper cooling of the system as a whole can lead to hard to trace problems. This motherboard comes with 4 FAN Headers, make use of them! The following is an excerpt from a warning AMD released on this issue:

The new PGA (Pin Grid Array) AMD Athlon(tm) and AMD Duron(tm) processors have very different thermal specifications from any preceding AMD processor. Due to these differences, the AMD Athlon and AMD Duron processors should NEVER be run without a heatsink, not even for a few seconds. Doing so will cause the processor to overheat and fail immediately, resulting in permanent damage. While testing a processor by booting it up for several seconds without a heatsink installed may be common industry practice, it should never be attempted with the new PGA AMD Athlon and AMD Duron processors... Additionally, the new exposed flip-chip design of the PGA AMD Athlon and AMD Duron processors requires a clip load between 12 and 24 pounds (typically 16 pounds), a load that may not be met by most older heatsink designs. A thermal compound, such a thermal grease or phase-change material, must ALWAYS be applied between the processor and heatsink as well. Typically, AMD recommended heatsinks that include the thermal compound. If the thermal compound must be purchased separately, a list of suggested compounds can be found in the 'AMD Thermal, Mechanical, and Chassis Cooling Design Guide'. Refer to the AMD website.

5-2-1 Suitable Socket A CPU coolers

AMD maintains a list of approved thermal solutions for the Athlon processor. Please do NOT use Pentium heatsinks, Duron processors may crack when trying to force Pentium heatsinks and fans onto them. The processors have slightly different sizes so this is not a good idea. Make sure the cooler is approved for Socket A use.

In addition Duron processors come with four little "feet" on top of the processor, do not buy a cooler which also has these feet (or remove them if it does). Eight feet are bad news, since the cooler won't make proper contact with the CPU and it may get damaged. Please refer to the AMD website at www.amd.com strongly recommend that you use only FANs found there.

Why is my CPU running so hot?

If your CPU temperature is over 70 degrees C you have a cooling problem. By far the most common cause of this is the improper removal of the protective square over the pre-applied thermal paste. (See the hardware installation CPU section). For the adventurous, you may remove the original thermal paste layer by using a solvent (such as oil free nail varnish remover), and apply a standard thermal conducting compound or Artic Silver instead. Make sure that the thermal contact between CPU and Heatsink is OK.

Take care in connecting the heatsink to the CPU

Note that the CPU core (the little raised green rectangle on the CPU) is very fragile. It is very important to not use any horizontal force or any rocking motions when installing a CPU FAN. The heatsink can grind the corners and edges off of the CPU incredibly easily. It's fairly loud when it happens, Dealers will generally refuse a refund when you damage your CPU like this therefore be CAREFULL.

Normal CPU temperature readings

The temperature of your CPU depends upon its speed in MHz, the core voltage, your CPU FAN, the movement of air through your case and the ambient air temperature. However, a typical CPU temperature (not overclocked) as measured by the on board thermister should be around 40-50 degrees Celcius. The case temperature should be approximately 5-10 degrees above room temperature (or less). Do not worry if your figures are slightly higher than these, but you should begin to think about improved cooling if your CPU temperature is 50 degrees C or higher. The maximum temperature is 90 degrees C according to AMD, but your processor is very unlikely to be stable at temperatures near this! Also, processor life is directly related to temperature.

to find a list of approved cooling FANs. We

Maximum FAN Current and Wattage

The maximum current that the FAN headers on the KTAPRO board can provide is 0.5A. Because Wattage = Voltage x Current ( I ), this means that at 12V the wattage the KTAPRO can support on each header is 6W.

5-3 Video Issues

Setting AGP speed

In the BIOS setup on the Advanced Chipset Features page you can set the AGP 4X mode item to either enabled or disabled. It is not possible to select between AGPx1 and AGPx2 using the BIOS, this is selected automatically depending on the AGP card you use. If you use a Creative graphics card the AGP speed can be selected using Creative's agpwizard which is available for download at www.creative.com. Note that this utility will not work with non-Creative graphics cards.

determining AGP speed

To determine the AGP speed, a utility such as WCPUID (available under downloads at http://www.h-oda.com) can be used.

Setting the AGP aperture

The AGP aperture is the official name for the stretch of main memory that is reserved for AGP. The size of the aperture can be set through the BIOS setup. Go to the Advanced Chipset Features page and use the AGP Aperture size item to set the size. It is advisable to set the AGP aperture to half the system RAM - i.e. set to 32MB with 64MB of RAM. The default value is 128MB, which is best set back if you have less then 256MB of memory.

AGP driving control explained

The manual hex range (00h-FFh) allows the user to set the timing of the signal that the video card driver uses to communicate over the AGP bus. Default for the AGP Driving control is 'Auto', this is the lowest-common denominator settings that provides the widest compatibility.

As for how to find out the specific settings recommended for various video cards, the best recommendation would be to contact your video card vendor first (attempting to contact the chipset provider as well may be advisable). Ask them what their recommended manual timing is.

5-4 Memory Issues

Memory related BIOS settings

Depending on the type and speed of your SDRAM memory settings will be different. Below two types of settings will be given, one optimized for speed, and one optimized for stability. If your system is unstable with the speed optimized settings, try increasing the IO voltage one step. (This will have your system run out of specs, we recommend you use the settings optimized for stabilty instead). Moving the DIMM module to another DIMM slot may sometimes help as well. You should normally place your first SDRAM module in DIMM3, the next in DIMM2 and so on. DIMM3 is furthest from the processor.

Settings optimized for speed

BIOS Page Item Setting Advanced Chipset Features DRAM timing by SPD Disabled Advanced Chipset Features DRAM Clock 100MHz for PC-100

133MHz for PC-133

Advanced Chipset Features SDRAM Cycle length 2 for CAS 2 PC133 SDRAM

3 for PC100 SDRAM, most unbranded PC133 SDRAM and

PC133 CAS 3 SDRAM Advanced Chipset Features Bank Interleave 4 bank Advanced Chipset Features Fast R-W Turn Around Enabled

Settings optimized for stability

If your machine is experiencing stability problems and you suspect your SDRAM is the cause of the problem, you will need to set the SDRAM on its most conservative settings. First try:

BIOS Page Item Setting Advanced Chipset Features DRAM timing by SPD Enabled This will force the system to use the timing as specified in the SPD EPROM on the SDRAM module. If this does not work, use the following conservative settings:

BIOS Page Item Setting Frequency / Voltage Control CPU host/PCI clock 100/33 Advanced Chipset Features DRAM timing by SPD Disabled Advanced Chipset Features DRAM Clock 100MHz Advanced Chipset Features SDRAM Cycle length Advanced Chipset Features Bank Interleave Disabled Advanced Chipset Features Fast R-W Turn Around Disabled

Typical signs of SDRAM instability include failure to pass the Power On Self Test (POST) when booting, frequent error messages from Windows describing Page Faults or other system errors and random freezes of the machine requiring a reset.

Support of DDR SDRAM

The KTAPRO motherboard is unable to support DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM due to limitations of the VIA Apollo KT133A chipset.

Support of ECC SDRAM

The KTAPRO motherboard is unable to support ECC (Error Correcting) SDRAM due to limitations of the VIA Apollo KT133A chipset.

Chapter 6 Appendix

standard ISA IO map

IO Address Range IO Device

000 – 01F DMA Controller 1 020 – 03F Interrupt Controller 1 040 – 05F System Timer 060 – 06F Keyboard Controller 070 – 07F Real Time Clock, CMOS and NMI mask 080 – 09F DMA page register 0A0 – 0BF Interrupt Controller 2 0C0 – 0DF DMA Controller 2 0F0 – 0FF Math Coprocessor 1F0 – 1F8 Hard Disk Controller 200 – 207 Game IO 20C – 20D Reserved 21F Reserved 278 – 27F Parallel Printer Port 2 2B0 – 2DF Alternate Enhanced Graphics Adapter 2E1 GPIB Adapter 0 2E2 – 2E3 Data Acquisition Adapter 0 2F8 – 2FF Serial Port 2 300 – 31F Prototype Card 360 – 363 PC Network low address 364 – 367 Reserved 368 – 36B PC Network high address 36C – 36F Reserved 378 – 37F Parallel Printer Port 1 380 – 38F SDLC, Bisynchronous 2 390 – 393 Cluster 3A0 – 3AF SDLC, Bisynchronous 1 3B0 – 3BF Monochrome Display and Printer Adapter 3C0 – 3CF Enhanced Graphics Adapter 3D0 – 3DF Color / Graphics Monitor Adapter 3F0 – 3F7 Diskette Driver Controller 3F8 – 3FF Serial Port 1 6E2 – 6E3 Data Acquisition Adapter 1 790 – 793 Cluster Adapter 1 AE2 – AE3 Data Acquisition Adapter 2 B90 – B93 Cluster Adapter 2 EE2 – EE3 Data Acquisition Adapter 3

Lucky Star KTAPRO (686A), KTAPRO (686B) User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual