Supero H8DCE User Manual

SUPER

H8DCE

®

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.1b

The information in this User’s Manual has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be accurate.
The vendor assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained in this document,
makes no commitment to update or to keep current the information in this manual, or to notify any
person or organization of the updates. Please Note: For the most up-to-date version of this

manual, please see our web site at www.supermicro.com.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. ("Supermicro") reserves the right to make changes to the product
described in this manual at any time and without notice. This product, including software, if any,
and documentation may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or
reduced to any medium or machine without prior written consent.

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

Any disputes arising between manufacturer and customer shall be governed by the laws of Santa
Clara County in the State of California, USA. The State of California, County of Santa Clara shall
be the exclusive venue for the resolution of any such disputes. Super Micro's total liability for
all claims will not exceed the price paid for the hardware product.

FCC Statement: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference with radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely
to cause harmful interference, in which case you will be required to correct the interference at your
own expense.

California Best Management Practices Regulations for Perchlorate Materials: This Perchlorate
warning applies only to products containing CR (Manganese Dioxide) Lithium coin cells. “Perchlorate
Material-special handling may apply. See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate”

WARNING: Handling of lead solder materials used in this
product may expose you to lead, a chemical known to
the State of California to cause birth defects and other
reproductive harm.

Manual Revision 1.1b
Release Date: March 20, 2008

Unless you request and receive written permission from Super Micro Computer, Inc., you may not
copy any part of this document.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies
referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark
holders.

Copyright © 2008 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

About This Manual

This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and

knowledgeable PC users. It provides information for the installation and use of the

H8DCE serverboard. The H8DCE is based on the nVidia® nForce Pro 2200/2050

chipset and supports single or dual AMD Opteron 200 series type processors in 940-

pin microPGA ZIF sockets and up to 32 GB of DDR266 or 16 GB of DDR400/333

registered ECC SDRAM.

Please refer to the serverboard specifi cations pages on our web site for updates on

supported processors. This product is intended to be professionally installed.

Preface

Manual Organization

Chapter 1 includes a checklist of what should be included in your serverboard

box, describes the features, specifi cations and performance of the serverboard and

provides detailed information about the chipset.

Chapter 2 begins with instructions on handling static-sensitive devices. Read this

chapter when installing the processor(s) and memory modules and when installing

the serverboard in a chassis. Also refer to this chapter to connect the fl oppy and

hard disk drives, the parallel and serial ports, the mouse and keyboard and the

twisted wires for the power and reset buttons and the system LEDs.

If you encounter any problems, see Chapter 3, which describes troubleshooting

procedures for the video, the memory and the setup confi guration stored in CMOS.

For quick reference, a general FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section is pro-

vided. Instructions are also included for contacting technical support. In addition,

you can visit our web site for more detailed information.

Chapter 4 includes an introduction to BIOS and provides detailed information on

running the CMOS Setup utility.

Appendix A provides BIOS Error Beep Code

Appendix B lists BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

iii

H8DCE User’s Manual

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

1-1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 1-1

Checklist .......................................................................................................... 1-1

1-2 Contacting Supermicro .................................................................................... 1-2

1-3 Serverboard Details ........................................................................................ 1-4

H8DCE Layout ................................................................................................ 1-4

H8DCE Quick Reference ............................................................................... 1-5

1-4 Chipset Overview ........................................................................................... 1-9

2200 Media and Communications Processor ................................................. 1-9

2050 Media and Communications Processor ................................................. 1-9

HyperTransport Technology ............................................................................ 1-9

1-5 PC Health Monitoring .................................................................................... 1-10

1-6 Power Confi guration Settings ....................................................................... 1-10

1-7 Power Supply ................................................................................................ 1-12

1-8 Super I/O ....................................................................................................... 1-12

Chapter 2 Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices .................................................................................. 2-1

Precautions ..................................................................................................... 2-1

Unpacking ....................................................................................................... 2-1

Installation Procedures .................................................................................. 2-1

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation ............................................................... 2-2

Installing the CPU Backplates ....................................................................... 2-2

Installing the Processor (install to the CPU#1 socket fi rst) ........................... 2-2

Installing the Heatsink Retention Modules .................................................... 2-3

Installing the Heatsink ..................................................................................... 2-3

2-3 Mounting the Serverboard into a Chassis ...................................................... 2-4

2-5 I/O Port and Control Panel Connections ........................................................ 2-7

Front Control Panel ......................................................................................... 2-7

2-6 Connecting Cables ......................................................................................... 2-8

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-16

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-16

2-8 Onboard Indicators ........................................................................................ 2-19

2-9 Floppy, IDE, Parallel Port and SATA Drive Connections .............................. 2-20

2-10 Enabling SATA RAID ..................................................................................... 2-23

Serial ATA (SATA) ......................................................................................... 2-23

Installing the OS/SATA Driver ....................................................................... 2-23

iv

Table of Contents

Building a Driver Diskette ............................................................................. 2-23

Enabling SATA RAID in the BIOS ................................................................. 2-24

Using the nVidia RAID Utility ........................................................................ 2-24

Installing the OS and Drivers ........................................................................ 2-24

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting

3-1 Troubleshooting Procedures ........................................................................... 3-1

Before Power On ............................................................................................ 3-1

No Power ........................................................................................................ 3-1

Memory Errors ............................................................................................... 3-2

Losing the System’s Setup Confi guration ....................................................... 3-2

3-2 Technical Support Procedures ........................................................................ 3-2

No Video ......................................................................................................... 3-2

3-3 Frequently Asked Questions ........................................................................... 3-3

3-4 Returning Merchandise for Service ................................................................ 3-4

Chapter 4 BIOS

4-1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4-1

4-2 Main Menu ...................................................................................................... 4-2

4-3 Advanced Settings Menu ................................................................................ 4-2

4-4 PCI/PnP Menu ..............................................................................................4-11

4-5 Boot Menu ..................................................................................................... 4-13

4-6 Security Menu ............................................................................................... 4-14

4-7 Chipset Menu ................................................................................................ 4-15

4-8 Power Menu .................................................................................................. 4-18

4-9 Exit Menu ...................................................................................................... 4-19

Appendix A BIOS Error Beep Codes

Appendix B BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

v

H8DCE User’s Manual

Notes

vi

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1

Introduction

1-1 Overview

Checklist

Congratulations on purchasing your computer serverboard from an acknowledged

leader in the industry. Our boards are designed with the utmost attention to detail

to provide you with the highest standards in quality and performance.

Please check that the following items have all been included with your serverboard.

If anything listed here is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

Included with retail box only

 One (1) H8DCE serverboard

 One (1) IDE cable (CBL-036)

 One (1) fl oppy cable (CBL-022)

 One (1) USB 2.0 port cable (CBL-083)

 Eight (8) SATA cables (CBL-044)

 Two (2) CPU backplates (BKT-0004)

 Two (2) heatsink retention modules with four (4) screws (BKT-0005)

 One (1) I/O shield for chassis (CSE-PT53)

 One (1) CD containing drivers and utilities

1-1

H8DCE User’s Manual

1-2 Contacting Supermicro

Headquarters

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

980 Rock Ave.

San Jose, CA 95131 U.S.A.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

Web Site: www.supermicro.com

Europe

Address: Super Micro Computer, B.V.

Het Sterrenbeeld 28, 5215 ML

's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

[e-mail] (Customer Support)

Asia-Pacifi c

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

4F, No. 232-1, Liancheng Rd.

Chung-Ho 235, Taipei County

Taiwan, R.O.C.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Web Site: www.supermicro.com.tw

Technical Support:

Email: [e-mail]

Tel: [phone], ext.132 or 139

1-2

Figure 1-1. H8DCE Image

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-3

H8DCE User’s Manual

1-3 Serverboard Details

H8DCE Layout

Figure 1-2. H8DCE Serverboard Layout

(not drawn to scale)

J3

J5

Parallel

JLAN1/2

Mic

Kybd/
Mouse

USB0/1/2/3

COM1

COM2

Line In/Out

CD1

AUX1

J26

FAN6 FAN5

JPAC

FAN8 (CPU2 Fan)

CPU2 DIMM 2A

CPU2 DIMM 2B

CPU2 DIMM 1A

CPU2 DIMM 1B

x4 PCI-Express #7

x16 PCI Express #6

PCI 33 MHz #5

x16 PCI-Express #4

PCI 33 MHz #3

PCI 33 MHz #2

x4 PCI-Express #1

CPU2

JWOL

ATX Power

JI
JI2C1

Battery

J1B1

2

C2

USB4/5

PW3

nForce Pro 2200

JBT1

M-SATA1

USB6/7

M-SATA0

SMB_PW

CPU1 DIMM 1B

CPU1 DIMM 1A

CPU1 DIMM 2B

CPU1 DIMM 2A

CPU1

FAN7 (CPU1 Fan)

nFAN1

C

2

S-SATA1

SATAI

S-SATA0

BIOS

S-SATA3

S-SATA2

nForce Pro 2050

M-SATA3

JWOR

JOH

M-SATA2

JL1

Winbond
Super I/O

JWD

JPW1

D25

SPKR

FAN1

FAN2

FAN3

FAN4

JAR

JF1

IDE#2

J3P

IDE#1

JFDD1

JF2

Notes:

Jumpers not indicated are for test purposes only.

1-4

Chapter 1: Introduction

H8DCE Quick Reference

Jumpers Description Default Setting

JBT1 CMOS Clear See Section 2-7

2

C1/2 I2C to PCI Enable/Disable Closed (Enabled)

JI

JPAC Audio Enable/Disable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JWD Watch Dog Pins 1-2 (Reset)

Connectors Description

AUX1 Auxiliary Connection for Audio

CD1 Audio Out for CD

COM1, COM2 COM1/COM2 Serial Ports

FAN 1-8 System Fan Headers

IDE#1/IDE#2 IDE#1/IDE#2 Connectors

J1B1 24-Pin ATX Power Connector

J3 PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Ports

J3P 3rd Power Supply Alarm Reset Header

J26 Audio Header

JAR Power Supply Fail Alarm Reset

JF1 Front Control Panel Connector

JF2 Onboard Speaker/Keylock/Power LED

JFDD1 Floppy Disk Drive Connector

JL1 Chassis Intrusion Header

JLAN1/2 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) Ports

JOH Overheat Warning Header

JPW1 8-Pin Processor Power Connector

JWOL Wake-On-LAN Header

JWOR Wake-On-Ring Header

M-SATA0-3 Master Serial ATA Ports

nFAN1 Fan Header for nVidia 2200 Chipset Heatsink

Printer Parallel (Printer) Port

PW3 4-pin Auxiliary Power Connector

SATAI

SMB_PW System Management Bus Header

SPKR Onboard Speaker (Buzzer)

S-SATA0-3 Slave Serial ATA Ports

USB0/1/2/3 Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports 0/1/2/3

USB4/5 USB4/5 Headers

USB6/7 USB6/7 Headers

2

C SATA I2C Header

Indicators Description

D25 Power On LED

1-5

H8DCE User’s Manual

Serverboard Features

CPU

• Single or dual AMD Opteron 200 series 64-bit processors in 940-pin microPGA

ZIF sockets

Memory

• Eight dual/single channel DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB of registered ECC

DDR266 or up to 16 GB of registered ECC DDR400/333 SDRAM

Note: Memory capacities are halved for single CPU systems. Refer to Section 2-4 before installing.

Chipset

• nVidia nForce Pro 2200/2050

Expansion Slots

• Two (2) PCI-Express x16

• Two (2) PCI-Express x4 (can support x8 cards)

• Three (3) 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI (5V)

BIOS

• 4 Mb Firmware Hub AMIBIOS

• APM 1.2, DMI 2.3, PCI 2.2, ACPI 1.0 (ACPI 2.0 is BIOS supported), SMBIOS

2.3, Plug and Play (PnP)

®

Flash ROM

PC Health Monitoring

• Onboard voltage monitors for two CPU cores, Hyper Transport (1.2V), two

memory banks (2.5V), nVidia 2200/2050 chipset (1.5V)

• Fan status monitor with fi rmware/software on/off and speed control

• Watch Dog, NMI

• Environmental temperature monitoring via BIOS

• Power-up mode control for recovery from AC power loss

• System resource alert (via included utility program)

• Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) fan connectors

• Auto-switching voltage regulator for the CPU core

• Thermal Monitor 2 (TM2) support

1-6

Chapter 1: Introduction

ACPI Features

• Microsoft OnNow

• Slow blinking LED for suspend state indicator

• BIOS support for USB keyboard

• Main switch override mechanism

• Internal/external modem ring-on

• Suspend to RAM (STR)

Onboard I/O

• On-chip SATA controller supporting eight (8) SATA ports (RAID 0, 1 and 0+1)

• Two (2) UltraDMA133 IDE ports

• One (1) fl oppy port interface (up to 2.88 MB)

• Two (2) Fast UART 16550 compatible serial ports

• On-chip (nVidia 2200/2050) Ethernet controller supports two Gigabit LAN ports

• PS/2 mouse and PS/2 keyboard ports

• Up to eight (8) USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 ports/headers

Other

• Wake-on-Ring (JWOR)

• Wake-on-LAN (JWOL)

• AC97 Audio CODEC

• Power On Indicator (D25)

• Chassis intrusion detection

CD Utilities

• BIOS fl ash upgrade utility

Dimensions

• Extended ATX form factor, 12" x 13.05" (305 x 332 mm)

1-7

H8DCE User’s Manual

VRM

Opter on

AMD

TM

Processor (2)

DDR400/333/266

DIMM 2A

DIMM 2B

DIMM 1A

DIMM 1B

VRM

Slot #4: PCI-E x16

Slot #1: PCI-E x4

LAN#2

SATA Ports (4)

16 x 16 HT link (1 GHz)

2050 2200

Opter on

TM

16 x 16 HT link (1 GHz)

AMD

Processor (1)

128-bit data + 16-bit ECC

DDR400/333/266

DIMM 2A

DIMM 2B

DIMM 1A

DIMM 1B

Slot #6: PCI-E x16

Slot #7: PCI-E x4

PCI slots (3)

LAN#1

SATA Ports (4)

AC97

IDE

USB Ports (8)

LPC I/O FWH

Kybd/

Mouse

FDD

Parallel

Port

COM
Ports

Figure 1-3. nVidia nForce Pro 2200/2050 Chipset:

System Block Diagram

Note: This is a general block diagram and may not exactly represent

the features on your serverboard. See the previous pages for the

actual specifi cations of your serverboard.

1-8

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-4 Chipset Overview

The H8DCE serverboard is based on the nVidia nForce Pro 2200/2050 chipset.

The two main components of this chipset (the 2200 and the 2050) both function

as Media and Communications Processors (MCPs). Controllers for the system

memory are integrated directly into the AMD Opteron processors.

2200 Media and Communications Processor

This MCP is a single-chip, high-performance HyperTransport peripheral control-

ler. The 2200 includes a 20-lane PCI Express interface, an AMD Opteron 16-bit

Hyper Transport interface link, a four-port Serial ATA interface, a dual ATA133 bus

master interface, a USB 2.0 interface and support for 32-bit PCI slots. This hub

connects directly to CPU#1 and the 2050 MCP. The GLAN#1 connects directly

to the 2200 MCP.

2050 Media and Communications Processor

The 2050 is pin-to-pin compatible with the 2200. It includes a PCI Express interface

with 20 lanes, an AMD Opteron 16-bit Hyper Transport interface link, and a four-port

Serial ATA interface. The GLAN#2 connects directly to the 2050 MCP.

HyperTransport Technology

HyperTransport technology is a high-speed, low latency point to point link that was

designed to increase the communication speed by a factor of up to 48x between

integrated circuits. This is done partly by reducing the number of buses in the

chipset to reduce bottlenecks and by enabling a more effi cient use of memory in

multi-processor systems. The end result is a signifi cant increase in bandwidth

within the chipset.

1-9

H8DCE User’s Manual

1-5 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the H8DCE. The

serverboard has an onboard System Hardware Monitor chip that supports PC

health monitoring.

Onboard Voltage Monitors for two CPU cores, Hyper Transport
(1.2V), two memory banks (2.5V), nVidia 2200/2050 chipset (1.5V)

The onboard voltage monitor will scan these voltages continuously. Once a voltage

becomes unstable, it will give a warning or send an error message to the screen.

Users can adjust the voltage thresholds to defi ne the sensitivity of the voltage moni-

tor. Real time readings of these voltage levels are all displayed in BIOS.

Fan Status Monitor with Firmware/Software Speed Control

The PC health monitor can check the RPM status of the cooling fans. The onboard

fans are controlled by thermal management via BIOS.

CPU Overheat/Fan Fail LED and Control

This feature is available when the user enables the CPU overheat/Fan Fail warning

function in the BIOS. This allows the user to defi ne an overheat temperature. When

this temperature is exceeded or when a fan failure occurs, then, the Overheat/Fan

Fail warning LED is triggered.

Auto-Switching Voltage Regulator for the CPU Core

The 3-phase-switching voltage regulator for the CPU core can support up to 80A and

auto-sense voltage IDs ranging from 0.875 V to 1.6V. This will allow the regulator

to run cooler and thus make the system more stable.

1-6 Power Confi guration Settings

This section describes the features of your serverboard that deal with power and

power settings.

Microsoft OnNow

The OnNow design initiative is a comprehensive, system-wide approach to system

and device power control. OnNow is a term for a PC that is always on but appears

to be off and responds immediately to user or other requests.

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

When the CPU goes into a suspend state, the chassis power LED will start blinking

to indicate that the CPU is in suspend mode. When the user presses any key, the

CPU will wake-up and the LED will automatically stop blinking and remain on.

BIOS Support for USB Keyboard

If a USB keyboard is the only keyboard in the system, it will function like a normal

keyboard during system boot-up.

Main Switch Override Mechanism

When an ATX power supply is used, the power button can function as a system

suspend button. When the user depresses the power button, the system will enter

a SoftOff state. The monitor will be suspended and the hard drive will spin down.

Depressing the power button again will cause the whole system to wake-up. Dur-

ing the SoftOff state, the ATX power supply provides power to keep the required

circuitry in the system alive. In case the system malfunctions and you want to turn

off the power, just depress and hold the power button for 4 seconds. The power

will turn off and no power will be provided to the serverboard.

Wake-On-LAN (JWOL)

Wake-On-LAN is defi ned as the ability of a management application to remotely

power up a computer that is powered off. Remote PC setup, up-dates and access

tracking can occur after hours and on weekends so that daily LAN traffi c is kept

to a minimum and users are not interrupted. The serverboard has a 3-pin header

(JWOL) to connect to the 3-pin header on a Network Interface Card (NIC) that has

WOL capability. Wake-On-LAN must be enabled in BIOS. Note that Wake-On-LAN

can only be used with an ATX 2.01 (or above) compliant power supply.

Wake-On-Ring Header (JWOR)

Wake-up events can be triggered by a device such as the external modem ringing

when the system is in the SoftOff state. Note that external modem ring-on can only

be used with an ATX 2.01 (or above) compliant power supply.

1-11

H8DCE User’s Manual

1-7 Power Supply

As with all computer products, a stable power source is necessary for proper and

reliable operation. It is even more important for processors that have high CPU

clock rates of 1 GHz and faster.

The H8DCE accommodates 12V ATX power supplies. Although most power sup-

plies generally meet the specifi cations required by the CPU, some are inadequate.

A 2 amp current supply on a 5V Standby rail is strongly recommended.

It is strongly recommended that you use a high quality power supply that meets

12V ATX power supply Specifi cation 1.1 or above. Additionally, in areas where

noisy power transmission is present, you may choose to install a line fi lter to shield

the computer from noise. It is recommended that you also install a power surge

protector to help avoid problems caused by power surges.

Warning: To prevent the possibility of explosion, do not use the wrong type of

onboard CMOS battery or install it upside down.

1-8 Super I/O

The disk drive adapter functions of the Super I/O chip include a fl oppy disk drive

controller that is compatible with industry standard 82077/765, a data separator,

write pre-compensation circuitry, decode logic, data rate selection, a clock genera-

tor, drive interface control logic and interrupt and DMA logic. The wide range of

functions integrated onto the Super I/O greatly reduces the number of components

required for interfacing with fl oppy disk drives. The Super I/O supports two 360

K, 720 K, 1.2 M, 1.44 M or 2.88 M disk drives and data transfer rates of 250 Kb/s,

500 Kb/s or 1 Mb/s.

It also provides two high-speed, 16550 compatible serial communication ports

(UARTs), one of which supports serial infrared communication. Each UART in-

cludes a 16-byte send/receive FIFO, a programmable baud rate generator, complete

modem control capability and a processor interrupt system. Both UARTs provide

legacy speed with baud rate of up to 115.2 Kbps as well as an advanced speed

with baud rates of 250 K, 500 K, or 1 Mb/s, which support higher speed modems.

The Super I/O provides functions that comply with ACPI (Advanced Confi guration

and Power Interface), which includes support of legacy and ACPI power manage-

ment through a SMI or SCI function pin. It also features auto power management

to reduce power consumption.

The IRQs, DMAs and I/O space resources of the Super I/O can be fl exibly adjusted

to meet ISA PnP requirements, which support ACPI and APM (Advanced Power

Management).

1-12

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electric Static Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. To prevent

damage to your system board, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following

measures are generally suffi cient to protect your equipment from ESD.

Precautions

• Use a grounded wrist strap designed to prevent static discharge.

• Touch a grounded metal object before removing the board from the antistatic

bag.

• Handle the board by its edges only; do not touch its components, peripheral

chips, memory modules or gold contacts.

• When handling chips or modules, avoid touching their pins.

• Put the serverboard and peripherals back into their antistatic bags when not in

use.

• For grounding purposes, make sure your computer chassis provides excellent

conductivity between the power supply, the case, the mounting fasteners and

the serverboard.

• Use only the correct type of CMOS onboard battery as specifi ed by the manufac-

turer. Do not install the CMOS onboard battery upside down, which may result

in a possible explosion.

Unpacking

The serverboard is shipped in antistatic packaging to avoid static damage. When

unpacking the board, make sure the person handling it is static protected.

Installation Procedures

Follow the procedures as listed below to install the serverboard into a chassis:

1. Install the processor(s) and the heatsink(s).

2. Install the serverboard in the chassis.

3. Install the memory and add-on cards.

4. Finally, connect the cables and install the drivers.

2-1

H8DCE User's Manual

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation

Exercise extreme caution when handling and installing the processor.

!

Installing the CPU Backplates

Two CPU backplates (BKT-0004) are included in the retail box. The backplates

prevent the CPU area of the serverboard from bending and provide a base for at-

taching the heatsink retention modules. To install, begin by peeling off the release

paper to expose the adhesive. On the underside of the serverboard, locate the two

holes on either side of the CPU socket. Attach the adhesive side of the backplate

to the board by inserting the standoffs into the two holes and applying light pressure

so that the backplate sticks to the underside of the board. Repeat for the second

CPU socket. See Figure 2-1.

Always connect the power cord last and always remove it before

adding, removing or changing any hardware components.

Installing the Processor (install to the CPU#1 socket fi rst)

1. Lift the lever on CPU socket #1 until

it points straight up.

2. Use your thumb and your index fi n-

ger to hold the CPU. Locate pin 1 on

the CPU socket and pin 1 on the CPU.

Both are marked with a triangle.

3. Align pin 1 of the CPU with pin 1

of the socket. Once aligned, carefully

place the CPU into the socket. Do not

drop the CPU on the socket, move the

CPU horizontally or vertically or rub the

CPU against the socket or against any

pins of the socket, which may damage

the CPU and/or the socket.

Triangles

2-2

4. With the CPU inserted into the

socket, inspect the four corners of the

CPU to make sure that it is properly

installed and fl ush with the socket.

5. Gently press the CPU socket lever

down until it locks in the plastic tab.

For a dual-processor system, repeat

these steps to install another CPU into

the CPU#2 socket.

Installing the Heatsink Retention Modules

Chapter 2: Installation

Two heatsink retention modules (BKT-0005) and four screws are included in the

retail box. Once installed, these are used to help attach the heatsinks to the CPUs.

To install, position the module so that the CPU backplate standoffs insert through the

holes on the heatsink retention module and the four feet on the module contact the

serverboard. Secure the retention module to the backplate with two of the screws

provided. See Figure 2-1. Repeat for the second CPU socket. Note: BKT-0005

is included for use with non-proprietary heatsinks only. When installing proprietary

heatsinks, only BKT-0004 (CPU backplate) is needed. The BKT-0005 retention

module was designed to provide compatibility with clip-and-cam type heatsinks

from third parties.

Figure 2-1. CPU Backplate/Heatsink Retention Module Installation

Installing the Heatsink

We recommend the use of active type heatsinks (except for 1U systems). Use the

Fan7 header for the CPU1 fan and the Fan8 header for the CPU2 fan due to fan

monitoring and wiring considerations. To install the heatsinks, please follow the

installation instructions included with your heatsink package (not included).

2-3

H8DCE User's Manual

2-3 Mounting the Serverboard into a Chassis

All serverboards and motherboards have standard mounting holes to fi t different

types of chassis. Make sure that the locations of all the mounting holes for both

the serverboard and the chassis match. Although a chassis may have both plastic

and metal mounting fasteners, metal ones are highly recommended because they

ground the serverboard to the chassis. Make sure that the metal standoffs click in

or are screwed in tightly.

1. Check the compatibility of the serverboard ports and the I/O shield

The H8DCE serverboard requires a chassis that can support extended ATX boards

of 12" x 13.05" in size. Make sure that the I/O ports on the serverboard align with

their respective holes in the I/O shield at the rear of the chassis.

2. Mounting the serverboard onto the mainboard tray in the chassis

Carefully mount the serverboard onto the mainboard tray by aligning the serverboard

mounting holes with the raised metal standoffs in the tray. Insert screws into all

the mounting holes in the serverboard that line up with the standoffs. Then use a

screwdriver to secure the serverboard to the mainboard tray - tighten until just snug

(if too tight you might strip the threads). Metal screws provide an electrical contact

to the serverboard ground to provide a continuous ground for the system.

2-4 Installing Memory

CAUTION

Exercise extreme care when installing or removing memory modules

to prevent any possible damage.

1. Insert each memory module vertically into its slot, paying attention to the notch

along the bottom of the module to prevent inserting the module incorrectly (see

Figure 2-2). See support information below.

2. Gently press down on the memory module until it snaps into place.

Note: each processor has its own built-in memory controller, so the CPU2 DIMMs

cannot be addressed if only a single CPU is installed. 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB,

1 GB, 2 GB* and 4 GB* memory modules are supported. It is highly recommended

that you remove the power cord from the system before installing or changing any

memory modules.

*With Opteron 246 C-stepping CPUs and above.

2-4

Chapter 2: Installation

Support

The H8DCE supports single or dual-channel, registered ECC DDR400/333/266

SDRAM.

Both interleaved and non-interleaved memory are supported, so you may populate

any number of DIMM slots (see note on previous page and charts on following

page). The CPU2 DIMM slots can only be accessed when two CPUs are installed

(however, the CPU2 DIMM slots are not required to be populated when two CPUs

are installed).

Populating two adjacent slots at a time with memory modules of the same size and

type will result in interleaved (128-bit) memory, which is faster than non-interleaved

(64-bit) memory.

Optimizing memory performance

If two processors are installed, it is better to stagger pairs of DIMMs across both

sets of CPU DIMM slots, e.g. fi rst populate CPU1 slots 1A and 1B, then CPU2 slots

1A, and 1B, then the next two CPU1 slots, etc. This balances the load over both

CPUs to optimize performance.

Maximum memory (two CPUs): 32 GB for DDR266 and 16 GB for DDR400/333.

If only one CPU is installed, maximum supported memory is halved (16 GB for

DDR266 and 8 GB for DDR400/333).

Figure 2-2. Side and Top Views of DDR Installation

To Install:

Insert module vertically
and press down until it
snaps into place. The
release tabs should
close - if they do not
you should close them
yourself.

Note the notch in the slot and on the bottom of the DIMM.
These prevent the DIMM from being installed incorrectly.

To Remove:

Use your thumbs to
gently push each re­lease tab outward to
release the DIMM from
the slot.

2-5

H8DCE User's Manual

Populating Memory Banks for 128-bit Operation

CPU1

DIMM1A

XX

XX XX

XX XX

XX XXXX

XXXX

XXXXXX

XXXX XX

XXXXXXXX

CPU1

DIMM1B

CPU1

DIMM2A

XX

XXXX

XX XX

XXXXXX

CPU1

DIMM2B

CPU2

DIMM1A

CPU2

DIMM1B

CPU2

DIMM2A

CPU2

DIMM2B

Notes: X indicates a populated DIMM slot. If adding at least four DIMMs (with two CPUs
installed), the confi gurations with DIMMs spread over both CPUs (and not like the con­fi guration in row 5) will result in optimized performance. Note that the fi rst two DIMMs
must be installed in the CPU1 memory slots.

Populating Memory Banks for 64-bit Operation

CPU1

DIMM1A

X

XX

XX

X X

CPU1

DIMM1B

CPU1

DIMM2A

X

XX

XX

CPU1

DIMM2B

CPU2

DIMM1A

CPU2

DIMM1B

CPU2

DIMM2A

CPU2

DIMM2B

2-6

Chapter 2: Installation

2-5 I/O Port and Control Panel Connections

The I/O ports are color coded in conformance with the PC99 specifi cation to make

setting up your system easier. See Figure 2-3 below for the colors and locations

of the various I/O ports.

Figure 2-3. I/O Port Locations and Defi nitions

Front Control Panel

JF1 contains header pins for various front control panel connectors. See Figure 2-4

for the pin defi nitions of the various connectors. Refer to Section 2-6 for details.

Figure 2-4. JF1: Front Control Panel Header (JF1)

16 15

Power LED

HDD LED

NIC1

NIC2

OH/Fan Fail LED

Power Fail LED

Ground

Ground

2 1

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Reset Button

Power Button

2-7

H8DCE User's Manual

2-6 Connecting Cables

ATX Power Connector

The primary ATX power supply con-

nector (J1B1) on the H8DCE meets

the SSI (Superset ATX) 24-pin speci-

fi cation. Refer to the table on the right

for the pin defi nitions of the ATX 24-

pin power connector. This connection

supplies power to the chipset, fans

and memory.

Note: You must also connect the 8-

pin (JPW1) and 4-pin (PW3) power

connectors to your power supply (see

below).

ATX Power 24-pin Connector

Pin Defi nitions (J1B1)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition

13 +3.3V 1 +3.3V

14 -12V 2 +3.3V

15 COM 3 COM

16 PS_ON 4 +5V

17 COM 5 COM

18 COM 6 +5V

19 COM 7 COM

20 Res (NC) 8 PWR_OK

21 +5V 9 5VSB

22 +5V 10 +12V

23 +5V 11 +12V

24 COM 12 +3.3V

Processor Power Connector

In addition to the primary ATX power

connector (above), the 12v, 8-pin

processor power connector at JPW1

must also be connected to your power

supply. This connection supplies

power to the CPUs. See the table on

the right for pin defi nitions.

Auxiliary Power Connector

The 4-pin auxiliary power connector at

PW3 must also be connected to your

power supply. This connection sup-

plies extra power that may be needed

for high loads. See the table on the

right for pin defi nitions.

Processor Power

Connector

Pin Defi nitions (JPW1)

Pins Defi nition

1 through 4 Ground

5 through 8 +12V

Required C onnec-

Auxiliary Power

Connector

Pin Defi nitions (PW3)

Pins Defi nition

1 & 2 Ground

3 & 4 +12V

Required C onnec-

2-8

Chapter 2: Installation

Power LED

The Power LED connection is located

on pins 15 and 16 of JF1. Refer to the

table on the right for pin defi nitions.

HDD LED

The HDD (IDE Hard Disk Drive) LED

connection is located on pins 13 and

14 of JF1. Attach the IDE hard drive

LED cable to display disk activity.

Refer to the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

NIC1 LED

The NIC1 (Network Interface Control-

ler) LED connection is located on pins

11 and 12 of JF1. Attach the NIC1

LED cable to display network activity.

Refer to the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

Power LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

15 Vcc

16 Control

HDD LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

13 Vcc

14 HD Active

NIC1 LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

11 Vcc

12 NIC1 Active

NIC2 LED

The NIC2 (Network Interface Control-

ler) LED connection is located on pins

9 and 10 of JF1. Attach the NIC2

LED cable to display network activity.

Refer to the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

Overheat/Fan Fail LED

Connect an LED to the OH connection

on pins 7 and 8 of JF1 to provide ad-

vanced warning of chassis overheat-

ing. Refer to the table on the right for

pin defi nitions and status indicators.

OH/Fan Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

7 Vcc

8 Control

2-9

NIC2 LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

9 Vcc

10 NIC2 Active

OH/Fan Fail

LED Status

State Indication

Solid Overheat

Blinking Fan fail

H8DCE User's Manual

Power Fail LED

The Power Fail LED connection is

located on pins 5 and 6 of JF1. Refer

to the table on the right for pin defi ni-

tions. This feature is only available

for systems with redundant power

supplies.

Reset Button

The Reset Button connection is lo-

cated on pins 3 and 4 of JF1. Attach

it to the hardware reset switch on the

computer case. Refer to the table on

the right for pin defi nitions.

Power Button

Power Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

5 Vcc

6 Control

Reset Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

3 Reset

4 Ground

The Power Button connection is

located on pins 1 and 2 of JF1. Mo-

mentarily contacting both pins will

power on/off the system. This button

can also be confi gured to function

as a suspend button (see the Power

Button Mode setting in BIOS). To turn

off the power when set to suspend

mode, depress the button for at least

4 seconds. Refer to the table on the

right for pin defi nitions.

Universal Serial Bus Ports
(USB0/1/2/3)

Four Universal Serial Bus ports

(USB2.0) are located beside the key-

board/mouse ports. See the table on

the right for pin defi nitions.

Power Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition

1 PW_ON

2 Ground

Universal Serial Bus Ports

Pin Defi nitions (USB0/1/2/3)

USB0
Pin # Defi nition

1 +5V 1 +5V

2 PO- 2 PO-

3 PO+ 3 PO+

4 Ground 4 Ground

USB1
Pin # Defi nition

2-10

Chapter 2: Installation

Extra USB Headers

Four additional USB2.0 headers

(USB4/5 and USB6/7) are included on

the serverboard. These may be con-

nected to provide front side access.

A USB cable (not included) is needed

for the connection. See the table on

the right for pin defi nitions.

Serial Ports

The COM1 and COM2 serial ports are

located under the parallel port. Refer

to Figure 2-3 for locations and the

table on the right for pin defi nitions.

Extra Universal Serial Bus Headers

Pin Defi nitions (USB4/5/6/7)

USB2
Pin # Defi nition

1 +5V 1 +5V

2 PO- 2 PO-

3 PO+ 3 PO+

4 Ground 4 Ground

5 Key 5 No connection

Serial Port Pin Defi nitions

Pin # Defi nition Pin # Defi nition

1 DCD 6 DSR

2RXD 7RTS

3TXD 8CTS

4DTR 9 RI

5 Ground 10 NC

USB3/4
Pin # Defi nition

(COM1/COM2)

Fan Headers

The H8DCE has eight fan headers,

which are designated FAN1 through

FAN8. Fans are Pulse Width Modu-

lated (PWM) and their speed is con-

trolled via Thermal Management with

a BIOS setting. See the table on the

right for pin defi nitions.

Note: when using active heatsinks

(those with fans), connect the heatsink

fan for CPU1 to the FAN7 header and

the heatsink fan for CPU2 to the FAN8

header.

JLAN1/2 (Ethernet Ports)

Note: NC indicates no connection.

Fan Header

Pin Defi nitions

(FAN1-8)

Pin# Defi nition

1 Ground (Black)

2 +12V (Red)

3 Tachometer

4 PWM Control

Two Gigabit Ethernet ports (desig-

nated JLAN1 and JLAN2) are located

beside the COM2 port. These Ether-

net ports accept RJ45 type cables.

2-11

H8DCE User's Manual

Power LED/Keylock/Speaker

On the JF2 header, pins 2, 4 and 6

are for the power LED, pins 8 and 10

are for the keylock and pins 1, 3, 5

and 7 are for the speaker (there is no

pin 9). See the tables on the right for

pin defi nitions and below right for pin

locations

Note: The speaker connector pins are

for use with an external speaker. If

you wish to use the onboard speaker,

you should close pins 5 and 7 with a

jumper.

Speaker Connector

Pin Defi nitions (JF2)

Pin# Defi nition

1 Red wire, speaker data

3NC

5 Buzzer signal

7 Speaker data

Pwr LED/Keylock Connector

Pin Defi nitions (JF2)

Pin# Defi nition

2 +Vcc

4 -Vcc

6 -Vcc

8 Keylock

10 Keylock

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2
Mouse Ports

The ATX PS/2 keyboard and the PS/2

mouse ports are located at J3. The

mouse is the top (green) port. See the

table on the right for pin defi nitions.

JF2 Pinout

Toward speaker

1

3

5

7

9

Toward end of board

PS/2 Keyboard and

Mouse Port Pin
Defi nitions (J3)

Pin# Defi nition

1 Data

2NC

3 Ground

4 VCC

5 Clock

6NC

2

4

6

8

10

Chassis Intrusion

A Chassis Intrusion header is located

at JL1. Attach the appropriate cable

to inform you of a chassis intrusion.

2-12

Chassis Intrusion

Pin Defi nitions (JL1)

Pin# Defi nition

1 Intrusion Input

2 Ground

Wake-On-LAN

The Wake-On-LAN header is desig-

nated JWOL. See the table on the

right for pin defi nitions. You must

have a LAN card with a Wake-On-LAN

connector and cable to use the Wake-

On-LAN feature.

Wake-On-Ring

The Wake-On-Ring header is desig-

nated JWOR. This function allows

your computer to receive and "wake-

up" by an incoming call to the modem

when in suspend state. See the table

on the right for pin defi nitions. You

must have a Wake-On-Ring card and

cable to use this feature.

Chapter 2: Installation

Wake-On-LAN
Pin Defi nitions

(JWOL)

Pin# Defi nition

1 +5V Standby

2 Ground

3 Wake-up

Wake-On-Ring
Pin Defi nitions

(JWOR)

Pin# Defi nition

1 Ground (Black)

2 Wake-up

SMB_PW Header

The header at SMB_PW is for I

2

C,

which may be used to monitor the

status of the power supply, fans and

system temperature. See the table on

the right for pin defi nitions.

nFan1 Header

An additional fan header, desig-

nated nFAN1, is included on the

serverboard. This fan header is for

connection to the active heatsink that

sits on top of the nVidia 2200 portion

of the chipset. See the table on the

right for pin defi nitions.

SMB_PW

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition

1 Clock

2 Data

3 PWR Fail

4Gnd

5 +3.3V

nFan1 Header

Pin Defi nitions

(nFAN1)

Pin# Defi nition

1 12V

2 Ground

2-13

H8DCE User's Manual

Overheat LED

Connect an LED to the JOH header to

provide warning of chassis overheat-

ing. See the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

CD1 Header

The 4-pin CD1 header allows you to

use the onboard sound for audio CD

playback. Connect the audio cable

from your DC derive to this header.

See the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

Overheat LED

Pin Defi nitions (JOH)

Pin# Defi nition

1 12VDC

2 OH Active

CD1

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition

1 Right Signal

2 Ground

3 Ground

4 Left Signal

AUX1 Header

The 4-pin CD1 header allows you to

use the onboard sound for audio CD

playback. Connect the audio cable

from your DC derive to this header.

See the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

3rd Power Supply Fail Alarm

Connect the appropriate 4-pin cable

from your power supply to J3P to

provide you with warning of a power

supply failure. The warning signal is

passed through the PWR_LED pin to

indicate a power failure. See the table

on the right for pin defi nitions.

AUX1

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition

1 Right Signal

2 Ground

3 Ground

4 Left Signal

3rd Power Supply Fail

Alarm

Pin Defi nitions (J3P)

Pin# Defi nition

1 P/S 1 Fail Signal

2 P/S 2 Fail Signal

3 P/S 3 Fail Signal

4 Reset (from MB)

Note: This feature is only available when

using triple redundant power supplies.

2-14

AC97

AC97 provides high quality onboard

audio. The H8DCE features 6-chan-

nel (5.1) sound for front L&R, rear

L&R, center and subwoofer speakers.

This feature is activated with software

included on the CD-ROM that came

with the serverboard. Sound is output

through the Line In, Line Out and MIC

jacks (see at right). Activate AC97

with the JPAC jumper (see next sec-

tion for details) and the BIOS setting

for the Audio Codec (under South

Bridge Confi guration). In addition,

there are also CD1 and AUX1 connec-

tors on the board that can be used for

audio output.

Chapter 2: Installation

Line In (blue port): Surround L/R

Line Out (green port): Front L/R

MIC (pink port): Center/Subwoofer

Audio Header

The J26 header is used both as a

jumper and a cable connector. Jump

pins 5-6 and 9-10 to use the backpanel

jacks for AC97 audio output (see

Figure 2-3). J26 also gives you the

option of directing the audio output to

Line In/Line Out/ Mic jacks that may

be added to the front of the chassis

(requires additional hardware, not in-

cluded). See the table on the right for

pin defi nitions.

Audio Header

Pin Defi nitions (J26)

Pin# Defi nition

1MIC

2 Ground

3Vcc

4NC

5 Line Out (Right)

6 Onboard Line Out (Right)

7NC

8Key

9 Line Out (Left)

10 Onboard Line Out (Left)

Notes: NC indicates no connection. Pins 6

and 10 are not active when a header is used

for front side audio access.

2-15

H8DCE User's Manual

Power Supply Fail Alarm Reset

The system will notify you in the event

of a power supply failure. This feature

assumes that Supermicro redundant

power supply units are installed in the

chassis. Attach a microswitch to this

header to turn off the power fail alarm.

See the table on the right for jumper

settings.

Power Supply Fail

Alarm Reset

Pin Defi nitions (JAR)

Pin# Defi nition

2+5V

1 Ground

2-7 Jumper Settings

Explanation of Jumpers

To modify the operation of the

serverboard, jumpers can be used

to choose between optional settings.

Jumpers create shorts between two

pins to change the function of the

connector. Pin 1 is identifi ed with a

square solder pad on the printed cir-

cuit board. See the diagram at right

for an example of jumping pins 1 and

2. Refer to the serverboard layout

page for jumper locations.

Note 1: On two-pin jumpers, "Closed"

means the jumper is on and "Open"

means the jumper is off the pins.

Connector

321

Pins

Jumper

321

Setting

2-16

Chapter 2: Installation

CMOS Clear

JBT1 is used to clear CMOS and will also clear any passwords. Instead of pins,

this jumper consists of contact pads to prevent accidentally clearing the contents

of CMOS.

To clear CMOS,

1) First power down the system and unplug the power cord(s).

2) With the power disconnected, short the CMOS pads with a metal object such as

a small screwdriver for at least four seconds.

3) Remove the screwdriver (or shorting device).

4) Reconnect the power cord(s) and power on the system.

Notes:

Do not use the PW_ON connector to clear CMOS.

The onboard battery does not need to be removed when clearing CMOS, however

you must short JBT1 for at least four seconds.

JBT1 contact pads

2

I

C to PCI Enable/Disable

The JI

2

C1/2 pair of jumpers allows you

to connect the System Management

Bus to any one of the PCI expansion

slots. The default setting is closed (on)

for both jumpers to enable the connec-

tion. Both connectors must be set the

same (JI

2

C1 is for data and JI2C2 is for

the clock). See the table on right for

pin defi nitions.

Audio Enable/Disable

Jumper JPAC is used to enable or

disable the audio. Onboard audio is

provided by AC97 audio CODEC for

high quality 6-channel (5.1) sound. The

default setting is on pins 1-2 to enable

the audio. See the table on right for

pin defi nitions.

I2C to PCI Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings

2

C1/2)

(JI

Jumper Setting Defi nition

Closed Enabled

Open Disabled

Audio Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings (JPAC)

Both Jumpers Defi nition

Pins 1-2 Enabled

Pins 2-3 Disabled

2-17

H8DCE User's Manual

Watch Dog Enable/Disable

JWD controls the Watch Dog function.

Watch Dog is a system monitor that

can reboot the system when a software

application hangs. Pins 1-2 will cause

WD to reset the system if an applica-

tion has frozen. Pins 2-3 will generate

a non-maskable interrupt signal for the

application that is frozen. See the table

on the right for jumper settings. Watch

Dog must also be enabled in BIOS (set-

ting located in the Power Menu).

Watch Dog

Jumper Settings (JWD)

Jumper Setting Defi nition

Pins 1-2 Reset

Pins 2-3 NMI

Open Disabled

Note: When enabled, the user needs to

write their own application software in or-

der to disable the Watch Dog timer.

Onboard Speaker Enable/Disable

The JF2 header allows you to use

either an external speaker or the

internal (onboard) speaker. To use

the internal (onboard) speaker, close

pins 5 and 7 with a jumper. To use an

external speaker, connect the speaker

wires to pins 1 through 7 of JF2. See

the table on the right for settings and

the table associated with the Power

LED/Keylock/Speaker connection

(previous section) for pin defi nitions.

Onboard Speaker Enable/Disable

Pin Defi nitions (JF2)

Pins Defi nition

5 and 7 Jump for onboard speaker

1,3,5,7 Attach external speaker wires

2-18

2-8 Onboard Indicators

JLAN1/JLAN2 LEDs

Chapter 2: Installation

The Ethernet ports (located beside

the VGA port) have two LEDs. On

each Gb LAN port, the yellow (right)

LED indicates activity while the left

LED may be green, orange or off to

indicate the speed of the connection.

See the table on the right for the func-

tions associated with the left (activity

speed) LED.

Power On Indicator

JLAN Right LED

(Connection Speed Indicator)

LED Color Defi nition

Off 10 MHz

Green 100 MHz

Amber 1 GHz

When illuminated, the D25 LED indi-

cates that power from the power supply

is being supplied to the serverboard.

D25 should normally be illuminated

when the system is powered up and

in operating mode. See the table on

the right for D25 LED states.

Power On Indicator LED

(D25)

State System Status

On Power present on serverboard

Off No power present on serverboard

2-19

H8DCE User's Manual

2-9 Floppy, IDE, Parallel Port and SATA Drive
Connections

Use the following information to connect the fl oppy and hard disk drive cables.

 The fl oppy disk drive cable has seven twisted wires.

 A red mark on a wire typically designates the location of pin 1.

 A single fl oppy disk drive ribbon cable has 34 wires and two connectors to provide

for two fl oppy disk drives. The connector with twisted wires always connects to

drive A, and the connector that does not have twisted wires always connects to

drive B.

 The 80-wire ATA133 IDE hard disk drive cable that came with your system has

two connectors to support two drives. This special cable should be used to take

advantage of the speed this new technology offers. The blue connector connects

to the onboard IDE connector interface and the other connector(s) to your hard

drive(s). Consult the documentation that came with your disk drive for details

on actual jumper locations and settings for the hard disk drive.

Floppy Connector

The fl oppy connector is located

beside the IDE#1 connector.

See the table on the right for

pin defi nitions.

Floppy Drive Connector

Pin Defi nitions (JFDD1)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition

1 GND 2 FDHDIN

3 GND 4 Reserved

5 Key 6 FDEDIN

7 GND 8 Index-

9 GND 10 Motor Enable

11 GND 12 Drive Select B-

13 GND 14 Drive Select A-

15 GND 16 Motor Enable

17 GND 18 DIR-

19 GND 20 STEP-

21 GND 22 Write Data-

23 GND 24 Write Gate-

25 GND 26 Track 00-

27 GND 28 Write Protect-

29 GND 30 Read Data-

31 GND 32 Side 1 Select-

33 GND 34 Diskette

2-20

Chapter 2: Installation

IDE Connectors

There are no jumpers to confi g-

ure the onboard IDE#1 and #2

connectors. See the table on

the right for pin defi nitions.

IDE Drive Connectors

Pin Defi nitions (IDE#1/IDE#2)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition

1 Reset IDE 2 Ground

3 Host Data 7 4 Host Data 8

5 Host Data 6 6 Host Data 9

7 Host Data 5 8 Host Data 10

9 Host Data 4 10 Host Data 11

11 Host Data 3 12 Host Data 12

13 Host Data 2 14 Host Data 13

15 Host Data 1 16 Host Data 14

17 Host Data 0 18 Host Data 15

19 Ground 20 Key

21 DRQ3 22 Ground

23 I/O Write 24 Ground

25 I/O Read 26 Ground

27 IOCHRDY 28 BALE

29 DACK3 30 Ground

31 IRQ14 32 IOCS16

33 Addr1 34 Ground

35 Addr0 36 Addr2

37 Chip Select 0 38 Chip Select 1

39 Activity 40 Ground

2-21

H8DCE User's Manual

Parallel Port Connector

The parallel (printer) port is

designated "Printer". See

the table on the right for pin

defi nitions.

Parallel Port Connector

Pin Defi nitions (Printer)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition

1 Strobe- 2 Auto Feed-

3 Data Bit 0 4 Error-

5 Data Bit 1 6 Init-

7 Data Bit 2 8 SLCT IN-

9 Data Bit 3 10 GND

11 Data Bit 4 12 GND

13 Data Bit 5 14 GND

15 Data Bit 6 16 GND

17 Data Bit 7 18 GND

19 ACK 20 GND

21 BUSY 22 Write Data

23 PE 24 Write Gate

25 SLCT 26 NC

SATA Ports

There are no jumpers to con-

fi gure the SATA ports, which

are designated M-SATA0-3 (for

Master drives) and S-SATA0-3

(for Slave drives). See the

table on the right for pin defi ni-

tions.

Pin Defi nitions (M-SATA, S-SATA)

SATA Drive Ports

Pin # Defi nition

1 Ground

2TXP

3TXN

4 Ground

5RXN

6RXP

7 Ground

2-22

Chapter 2: Installation

2-10 Enabling SATA RAID

Now that the hardware is set up, you must now install the operating system and the

SATA RAID drivers, if you wish to use RAID with your SATA drives. The installation

procedure differs depending on whether you wish to have the operating system

installed on a RAID array or on a separate non-RAID drive. See the instructions

below for details.

Serial ATA (SATA)

Serial ATA (SATA) is a physical storage interface that employs a single cable with a

minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. This

connection is a serial link that supports a SATA transfer rate from 150 MBps. The

serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Parallel

ATA (PATA) and can extend up to one meter in length, compared to only 40 cm for

PATA cables. Overall, SATA provides better functionality than PATA.

Installing the OS/SATA Driver

Before installing the OS (operating system) and SATA RAID driver, you must decide

if you wish to have the operating system installed as part of a bootable RAID array

or installed to a separate non-RAID hard drive. If on a separate drive, you may

install the driver either during or after the OS installation. If you wish to have the

OS on a SATA RAID array, you must follow the procedure below and install the

driver during the OS installation.

Building a Driver Diskette

You must fi rst build a driver diskette from the Supermicro CD-ROM that was included

with the system. (You will have to create this disk on a computer that is already

running and with the OS installed.) Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive and

start the system. A display as shown in Figure 2-5 will appear. Click on the icon

labeled "Build Driver Diskettes and Manuals" and follow the instructions to create

a fl oppy disk with the driver on it. Once it's been created, remove the fl oppy and

insert the installation CD for the Windows Operating System you wish to install into

the CD-ROM drive of the new system you are about to confi gure.

2-23

H8DCE User's Manual

Enabling SATA RAID in the BIOS

Before installing the Windows Operating System, you must change some settings

in BIOS. Boot up the system and hit the <Del> key to enter the BIOS Setup Utlility.

After the Setup Utility loads,

1. Use the arrow keys to move to the Exit menu. Scroll down with the arrow keys

to the "Load Optimal Defaults setting and press <Enter>. Select "OK" to confi rm,

then <Enter> to load the default settings.

2. Use the arrow keys to move to the "Advanced" menu, then scroll down to "IDE

Confi guration" and press the <Enter> key. Once in the IDE Confi guration submenu,

scroll down to "Confi guration nVidia RAID ROM" and press <Enter> to access that

submenu. Highlight the setting "RAID Option ROM" and press enter, change the

setting to Enabled and hit <Enter> again. Two new settings should now be dis-

played: "Master SATA as RAID" and "Slave SATA as RAID". Enable both of these

settings, whether you think you will use them both or not.

3. Hit the <Esc> key twice and scroll to the Exit menu. Select "Save Changes and

Exit" and hit <enter>, then hit <Enter> again to verify.

4. After exiting the BIOS Setup Utility, the system will reboot. When prompted

during the startup, press the <F10> key when prompted to run the nVidia RAID

Utility program.

Using the nVidia RAID Utility

The nVidia RAID Utility program is where you can defi ne the drives you want to

include in the RAID array and the mode and type of RAID. Two main windows

are shown in the utility. The "Free Disks" window on the left will list all available

drives. Use the arrow keys to select and move drives to the window on the right,

which lists all drives that are to become part of the RAID array.

Once you have fi nished selecting the drives and type of RAID you wish to use for

your RAID array, press the <F7> key. You will be prompted to verify your choice; if

you want to continue with your choices, select "Yes". Note that selecting "Yes" will

clear all previous data from the drives you selected to be a part of the array. You

are then given the choice of making the RAID array bootable by pressing the the

<B> key. After you have fi nshed, press the <Ctrl> and <X> keys simultaneously.

Installing the OS and Drivers

With the Windows OS installation CD in the CD-ROM drive, restart the system.

When you see the prompt, hit the <F6> key to enter Windows setup. Eventually a

blue screen will appear with a message that begins "Windows could not determine

the type of one or more storage devices . . ." When you see the screen, hit the <S>

key to "Specify Additional Device", then insert the driver diskette you just created

2-24

Chapter 2: Installation

into the fl oppy drive. Highlight "Manufuacturer Supplied Hardware Support Disk"

and hit the <Enter> key. Highlight the fi rst "nVidia RAID" driver shown and press

the <Enter> key to install it. Soon a similar blue screen will appear again. Again hit

the <S> key, then highlight the second item, "nForce Storage Controller" and press

the <Enter> key, then <Enter> again to continue with the Windows setup.

Figure 2-5. Driver Installation Display Screen

2-25

H8DCE User's Manual

Notes

2-26

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

Chapter 3

Troubleshooting

3-1 Troubleshooting Procedures

Use the following procedures to troubleshoot your system. If you have followed all

of the procedures below and still need assistance, refer to the ‘Technical Support

Procedures’ and/or ‘Returning Merchandise for Service’ section(s) in this chapter.

Always disconnect the AC power cord before adding, changing or installing any

hardware components.

Before Power On

1. Check that the onboard Power LED is lit (D25 on the serverboard).

2. Make sure that the 8-pin 12v power connector at JPW1 and the 4-pin connector

at PW3 are both connected to your power supply.

3. Make sure that no short circuits exist between the serverboard and chassis.

4. Disconnect all ribbon/wire cables from the serverboard, including those for the

keyboard and mouse.

5. Remove all add-on cards.

6. Install a CPU and heatsink (making sure it is fully seated) and connect the in-

ternal (chassis) speaker and the power LED to the serverboard. Check all jumper

settings as well.

7. Use the correct type of onboard CMOS battery as recommended by the manufac-

turer. To avoid possible explosion, do not install the CMOS battery upside down.

No Power

1. Make sure that no short circuits exist between the serverboard and the chas-

sis.

2. Verify that all jumpers are set to their default positions.

3. Check that the 115V/230V switch on the power supply is properly set.

4. Turn the power switch on and off to test the system.

5. The battery on your serverboard may be old. Check to verify that it still supplies

~3VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

3-1

H8DCE User's Manual

No Video

1. If the power is on but you have no video, remove all the add-on cards and

cables.

2. Use the speaker to determine if any beep codes exist. Refer to Appendix A for

details on beep codes.

NOTE

If you are a system integrator, VAR or OEM, a POST diagnostics

card is recommended. For I/O port 80h codes, refer to App. B.

Memory Errors

1. Make sure that the DIMM modules are properly and fully installed.

2. You should be using registered ECC DDR memory (see next page). Also, it is

recommended that you use the same memory type and speed for all DIMMs in the

system. See Section 2-4 for memory details and limitations.

3. Check for bad DIMM modules or slots by swapping modules between slots and

noting the results.

4. Check the power supply voltage 115V/230V switch.

Losing the System’s Setup Confi guration

1. Make sure that you are using a high quality power supply. A poor quality power

supply may cause the system to lose the CMOS setup information. Refer to Sec-

tion 1-6 for details on recommended power supplies.

2. The battery on your serverboard may be old. Check to verify that it still supplies

~3VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

3. If the above steps do not fi x the setup confi guration problem, contact your vendor

for repairs.

3-2 Technical Support Procedures

Before contacting Technical Support, please take the following steps. Also, note

that as a serverboard manufacturer, we do not sell directly to end-users, so it is

best to fi rst check with your distributor or reseller for troubleshooting services. They

should know of any possible problem(s) with the specifi c system confi guration that

was sold to you.

3-2

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

1. Please review the ‘Troubleshooting Procedures’ and 'Frequently Asked Questions'

(FAQs) sections in this chapter or see the FAQs on our web site before contacting

Technical Support.

2. BIOS upgrades can be downloaded from our web site.

Note: Not all BIOS can be fl ashed depending on the modifi cations to the boot block

code.

3. If you still cannot resolve the problem, include the following information when

contacting us for technical support:

 Serverboard model and PCB revision number

 BIOS release date/version (this can be seen on the initial display when your

system fi rst boots up)

 System confi guration

An example of a Technical Support form is posted on our web site.

4. Distributors: For immediate assistance, please have your account number ready

when contacting our technical support department by e-mail.

3-3 Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What type of memory does my serverboard support?

Answer: The H8DCE supports up to 32 GB of registered ECC DDR266 or up to

16 GB of registered ECC DDR400/333 interleaved or non-interleaved SDRAM with

two CPUs installed. With only one CPU installed the maximum memory support is

halved. See Section 2-4 for details on installing memory.

Question: How do I update my BIOS?

Answer: It is recommended that you not upgrade your BIOS if you are not experi-

encing problems with your system. Updated BIOS fi les are located on our web site.

Please check our BIOS warning message and the information on how to update

your BIOS on our web site. Also, check the current BIOS revision and make sure

it is newer than your current BIOS before downloading.

Select your mainboard model on the web page and download the corresponding

BIOS fi le to your computer. Unzip the BIOS update fi le, in which you will fi nd the

readme.txt (fl ash instructions), the amifl ash.exe (BIOS fl ash utility) and the BIOS

image (xxx.rom) fi les. Copy these fi les to a bootable fl oppy disk, insert the disk

into drive A and reboot the system. At the DOS prompt after rebooting, enter the

command "amifl ash" (without quotation marks) then type in the BIOS fi le that you

want to update with (xxxx.rom).

3-3

H8DCE User's Manual

Question: What's on the CD that came with my serverboard?

Answer: The supplied compact disc has quite a few drivers and programs that will

greatly enhance your system. We recommend that you review the CD and install the

applications you need. Applications on the CD include chipset drivers for Windows

and security and audio drivers.

Question: Why can't I turn off the power using the momentary power on/off

switch?

Answer: The instant power off function is controlled in BIOS by the Power But-

ton Mode setting. When the On/Off feature is enabled, the serverboard will have

instant off capabilities as long as the BIOS has control of the system. When the

Standby or Suspend feature is enabled or when the BIOS is not in control such

as during memory count (the fi rst screen that appears when the system is turned

on), the momentary on/off switch must be held for more than four seconds to shut

down the system. This feature is required to implement the ACPI features on the

serverboard.

Question: How do I connect the ATA133 cable to my IDE device(s)?

Answer: The 80-wire/40-pin high-density ATA133 IDE cable that came with your

system has two connectors to support two drives. This special cable must be used

to take advantage of the speed the ATA133 technology offers. Connect the blue

connector to the onboard IDE header and the other connector(s) to your hard

drive(s). Consult the documentation that came with your disk drive for details on

actual jumper locations and settings.

3-4 Returning Merchandise for Service

A receipt or copy of your invoice marked with the date of purchase is required be-

fore any warranty service will be rendered. You can obtain service by calling your

vendor for a Returned Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. When returning

to the manufacturer, the RMA number should be prominently displayed on the

outside of the shipping carton, and mailed prepaid or hand-carried. Shipping and

handling charges will be applied for all orders that must be mailed when service

is complete.

For faster service, RMA authorizations may be requested online (http://www.

supermicro.com/support/rma/).

This warranty only covers normal consumer use and does not cover damages in-

curred in shipping or from failure due to the alteration, misuse, abuse or improper

maintenance of products. During the warranty period, contact your distributor fi rst

for any product problems.

3-4

Chapter 4: BIOS

Chapter 4

BIOS

4-1 Introduction

This chapter describes the AMIBIOS™ Setup utility for the H8DCE. The AMI ROM

BIOS is stored in a fl ash chip and can be easily upgraded using a fl oppy disk-based

program.

Note: Due to periodic changes to the BIOS, some settings may have been added or

deleted and might not yet be recorded in this manual. Please refer to the Manual

Download area of our web site for any changes to BIOS that may not be refl ected

in this manual.

Starting the Setup Utility

To enter the BIOS Setup Utility, hit the <Delete> key while the system is booting-up.

(In most cases, the <Delete> key is used to invoke the BIOS setup screen. There

are a few cases when other keys are used, such as <F1>, <F2>, etc.) Each main

BIOS menu option is described in this manual.

The Main BIOS screen has two main frames. The left frame displays all the options

that can be confi gured. “Grayed-out” options cannot be confi gured. The right frame

displays the key legend. Above the key legend is an area reserved for a text mes-

sage. When an option is selected in the left frame, it is highlighted in white. Often

a text message will accompany it. (Note that BIOS has default text messages built

in. We retain the option to include, omit, or change any of these text messages.)

Settings printed in Bold are the default values.

A "

" indicates a submenu. Highlighting such an item and pressing the <Enter>

key will open the list of settings within that submenu.

The BIOS setup utility uses a key-based navigation system called hot keys. Most

of these hot keys (<F1>, <F10>, <Enter>, <ESC>, <Arrow> keys, etc.) can be used

at any time during the setup navigation process.

4-1

H8DCE User's Manual

4-2 Main Menu

When you fi rst enter AMI BIOS Setup Utility, you will see the Main Menu screen.

You can always return to the Main Menu by selecting the Main tab on the top of

the screen with the arrow keys.

The Main Menu screen provides you with a system overview, which includes the

version, built date and ID of the AMIBIOS, the type, speed and number of the pro-

cessors in the system and the amount of memory installed in the system.

System Time/System Date

You can edit this fi eld to change the system time and date. Highlight System Time

or System Date using the <Arrow> keys. Enter new values through the keyboard.

Press the <Tab> key or the <Arrow> keys to move between fi elds. The date must

be entered in DAY/MM/DD/YYYY format. The time is entered in HH:MM:SS format.

Please note that time is in a 24-hour format. For example, 5:30 A.M. appears as

05:30:00 and 5:30 P.M. as 17:30:00.

4-3 Advanced Settings Menu

 CPU Confi guration Sub-Menu

GART Error Reporting

This setting is used for testing only.

MTRR Mapping

This determines the method used for programming CPU MTRRs when 4 GB or more

memory is present. The options are Continuous, which makes the PCI hole non-

cacheable, and Discrete, which places the PCI hole below the 4 GB boundary.

 IDE Confi guration

Onboard PCI IDE Controller

The following options are available to set the IDE controller status: Disabled will dis-

able the controller. Primary will enable the primary IDE controller only. Secondary

will enable the secondary IDE controller only. Both will enable both the primary and

the secondary IDE controllers. The six controllers listed are for two dual-channel

IDE and eight SATA devices.

4-2

Chapter 4: BIOS

Primary/Secondary/Third/Fouth/Fifth/Sixth IDE Master/Slave

Highlight one of the items above and press <Enter> to access the submenu for

that item.

Type

Select the type of device connected to the system. The options are Not Installed,

Auto, CDROM and ARMD.

LBA/Large Mode

LBA (Logical Block Addressing) is a method of addressing data on a disk drive.

In the LBA mode, the maximum drive capacity is 137 GB. For drive capacities of

over 137 GB, your system must be equipped with 48-bit LBA mode addressing.

If not, contact your manufacturer or install an ATA/133 IDE controller card that

supports 48-bit LBA mode. The options are Disabled and Auto.

Block (Multi-Sector Transfer)

Block mode boosts IDE drive performance by increasing the amount of data

transferred. Only 512 bytes of data can be transferred per interrupt if block mode

is not used. Block mode allows transfers of up to 64 KB per interrupt. Select

"Disabled" to allow the data to be transferred from and to the device one sec-

tor at a time. Select "Auto" to allows the data transfer from and to the device

occur multiple sectors at a time if the device supports it. The options are Auto

and Disabled.

PIO Mode

PIO (Programmable I/O) mode programs timing cycles between the IDE drive

and the programmable IDE controller. As the PIO mode increases, the cycle time

decreases. The options are Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Select Auto to allow AMI

BIOS to auto detect the PIO mode. Use this value if the IDE disk drive support

cannot be determined. Select 0 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 0. It has a

data transfer rate of 3.3 MBs. Select 1 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 1.

It has a data transfer rate of 5.2 MBs. Select 2 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO

mode 2. It has a data transfer rate of 8.3 MBs. Select 3 to allow AMI BIOS to

use PIO mode 3. It has a data transfer rate of 11.1 MBs. Select 4 to allow AMI

BIOS to use PIO mode 4. It has a data transfer rate of 16.6 MBs. This setting

generally works with all hard disk drives manufactured after 1999. For other disk

drives, such as IDE CD-ROM drives, check the specifi cations of the drive.

4-3

H8DCE User's Manual

data transfer rate of 3.3 MBs. Select 1 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 1 for

a data transfer rate of 5.2 MBs. Select 2 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 2

for a data transfer rate of 8.3 MBs. Select 3 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode

3 for a data transfer rate of 11.1 MBs. Select 4 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO

mode 4 for a data transfer rate of 16.6 MBs. This setting generally works with

all hard disk drives manufactured after 1999. For other disk drives, such as IDE

CD-ROM drives, check the specifi cations of the drive.

DMA Mode

Selects the DAM Mode. Options are SWDMA0, SWDMA1, SWDMA2,

MWDMA0. MDWDMA1, MWDMA2, UDMA0. UDMA1, UDMA2, UDMA3,

UDMA4 and UDMA5. (SWDMA=Single Word DMA, MWDMA=Multi Word DMA,

UDMA=UltraDMA.)

S.M.A.R.T.

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) can help predict

impending drive failures. Select "Auto" to allow BIOS to auto detect hard disk

drive support. Select "Disabled" to prevent AMI BIOS from using the S.M.A.R.T.

Select "Enabled" to allow AMI BIOS to use the S.M.A.R.T. to support hard drive

disk. The options are Disabled, Enabled, and Auto.

32-Bit Data Transfer

Select "Enabled" to activate the function of 32-Bit data transfer. Select "Disabled"

to deactivate the function. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Hard Disk Write Protect

Select Enabled to enable the function of Hard Disk Write Protect to prevent data

from being written to HDD. The options are Enabled or Disabled.

IDE Detect Time Out (Sec)

This feature allows the user to set the time-out value for detecting ATA, ATA PI

devices installed in the system. The options are 0 (sec), 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and

35.

ATA(PI) 80Pin Cable Detection

This setting allows AMI BIOS to auto-detect the 80-Pin ATA(PI) cable. The options

are Host, Device and Host & Device.

4-4

Chapter 4: BIOS

SATA0 IDE Interface

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the serial controller for SATA0.

SATA1 IDE Interface

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the serial controller for SATA1.

IO4 SATA0 IDE Interface

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the serial controller for IO4 SATA0.

IO4 SATA1 IDE Interface

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the serial controller for IO4 SATA1.

First Boot Device From

Use this setting to select the fi rst boot device as being P-ATA or S-ATA.

 Confi guration nVidia RAID ROM

RAID Option ROM

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the nVidia ROM.

 Floppy Confi guration

Floppy A

Move the cursor to these fi elds via up and down <arrow> keys to select the fl oppy

type. The options are Disabled, 360 KB 5 1/4", 1.2 MB 5 1/4", 720 KB 3½", 1.44

MB 3½”, and 2.88 MB 3½".

Floppy B

Move the cursor to these fi elds via up and down <arrow> keys to select the fl oppy

type. The options are Disabled, 360 KB 5 1/4", 1.2 MB 5 1/4", 720 KB 3½", 1.44

MB 3½”, and 2.88 MB 3½".

Onboard Floppy Controller

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the onboard fl oppy controller.

4-5

H8DCE User's Manual

Super IO Confi guration

Serial Port1 Address

This option specifi es the base I/O port address and Interrupt Request address of

serial port 1. Select "Disabled" to prevent the serial port from accessing any system

resources. When this option is set to Disabled, the serial port physically becomes

unavailable. Select "3F8/IRQ4" to allow the serial port to use 3F8 as its I/O port

address and IRQ 4 for the interrupt address. The options are Disabled, 3F8/IRQ4,

3E8/IRQ4 and 2E8/IRQ3.

Serial Port2 Address

This option specifi es the base I/O port address and Interrupt Request address of

serial port 2. Select "Disabled" to prevent the serial port from accessing any system

resources. When this option is set to "Disabled", the serial port physically becomes

unavailable. Select "2F8/IRQ3" to allow the serial port to use 2F8 as its I/O port

address and IRQ 3 for the interrupt address. The options are Disabled, 2F8/IRQ3,

3E8/IRQ4 and 2E8/IRQ3.

Serial Port 2 Mode

Tells BIOS which mode to select for serial port 2. The options are Normal,

IrDA and ASKIR.

Parallel Port Address

This option specifi es the I/O address used by the parallel port. Select Disabled to

prevent the parallel port from accessing any system resources. When the value of

this option is set to Disabled, the printer port becomes unavailable. Select 378 to

allow the parallel port to use 378 as its I/O port address. The majority of parallel

ports on computer systems use IRQ7 and I/O Port 378H as the standard setting.

Select 278 to allow the parallel port to use 278 as its I/O port address. Select 3BC

to allow the parallel port to use 3BC as its I/O port address.

Parallel Port Mode

Specify the parallel port mode. The options are Normal, Bi-directional, EPP

and ECP.

Parallel Port IRQ

Select the IRQ (interrupt request) for the parallel port. The options are IRQ5
and IRQ7.

4-6

Chapter 4: BIOS

 APCI Confi guration

 General APCI Confi guration

Suspend Mode

Select the mode used for the system suspend state. Options are S1 (POS),

S3 (STR) and Auto. (POS=Power Off Standby, STR=Suspend to RAM.)

 Advanced ACPI Confi guration

ACPI 2.0 Features

"Yes" enables RSDP pointers to 64-bit fi xed system description pages. Op-

tions are Yes and No.

ACPI APIC Support

Select "Enabled" to allow the ACPI APIC table pointer to be included in the

RSDP pointer list. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

AMI OEMB Table

When Enabled, tells BIOS to include the OEMB table pointer to R(X) SDT

pointer lists. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

Headless Mode

Enable this setting to activate the Headless Operation Mode through ACPI.

The options are Enabled and Disabled.

4-7

H8DCE User's Manual

 Hyper Transport Confi guration

CPU0: CPU1 HT Link Speed

The HT link will run at the speed specifi ed in this setting if it is slower than or

equal to the system clock and if the board is capable. Options are Auto, 200

MHz, 400 MHz, 600 MHz, 800 MHz and 1 GHz.

CPU0: CPU1 HT Link Width

The HT link will run at the width specifi ed in this setting. Options are Auto, 2

bit, 4 bit, 8 bit and 16 bit.

CPU0: PCI-X0 HT Link Speed

The HT link will run at the speed specifi ed in this setting if it is slower than or

equal to the system clock and if the board is capable. Options are Auto, 200

MHz, 400 MHz, 600 MHz, 800 MHz and 1 GHz.

CPU0: PCI-X0 HT Link Width

The HT link will run at the width specifi ed in this setting. Options are Auto, 2

bit, 4 bit, 8 bit and 16 bit.

 MPS Confi guration

MPS Revision

This setting allows the user to select the MPS revision level. The options are

1.1 and 1.4.

 PCI Express Confi guration

Active State Power Management

Use this setting to Enable or Disable PCI Express L0s and L1 link power

states.

 AMD Cool 'N Quit Confi guration

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the AMD Cool 'N Quiet feature.

4-8

Chapter 4: BIOS

 SMBIOS Confi guration

SMBIOS SMI Support

Enable or Disable SMBIOS wrapper support for PnP function 50h-54h.

 Remote Access Confi guration

Remote Access

Allows you to Enable or Disable Remote Access.

Serial Port Number

Selects the serial port to use for console redirection. Options are COM1 and

COM2.

Serial Port Mode

Selects the serial port settings to use. Options are (115200 8, n, 1), (57600 8,

n, 1), (38400 8, n, 1), (19200 8, n, 1) and (09600 8, n, 1).

Flow Control

Selects the fl ow control to be used for console redirection. Options are None,

Hardware and Software.

Redirection After BIOS POST

Options are Disable (no redirection after BIOS POST), Boot Loader (redirection

during POST and during boot loader) and Always (redirection always active).

Note that some OS's may not work with this set to Always.

Terminal Type

Selects the type of the target terminal. Options are ANSI, VT100 and VT-

UTF8.

VT-UTF8 Combo Key Support

Allows you to Enable or Disable VT-UTF8 combination key support for ANSI/

VT100 terminals.

4-9

H8DCE User's Manual

Sredir Memory Display Delay

Use this setting to set the delay in seconds to display memory information. Op-

tions are No Delay, 1 sec, 2 secs and 4 secs.

 USB Confi guration

This screen will display the module version and all USB enabled devices.

USB Controller Support

Enable the controller for your USB ports. Options are Disabled, USB 1.1 only

and USB 1.1 + USB 2.0.

Legacy USB Support

Select "Enabled" to enable the support for USB Legacy. Disable Legacy support

if there are no USB devices installed in the system. The options are Disabled,

Enabled and Auto.

USB 2.0 Controller Mode

Select the controller mode for your USB ports. Options are HiSpeed and

FullSpeed. (HiSpeed=480 Mbps, FullSpeed=12 Mbps).

BIOS EHCI Hand-Off

Enable or Disable a workaround for OS's without EHCI hand-off support.

 System Health Monitor

CPU Overheat Temperature

Use the "+" and "-" keys to set the CPU temperature threshold to between 65o

and 90

sis will light up and an alarm will sound. The LED and alarm will turn off once

the CPU temperature has dropped to 5 degrees below the threshold set. The

default setting is 78

Other items in the submenu are all systems monitor displays for the following

information:

o

C. When this threshold is exceeded, the overheat LED on the chas-

o

C.

CPU1 Temperature, CPU2 Temperature (for 2U systems), CPU1 Vcore, CPU2

Vcore (for 2U systems), 3.3V Vcc (V), +5Vin, +12Vin, -12Vcc (V), 1.2V for Hyper

Transport, CPU1 DIMM voltage, CPU2 DIMM voltage, CK804+I04 (chipset) voltage

and +3.3V Standby.

4-10

Chapter 4: BIOS

 System Fan Monitor

Fan Speed Control Modules

This feature allows the user to determine how the system will control the speed

of the onboard fans. If the option is set to "3-pin fan", the fan speed is controlled

based upon the CPU die temperature. When the CPU die temperature is higher,

the fan speed will be higher as well. If the option is set to "4-pin", the fan speed

will be controlled by the Thermal Management Settings pre-confi gured by the

user with this setting. Select "3-pin" if your chassis came with 3-pin fan headers.

Select "4-pin" if your chassis came with 4-pin fan headers. Select "Workstation"

if your system is used as a Workstation. Select "Server" if your system is used

as a Server. Select "Disable" to disable the fan speed control function to allow

the onboard fans to continuously run at full speed (12V). The options are 1) Dis-

able, Full Speed 2) 3-pin (Server), 3) 3-pin (Workstation), 4) 4-pin (Server),

5) 4-pin (Workstation), 6) 4-pin (Quiet) and 7) 4-pin (Super Quiet).

FAN1 Speed through FAN8 Speed

The speeds of the onboard fans (in rpm) are displayed here. FAN7 is intended

to be used for the CPU1 heatsink fan and FAN8 is intended to be used for the

CPU2 heatsink fan.

4-4 PCI/PnP Menu

Clear NVRAM

Select Yes to clear NVRAM during boot-up. The options are Yes and No.

Plug & Play OS

Select Yes to allow the OS to confi gure Plug & Play devices. (This is not required

for system boot if your system has an OS that supports Plug & Play.) Select No

to allow AMIBIOS to confi gure all devices in the system.

PCI Latency Timer

This option sets the latency of all PCI devices on the PCI bus. Select a value to

set the PCI latency in PCI clock cycles. Options are 32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192,

224 and 248.

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H8DCE User's Manual

Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA

Set this value to allow or restrict the system from giving the VGA adapter card an

interrupt address. The options are Yes and No.

Palette Snooping

Select "Enabled" to inform the PCI devices that an ISA graphics device is installed

in the system in order for the graphics card to function properly. The options are

Enabled and Disabled.

PCI IDE BusMaster

Set this value to allow or prevent the use of PCI IDE busmastering. Select "Enabled"

to allow AMI BIOS to use PCI busmaster for reading and writing to IDE drives. The

options are Disabled and Enabled.

Offboard PCI/ISA IDE Card

This option allows the user to assign a PCI slot number to an Off-board PCI/ISA

IDE card in order for it to function properly. The options are Auto, PCI Slot1, PCI

Slot2, PCI Slot3, PCI Slot4, PCI Slot5, and PCI Slot6.

IRQ3/IRQ4/IRQ5/IRQ7/IRQ9/IRQ10/IRQ11/IRQ14/IRQ15

This feature specifi es the availability of an IRQ to be used by a PCI/PnP device.

Select Reserved for the IRQ to be used by a Legacy ISA device. The options are

Available and Reserved.

DMA Channel 0/Channel 1/Channel 3/Channel 5/Channel 6/Channel
7

Select Available to indicate that a specifi c DMA channel is available to be used by

a PCI/PnP device. Select Reserved if the DMA channel specifi ed is reserved for

a Legacy ISA device. The options are Available and Reserved.

Reserved Memory Size

This feature specifi es the size of memory block to be reserved for Legacy ISA

devices. The options are Disabled, 16K, 32K and 64K.

4-12

4-5 Boot Menu

This feature allows the user to confi gure the following items:

 Boot Settings Confi guration

Quick Boot

If Enabled, this option will skip certain tests during POST to reduce the time

needed for the system to boot up. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Quiet Boot

If Disabled, normal POST messages will be displayed on boot-up. If Enabled,

this display the OEM logo instead of POST messages.

Add-On ROM Display Mode

Chapter 4: BIOS

This setting controls the display of add-on ROM (read-only memory) messages.

Select "Force BIOS" to allow the computer system to force a third party BIOS to

display during system boot. Select "Keep Current" to allow the computer system

to display the BIOS information during system boot.

Boot up Num-Lock

Set this to "On" to allow the Number Lock setting to be modifi ed during boot up.

The options are On and Off.

PS/2 Mouse Support

This setting is to specify PS/2 mouse support. The options are Auto, Enabled

and Disabled.

Wait for ‘F1’ If Error

Enable to activate the Wait for F1 if Error function. The options are Enabled

and Disabled.

Hit ‘DEL’ Message Display

Enable to display the message telling the user to hit the DEL key to enter the

setup utility. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Interrupt 19 Capture

Enable to allow ROMs to trap Interrupt 19. The options are Enabled and Dis-

abled.

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H8DCE User's Manual

 Boot Device Priority

This feature allows the user to prioritize the sequence for the Boot Device. The

devices to set are:

· 1st Boot Device

· 2nd Boot Device

· 3rd Boot Device

· 4th Boot Device

 Removable Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the Boot sequence from available remov-

able drives.

1st Drive

Specifi es the boot sequence for the 1st Removable Drive. The options are 1st

Floppy Drive and Disabled.

 CD/DVD Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the boot sequence from available CDROM

drives.

1st Drive

Specifi es the boot sequence for the 1st Hard Drive.

4-6 Security Menu

AMI BIOS provides a Supervisor and a User password. If you use both passwords,

the Supervisor password must be set fi rst.

Change Supervisor Password

Select this option and press <Enter> to access the sub menu, and then type in

the password.

Change User Password

Select this option and press <Enter> to access the sub menu, and then type in

the password.

4-14

Chapter 4: BIOS

Clear User Password

Select this option and press <Enter> to access the sub menu. You can use the sub

menu to clear the user password. (Only visible if passwords have been entered.)

Boot Sector Virus Protection

This option is near the bottom of the Security Setup screen. Select "Disabled" to

deactivate the Boot Sector Virus Protection. Select "Enabled" to enable boot sector

protection. When "Enabled", AMI BIOS displays a warning when any program (or

virus) issues a Disk Format command or attempts to write to the boot sector of the

hard disk drive. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

4-7 Chipset Menu

 North Bridge Confi guration

 Memory Confi guration

Memclock Mode

This setting determines how the memory clock is set. Auto has the memory

clock by code and Limit allows the user to set a standard value.

MCT Timing Mode

Sets the timing mode for memory. Options are Auto and Manual.

User Confi guration Mode

Options are Auto and Manual.

Bank Interleaving

Use this setting to control bank interleaving. Options are Auto and Dis-

abled.

Burst Length

Use this setting to set the memory burst length. 64-bit Dq must use 4 beats.

Options are 8 beats, 4 beats and 2 beats.

Software Memory Hole

When "Enabled", allows software memory remapping around the memory

hole. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

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H8DCE User's Manual

Hardware Memory Hole

When "Enabled", allows software memory remapping around the memory

hole. Options are Enabled and Disabled. Note: this is only supported by

Rev E0 processors and above.

Node Interleaving

Use this setting to Enable or Disable node interleaving.

Rev E Settings

PwrDwnCtl

The options for the Power Down Control settings are Auto, Disabled,

Alternating, Same and Independant.

 ECC Confi guration

DRAM ECC Enable

DRAM ECC allows hardware to report and correct memory errors automati-

cally. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

MCA DRAM ECC Logging

When Enabled, MCA DRAM ECC logging and reporting is enabled.

Options are Enabled and Disabled.

ECC Chipkill

Allows the user to enabled ECC Chipkill. Options are Enabled and

Disabled.

DRAM Scrub Redirect

Allows system to correct DRAM ECC errors immediately, even with

background scrubbing on. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

DRAM BG Scrub

Corrects memory errors so later reads are correct. Options are Dis-

abled and various times in nanoseconds and microseconds.

4-16

Chapter 4: BIOS

L2 Cache BG Scrub

Allows L2 cache RAM to be corrected when idle. Options are Disabled and

various times in nanoseconds and microseconds.

Data Cache BG Scrub

Allows L1 cache RAM to be corrected when idle. Options are Disabled and

various times in nanoseconds and microseconds.

 IOMMU Option Menu

IOMMU Mode

IOMMU is supported on Linux-based systems to convert 32-bit I/O addresses

to 64-bit. Options are Disabled, Best Fit and Absolute. Selecting the Best

Fit or Absolute settings allows the user to select aperture size.

Memory Ticking Parameters

Allows the user to select which CPU Node's timing parameters (memory clock,

etc.) to display. Options are CPU Node 0 and CPU Node1.

 South Bridge Confi guration

Audio CODEC Interface

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the internal ACI.

MAC Interface

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the internal 802.3 MAC.

IO4 MAC Interface

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the IO4 internal 802.3 MAC.

CPU Spread Spectrum

This setting is used to enable spread spectrum for the CPU. Options are Dis-

abled and Center Spread.

SATA Spread Spectrum

This setting is used to enable spread spectrum for the SATA. Options are Dis-

abled and Down Spread.

4-17

H8DCE User's Manual

PCI Express Spread Spectrum

This setting is used to enable spread spectrum for the PCI Express. Options

are Disabled and Down Spread.

Primary Video

This setting is used to switch the PCI bus scanning order while searching for the

video card. It allows the user to select the type of primary VGA in case of multiple

video controllers. Options are Slave PCI-Express and Master PCI-Express.

4-8 Power Menu

Power Button Mode

Allows the user to change the function of the power button. Options are On/Off

and Suspend.

Restore on AC Power Loss

This setting allows you to choose how the system will react when power returns

after an unexpected loss of power. The options are Power Off, Power On and

Last State.

Watch Dog Timer

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the Watch Dog Timer function. It must

be used in conjunction with the Watch Dog jumper (see Chapter 2 for details).

4-18

Chapter 4: BIOS

4-9 Exit Menu

Select the Exit tab from AMI BIOS Setup Utility screen to enter the Exit BIOS Setup

screen.

Save Changes and Exit

When you have completed the system confi guration changes, select this option

to leave BIOS Setup and reboot the computer, so the new system confi guration

parameters can take effect. Select Save Changes and Exit from the Exit menu

and press <Enter>.

Discard Changes and Exit

Select this option to quit BIOS Setup without making any permanent changes to

the system confi guration and reboot the computer. Select Discard Changes and

Exit from the Exit menu and press <Enter>.

Discard Changes

Select this option and press <Enter> to discard all the changes and return to AMI

BIOS Utility Program.

Load Optimal Defaults

To set this feature, select Load Optimal Defaults from the Exit menu and press

<Enter>. Then Select "OK" to allow BIOS to automatically load the Optimal Defaults

as the BIOS Settings. The Optimal settings are designed for maximum system

performance, but may not work best for all computer applications.

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

To set this feature, select Load Fail-Safe Defaults from the Exit menu and press

<Enter>. The Fail-Safe settings are designed for maximum system stability, but

not maximum performance.

4-19

H8DCE User's Manual

Notes

4-20

Appendix A: BIOS Error Beep Codes

Appendix A

BIOS Error Beep Codes

During the POST (Power-On Self-Test) routines, which are performed each time

the system is powered on, errors may occur.

Non-fatal errors are those which, in most cases, allow the system to continue the

boot-up process. The error messages normally appear on the screen.

Fatal errors are those which will not allow the system to continue the boot-up pro-

cedure. If a fatal error occurs, you should consult with your system manufacturer

for possible repairs.

These fatal errors are usually communicated through a series of audible beeps.

The numbers on the fatal error list, on the following page, correspond to the number

of beeps for the corresponding error. All errors listed, with the exception of Beep

Code 8, are fatal errors.

A-1 AMIBIOS Error Beep Codes

Beep Code Error Message Description

1 beep Refresh Circuits have been reset.

(Ready to power up.)

5 short, 1 long Memory error No memory detected in

system

8 beeps Display memory read/write error Video adapter missing or

with faulty memory

A-1

H8DCE User's Manual

Notes

A-2

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

Appendix B

BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

When AMIBIOS performs the Power On Self Test, it writes checkpoint codes to I/O

port 0080h. If the computer cannot complete the boot process, diagnostic equip-

ment can be attached to the computer to read I/O port 0080h.

B-1 Uncompressed Initialization Codes

The uncompressed initialization checkpoint codes are listed in order of execution:

Checkpoint Code Description

D0h The NMI is disabled. Power on delay is starting. Next, the initialization code check-

D1h Initializing the DMA controller, performing the keyboard controller BAT test, starting

D3h Starting memory sizing next.

D4h Returning to real mode. Executing any OEM patches and setting the Stack next.

D5h Passing control to the uncompressed code in shadow RAM at E000:0000h. The

sum will be verifi ed.

memory refresh and entering 4 GB fl at mode next.

initialization code is copied to segment 0 and control will be transferred to segment

0.

B-1

H8DCE User's Manual

B-2 Bootblock Recovery Codes

The bootblock recovery checkpoint codes are listed in order of execution:

Checkpoint Code Description

E0h The onboard fl oppy controller if available is initialized. Next, beginning the base

E1h Initializing the interrupt vector table next.

E2h Initializing the DMA and Interrupt controllers next.

E6h Enabling the fl oppy drive controller and Timer IRQs. Enabling internal cache mem-

Edh Initializing the fl oppy drive.

Eeh Looking for a fl oppy diskette in drive A:. Reading the fi rst sector of the diskette.

Efh A read error occurred while reading the fl oppy drive in drive A:.

F0h Next, searching for the AMIBOOT.ROM fi le in the root directory.

F1h The AMIBOOT.ROM fi le is not in the root directory.

F2h Next, reading and analyzing the fl oppy diskette FAT to fi nd the clusters occupied

F3h Next, reading the AMIBOOT.ROM fi le, cluster by cluster.

F4h The AMIBOOT.ROM fi le is not the correct size.

F5h Next, disabling internal cache memory.

FBh Next, detecting the type of fl ash ROM.

FCh Next, erasing the fl ash ROM.

512 KB memory test.

ory.

by the AMIBOOT.ROM fi le.

FDh Next, programming the fl ash ROM.

FFh Flash ROM programming was successful. Next, restarting the system BIOS.

B-2

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

B-3 Uncompressed Initialization Codes

The following runtime checkpoint codes are listed in order of execution.

These codes are uncompressed in F0000h shadow RAM.

Checkpoint Code Description

03h The NMI is disabled. Next, checking for a soft reset or a power on condition.

05h The BIOS stack has been built. Next, disabling cache memory.

06h Uncompressing the POST code next.

07h Next, initializing the CPU and the CPU data area.

08h The CMOS checksum calculation is done next.

0Ah The CMOS checksum calculation is done. Initializing the CMOS status register for

0Bh The CMOS status register is initialized. Next, performing any required initialization

0Ch The keyboard controller input buffer is free. Next, issuing the BAT command to the

0Eh The keyboard controller BAT command result has been verifi ed. Next, performing

0Fh The initialization after the keyboard controller BAT command test is done. The key-

10h The keyboard controller command byte is written. Next, issuing the Pin 23 and 24

11h Next, checking if <End or <Ins> keys were pressed during power on. Initializing

12h Next, disabling DMA controllers 1 and 2 and interrupt controllers 1 and 2.

13h The video display has been disabled. Port B has been initialized. Next, initializing

14h The 8254 timer test will begin next.

19h Next, programming the fl ash ROM.

1Ah The memory refresh line is toggling. Checking the 15 second on/off time next.

date and time next.

before the keyboard BAT command is issued.

keyboard controller.

any necessary initialization after the keyboard controller BAT command test.

board command byte is written next.

blocking and unblocking command.

CMOS RAM if the Initialize CMOS RAM in every boot AMIBIOS POST option was
set in AMIBCP or the <End> key was pressed.

the chipset.

2Bh Passing control to the video ROM to perform any required confi guration before the

video ROM test.

2Ch All necessary processing before passing control to the video ROM is done. Look-

ing for the video ROM next and passing control to it.

2Dh The video ROM has returned control to BIOS POST. Performing any required pro-

cessing after the video ROM had control

23h Reading the 8042 input port and disabling the MEGAKEY Green PC feature next.

Making the BIOS code segment writable and performing any necessary confi gura­tion before initializing the interrupt vectors.

24h The confi guration required before interrupt vector initialization has completed. In-

terrupt vector initialization is about to begin.

B-3

H8DCE User's Manual

Checkpoint Code Description

25h Interrupt vector initialization is done. Clearing the password if the POST DIAG

27h Any initialization before setting video mode will be done next.

28h Initialization before setting the video mode is complete. Confi guring the mono-

2Ah Bus initialization system, static, output devices will be done next, if present. See the

2Eh Completed post-video ROM test processing. If the EGA/VGA controller is not

2Fh The EGA/VGA controller was not found. The display memory read/write test is

30h The display memory read/write test passed. Look for retrace checking next.

31h The display memory read/write test or retrace checking failed. Performing the alter-

32h The alternate display memory read/write test passed. Looking for alternate display

34h Video display checking is over. Setting the display mode next.

37h The display mode is set. Displaying the power on message next.

38h Initializing the bus input, IPL, general devices next, if present. See the last page of

39h Displaying bus initialization error messages. See the last page of this chapter for

switch is on.

chrome mode and color mode settings next.

last page for additional information.

found, performing the display memory read/write test next.

about to begin.

nate display memory read/write test next.

retrace checking next.

this chapter for additional information.

additional information.

3Ah The new cursor position has been read and saved. Displaying the Hit <DEL> mes-

3Bh The Hit <DEL> message is displayed. The protected mode memory test is about

40h Preparing the descriptor tables next.

42h The descriptor tables are prepared. Entering protected mode for the memory test

43h Entered protected mode. Enabling interrupts for diagnostics mode next.

44h Interrupts enabled if the diagnostics switch is on. Initializing data to check memory

45h Data initialized. Checking for memory wraparound at 0:0 and fi nding the total sys-

46h The memory wraparound test is done. Memory size calculation has been done.

47h The memory pattern has been written to extended memory. Writing patterns to the

48h Patterns written in base memory. Determining the amount of memory below 1 MB

49h The amount of memory below 1 MB has been found and verifi ed.

4Bh The amount of memory above 1 MB has been found and verifi ed. Checking for a

sage next.

to start.

next.

wraparound at 0:0 next.

tem memory size next.

Writing patterns to test memory next.

base 640 KB memory next.

next.

soft reset and clearing the memory below 1 MB for the soft reset next. If this is a
power on situation, going to checkpoint 4Eh next.

B-4

Checkpoint Code Description

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

4Ch The memory below 1 MB has been cleared via a soft reset. Clearing the memory

4Dh The memory above 1 MB has been cleared via a soft reset. Saving the memory size

4Eh The memory test started, but not as the result of a soft reset. Displaying the fi rst

4Fh The memory size display has started. The display is updated during the memory

50h The memory below 1 MB has been tested and initialized. Adjusting the displayed

51h The memory size display was adjusted for relocation and shadowing.

52h The memory above 1 MB has been tested and initialized. Saving the memory size

53h The memory size information and the CPU registers are saved. Entering real mode

54h Shutdown was successful. The CPU is in real mode. Disabling the Gate A20 line,

57h The A20 address line, parity, and the NMI are disabled. Adjusting the memory size

58h The memory size was adjusted for relocation and shadowing. Clearing the Hit

59h The Hit <DEL> message is cleared. The <WAIT...> message is displayed. Starting

above 1 MB next.

next. Going to checkpoint 52h next.

64 KB memory size next.

test. Performing the sequential and random memory test next.

memory size for relocation and shadowing next.

information next.

next.

parity, and the NMI next.

depending on relocation and shadowing next.

<DEL> message next.

the DMA and interrupt controller test next.

60h The DMA page register test passed. Performing the DMA Controller 1 base register

62h The DMA controller 1 base register test passed. Performing the DMA controller 2

65h The DMA controller 2 base register test passed. Programming DMA controllers 1

66h Completed programming DMA controllers 1 and 2. Initializing the 8259 interrupt

67h Completed 8259 interrupt controller initialization.

7Fh Extended NMI source enabling is in progress.

80h The keyboard test has started. Clearing the output buffer and checking for stuck

81h A keyboard reset error or stuck key was found. Issuing the keyboard controller

82h The keyboard controller interface test completed. Writing the command byte and

83h The command byte was written and global data initialization has completed. Check-

84h Locked key checking is over. Checking for a memory size mismatch with CMOS

85h The memory size check is done. Displaying a soft error and checking for a password

test next.

base register test next.

and 2 next.

controller next.

keys. Issuing the keyboard reset command next.

interface test command next.

initializing the circular buffer next.

ing for a locked key next.

RAM data next.

or bypassing WINBIOS Setup next.

B-5

H8DCE User's Manual

Checkpoint Code Description

86h The password was checked. Performing any required programming before WIN-

87h The programming before WINBIOS Setup has completed. Uncompressing the

88h Returned from WINBIOS Setup and cleared the screen. Performing any necessary

89h The programming after WINBIOS Setup has completed. Displaying the power on

8Ch Programming the WINBIOS Setup options next.

8Dh The WINBIOS Setup options are programmed. Resetting the hard disk controller

8Fh The hard disk controller has been reset. Confi guring the fl oppy drive controller

91h The fl oppy drive controller has been confi gured. Confi guring the hard disk drive

95h Initializing the bus option ROMs from C800 next. See the last page of this chapter

96h Initializing before passing control to the adaptor ROM at C800.

97h Initialization before the C800 adaptor ROM gains control has completed. The adap-

98h The adaptor ROM had control and has now returned control to BIOS POST. Perform-

BIOS Setup next.

WINBIOS Setup code and executing the AMIBIOS Setup or WINBIOS Setup utility
next.

programming after WINBIOS Setup next.

screen message next.

next.

next.

controller next.

for additional information.

tor ROM check is next.

ing any required processing after the option ROM returned control.

99h Any initialization required after the option ROM test has completed. Confi guring the

9Ah Set the timer and printer base addresses. Setting the RS-232 base address next.

9Bh Returned after setting the RS-232 base address. Performing any required initializa-

9Ch Required initialization before the Coprocessor test is over. Initializing the Coproces-

9Dh Coprocessor initialized. Performing any required initialization after the Coproces-

9Eh Initialization after the Coprocessor test is complete. Checking the extended keyboard,

A2h Displaying any soft errors next.

A3h The soft error display has completed. Setting the keyboard typematic rate next.

A4h The keyboard typematic rate is set. Programming the memory wait states next.

A5h Memory wait state programming is over. Clearing the screen and enabling parity

A7h NMI and parity enabled. Performing any initialization required before passing control

A8h Initialization before passing control to the adaptor ROM at E000h completed. Passing

timer data area and printer base address next.

tion before the Coprocessor test next.

sor next.

sor test next.

keyboard ID, and Num Lock key next. Issuing the keyboard ID command next.

and the NMI next.

to the adaptor ROM at E000 next.

control to the adaptor ROM at E000h next.

B-6

Checkpoint Code Description

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

A9h Returned from adaptor ROM at E000h control. Performing any initialization required

Aah Initialization after E000 option ROM control has completed. Displaying the system

Abh Uncompressing the DMI data and executing DMI POST initialization next.

B0h The system confi guration is displayed.

B1h Copying any code to specifi c areas.

00h Code copying to specifi c areas is done. Passing control to INT 19h boot loader

after the E000 option ROM had control next.

confi guration next.

next.

B-7

H8DCE User's Manual

Notes

B-8