TYAN Thunder 100 S1836, S1836, Thunder 100 User Manual

Tyan S1836

Thunder 100

Motherboard User’s Manual

Revision 2.20

Copyright © Tyan Computer Corporation, 1998. All rights reserved. No part of this
manual may be reproduced or translated without prior written consent from Tyan
Computer Corp.

All registered and unregistered trademarks and company names contained in this
manual are propery of their respective companies including, but not limited to the
following.
AMIBIOS is a trademark of American Megatrend Incorporated.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
IBM, PC, AT, PS/2 are trademarks of IBM Corporation.
INTEL, Pentium II, Celeron are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
S1836 Thunder 100 is a trademark of TYAN Computer Corporation.

Information contained in this publication has been carefully checked for accuracy and
reliability . In no event will Tyan Computer be held liable for any direct or indirect,
incidental or consequential damage, loss of use, loss of data, or other malady resulting
from errors or inaccuracies of information contained in this manual. The information
contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

PRINTED IN USA

Table of Contents

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

Overview........................................................................ 4

Icons.............................................................................. 5

Hardware Specifications/Features................................... 6

Software Specifications...................................................8

Technical Support........................................................... 8

Returning Merchandise for Service................................ 9

Trademarks..................................................................9

2. Board Installation..............................................................11

Unpacking....................................................................11

Installation....................................................................11

Setting Jumpers.............................................................26

3. Onboard Resource Settings.............................................. 2 7

Quick Reference for Jumpers........................................27

Map of Motherboard Jumpers....................................... 28

Hardware CMOS & Password Reset............................ 30

Soft Power Connector.................................................. 33

Speaker Connector Installation...................................... 33

Hardware Reset Switch Connector Installation............... 33

Wavetable Upgrade...................................................... 33

External SMI............................................................... 34

Chassis Intrusion Alarm Connector................................ 34

Audio Connectors......................................................... 34

CMOS RTC................................................................. 35

Flash EEPROM........................................................... 35

RAM Installation.......................................................... 35

Cache Memory.............................................................37

Intel Ethernet Setup and Use......................................... 37

Creative Labs Sound Drivers Installation Note................ 54

Frequently Asked Questions.......................................... 55

4. BIOS Configuration........................................................... 57

Standard Setup............................................................. 59

Advanced Setup........................................................... 64

Chipset Setup............................................................... 69

Power Management Setup............................................ 76

PnP/PCI Setup............................................................. 80

Peripheral Setup........................................................... 83

Supervisor and User Security......................................... 86

Anti-Virus Security....................................................... 88

Detect IDE Utility......................................................... 88

Language Utility........................................................... 89

Flash Writer Utility........................................................ 89

5. System Resources............................................................. 9 1

Beep Codes................................................................. 91

Troubleshooting System Problems.................................. 92

Displayed Error Messages............................................ 93

Glossary....................................................................... 95

http://www.tyan.com

4

Chapter 1

Introduction

Overview

The Thunder 100 family is a quality , high performance motherboard
designed for Intel Pentium II microprocessors. This motherboard
utilizes the Intel 440BX (S1836DLU) and 440GX (S1836DLUAN-GX)
AGPsets and can support CPU speeds of 233MHz through 450MHz,
and host bus speeds of 66MHz to 100MHz.

The motherboard, with built-in AGP slot, provides high performance
capabilities that are ideal for a wide range of demanding applications
such as CAD, CAM, CAE, desktop publishing, 3D animation, and video
production.

This integrated system board achieves high reliability with numerous
features and yet is small enough to be supported in an Extended ATX
form factor. Some of the features included are onboard dual channel
PCI PIO, Bus Master IDE and UltraDMA/33, onboard floppy control­ler, onboard dual channel SCSI, RAIDport II, onboard Creative Vibra
16XV sound, onboard Intel Ethernet, and onboard high speed I/O
(Ethernet and Sound controllers on DLUAN-GX only).

chapter 1

Introduction

S1836 Thunder 100

5

INTRO

With I/O and drive controller support built onboard, the one AGP slot,
six PCI and one ISA slots (one shared, seven usable) are free for
numerous add-on expansion cards.

Remember to take a look at TYAN Computer’s web site located at
http://www .tyan.com. There you can find information on all of TYAN’s
products along with F AQs, distributors list, drivers, and BIOS setting
explanations.

Icons

In order to help you navigate this manual and set up your system, we
have added several icons to our format.

This icon alerts you to particularly important details regard­ing the setup or maintenance of your system. This icon
often appears next to information that may keep you from

damaging your board or system. While we will often point
out the most vital paragraphs in a chapter, you should always read
every word in the text. Failing to do so can lead to exasperation and
expense.

Wherever possible, we have included step-by-step instruc­tions for setting up your system, which are indicated by

this icon. However, it is in your best interest to read an
entire section (and perhaps the entire manual) before you begin to
fiddle with your motherboard.

While we have alerted you to potential dangers in several
places in the manual with this icon, these warnings should

not be regarded as the whole of your safety regimen.
Never forget that computers are electrical devices, and are capable of
delivering a shock. Prevent damage to yourself and to your board:
always ensure that your system is turned off and unplugged whenever
you are working with it, and that you are equipped with a static safety
device.

!

important!

procedure

1.

2.

3.

warning

http://www.tyan.com

6

Chapter 1

Introduction

Hardware Specifications/Features

Processor Information · Two SEC slots (Slot One type)

· 66MHz to 100MHz bus support

· Pentium II 233-450MHz

· Supports Celeron CPUs in single

mode

Chipset Information · Intel 440GX AGPset (S1836DLUAN-GX)

· Intel 440BX AGPset (S1836DLU)

· Intel PIIX4e controller

· SMC 932FR Super I/O chipset

· DEC 21152-AB PCI Bridge

Voltage and Power · ATX power supply connector
Information · +12V power source for DC fan onboard

· 3.3V DRAM support

· Utilizes GTL+ bus to reduce power

consumption and EMI

Main Memory · Up to 2048MB* onboard

(1024MB on S1836DLU)

· Four 168-pin DIMM sockets

· Supports 100MHz SDRAM with

SPD, and SDRAM+ECC

· Supports 66MHz SDRAM with SPD
with 66MHz CPU clock only

System Management

··

··

· National LM79 and LM75 ASICs with

onboard alarm for monitoring temperature,
supply voltages, and fan speed

··

··

· Intel LANDesk Client Manager

software

··

··

· Chassis intrusion detection capable

* Only 1024MB validated at time of print. See TYAN website for latest memory

compatibility list.

S1836 Thunder 100

7

INTRO

Expansion Slots · One 32-bit AGP slot

· Six 32-bit PCI Bus Master slots

· One 16-bit ISA slot

· One shared, seven usable

Physical Dimensions · Extended A TX design

· 13 inches x 12 inches

· IO shield compatible with Intel

Providence (included)

BIOS Information · AMI Plug and Play flash BIOS

· Deep Green, Energy Star, ACPI, Year 2000,
and PC98 compliant (the Adaptec AIC-7895
SCSI chip is NOT PC98 compliant)

· Y ellow LED for sleep mode

Disk Drive & System I/O · Two PCI bus mastering EIDE

channels

· Supports EIDE CD-ROMs

· PIO Mode 3 & 4 (up to 17MB/sec DTR)

· UltraDMA/33 bus mastering mode

(up to 33MB/sec DTR)

· Support for two floppy drives (Mode
3 and 2.88MB supported)

· Two serial ports (16550 UAR T s)

· One ECP/EPP parallel port

· One IR (InfraRed) I/O interface port

· Two USB rev 1.2 ports

· One PS/2 mouse port

· One PS/2 keyboard port

· Wake-on LAN header (requires ATX

2.01 power supply)

Onboard UltraWide SCSI · Adaptec AIC-7895 dual channel UltraWide

SCSI

· Two 68-pin high density UltraW ide SCSI
ports

· One 50-pin SCSI-2 port

· Adaptec Ultra SCSI BIOS

http://www.tyan.com

8

Chapter 1

Introduction

· RAID 0 and 1 support using optional
Adaptec ARO-1130CA PCI card

(RAIDport II)

Creative Labs Sound · Vibra 16XV Midi audio chip
(S1836DLUAN-GX only) · ATX Joystick, Audio in, Speaker,

Microphone connectors

Onboard Ethernet · Intel 82558 10/100 Ethernet
(S1836DLUAN-GX only) onboard

· Full Wake-on functionality (see
power supply requirements above)

· One RJ-45 A TX connector

W arranty · 3 year manufacturer’ s warranty

Software Specifications

OS ·Operates with MS-DOS, Windows

3.x, Windows for WorkGroup 3.x,
Windows 95, W indows 98, W indows
NT, OS/2, Novell Netware, Solaris,
and SCO Unix

T echnical Support

If a problem arises with your system, you should turn to your dealer for
help first. Your system has most likely been configured by them, and
they should have the best idea of what hardware and software your
system contains. Hence, they should be of the most assistance. Further,
if you purchased your system from a dealer near to you, you can
actually bring your system in to them to have it serviced, instead of
attempting to do so yourself (which can have expensive conse-

S1836 Thunder 100

9

quences).

If your dealer is unable to assist you,
try our web page, http:// www .tyan.com
user newsgroup, alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.tyan
technical support phone line, [phone]
or e-mail address [email protected]

Returning Merchandise for Service

During the warranty period, contact your distributor or system vendor
FIRST for any product problems. This warranty only covers normal
customer use and does not cover damages incurred during shipping or
failure due to the alteration, misuse, abuse, or improper maintenance of
products.

For Resellers Only:

A receipt or copy of your invoice marked with the date of purchase is
required before any warranty service can be rendered. You can obtain
service by calling the manufacturer for a Return Merchandise Authori­zation (RMA) number . The RMA number should be prominently
displayed on the outside of the shipping carton and the package should
be mailed prepaid, or hand-carried to the manufacturer . TYAN will pay
to have the board shipped back to you.

INTRO

http://www.tyan.com

10

This page intentionally left blank.

S1836 Thunder 100

11

Chapter 2

Board Installation

chapter 2

Board Installation

Unpacking

The motherboard package should contain the following:

· S1836DLU or S1836DLUAN-GX motherboard

· One 40-pin IDE and 34-pin floppy cable pack

· One 9-pin Com port cable

· User’s manual

· One Ultra Wide SCSI cable

· One regular SCSI cable

· T wo retention modules

· One ATX I/O Shield

· One System Management & Driver CD; includes complete drivers

for LAN and audio controllers and manual and installation instruc­tions for Creative V ibra 16XV.

Installation

You are now ready to install your motherboard. The mounting hole
pattern of the Thunder 100 matches the ATX system board specifica

http://www.tyan.com

12

tions. Your chassis should be that of a standard ATX motherboard form factor.

How to install our products right...the first time.

What’s the first thing I should do?

The first thing you should do is read this user’s manual. It contains
important information which will make configuration and setup much
easier .

The next step is to properly ground yourself. First, unplug the power
from your computer case and then touch the metal casing of the power
supply or any metal part on the computer case. This will discharge any
electricity from your body. Take the motherboard out of the cardboard

box and static bag, holding it by its edges, and place it on a grounded

anti-static surface, component side up. Inspect the board for damage.

DO NOT APPLY POWER TO THE BOARD IF IT HAS BEEN

DAMAGED!

Press down on any of the socket ICs if it appears that they are not
properly seated (the board should still be on an anti-static mat). Do not
touch the bottom of the board. Remember, don’t take any electronic
device out of its protective bag until you are ready to install it into the
computer case. If you don’t ground yourself, you risk zapping the
motherboard or adapter card. Subsequent problems may not arise
immediately because electrostatic discharge damage, unlike physical
damage, causes the device to fail over time.

Install the motherboard into your case.

Follow the instructions provided by the case manufacturer for proper
installation guidelines. TYAN recommends that you use only one screw
to hold down the motherboard. The rest of the mounting holes should be
used for the plastic standoffs. If your case does not have a hole for a
standoff, simply cut off the bottom of the plastic standof f so that the flat
portion rests on the metal. The adapter cards and the screws holding
them down will keep your board flat. The fastening screw should not
short any of the traces on the motherboard. Make certain that you do

procedure

1.

2.

3.

!

important!

S1836 Thunder 100

13

Chapter 2

Board Installation

not overtighten the screw, as it will damage the motherboard and
possibly break internal traces in the surrounding area. The hole you
should use is located at the top-center of the board where the adapter
cards are fastened to the case.

Plug in the power connector as shown.

The photos below show the ATX power connector before (Figure 1) and
after (Figure 2) it has been plugged in.

The plastic clip on the power connector should lock over the plastic tab
on the onboard connector . You shouldn’t be able to plug the power
connector in any other way but just to be safe, make sure it looks like
Figure 2 above. Make absolutely certain that you do not miss any pins
because, if you do, you will void your warranty and cause damage to
yourself or your motherboard when you turn the system on. After
connecting the power, make sure the connector is seated firmly into its
socket so it will not become loose or fall off when the computer is
jostled or moved. Note: T yan recommends using an ATX power supply
that conforms to industry standard revision 2.01.

Figure 1

Figure 2

warning

INSTALL

http://www.tyan.com

14

Next, connect your IDE cables (if you’re using IDE hard drives).

On all TYAN motherboards, the colored stripe on the cable always
faces towards the rear of the case (towards the ATX connectors).

In Figure 3 you can see
how the IDE cables
should look when they
are connected to your
hard drive. Notice how
Pin 1 (denoted by a red
stripe) is connected so
that it is next to the
power connector of the
drive. In most cases,
this is the proper way of
connecting your IDE
cable to the hard drive.
Figure 4 shows the IDE
cable properly con­nected to the mother-

Figure 3

Figure 4

Pin 1

S1836 Thunder 100

15

board.
Contact your hard disk drive manufacturer or documentation for more
information.

Some symptoms of incorrectly installed HDDs are:

• Hard disk drives are not auto-detected: may be a Master/Slave

problem or a bad IDE cable. Contact your vendor.

• Hard Disk Drive Fail message at bootup: may be a bad cable or

lack of power going to the drive.

• No video or beeps on bootup: usually means the cable is on

backwards.

• Hard drive lights are constantly on: bad IDE cable or defective

drives/motherboard. Try another HDD.

• Hard drives do not power up: check power cables and cabling.

May also be a bad power supply or IDE drive.

Now that you have installed your IDE drives, your floppies are next.

Pin 1 on the floppy cable is usually denoted by a red or colored stripe
down one side of the cable (see Figure 5). Most of the current floppy
drives on the market require that the colored stripe be positioned so that
it is right next to the power connector . In most cases, there will be a key
pin on the cable which will force you to connect the cable properly .

Chapter 2

Board Installation

Figure 5

INSTALL

http://www.tyan.com

16

Drive A: is usually attached to the end of the cable with the twist in it.
Drive B: is usually connected to the middle of the cable. Refer to your
installation instructions or call your dealer if you are unsure about
attaching floppy drives. Refer to Figure 5 on the previous page for a
detailed anatomy of the floppy cable. Remember, you can only have 2
floppy drives connected at any given time.

On all TYAN motherboards, the colored stripe on the cable always
faces towards the rear of the case (towards the ATX connectors), as
with the IDE cables. Please refer to your documentation for proper
installation, or see Figure 4 on page 13.

Some symptoms of incorrectly installed floppies are:

• Floppy drives are not detected: usually caused by faulty cables,

backward cables, or a bad floppy or motherboard. Try another
single floppy drive to verify the problem or try another cable. Also,
check to see if the onboard floppy is enabled in the BIOS.

• Floppy Drive Fail message at bootup: the cable, floppy , or

motherboard may be faulty . Try another cable or floppy drive to
verify .

• Light on the floppy is on constantly: a dead give-away that the

cable is on backwards. Reverse the cable at the motherboard end
and try again.

Next are the Com and Printer ports.

W arning: When plugging in your keyboard and mouse, or when

plugging anything into a serial or Com port, make sure that the power is
off. Connecting these devices and ports while the power is on is called

“hot plugging,” and may damage your system.

Figure 6 at the top of the next page shows the ATX double row con­nectors on this board. The Com and Printer ports, as well as the other
ports, are labeled.

!

important!

S1836 Thunder 100

17

Chapter 2

Board Installation

PS/2 Mouse LPT USB

PS/2 KB Com 1 LAN* Sound*

(* S1836DLUAN-GX only)

Note: Only TYAN cables will work on this motherboard. If you are
using an existing case with old cables, your system will not function
properly . Use only TYAN-approved cables.

Connecting the USB and PS/2 ports.

This board includes ports for USB, PS/2 mouse, and PS/2 keyboard
devices. The location of these ports is shown in Figure 6 above. Note
that, for this board, the PS/2 mouse port is the upper PS/2 port, and the
PS/2 keyboard port is the lower PS/2 port.

The PS/2 connectors are probably quite familiar to you. The USB
connectors, however, may be foreign. The USB (Universal Serial Bus)
is a versatile port. This one port type can function as a serial, parallel,
mouse, keyboard, or joystick port. It is fast enough to support video
transfer, and is capable of supporting up to 127 daisy-chained periph­eral devices. Close-ups of the USB connector, as well as of the USB
and PS/2 ports, are on the following page.

Figure 6

INSTALL

http://www.tyan.com

18

Figure 7 shows the USB ports and Figure 8 the PS/2 ports.

Installing your add-in cards is relatively simple but...

there are a few rules you need to follow when plugging in a card. In
order to assure proper operation and a quick installation, adhere to these
guidelines:

• If you are going to install a PCI-Bus interface card on your system,

be aware that any one of the two PCI slots can support a Master
or Slave device.

• NEVER force a card into a slot. If it doesn’t fit, look at the socket

on the computer to make sure there are no wires or other
obstructions to the slot.

• NEVER plug an ISA card into a PCI slot or a PCI card in an ISA

slot. You will void your warranty and damage your system board if
you do this.

• When plugging the card in, especially when installing long cards,

try to push the entire card in at one time. Don’t force one end of
the card into the socket first and then the other . This will create a

Figure 7 Figure 8

!

important!

S1836 Thunder 100

19

Chapter 2

Board Installation

rocking motion between the card and the slot and it will damage the
pins within the socket.

• Make sure that the cards are seated securely into the slots.

• Before turning on the system, make sure no cards are touching

each other or are shorting.

If you follow these basic guidelines, there shouldn’t be any problems
with installation. However, if you do encounter any problems, have a
qualified professional install your cards for you or contact your card
manufacturer .

Remember, always read the manuals and installation notes that come
with the adapter cards. They contain important information which will
help you install the components right, the first time.

Next, you need to install your memory .

Since TYAN boards are manufactured with performance in mind, you
should use add-in components that match. Some DIMM modules may
seem to be high quality because of name or feel but that does not
guarantee real-world usability . Some cheaper or OEM memory may
have brand-name components, but they may contain inferior or substan­dard parts which do not meet the critical tolerances our products
require. Because of this, your memory may not work correctly in a
TYAN board though it may work well in a competitor’s board. This is
because many of our competitors do not adhere to the strict tolerances
required for high performance. If you buy a TYAN board, you are
getting the best system available. T o make installation easy and trouble
free, get high quality parts. Some brands we recommend are Advan­tage Memory , Corsair Microsystems, Millenium, Kingston Memory ,
QesTec Incorporated, Unigen, Micron Technology, and Crucial T ech­nology. These DIMMs have proven to be very stable on our boards and
perform extremely well.

INSTALL

http://www.tyan.com

20

Figure 9

To install your DIMMs, line your module up so that the pins fit into the
slot. There is only one way that your DIMM can fit properly . Make sure
that the short row of pins is lined up with the short gap in the DIMM
slot. Figure 9 shows how to sit the DIMM into its slot. To insert the
DIMM, push down vertically on the module with even force, as shown
in the photo. Do not shove one end in first; doing so will bend the
DIMM pins.

To lock the DIMM into place, push the plastic clips on either end of the
slot onto the notches in the ends of the DIMM (see Figure 10 on the
following page). T o remove your DIMM, simply pull the clips back, and
pull up on the module.

!

important!

S1836 Thunder 100

21

Chapter 2

Board Installation

Figure 10

Place the DIMMs in an anti-static bag as soon as you remove them to
avoid static damage.

Finally , install your CPU.

Pentium II processors (233 through 450MHz) can be used on the Thun­der 100. Please refer to pages 29-30 for the correct CPU jumper settings
for your board. Remember:

· The CPU is a sensitive electronic component and it can easily be
damaged by static electricity. Do not touch the CPU pins with your
fingers.

· Before the CPU is installed, the motherboard must be placed on a

flat surface. You should be able to insert the CPU with minimal, but
firm, pressure. Do not press down hard on the CPU.

Currently , Intel produces two types of Pentium II processors: the active
(or boxed) processor and the passive processor (see Figures 11 and 12
on the next page). These two types of processors are essentially the
same in design; the only difference lies in their cooling methods. The
active processor is equipped with a cooling fan and heat sink, while the

INSTALL

!

important!

http://www.tyan.com

22

passive processor is equipped with a heat sink alone. Both types of
CPUs provide the user with the same performance, and both types can
be installed in the Pentium II slot on the Thunder 100 board.

Figure 11 Figure 12

Installing CPU Retention Modules

Installation of a Pentium II processor requires a CPU retention module,
which is first secured onto the motherboard.

T o attach the retention
module, place the
motherboard on a flat
surface. Locate the key pin
on one end of the Pentium II
slot on the board. Then
carefully line up the key
notch on the retention
module with the key pin on
the Pentium II slot (the key
pin on the Pentium II slot
indicates the correct
orientation of the CPU).

Drop the retention module (Figure 14 on the following page) down over
the Pentium II slot so that the retention module sits flat against the
motherboard. Tighten the screws in a clockwise manner to secure the
module to the board. W arning: Do not overtighten the screws as you
may damage the module and/or the motherboard.

Pentium II Slot Connector
and Key Pin

Figure 13

S1836 Thunder 100

23

Installing the Active Processor

When the retention module is securely in­stalled, you are ready to plug in the CPU.
Press down firmly on the CPU until you hear
a “click” (see Figure 15). This clicking sound
indicates that the CPU is fully locked into the
retention module. If you have an active pro­cessor, you will also need to connect the
CPU’ s cooling fan cable to the cooling fan power connector on the board.

Locate the cooling fan connector (e.g. FAN1) on the
motherboard. Plug the CPU’s cooling fan cable into
the cooling fan connector on the board. There will be a
plastic clip assembly similar to that of the A TX power
connector that will force you to connect the fan cable
correctly (see Figure 16 below).

Figure 16

Figure 14

Figure 15

Chapter 2

Board Installation

INSTALL

http://www.tyan.com

24

Installing the Passive Processor

The installation of the passive processor differs only slightly from that
of the active processor . Your passive CPU package should contain one
CPU retention module, one heat sink retention bracket with mounting
locks, two mounting attachments, and one heat sink lock.Install the
retention module as explained in the active processor section.

The heat sink mount (Figure

17) has two pins on the
bottom and four pins on the
top. Notice that the bottom
two pins are of different sizes.

The size of the pins and the
holes in the motherboard will determine the correct orientation. When
the bracket is correctly installed, the four pins on top will be right next
to the Pentium II CPU slot.

Insert the heat sink mount into the holes on the motherboard. When the
bracket is properly inserted into the holes on the motherboard, you will
hear a clicking noise.

Align the CPU with the CPU retention module. Make sure the heat sink
is lined up with the heat sink mount bracket. If you put the CPU in the
wrong way , you may damage the CPU, the motherboard, and/or the
CPU socket. Slowly press down on the CPU module until the CPU
locks into place. You will hear a clicking noise when the CPU is locked
securely into the module.

The heat sink lock (Figure 18) has
four notches which will correspond
to the four pins on the heat sink
mounting bracket. Gently slide the
lock between the heat sink and the
heat sink mounting bracket until both sides of the lock are firmly
secured. A clicking sound will be heard when the lock is securely
fastened to the heat sink mounting bracket. T o remove the lock from the

Figure 17

Figure 18

S1836 Thunder 100

25

heat sink mounting bracket, gently press the
ends of the locks inward and pull.

Lock the heat sink mount to the board by
inserting the two mounting locks (Figure 19)
into the pins of the heat sink mounting bracket
which are now below the mainboard. There will
be a click when the locks are securely fastened.

Removing the CPU.

T o remove the CPU, move the locks to the center of the CPU. A click
will be heard when the CPU has been unlocked. Gently pull up on the
CPU, taking care not to bend the motherboard or the CPU retention
module.

T o remove the lock from the retention module, gently press the ends of
the locks inward and pull.

You are done.

Other than checking the jumper settings and cable connections and
putting the case back on, you are done. Installing a new motherboard
may sound difficult, but by following these directions, you should have
a fairly uneventful time installing our products. If you do encounter
problems, your dealer will be able to help you, or you can consult one
of our many technical support resources (see page 8).

Figure 19

Chapter 2

Board Installation

INSTALL

http://www.tyan.com

26

Setting Jumpers

In this manual, the terms “closed” and “on” are used when referring to
jumpers (or jumper pins) that are active; “open” and “off” are used
when referring to jumpers (or jumper pins) that are inactive. Jumpers
and pins are connected by slipping the blue or black plastic jumper
connector overtop of two adjacent jumper pins. The metal rod inside
the plastic shell bridges the gap between the two pins, completing the
circuit. See the drawings below for examples of “on” and “off” pins
and jumpers.

2 pin jumpers

off on

3 (or more) pin jumpers

1-2 2-3 open

1

2

3

1
2
3

1
2
3

S1836 Thunder 100

27

Quick References for Jumpers

The tables on the following pages will help you set the jumpers for CPU
speed, SCSI settings, and external connector pin assignments, among oth­ers. The miniature motherboard maps will help you locate the jumpers on
your board. A full-page map of the motherboard can be found on the next
page.

chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

http://www.tyan.com

28

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

The tiny “1”s next to jumpers of 3 pins or more indicate the position of pin 1 for
that jumper .

** The following components are NOT included in the S1836DLU:

1) Ports - Ethernet / Joystick / Sound

2) Chips - Intel 82558 Ethernet Chip / Creative V ibra 16XV

3) Jumpers - JP16 - 20 and JP31 - 33

Map of Motherboard Jumpers

AGP port

PCI slot 1

PCI slot 2

PCI slot 3

PCI slot 4

PCI slot 5

3 volt
lithium
battery

ISA slot 1

AMIBIOS

Intel

82371EB

chip

PCI slot 6

Primary IDE connector

Secondary IDE connector

Floppy connector

Wide SCSI Channel B

Wide SCSI Channel A

Narrow SCSI Channel A

Adaptec

AIC-7895P

SCSI chip

SMC 932FR

Super I/O

chip

CPU slot 1 (Slot One type)

CPU slot 2 (Slot One type)

DIMM bank 4

Intel

82443BX

or GX chip

DIMM bank 3

DIMM bank 2

DIMM bank 1

RAID port

USB1

Keyboard

USB2

Mouse

COM1

Printer Port

Joystick

Speaker out Line in Mic in

ATX power supply

LM79

JP3

JP25

JP29

J10

JP30

JP17

JP16

JP31

JP22

JP32

JP33

JP19

JP20

JP18

FAN2

FAN1

FAN3

JP26

COM2

J8

JP12

JP11

JP10

JP9

LM75

1

LM75

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

11

1

1

Ethernet

port

Intel

82558

Ethernet

chip

digital

21152-AB

chip

Creative

Vibra
16XV

JP46

FAN4
Chassis Fan

1

**

JP45

JP44

S1836 Thunder 100

29

Intel 443BX/GX

4 DIMM slots

2 SEC slots

LM79

2 Wide SCSI channels

1 Narrow SCSI channel

Adaptec AIC-7895

AMIBIOS

1 ISA slot

6 PCI slots

Intel PIIX4e

SMC 932FR

Intel 82558 Ethernet

LM75

AGP port

RAID port

Creative Labs Vibra 16XV

IDE and Floppy
connectors

Double row ATX connectors

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

30

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

CPU Settings for 66MHz Bus

CPU Settings for 100MHz Bus

*Due to CPU unavailability , this speed has not been tested.

Note on 66/100 MHz bus speeds: You must have a 100MHz processor to run at
a bus speed of 100MHz. If you have a 100MHz processor, do not try and run it
at 66MHz. The bus speed is BIOS selectable. Y our processor will automati-

cally run at the correct bus speed because the BIOS default is Auto.

CMOS Settings

Hardware CMOS & Password Reset

If you have been locked out of your system because you forgot your
password or set the CMOS incorrectly , follow the instructions below.

1. Power off the system

2. Set jumper JP3 to pins 2 and 3 (see previous page for
location of JP3).

deepSkcolCtluM9PJ01PJ11PJ21PJ

zHM053

5.3xNOFFOFFONO

zHM004

4xFFONONONO

zHM054

5.4xFFONOFFONO

zHM005*

5xFFOFFONONO

deepSkcolCtluM9PJ01PJ11PJ21PJ

zHM332

5.3xNOFFOFFONO

zHM662

4xFFONONONO

zHM003

5.4xFFONOFFONO

zHM333

5xFFOFFONONO

tluafeDSOMCteseR

3PJ

2-13-2

S1836 Thunder 100

31

3. Wait for 2 seconds, then return jumper JP3 to pins 1 and 2.

4. Power on the system again.

By following this procedure, you will erase your password and reset the

SCSI IRQ Settings CMOS to the BIOS defaults.

Line Out Sound Settings

J10 External Connector Pin Assignments

ONBOARD

pmaerPhtiw

)tluafed(

pmaerPtuohtiw

23PJ

2-13-2

33PJ

2-13-2

J10

JP32, JP33

sniP2-14-301-661-3102-8132-2272-42

noitcnuF

rewoP

ffO/nO

peelS

RI

rotcennoC

DELDDHDELrewoP

teseR
hctiwS

rekaepS

tnemngissA

rewoP=1

ffO/nO

DNG=2

DNG=3

peelS=4

CCV=6

XRRI=8

DNG=9

XTRI=01

edoM=11

-=51

+=61

DNG=81

+=02

DNG=22

teseR=32

CCV=42

lanretnI=62

rekaepS

-=72

CCV12 DELrewoP

DELDDH34 DELpeelS

dnuorG56 ffO/nOrewoP

teseR78 dnuorG

CCV901hctiwSIMS

evieceRRI1121CCV

dnuorG3141tcennoCoN

timsnarTRI5161CCV

tcennoCoN7181tcennoCoN

#IMSREVRES12KLCBMSMN

DNG34 DNG

niFFO/NO56 ATADBMSNM

KOPL78 KLNUYEK

TUOIMN901V3BSMN

#TESR_PF1121DNG

DNG3141tcennoCoN

ERUCES5161DNG

TNISIHC7181tcennoCoN

tcennoCoN9102DNG

JP45 Pinout JP44 Pinout

2x9 External Connector Proprietary Server Mgmt Connector

JP44
JP45

http://www.tyan.com

32

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

Enabling and Disabling Features

* Ethernet and Sound NOT on 1836DLU (default settings disabled).

Other Pin Assignments

repmuJdelbanE)tluafed(delbasiD

*tenrehtE

13PJFFONO

*dnuoS

61PJFFONO

ISCS

92PJFFONO

egdirBICP-ICP

03PJFFONO

12 3

4-1NAF DNGCCVrotinoMnaF

)NALno-ekaW(22PJ V5ybdnatSDNG)hgiHevitcA,nOrewoP(ekaW

JP31

JP16

JP29

JP30

FAN3

FAN1

FAN1

FAN4

S1836 Thunder 100

33

Soft Power Connector

The Soft Power Connector is located on pins 1 and 2 of jumper block
J10. The Thunder 100 uses the PIIX4e chip for power management,
including turning on and off the system. If the Power Button Function
option in the Power Mangement Menu is set to On/Off (which is the
default), pressing the power button once, after the BIOS has booted up,
will turn the system on and off. If the Power Button Function option is
set to Suspend, pressing the power button once will wake the system or
send it in to Suspend mode. In this case, you cannot turn the system off
unless you shut down through the Windows operating system or you
hold the power button down for four seconds.

Speaker Connector Installation

The Thunder 100 provides a 4-pin header to connect the speaker. The
speaker is connected to pins 24-27 of jumper block J10.

Hardware Reset Switch Connector
Installation

The Reset switch on your case’ s display panel provides you with the
Hardware Reset function, which is the same as power on/off. The
system will do a cold start after the Reset button is pushed. The Reset
switch is a 2-pin connector and should be installed on pins 22 and 23 of
jumper block J10.

W avetable Upgrade

The Creative Labs Vibra 16XV chip can be upgraded to produce
wavetables using a peripheral card. This card will have a cable which
needs to be connected to JP17. Contact a Creative Labs distributor or
dealer for availability of their peripheral card.

ONBO ARD

http://www.tyan.com

34

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

External SMI

The EXTSMI (External System Management Interface) connector,
JP25, is used by some plug-in cards. Certain applications associated
with these plug-in cards use the interface for hardware control and
queries.

Chassis Intrusion Alarm Connector

The J8 connector is an intrusion alarm, that can be connected to the
system chassis. When active (J8 is connected to the chassis), this
alarm will alert the system administrator anytime someone opens the
system’s case.

Audio Connectors (S1836DLU only)

There are three 4-pin connectors onboard which are used for various
peripherals’ audio signals. The digital signal that comes in through these
connectors is directed through the Creative Labs Vibra 16XV sound
chip, and the digital signal is turned into an audio signal which goes out
through the speaker . JP18 is for modem input/output, JP19 is for
Panasonic CD audio, and JP20 is for Mitsumi CD audio.

Windows 95 Users:

You may encounter problems with some of the devices in the Intel
82371EB chipset. Neither the PCI Bridge

nor the PCI Universal Serial Bus device
IDs for this chipset (also called PIIX4e) are
recognized by Windows 95. This is a soft­ware problem, not a hardware problem, and
can be easily remedied by either upgrading
to Windows 98 or downloading the 82371EB
patch found at http://www .tyan.com/html/
drivers.html or at ftp://download.intel.com/
design/pcisets/busmastr/setupex.exe. Note
that USB requires Windows 95 OSR 2.1 or

battery

!

important!

J8

JP17

S1836 Thunder 100

35

above; please contact Microsoft for the USB update.

CMOS RTC

The 440BX and 440GX AGPsets include a Real Time Clock (RTC)
circuit, which provides the date and time for the system. If the external
battery for the R TC is low, it will prevent your system from POSTing,
and you will not get a display . Normally the life span of an external
battery is 2 years. If yours is running low , you will need to replace it
with a new 3V lithium battery (Sony CR2032).

Flash EEPROM

The Thunder 100 uses flash memory to store BIOS programs. It can be
updated as new versions of the BIOS become available. You can
upgrade your BIOS easily using the flash utility (see page 88).

RAM Installation

The Thunder 100 uses a 64-bit data path from memory to CPU and can
accommodate up to 1024MB of SDRAM. The 168-pin DIMMs must
be of the 3.3V, unbuffered variety . The position of the notch in the
DRAM key position will tell you whether or not a DIMM is unbuffered
(see the figure below). 100MHz SDRAM is recommended. 66MHz
SDRAM can also be used only with CPUs that use a 66MHz bus
speed. All installed memory will be automatically detected, so there is
no need to set any jumpers.

Some details of memory installation:

procedure

1.

2.

3.

ONBO ARD

RFU

Buffered

Unbuffered

168-pin DIMM

http://www.tyan.com

36

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

· One unbuffered DIMM must be installed for the system to POST.

· The mainboard supports 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, and

256MB SDRAM with SPD, 100MHz or 66MHz SDRAM, and
SDRAM+ECC DIMM modules.

· The S1836DLUAN-GX also supports 512MB SDRAM with SPD
modules, although these modules are not yet validated at time of
print.

The table below shows some of the possible memory configurations.

1knaBMMID2knaBMMID3knaBMMID4knaBMMIDlatoT

1xBM81xBM81xBM81xBM8BM23

1xBM611xBM611xBM8

0

BM04

1xBM611xBM611xBM611xBM61BM46
1xBM231xBM611xBM611xBM61BM08
1xBM231xBM231xBM611xBM61BM69
1xBM461xBM231xBM611xBM61BM821
1xBM461xBM461xBM231xBM23BM291
1xBM461xBM461xBM461xBM46BM652

1xBM8211xBM461xBM461xBM46BM023
1xBM8211xBM8211xBM461xBM46BM483
1xBM8211xBM8211xBM8211xBM821BM215
1xBM8211xBM8211xBM6521xBM821BM046

1xBM8211xBM6521xBM6521xBM821BM867
1xBM6521xBM6521xBM6521xBM652BM4201
1xBM2151xBM2151xBM2151xBM215BM8402

S1836 Thunder 100

37

Cache Memory

Penitum II processors have the L2 (Level 2) cache built into their
architecture, so there is no need for an L2 cache on the motherboard.
The Pentium II processor has a phsyical L2 cache size of 512KB and a
cacheable memory area of 512MB.

Intel Ethernet Setup and Use

The S1836DLUAN-GX has the Intel 82558 10/100 Ethernet chip
onboard, which makes setting up your Ethernet connection quite simple.
The following installation and configuration instructions are courtesy of
Intel, and the copyright on the information belongs to Intel Corporation.
For more information, data sheets, white papers, or demos, visit their
networking web site at http://www .intel.com/network.

You can use your modem or Internet connection to download drivers,
troubleshooting tips, and more. When downloading new drivers, make
sure the archive is for the PRO/100B adapter (not PRO/100). This
information can be found on Intel’ s website, as well as their FTP site
and BBS service.

Connect the Network Cable.

Connect a single network cable to the PRO/100B TX PCI adapter. The
cable will only fit one way . For 100BASE-TX, your network cable must
be category 5, twisted-pair wiring. If you plan on running the adapter at
100 Mbps, it must be connected to a 100BASE-TX hub (not a
100BASE-T4 hub). For 10BASE-T, use category 3, 4, or 5 twisted-pair
wiring.

100BASE-TX Wiring: Twisted Pair Ethernet (TPE). Use category 5
cable and RJ-45 connector for this adapter. Do not use category 3
wiring at 100 Mbps. At 100 Mbps, connect to a TX hub, not a T4 hub.
For full duplex, see instructions on page 13. Note: For more information
on 100BASE-TX wiring requirements and limitations, see “Fast

procedure

1.

2.

3.

ONBO ARD

http://www.tyan.com

38

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

Ethernet Wiring” in this guide and refer to the README files on the
installation disk.

To configure the adapter, continue with the procedures specific to your
operating system on the pages which
follow .

Enable the W ake-on LAN
Power Jumper (JP26)

In order for the Wake On LAN (WOL)
feature to work correctly, the adapter
must be connected to a continuous
power source. This allows the PRO/
100 adapter to “listen to” the network even when the computer is
turned off. The WOL power jumper (JP26) is enabled when the jumper
is connected or closed (ON). Warning: As always, turn off and unplug
power to the computer before setting the WOL jumper. The WOL
connector on your motherboard is live when the computer is plugged in
to a power outlet. Failure to do so could damage the adapter or com­puter . Also, be sure that your ATX power supply is 2.0 compliant or
better . This level of quality is required because the standby voltage for
WOL is 800 mAmps.

Using Wake-on LAN

The Wake-on LAN feature operates according to a published specifi­cation. In simple terms, the specification allows designers to build
network adapters that are capable of “listening to” network activity
even when the computer is turned off. WOL adapters have a special
low power standby mode that is active when the rest of the computer is
without power. The adapter will respond to a special “wake-up” packet
sent by another computer or network device. Typically this wake-up
packet causes the adapter to signal the computer to power up and run a
pre-defined program.

The wake up packet structure and behavior is defined in the WOL

JP26

!

important!

S1836 Thunder 100

39

specification, available from the website at http://www .us.pc.ibm.com/
infobrf/iblan.html. See the “Troubleshooting” section on page 48 for
W ake-on LAN troubleshooting tips.

Configuration and Drivers

The Ethernet driver can not be installed directly from the Tyan Driver
CD. Before installing the Intel 82558 Ethernet drivers, the complete
LAN 82558 directory and all it’ s contents must first be copied from the
Tyan Driver CD onto your hard drive. The 82558 driver can then be
installed from your hard drive.

Make sure that you are following the proper instructions for your
operating system (e.g. if you are using Windows 95, do not follow the
W indows NT instructions).

DOS and Windows 3.1 Setup for Novell NetWare Clients

Automatic configuration

PCI computers automatically detect and configure PCI-compliant
adapters while booting. The Intel 82558-based Integrated Fast Ethernet
For WfM adapter IRQ level and I/O memory address are automatically
set by the BIOS each time you start your computer.

Start your computer to automatically configure the adapter . Configura­tion is complete when the DOS prompt appears. You can now continue
with the procedure below.

Run Setup to install network drivers

Setup can automatically install NetWare DOS ODI client drivers for
you or display a README file with installation instructions for other
NOS drivers.

1. If your computer already has network drivers installed, restart the
computer without loading them. If the drivers are loaded from the
AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file, type REM in front of each
line that loads a network driver. Or, with DOS 6.x or later press 5 as
DOS starts, to bypass the drivers.

procedure

1.

2.

3.

ONBOARD

!

important!

http://www.tyan.com

40

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

2. Insert the Intel Configuration and Drivers floppy/CD in a drive,
switch to the appropriate drive/directory, and at the DOS prompt, type
SETUP.

3. If you have more than one Intel PRO series PCI adapter in your
computer, an adapter selection menu appears on the screen. Select the
adapter you want by noting the Ethernet address. See “Installing
Multiple Adapters” for more information.

4. Select Automatic Setup from the Main menu. Then follow the
instructions on the screen. (If you want to test the adapter with a
responder on the network, see the next procedure.) Setup displays the
adapter’s configuration, then runs a series of diagnostic tests that
makes sure the adapter and network are functioning properly. If Setup
finds a problem, it displays the results and some possible solutions.

5. When Setup finishes the tests, you’ll see the Install Network Drivers
screen.

6. Select the driver you want to install. Setup can install a NetWare
client driver for you. If you’re installing other drivers, Setup displays a
README file with installation instructions. If you can’t connect to a
server, first try the suggestions here, then turn to the “T roubleshooting”
section on page 48.

• Make sure you’re using the drivers for this adapter. The driver
filename contains the letter B (for example, E100BODI.COM).

• If you’re replacing an existing adapter, make sure the LINK state­ment in your NET.CFG is correct for the new adapter. For example,
the LINK statement for a NetWare client should be:
LINK DRIVER E100BODI

• Verify that the frame type in your NET.CFG file matches your
network.

• If setting up a server, check your LOAD and BIND statements.

• T est the adapter by running diagnostics in Setup. Additional testing is
available by using a responder (see below).

• Check the README files.

Responder testing on the network (optional)

Setup can test the adapter more thoroughly if you have a responder on
the network while running the tests.

S1836 Thunder 100

41

1. Go to a computer on the network with any EtherExpress adapter
installed (except EtherExpress 32 or EtherExpress 16 MCA).

2. Run the appropriate configuration program for the installed adapter
and set it up as a responder.

3. Return to the computer with the new adapter. Run Setup and make
the new adapter a sender. Test the adapter.

Windows NT Server or W orkstation

Automatic configuration

PCI computers automatically detect and configure PCI-compliant
adapters while booting. The Intel 82558-based Integrated Fast Ethernet
For WfM adapter IRQ level and I/O address are automatically set by
the BIOS each time you start your computer. Start your computer to
automatically configure the adapter . Configuration is complete when
Windows NT starts or the DOS prompt appears.

Install network drivers - Windows NT Version 4.0 only

After putting the adapter in the computer and starting Windows NT,
you need to install the Intel drivers. Have the Windows NT CD-ROM
disk available for this procedure. Note: If you are installing Windows
NT 4.0 at this time, click the Start Search button when the network
adapter installation window appears. This allows NT to auto-detect the
adapter (as the “Intel 82557-based 10/100 Ethernet Adapter”). You
may then skip steps 1 - 4 below.

1. Double-click the Network icon in the Control Panel.

2. Click the Adapters tab in the window that appears.

3. Click Add. A list of adapter appears.

4. Select the “Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B PCI Adapter” and click
OK. The required Intel drivers and the Intel PROSet utility are in­stalled. PROSet is an enhanced utility that you can use to easily
configure and test your adapter in Windows NT. PROSet also displays
the computer resources that were assigned to each PRO adapter

procedure

1.

2.

3.

procedure

1.

2.

3.

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

42

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

installed.

5. Click OK in the main PROSet window to return to Windows NT.

6. The Intel adapter now appears as the “Intel 82558-based 10/100
Ethernet Adapter” on the list in the Network window. Click Close to
finish.

7. Restart Windows NT when prompted.

To install multiple adapters, repeat this procedure for each new adapter.
See “Installing Multiple Adapters” for specific information. T o run the
PROSet software at any time, double-click the Intel PROSet icon in the
Control Panel or click the Adapter Properties button.

Install network drivers - Windows NT Version 3.5x only.

After putting the adapter in the computer and starting Windows NT,
you need to install the Intel drivers and test the adapter.

1. Double-click the Network icon in the Control Panel.

2. Click Add Adapter.

3. When the list of adapters appears, scroll to the end of the list and
select <Other> Requires disk from manufacturer.

4. Insert the Intel Configuration and Drivers disk/CD in the drive and
click OK. Drivers and the Intel PROSet utility are installed and
PROSet starts. PROSet is an enhanced utility that you can use to easily
configure and test your adapter in Windows NT. PROSet also displays
the computer resources that were assigned to each PRO adapter
installed. The PROSet main window is shown on the preceding page.

5. Click OK in the PROSet main window to return to Windows NT.

6. Click OK in the Network Settings dialog box and remove the installa­tion disk. When prompted, restart Windows NT.

To install multiple adapters, repeat this procedure for each new adapter.
See “Installing Multiple Adapters” for specific information. T o run the
PROSet software at any time, double-click the Intel PROSet icon in the
Control Panel.

If Windows NT reports an error or you can’t connect to the network,

procedure

1.

2.

3.

S1836 Thunder 100

43

try the suggestions here first, then turn to the “Troubleshooting” section
on page 48 if necessary.

• Make sure you’re using the drivers for this adapter. Drivers are
located on the Windows NT CD-ROM or on the Intel Drivers and
Configuration disk version 2.3 or later .

• Make sure the driver is loaded and the protocols are bound. Check
the Network Bindings dialog box in Windows NT.

• Check the Windows NT Event Viewer for error messages.

• If you are attaching to a NetWare network, check your frame type
and verify that NetWare client software has been installed.

• Test the adapter with PROSet. After installing the adapter you can
run PROSet from your hard disk. To do this, double-click the Intel
PROSet icon in the Control Panel. Click Test to run diagnostics. For
additional information, click Help in the PROSet window .

• Check with your LAN administrator — you may need to install
supplemental networking software.

Windows 95

Automatic Configuration

PCI computers automatically detect and configure PCI-compliant
adapters while booting. The Intel 82558-based Integrated Fast Ethernet
For WfM adapter IRQ level and I/O address are automatically set by
the BIOS each time you start your computer. Start your computer to
automatically configure the adapter . Configuration is complete when
W indows 95 starts.

Install Network Drivers from Diskette

Have your W indows 95 installation CD-ROM or disks available, as
W indows 95 prompts for them when you install the new adapter.

1. After you put the adapter in the computer, start Windows 95. The
New Hardware Found dialog box appears. If this box does not appear
and Windows 95 starts normally, you may need to manually add the
adapter . See the troubleshooting section at the end of this Windows 95
section..

procedure

1.

2.

3.

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

44

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

2. Click “Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer,” then
click OK. The Install From Disk dialog box appears.

3. Insert the Intel Configuration and Drivers disk/CD.

4. Specify the path, then click OK.

5. Follow prompts for any Windows 95 installation disks and restart
when prompted. (If you installed from CD-ROM, the installation files
are typically located at D:\Win95, where D is your CD-ROM drive.)

After restarting Windows 95, you should be able to connect to your
network by double-clicking the Network Neighborhood.

Install PROSet Software

PROSet is an enhanced Intel utility that you can use to easily configure
and test your adapter in Windows 95. PROSet also displays the com­puter resources that were assigned to each PRO adapter installed. To
install PROSet:

1. Insert the Intel Configuration and Drivers CD.

2. From My Computer or the Windows Explorer , double-click the CD
icon.

3. Click the “Proset” icon or filename and click the right mouse button.
From the menu that appears, click Install.

4. The PROSet files are copied to your hard disk.

5. Start PROSet by double-clicking on the Intel PROSet icon in the
Control Panel.

6. The PROSet software examines your computer and displays an Intel
PROSet window.

7. Click OK to exit PROSet and return to Windows 95.

Manually Adding an Adapter

If the New Hardware Found dialog box does not appear at startup and
you cannot connect to the network, check the Device Manager list to
see if the new adapter is present. If it is not, use the following proce­dure.

1. From the Control Panel, double click the System icon.

2. Click the Device Manager tab in the window that appears.

procedure

1.

2.

3.

procedure

1.

2.

3.

S1836 Thunder 100

45

3. Double-click Other Devices (question mark icon) in the list area.

4. Double-click PCI Ethernet Controller .

5. Click the Driver tab, then click Change Driver .

6. Select Network Adapters and click OK.

7. Click Have Disk from the window that appears. Insert the Intel
Configuration and Drivers Disk and click OK.

8. Follow any prompts for W indows 95 installation disks and restart
when prompted.
If you can’t connect to a server or if Windows 95 reports an error after
you double-click Network Neighborhood, try the suggestions here first,
then turn to the “Troubleshooting” section if necessary.

• Make sure you’re using the drivers that are on the drivers diskette
that ships with this adapter .

• Make sure the driver is loaded and the protocols are bound. Check
Device Properties list for trouble indicators (an X or ! symbol).

• Test the adapter. Start PROSet (see page 43) and click Test to run
diagnostics.

• Check with your LAN administrator — you may need to install
supplemental networking software.

Windows 98

W indows 98 will automatically configure and install the drivers for the
Ethernet chip upon fresh installation.

NetW are Server , Client 32, UNIX, OS/2, Banyan, and
Other Operating Systems

For these, refer to our online documents. On a DOS computer, view
the appropriate README file for information on installing your net­work driver . To view the README files, insert the Intel Configuration
and Drivers disk into a drive, switch to that drive, and type: SETUP /
README. Look through the selection called “Installing EtherExpress
PRO/100B TX PCI Adapter Drivers” for the operating system you
need.

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

46

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

!Installing Multiple Adapters

All users: The adapter’s 12-digit, hexadecimal Ethernet address is on a
sticker on the motherboard near the LAN controller chip. The Ethernet
address is sometimes called the node address or the MAC address.
Note that the PCI slot number may not correspond with the physical
connector in your computer . Install only one active WOL adapter per
computer . Y ou can install additional, non-WOL adapters.

NetWare users: The server drivers use the PCI slot number to identify
each installed adapter. You can correlate the PCI slot number to the
adapter by using the Ethernet address that is printed on a label on the
adapter. Run Setup from the Intel disk to view the Ethernet address and
slot number for each installed adapter . For more information, see the
README files. NetWare 4.11 server installations use unique slot
numbers that are assigned during sever setup.

Windows NT and Windows 95 users: Repeat the configuration proce­dure for each adapter you want to install (add only one adapter at a
time). While PROSet can detect all the PRO/100B adapters in your
computer, you still need to perform the configuration process on each
adapter. In Windows NT, be sure to click the Show all PRO Adapters
box in the Configuration window . See the README file for more
information.

Select Duplex Mode (optional)

Duplexing is a performance option that lets you choose how the adapter
sends and receives data packets over the network. The PRO/100B TX
adapter can operate at full duplex only when connected to a full duplex
10BASE-T , 100BASE-TX switching hub, or another full duplex
adapter . T o summarize:

• Auto (requires a full duplex adapter or switching hub with auto­negotiation capability). The adapter negotiates with the hub to send and
receive packets at the highest rate. This is the default setting. If the hub

S1836 Thunder 100

47

does not provide auto-negotiation, the adapter runs at half duplex.

• Full duplex (requires a full duplex switching hub or adapter). The
adapter can send and receive packets at the same time. This mode can
increase adapter performance capability . If the full duplex hub provides
auto-negotiation, the adapter runs at full duplex. If the full duplex hub
does not provide auto-negotiation, you need to set the adapter duplex
mode manually (see following paragraphs)

• Half duplex. The adapter performs one operation at a time; it either
sends or receives.

Note: If your hub is running at 100 Mbps and half duplex, your potential
bandwidth is higher than if you run at 10 Mbps and full duplex.

Manually Configuring for Full Duplex

If your switch supports auto-negotiation with the N-way standard,
duplex configuration is automatic and no action is required on your part.
However, few switches in the current installed base support auto­negotiation. Check with your network system administrator to verify .
Most installations will require manual configuration to change to full
duplex.

Configuration is specific to the driver you’re loading for your network
operating system (NOS), as shown in the following paragraphs.

To set up the duplex mode, refer to the section below that corresponds
to your operating system. Adapter performance may suffer or your
adapter may not operate if your hub does not support full duplex and
you configure the adapter to full duplex. Leave the adapter on half
duplex if you are not sure what type of hub you are connected to.

DOS ODI, NDIS 2.01 Clients

Edit the NET.CFG or PROTOCOL.INI file. Add kewords to Link
Driver section:
FORCEDUPLEX 2
SPEED 100 (or 10 if 10BASE-T)

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

48

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

NetWare Server

In AUTOEXEC.NCF, Load E100B.LAN and add the following
statement (you must include the equal sign for servers):
FORCEDUPLEX=2
SPEED=100 (or 10 if 10BASE-T)

For more information, see the README file for NetWare servers.

Windows NT

While running Windows NT :

1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Intel PROSet icon.

2. PROSet examines your system and displays the Adapter Setup
window . If you have multiple adapters, click the “Show All Adapters”
box and then select the adapter you are configuring (you can identify it
by its Ethernet address). Each adapter must be configured separately.
See “Installing Multiple Adapters” for more information.

3. From the window that appears, click Change.

4. From the Adapter Setup window, click the menu for Network Speed.

5. Click 100 or 10 Mbps, depending on hub speed.

6. Click the menu for Duplex Mode

7. Click Full.

8. Click OK when finished.

9. Click Restart Windows NT.

Windows 95

While running Windows 95:

1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Intel PROSet icon.

2. PROSet examines your system and displays the Adapter Setup
window . If you have multiple adapters, click the adapter you are
configuring (you can identify it by its Ethernet address). Each adapter
must be configured separately . See “Installing Multiple Adapters,” for
more information.

3. From the window that appears, click Change.

4. From the Adapter Setup window, click the menu for Network Speed.

5. Click 100 or 10 Mbps, depending on hub speed.

6. Click the menu for Duplex Mode

7. Click Full.

procedure

1.

2.

3.

procedure

1.

2.

3.

S1836 Thunder 100

49

8. Click OK when finished.

9. Click OK to restart Windows 95.

Other operating systems

See the Adapter Installation and Special Configurations README file.

“Push” Installation for Windows 95

If you are a LAN Administrator setting up server-based push installa­tion of Windows 95 as defined in Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit,
additional steps are required for this adapter. Refer to the Push Installa­tion for Windows 95 README file under the Microsoft section of
Installing EtherExpress PRO/100B adapter drivers.

Troubleshooting

If the adapter can’t connect to the network:

· Make sure the cable is installed properly. The network cable must
be securely attached at both RJ-45 connections (adapter and hub).
If the cable is attached but the problem persists, try a different
cable. The maximum allowable distance from adapter to hub is 100
meters. If you’re directly connecting two computers (no hub), use
a crossover cable. Most hubs require a straight-through cable,
while most switches require a crossover cable (see your hub or
switch documentation to verify). See the Cabling Information
README file for more information on cross-over cables.

· Check the LED lights on the adapter. The on-board cable connec­tor has two diagnostic LEDs. These lights help indicate if there’s a
problem with the connector, cable, or hub. The table below de­scribes the LEDs, and the drawing on the next page shows their
location.

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

50

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

· Make sure you’re using the correct
drivers. Make sure you’re using the
drivers that come with this adapter.
The driver filename contains the letter B (for example,
E100BODI.DOS). Drivers that support previous versions of the
EtherExpress PRO/100 PCI adapter do not support this version of
the adapter.

· Make sure the hub port and the adapter have the same duplex
setting. If you configured the adapter for full duplex, make sure the
hub port is also configured for full duplex. Setting the wrong duplex
mode can degrade performance, cause data loss, or result in lost
connections.

Testing the adapter

Test the adapter by running Intel diagnostics. For DOS or Windows 3.1
computers, run Setup on the Intel Drivers and Configuration disk. For
Windows NT and W indows 95 run Intel PROSet by double-clicking the

100 Mbps LED

Link LED

Y

G

DELnoitacidnIgninaeM

KNL nO

;noitcennocadegdelwonkcaevahbuhdnaretpadaehT

.doogsiretpadadnabuhehtneewtebknileht

)wolley( ffO

,ytluafsiretpadadnabuhehtneewtebnoitcennocelbacehT

.melborpnoitarugifnocrevirdaevahuoyro

001 nO.spbM001tagnitareponoitcennockrowteN

)neerg( ffO.spbM01tagnitareponoitcennockrowteN

S1836 Thunder 100

51

Intel PROSet Icon in the Control Panel. Click Help from the main
PROSet window to get complete diagnostics information and instruc­tions.

Common problems and solutions

SETUP.EXE reports the adapter is “Not enabled by BIOS”.

• The PCI BIOS isn’t configuring the adapter correctly.

The computer hangs when the drivers are loaded.

• Change the PCI BIOS interrupt settings.

• If you are using EMM386, it must be version 4.49 or newer (this

version ships with MS-DOS 6.22 or newer).

Diagnostics pass, but the connection fails or errors occur.

• At 100 Mbps use category 5 wiring and make sure the network cable

is securely attached.

• For NetWare clients, make sure you specify the correct frame type in

our NET.CFG file.

• Make sure the duplex mode setting on the adapter matches the setting

on the hub.

• At 100 Mbps, connect to a 100BASE-TX hub only (not T4).

The LNK LED doesn’t light.

• Make sure you’ve loaded the network drivers.

• Check all connections at the adapter and the hub.

• Try another port on the hub.

• Make sure the duplex mode setting on the adapter matches the setting

on the hub.

• Make sure you have the correct type of cable between the adapter

and the hub. 100 BASE-TX requires two pairs. Some hubs require a
crossover cable while others require a straight-through cable. See the
Cabling README file for more information on cabling.

The adapter stopped working when another adapter was added to
the computer.

• Make sure the cable is connected to the EtherExpress PRO/100 TX

PCI adapter.

ONBOARD

http://www.tyan.com

52

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

• Make sure your PCI BIOS is current.

• Make sure the other adapter supports shared interrupts. Also, make
sure your operating system supports shared interrupts — OS/2 doesn’t.

• Try reseating the newest adapter.

The adapter stopped working without apparent cause.

• Try reseating the adapter first, then try a different slot if necessary.

• The network driver files may be corrupt or deleted. Delete and then
reinstall the drivers.

• Try a different PRO/100 TX PCI adapter.

• Run the diagnostics.

The Wake-on LAN feature is not working.

• Make sure the WOL cable is attached and power is applied to the
computer.

• Check the BIOS for its WOL setting. Some computers may need to
be configured to WOL.

• Make sure the network cable is fully attached to the adapter.

Link LED does not light when power is connected.

• Make sure WOL cable is attached and power is applied to computer.

• Make sure network cable is attached at both ends.

T echnical Information

Fast Ethernet Wiring

100BASE-TX Specification: The 100BASE-TX specification supports
100 Mbps transmission over two pairs of category 5 twisted-pair
Ethernet (TPE) wiring. One pair is for transmit operations and the other
for receive operations. Segment lengths are limited to 100 meters with
100BASE-TX for signal timing reasons. This complies with the EIA
568 wiring standard.

Fast Ethernet Hub and Switches

The two basic types of hubs are shared hubs and switching hubs.
Ether-Express PRO/100 TX adapters can be used with either type of
hub for 10 Mbps. At 100 Mbps, a TX hub or switch is required.

S1836 Thunder 100

53

Shared hubs

In a shared network environment, computers are connected to hubs
called repeaters. All ports of the repeater hub share a fixed amount of
bandwidth, or data capacity. On a 100 Mbps shared hub, all nodes on
the hub must share the 100 Mbps of bandwidth. As stations are added
to the hub, the effective band-width available to any individual station
gets smaller . Shared hubs do not support full duplex.

Think of a shared repeater hub as a single-lane highway that everyone
shares. As the number of vehicles on the highway increases, the traffic
becomes congested and transit time increases for individual cars.

On a shared hub all nodes must operate at the same speed, either 10
Mbps or 100 Mbps. Fast Ethernet repeaters provide 100 Mbps of
available bandwidth, ten times more than what’ s available with a
10BASE-T repeater.

Repeaters use a well-established, uncomplicated design, making them
highly cost effective for connecting PCs within a workgroup. These are
the most common type of Ethernet hubs in the installed base.

Switching hubs

In a switched network environment, each port gets a fixed, dedicated
amount of bandwidth. In the highway scenario, each car has its own
lane on a multi-lane highway and there is no sharing.
In a switched environment, data is sent only to the port that leads to the
proper destination station. Network bandwidth is not shared among all
stations, and each new station added to the hub gets access to the full
bandwidth of the network.

If a new user is added to a 100 Mbps switching hub, the new station
receives its own dedicated 100 Mbps link and doesn’t impact the 100
Mbps bandwidth of another station. Switching hubs can effectively
increase the overall bandwidth available on the network, significantly
improving performance. Switching hubs can also support full duplex.

ONBO ARD

procedure

1.

2.

3.

http://www.tyan.com

54

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

For more information on Fast Ethernet, visit the Network Products
website (http:// www .intel.com/network).

Creative Labs Sound Drivers Installation Note

For 1836DLUAN-GX Win NT 4.0

Creative Labs Vibra16 Setup

Note: This note assumes drive D: for your CDROM drive.

1) Install NT 4.0 and Service Pack 3 onto your hard drive.

2) Login as Administrator

3) Rename C:\WINNT\INF\WAVE.INF
C:\WINNT\INF\WAVE.OLD

4) Go to D:\DRVLIB\PNPISA\X86 on your WinNT CDROM

5) Right Click on PNPISA.INF.. Select “Install”. This will start the
Plug and play driver installation.

6) Restart the system when prompted. Login as Administrator.
a)After logging in, you will get a “New Hardware Found” dialog box:
“Creative ViBRA16X PnP (Audio)”
“Select which driver you want to install for your new hardware”
(Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer)
b) Insert the Tyan Computer CDROM into he CDROM drive.
Wait 5-10 seconds, then Click on OK.

7) The “Install from disk” dialog box appears.
a) Type in the drive letter of your CDROM drive (Ex. D:\), then
Click on “Browse”.
b) Double Click “Audio”
c) Double Click “S1836”
d) Double Click “WINNT 40”
e) Click “Open” D:\Audio Driver\S1836\WinNT 40 will be
displayed.
f) Click “OK” .

8) The “Select Device” screen shows “Creative Sound Blaster 16 Plug
and Play”
a) Click “OK” files are copied

9) Then the “Sound Blaster 16 Configuration” screen shows the
resource allocation for the Sound Blaster feature. If there are

S1836 Thunder 100

55

“conflicts” listed in the “Conflicting device list”,adjust the “Resource
settings”. If no conflicts, Click “OK”.

10) An “Insert Disk” Dialog Box appears. Follow the instructions then

Click “OK”

11) A “New Hardware Found” Message will appear. “Microsoft

Joystick Port Enabler”
a) Then a “Files Needed” Dialog Box will appear. In the “Copy
files from:” box, type in: D:\DR VLIB\AUDIO\SBPNP\I386
(D: drive file path refers to Windows NT 4.0 CD)
Then Click “OK”
b) The “Joystick Port Configuration” Dialog Box appears. If no
conflicts, Click “OK”

12) You will then be asked to restart your computer. Select “Yes”.

System will reboot and sound will play after logging in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why don’t I get a display after I put in my old DIMM module?
A: The 440BX chipset requires the memory manufacturer to program

an EEPROM chip with SPD (Serial Presence Detection) on the
module in order for the BIOS to program the 440BX’ s timing registers
properly. Y our DIMM may not have the EEPROM chip on the module,
or the EEPROM may not contain the correct program. Check with
your memory vendor for details. The figure below shows a DIMM
module with an SPD EEPROM chip.

Q: My system sometimes becomes unstable. How should I check the
system?
A: The first thing to do is to check and see if you have any device
conflict in address, IRQ, or DMA. If you are using Windows 95, the

RFU

Buffered

Unbuffered

168-pin DIMM

EEPROM

ONBO ARD

http://www.tyan.com

56

Device Manager is a good place to start. Please consult your operating
system manual for details. Second of all, slowing down the memory
timing in the BIOS’ s chipset setup section will help the situation, as

Frequently Asked Questions (cont.)

well. Many memory modules are not suitable for high performance
systems and are probably the main source of your problem.

Q: Can I use EDO DIMMs on this motherboard?
A: No. The Intel 440BX AGPset does not support EDO memory.

Q: What is AGP?
A: AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) is a new bus architecture for 3D

graphics. The AGP slot eliminates the PCI bandwidth bottleneck by
bypassing the PCI interface and accessing the system memory directly.
Currently , the AGP supports 1X and 2X modes, which yield bandwidths
of 264MB/s (at 33MHz bus speed) and 533MB/s (at 66MHz bus
speed), respectively. Compare this with the mere 132MB/s (at 33MHz
bus speed) that you get with the PCI bus.

Q: Does my operating system support AGP?
A: Currently , only W indows 98 and Windows NT 5.0 will have built-in

support for AGP. Some AGP cards require Windows 95 OSR2.1 or a
special driver from Intel. Please check with your graphics vendor for
more details.

Chapter 3

Onboard Resource Settings

S1836 Thunder 100

57

This page has been intentionally left blank.

http://www.tyan.com

58

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

The AMIBIOS Setup screen is shown below.

Setup Security

Standard Advanced Chipset Supervisor User

Power Management PCI/PnP Peripheral Anti-Virus

American AMIBIOS Setup, Version 2.5

Megatrends © 1997, American Megatrends Inc.

Set Date, Time, Floppy, Hard Disk Alt+H:

Utility Default

Detect IDE Language Optimal Fail-safe

S1836 Thunder 100

59

BIOS

You can select a Setup option by manuevering the pointer with your
mouse and clicking the right mouse button, or by using the following
keyboard keys:

The pages which follow contain explanations of the settings for the
AMIBIOS Setup menus. Drawings have been included for ease of
reference, but note that only the first ten lines of any Setup category
(e.g. Advanced Setup) are visible in the menu at any time. For example,
when you first bring up the Advanced Setup menu, you can only see
“Quick Boot” through “Try Other Boot Devices.” In order to see the
other options, you must scroll down the menu using either the scroll bar
at the left hand side, or the arrow keys.

If you are confused, press <Alt> and <H> at the same time to bring up
the help menu. Y ou should not have any trouble, though: the AMIBIOS
Setup program is easy to use, and fairly intuitive. Note that the graphics
in the manual are simpler than those that appear on your screen.

T ext-Only Version

Text-only versions of the AMIBIOS for this board are available on the
TYAN web page. The features in the text-only version are exactly the
same as in the graphic version. The text-only version is being made
available to solve two possible problems: 1) the graphic version does not
have an option to select a hard drive larger than 8.4GB (note that your
operating system will still detect the hard drive properly), and 2) there is
possible incompatibility between the graphic version and some new
AGP fonts. If either of these issues is relevant to your system, use the
flash writer utility (see page 88) to install the text-only version on your
system.

yeKnoitcnuF

baT.txenehtotxobenomorfsevoM

syekworrA.xobanihtiwnoitcelessegnahC

retnE.noitcelesdethgilhgihsnepO

http://www.tyan.com

60

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

Standard Setup

Select the AMIBIOS Setup options below by choosing Standard Setup
from the AMIBIOS Setup main menu. The Standard Setup menu screen
is shown below .

Primary Master , Primary Slave, Secondary Master, Secondary
Slave

Select these options to configure the various drives. A screen with a list
of drive parameters appears.

Type: T o have the BIOS autodetect the IDE drive, select Auto. Other­wise, you may choose one of the 46 drive types offered, or enter the
parameters yourself (see Entering Drive Parameters on the next page).
Consult the table at the top of the next page to see how to configure
various drive types yourself.

If type is set to Auto, then LBA/Large mode, Block mode, and PIO
mode are auto-detected.

Standard Setup

Pri Master Pri Slave Sec Master Sec Slave

Date/Time Floppy A Floppy B

Primary Master Hard Disk

Type : User

LBA/Large Mode : On

Block Mode : On

32bit Mode : On

PIO Mode : 4

S1836 Thunder 100

61

BIOS

LBA/Large Mode: These modes make it possible for the BIOS to take
advantage of the additional space on drives which are larger than
504MB. This can be autodetected (when you select Auto for T ype), or
you can turn the modes On or Off yourself.

Block Mode: If On, Block Mode automatically detects the optimal
number of block read/writes per sector that the drive can support.

32bit Mode: If On, allows for the transmission of 32 bits in parallel
(i.e. at the same time). If Off, only 16 bits will be transmitted in paral­lel.

epyTerugifnoCotwoH

ISCS

tceleS epyT tceleS. dellatsnItoN ehT.neercsretemarapevirdehtno

otuoywolladluohsrerutcafunamISCSehtybdedivorpsrevirdISCS

.evirdISCSehterugifnoc

EDI

tceleS epyT tceleS. otuA .sretemarapehtenimretedSOIBIMAtelot

nokcilC KO tceleS.sretemarapevirdehtsyalpsidSOIBIMAnehw

edoMABL tceleS. nO nahtretaergyticapacasahevirdehtfi

.BM045
tceleS edoMkcolB tceleS. nO .srefsnartatadedomkcolbwollaot
tceleS edoMtiB-23 tceleS. nO tceleS.srefsnartatadtib-23wollaot

eht edoMOIP tcelesottsebsitI. otuA otSOIBIMAwollaot

tonsitahtedomOIPatcelesuoyfI.edomOIPehtenimreted

uoyfI.ylreporpkrowtonlliwevirdeht,evirdEDIehtybdetroppus

OIPtceles,edomOIPs'evirdehtwonkuoytahtniatrecyletulosbaera

.etairporppasa,4-0edom

MOR-DC

tceleS epyT tceleS. MORDC nokcilC. KO syalpsidSOIBIMAnehw

.sretemarapevirdeht

MFMdradnatS

tahtemehcsgnidocnenaesuhcihwsEDIredloerasevirdMFM(

tceleS).mooregarotssseldnasseccaatadrewolssecudorp epyT .

tahtepytevirdehttceleS.sretemarapevirdehtwonktsumuoY

.sretemaraps'evirdruoysehctamyltcaxe

MFMdradnatS-noN

tceleS epyT evirdehthctamtonodsretemarapevirdehtfI.

tceles,64-1sepytevirdrofdetsilsretemarap resU ehtretnedna

.sretemarapevirdksiddrahtcerroc

http://www.tyan.com

62

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

PIO Mode: PIO (Programmed Input/Output) is a method of transmit­ting data between devices that uses the system’ s CPU as part of the data
path. There are 5 modes, each with its own transmission speed. To use
modes 3 and 4, you must be using an Enhanced IDE drive.

Entering Drive Parameters

If you select User for the drive T ype, you can enter the hard disk drive
parameters yourself. The drive parameters are as follows:

retemaraPnoitpircseD

epyT

txenehtees(sretemarapnoitacifitnediniatrechtiwevirdarofrebmunehT

.)sepytevirdfoelbatarofegap

)lyC(srednilyC.evirdksidehtnisrednilycforebmunehT

)dH(sdaeH.sdaehforebmunehT

noitasnepmocerPetirW

)PW(

kcartehtsarellamsylevissergorpstegrotcesafoezislacisyhplautcaehT

etirW.setyb215dlohllitstsumrotceshcae,teY.sehsinimidretemaid

lacisyhpehtrofsetasnepmocksiddrahehtnoyrtiucricnoitasnepmocerp

renninosrotcesroftnerrucetirwehtgnitsoobybezisrotcesniecnereffid

etirwerehwecafrusksidehtnorebmunkcartehtsiretemarapsihT.skcart

.snigebnoitasnepmocerp

)ceS(srotceS

.kcartrepsrotces71evahsevirdMFM.kcartrepsrotcesforebmunehT

repsrotces43evahsevirdIDSE.kcartrepsrotces62evahsevirdLLR

.kcartrepsrotceseromneveevahsevirdEDIdnaISCS.kcart

eziS

ehtsemitsdaehforebmunehtsievirdehtfoyticapacdettamrofehT

setyb(215semitkcartrepsrotcesforebmunehtsemitsrednilycforebmun

.)rotcesrep

edoMOIP

refsnarTataD

)spBM(etaR

03.3

12.5

23.8

31.11

46.61

S1836 Thunder 100

63

BIOS

Date/Time

You can type the date and time in directly , or select the portion of the
date or time that you want to modify and adjust it using the plus and
minus keys. The plus and minus keys can be activated by clicking on
them with your mouse, or by using the <+> and <-> keys on your
keyboard. The clock runs on a 24-hour cycle (i.e. 1:00 PM is 13:00).

Floppy Drive A: and B:

Move the cursor to these fields via the arrow keys and select the floppy
type. The settings are 360KB 5¼ inch, 1.2 MB 5¼ inch, 720KB 3½
inch, 1.44MB 3½ inch, or 2.88MB 3½ inch. If you are not sure what
type of floppy drive you have, consult the documentation that came
with your drive.

Date/Time

Date : Tue, Feb 13, 1998

Time : 23:39:23

+

-

Floppy A

Not Installed

360 KB 5 /

1.2 MB 5

720 MB 3

1.44 MB 3

2.88 MB 3

1

4

1

1

1

1

/

/

/

/

4

2

2

2

http://www.tyan.com

64

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

Advanced Setup

The Advanced Setup options included in the AMIBIOS Setup for the
Thunder 100 are described in this chapter. Select Advanced Setup from
the AMIBIOS Setup main menu to display the Advanced Setup
options.

Default Settings

Every option in AMIBIOS Setup contains two default values: a Fail­Safe default and the Optimal default value. You can also choose to
restore the original BIOS settings (i.e. those that your board came
with) at any time.

Optimal Defaults

The Optimal default values provide optimum performance settings for
all devices and system features.

Fail-Safe Defaults

The Fail-Safe default settings consist of the safest set of parameters.
Use them if the system is behaving erratically. They should always
work but do not provide optimal system performance characteristics.

Fail-Safe Default Optimal Default

Quick Boot Disabled Disabled
Pri Master ARMD Emulated as Auto Auto
Pri Slave ARMD Emulated as Auto Auto
Sec Master ARMD Emulated as Auto Auto
Sec Slave ARMD Emulated as Auto Auto
1st Boot Device Floppy Floppy
2nd Boot Device 1st IDE-HDD 1st IDE-HDD
3rd Boot Device ATAPI CDROM A T API CDROM
Try Other Boot Devices Yes Yes
Floppy Access Control Read-Write Read-Write
Hard Disk Access Control Read-Write Read-Write
S.M.A.R.T. for Hard Disks Disabled Disabled
Boot Up Num-Lock On On
PS/2 Mouse Support Enabled Enabled
Primary Display VGA/EGA VGA/

S1836 Thunder 100

65

BIOS

EGAPassowrd Check Setup Setup
Boot to OS/2 No No
Internal Cache WriteBack WriteBack
System BIOS Cacheable Disabled Enabled
Cache Bus ECC Enabled Enabled
C000,16k Shadow Cached Cached
C400,16k Shadow Cached CachedC800,16k
Shadow Disabled Disabled
CC00,16k Shadow Disabled Disabled
D000,16k Shadow Disabled Disabled
D400,16k Shadow Disabled Disabled
D800,16k Shadow Disabled Disabled
DC00,16k Shadow Disabled Disabled

Quick Boot

Set this option to Enabled to instruct AMIBIOS to boot quickly when
the computer is powered on. This option replaces the old Above 1 MB
Memory T est Advanced Setup option. The settings are:

Pri/Sec Master/Slave ARMD Emulated as

ATAPI Removable Media Disks (e.g. ZIP drives) are hybrid drives.
They are removable, and can be used as floppy drives, but also have
great capacity and so are sometimes used as hard drives. These four
options ensure that, if you have an ARMD attached as a master or slave
device, it can be properly detected by the system. The settings are Auto,
Floppy , and Hard Disk.

1st Boot Device

This option sets the type of device for the first boot drive that the
AMIBIOS attempts to boot from after AMIBIOS POST completes.

gnitteSnoitpircseD

delbasiD

.yromemmetsysllastsetSOIBIMA

5.rofstiawSOIBIMA.evirdksiddrahEDIehtmorflangisYDAERarofsdnoces04otpustiawSOIBIMA

.niagaydaertegotemitevirdEDIehtwollaotevirdEDIehtotlangisTESERagnidnesretfasdnoces

.desserpneebsahyekehtfiputeSSOIBIMAsnurdnasserpyek>leD<arofskcehcSOIBIMA

delbanE

.BM1evobayromemmetsystsettonseodSOIBIMA

langisYDAERafI.evirdksiddrahEDIehtmorflangisYDAERarofsdnoces04otputiawtonseodSOIBIMA

tonseodSOIBIMA.evirdtahterugifnoctonseodSOIBIMA,evirdEDIehtmorfyletaidemmideviecertonsi

.niagaydaertegotemitevirdEDIehtwollaotevirdEDIehtotlangisTESERagnidnesretfasdnoces5.roftiaw

ehtrofyaledonsierehtesuaceb,toobmetsystaputeSSOIBIMAnurtonnacuoY puteSnurot>leD<tiH

.egassem

http://www.tyan.com

66

The settings are Disabled, 1st IDE-HDD, 2nd IDE-HDD, 3rd IDE­HDD, 4th IDE-HDD, Floppy, ARMD-FDD, ARMD-HDD, ATAPI
CDROM, SCSI, NETWORK, and I2O.

2nd Boot Device

This option sets the type of device for the second boot drive that the
AMIBIOS attempts to boot from after AMIBIOS POST completes.
The settings are Disabled, 1st IDE-HDD, 2nd IDE-HDD, 3rd IDE­HDD, 4th IDE-HDD, Floppy, ARMD-FDD, ARMD-HDD, ATAPI
CDROM, and SCSI.

3rd Boot Device

This option sets the type of device for the third boot drive that the
AMIBIOS attempts to boot from after AMIBIOS POST completes. The
settings are Disabled, 1st IDE-HDD, 2nd IDE-HDD, 3rd IDE-HDD,
4th IDE-HDD, Floppy, ARMD-FDD, ARMD-HDD, ATAPI CDROM.

Try Other Boot Devices

Set this option to Yes to instruct AMIBIOS to attempt to boot from any
other drive in the system if it cannot find a boot drive among the drives
specified in the 1st Boot Device, 2nd Boot Device, and 3rd Boot Device
options. The settings are Yes or No.

Floppy Access Control

This option specifies the read-write access that is set when booting
from a floppy drive. The settings are Read-Write or Read-Only.

Hard Disk Access Control

This option specifies the read-write access that is set when booting
from a hard disk drive. The settings are Read-Write or Read-Only.

S.M.A.R.T. for Hard Disks

Set this option to Enabled to permit AMIBIOS to use the SMAR T
(System Management and Reporting T echnologies) protocol for
reporting server system information over a network. Enabling this
feature allows you to back up your data when your hard disk is about to
fail. The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

67

BIOS

Boot Up Num-Lock

Set this option to Off to turn the Num Lock key off when the computer
is booted so you can use the arrow keys on both the numeric keypad
and the keyboard. The settings are On or Off.

PS/2 Mouse Support

Set this option to Enabled to enable AMIBIOS support for a PS/2-type
mouse. The BIOS will allocate IRQ12 for the PS/2 mouse. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

Primary Display

This option configures the type of monitor attached to the computer .
The settings are Absent, VGA/EGA, CGA40x25, CGA80x25, or
Mono.

Password Check

This option enables password checking every time the system boots or
when you run AMIBIOS Setup. If Always is chosen, a user password
prompt appears every time the computer is turned on. If Setup is
chosen, the password prompt appears if AMIBIOS is executed. See
the Advanced Setup chapter for instructions on changing a password.

Boot To OS/2

Set this option to Yes if you are running an OS/2 operating system and
using more than 64 MB of system memory on the motherboard. The
settings are Yes or No.

Internal Cache

This option sets the type of caching algorithm used by the L1 internal
cache memory on the CPU. The settings are Disabled, WriteThru, or
WriteBack.

System BIOS Cacheable

When set to Enabled, the contents of the F0000h system memory
segment can be read from or written to cache memory. The contents
of this memory segment are always copied from the BIOS ROM to
system RAM for faster execution. The settings are Enabled or Dis-

http://www.tyan.com

68

abled.

Cache Bus ECC

When Enabled, this option permits ECC error checking on the L2 cache
bus. This ensures that cached data is not improperly altered. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

C000,16K Shadow and C400,16K Shadow

These options specify how the 32 KB of video ROM at C0000h is
treated. The settings are:

C800,16K Shadow; CC00,16K Shadow; D000,16K Shadow;
D400,16K Shadow; D800, 16K Shadow; and DC00,16K Shadow

These options enable shadowing of the contents of the ROM area
named in the option. The ROM area not used by ISA adapter cards is
allocated to PCI adapter cards. The settings are:

gnitteSnoitpircseD

delbasiD.MARotdeipoctoneraMORoedivehtfostnetnocehT

delbanE

otMORmorf)dewodahs(deipocerahFFF7C-h000CmorfaeraMORoedivehtfostnetnocehT

.noitucexeretsafrofMAR

dehcaC

nacdnaMARotMORmorfdeipocerahFFF7C-h000CmorfaeraMORoedivehtfostnetnocehT

.yromemehcacmorfdaerrootnettirweb

gnitteSnoitpircseD

delbasiD ).sgnittestluafedefas-liaFdnalamitpO(.MARotdeipoctoneraMORoedivehtfostnetnocehT

delbanE

retsafrofMARotMORmorf)dewodahs(deipoceraaeraMORdetangisedehtfostnetnocehT

.noitucexe

dehcaC

rootnettirwebnacdnaMARotMORmorfdeipoceraaeraMORdetangisedehtfostnetnocehT

.yromemehcacmorfdaer

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

69

BIOS

Chipset Setup

Choose Chipset Setup on the AMIBIOS Setup main menu. All Chipset
Setup options are then displayed. AMIBIOS Setup can be customized.
AMIBIOS Setup can be customized via AMIBCP. See the AMIBIOS
Utilities Guide for additional information.

Fail-Safe Default Optimal Default

USB Function Disabled Disabled
USB KB/Mouse Legacy Support Disabled Disabled
Port 64/60 Emulation Disabled Disabled
SERR# Disabled Disabled
PERR# Disabled Disabled
WSC# Handshake Enabled Enabled
USWC Write Post Enabled Enabled
BX Master Latency Timer (Clks) 64 64
Multi-Trans Timer (Clks) 64 32
PCI1 to PCI0 Access Disabled Disabled
Method of Memory Detection Auto only Auto & SPD
DRAM Integrity Mode ECC ECC Hardware
DRAM Refresh Rate 15.6 us 15.6 us
Memory Hole Disabled Disabled
SDRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay 3 SCLKs 3 SCLKs
SDRAM RAS# Precharge 3 SCLKs 3 SCLKs
Power Down SDRAM Disabled Enabled
ACPI Control Register Enabled Disabled
Gated Clock Disabled Disabled
Graphics Aperture Size 64 MB 64 MB
Search for MDA Resources Yes Ye s
AGP Mlti-Trans Timer (AGP Clks) Disabled 32
AGP Low-Priority Timer (Clks) Disabled 16
AGP SERR# Disabled Disabled
AGP Parity Error Response Disabled Disabled
8bit I/O Recovery Time Disabled Disabled
16bit I/O Recovery Time Disabled Disabled
PIIX4 SERR# Disabled Disabled
USB Passive Release Enabled Enabled
PIIX4 Passive Release Enabled Enabled
PIIX4 Delayed Transaction Enabled Disabled
TypeF DMA Buf fer Control1 Disabled Disabled

http://www.tyan.com

70

TypeF DMA Buf fer Control2 Disabled Disabled
DMA-1 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
DMA-2 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
DMA-3 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
DMA-4 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
DMA-5 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
DMA-6 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
DMA-7 Type Normal ISA Normal ISA
CPU Bus Frequency Auto Auto

USB Function

Set this option to Enabled to enable USB (Universal Serial Bus)
support. The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

USB KB/Mouse Legacy Support

Set this option to Enabled to enable support for older keyboards and
mouse devices if the USB Function option is set to Enabled. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

Port 64/60 Emulation

Setting this option to Enabled allows a USB keyboard to act like a
legacy keyboard. If this option is not Enabled, USB keyboard lights will
not work under Windows NT. W ith other operating systems, a USB
keyboard will work normally with this option Disabled. The settings are
Enabled or Disabled.

SERR#

Set this option to Enabled to enable the SERR# signal on the bus. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

PERR#

Set this option to Enabled to enable the PERR# signal on the bus. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

WSC# Handshake

Set this option to Enabled to enable handshaking for the WSC# signal.
Handshaking is a form of encryption; see the Glossary for more
information. The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

71

BIOS

USWC Write Post

This option sets the status of USWC posted writes to I/O. USWC is a
type of memory that is used by VGA devices. The settings are:

BX Master Latency Timer (Clks)

This option specifies the master latency timer (in PCI clocks) for
devices in the computer . The settings are Disabled, 32, 64, 96, 128,
160, 192, or 224.

Multi-Trans Timer (Clks)

This option specifies the multi-trans latency timings (in PCI clocks) for
devices in the computer . The settings are Disabled, 32, 64, 96, 128,
160, 192, or 224.

PCI1 to PCI0 Access

Set this option to Enabled to enable access between two different PCI
buses (PCI1 and PCI0). The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

Method of Memory Detection

This option determines how your system will detect the type of system
memory you have installed. Options are Auto+SPD or Auto only .

DRAM Integrity Mode

This option sets the type of system memory checking. The settings are:

gnitteSnoitpircseD

delbanE.delbaneeraO/IotsetirwdetsopCWSU

delbasiD.delbasideraO/IotsetirwdetsopCWSU

otuA

sihtstesdnadelbaneebdluohsO/IotsetirwdetsopCWSUfisenimretedyllacitamotuaSOIBIMA

.ylgnidroccanoitpo

http://www.tyan.com

72

DRAM Refresh Rate

This option specifies the interval between refresh signals to DRAM
system memory . The settings are 15.6 us (microseconds), 31.2 us, 62.4
us, 124.8 us, or 249.6 us.

Memory Hole

This option specifies the location of an area of memory that cannot be
addressed on the ISA bus. The settings are Disabled, 512KB-640KB,
or 15MB-16MB.

SDRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay

This option specifies the length of the a inserted between the RAS and
CAS signals of the DRAM system memory access cycle if SDRAM is
installed. The settings are Auto, 2 SCLKs or 3 SCLKs.

SDRAM RAS# Precharge

(CHANGE) This option specifies the length of the RAS precharge part
of the DRAM system memory access cycle when SDRAM system
memory is installed in this computer . The settings are Auto, 2 SCLKs,
or 3 SCLKs.

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

gnitteSnoitpircseD

CCEnoN .enodsignitroperrorrerognikcehcrorreoN

ylnOCE

erasrorretib-elgniS.srorreytirapsadetroperdnadetcetederasrorretibitluM

otkcabnettirwtonerayromemmorfatadfostibdetcerroC.tespihcehtybdetcerroc

.yromemmetsysMARD

CCE

detcerrocerasrorretibelgniS.srorreytirapsadetroperdnadetcetederasrorretibitluM

)elbatcerroc(tfosafI.yromemmetsysMARDotkcabnettirweradnatespihcehtyb

evloserlliwyromemmetsysMARDotkcabataddexifehtgnitirw,sruccororreyromem

otkcabataddexifehtgnitirw,sruccororre)elbatcerrocnu(drahafI.melborpeht

ehtemitdnoceseht,esacsihtnI.melborpehtevlostonseodyromemmetsysMARD

elbatcerrocnunagnitacidni,detropersirorreytirapa,noitacolemasehtnisruccororre

tnemeganaMmetsySehtselbaneyllacitamotuaSOIBIMA,detcelessiICCEfI.rorre

rewoPehttes,tnemeganamrewopelbaneottnawtonoduoyfI.)IMS(ecafretnI

tuoemitputeStnemeganaMrewoPllatesdnadelbasiDotnoitpoMPA/tnemeganaM

otMPA/tnemeganaMrewoPtes,tnemeganamrewopelbaneoT.delbasiDotsnoitpo

.derisedsasnoitpotuoemitputeStnemeganaMrewoPehttesdnadelbanE

S1836 Thunder 100

73

BIOS

SDRAM Leadoff Cmd Timing

This option specifies the timing for leadoff commands involving
SDRAM. The settings are Auto, 3 SCLKs, or 4 SCLKs.

DRAM Idle Timer (Idle Clocks)

This option specifies the setting for the DRAM idle timer, in units of
Idle Clocks. The settings are 0, 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 16, 32, or Infinite.

Power Down SDRAM

If this option is set to Enabled, the SDRAM Power Down feature is
enabled. The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

ACPI Control Register

Set this option to Enabled to enable the ACPI (Advanced Configuration
and Power Interface) control register. The settings are Enabled or
Disabled.

Gated Clock

Set this option to Enabled to enable the gated clock. The settings are
Enabled or Disabled.

Graphics Aperture Size

This option specifies the amount of system memory that can be used by
the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP). The settings are 4 MB, 8 MB, 16
MB, 32 MB, 64 MB, 128 MB, or 256 MB.

Search for MDA Resources

Set this option to Yes to let AMIBIOS search for MDA resources. The
settings are Yes or No.

AGP Mlti-T rans Timer (AGP Clks)

This option sets the AGP multi-trans timer . The settings are in units of
AGP Clocks. The settings are Disabled, 32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192, or

224.

AGP Low-Priority Timer (Clks)

This option sets the AGP low priority timer . The settings are in units of

http://www.tyan.com

74

AGP Clocks. The settings are Disabled, 32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192, or

224. The Optimal default setting is 32.

AGP SERR#

Set this option to Enabled to enable the AGP SERR# signal. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

AGP Parity Error Response

Set this option to Enabled to enable AGP parity error response. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

8bit I/O Recovery Time

This option specifies the length of a delay inserted between consecutive
8-bit I/O operations. The settings are Disabled and from 1 to 8 Sysclk
(system clocks) in increments of one.

16bit I/O Recovery Time

This option specifies the length of a delay inserted between consecutive
16-bit I/O operations. The settings are Disabled and from 1 to 4 Sysclk
(system clocks) in increments of one.

PIIX4 SERR#

Set this option to Enabled to enable the SERR# signal for the Intel
PIIX4 chip. The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

USB Passive Release

Set this option to Enabled to enable passive release for USB. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

PIIX4 Passive Release

Set this option to Enabled to enable passive release for the Intel PIIX4e
chip. This option must be Enabled to provide PCI 2.1 compliance. The
settings are Enabled or Disabled.

PIIX4 DELAYED TRANSACTION

Set this option to Enabled to enable delayed transactions for the Intel
PIIX4 chip. This option must be Enabled to provide PCI 2.1 compli-

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

75

BIOS

ance. The settings are Enabled or Disabled.
TypeF DMA Buffer Control1 and 2
These options specify the DMA channel where TypeF buffer control is
implemented. The settings are Disabled, Channel-0, Channel-1, Chan­nel-2, Channel-3, Channel-5, Channel-6, or Channel-7.

DMA-n T ype

These options specify the bus that the specified DMA channel can be
used on. The settings are Normal ISA, PC/PCI, or Distributed.

WOL

Set this option to “Enabled” in order to enable the Wake on LAN
feature either built-in onboard the Ethernet or Add-on card on the
motherboard. Settings are Enabled or Disabled.

http://www.tyan.com

76

Power Management Setup

The AMIBIOS Setup options described in this section are selected by
choosing Power Management Setup from the AMIBIOS Setup main
menu.

Fail-Safe Default Optimal Default

ACPI Aware O/S No No
Power Management/APM Enabled Enabled
Power Button Function On/Off On/Off
Green PC Monitor Power State Stand By Suspend
Video Power Down Mode Disabled Suspend
Hard Disk Power Down Mode Disabled Suspend
Hard Disk Time Out (Minute) Disabled Disabled
Power Saving T ype POS Sleep
Standby/Suspend Timer Unit 4 min 4 min
Standby Time Out Disabled Disabled
Suspend Time Out Disabled Disabled
Slow Clock Ratio 50%-62.5% 50%-62.5%
Display Activity Ignore Ignore
Device 6 (Serial port 1) Monitor Monitor
Device 7 (Serial port 2) Monitor Monitor
Device 8 (Parallel port) Monitor Monitor
Device 5 (Floppy disk) Monitor Monitor
Device 0 (Primary master IDE) Monitor Monitor
Device 1 (Primary slave IDE) Monitor Monitor
Device 2 (Secondary master IDE) Monitor Monitor
Device 3 (Secondary slave IDE) Monitor Monitor
LAN Wake-up For Addon Lan Disabled Disabled
LAN Wake-up For Onboard Lan Disabled Disabled
PC98 Power LED Disabled Disabled
Fan OFF at Suspend Enabled Enabled
RTC Wake-Up Disabled Disabled
Hour N/A N/A
Minute N/ A N/ A

ACPI Aware O/S

Set this option to Yes to enable Advanced Configuration and Power
Interface (ACPI) BIOS for an ACPI-aware operating system.

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

77

BIOS

gnitteSnoitpircseD

ffO/nO.fforonoretupmocehtsnrutnottubrewopehtgnihsuP

dnepsuS .edomrewopnOlluFroedomdnepsuSniretupmocehtsecalpnottubrewopehtgnihsuP

Power Management/APM

Set this option to Enabled to enable the chipset power management and
APM (Advanced Power Management) features. The settings are
Enabled or Disabled.

Power Button Function

This option specifies how the power button mounted externally on the
computer chassis is used. See Soft Power Connector on page 33 for
more information. The settings are shown in the table below .

Green PC Monitor Power State

This option specifies the power state that the green PC-compliant video
monitor enters when AMIBIOS places it in a power saving state after
the specified period of display inactivity has expired. The settings are
Off, Stand By, or Suspend.

Video Power Down Mode

This option specifies the power state that the video subsystem enters
when AMIBIOS places it in a power saving state after the specified
period of display inactivity has expired. The settings are Stand By ,
Suspend, or Disabled.

Hard Disk Power Down Mode

This option specifies the power conserving state that the hard disk drive
enters after the specified period of hard drive inactivity has expired.
The settings are Disabled, Stand By, or Suspend.

Hard Disk Time Out (Minute)

This option specifies the length of a period of hard disk drive inactivity .
When this length of time expires, the computer enters power-conserv­ing state specified in the Hard Disk Power Down Mode option (see the
previous page). The settings are Disabled, and from 1 to 15 minutes, in
one minute intervals. The Optimal and Fail-safe default settings are

http://www.tyan.com

78

Disabled.

Power Saving Type

There are several types of sleeping states within the general, global
sleep state. This option allows you to choose how “asleep” you want
your system to be. In deeper sleep modes, more energy is saved.
However, upon waking up, the system must “reorient” itself, and
reestablish control over the system’ s sleeping components. The settings
are POS, Sleep, Stop Clock, and Deep Sleep. POS is the lightest sleep
mode; Deep Sleep is the heaviest. The Optimal and Fail-safe default
settings are POS.

Standby/Suspend Timer Unit

This option specifies the unit of time used for the Standby and Suspend
time out periods. The settings are 4 msec, 4 sec, 32 sec, or 4 min.

Standby Time Out

This option defines the length of time that the system, while in Full On
state, must be inactive before it enters Standby mode. The settings are
Disabled and from 4 minutes to 508 minutes, in increments of 4 min­utes.

Suspend Time Out

This option defines the length of time that the system, while in Standby
mode, must be inactive before it enters Suspend mode.The settings are
Disabled and from 4 minutes to 508 minutes, in increments of 4 min­utes.

Slow Clock Ratio

This option specifies the speed at which the system clock runs in the
Standby Mode power saving state. The settings are expressed as a
percentage of the normal CPU clock speed. The settings are 0-12.5%,

12.5%-25%, 25%-37.5%, 37.5%-50%, 50%-62.5%, 62.5%-75%, or
75-87.5%.

Display Activity

When set to Monitor, this option enables event monitoring on the video

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

79

BIOS

display. If set to Monitor and the computer is in a power saving state,
display activity will cause the system to enter the Full On state.
AMIBIOS reloads the Standby and Suspend timeout timers if display
activity occurs. The settings are Monitor or Ignore.

Device n (Device identity)

When set to Monitor, these options enable event monitoring on the
specified hardware interrupt request line. If set to Monitor and the
computer is in a power saving state, any activity on the IRQ line will
cause the system to enter the Full On state. AMIBIOS reloads the
Standby and Suspend timeout timers if activity occurs on the specified
IRQ line. The settings for each of these options are Monitor or Ignore.

http://www.tyan.com

80

PCI/PnP Setup

Choose PCI/Plug and Play Setup from the AMIBIOS Setup screen to
display the PCI and Plug and Play Setup options, described below .

Fail-Safe Default Optimal Default

Plug and Play Aware O/S Y es Yes
PCI Latency Timer (PCI Clocks) 64 64
PCI VGA Palette Snoop Disabled Disabled
Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA Y es Yes
PCI IDE BusMaster Disabled Disabled
OffBoard PCI IDE Card Auto Auto
OffBoard PCI IDE Primary IRQ Disabled Disabled
Offboard PCI IDE Secondary IRQ Disabled Disabled
PCI Slot1 IRQ Priority Auto Auto
PCI Slot2 IRQ Priority Auto Auto
PCI Slot3 IRQ Priority Auto Auto
PCI Slot4 IRQ Priority Auto Auto
DMA Channel n PnP PnP
IRQ3 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ4 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ5 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ7 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ9 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ10 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ11 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ14 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
IRQ15 PCI/PnP PCI/PnP
Reserved Memory Size Disabled Disabled
Reserved Memory Address C8000 C8000
PCI Device Search Order First-Last First-Last
BIOS Devnode for Shadow RAM Disabled Disabled

Plug and Play Aware O/S

Set this option to Yes to inform AMIBIOS that the operating system
can handle plug and Play (PnP) devices. The settings are No or Yes.

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

81

BIOS

PCI Latency Timer (PCI Clocks)

This option specifies the latency timings (in PCI clocks) for PCI
devices installed in the PCI expansion slots. The settings are 32, 64, 96,
128, 160, 192, 224, or 248.

PCI VGA Palette Snoop

When this option is set to Enabled, multiple VGA devices operating on
different buses can handle data from the CPU on each set of palette
registers on every video device. Bit 5 of the command register in the
PCI device configuration space is the VGA Palette Snoop bit (0 is
disabled). For example, if there are two VGA devices in the computer
(one PCI and one ISA) and this field is set for:

This option must be set to Enabled if any ISA adapter card installed in
the system requires VGA palette snooping.

PCI IDE BusMaster

Set this option to Enabled to specify that the IDE controller on the PCI
bus has bus mastering capability. The settings are Disabled or Enabled.

OffBoard PCI IDE Card

This option specifies whether or not an offboard PCI IDE controller
adapter card is used in the computer, and where it is installed. If an
offboard PCI IDE controller is used, the motherboard onboard IDE
controller is automatically disabled. The settings are Auto and Slot1
through Slot6. If Auto is selected, AMIBIOS automatically determines
the correct setting (including using the onboard controller if no offboard
controller card is detected). This option forces IRQ 14 and 15 to a PCI
slot on the PCI local bus. This is necessary to support non-compliant
PCI IDE adapter cards.

gnitteSnoitpircseD

delbasiD .sretsigerettelaps'ecivedAGVICPehtotdetceridylnosiUPCehtybnettirwdnadaerataD

delbanE

dnasretsigerettelaps'ecivedAGVICPehthtobehtotdetceridsiUPCehtybnettirwdnadaerataD

.lacitnediebotsecivedhtobfosretsigerettelapehtgnittimrep,sretsigerettelapecivedAGVASIeht

http://www.tyan.com

82

OffBoard PCI IDE Primary IRQ

This option specifies the PCI interrupt used by the primary IDE channel
on the offboard PCI IDE controller. The settings are Disabled,
Hardwired, INTA, INTB, INTC, or INTD.

Offboard PCI IDE Secondary IRQ

This option specifies the PCI interrupt used by the secondary IDE
channel on the offboard PCI IDE controller. The settings are Disabled,
Hardwired, INTA, INTB, INTC, or INTD. The Optimal and Fail-safe
settings are Disabled.

DMA Channel n

These options allow you to specify the bus type used by each DMA
channel. The settings are PnP or ISA/EISA .

IRQn

These options specify the bus that the specified IRQ line is used on.
These options allow you to reserve IRQs for legacy ISA adapter cards.
These options determine if AMIBIOS should remove an IRQ from the
pool of available IRQs passed to devices that are configurable by the
system BIOS. The available IRQ pool is determined by reading the
ESCD NVRAM. If more IRQs must be removed from the pool, you can
use these options to reserve the IRQ by assigning an ISA/EISA setting
to it. Onboard I/O is configured by AMIBIOS. All IRQs used by
onboard I/O are configured as PCI/PnP. IRQ12 only appears if the
Mouse Support option in Advanced Setup is set to Disabled. IRQ14 and
15 will not be available if the onboard PCI IDE is enabled. If all IRQs
are set to ISA/EISA and IRQ14 and 15 are allocated to the onboard
PCI IDE, IRQ9 will still be available for PCI and PnP devices, because
at least one IRQ must be available for PCI and PnP devices. The
settings are ISA/EISA or PCI/PnP.

Reserved Memory Size

This option specifies the size of the memory area reserved for legacy
ISA adapter cards. The settings are Disabled, 16K, 32K, or 64K.

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

S1836 Thunder 100

83

BIOS

Reserved Memory Address

This option specifies the beginning address (in hex) of the reserved
memory area. The specified ROM memory area is reserved for use by
legacy ISA adapter cards. This option does not appear if the Reserved
Memory Size option is set to Disabled. The settings are C0000, C4000,
C8000, CC000, D0000, D4000, D8000, or DC000.

http://www.tyan.com

84

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

Peripheral Setup

Peripheral Setup options are displayed by choosing Peripheral Setup
from the AMIBIOS Setup main menu. All Peripheral Setup options are
described here.

Fail-Safe Default Optimal Default

OnBoard SCSI Enabled Enabled
Power Interruption Disabled Disabled
Onboard FDC Auto Auto
Onboard Serial Port1 3F8h 3F8h
Onboard Serial Port2 2F8h 2F8h
Serial Port2 Mode Normal Normal
IR Duplex Mode N/A N/ A
Receiver Polarity N/A N/A
Transmitter Polarity N/A N/A
Fast IR Port N/A N/ A
Fast IR DMA N/ A N/ A
OnBoard Parallel Port Auto Auto
Parallel Port Mode Normal Normal
EPP Version N/A N/A
Parallel Port IRQ 7 7
Parallel Port DMA Channel N/A N/A
Onboard IDE Both Both

Power Interruption

The settings are Enabled or Disabled.

Onboard FDC

Set this option to Enabled to enable the floppy drive controller on the
motherboard. The settings are Auto, Enabled, or Disabled.

Onboard Serial Port1

This option specifies the base I/O port address of serial port 1. The
settings are Auto, Disabled, 3F8h, 2F8h, 3E8h, or 2E8h.

Onboard Serial Port2

This option specifies the base I/O port address of serial port 2. The
settings are Auto, Disabled, 3F8h, 2F8h, 3E8h, or 2E8h.

S1836 Thunder 100

85

BIOS

Serial Port2 Mode

This option specifies the operating mode for serial port 2.This option
will not appear if the Onboard Serial Port2 option is set to Disabled, or
is set to Auto and your system does not have an onboard serial port 2.
The settings are Normal, Sharp-IR, IrDA, and Consumer. (EXPLAIN).

IR T ransmission Mode

This option specifies the infrared transmission method. This option will
not appear if the Serial Port2 Mode option is set to Normal. The
settings are Full or Half.

IR Receiver Pin

This option specifies which pin will act as the receiver for IR data
transmission. This option will not appear if the Serial Port2 Mode option
is set to Normal. The only setting is IRRX1.

OnBoard Parallel Port

This option specifies the base I/O port address of the parallel port on
the motherboard. The settings are Auto, Disabled, 378, or 278.

edoMnoitpircseD

xelpuDlluF

tonlliwdnesuoyatadynA.ecnotasnoitceridowtnidettimsnartsiataD

ecivedrehtoehtybdeviecerneebsahtilitnuneercsruoynoraeppa

.sedomowtehtforetsafehtsixelpudlluF.uoyotkcabtnesdna

xelpuDflaH

dnesuoyatadynA.emitatanoitceridenoylnonidettimsnartsiataD
reisaesiedomxelpudflaH.neercsruoynodeyalpsidyltnatsnieblliw

llufeldnahnacsecivedelbapac-RIllatoN.etucexeotsecivedehtrof

.edomxelpud

http://www.tyan.com

86

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

Parallel Port Mode

This option specifies the parallel port mode. The settings are:

EPP V ersion

This option specifies the Enhanced Parallel Port specification version
number that is used in the system. This option only appears if the
Parallel Port Mode option is set to EPP. The settings are 1.7 or 1.9.
Version 1.9 is common on newer devices; consult your device’ s user
information for the appropriate port type.

Parallel Port IRQ

This option specifies the IRQ used by the parallel port, and only
appears if OnBoard Parallel Port is set to 278 or 378. The settings are 5
or 7.

Parallel Port DMA Channel

This option is only available if the setting for the Parallel Port Mode
option is set to ECP and the OnBoard Parallel Port option is set to 378,
278, or 3BC. This option sets the DMA channel used by the parallel
port. The settings are 0 through 7 in increments of one.

Onboard IDE

This option specifies the IDE channel used by the onboard IDE control­ler . The settings are Disabled, Primary, Secondary, or Both.

gnitteSnoitpircseD

lamroN.desusiedomtroplellaraplamronehT

riD-iB.troplellarapehtnosrefsnartlanoitceridibtroppusotgnittessihtesU

PPE

troPlellaraPdecnahnEehtoterehdatahtsecivedhtiwdesuebnactroplellarapehT

cirtemmysaedivorpotslangistroplellarapgnitsixeehtsesuPPE.snoitacificeps)PPE(

.ecivedtsohehtybnevirdrefsnartatadlanoitceridib

PCE

troPseitilibapaCdednetxEehtoterehdatahtsecivedhtiwdesuebnactroplellarapehT

pufosetarrefsnartatadeveihcaotlocotorpAMDehtsesuPCE.snoitacificeps)PCE(

.noitacinummoclanoitceridibcirtemmyssedivorpPCE.dnocesrepstibageM5.2ot

S1836 Thunder 100

87

BIOS

Supervisor and User Security

You can limit access to the Setup Program or to the system using the
Supervisor and User password options (the Supervisor password gives
you access to the Setup Program and the system; the User password,
only to the system). Note that you must create a supervisor password
before you create a user password. If you select the User Security
option first, the following dialog box will appear:

When you select the Supervisor Security option, a dialog box (shown
below) will appear, allowing you to enter a password. You may either
type the password in, or click on the onscreen buttons. Your password
must be between one and six characters long.

Once you have entered your new password, you will be asked to
confirm it. If the two passwords do not match, you will be prompted to
enter a new password, and then to confirm it. This will continue until
you enter the same series of characters both times. Once this is accom­plished, a dialog box will appear and notify you that the Supervisor

Error

Install Supervisor Password first!

OK

Supervisor

Enter New Password

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

A B C D E F G H I J

K L M N O P Q R

S T U V W X Y Z

Enter

http://www.tyan.com

88

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

Password has been installed. You may then select the User Security
option and enter a password for the user .

You can enter a new User password at any time simply by selecting the
User Security option, and typing in a new password. To enter a new
Supervisor password, select the Supervisor Security option. You will be
asked to enter the current password. After you do so, you will be
prompted to enter the new password.

In either the Supervisor or User Security options, pressing <Enter> once
when asked for a new password, and a second time when asked to
confirm the new password, will uninstall the existing password. Note
that uninstalling the Supervisor password uninstalls the User password
as well. In case of missing or forgotten password, see CMOS reset
instructions on page 30.

S1836 Thunder 100

89

BIOS

Anti-Virus Security

If Enabled, the virus protection program helps you monitor your system
for viruses. During and after the system boot up, any attempt to write to
the boot sector or the partition table of the hard disk drive will halt the
system and produce an error message. If a warning appears, you should
run an anti-virus program to locate the problem. This feature protects
only the boot sector, not the entire drive. Note that some disk diagnostic
programs will trigger a virus warning message.

Detect IDE Utility

You can ask the BIOS to detect all of the attached IDEs at once by
selecting the Detect IDE Utility option (you can detect IDEs individu­ally in the Standard Setup menu). After a second or so (during which
you can cancel the detection by clicking on the <Cancel> button with
your mouse) the following dialog box will appear:

Note that you can change the PIO, Block, and LBA modes in this dialog
box by selecting the shaded boxes around those values. See pages 58-

Auto Detection Status

Type Cyl Hd WP Sec Size(MB) PIO Block LBA

Pri Master: User 4969 16 0 63 2446 4 On On

Pri Slave: Not Detected

Sec Master: Not Detected

Sec Slave: Not Detected

Virus Protection

Disabled

Enabled

http://www.tyan.com

90

Chapter 4

BIOS Configuration

59 for a description of the drive parameters and of PIO, Block, and
LBA modes.

Language Utility

Currently , the BIOS Setup program is available only in English.

Flash Writer Utility

The AMI Flash Writer Utility is now included in the AMIBIOS, and so
it is simpler to upgrade the BIOS of your mainboard. The system BIOS
is stored on a flash EEPROM ROM chip on the mainboard which can
be erased and reprogrammed by following the directions below .

1. From the DOS prompt, rename the BIOS file that you have down­loaded to “amiboot.rom” and copy it on to a floppy disk.

2. Insert the floppy disk with the BIOS upgrade into the A: drive.

3. Turn the power of f.

4. While holding the <Ctrl> and <Home> keys, turn the power on. The
system will begin to read from the A: drive, and write the BIOS infor­mation contained on the floppy disk in that drive to the EEPROM ROM
chip. When the BIOS has been totally reprogrammed, the system will
reboot with the new BIOS in operation.

5. If the system does not reboot in three minutes, power down the
system, wait a few seconds, and then turn the power back on again. You
will be prompted to press <F1> to run Setup. You may check your
settings at this time, or simply save and exit the program.

S1836 Thunder 100

91

BIOS

This page has been intentionally left blank.

http://www.tyan.com

92

Chapter 5

System Resources

chapter 5

System Resources

Beep Codes

Fatal errors, which halt the boot process, are communicated through a
series of audible beeps. If AMIBIOS POST can initialize the system
video display , it displays the error message. Displayed error messages,
in most cases, allow the system to continue to boot. Displayed error
messages are described on pages 92-93. See the top of the next page
for the beep code chart.

S1836 Thunder 100

93

SYSTEM

T roubleshooting System Problems

If the computer beeps... then...

1, 2, or 3 times... reseat the memory SIMMs or

DIMMs. If the system still beeps,
replace the memory.
6 times... reseat the keyboard controller chip. If

it still beeps, replace the keyboard

controller . If it still beeps, try a

different keyboard, or replace the

keyboard fuse, if there is one.
8 times... there is a memory error on the video

adapter . Replace the video adapter, or

the RAM on the video adapter .
9 times... the BIOS ROM chip is bad. The

system probably needs a new BIOS

ROM chip.
11 times... reseat the cache memory on the

motherboard. If it still beeps, replace

the cache memory .
4, 5, 7, or 10 times... the motherboard must be replaced.

speeBegasseMrorrEnoitpircseD

1eruliaFhserfeR .ytluafsiyrtiucrichserferyromemehT
2rorrEytiraP .yromemfo)kcolbBK46tsrifeht(yromemesabehtnirorreytiraP
3eruliaFyromeMBK46esaB.BK46tsrifnieruliafyromeM

4lanoitarepOtoNremiT

tonsi1remiTro,yromemfoBK46tsrifehtnieruliafyromemA

.gninoitcnuf
5rorrErossecorP.rorrenadetarenegUPCehT
6eruliaF02AetaG-2408.edomdetcetorpothctiwstonnaC

7rorrEtpurretnInoitpecxErossecorP .tpurretninoitpecxenadetarenegdraCUPCehtnoUPCehT

8rorrEetirW/daeRyromeMyalpsiD

.ytluafsiyromemstirognissimrehtiesiretpadaoedivmetsysehT

.rorrelatafatonsisihT

9rorrEmuskcehCMOR

nidedocneeulavehthctamtonseodeulavmuskcehcMORehT

.SOIBIMA

01rorrEetirW/daeRretsigeRnwodtuhSSOMC .deliafsahMARSOMCrofretsigernwodtuhsehT

11

elbanEtoNoD—daByromeMehcaC

ehcaC

tonoD.delbasidsiyromemehcaC.deliaftsetyromemehcacehT

.yromemehcacelbaneot>+<>tfihS<>tlA<>lrtC<sserp

http://www.tyan.com

94

egasseMrorrEnoitanalpxE

rorrE02A-etaG2408 .2408ehtecalpeR.gnikrowtonsi)2408(rellortnocdraobyekehtno02AetaG

!trohSeniLsserddA.yrtiucricgnidocedsserddaehtnirorrE

rorrEevirD:C

drah:CehtkcehC.ytilitUksiDdraHgaiDIMAehtnuR.:CevirdmorfesnopseroN

.puteSdradnatSniepytksid

eruliaFevirD:C.evirdehtecalpeR.:CevirdksiddrahmorfesnopseroN

,daByromeMehcaC

!ehcaCelbanEtoNoD

.gaiDIMAnuR.evitcefedsiyromemehcaC

rorrEremiT2-HC.2remitnirorrenasierehT.sremitowtsahmetsysTAnA

etatSyrettaBSOMC

woL

ehtecalpeR.wolsirewopyrettabehT.yrettabaybderewopsiMARSOMC

.yrettab

muskcehCSOMC

eruliaF

.puteSSOIBNIWnuR.eulavsuoiverpehtnahttnereffidsimuskcehcMARSOMC

metsySSOMC

teStoNsnoitpO

.puteSSOIBNIWnuR.deyortsedneebevahMARSOMCniderotsseulavehT

epyTyalpsiDSOMC

hctamsiM

SOIBNIWnuR.detcetedepytehthctamtonseodMARSOMCniepytoedivehT

.puteS

eziSyromeMSOMC

hctamsiM

SOMCnitnuomaehtnahttnereffidsiSOIBIMAybdnuofyromemfotnuomaehT

.puteSSOIBNIWnuR.MAR

etaDdnaemiTSOMC

teStoN

.emitdnaetadehttesotputeSdradnatSnuR

rorrEevirD:D

drahehtkcehC.ytilitUksiDdraHgaiDIMAehtnuR.:DevirdmorfesnopseroN

.puteSdradnatSniepytksid

Displayed Error Messages

If an error occurs after the system display has been initialized, the error
message will be displayed as follows:

ERROR Message Line 1
ERROR Message Line 2
Press <F1> to continue

and the system will halt. The system will not halt if the Wait for <F1> If
Any Error option in Advanced Setup is Disabled.

RUN SETUP UTILITY

may also appear. Press <F1> to run WINBIOS Setup if this message
appears.

Chapter 5

System Resources

S1836 Thunder 100

95

egasseMrorrEnoitanalpxE

eruliafevird:D.evirdehtecalpeR.:DevirdksiddrahmorfesnopseroN

eruliaFtooBetteksiD

esU.metsysehttoobotdesuebtonnac:AevirdnietteksidtoobehT

.snoitcurtsnineercsehtwollofdnaetteksidtoobrehtona

toNhctiwSyalpsiD

reporP

rorolocrehtieottesebhctiwsoedivaeriuqersmetsysemoS

.norewopneht,ylreporphctiwsehttes,ffometsysehtnruT.emorhconom

rorrEAMD.rellortnocAMDehtnirorrE

rorrE1AMD.lennahcAMDtsrifehtnirorrE
rorrE2AMD.lennahcAMDdnocesehtnirorrE

eruliaFrellortnoCDDF

.rellortnocevirdksidyppolfehthtiwetacinummoctonnacSOIBIMA

.nwodderewopsimetsysehtretfasnoitcennocetairporppallakcehC

eruliaFrellortnoCDDH

kcehC.rellortnocevirdksiddrahehthtiwetacinummoctonnacSOIBIMA

.nwodderewopsimetsysehtretfasnoitcennocetairporppalla
rorrE1RTNI.TSOPdeliaf1lennahctpurretnI
rorrE2RTNI.TSOPdeliaf2lennahctpurretnI

etteksiDtooBdilavnI

ehttoobtonnactitub,:AevirdyppolfnietteksidehtdaernacSOIBIMA

.snoitcurtsnineercsehtwollofdnaetteksidtoobrehtonaesU.tihtiwmetsys

sIdraobyeK

tIkcolnU...dekcoL

ebtsummetsysehT.degagnesimetsysehtnokcoldraobyekehT

.tooboteunitnocotdekcolnu

rorrEdraobyeK

rellortnoCdraobyeKaerusekaM.melborpgnimitasahdraobyekehT

dellatsnItoNotputeSdecnavdAnidraobyeKteS.dellatsnisiSOIBIMA

.senituorTSOPdraobyekehtpiksot

rorrEecafretnI/BK.rotcennocdraobyekehtnirorrenasierehT

CISABMORoN

SOIBIMA.:Cro:AevirdrehtienorotceselbatoobreporpadniftonnaC

.cisaBMORdniftonnac

rorrEytiraPdraoBffO

.tolsnoisnapxenanidracretpadananodellatsniyromemnirorreytiraP

:sitamrofehT

)XXXX(=RDDARORREYTIRAPDRAOBFFO

dnadnifotgaiDIMAnuR.derruccororreehterehwsserddaxehehtsiXXXX

.smelborpyromemtcerroc

rorrEytiraPdraoBnO

:sitamrofehT.yromemdraobrehtomnirorreytiraP

)XXXX(=RDDARORREYTIRAPDRAOBNO

dnifotgaiDIMAnuR.derruccororreehterehwsserddaxehehtsiXXXX

.smelborpyromemtcerrocdna

????rorrEytiraP

otgaiDIMAnuR.sserddanwonknunatayromemmetsysnirorreytiraP

.smelborpyromemtcerrocdnadnif

SYSTEM

http://www.tyan.com

96

Chapter 5

System Resources

Glossary

ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is a power manage-

ment specification that allows the operating system to control the amount of
power distributed to the computer’s devices. Devices not in use can be turned
off, reducing unnecessary power expenditure.

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) is a PCI-based interface which was

designed specifically for demands of 3D graphics applications. The 32-bit
AGP channel directly links the graphics controller to the main memory.
While the channel runs at only 66MHz, it supports data transmission during
both the rising and falling ends of the clock cycle, yielding an effective speed

of 133MHz.

The AT was the original form factor of IBM’s PC.

A T API (AT Attachment Packet Interface), also known as IDE or ATA, is a

drive implementation that includes the disk controller on the device itself. It
allows CD-ROMs and tape drives to be configured as master or slave devices,
just like hard drives.

The ATX form factor was designed to replace the A T form factor. It improves
on the AT design by rotating the board ninety degrees, so that the IDE
connectors are closer to the drive bays, and the CPU is closer to the power
supply and cooling fan. The keyboard, mouse, serial, USB, and parallel ports
are built in.

Bandwidth refers to carrying capacity. The greater the bandwidth, the

more data the bus, phone line, or other electrical path, can carry. Greater
bandwidth, then, also results in greater speed.

A BBS (Bulletin Board System) is a computer system with a number of
modems hooked up to it which acts as a center for users to post messages and
access information.

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) program resides in the ROM chip,
and provides the basic instructions for controlling your computer’s hardware.

S1836 Thunder 100

97

Both the operating system and application software use BIOS routines to
ensure compatibility .

A buffer is a portion of RAM which is used to temporarily store data, usually
from an application, though it is also used when printing, and in most key-

board drivers. The CPU can manipulate data in a buffer before copying it, all at
once, to a disk drive. While this improves system performance--reading to or
writing from a disk drive a single time is much faster than doing so repeatedly-­there is the possibility of losing your data should the system crash. Informa­tion stored in a buffer is temporarily stored, not permanently saved.

A bus is a data pathway. The term is used especially to refer to the connec­tion between the processor and system memory, and between the processor
and PCI or ISA local buses.

Bus mastering allows peripheral devices and IDEs to access the system

memory without going through the CPU (similar to DMA channels).
A cache is a temporary storage area for data that will be needed often by an

application. Using a cache lowers data access times, since the needed
information is stored in the SRAM instead of in the slower DRAM. Note that
the cache is also much smaller than your regular memory: a typical cache
size is 512KB, while you may have as much as 1GB of regular memory.

Cache size refers to the physical size of the cache onboard. This should not

be confused with the cacheable area, which is the total amount of memory
which can be scanned by the system in search of data to put into the cache. A
typical setup would be a cache size of 512KB, and a cacheable area of
512MB. In this case, up to 512MB of the main memory onboard is capable of
being cached. However, only 512KB of this memory will be in the cache at
any given moment. Any main memory above 512MB could never be cached.

Closed and open jumpers Jumpers and jumper pins are active when

they are On or Closed, and inactive when they are Off or Open.

CMOS Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductors are chips that hold

the basic start-up information for the BIOS.

SYSTEM

http://www.tyan.com

98

The COM port is another name for the serial port, which is so-called
because it transmits the eight bits of a byte of data along one wire, and

receives data on another single wire (that is, the data is transmitted in serial
form, one bit after another). Parallel ports transmit the bits of a byte on eight
different wires at the same time (that is, in parallel form, eight bits at the same

time).

DIMM Dual In-line Memory Modules are a faster and more capacious

form of RAM than SIMMs, and do not need to be installed in pairs.

DIMM bank DIMM banks are sometimes called DIMM sockets, because

the physical slot and the logical unit are the same. That is, one DIMM
module fits into one DIMM socket, which is capable of acting as a memory
bank.

DMA Direct Memory Access channels are similar to IRQs. DMA channels

allow hardware devices (like sound cards or keyboards) to access the main
memory without involving the CPU. This frees up CPU resources for other
tasks. As with IRQs, it is vital that you do not double up devices on a single
line. Plug and Play devices will take care of this for you.

In Doze mode, only the CPU’s speed is slowed.

DRAM Dynamic RAM is a widely available, very affordable form of RAM

which has the unfortunate tendency to lose data if it is not recharged regu­larly (every few milliseconds). This refresh requirement makes DRAM
slower three to ten times slower than non-recharged RAM such as SRAM.

EDO RAM (Extended Data-Out RAM) speeds access to memory loca-

tions by assuming that memory addresses are static: the next time it looks for
a bit of data, it will be at the same spot, or one nearby.

EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM, also called Flash

BIOS, is a ROM chip which can, unlike normal ROM, be updated. This
allows you to keep up with changes in the BIOS programs without having to
buy a new chip. TYAN’s BIOS updates can be found at http://www.tyan.com/
html/drivers.html

Chapter 5

System Resources

S1836 Thunder 100

99

ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data) is a format for storing informa-

tion about Plug and Play devices in the system BIOS. This information helps
properly configure the system each time it boots.

Firmware is low level software that controls the system hardware.
Form factor is an industry term for the size, shape, power supply type,

and external connector type of the PCB (personal computer board) or
motherboard. The standard form factors are the AT and ATX, although
TYAN also makes some Baby-AT boards.

A Global timer is an onboard hardware timer, such as the Real Time Clock.

Handshaking is a form of encryption. One system, typically the server,

sends an encryption scheme to another agent, typically a client. Thus, the
client’s data is protected during transmittal to the server.

HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive.
H-SYNC controls the horizontal properties of the monitor.
IC (Integrated Circuit) is the formal name for the computer chip.
IDE Integrated Device (or Drive) Electronics is a simple, self-contained

hard drive interface. It can handle drives up to 8.4GB in size. Almost all
IDEs sold now are in fact Enhanced IDEs (EIDEs).

IDE INT (IDE Interrupt) is a hardware interrupt signal that goes to the

IDE.

I/O Input/Output is the connection between your computer and another

piece of hardware (mouse, keyboard, etc.).

IRQ An Interrupt Request is an electronic request that runs from a hard-

ware device to the CPU. The interrupt controller assigns priorities to incom­ing requests and delivers them to the CPU. It is important that there is only
one device hooked up to each IRQ line; doubling up devices on IRQ lines can

SYSTEM

http://www.tyan.com

100

lock up your system. Happily , Plug and Play operating systems take care of
these details for you.

ISA stands for Industry Standard Architecture. ISA is a slower 8- or 16-bit

BUS (data pathway).

Latency is the amount of time that one part of a system spends waiting for

another part to catch up. This is most common when the system sends data
out to a peripheral device, and is waiting for the peripheral to send some data

back (peripherals tend to be slower than onboard system components).

NVRAM ROM and EEPROM are both examples of Non-Volatile RAM,

memory that holds its data without power. DRAM, in contrast, is volatile.

OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) like Compaq or IBM package

other companies’ motherboards and hardware inside their case and sell them.
The parallel port transmits the bits of a byte on eight different wires at the

same time (that is, in parallel form, eight bits at the same time).

PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect. PCI is a 32-bit local bus

(data pathway) which is faster than the ISA bus. Local buses are those which
operate within a single system (as opposed to a network bus, which connects
multiple systems).

The PCI PIO (PCI Programmable Input/Output) modes are the data
transfer modes used by IDE drives. These modes use the CPU for data

transfer (DMA channels do not). PCI refers to the type of bus used by these
modes to communicate with the CPU.

PCI-to-PCI bridge allows you to connect multiple PCI devices onto one

PCI slot.

Pipeline burst SRAM is a fast secondary cache. It is used as a secondary

cache because SRAM is slower than SDRAM, but usually larger. Data is
cached first to the faster primary cache, and then, when the primary cache is
full, to the slower secondary cache.

Chapter 5

System Resources