TYAN Tomcat i915 S5120, S5120 User Manual

Tomcat i915 S5120 User’s Manual

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Tomcat i915

///

S5120

Revision 1.00

Copyright © TYAN Computer Corporation, 2004. 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
property of their respective owners including, but not limited to the following.

TYAN, Tomcat i915 and S5120 are trademarks of TYAN Computer Corporation.
Intel Prescott and combinations thereof are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Promise is a trademark of Promise Technology, Inc.
Award, AwardBIOS are trademarks of Award Software Incorporated.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
IBM, PC, AT and PS/2 are trademarks of IBM Corporation.

VIA is a trademark of VIA Technologies, Inc.

Winbond is a trademark of Winbond Electronics Corporation.
SMSC is a trademark of Standard Microsystems Corporation.
Realtek is a trademark of Realtek Semiconductor Corporation.
Broadcom is a trademark of Broadcom Corporation.
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a trademark of Adobe Corporation.

Information contained in this document is furnished by TYAN Computer Corporation and has
been reviewed for accuracy and reliability prior to printing. TYAN assumes no liability
whatsoever, and disclaims any express or implied warranty, relating to sale and/or use of
TYAN products including liability or warranties relating to fitness for a particular purpose or
merchantability. TYAN retains the right to make changes to product descriptions and/or
specifications at any time, without notice. In no event will TYAN 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 document.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Table of Contents

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Table of Contents

Before you begin… .................................................................................................................iv

Chapter 1: Introduction.........................................................................................................1-1

1.1 Congratulations!......................................................................................................... 1-1

1.2 Hardware Specifications ............................................................................................1-1

Chapter 2: Board Installation ...............................................................................................2-1

2.1 Installing the Motherboard ......................................................................................... 2-1

2.1.1 Installation Notes .............................................................................................2-1

2.2 Board Image .............................................................................................................. 2-2

2.3 Block Diagram............................................................................................................ 2-3

2.4 Motherboard Components .........................................................................................2-4

2.5 Jumpers and Connectors........................................................................................... 2-5

2.5.1 Serial port: COM1 (J22) ................................................................................... 2-6

2.5.2 Serial ATA Connectors: SATA1 & SATA2 & SATA3 & SATA4 (J26/J25/J23/J24),

RAID SATA1/SATA2 (J27/J28) (on SATA RAID model only)................................... 2-6

2.5.3 CPU Fan Connector: JP1 (PFAN) ...................................................................2-7

2.5.4 Chassis Fan Connectors: JP2/JP3 (FAN1 / FAN2) .........................................2-7

2.5.5 RAID IDE Connector: JP4 (RAID-IDE1) (on SATA RAID model only) ............ 2-8

2.5.6 IEEE1394a Connector: JP5 / JP6.................................................................... 2-8

2.5.7 Front Panel Audio Connector: JP8 ..................................................................2-9

2.5.8 CD Audio Input Connector: JP9....................................................................... 2-9

2.5.9 Front Panel USB 2.0 Connectors: USB3/USB4 (JP10/JP11)........................ 2-10

2.5.10 Clear CMOS Jumper: JP13 .........................................................................2-10

2.5.11 Gigabit LAN (BCM5751) Enable/Disable Jumper: JP18.............................. 2-11

2.5.12 Chassis Fan Connector: JP19 (FAN4) ........................................................ 2-11

2.5.13 Chassis Fan Connector: JP20 (FAN3) ........................................................ 2-12

2.5.14 Front Panel System Connector: JP21 ......................................................... 2-12

2.5.15 10/100 LAN (Intel 82551QM) Enable/Disable Jumper: JP23 (optional) ...... 2-13

2.6 Mounting the Motherboard ....................................................................................... 2-13

2.7 Installing Memory..................................................................................................... 2-14

2.7.1 Memory Installation Procedure ...................................................................... 2-15

2.8 Installing the Processor and Cooling Fan ................................................................ 2-15

2.9 Installing Drive Cables .............................................................................................2-18

2.10 Installing Expansion Cards .................................................................................... 2-19

2.11 Connecting External Devices................................................................................. 2-20

2.11.1 Onboard LAN LED Color Definition .............................................................2-20

2.12 Installing the Power Supply.................................................................................... 2-21

2.13 Finishing Up ........................................................................................................... 2-21

Chapter 3: BIOS Setup..........................................................................................................3-1

3.1 About the BIOS .......................................................................................................... 3-1

3.1.1 Starting Setup .................................................................................................. 3-1

3.1.2 Setup Basics.................................................................................................... 3-1

3.1.3 Getting Help ..................................................................................................... 3-1

3.1.4 In Case of Problems ........................................................................................3-2

3.1.5 Setup Variations .............................................................................................. 3-2

3.2 Main BIOS Setup .......................................................................................................3-2

3.3 Standard CMOS Features ......................................................................................... 3-4

3.4 Advanced BIOS Features ..........................................................................................3-5

3.4.1 CPU Features .................................................................................................. 3-5

3.4.2 Boot Sequence ................................................................................................3-8

3.5 Advanced Chipsets Features................................................................................... 3-11

3.5.1 PCI Express Root Port Func.......................................................................... 3-13

3.5.2 OnChip IDE Device........................................................................................ 3-16

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3.5.3 Onboard Device ............................................................................................. 3-18

3.5.4 Super IO Device............................................................................................. 3-20

3.5.5 PCI Express PM Function.............................................................................. 3-22

3.5.6 Power On Setup............................................................................................. 3-25

3.6 PnP/PCI Configurations ........................................................................................... 3-27

3.6.1 IRQ Resources ..............................................................................................3-28

3.7 PC Health Status ..................................................................................................... 3-29

3.8 Frequency/Voltage Control ......................................................................................3-30

3.9 Load Fail-Safe Defaults ........................................................................................... 3-32

3.10 Load Optimized Defaults........................................................................................ 3-33

3.11 Supervisor/User Password Setting ........................................................................ 3-33

3.12 Enter Password...................................................................................................... 3-34

3.13 Exit Selecting .........................................................................................................3-35

Chapter 4: SATA/RAID Setup (for SATA RAID model) ......................................................4-1

4.1 Getting Started........................................................................................................... 4-1

4.2 Create Your Disk Array .............................................................................................. 4-2

4.2.1 Creating a Performance Array ......................................................................... 4-2

4.2.2 Creating a Security Array with New Drives ...................................................... 4-3

4.2.3 Security Array with an Existing Data Drive ......................................................4-3

4.2.4 Security Array with Quick Initialization............................................................. 4-5

4.3 Install Software Drivers .............................................................................................. 4-6

4.3.1 Windows Server 2003...................................................................................... 4-6

4.3.2 Windows XP..................................................................................................... 4-7

4.3.3 Windows 2000 .................................................................................................4-8

4.4 Install PAM Software.................................................................................................. 4-9

4.4.1 Launch PAM and Log-in ................................................................................4-11

4.5 FastBuild™ Configuration Utility .............................................................................. 4-12

4.5.1 View the FastTrak BIOS Screen .................................................................... 4-12

4.5.2 Navigate the FastBuild Menus....................................................................... 4-13

4.5.3 Create Arrays Automatically ..........................................................................4-13

4.5.4 View Drive Assignments ................................................................................ 4-14

4.5.5 Create Arrays Manually .................................................................................4-15

4.5.6 Delete an Array .............................................................................................. 4-19

4.5.7 Rebuild a Mirrored Array................................................................................ 4-20

Chapter 5: Diagnostics.........................................................................................................5-1

5.1 Beep Codes ...............................................................................................................5-1

5.2 Flash Utility.................................................................................................................5-1

Appendix I: Glossary ............................................................................................................6-1

Appendix II: Post Error Code for BIOS ...............................................................................6-7

Technical Support .......................................................................................................... 6-12

Tomcat i915 S5120 Before you begin…

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Before you begin…

Check the package contents before you proceed.

The retail motherboard package should contain the following:

1 x Tomcat i915 S5120 motherboard

1 x 34-Pin floppy drive cable

1 x Ultra-DMA-133/100/66/33 IDE cable

(2 for models with Promise SATA RAID)

1 x Tomcat i915 S5120 User’s Manual

1 x Tomcat i915 S5120 Quick Reference Guide

1 x TYAN driver CD

2 x Promise Driver Diskette
(only for models with Promise SATA RAID)

1 x I/O shield

1 x Serial Port cable

1 x IEEE1394a cable

2 x Serial ATA power cable

4 x Serial ATA cable

1 x USB2.0 cable

If any of these items are missing, please contact your vendor or dealer for replacement before
continuing with the installation process.

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Congratulations!

Congratulations on your purchase of the TYAN Tomcat i915 S5120, one of the most powerful
and versatile motherboard solutions available for Intel Prescott processors. Based on the
acclaimed Intel i915G chipset, the S5120 offers exceptional performance and outstanding
features. The ATX form factor S5120 features an onboard Gigabit Ethernet port, fast Ethernet
port, serial ATA, RAID, and Integrated Intel GMA 900 3D graphics engine.

For more information about this and other TYAN products, visit the TYAN Web site at
http://www.tyan.com. Product FAQs, a list of distributors and advanced BIOS information are
also available on the Web site.

1.2 Hardware Specifications

Processors

y Single Socket-T (LGA775 socket)
y Intel



“Prescott” processor with EM64T

support

y 800/533MHz FSB support
Expansion Slots

y One x16 PCI Express connector for

graphics (configurable to x1 PCI Express)

y Two x1 PCI Express connectors

y Four 32/33 PCI 2.3 slots
y Total seven usable expansion slots

Chipset

y Intel i915G (Grantsdale-G) GMCH
y Intel ICH6 South Bridge
y SMSC DME1737

System Management

y SMSC DME1737 w/ hardware monitoring
y One 3+1-pin CPU Fan header w/

tachometer input and temperature-sensing
auto fan control

y Four 3-pin system Fan headers (3 w/

tachometer input and 2 w/ temperature­sensing auto fan control)

y Temperature and voltage monitoring
y Watchdog timer
y Port 80 code display LED

Memory

y Dual memory channels
y Supports Up to four DDR-333/400 DIMM
y Up to 4GB of Unbuffered, non-ECC memory

Integrated I/O Interface

y One floppy connector
y Four USB 2.0 ports (via cable)
y One COM port (via cable)
y TYAN 2 x 9 front-panel pin header

Integrated LAN Controllers

y One Gigabit LAN controller

― Broadcom BCM5751 PCI Express

GbE LAN controller operating at x1
PCIe interface

y One 10/100 LAN controller (optional)

― Intel 82551QM 10/100 LAN

controller operating at 32bit/33MHz
PCI bus

Integrated Audio

y Realtek ALC880 7.1 channel audio

CODEC

y Intel High Definition Audio/AC’97 2.3

supported, UAA compliant

y Supports S/PDIF In/Out interface
y 2x5 pin header for front panel audio

connector

y CD-in connector

Integrated PCI IEEE1394a Controller

y VIA VT6307 PCI FireWire (1394a)

controller

y Two IEEE1394a ports (via cable)

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Intelligent PCI IDE (ICH6)

y Single channel master mode supports two

IDE devices

y Support for ATA-100/66/33 IDE drives and

ATAPI compliant devices

Integrated Serial ATA (ICH6)

y Four Serial ATA Host controllers embedded
y Support four Serial ports running at 1.5Gb/s

Integrated 3D Graphic (i915G)

y Intel



GMA 900 3D engine embedded

y Up to 224MB shared memory support for

graphics

Rear Panel I/O ports

y Stacked PS/2 Mouse & Keyboard ports
y S/PDIF In/Out optical jacks
y One 15-pin VGA port
y One 25-pin SPP/ECP/EPP parallel port
y Six audio jacks
y Stacked two USB2.0 ports and one RJ45*

10/100 Base-T port w/ activity LED
(*optional)

y Stacked two USB2.0 ports and one RJ45

10/100/1000 Base-T port w/ activity LED

Integrated Serial ATA RAID (optional)

y Promise PDC20579 SATA RAID

controller

y 2 x SATA and 1 x Ultra ATA/133

channels

y Support up to two SATA and two ATA-

133/100 IDE drives

y Supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1

BIOS

y Award BIOS 8Mbit Flash ROM
y Supports APM 1.2 & ACPI 1.0B
y PnP, DMI 2.0, WfM 2.0 Power

Management

y Support BIOS Boot Specification v1.01

(BBS)

y Watchdog timer ready

Power

y ATX12V support, on board 4-phase

VRM

y Universal 24-pin + 8-pin power

connectors

y 4-pin auxiliary power connector
Form Factor

y ATX footprint
y 12” x 9.6” (305mm x 245mm)

Regulatory

y FCC Class B (Declaration of

Conformity)

y CE (Declaration of Conformity)
y BSMI

Note

TYAN reserves the right to add support or discontinue support for any OS
with or without notice.

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Chapter 2: Board Installation

2.1 Installing the Motherboard

The Tomcat i915 S5120 motherboard conforms fully to the ATX specification. Before
continuing with the installation, confirm that your chassis supports a standard ATX
motherboard. If you are unsure, contact your dealer for more information.

2.1.1 Installation Notes

This user manual contains important information and you should read it thoroughly before
attempting the installation procedure.

Precautions:

• Static electricity can damage components on your motherboard. Before touching the
product, discharge any static build up in yourself by touching a well grounded object such
as a metal water pipe or a grounded electrical appliance. TYAN recommends putting on a
good quality grounded wrist strap before removing your motherboard from the antistatic
bag.

• Disconnect your computer from the power supply before any disassembly procedure is
attempted.

• Touch the motherboard as little as possible and do not touch the bottom of the board at all.
Bending or flexing the motherboard may break delicate components or copper tracks on
the board.

• Avoid touching any of the motherboard components.

• Place the motherboard on a grounded antistatic surface or on the antistatic bag in which

the board was shipped.

• Inspect the board for damage.

Read the following sections for detailed instructions on how to install your motherboard in a
chassis and add a processor, memory, and disk drives.

Warning

Do not apply power to the board if it appears damaged.

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2.2 Board Image

The following is an image of the Tomcat i915 S5120.

The above photograph is purely representative. Due to engineering updates and new
board revisions, certain components may change and or be repositioned. The picture
above may or may not look exactly like the board you received.

The following page includes details on the vital components of this motherboard.

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2.3 Block Diagram

The following is a block diagram of the Tomcat i915 S5120.

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2.4 Motherboard Components

The diagram below shows the main motherboard components.

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parall e l P o rt)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bi t 3 3 MH z (5 V )P CI PC I1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom)
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bottom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Botto m )
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

This diagram represents the latest version of the moth erboard available at the time of
publishing. The board you receive ma y or may not look exactly like the above diagram.
Parts are not drawn to scale.

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2.5 Jumpers and Connectors

Jumpers and connectors are provided on your motherboard for configuration and connection
to peripherals. The following section shows you how to set your jumpers and use your
connectors.

Jumper/

Connector

Function Ref. Page

J22 COM1 Port Page 2-6
J23/J24/J25/J26 Serial ATA Connectors Page 2-6
J27/J28* RAID Serial ATA1/ATA2 Connector (optional) Page 2-6
J30/J31 S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out Connector

JP1 (PFAN)

CPU Fan Connector with tachometer monitoring and
fan speed control

Page 2-7

JP2/JP3
(FAN1/FAN2)

Chassis Fan Connector with tachometer monitoring and

fan speed control

Page 2-7

JP4* RAID IDE Connector (optional) Page 2-8
JP5/JP6 IEEE1394a Connector Page 2-8
JP8 Front Panel Audio Connector Page 2-9
JP9 CD Audio Input Connector Page 2-9

JP10/JP11
(USB3/USB4)

Front Panel USB Connector Page 2-10

JP13 Clear CMOS Jumper Page 2-10
JP15** Reserved
JP18 Gigabit LAN (BCM5751) Enable/Disable Jumper Page 2-11
JP19 (FAN4) Chassis Fan Connector Page 2-11
JP20 (FAN3) Chassis Fan Connector with tachometer monitoring Page 2-12
JP21 Front Panel System Connector Page 2-12
JP22** Reserved
JP23 10/100 LAN (Intel 82551QM) Enable/Disable Jumper Page 2-13

*

SATA RAID (J27/J28) and IDE RAID (JP4) are only for models with Promise SATA RAID.

**

JP15 and JP22 are reserved for OEM use only.

Jumper Legend

Jumper OFF – open (without jumper ca p)
Jumper ON – closed (with jumper cap)

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2.5.1 Serial port: COM1 (J22)

1 9

2 10

Signal Description

DSR

(Data-Set-Ready)

RTS

(Request-to-Send)

CTS

(Clear-to-Send)

RI

(Ring-Indicator)

NC/Key

Pin#

2 4 6 8

10

Pin#

1 3 5 7

9

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel
ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Signal Description

DCD

(Data Carrier Detect)

RX

(Receive-Data)

TX

(Transfer-Data)

DTR

(Data-Terminal-Ready)

GND

(Ground)

2.5.2 Serial ATA Connectors: SATA1 & SATA2 & SATA3 & SATA4 (J26/J25/J23/J24),
RAID SATA1/SATA2 (J27/J28) (on SATA RAID model only)

1 7

Pin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Signal GND TXP TXN GND RXN RXP GND

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel
ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Opti onal )

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bo t tom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bottom)
10/100 LA N (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Connects to the Serial ATA ready drives
via the Serial ATA cable

Along with the RAID IDE connector (JP4,
see page 2-8), J27/J28 support RAID 0, 1
and 0+1 through the on board SATA RAID
controller chip. You may use the RAID
feature to setup a disk array configuration
or to support additional drives

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2.5.3 CPU Fan Connector: JP1 (PFAN)

+12V

V3P3

Speed Control

Tachometer

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5 JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OU T)

KB(Bottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use this header to connect the processor
cooling fan to your motherboard to keep
the system stable and reliable.

This connector supports the tachometer

monitoring and auto fan speed control.

2.5.4 Chassis Fan Connectors: JP2/JP3 (FAN1 / FAN2)

+12V

Speed Control

Ta c h omete r

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3
SATA4

FAN4

Promise

PDC20579

(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom)
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bottom)
10/100 LA N (Top )
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use these headers to connect the chassis
cooling fans to your motherboard to keep

the system stable and reliable.

These connectors support the tachometer

monitoring and auto fan speed control.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-8

http://www.tyan.com

2.5.5 RAID IDE Connector: JP4 (RAID-IDE1) (on SATA RAID model only)

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional) IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PC I PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(B ot to m )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1 along with the
J27 (RAID SATA1) and J28 (RAID SATA2)
through the on board SATA RAID
controller chip.

2.5.6 IEEE1394a Connector: JP5 / JP6

10 2

9 1

NC

NC

XTPB+

GND

XTPA+

9 7 5 3 1

10 8 6 4 2

GND

VCC

XTPB-

GND

XTPA-

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom)
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bo ttom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use these headers to connect IEEE1394a
(FireWire) type device via the enclosed
1394a cable.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-9

http://www.tyan.com

2.5.7 Front Panel Audio Connector: JP8

1

9

2

10

1L 1 2 GND
1R 3 4 Presence
2R 5 6 AUD FP JS

AUD FP JS 7 8 NC

2L 9 10 AUD VREF

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OU T)

KB(B ottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bo tto m )
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use this header to connect with the front
panel audio outputs.

2.5.8 CD Audio Input Connector: JP9

41

Pin_1 Pin_2 Pin_3 Pin_4

CD_In _Left

GND

GND

CD_In_Right

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel
ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDI F-OUT)

KB(Bottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bottom)
10/100 LA N (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bo ttom )
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use this header to connect to the audio
output of a CD-ROM drive via an optional
CD audio cable so that you can listen to
the audio CDs through the integrated
audio chip on the motherboard.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-10

http://www.tyan.com

2.5.9 Front Panel USB 2.0 Connectors: USB3/USB4 (JP10/JP11)

10 2

9 1

GND

GND

Data 1+

Data 1 -

+5V

9 7 5 3 1

10 8 6 4 2

GND

GND

Data 2+

Data 2 -

+5V

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OU T)

KB(Bottom)
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bo ttom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use these headers to Connect to the USB
devices via the enclosed USB cable.

2.5.10 Clear CMOS Jumper: JP13

3

1

Default

3

1

Clear

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel
ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OU T)

KB(B ottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bo ttom )
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use this jumper when you forgot your
system/setup password or need to clear
system BIOS setting.

How to clear the CMOS data

- Power off system and disconnect
power supply from AC source

- Use jumper cap to close Pin_2 and 3

for several seconds to Clear CMOS

- Replace jumper cap to close Pin_1

and 2 (default setting)

- Reconnect power supply to AC
source

- Power on system

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-11

http://www.tyan.com

2.5.11 Gigabit LAN (BCM5751) Enable/Disable Jumper: JP18

1

OPEN

1

CLOSED (Default)

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel
ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom)
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Disable the on board Gigabit LAN function

by removing the jumper cap if needed.

2.5.12 Chassis Fan Connector: JP19 (FAN4)

+12V

NCGND

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use this header to connect the chassis
cooling fan to your motherboard to keep

the system stable and reliable.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-12

http://www.tyan.com

2.5.13 Chassis Fan Connector: JP20 (FAN3)

+12V

GND

Ta c h omet er

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OUT)

KB(Bottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

Use this header to connect the chassis
cooling fans to your motherboard to keep

the system stable and reliable.

This connector supports the tachometer

monitoring.

2.5.14 Front Panel System Connector: JP21

Your chassis will usually come with connectors to install onto the motherboard, such as HD

and Power LEDs. The Front Panel Connector (JP21) has been implemented for such

purposes.

1 2

17 18

Function PIN PIN Function

HD_LED+ 1 2 PWR+
HD_LED- 3 4 PWR­GND 5 6 Power Button

Reset
Button

7 8 GND

+5V 9 10 Sleep Button
NIMI 11 12 GND

+5VSB 13 14 NC

SMBUS
Data

15 16 GND

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel

ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3

SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22

COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OU T )

KB(Bottom)
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bottom)
10/100 LA N (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bottom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

SMBUS
Clock

17 18 INTRU#

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-13

http://www.tyan.com

2.5.15 10/100 LAN (Intel 82551QM) Enable/Disable Jumper: JP23 (optional)

3
1

Pin 1 – 2 Closed

(Default)

To enable on-board 10/100 Ethernet

3
1

Pin 2 – 3 Closed

USB3

1

1

1

1

J8

(KB+Mouse)

J30

J15 (VGA)

J6

(Parallel Port)

FAN2
JP3

PW8

LAN+
USB2

J33

(Audio)

ALC880

PFAN

JP1

BIOS

JP19

Intel

i915G

Intel
ICH6

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI2

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI3

32-bit 33MHz (5V) PCI PCI4

PCI-E2

SATA2

SATA1

FDD1 J7

JP15

RAID-IDE1 JP4 (Optional)

IDE1 J11

1

x16 PCI Express PCI-E1

SUPER

I/O

BT1

PCI-E3

USB4

1

VIA

VT6307

LED1

32-bit 33MHz (5V)PCI PCI1

SATA3
SATA4

FAN4

Promise
PDC20 579
(Optional)

JP8

1

JP9

BROADCOM

LAN

(Optional)

1

JP2

FAN1

LAN+
USB1

J22
COM1

JP18

1

1

JP13

JP5

JP6

PW3

1

FAN3
JP20

J27

J25 J24

J26

J23

S5120

J31

(SPDIF-IN)

(SPDIF-OU T)

KB(Bottom )
Mouse(Top)

USB (Bo ttom)
10/100 LAN (Top)
(Optional)

USB (Bo ttom)
GbE LAN (Top)

J28

JP10 JP11

Intel
LAN

1

JP23

1

To disable on-board 10/100 Ethernet

2.6 Mounting the Motherboard

Before installing your motherboard, ensure that your chassis is fully compatible. The Tomcat
i915 S5120 motherboard conforms fully to the ATX specification. Your chassis should include
preinstalled mounting posts that match exactly with the mounting holes in the motherboard.
Lay the motherboard on top of the mounting holes to ensure that all the necessary mounting
posts exist in your chassis and that they match the mounting holes on the motherboard.
Some chassis’ include plastic studs instead of metal. Although the plastic studs are usable,
TYAN recommends using metal studs with screws that will fasten the motherboard more
securely in place.

See the diagram below for some examples of typical motherboard fixing studs.

TIP: Use metal studs if possible, as they hold the motherboard into place more securely than

plastic standoffs.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-14

http://www.tyan.com

2.7 Installing Memory

Before installing memory, ensure that the memory you have is compatible with the
motherboard and processor. PC2700/PC3200 (DDR333/DDR400) modules are required.

Check the TYAN Web site at: www.tyan.com for details of the type of memory recommended

for your motherboard.

The following diagram shows common types of memory modules.

DDR Unbuffered ECC

DDR Unbuffered

Key points to note before installing memory:

• 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB unbuffered non-ECC PC2700/PC3200

DDR

memory modules are supported

• All installed memory will be automatically detected and no jumpers or settings need
changing.

• The Tomcat i915 S5120 supports up to 4GB of memory

• Registered Memory is NOT supported.

• You can install either single or double-sided modules on this motherboard. Each

DIMM can work in single-channel mode or dual-channel mode. Please note that
memory modules of the same type and density are required while using dual­channel DDR. Mismatched memory may cause system instability.

Refer to the following table for details of dual-channel DDR.

Channel A Channel B

Dual-Channel Mode

DIMM1
(Blue)

DIMM2
(Black)

DIMM3
(Blue)

DIMM4
(Black)

System
Density

Two DIMM Symmetrical
Population

9 9 256MB~2GB

Two DIMM Symmetrical
Population

9 9 256MB~2GB

Four DIMM Symmetrical
Population

9 9 9 9 512MB~4GB

Note

1. 9: Installing128MB~1GB Memory modules

2. Symmetrical DIMMs must be identical

- Same DRAM Technology, eg 128M-bit, 256-bit, etc.

- Same DRAM bus width, eg x8 or x16

- Matched Sided DIMMs (Single Sided or Double Sided)

• Supported System Bus Frequency and Memory Speed Combinations

CPU FSB DDR DIMM Type Memory Frequency

800MHz PC3200, PC2700 400, 333MHz
533MHz PC2700 333MHz

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-15

http://www.tyan.com

2.7.1 Memory Installation Procedure

Follow these instructions to install memory modules into the Tomcat i915 S5120.

1. Press the locking levers in the direction shown in the following illustration.

2. Align the memory module with the socket. The memory module is keyed to fit only one
way in the socket.

3. Seat the module firmly into the socket by gently pressing down until it sits flush with the
socket. The locking levers pop up into place.

2.8 Installing the Processor and Cooling Fan

Your Tomcat i915 S5120 supports the latest processor technologies from Intel. Check the
TYAN website for latest processor support:

http://www.tyan.com

Key slot

Tomcat i915 S5120 Chapter 2: Board Installation

2-16

http://www.tyan.com

Processor Installation
The processor should be installed carefully. Make sure you are wearing an antistatic
strap and handle the processor as little as possible.

Follow these instructions to install your processor

1. Locate the processor socket on the motherboard and lift the protective cover off as
shown.

WARNING:

This new processor socket designed by
Intel is easy to be damaged. The processor
has to be installed very carefully to prevent
the contact pins of the socket from
breaking. It is strongly recommended the
processor installation job to be handled by
the experienced technician.

2. Pull the locking lever out of its locked position and let it spring into the open position.

3. Lift the metal cover to expose the socket interior and place the processor in as shown.

4. Close the cover and return the locking lever to its locked position.

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Cooling Fan Installation

After you have installed the processor, the heatsink should be installed to ensure that the
processor runs efficiently and does not overheat. Use the heatsink supplied for best results.

Follow these instructions to install the heatsink shown.

1. Apply some thermal compound (also called heatsink compound or thermal grease) to
the top of the processor. Try and apply a thin, even layer over the top of the processor.

2. Align the heatsink with the four holes around the processor socket.

3. Press the heatsink down until the four white, plastic pegs are securely seated in the
holes.

4. Press down the black pegs until they click to lock the heatsink in place.

To remove the heatsink you will need to twist each of the black locking pegs until they spring
up and unlock the heatsink from the motherboard.
Remember to connect the power supply for the fan to complete the installation.

Some heat sinks require a bracket to be installed beneath the motherboard before the heat
sink is placed on the top side of the motherboard. To install a heat sink like this:
1 Turn the motherboard upside down and place the rear bracket in position with the

mounting posts poking through the corresponding holes in the motherboard.

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2 Turn the motherboard the right way up, holding the bracket in place.
3 Place the heat sink assembly on top of the processor.

It should match up with the mounting holes on the rear bracket.

4 Screw the heat sink assembly into place.

If there is a fan on the heat sink you will need to connect the power lead for the fan to one of
the fan power supply pin headers on the motherboard.

2.9 Installing Drive Cables

IDE and FDD connectors are “keyed” to only allow insertion only one way. TYAN

motherboards have two on-board IDE channels, each supporting two drives. The black

connector is a standard IDE channel. Only the blue connector
supports RAID.

Insert the IDE cable as shown in the diagram.

TIP: When connecting to an IDE cable to a drive, Pin 1 on the IDE

cable (usually designated by a colored wire) should be closest to the
drive power connector.

Ser ial ATA

Attaching Serial ATA cables to the Serial ATA connectors is illustrated below:
Plug in one end of the Serial ATA cable into the motherboard Serial ATA
connector, and the other end into the drive. Each standard Serial ATA cable has
two connectors, one at each end. Connectors are the same on both ends.

Floppy Drives

Floppy disk drive (FDD) cables can be installed in the same way as IDE cables. Usually
connectors are keyed to prevent insertion the wrong way. In most cases the cable should be
inserted into the drive with pin 1 closest to the power input. FDD cables usually have a single
red wire that marks pin 1. See the diagram below.

Colored cable denotes pin 1

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Troubleshooting Floppy Drives

See the chart below for troubleshooting floppy disk drive installations.

Symptoms of incorrectly installed floppy drives

Drive is not automatically detected

Usually caused by faulty cables, cables put in
backwards or a faulty floppy drive. Try another
floppy drive or try replacing the cable. Check to
see if the onboard floppy controller is enabled in
the BIOS setup.

Drive Fail message at boot up

The cable, floppy drive or motherboard may be
faulty. Try another drive or cable.

Drive does not power on

Check power cable and cabling. A faulty power
supply or drive cable could be the problem.

Drive activity light is constantly on

Usually signifies that the cable on the drive is
inserted backwards. Reverse the cable at the
floppy drive end and try again.

2.10 Installing Expansion Cards

Before installing add-in cards, you should ensure that they are fully compatible with your
motherboard. For this reason, we’ve provided the diagrams below, showing the expansion
slots that appear on your motherboard.

Expansion cards should be pushed firmly into the appropriate slot. Excessive force can
damage both the card and the motherboard and care should be taken.

Notes

Unplug the power connector to the motherboard before performing
system hardware changes, to avoid damaging the board or expansion
cards

PCI Slot

X16 PCI Express Slot

X1 PCI Express Slot

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2.11 Connecting External Devices

Your new motherboard supports a number of different interfaces for connecting peripherals.
See the diagram below.

Port definitions:

A PS2 mouse port (green)
B PS2 keyboard port (purple)
C SPDIF-IN port (red)
D SPDIF-OUT port (light green)
E VGA port (blue)

Center / subwoofer
speaker (orange)

Line–in (blue)

Rear speaker (black) Front speaker (light green)

F

5 + 1
audio
out
ports

Side speaker (grey)

Mic-in (pink)

G USB 2.0 ports
H Parallel printer port (dark red)
I 10/100 Ethernet port
J Gigabit Ethernet port

Peripheral devices can be plugged straight into any of these ports but software may be
required to complete the installation

2.11.1 Onboard LAN LED Color Definition

The two onboard Ethernet ports have green and yellow LEDs to indicate LAN status. The
chart below illustrates the different LED states.

LAN Link/Activity LED Scheme

Right

Left

Left LED Right LED

Link Green Off

10 Mbps

Active Blinking Green Off

Link Green Green

100 Mbps

Active Blinking Green Green

Link Green Yellow

1000 Mbps

Active Blinking Green Yellow

No Link Off Off

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2.12 Installing the Power Supply

There are three power connectors on your Tomcat i915 S5120. By default, the Tomcat
i915 S5120 requires that you have an EPS12V power supply that has a 24-pin and an 8-pin
power connector. However, the Tomcat i915 S5120 is also ATX12V compatible. All 3 power
connectors need to be used if you plan on using the ATX12V power.

Power Supply

Main

power connector

12V

power connector

4-pin AUX

power connector
EPS12V Required Required Not required
ATX12V Required Required Required

1. Disconnect power supply from electrical outlet

2. Connect 12V power connector

3. Connect 4-pin AUX power connector (required for ATX12V power)

4. Connect Main power connector

5. Connect power cable to power supply to power outlet

Note

YOU MUST unplug the power supply before plugging the power cables to

motherboard connectors.

2.13 Finishing Up

Before closing up your chassis, make sure that all cables and wires are connected properly,
especially IDE cables and most importantly, jumpers. You may have difficulty powering on
your system if the motherboard jumpers are not set correctly.
If you experience difficulty, you can find help by asking your vendor for assistance. If they are
not available for assistance, please find setup information and documentation online at our

website (www.tyan.com) or by calling your vendor’s support line.

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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup

3.1 About the BIOS

The BIOS is the basic input/output system, the firmware on the motherboard that enables your
hardware to interface with your software. This chapter describes different settings for the
BIOS that can be used to configure your system.

The BIOS section of this manual is subject to change without notice and is provided for
reference purposes only. The settings and configurations of the BIOS are current at the time of
print, and therefore may not match exactly what is displayed on screen.

This section describes the BIOS setup program. The setup program lets you modify basic
configuration settings. The settings are then stored in a dedicated, battery-backed memory
(called NVRAM) that retains the information when the power is turned off.

This motherboard’s BIOS is a customized version of the industry-standard BIOS for IBM PC
AT-compatible personal computers. The BIOS provides critical, low-level support for the
system’s central processing unit (CPU), memory, and I/O subsystems.

This BIOS has been customized by adding important features such as virus and password
protection, power management, and chipset “tuning” features that control the system. This
section will guide you through the process of configuring the BIOS for your system setup.

3.1.1 Starting Setup

The BIOS is immediately activated when you turn on the computer. The BIOS reads system
configuration in CMOS RAM and begins the process of checking out the system and
configuring it through the Power-On-Self-Test (POST).
When these preliminary tests are complete, the BIOS searches for an operating system on
one of the system’s data storage devices (hard drive, CD-ROM, etc). If one is found, the BIOS
will launch that operating system and hand control over to it. You can enter the BIOS setup by

pressing the [Delete] key when the machine boots up and begins to show the memory count.

3.1.2 Setup Basics

The table below shows how to navigate in the setup program using the keyboard.

Key Function

Tab Moves from one selection to the next

Left/Right Arrow Keys Changes from one menu to the next

Up/Down Arrow Keys Moves between selections

Enter Opens highlighted section

PgUp/PgDn Keys Changes settings.

3.1.3 Getting Help

Pressing [F1] displays a small help window that describes the appropriate keys to use and the
possible selections for the highlighted item. To exit the Help Window, press [ESC] or the [F1]

key again.

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3.1.4 In Case of Problems

If you have trouble booting the computer after making and saving changes with the BIOS
setup program, restart the computer by holding the power button down until the computer
shuts off (usually within 4 seconds); resetting by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL; or clearing the
CMOS.
Only alter settings that you thoroughly understand. In particular, do not change settings in the
Chipset section unless you are sure of the outcome. TYAN or your system manufacturer has
carefully chosen the chipset defaults for best performance and reliability. Even a small change
to the Chipset setup options may cause the system to become unstable or unusable.

3.1.5 Setup Variations

While the basic look and function of the BIOS setup remains more or less the same for most
systems, the appearance of your Setup screen may differ from the charts shown in this section.
Each system design and chipset combination requires a custom configuration. In addition, the
final appearance of the Setup program depends on the system designer. Your system
designer may decide that certain items should not be available for user configuration, and
remove them from the BIOS setup program.

Note

On the following pages, options written in bold type represent the BIOS
Setup default.

3.2 Main BIOS Setup

When you enter Phoenix - AwardBIOS CMOS Setup Utility, the following screen will appear as
below:

Standard CMOS Features

Use this menu for basic system configuration.

Advanced BIOS Features

Use this menu to set the Advanced Features available on your system.

Advanced Chipset Features

Use this menu to change the values in the chipset registers and optimize your system's
performance.

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Integrated Peripherals

Use this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.

Power Management Setup

Use this menu to specify your settings for power management.

PnP

/ PCI Configuration

This entry appears if your system supports PnP / PCI.

PC Health Status

Use this menu to show your system temperature, speed and voltage status.

Frequency/Voltage Control

Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control.

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

Use this menu to load the BIOS default values for the minimal/stable performance for your
system to operate.

Load Optimized Defaults

Use this menu to load the BIOS default values that are factory settings for optimal
performance system operations. While Award has designed the custom BIOS to maximize
performance, the factory has the right to change these defaults to meet their needs.

Supervisor / User Password

Use this menu to set User and Supervisor Passwords.

Save & Exit Setup

Save CMOS value changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without Saving

Abandon all CMOS value changes and exit setup.

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3.3 Standard CMOS Features

In this section, you can alter general features such as the date and time, as well as access to
the IDE configuration options. Note that the options listed below are for options that can
directly be changed within the Main Setup screen. Users use the arrow keys to highlight the
item and then use the <PgUp> or <PgDn> keys to select the value you want in each item.

Date

/ Time Setup

System Date: Adjusts the system date.
MM Months
DD Days
YYYY Years
System Time: Adjusts the system clock.
HH Hours (24hr. format)
MM Minutes
SS Seconds

IDE Master

/ Slave Setup

Computer detects IDE drive type from drive C to drive F.

• None

• Auto

• Manual

Drive A

/ B

Defines the floppy drive type.

• None

• 360K, 5.25in

• 1.2M, 5.25in

• 720K, 3.5in

• 1.44M, 3.5in

• 2.88M, 3.5in

Video

Defines the video display mode.

• EGA/VGA

• CGA 40

• CGA 80

• MONO

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Halt On

Determines if the computer should stop when an error is detected during power up.

• No Errors

• All Errors

• All, But Keyboard

• All, But Diskette

• All, But Disk/Key

3.4 Advanced BIOS Features

In Advanced BIOS features, you will be able to adjust many features that affect system speed
and boot-up options.

3.4.1 CPU Features

Press [Enter] to access advanced features of the CPU.

Delay Prior to Thermal

This BIOS feature is only valid for systems that are powered by 0.13µ Intel Pentium 4
processors with 512KB L2 cache.
These processors come with a Thermal Monitor that consists of an on-die thermal sensor and
a Thermal Control Circuit (TCC).
When the Thermal Monitor is in automatic mode and the thermal sensor detects that the
processor has reached its maximum safe operating temperature, it will activate the TCC. The
TCC will then modulate the clock cycles by inserting null cycles, typically at a rate of 50-70%

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of the total number of clock cycles. This results in the processor "resting" for 50-70% of the
time.
As the die temperature drops, the TCC will gradually reduce the number of null cycles until no
more is required to keep the die temperature below the safe point. Then the thermal sensor
turns the TCC off. This mechanism allows the processor to dynamically adjust its duty cycles
to ensure its die temperature remains within safe limits.
The Delay Prior To Thermal BIOS feature controls the activation of the Thermal Monitor's
automatic mode. It allows you to determine when the Pentium 4's Thermal Monitor should be
activated in automatic mode after the system boots. For example, with the default value of 16
Minutes, the BIOS activates the Thermal Monitor in automatic mode 16 minutes after the
system starts booting up.
Generally, the Thermal Monitor should not be activated immediately on booting, as the
processor will be under a heavy load during the booting process. This causes a sharp rise in
die temperature from its cold state. Because it takes time for the thermal output to radiate from
the die to the heat sink, the thermal sensor will register the sudden spike in die temperature
and prematurely activate the TCC. This unnecessarily reduces the processor's performance
during the booting up process.
Therefore, to ensure optimal booting performance, the activation of the Thermal Monitor must
be delayed for a set period of time.
It is recommended that you set this BIOS feature to the lowest value (in minutes) that exceeds
the time it takes to fully boot up your computer. For example, if it takes 5 minutes to fully boot
up your system, you should select 8 Minutes.
You should not select a delay value that is unnecessarily long. Without the Thermal Monitor,
your processor may heat up to a critical temperature (approximately 135°C), at which point the
thermal sensor shuts down your processor by removing the core voltage within 0.5 seconds.

• 4 Min

• 8 Min

• 16 Min

• 32 Min

Thermal Management

Thermal Management throttles the processor back as it reaches its maximum operating
temperature. Throttling reduces the number of processing cycles, thereby diminishing the heat
dissipation of the CPU. This cools the unit. Once the CPU has reached a safe operating
temperature, thermal throttling is automatically disabled, and normal full speed processing
begins again.
The BIOS supports two types of thermal management.

• Thermal Monitor 1: Thermal Monitor 1 uses a highly accurate on-die temperature

sensing circuit in the CPU that has the ability to act quickly upon any thermal issues
(~50ns). This circuitry keeps an eye on the most taxed areas of the CPU-die at all
times and will quickly act upon temperatures going over the safety limits. The
thermal monitor’s control circuit, when active, lowers the CPU temperature by
throttling the internal CPU clock speed. This is done with a 50% duty-cycle, which
means that a 2GHz CPU will then effectively run at a 1GHz clock speed. Due to the
fast response time of the thermal monitor circuit (~50ns) the CPU will only be
‘throttled’ for a very brief period. Once the CPU-die temperature is within safe
operating limits again it’ll set back to the 2GHz clock speed it originally operated at.

• Thermal Monitor 2: Thermal Monitor 2 decreases or increases the CPU clock and

core voltage according to the CPU load. This information is read from the five VID
pins of the CPU. Accordingly, the CPU temperature is also automatically decreased,
when the core voltage is decreased. This improves the CPU lifespan. The states
switch is so fast that the performance decrease is insignificant.

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CPU L1 & L2 Cache

This option toggles the use of CPU L1 and L2 cache. The L1 cache is also called the primary
cache or internal cache and is built into the processor. The L2 cache also called as the
external cache is placed between the CPU and the DRAM (dynamic RAM). A memory cache,
sometimes called a cache store or RAM cache, is a portion of memory made of high speed
static RAM (SRAM) instead of the slower and cheaper dynamic RAM (DRAM) used for main
memory. These caches store frequently accessed instructions and data. Memory caching is
effective because most programs access the same data or instructions over and over. By
keeping as much of this information as possible in SRAM, the computer avoids accessing the
slower DRAM.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Hyper-Threading Technology

This option allows you to enable or disable Hyper-Threading Technology. Hyper-Threading
Technology is a form of simultaneous multi-threading technology (SMT) where multiple
threads of software applications can be run simultaneously on one processor. This is achieved
by duplicating the architectural state on each processor, while sharing one set of processor
execution resources. Hyper-Threading Technology also delivers faster response times for
multi-tasking workload environments. By allowing the processor to use on-die resources that
would otherwise have been idle, Hyper- Threading Technology provides a performance boost
on multi-threading and multi-tasking operations.

• Enabled

• Disabled

APIC Mode

This option allows you to enable or disable Advanced Programmable
Interrupt Controller (APIC) Mode. APIC mode provides multi-processor interrupt management
and incorporates both static and dynamic symmetric interrupt distribution across all processors.
In systems with multiple I/O subsystems, each subsystem can have its own set of interrupts.
Each interrupt pin is individually programmable as either edge or level triggered. The interrupt
vector and interrupt steering information can be specified per interrupt. An indirect register
accessing scheme optimizes the memory space needed to access the I/O APIC's internal
registers. To increase system flexibility when assigning memory space usage, the I/O APIC's
two-register memory space is re-locatable.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Note

Once the operating system is installed, such as Windows XP, this setting
cannot be changed without reinstalling the operating system, regardless
of whether the initial setting is Disabled or Enabled.

MPS Version Control For OS

This feature is only applicable to multiprocessor motherboards as it specifies the version of the
Multi-Processor Specification (MPS) that the motherboard will use. The MPS is a specification
by which PC manufacturers design and build Intel architecture systems with two or more
processors.
MPS 1.1 was the original specification. MPS version 1.4 adds extended configuration tables
for improved support of multiple PCI bus configurations and greater expandability in the future.
In addition, MPS 1.4 introduces support for a secondary PCI bus without requiring a PCI
bridge.

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Select the MPS version depending on the operating system installed: select 1.1 for Win NT

3.52, and 1.4 for Win NT4.0, Win2000, and WinXP.

• 1.1

• 1.4

Note

This option cannot be changed if APIC Mode is set to Disabled.

Quick Power On Self Test

This option allows the system to skip self-tests for faster startup.

• Enabled

• Disabled

3.4.2 Boot Sequence

This setting controls the order that the BIOS uses to look for a boot device from which to load
the operating system during the boot process. The boot sequence options are as follows.

Removable Device Priority

This setting controls the order that the BIOS uses to look for a removable boot device from
which to load the operating system during the boot process. The removable boot sequence
options are as follows.

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The removable boot device priority is as follows.

o Internal Floppy Disks
o LS120 Disk
o Internal Zip Disk
o 1

st

USB Floppy Disk

o 2

nd

USB Floppy Disk

o 1

st

USB ZIP Disk

o 2

nd

USB ZIP Disk

Hard Disk Boot Priority

This setting controls the order that the BIOS uses to look for a hard disk from which to load the
operating system during the boot process. The hard disk boot sequence options are as follows.

The hard disk boot device priority is as follows.

1. Primary Master

2. Primary Slave

3. Secondary Master

4. Secondary Slave

5. 1

st

USB Hard Disk

6. 2

nd

USB Hard Disk

7. 3

rd

USB Hard Disk

8. Other Bootable Add-in Cards

First, Second, and Third Boot Devices

These indicate the boot priority. For example if the First Boot Device is set as Removable, the
Second Boot Device as CDROM, and the Third Boot Device as Hard Disk, then the system
will try to boot from a removable drive, failing which it will try to boot from a CDROM, and if this
also fails, it will try to boot from the Hard Disk.

Boot Other Device

This option allows the system to boot from any other bootable device.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Swap Floppy Drive

This will swap your physical drive letters A & B if you are using two floppy disks.

• Enabled

• Disabled

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Boot Up Floppy Seek

During Power-On Self-Test (POST), BIOS will determine if the floppy disk drive installed is 40
or 80 tracks.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Boot Up NumLock Status

This option, when enabled, automatically turns on your NumLock key when the system is
booted. This is a matter of personal taste.

• On

• Off

Gate A20 Option

This feature determines how Gate A20 is used to address memory above 1MB. When this
option is set to Fast, the motherboard chipset controls the operation of Gate A20. But when
set to Normal, a pin in the keyboard controller controls Gate A20. Setting Gate A20 to Fast
improves memory access speed and thus, overall system speed, especially with OS/2 and
Windows.
This is because OS/2 and Windows enter and leave protected mode via the BIOS, so Gate
A20 needs to switch often from enabled to disabled and back again. Setting this feature to
Fast improves memory access performance above 1MB because the chipset is much faster at
switching Gate A20 than the keyboard controller. It is recommended that you set it to Fast for
faster memory accesses.

• Normal

• Fast

Typematic Rate Setting

This feature enables you to control the keystroke repeat rate when you depress a key
continuously. When enabled, you can manually adjust the settings using the two typematic
controls (Typematic Rate and Typematic Delay). If disabled, the BIOS will use the default
setting.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)

Defines how many characters are repeated per second when holding down a key on the
keyboard:

• 6

• 8

• 10

• 12

• 15

• 20

• 24

• 30

Typematic Delay (Msec)

Defines the delay (in milli-seconds) that occurs at keystroke before that key will start to repeat.

• 250

• 500

• 750

• 1000

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Security Option

Setting this option to System will set the BIOS to ask for the password each time the system
boots up.
If you choose Setup, then the password is only required for access into the BIOS setup menus.

• Setup

• System

OS Select For DRAM > 64MB

This BIOS feature determines how systems with more than 64MB of memory are managed. A
wrong setting can cause problems like erroneous memory detection.
If you are using an older version of the IBM OS/2 operating system, you should select OS/2.
If you are using the IBM OS/2 Warp v3.0 or higher operating system, you should select Non­OS/2.
If you are using an older version of the IBM OS/2 operating system but have already installed
all the relevant IBM Fix-Paks, you should select Non-OS/2.
Users of non-OS/2 operating systems (like Microsoft Windows XP) should select the Non-OS2
option.

• Non-OS2

• OS2

Console Redirection

This option will redirect the BIOS and POST screens to the serial port to allow remote
management using a terminal server.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Report No FDD For WIN 95

Set this option to Yes if you are using Windows 95/98 without a floppy to release IRQ6 (this is
required to pass Windows 95/98's SCT test and get the logo).

• No

• Yes

Small Logo (EPA) Show

Toggles the display of the EPA Energy Star logo at POST.

• Enabled

• Disabled

3.5 Advanced Chipsets Features

In Advanced Chipset Features, you will be able to adjust many of the chipset special features.

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DRAM Timing Selectable

This option permits you to either manually select memory timings, or allow the SPD (Serial
Presence Detect) to determine the said timings automatically.

• Manual

• By SPD

Note

On all memory timing settings, lower number is more aggressive.

CAS Latency Time

This setting controls the time delay (in clock cycles - CLKs) that passes before the DRAM
starts to carry out a read command after receiving it. This also determines the number of CLKs
for the completion of the first part of a burst transfer. In other words, the lower the latency, the
faster the transaction.

• Auto

• 2

• 2.5

• 3

DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay

This setting is the number of cycles from when a bank activate command is issued until a read
or write command is accepted, that is, before the CAS becomes active.

• Auto

• 5

• 4

• 3

• 2

DRAM RAS# Precharge

This setting is the number of cycles needed to return data to its original location to close the
bank or number of cycles to page memory before the next bank activate command can be
issued.

• Auto

• 5

• 4

• 3

• 2

Precharge Delay <tRAS>

This timing controls the length of the delay between the activation and precharge commands -­basically how long after activation can the access cycle be started again. This influences row
activation time that is taken into account when memory has hit the last column in a specific
row, or when an entirely different memory location is requested.

• Auto

• 4 ~ 10

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System Memory Frequency

Changing this option allows the memory to be run asynchronously from the FSB but it is best if
it is left at AUTO.

• Auto

• DDR333

• DDR400

System BIOS Cacheable

Enabling this option will cause the BIOS code from ROM to be copied on to the much faster
RAM at location F0000h-FFFFFh, thus increasing system performance. However, if any
program writes to this memory area, a system error may result.

• Disabled

• Enabled

Video BIOS Cacheable

Enabling this option will cause the VIDEO BIOS code from the video adapter’s ROM to be
copied on to the much faster RAM, thus increasing system performance. However, if any
program writes to this memory area, a system error may result.

• Disabled

• Enabled

Memory Hole at 15M-16M

Certain ISA cards require exclusive access to the 1MB block of memory, from the 15th to the
16th megabyte, to work properly. This BIOS feature allows you to reserve that 1MB block of
memory for such cards to use.

If you enable this feature, 1MB of memory (the 15th MB) will be reserved exclusively for the

ISA card's use. This effectively reduces the total amount of memory available to the operating
system by 1MB.

If you disable this feature, the 15th MB of RAM will not be reserved for the ISA card's use.

The full range of memory is therefore available for the operating system to use. However, if
your ISA card requires the use of that memory area, it may then fail to work.

Since ISA cards are a thing of the past, it is highly recommended that you disable this feature.

Even if you have an ISA card that you absolutely have to use, you may not actually need to
enable this feature.
Most ISA cards do not need exclusive access to this memory area. Make sure that your ISA
card requires this memory area before enabling this feature. You should use this BIOS feature
only as a last-ditch attempt to get an ISA card to work.

• Disabled

• Enabled

3.5.1 PCI Express Root Port Func

This option enables the BIOS to detect the PCI devices attached to the four PCI Express ports.
PCI Express is the third generation high performance I/O bus used to interconnect peripheral
devices in applications such as computing and communication platforms. The first generation
buses include the ISA, EISA, VESA, and Micro Channel buses, while the second generation
buses include PCI, AGP, and PCI-X. PCI Express is an all encompassing I/O device
interconnect bus that has applications in the mobile, desktop, workstation, server, embedded
computing and communication platforms.
To improve bus performance, reduce overall system cost and take advantage of new
developments in computer design, the PCI Express architecture had to be significantly re­designed from its predecessor buses. PCI and PCI-X buses are multi-drop parallel
interconnect buses in which many devices share one bus.

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PCI Express on the other hand implements a serial, point-to-point type interconnect for
communication between two devices. Multiple PCI Express devices are interconnected via the
use of switches, which means one can practically connect a large number of devices together
in a system. A point-to-point interconnect implies limited electrical load on the link allowing
transmission and reception frequencies to scale to much higher numbers. Currently PCI
Express transmission and reception data rate is 2.5 Gbits/sec. A serial interconnect between
two devices results in fewer pins per device package, which reduces PCI Express chip and
board design cost and reduces board design complexity. PCI Express performance is also
highly scalable. This is achieved by implementing scalable numbers for pins and signal lanes
per interconnect based on communication performance requirements for that interconnect.
However, PCI Express is software backwards compatible with existing PCI systems. In fact, a
PCI Express system will boot an existing OS with no changes to current drivers and
application programs. Even PCI/ACPI power management software will still run.

PCI Express Ports 1-4

When enabled, the BIOS checks these ports to detect and activate the PCI devices connected
to them.
When set to Auto, the BIOS auto determines whether to enable or disable them, depending on
whether PCI devices have been connected.

• Auto

• Enabled

• Disabled

PCI-E Compliance Mode

This BIOS option determines compatibility between PCI-Express specification v1.0 and PCI­Express specification v1.0a.

• V1.0a

• V1.0

PEG/Onchip VGA Control

This option lets the BIOS choose the VGA controller. PEG or Portable Embedded GUI is a
hardware independent set of GUI classes to construct visual displays for embedded systems.
If you do have PEG installed, then the BIOS can use PEG instead of the Onchip VGA
controller.
The default mode is Auto in which the BIOS determines the correct VGA controller to use.

• Auto

• Onchip VGA

• PEG Port

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On-Chip Frame Buffer Size

This determines the amount of system memory to allocate to video memory. This corresponds
to the amount of memory on the onboard graphics card.

• 1MB

• 4MB

• 8MB

• 16MB

• 32MB

FIXED Memory Size

Fixed memory is the small amount of system memory made available at boot time by the
system BIOS for video. Fixed memory is also known as locked memory. This is because it is
"locked" for video use only and as such, is invisible and unable to be used by the operating
system. This option sets the amount of Fixed memory to be used.

• 0MB

• 32MB

• 64MB

• 128MB

DVMT Memory Size

This sets the maximum amount of memory that can be dynamically allocated by DVMT.

• 0MB

• 32MB

• 64MB

• 128MB

• 224MB

Integrated Peripherals

Options related to onboard peripheral features could be altered through the following:

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3.5.2 OnChip IDE Device

IDE HDD Block Mode

The IDE HDD Block Mode feature speeds up hard disk access by transferring data from
multiple sectors at once instead of using the old single sector transfer mode. When you enable
it, the BIOS will automatically detect if your hard disk supports block transfers and configure
the proper block transfer settings for it. Up to 64KB of data can be transferred per interrupt
with IDE HDD Block Mode enabled.

If you disable IDE HDD Block Mode, only 512 bytes of data can transferred per interrupt. This
degrades performance quite a bit. For optimal performance, enable this option.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Note

Microsoft recommends that WinNT 4.0 users without Service Pack 2
disable IDE HDD Block Mode as it causes data corruption.

On-Chip Primary PCI IDE

IDE hard drive controllers can support up to two separate hard drives. These drives have a
master/slave relationship that is determined by the cabling configuration used to attach them
to the controller. Your system supports two IDE controllers-- a primary and a secondary-- so,
up to four separate hard disks can be installed.
PIO means Programmed Input/Output. Rather than have the BIOS issue a series of
commands to effect a transfer to or from the disk drive, PIO allows the BIOS to tell the
controller what it wants and then let the controller and the CPU perform the complete task by
themselves. This is simpler and more efficient (and faster).
Your system includes two built-in IDE controllers, both of which operate on the PCI bus. This
setup item allows you either to enable or disable the primary controller. You might choose to
disable the controller if you were to add a higher performance or specialized controller.

• Enabled

• Disabled

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Primary

/ Secondary Master / Slave PIO

The four IDE PIO (Programmed Input / Output) fields let you set a PIO mode (0-4) for each of
the four IDE devices that the onboard IDE interface supports. Modes 0 through 4 provide
successively increased performance. In Auto mode, the system automatically determines the
best mode for each device.

• Auto

• Mode 0 ~ Mode 4

Primary

/ Secondary Master / Slave UDMA

This option allows you to select the mode of operation for the Ultra DMA/33 implementation.
This is possible only if your IDE hard drive supports UDMA and the operating environment
includes a DMA driver (Windows 95 OSR2 or a third party IDE bus master driver). UDMA
(Ultra DMA) is advanced technology that provides for even faster throughput, up to 33.3 MB/s
in UDMA mode 2 and 66.7 MB/s in UDMA mode 4, twice to four times that of EIDE, for much
lower prices than SCSI. Many new computers come with large UDMA drives and UDMA
interfaces, and it's possible to add a UDMA interface card (such as the Promise Ultra33 or
Ultra66) to an existing system to boost speed, even on older non-UDMA drives. If your hard
drive and your system software both support Ultra DMA/33, select Auto to enable BIOS
support.

• Auto

• Disabled

On-Chip Secondary PCI IDE

Your system includes two built-in IDE controllers, both of which operate on the PCI bus. This
setup item allows you either to enable or disable the secondary controller. You might choose
to disable the controller if you were to add a higher performance or specialized controller.

• Enabled

• Disabled

On-Chip Serial ATA

This selects the mode for the On-Chip Serial ATA controller. The following are the modes.

• Disabled: This disables the SATA controller.

• Auto: This auto selects the correct mode for the SATA controller.

• Combined Mode: This combines both PATA (Parallel ATA) and SATA. This allows

a maximum of 2 IDE drives in each channel.

• Enhanced Mode: This enables both SATA as well as PATA and allows a maximum

of 6 IDE drives in each channel.

• SATA Only: This operates SATA in legacy mode.

PATA IDE Mode

This enables the selected IDE controller in PATA mode (Parallel ATA mode).

• Primary

• Secondary

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3.5.3 Onboard Device

USB Controller

This option enables or disables IRQ allocation for the USB (Universal Serial Bus) controller.
Enable this if you are using a USB device. If you disable this while using a USB device, you
may have problems running that device. However, if you don't use any USB devices, set the
option to Disabled. It will free up an IRQ for other devices to use.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Note

This option is for the older USB 1.1 specification

USB 2.0 Controller

This option enables or disables IRQ allocation for the USB 2 (Universal Serial Bus ­Specification 2.0) controller. Enable this if you are using a USB 2 device. If you disable this
while using a USB 2 device, you may have problems running that device. However, if you
don't use any USB 2 devices, set the option to Disabled. It will free up an IRQ for other
devices to use.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Note

USB 2.0 has a throughput of 480 Mbps (40 times faster than USB 1.1)
and is fully backward compatible with USB 1.1.

USB Keyboard Support

Select “Enabled” if your system contains a USB controller and you have a USB keyboard.

• Enabled

• Disabled

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USB Mouse Support

Set this option to enabled if your system has a USB controller (including USB 2.0) and a USB
mouse.

• Disabled

• Enabled

Onboard Audio

This enables/disables the on board Azalia sound chip. The default is Auto, which automatically
determines whether to enable or disable this chip.

• Auto

• Disabled

Onboard Intel LAN Ctrl

This enables/disables the onboard Intel LAN Controller. Disabling this will stop all network
activity if you are using this controller to connect to the network.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Onboard Promise RAID Ctrl

This enables/disables the onboard Promise Raid Controller. Disabling this will disable access
to any connected RAID devices.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Onboard VIA 1394 Ctrl

This enables/disables the onboard VIA 1394 (FireWire) controller. Disabling this will disable
access to any connected FireWire devices.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Promise Mode Select

This controls the configuration of the promise IDE port. Options are:

• Raid

• Ultra ATA

Onboard Broadcom LAN PXE Boot ROM

This controls if the onboard Lan will is run on boot up. Lan Boot ROMs are used to download
operating system code from a network server. Options are:

• Disabled

• Enabled

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3.5.4 Super IO Device

Onboard FDC Controller

Select Enabled if your system has a floppy disk controller (FDC) installed on the system board
and you wish to use it. If you install an add-in FDC or the system has no floppy drive, select
“Disabled” in the field.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Onboard Serial Port 1

Select an address and corresponding interrupt for the first serial port.

• 3F8/IRQ4

• 2F8/IRQ3

• 3E8/IRQ4

• 2E8/IRQ3

• Auto

Onboard Parallel Port

To use the parallel port on the system, select an address and corresponding interrupt for the
parallel port.

• 378/IRQ7

• 278/IRQ5

• 3BC/IRQ7

• Disabled

Parallel Port Mode

This field allows the user to select the parallel port mode. The default value is Standard that
automatically selects the correct mode to use. The other modes are explained as follows:
SPP works with all parallel port devices. However, it is the slowest transfer mode and should
only be used when faster transfer modes cannot be used.
There are two faster bidirectional modes available - the ECP (Extended Capabilities Port) and
EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) modes.

ECP uses the DMA protocol to achieve data transfer rates of up to 2.5Mbytes/s and provides
symmetric bidirectional communication. On the other hand, EPP uses existing parallel port
signals to provide asymmetric bidirectional communication.

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Generally, because of its FIFOs and the DMA channel it uses, ECP is good for large data
transfers (useful for scanners and printers). On the other hand, EPP is better with links that
switch directions frequently (like parallel port drives).

There are two versions of the EPP transfer protocol - EPP1.7 and EPP1.9. Generally, EPP1.9
is the preferred setting because it supports the newer EPP1.9 devices and most EPP1.7
devices; and offers advantages like support for longer cables. However, because certain
EPP1.7 devices cannot work properly with an EPP1.9 port, this BIOS feature was
implemented to allow you to set the EPP mode to EPP1.7 when such an issue occurs.

Therefore, it is recommended that you set this BIOS feature to EPP1.9. But if you have trouble
connecting to your parallel port device, switch to EPP1.7.

However, the manufacturer of your parallel port peripheral may have designated a preferred
parallel port mode for the device in question. In that case, it's best to follow their
recommendation.

For those who don't know what mode to select but at least know that their parallel port device
supports bidirectional transfers, the BIOS offers the ECP+EPP mode. If you select this mode,
then the parallel port device will be able to use either one of those modes. However, this
should be considered as a last resort as you may be needlessly tying up an IRQ for nothing if
your device does not use ECP at all. Or, the BIOS may not select the best parallel port mode
for the device. If possible, set the parallel port to the transfer mode that best suits your parallel
port device.

However, the manufacturer of your parallel port peripheral may have designated a preferred
parallel port mode for the device in question. In that case, it's best to follow their
recommendation.

• Standard

• SPP

• EPP1.7

• EPP1.9

• ECP

• ECP + EPP

ECP Mode Use DMA

This BIOS feature determines which DMA channel the parallel port should use when it is in
ECP mode.
The ECP mode uses the DMA protocol to achieve data transfer rates of up to 2.5 Mbits/s and
provides symmetric bidirectional communications. For all this, it requires the use of a DMA
channel.
By default, the parallel port uses DMA Channel 3 when it is in ECP mode. This works fine in
most situations.
This feature is provided just in case one of your add-on cards requires the use of DMA
Channel 3. In such a case, you can use this BIOS feature to force the parallel port to use the
alternate DMA Channel 1.
Please note that there is no performance advantage in choosing DMA Channel 3 over DMA
Channel 1 or vice versa. As long as either Channel 3 or Channel 1 is available for your parallel
port to use, the parallel port will be able to function properly in ECP mode.

• 3

• 1

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Power Management Setup

Options related to power management can be altered through the following:

3.5.5 PCI Express PM Function

PCI Express components are permitted to wakeup the system using a wakeup mechanism
followed by a power management event (PME) Message. PCI Express systems may provide
the optional auxiliary power supply (Vaux) needed for wakeup operation from states where the
main power supplies are off. PCI Express-PM extends beyond the PME mechanism defined in
conventional PCI-PM as PCI Express PME Messages include the Requestor ID of the
requesting agent. These PME Messages are in-band TLPs routed from the requesting device
towards the Root Complex.

PCI Express PME

This option performs the same function as Wake-Up by PCI card, but is for PCI-Express cards.

• Enabled

• Disabled

ACPI Function

If your system supports ACPI, then enable this ACPI function. ACPI (Advanced Configuration
and Power Interface) establishes industry-standard interfaces for OS-directed configuration
and power management on laptops, desktops, and servers.

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ACPI allows the Operating System (instead of the BIOS) to control Power Management
(OSPM). The ACPI Standard defines hardware registers (which are implemented in chipset
silicon), BIOS interfaces, which include configuration tables, control methods, and
motherboard device enumeration and configuration; system and device power states, and the
APCI thermal model.
All devices in the system can communicate with each other about resource use. The operating
system has the most knowledge on a running system's state, and so is in the best position to
perform power management.

• Enabled

• Disabled

ACPI Suspend Type

This option specifies the method to be used hibernation. The options are as follows.

• S1 (POS) (Power On Suspend): In this method, the processor does not execute

instructions but remains connected to the bus; the processor preserves the state
and content of its internal registers, along with the dynamic context of the memory.
Only information about devices qualified as suitable to be woken up from hibernation
is kept by the processor. When a waking up event occurs, the devices that can wake
up the system force all the peripherals to be relinked.

• S3 (STR) (Suspend To RAM): In this method, the processor does not execute

instructions. The state and content of the processor's internal registers is stored in
RAM along with the dynamic context of the memory. Information about devices
qualified as suitable to be woken up from hibernation is also stored in RAM. When a
waking up event occurs, the devices that can wake up the system restore the
contents of the registers of the processor from RAM and force all the peripherals to
be relinked.

• S1 & S3 - In this method, the BIOS depends on the OS to select either S1 or S3.

Run VGABIOS if S3 Resume

Selects whether to run the VGA BIOS if resumed from S3 state. This is only necessary for
older VGA drivers. Select Auto, if in doubt.

• Auto

• Yes

• No

Note

This option is enabled only if S3 or S1 & S3 is selected from the ACPI
Suspend Type option.

Power Management

This function allows you to set the default parameters of power-saving modes. Set this to User
Define to choose your own parameters. The following table shows the parameters for
Maximum Saving and Minimum Saving options for the various modes:

Mode Doze Standby Suspend HDD Power Down

Min Saving 1 hour 1 hour 1 hour 15 min

Max Saving 1 min 1 min 1 min 1 min

• Min Saving

• Max Saving

• User Define

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Video Off Method

This option defines the method used to power off video. The various methods are as follows.

• Blank Screen: The system BIOS will only send a blank screen when disabling video.

• H SYNC + Blank: In addition to Blank screen, the BIOS will also turn off the V-SYNC

& H-SYNC signals from VGA cards to monitor.

• DPMS: Select this option if your monitor supports the Display Power Management

Signaling (DPMS) standard of the Video Electronics Standards Association VESA).
Use the software supplied for your video subsystem to select video power
management values.

Note

Green monitors detect the V/H SYNC signals to turn off their electron
guns. It is important to realize that the CRT consumes the most power
(several hundred watts) of any system. To really save energy, you must
shut it down when not in use.

Green monitors (also known as Energy Star monitors) reduce power usage by 90% without
actually turning off the CRT. To make a green monitor function properly you MUST use Video
Off Method = V/H Sync, because this tells the Green Monitor to shut down. If you incorrectly
use the "Blank Screen" setting then you will just get a blank screen that still consumes 100%
power. If you have a screensaver running, then you will not have CPU inactivity, and the
standard BIOS options will not shut the CRT down ever. So, turn OFF your screensaver in the
WINDOWS control panel, not in the BIOS.

Video Off in Suspend

This option defines the time frame in which the video will be disabled under current power
management settings. The settings are:

• No: System BIOS will never turn off the screen.

• Yes: System BIOS turns of the screen when system is in SUSPEND mode.

Suspend Type

This option defines the system suspend type. The two suspend types are:

• Power on Suspend: If this is selected, the CPU will enter into Doze mode.

• Stop Grant: When selected, the CPU clock will enter Sleep mode.

In both of these modes, the system activities are detected by monitoring the IRQ signals or I/O.

Modem Use IRQ

This setting allows you to select the interrupt request (IRQ) line assigned to the modem (if any)
on your system. Activity of the selected IRQ always awakens the system.

• NA

• 3

• 4

• 5

• 7

• 9

• 10

• 11

Suspend Mode
This setting defines the method used to power down the system.

HDD Power Down

This setting defines the delay before the hard drive is powered down.

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Intruder# Detection

When enabled, this option prevents chassis intrusion. Once you open the system casing, the
system marks the chassis as open. Even if you close the casing again, the system still
records the chassis as open. Only the system manufacturer can reset this.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Intruder# Detection Flag

When set to Clear, this option will clear the intruder detection flag number and will auto set the
option to Keep when the system is rebooted.

• Clear

• Keep

3.5.6 Power On Setup

Soft-Off by PWR-BTTN

This determines how long the power button needs to be pressed to switch off the PC. Options
are:

• Instant-Off

• Delay 4 Sec.

PWRON After PWR-Fail

This option defines the state of the system when power fails and returns again. If On is
selected, the system automatically switches on when power is resumed. If Former-Sts is
selected, the system automatically switches on and restores itself to the state it was last in
when power failed.

• Former-Sts

• On

• Off

Wake-Up by PCI Card

If enabled, this option awakens the system from a soft off state with an input signal from PME
on the PCI card.

• Enabled

• Disabled

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USB KB Wake-Up From S3

If you have a USB keyboard, then you must enable this function to wake-up the system with a
key press.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Note

This option is enabled only if S3 or S1 & S3 is selected from the ACPI
Suspend Type option.

Resume by Alarm

This option allows your system to turn on at a pre-selected time.

• Enabled

• Disabled

Date <of Month> Alarm

Set the date on which the system should turn on every month. Enter 0 to disable this function.

Time <hh:mm:ss> Alarm

Set the time on which the system should turn on depending on the date setting.

Note

The Date and Time functions are enabled only when the Resume by
Alarm function is enabled.

POWER ON Function

This option defines how the system can be woken from sleep mode.

• Button only

• Any key

Reload Global Timer Events

Each of these options can be set to disabled or enabled. If enabled, then activity from the
corresponding device will reload the global timer.

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3.6 PnP/PCI Configurations

This section allows configuring PnP / PCI resources.

Init Display First

This BIOS feature allows you to select whether to boot the system using the PCI Express
graphics card or the PCI graphics card. This is particularly important if you have PCI Express
and PCI graphics cards but only one monitor.
If you are only using a single graphics card, then the BIOS will detect it as such and boot it up,
irrespective of what you set the feature to. However, there may be a slight reduction in the
time taken to detect and initialize the card if you select the proper setting for this BIOS feature.
For example, if you only use a PCI Express graphics card, then setting Init Display First to

PCIEx may speed up your system's boot-up process.

Therefore, if you are only using a single graphics card, it is recommended that you set the Init
Display First feature to the proper setting for your system (PCIEx for a PCI Express card and
PCI Slot for a PCI card).
However, if you are using multiple graphics cards, it is up to you to choose which card you
want to use as your primary display card. It is recommended that you select the fastest
graphics card as the primary display card.

• PCI Slot

• PCIEx

Reset Configuration Data

If you install a new piece of hardware or modify your computer's hardware configuration, the
BIOS will automatically detect the changes and reconfigure the ESCD (Extended System
Configuration Data). Therefore, there is usually no need to manually force the BIOS to
reconfigure the ESCD.
However, the occasion may arise where the BIOS may not be able to detect the hardware
changes. A serious resource conflict may occur and the operating system may not even boot
as a result. This is where the Reset Configuration Data BIOS feature comes in.
This BIOS feature allows you to manually force the BIOS to clear the previously saved ESCD
data and reconfigure the settings. All you need to do is enable this BIOS feature and then
reboot your computer. The new ESCD should resolve the conflict and allow the operating
system to load normally.
Please note that the BIOS will automatically reset it to the default setting of Disabled after
reconfiguring the new ESCD. So, there is no need for you to manually disable this feature after
rebooting

• Enabled

• Disabled

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Resources Controlled By

When this option is set to AUTO, the BIOS by using ESCD, controls the IRQ and DMA
assignments of all of the boot and PNP devices in the system. If you set this option to Manual,
you will be able to manually assign all IRQ and DMA information.

• Auto (ESCD)

• Manual

3.6.1 IRQ Resources

This option is used to manually assign IRQ resources.

Note

This option is enabled only if the Resources Controlled By is set to
Manual.

IRQ -(3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,14,15) assigned to

This specifies whether these IRQs are assigned to any PCI Devices or are Reserved (Not
Used).

• PCI Device

• Reserved

PCI / VGA Palette Snoop

This option is only useful if you use an MPEG card or an add-on card that makes use of the
graphics card's Feature Connector.
When enabled, it corrects incorrect color reproduction by "snooping" into the graphics card's
frame buffer memory and modifying (synchronizing) the information delivered from the
graphics card's Feature Connector to the MPEG or add-on card. It also solves the problem of
display inversion to a black screen after using the MPEG card.

• Disabled

• Enabled

PCI Device List

Select disabled see BIOS configuration table easier.

• Disabled

• Enabled

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INT Pin (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) Assignment

This setting defines the IRQ for the PCI devices.

• Auto

• 3

• 4

• 5

• 7

• 9

• 10

• 11

Maximum Payload Size

This setting defines the maximum payload size.

• 128

• 256

• 512

• 1024

• 2048

• 4096

This controls the maximum amount of data that can be transferred in a packet. Larger payload
sizes increase data throughput, but increase the time that an application must wait for data to
begin being transferred.

3.7 PC Health Status

This section monitors critical parameters of your PC and can automatically shutdown the PC if
the temperature of the processor exceeds the specified threshold value. This is only available
if there is a Hardware Monitor onboard.

Note

The onboard SMSC

®

DEM1737 hardware monitoring ASIC automatically
detects the system, motherboard and CPU temperature. It detects the CPU
and chassis fan speeds in RPM. The hardware monitor ASIC also detects
the voltage output through the voltage regulators.

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Shutdown Temperature

The CPU Shutdown Temperature option allows for a user defined system shutdown
temperature. If the CPU temperature exceeds the predefined shutdown threshold, the BIOS
forces a system shutdown.

• 60°C/140°F

• 65°C/149°F

• 70°C/158°F

• Disabled

CPU fan in suspend mode

This setting determines whether to keep the CPU fan running when in suspend mode.

• Turn-off

• Stay-on

3.8 Frequency/Voltage Control

This section facilitates controlling the CPU clock and frequency ratio.

CPU Clock Ratio

The CPU clock ratio setting defines how fast the CPU clock runs relative to the bus speed.

TYAN does not recommend changing this setting from the default setting. Enter any integer
value between 8 and 50. The default is 8x.

Auto Detect DIMM / PCI Clk

This BIOS feature determines whether the BIOS should actively reduce EMI (Electromagnetic
Interference) and reduce power consumption by turning off unoccupied or inactive expansion
slots.
When enabled, the BIOS will monitor AGP, PCI and memory slots and turn off clock signals to
all unoccupied and inactive slots.
When disabled, the BIOS will not monitor AGP, PCI and memory slots. All clock signals will
remain active even to unoccupied or inactive slots.
It is recommended that you enable this feature to save power and reduce EMI.

• Enabled

• Disabled

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Spread Spectrum

This BIOS feature allows you to reduce the EMI of your motherboard by modulating the
signals it generates so that the spikes are reduced to flatter curves. It achieves this by varying
the frequency slightly so that the signal does not use any particular frequency for more than a
moment.

The BIOS offers various levels of modulation. The greater the modulation, the greater the
reduction of EMI.
In most conditions, frequency modulation via this feature should not cause any problems.

However, system stability may be slightly compromised in certain situations. For example, this
BIOS feature may cause improper functioning of timing-critical devices like clock-sensitive
SCSI devices.

Spread Spectrum can also cause problems with over clocked systems, especially those that
have been taken to extremes. Even a slight modulation of frequency may cause the processor
or any other over clocked components of the system to fail, leading to very predictable
consequences.

Therefore, it is recommended that you disable this feature if you are over clocking your system.

The risk of crashing your system is not worth the reduction in EMI. Of course, if EMI reduction
is important to you, enable this feature by all means. But you should reduce the clock speed a
little to provide a margin of safety.

• Disabled

• -0.5%

• -0.75%

• -1.00%

• +/-0.125%

• +/-0.250%

• +/-0.375%

• +/-0.500%

CPU Clock

Enter a decimal number to set the front side bus speed of the motherboard. For all purposes
and to maintain stability, please keep this setting at its default setting.
The default setting is defined by the type of processor installed.

CPU Voltage Regulator

This option controls how much voltage is supplied to your processor, with a maximum
allowable voltage adding of 37.5mV. Select Default if you are not sure.

• Default

• -12.5mV

• -25.0mV

• -37.5mV

• -50.0mV

• +12.5mV

• +25.0mV

• +37.5mV

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DRAM Voltage Regulator

This option controls how much voltage is supplied to your DRAM, with a maximum allowable
voltage adding of 200mV. Select Default if you are not sure.

• Default

• +50mV

• +100mV

• +150mV

• +200mV

1.5v Voltage Regulator

This option allows you to define the chipset core voltage. Always leave this option set to
default settings.

VTT Voltage Regulator

This option controls how much voltage is supplied as the VTT (+1.5) GTL Termination Voltage
to the on-board regulator, with a maximum allowable voltage adding of 150mV. Select Default
if you are not sure.

• Default

• +50mV

• +100mV

• +150mV

3.9 Load Fail-Safe Defaults

When you press <Enter> on this item you get a confirmation dialog box with a message similar
to:

Load Fail-Safe Defaults (Y/N)? N

Pressing ‘Y’ loads the BIOS default values for the most stable, minimal-performance system
operations.

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3.10 Load Optimized Defaults

When you press <Enter> on this item you get a confirmation dialog box with a message similar
to:

Load Optimized Defaults (Y/N)? N

Pressing ‘Y’ loads the default values that are factory settings for optimal system performance
operations.

3.11 Supervisor/User Password Setting

You can set either a supervisor or a user password, or both of them. The differences are:

Set Supervisor Password: can enter and change the options of the setup menus.
Set User Password: Can enter but does not have permission to change any options.

When you select this function, the following message will appear at the center of the screen to
assist you in creating a password.

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3.12 Enter Password

Type the password, up to eight characters in length, and press <Enter>. The password typed
now will clear any previously entered password from CMOS memory. You will be asked to
confirm the password. Type the password again and press <Enter>. You may also press
<Esc> to abort the selection and not enter a password.
To disable a password, just press <Enter> when you are prompted to enter the password. A
message will confirm the password will be disabled. Once the password is disabled, the
system will boot and you can enter Setup freely.

PASSWORD DISABLED.

When a password has been enabled, you will be prompted to enter it every time you try to
enter Setup. This prevents an unauthorized person from changing any part of your system
configuration.
Additionally, when a password is enabled, you can also require the BIOS to request a
password every time your system is rebooted. This would prevent unauthorized use of your
computer.

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3.13 Exit Selecting

Save & Exit Setup

Pressing <Enter> on this item asks for confirmation:

Save to CMOS and EXIT (Y/N)? Y

Pressing “Y” stores the selections made in the menus in CMOS – a special section of memory
that stays on after you turn your system off. The next time you boot your computer, the BIOS
configures your system according to the Setup selections stored in CMOS. After saving the
values the system is restarted again.

Exit Without Saving

This allows you to exit Setup without storing in CMOS any change. The previous selections
remain in effect. This exits the Setup utility and restarts your computer.

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Chapter 4: SATA/RAID Setup (for SATA RAID model)

The motherboard includes the Promise

®

PDC20579 SATA RAID controller with two Serial
ATA interfaces and one Parallel ATA133 interface to support RAID 0, 1, 0+1 or Ultra ATA
configuration

Note: The interfaces that PDC20579 support only connect HDDs. It does NOT support ATAPI

devices such as CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, etc. Please move your ATAPI device to the onboard
IDE channel.

Warning

Before installing the driver into an existing system, backup any important
or useful data. Failure to follow this accepted PC practice could result in
data loss.

4.1 Getting Started

Important

If you wish to include your current bootable Serial or Parallel ATA drive
using the Windows NT 4.x, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating
system as part of a bootable Mirrored (RAID 1) array on your SATA
RAID Controller, do NOT connect the hard drive to the SATA RAID 378
controller yet.

You MUST install the Windows NT4, 2000, or XP driver software first
onto this drive while it is still attached to your existing hard drive
controller.

The FastTrak 579 Serial ATA RAID controller supports two Serial ATA drives. For optimal
performance, install Serial ATA drives of the same model and capacity.

The drives' matched performance allows the array to function better as a single drive.

If you are striping (RAID 0) for performance, use one or two new drives. If mirroring (RAID 1)
for protection, you can use two new drives OR use an existing drive and a new drive (the new
drive must be the same size or larger than the existing drive).

1. Install the disk drives into the drive bays of your system.

2. Attach the power cables to the disk drives.

3. Attach one Serial ATA data cable to each Serial ATA disk drive. Then attach the other ends

of the cables to the connectors on the motherboard.

4. Attach the Y-cable power splitters to your Serial ATA disk drives. .

Note

The FastTrak 579 RAID controller is a PCI Plug-n-Play (PnP) device. No
changes are necessary in the Motherboard CMOS Setup for resources
or drive types in most applications.

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4.2 Create Your Disk Array

You will now use the onboard FastBuild™ BIOS utility to create your array using the attached
drives. See page 23 for a full discussion of the FastBuild utility.

There are four four different ways to create this array. You can create an array for:

• Performance

• Security, using new disk drives (recommended)

• Security, using an existing disk drive and a new one

• Security, using Quick Initialization

The first three steps are the same for all four choices. After that, follow the steps for the array
you want to create.

1. Boot your system. If this is the first time you have booted with the FastTrak 579 RAID

controller and drives installed, the Promise onboard BIOS will display the following
screen.

2. Press the Ctrl-F keys to display the FastBuild Utility Main Menu.

3. Press 1 to display the Auto Setup Menu below. This is the fastest and easiest method to

creating your first array.

F

4.2.1 Creating a Performance Array

Use this setting to create a Striped (RAID 0) array. These arrays have no fault tolerance but a
two-drive array has better read/write performance.
To create an array for best performance, follow these steps:

1. Press the Spacebar to choose Performance under the Optimize Array for section.

2. Press Ctrl-Y to Save and create the array.

When the array is created, the screen will return to the Main Menu.

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3. Exit the FastBuild Utility.

4. Once the array has been created, you must partition and format the array, using your

operating system, as if it were a new single disk drive.

5. Once the arrayed drives have been formatted, proceed to Step 4: Install Software Drivers to

install your operating system and/or FastTrak driver.

4.2.2 Creating a Security Array with New Drives

Use this setting to create a Mirrored (RAID 1) array with two new disk drives. If one of the
drives has data on it, follow the Creating a Security Array with an Existing Data Drive
procedure on the next page.
Under the Security setting in Auto Setup, FastBuild assigns two drives for a single Mirrored
array.

Note

When creating a Security array with new drives, a feature called
Gigabyte Rounding will automatically be set to ON.

To create an array for data protection using new disk drives, follow these steps:

1. Press the Spacebar to choose Security under the Optimize Array section.

2. Press Ctrl-Y to Save your selection. The window below will appear.

3. Press N for the Create Only option.

When the array is created, the screen will return to the Main Menu.

4. Press Esc to exit the FastBuild Utility.

5. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new single disk

drive.

6. Proceed to Step 4: Install Software Drivers to install your operating system and/or FastTrak

driver.

4.2.3 Security Array with an Existing Data Drive

Use this setting to create a Mirrored (RAID 1) array with a new disk drive and an existing drive
with data and/or the bootable drive in your system. Use a new drive of identical or larger
storage capacity as the existing drive.

Under the Security setting in Auto Setup, FastTrak assigns two drives for a single Mirrored
array.

Choose this method if you wish to use a drive that already contains data and/or is the bootable
drive from your system. Obtain a second disk drive of equal or larger storage capacity.

Warning

If you plan to create a Security array using an existing disk drive, backup
any important data. Failure to do so could result in data loss.

Important

If you wish to include your current bootable drive using the Windows NT

4.0, 2000, XP or Server 2003 operating system as part of a bootable
Mirrored (RAID 1) array, do NOT connect the disk drive to the FastTrak
yet.
You MUST install the FastTrak driver to this disk drive while it is still
attached to your existing disk drive controller.

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Follow these steps:

1. Press the Spacebar to choose Security in the Optimize Array field.

2. Press Ctrl-Y to Save your selection. The window below will appear.

3. Press Y for the Create and Duplicate option. The window below will appear asking you to

select the Source drive to use. FastBuild will copy all data from the Source drive to the
Target drive.

4. Press the arrow keys to highlight the drive with the existing data to be copied. This is the

Source drive.

Warning

All data on the Target drive data will be erased. Make sure you choose
the correct Source drive.

5. Press Ctrl-Y to Save selection and start duplication. The following confirmation screen will

appear.

6. Select Y to continue. If you choose N, you will return to the Main Menu.

Once you select Y, the following progress screen will appear. The process will take a few
minutes.

When the array is created, the screen will return to the Main Menu.

7. Press Esc to exit the FastBuild Utility.

8. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new single disk

drive.

9. Proceed to Step 4: Install Software Drivers to install your operating system and/or FastTrak

driver.

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4.2.4 Security Array with Quick Initialization

Use this setting to create a Mirrored (RAID 1) array with one or two existing disk drives

containing data that you do not want to keep. This method creates a mirrored array and

erases the first data block from your existing drives.

Under the Security setting in Auto Setup, FastTrak assigns two drives for a single Mirrored
array.

Choose this method if you wish to create a mirrored array with existing disk drives but you do
not want to keep the data currently on those drives.

Warning

Using the Quick Initialization option on existing drives will result in the
loss of all data on those drives.

Follow these steps:

1. Press the Spacebar to choose Security under the Optimize Array section.

2. Press Ctrl-Y to Save your selection.

3. The window below will appear.

4. Press I for the Create and Quick Initialize.

When the array is created, the screen will return to the Main Menu.

5. Press Esc to exit the FastBuild Utility.

6. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new single disk

drive.

7. Proceed to Step 4: Install Software Drivers on page 11 to install your operating system

and/or FastTrak driver.

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4.3 Install Software Drivers

Following are driver installation procedures for the Windows operating systems that support
the FastTrak 579 Serial ATA RAID controller.

Important

If you wish to include your current bootable drive using the Windows
2000, XP or Server 2003 operating system as part of a bootable Mirrored
(RAID 1) array, you MUST install the FastTrak driver to this drive while it
is still attached to your existing disk drive controller.

4.3.1 Windows Server 2003
New Installation

The following details the installation of the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID Controller drivers while
installing Windows Server 2003.

1. Start the installation:

• Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows Server 2003 installation diskettes.

• CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message "Press F6 if you

need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears.

2. When the Windows Server 2003 Setup window is generated, press S to specify an

Additional Device(s).

3. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette into drive A: and press Enter.

4. Choose Win Server 2003 Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on

screen, and then press the Enter.

5. Press S to use the driver on the floppy disk and then press Enter to continue with

installation.

6. The Windows Server 2003 Setup screen will appear again saying "Setup will load support

for the following mass storage devices:" The list will include "Win Server 2003 Promise
FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller".
NOTE: If there are any additional devices to be installed, specify them now.
When all devices are specified, continue to the next step.

7. From the Windows Server 2003 Setup screen, press the Enter. Setup will now load all

device files and then continue the Windows Server 2003 installation.

Existing Installation

After installing the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID controller and rebooting your system, Windows
Server 2003 setup will show a "Found New Hardware" dialog box. Under Windows 2003,
"Mass Storage Controller" will be displayed.

1. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive.

2. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key.

3. Choose Win Server 2003 Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on

screen, and then press the Enter key.

4. If using a driver that has not been digitally signed by Microsoft, you will be asked if you want

to continue the installation. Click Continue anyway.

5. When the New Hardware Wizard has finished installing the FastTrak driver, click Finish.

Confirm Installation

1. Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Manage from the popup menu.

2. From the left panel, select Device Manager.

3. Click the "+" in front of SCSI and RAID controllers. "Win Server 2003 Promise FastTrak 579

(tm) Controller" should appear.

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4.3.2 Windows XP
New Installation

The following details the installation the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID Controller drivers while
installing Windows XP.

1. Start the installation:

• Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows XP installation diskettes.

• CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message "Press F6 if you

need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears.

2. When the Windows XP Setup window is generated, press S to specify an Additional

Device(s).

3. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette into drive A: and press Enter.

4. Choose WinXP Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on screen,

and then press the Enter.

5. Press S to use the driver on the floppy disk and then press Enter to continue with

installation.

6. The Windows XP Setup screen will appear again saying "Setup will load support for the

following mass storage devices:" The list will include "WinXP Promise FastTrak 579 (tm)
Controller".
NOTE: If there are any additional devices to be installed, specify them now.
When all devices are specified, continue to the next step.

7. From the Windows XP Setup screen, press the Enter. Setup will now load all device files

and then continue the Windows XP installation.

Existing Installation

After installing the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID controller and rebooting your system, Windows
XP setup will show a "Found New Hardware" dialog box.

1. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive.

2. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key.

3. Choose WinXP Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on screen,

and then press the Enter key.

4. If using a driver that has not been digitally signed by Microsoft, you will be asked if you want
to continue the installation. Click Continue anyway.

5. When the New Hardware Wizard has finished installing the FastTrak driver, click Finish.

Confirm Installation

1. Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Manage from the popup menu.

2. From the left panel, select Device Manager.

3. Click the "+" in front of SCSI and RAID controllers. "WinXP Promise FastTrak 579 (tm)
Controller" should appear.

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4.3.3 Windows 2000
New Installation

The following details the installation of the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID Controller drivers while
installing Windows 2000.

1. Start the installation:

• Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows 2000 installation diskettes.

• CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message "Press F6 if you

need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears.

2. When the Windows 2000 Setup window is generated, press S to specify an Additional

Device(s).

3. Insert the FastTrak S150 driver diskette into drive A: and press Enter.

4. Choose Win2000 Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on screen

then press Enter.

5. The Windows 2000 Setup screen will appear again saying "Setup will load support for the

following mass storage devices:" The list will include "Win2000 Promise 579 (tm) Controller".
NOTE: If there are any additional devices to be installed, specify them now.
When all devices are specified, continue to the next step.

6. From the Windows 2000 Setup screen, press Enter. Setup will now load all device files and

then continue the Windows 2000 installation.

Existing Installation

After installing the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID controller and rebooting your system, Windows
2000 setup will show a "New Hardware Found" dialog box.
Under Windows 2000, "PCI Mass Storage Controller" will be displayed.

1. Choose Add New Hardware Wizard from the list, and then press Enter.

2. Choose Add/Troubleshoot a device and click Next. The new hardware wizard will show

device list

3. Choose Mass Storage controller and click Next. At the following screen click Finish.

4. Choose Display a list the known drivers for this device so that I can choose a specific driver

then click Next.

5. When the Windows 2000 supported SCSI adapter drivers list appears, click Have disk.

6. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette in drive A:\.

7. Type A:\Win2000 in the text box. Click OK.

8. Choose Win2000 Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on screen,

then click Next.

9. Click Yes to confirm continue the installation and copy the driver to system.

10. Remove the diskette and click Finish to restart the system. Windows 2000 will then restart

for the driver installation to take effect.

Confirm Installation

1. Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Manage from the popup menu.

2. From the left panel, select Device Manager.

3. Click the "+" in front of SCSI controllers. "Win2000 Promise FastTrak 579 (tm) Controller"

should appear.

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4.4 Install PAM Software

Follow these steps to install PAM on each computer:

1. Boot the computer and launch Windows.

2. If the computer is already running, exit all programs.

3. Insert FastTrak CD into your CD-ROM drive.

4. Open the CD and locate the PAM folder.

5. Inside the PAM folder, look for the PAM Setup Installer icon (right).

6. Double-click the icon to run the installer. The opening screen appears.

7. Click Next or press Enter to continue.

8. When the License Agreement appears, click the Yes button to agree to the terms and

continue the installation.
If you click No, PAM Setup will exit.

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9. In the Setup Type dialog box, make your choice between Complete (Recommended) and

Custom installation.
Use the Custom installation to change install locations or to deselect individual components.
For example, use Custom to install only the Message Server onto your network fileserver.
Click Next or press Enter to continue.

10. In the Ready to Install dialog box, click Install or press Enter to continue.

11. When the Add User Account dialog box appears, you may accept the default name or

enter a new one in the Name field.
Enter your password in the Password and Confirm Password fields. A password is not
required.
When you are done, click Next or press Enter to continue.

Note

If you are only installing the Message Server, this dialog box does not
appear.

12. When the Install Complete dialog box appears, you have the option to:

• Create PAM shortcuts on your Desktop

• Register PAM online

Both of these options are recommended.
Click Finish or press Enter when you are done with installation.

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4.4.1 Launch PAM and Log-in

To start PAM:

1. Click on a Desktop icon or go to Start > Programs > Promise Array Management and select

Local PAM.
When the PAM user interface appears:

2. Right-click on the RAID Machine icon in Tree View. Select Login from the popup menu.

The Login dialog box appears.

3. In the Login dialog box, enter your Username and Password, and click OK.

Initially, administrator is the only user. Use the administrator’s password selected during
installation.
Access the Online Help for information how to use PAM.
The PAM software performs the same functions as the FastBuild utility but with a graphic
user interface. PAM also performs these additional functions:

• Popup and email event notification

• User accounts with assigned rights and passwords

• Array expansion (add drives to an existing array)

• Array conversion (change RAID level of an existing array)

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4.5 FastBuild™ Configuration Utility

• View the FastTrak BIOS Screen

• Navigate the FastBuild Menus

• Create Arrays Automatically

• View Drive Assignments

• Create Arrays Manually

• Delete an Array

• Rebuild a Mirrored Array

The FastBuild Configuration Utility offers several menu choices to create and manage an array
on the FastTrak 579 RAID controller. For purposes of this manual, it is assumed you have
already created an array in the previous chapter and now wish to make a change to the array
or view other options.

4.5.1 View the FastTrak BIOS Screen

When you boot your system with the FastTrak controller and drives installed, the Promise
onboard BIOS will detect the drives attached and show the following screen.

If an array exists already, the BIOS will display the following above screen showing the
controller's BIOS version and status of the array.

The array status consists of five possible conditions: Functional, Synchronizing, Rebuilding,
Critical, and Offline.

Functional – The array is operational.
Synchronizing – The process of verifying data integrity by recalculating redundant data and

matching the data on the disk drives.

Rebuilding – The process of reconstructing an array in Critical mode by placing redundant

data on a replacement disk drive.

Critical – Degraded array condition due to a failed or removed disk drive. Applies to mirrored

(RAID 1) arrays only. Fault tolerance is lost but the data is still accessible. Triggers
automatic rebuilding.

Offline – Striped arrays (RAID 0): Degraded array condition due to one failed or removed disk

drive. The data is not accessible.

Mirrored (RAID 1) arrays: Degraded array condition due to two failed or removed disk drives.
Fault tolerance is lost. The data is not accessible.

If your array goes Offline, contact Promise Technical Support for assistance.

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4.5.2 Navigate the FastBuild Menus

When using the menus, these are some of the basic navigation tips: Arrow keys highlights
through choices; the Space bar allows to cycle through options; Enter selects an option; Esc
aborts or exits the current menu.

Main Menu

This is the first option screen when entering the FastBuild Setup.

To create a new array automatically, press 1 and see Create Arrays Automatically. Promise

recommends this option for most users.

To manually create an array, press 3 and see Create Arrays Manually. If you wish to specify

block size, you must create the array manually.

To view the disk drives assigned to arrays, press 2 and see View Drive To delete an array,
press 4 and see Delete an Array.
To rebuild a mirrored (RAID 1) array, press 5 and see Rebuild a Mirrored Array.

4.5.3 Create Arrays Automatically

The Auto Setup (1) selection from the Main Menu can intuitively help create your disk array. It
will assign all available drives appropriate for the disk array you are creating. After making all
selections, press Ctrl-Y to Save the selections.
FastBuild will automatically build the array.

Optimize Array for

Select whether you want Performance (RAID 0 / Stripe), Security (RAID 1 / Mirror)

under the Optimize Array for setting.

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Performance

RAID 0 (Stripe) supports higher read/write performance. The storage capacity
equals the number of drives times the capacity of the smallest drive in the disk array.
Under the Performance setting, FastTrak assigns two drives to a single Striped

array. If you want a one-drive array, or you want to specify block size, see Create
Arrays Manually.

Security

RAID 1 (Mirror) creates a fault tolerant array for data security. The storage capacity
equals one-half the number of drives times the capacity of the smallest drive in the
disk array.
Under the Security setting, FastTrak assigns two drives to a single Mirrored array.

Hot Spare Drive

If a third drive is attached and is not assigned to a mirrored two-drive Mirrored
(RAID 1) disk array, it will be recognized as a spare drive. Such a drive is
automatically used as a standby replacement. When FastTrak detects that one of
the drives in the array has failed, it assigns the hot spare drive to take its place.
To restore fault tolerance as quickly as possible, FastTrak begins an automatic data
rebuild on the hot spare drive in the background. There is no need to restart the
system.
At any time, you can replace the failed drive with a new one of the same model and
size. FastTrak will automatically recognize the new drive as a hot spare.

Important

The hot spare drive must have a capacity that is equal to or larger than
the smallest array member.

4.5.4 View Drive Assignments

The View Drive Assignments (2) option in the Main Menu displays whether drives are
assigned to a disk array or are unassigned.

Under the Assignment column, drives are labeled with their assigned disk array or shown as
Free if unassigned.
Free drives can be used for a future array or as a spare drive when a drive fails in a mirrored
array, provided the free drive's capacity is equal to or larger than the smallest array member.
Unassigned drives are not accessible by the OS.
The menu also displays the data transfer mode that relates to speed used by each drive (U
refers to Serial ATA).

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4.5.5 Create Arrays Manually

The Define Array (3) option from the Main Menu allows users to begin the process of manually
defining the drive elements and RAID levels for one or multiple disk arrays attached to
FastTrak controller.
Users will commonly create one- or two-drive arrays with the FastTrak controller.
You can use a single drive in a RAID 0 (Stripe) array with FastTrak. In this rare scenario, the
controller will create an individual array ID but there will be no performance improvement.
At a later time, you can add a second drive to the single-drive array and create RAID 1 (Mirror)

array. See Add Fault Tolerance to an Existing Drive.

Note

For most installations, Promise recommends the (1) Auto Setup for easy
disk array creation.

Important Features
Halt on Error

When enabled, if the RAID controller detects an error, such as a Critical array, the
boot process will stop when the FastTrak BIOS appears and wait for your input. At
that point, you can press Ctrl-F to enter the FastBuild utility or press Esc to continue
booting.
When disabled, the FastTrak BIOS will appear and show the Critical array, but the
computer will continue booting if you take no action.

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Stripe Block Size

For striped (RAID 0) arrays you can manually select the stripe block size. Press the
Spacebar to scroll through choices progressing as follows (32, 64, 128 MB).
Stripe Block size selected affects how FastTrak sends data blocks to and receives
them from the drives. You must perform your own testing to determine how the data
block size affects your particular use of the array. In general, a larger block size is
better when handling large data transfers (such as in A/V editing or graphics) while
a smaller block size is better when handling e-mail and other common server data.
The default is 64 KB.

Gigabyte Rounding

The Gigabyte Rounding feature is designed for Mirrored (RAID 1) arrays in which a
drive has failed and the user cannot replace the drive with the same capacity or
larger. Instead, the Gigabyte Boundary feature permits the installation of a
replacement drive that is slightly smaller (within 1 gigabyte) than the remaining
working drive (for example, an 80.5 GB drive would be rounded down to 80 GB).
This feature is automatically enabled for Mirrored (RAID 1) arrays, except when
when creating the array from an existing drive (versus using two brand new drives).
This protects the existing drive's partition table in order to maintain data integrity.

Create a Striped Array

As described in the Drive Assignments Option section above, if you selected a performance
(RAID 0) array, follow the directions here.

1. Under the Definition section of this menu, highlight the Array # for your array.

2. Press the Spacebar to select Stripe (RAID 0 or Performance).

3. Set the Stripe Block size. 64 KB is the default.

4. Under the Drive Assignments section, press the ↑ and ↓keys to highlight a drive.

5. Press the Spacebar or Y to change the Assignment option to Y. This action adds
the drive to the disk array.
Assign from one or two drives. If you assign only one drive, there will be no
performance benefit.

6. Press Ctrl-Y to save the information. The window below will appear.

7. Press Y to create and quick initialize the array or press N to create it only.
When the array is created, the screen will return to the Define Array menu.

8. Press Esc twice to exit the FastBuild Utility.

9. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new
single disk drive.

Create a Mirrored Array Using New Drives

As described in the Drive Assignments Option section above, if you selected a mirroring (RAID

1) array and you will use two new disk drives, follow the directions here.

1. Under the Definition section of this menu, highlight the Array # for which your

array.

2. Press the Spacebar to select Mirror (RAID 1 or Security).

3. Under the Drive Assignments section, press the ↑ and ↓ keys to highlight a

drive.

4. Press the Spacebar or Y to change the Assignment option to Y. This action adds

the drive to the disk array.

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5. Press Ctrl-Y to save the information. The window below will appear.

D

6. Press N for the Create Only option.
When the array is created, the screen will return to the Define Array menu.

7. Press Esc twice to exit the FastBuild Utility.

8. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new
single disk drive.

Adding Fault Tolerance to an Existing Drive

FastTrak 579 RAID controller will create a mirrored array using an existing system drive with
data. You must assign the existing drive and another drive of same or larger capacity to the
Mirroring (RAID 1) array. FastBuild will copy the existing data to the new blank drive.

Warning

Backup any important data before proceeding. Failure to follow this
accepted PC practice could result in data loss.

Important

If you wish to include your current bootable drive using the Windows NT

4.0, 2000 or, XP or Server 2003 operating system as part of a bootable
Mirrored (RAID 1) array on your FastTrak, you MUST install the FastTrak
driver onto the bootable drive while it is still attached to your existing hard
drive controller.

1. Under the Definition section of this menu, highlight the Array # for which your array.

2. Press the Spacebar to select Mirror (RAID 1 or Security).

3. Under the Drive Assignments section, press the ↑ and ↓ keys to highlight a drive.

4. Press the Spacebar or Y to change the Assignment option to Y. This action adds the drive
to the disk array.

5. Press Ctrl-Y to Save your selection. The window below will appear.

6. Press Y for the Create and Duplicate option.

Gigabyte Rounding is automatically disabled when creating a Mirrored (RAID 1) array from an
existing drive. This action protects the existing drive's partition table in order to maintain data
integrity.
The window below will appear asking you to select the Source drive to use.
FastBuild will copy all data from the Source drive to the Target drive.

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7. Press the arrow keys to highlight the drive with the existing data to be copied. This is the
Source drive.

Warning

All Target drive data will be erased. Make sure you choose the correct
Source drive.

8. Press Ctrl-Y to Save the selection and start duplication. The following confirmation screen

will appear.

9. Press Y to continue. If you press N, you will return to the Main Menu.

10. Once you select Y, the following progress screen will appear. The process will take a few

minutes.

When the array is created, the screen will return to the Define Array menu.

11. Press Esc twice to exit the FastBuild Utility.

12. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new single disk

drive.

Additional Array Information
Hot Spare Drive for Mirrored Arrays

For automatic rebuilds of a Mirrored (RAID 1) array, attach a spare drive to the
FastTrak controller. If a disk drive is not assigned to an array and it is the same size
or larger than the drives in the array, FastTrak will use the unassigned drive as a hot
spare. The hot spare replaces a failed disk drive and the array is rebuilt to the hot
spare automatically. This action is performed in the background under all supported
operating systems, except DOS. At a later time, you can power down the system
and replace failed drive. The new drive then becomes the hot spare.

How FastTrak Orders Arrays

During startup, the disk arrays on the FastTrak 579 Serial ATA controller are
recognized in this order:

1. The array set to bootable in the FastBuild Setup.

2. The Array number (i.e. Array 0, Array 1…). This would be involved in determining
which drive letters will be assigned to each disk array.

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How FastTrak Saves Array Information

All disk array data is saved into the reserved sector on each array member.
Promise suggests that users record their disk array information for future reference.

Another feature of the FastTrak 579 Serial ATA RAID Controller disk array system is
to recognize drive members even if drives are moved between different FastTrak
controller connectors. Since each drive's array data identifies itself to the array, it is
possible to move or swap drives without modifying the array setup.
This is valuable when adding drives, or during a rebuild.

4.5.6 Delete an Array

The Delete Array (4) Menu option allows for deletion of disk array assignments.
This is not the same as deleting data from the drives themselves.

Warning

Deleting an existing disk array could result in loss of data. Record all
array information including the array type, the disk members, and stripe
block size in case you wish to undo a deletion.

Important

If you delete an array by accident, immediately create a new array
identical to one you deleted. This action normally recovers the data from
the deleted array.

1. To delete an array, highlight the Array you wish to delete and press the Delete key.

2. The Array Definition menu will appear (see below) showing which drives are assigned to
this array.

3. Press Ctrl-Y to confirm Yes to the following warning message and continue array deletion:

4. At the next prompt, press Y to clear the boot sector or press N to delete the array only.

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The boot sector maps the data partition on the disk drive. To delete an array without deleting
the data, press N. This action is sometimes part of a data recovery operation, under the
direction of Technical Support.
After deleting the array, create a new array using Auto Setup (1) or the Define Array (3) from
the Main Menu.

4.5.7 Rebuild a Mirrored Array

Use the Rebuild Array (5) Menu option to recover from an error in a mirrored (RAID 1) disk
array.

Note the Critical Status of the array shown above. If you observe this condition when booting
your system from the FastTrak BIOS, your array needs attention.

Important

Drives MUST be replaced if they contain any physical errors, before
rebuilding the array.

Follow these steps before using the Rebuild Array menu option:

1. Press Ctrl-F to enter FastBuild Main Menu.

2. Press 3 to select Define Array.

3. Press the arrow keys to highlight the failed array and press Enter to select it.

4. In the Array Definition menu, in the Drive Assignments field, identify the failed drive. In the
example above, the drive in Channel 2 has failed.

5. Press Esc twice to Exit the FastBuild Utility.

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6. Power off your system.

7. Remove the failed drive and replace it with a new drive of the same or larger size.

8. Power on your system and enter the FastBuild Utility.

9. Press 5 to select the Rebuild Array option. The following screen will appear.

10. Highlight the array whose Status is Critical and press Enter. The following screen appears.

11. Under Select Drive for Rebuild, press the arrow keys to highlight the replacement drive.

12. Press Enter and confirm that the data will be copied onto the selected drive.
Data from the original mirror drive will overwrite any existing data on the replacement
drive. A progress bar will appear as below.

When the Array was recovered... message appears, the array is ready for use.

13. Press Esc twice to exit FastBuild and allow your system to finish booting.

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Chapter 5: Diagnostics

Note: if you experience problems with setting up your system, always check the following
things in the following order:

Memory, Video, CPU

By checking these items, you will most likely find out what the problem might have been when
setting up your system. For more information on troubleshooting, check the TYAN website at:

http://www.tyan.com

.

5.1 Beep Codes

Fatal errors, which halt the boot process, are communicated through a series of audible beeps.
For example, if the BIOS POST can initialize the video but an error occurs, an error message
will be displayed. If it cannot display the message, it will report the error as a series of beeps.

The most common type of error is a memory error.

Before contacting your vendor or TYAN Technical Support, be sure that you note as much as
you can about the beep code length and order that you experience. Also, be ready with
information regarding add-in cards, drives and O/S to speed the support process and come to
a quicker solution.

5.2 Flash Utility

Every BIOS file is unique for the motherboard it was designed for. For Flash Utilities, BIOS
downloads, and information on how to properly use the Flash Utility with your motherboard,
please check the TYAN web site: http://www.tyan.com/

Note

Please be aware that by flashing your BIOS, you agree that in the event
of a BIOS flash failure, you must contact your dealer for a replacement
BIOS. There are no exceptions. TYAN does not have a policy for
replacing BIOS chips directly with end users. In no event will TYAN be
held responsible for damages done by the end user.

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Appendix I: Glossary

ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface): a power management 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): 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 66 MHz, it supports data
transmission during both the rising and falling ends of the clock cycle, yielding an effective
speed of 133 MHz.

ATAPI (AT Attachment Packet Interface): also known as IDE or ATA; 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 HDDs.

ATX: the form factor designed to replace the AT form factor. It improves on the AT design by

rotating the board 90 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, USB, serial, 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.

BBS (BIOS Boot Specification): is a feature within the BIOS that creates, prioritizes, and

maintains a list of all Initial Program Load (IPL) devices, and then stores that list in NVRAM.
IPL devices have the ability to load and execute an OS, as well as provide the ability to return
to the BIOS if the OS load process fails for some reason. At that point, the next IPL device is
called upon to attempt loading of the OS.

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System): the program that resides in the ROM chip, and provides

the basic instructions for controlling your computer’s hardware. Both the operating system and
application software use BIOS routines to ensure compatibility.

Buffer: 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 keyboard 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 also the possibility of losing your data should the system crash.
Information stored in a buffer is temporarily stored, not permanently saved.

Bus: 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).

Cache: 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 slow 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 4GB of regular memory.

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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 512KB 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): chips that hold the basic startup

information for the BIOS.

COM port: another name for the serial port, which is called as such 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).

DDR (Double Data Rate): is a technology designed to double the clock speed of the memory.

It activates output on both the rising and falling edge of the system clock rather than on just
the rising edge, potentially doubling output.

DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module): faster and more capacious form of RAM than SIMMs,

and do not need to be installed in pairs.

DIMM bank: 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 that are similar to IRQs. DMA channels allow

hardware devices (like soundcards 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-n-Play devices will take care of this for you.

Doze mode: in this mode, only the CPU’s speed is slowed.

DRAM (Dynamic RAM): 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 three to ten times slower than non-recharged RAM such as
SRAM.

ECC (Error Correction Code or Error Checking and Correcting): allows data to be

checked for errors during run-time. Errors can subsequently be corrected at the same time
that they’re found.

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

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EMRL: Embedded RAID Logic. An Adaptec specific RAID technology.
ESCD (Extended System Configuration Da ta): a format for storing information about Plug-

n-Play devices in the system BIOS. This information helps properly configure the system each
time it boots.

Fault-tolerance: a term describing a system where one component can quickly be replaced

without causing a loss of service, such as in a RAID system.

Firmware: low-level software that controls the system hardware.
Form factor: an industry term for the size, shape, power supply type, and external connector

type of the Personal Computer Board (PCB) or motherboard. The standard form factors are
the AT and ATX, although TYAN also makes some Baby-AT and ATX Footprint boards.

Global timer: onboard hardware timer, such as the Real-Time Clock (RTC).
Handshaking: a process where two devices initiate communications. One device, typically the

server, sends a message to another device, typically a client, in order to request establishment
of a communications channel. The two devices will then exchange messages back and forth in
order to settle on a communications protocol.

HDD: stands for Hard Disk Drive, a type of fixed drive.
H-SYNC: controls the horizontal synchronization/properties of the monitor.
IC (Integrated Circuit): the formal name for the computer chip.
IDE (Integrated Device/Drive Electronics): a simple, self-contained HDD interface. It can

handle drives up to 8.4 GB in size. Almost all IDEs sold now are in fact Enhanced IDEs
(EIDEs), with maximum capacity determined by the hardware controller.

IDE INT (IDE Interrupt): a hardware interrupt signal that goes to the IDE.
I/O (Input/Output): the connection between your computer and another piece of hardware

(mouse, keyboard, etc.)

Initial Program Load (IPL): a feature built into BBS-compliant devices, describing those

devices as capable of loading and executing an OS, as well as being able to provide control
back to the BIOS if the loading attempt fails.

IPL: see Initial Program Load.
IRQ (Interrupt Request): an electronic request that runs from a hardware 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 lock up your system. Plug-n-Play operating systems can take care of these
details for you.

ISA (Industry Standard Architecture): a slower 8- or 16-bit bus (data pathway).

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Latency: 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 it
waiting for the peripheral to send some data back (peripherals tend to be slower than onboard
system components).

Mirroring: see RAID.
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): Compaq or IBM package other companies’

motherboards and hardware inside their case and sell them.

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 (Peripheral Component Interconnect): a 32 or 64-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).

PCI PIO (PCI Programmable Input/Output) modes: the data transfer modes used by IDE

drives. These modes use the CPU for data transfer (in contrast, 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: a type of RAM that can maintain it’s data as long as power is provided

to the memory chips. In this configuration, SRAM requests are pipelined, which means that
larger packets of data are sent to the memory at one time, and acted upon quickly. This type
of SRAM operates at bus speeds higher than 66MHz.

Pipelining: improves system performance by allowing the CPU to begin executing a second

instruction before the first is completed. A pipeline can be likened to an assembly line, with a
given part of the pipeline repeatedly executing a set part of an operation on a series of
instructions.

PM timers (Power Management timers): software timers that count down the number of

seconds or minutes until the system times out and enters sleep, suspend, or doze mode.

PnP (Plug-n-Play): a design standard that has become ascendant in the industry. Plug-n-Play

devices require little set-up to use. Novice end users can simply plug them into a computer
that is running on a Plug-n-Play aware operating system (such as Windows 98), and go to
work. Devices and operating systems that are not Plug-n-Play require you to reconfigure your
system each time you add or change any part of your hardware.

PXE (Preboot Execution Environment): one of four components that together make up the

Wired for Management 2.0 baseline specification. PXE was designed to define a standard set
of preboot protocol services within a client, towards the goal of allowing networked-based
booting to boot using industry standard protocols.

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RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks): a way for the same data to be stored in

different places on many hard drives. By using this method, the data is stored redundantly,
also the multiple hard drives will appear as a single drive to the operating system. RAID level 0
is known as striping, where data is striped (or overlapped) across multiple hard drives, but
offers no fault-tolerance. RAID level 1 is known as mirroring, which stores the data within at
least two hard drives, but does not stripe. RAID level 1 also allows for faster access time and
fault-tolerance, since either hard drive can be read at the same time. RAID level 0+1 is both
striping and mirroring, providing fault-tolerance, striping, and faster access all at the same time.

RAIDIOS: stands for RAID I/O Steering, a type of RAID technology from Intel. RAIDIOS is a

specification used to enable an embedded I/O controller, embedded on the motherboard, to be
used as just an I/O controller or to be the I/O component of a hardware RAID subsystem. The
RAIDIOS circuit allows an I/O Processor (either embedded on the motherboard or on an add­in card) to configure the I/O controller and service the I/O controller’s interrupts. The I/O
controller and the I/O Processor together are two of the primary components of a hardware
RAID subsystem.

RAM (Random Access Memory): technically refers to a type of memory where any byte can

be accessed without touching the adjacent data, is often used to refer to the system’s main
memory. This memory is available to any program running on the computer.

ROM (Read-Only Memory): a storage chip which contains the BIOS; the basic instructions

required to boot the computer and start up the operating system.

SATA (Serial ATA): is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storage

interface. Serial ATA is a drop-in solution in that it is compatible with today’s software and
operating systems. It will provide for systems which are easier to design, with cables that are
simpler to route and install, smaller cable connectors, and lower voltage requirements.

SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM): called as such because it can keep two sets of

memory addresses open simultaneously. By transferring data alternately from one set of
addresses and then the other, SDRAM cuts down on the delays associated with non­synchronous RAM, which must close one address bank before opening the next.

Serial port: called as such 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).

SCSI Interrupt Steering Logic (SISL): Architecture that allows a RAID controller, such as

AcceleRAID 150, 200 or 250, to implement RAID on a system board-embedded SCSI bus or a
set of SCSI busses. SISL: SCSI Interrupt Steering Logic ( LSI ) (only on LSI SCSI boards)

SIMM (Single In-line Memory Module): formally the most common form of RAM for

motherboards. They must be installed in pairs, and do not have the carrying capacity or the
speed of DIMM modules.

Sleep/Suspend mode: in this mode, all devices except the CPU shut down.
SRAM (Static RAM): unlike DRAM, this type of RAM does not need to be refreshed in order

to prevent data loss. Thus, it is faster and more expensive.

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SSI (Server System Infrastructure): an industry initiative intended to provide ready-to-use

design specifications for common server hardware elements (chassis, power supplies, and
racks) to promote and support server industry growth.

Standby mode: in this mode, the video and hard drives shut down; all other devices continue

to operate normally.

Striping: see RAID
UltraDMA-33/66/100: a fast version of the old DMA channel. UltraDMA is also called UltraATA.

Without proper UltraDMA controller, your system cannot take advantage of higher data
transfer rates of the new UltraDMA/UltraATA hard drives.

USB (Universal Serial Bus): 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.

VGA (Video Graphics Array): the PC video display standard
V-SYNC: controls the vertical scanning properties of the monitor.
ZCR: Zero Channel RAID. PCI card that allows a RAID card to use the onboard SCSI chip,

thus lowering cost of RAID solution

ZIF Socket (Zero Insertion Force socket): these sockets make it possible to insert CPUs

without damaging the sensitive CPU pins. The CPU is lightly placed in an open ZIF socket,
and a lever is pulled down. This shift the processor over and down, guiding into the board and
locking it into place.

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Appendix II: Post Error Code for BIOS

POST (hex) Description
CFh: Test CMOS R/W functionality.
C0h: Early chipset initialization:

-Disable shadow RAM

-Disable L2 cache (socket 7 or below)

-Program basic chipset registers

C1h: Detect memory

-Auto-detection of DRAM size, type and ECC.

-Auto-detection of L2 cache (socket 7 or below)

C3h: Expand compressed BIOS code to DRAM
C5h: Call chipset hook to copy BIOS back to E000 & F000 shadow RAM.
01h: Expand the Xgroup codes locating in physical address 1000:0
03h: Initial Superio_Early_Init switch.
05h: 1. Blank out screen

2. Clear CMOS error flag

07h: 1. Clear 8042 interface

2. Initialize 8042 self-test

08h: 1. Test special keyboard controller for Winbond 977 series Super I/O

chips.

2. Enable keyboard interface.

0Ah: 1. Disable PS/2 mouse interface (optional).

2. Autodetect ports for keyboard & mouse followed by a port & interface
swap (optional).

3. Reset keyboard for Winbond 977 series Super I/O chips.

0Eh: Test F000h segment shadow to see whether it is R/W-able or not. If

test fails, keep beeping the speaker.

10h: Auto detect flash type to load appropriate flash R/W codes into the

run time area in F000 for ESCD & DMI support.

12h: Use walking 1’s algorithm to check out interface in CMOS circuitry. Also

set real-time clock power status, and then check for override.

14h: Program chipset default values into chipset. Chipset default values are

MODBINable by OEM customers.

16h: Initial onboard clock generator if Early_Init_Onboard_Generator is

defined.
See also POST 26h.

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POST (hex)

Description

18h: Detect CPU information including brand, SMI type (Cyrix or Intel) and

CPU level (586 or 686).

1Bh: Initial interrupts vector table. If no special specified, all H/W interrupts are

directed to SPURIOUS_INT_HDLR & S/W interrupts to
SPURIOUS_soft_HDLR.

1Dh: Initial EARLY_PM_INIT switch.
1Fh: Load keyboard matrix (notebook platform)
21h: HPM initialization (notebook platform)
23h: 1. Check validity of RTC value:

e.g. a value of 5Ah is an invalid value for RTC minute.

2. Load CMOS settings into BIOS stack. If CMOS checksum fails, use

default value instead.

24h: Prepare BIOS resource map for PCI & PnP use. If ESCD is valid, take

into consideration of the ESCD’s legacy information.

25h: Early PCI Initialization:

-Enumerate PCI bus number.

-Assign memory & I/O resource

-Search for a valid VGA device & VGA BIOS, and put it into C000:0

26h: 1. If Early_Init_Onboard_Generator is not defined Onboard clock

generator initialization. Disable respective clock resource to empty PCI
& DIMM slots.

2. Init onboard PWM

3. Init onboard H/W monitor devices

27h: Initialize INT 09 buffer
29h: 1. Program CPU internal MTRR (P6 & PII) for 0-640K memory address.

2. Initialize the APIC for Pentium class CPU.

3. Program early chipset according to CMOS setup. Example: onboard
IDE controller.

4. Measure CPU speed.

2Bh: Invoke Video BIOS
2Dh: 1. Initialize double-byte language font (Optional)

2. Put information on screen display, including Award title, CPU type,

CPU speed, full screen logo.

33h: Reset keyboard if Early_Reset_KB is defined e.g. Winbond 977 series

Super I/O chips. See also POST 63h.

35h: Test DMA Channel 0

Tomcat i915 S5120 Appendix II: Post Error Code for BIOS

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POST (hex)

Description
37h: Test DMA Channel 1.
39h: Test DMA page registers.
3Ch: Test 8254
3Eh: Test 8259 interrupt mask bits for channel 1.
40h: Test 8259 interrupt mask bits for channel 2.
43h: Test 8259 functionality.
47h: Initialize EISA slot
49h: 1. Calculate total memory by testing the last double word of each 64K

page.

2. Program write allocation for AMD K5 CPU.

4Eh: 1. Program MTRR of M1 CPU

2. Initialize L2 cache for P6 class CPU & program CPU with proper
cacheable range.

3. Initialize the APIC for P6 class CPU.

4. On MP platform, adjust the cacheable range to smaller one in case the

cacheable ranges between each CPU are not identical.

50h: Initialize USB Keyboard & Mouse.
52h: Test all memory (clear all extended memory to 0)
53h: Clear password according to H/W jumper (Optional)
55h: Display number of processors (multi-processor platform)
57h: 1. Display PnP logo

2. Early ISA PnP initialization

-Assign CSN to every ISA PnP device.

59h: Initialize the combined Trend Anti-Virus code.
5Bh: (Optional Feature)

Show message for entering AWDFLASH.EXE from FDD (optional)

5Dh: 1. Initialize Init_Onboard_Super_IO

2. Initialize Init_Onbaord_AUDIO.

60h: Okay to enter Setup utility; i.e. not until this POST stage can users enter

the CMOS setup utility.

63h: Reset keyboard if Early_Reset_KB is not defined.
65h: Initialize PS/2 Mouse

Tomcat i915 S5120 Appendix II: Post Error Code for BIOS

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http://www.tyan.com

POST (hex)

Description
67h: Prepare memory size information for function call: INT 15h ax=E820h
69h: Turn on L2 cache
6Bh: Program chipset registers according to items described in Setup & Auto-

configuration table.

6Dh: 1. Assign resources to all ISA PnP devices.

2. Auto assign ports to onboard COM ports if the corresponding item in
Setup is set to “AUTO”.

6Fh: 1. Initialize floppy controller

2. Set up floppy related fields in 40:hardware.

75h: Detect & install all IDE devices: HDD, LS120, ZIP, CDROM…..
76h: (Optional Feature)

Enter AWDFLASH.EXE if:

-AWDFLASH.EXE is found in floppy drive.

-ALT+F2 is pressed.

77h: Detect serial ports & parallel ports.
7Ah: Detect & install co-processor
7Ch: Init HDD write protect.
7Fh: Switch back to text mode if full screen logo is supported.

-If errors occur, report errors & wait for keys

-If no errors occur or F1 key is pressed to continue:

Clear EPA or customization logo.

Tomcat i915 S5120 Appendix II: Post Error Code for BIOS

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http://www.tyan.com

POST (hex)

Description

82h: 1. Call chipset power management hook.

2. Recover the text fond used by EPA logo (not for full screen logo)

3. If password is set, ask for password.

83h: Save all data in stack back to CMOS
84h: Initialize ISA PnP boot devices
85h: 1. USB final Initialization

2. Switch screen back to text mode

87h: NET PC: Build SYSID Structure.
89h: 1. Assign IRQs to PCI devices

2. Set up ACPI table at top of the memory.

8Bh: 1. Invoke all ISA adapter ROMs

2. Invoke all PCI ROMs (except VGA)

8Dh: 1. Enable/Disable Parity Check according to CMOS setup

2. APM Initialization

8Fh: Clear noise of IRQs
93h: Read HDD boot sector information for Trend Anti-Virus code
94h: 1. Enable L2 cache

2. Program Daylight Saving

3. Program boot up speed

4. Chipset final initialization.

5. Power management final initialization

6. Clear screen & display summary table

7. Program K6 write allocation

8. Program P6 class write combining

95h: Update keyboard LED & typematic rate
96h: 1. Build MP table

2. Build & update ESCD

3. Set CMOS century to 20h or 19h

4. Load CMOS time into DOS timer tick

5. Build MSIRQ routing table.

FFh: Boot attempt (INT 19h)

Tomcat i915 S5120 Technical Support

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Technical 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.
Furthermore, if you purchased your system from a dealer near you, you can actually bring
your system to them to have it serviced, instead of attempting to do so yourself (which can
have expensive consequences).

Help Resources:

1. See the beep codes section of this manual.

2. See the TYAN website for FAQ’s, bulletins, driver updates, and
other information: http://www.tyan.com

3. Contact your dealer for help BEFORE calling TYAN.

4. Check the TYAN user group: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.TYAN

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.

Note

A receipt or copy of your invoice marked with the date of purchase is
required before any warranty service can be rendered. You may 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. TYAN will pay to have the board shipped back to you.

Tomcat i915 S5120 User’s Manual

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Notice for the USA

Compliance Information Statement (Declaration of Conformity
Procedure) DoC
FCC Part 15: This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules

Operation is subject to the following conditions:

1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and

2) This device must accept any interference received including interference that may
cause undesired operation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to
radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.

• Plug the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that of the

receiver.

• Consult the dealer on an experienced radio/television technician for help.

Notice for Canada
This apparatus complies with the Class B limits for radio interference as specified in the
Canadian Department of Communications Radio Interference Regulations. (Cet appareil est
conforme aux norms de Classe B d’interference radio tel que specifie par le Ministere
Canadien des Communications dans les reglements d’ineteference radio.)

Notice for Europe (CE Mark)
This product is in conformity with the Council Directive 89/336/EEC,
92/31/EEC (EMC).

CAUTION: Lithium battery included with this board. Do not puncture, mutilate, or dispose of
battery in fire. Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only with the
same or equivalent type recommended by manufacturer. Dispose of used battery according to
manufacturer instructions and in accordance with your local regulations.

Document #: D1597 - 100