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BLUE CHIP Neutron User Manual

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Neutron
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User Manual

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Summary of Contents for BLUE CHIP Neutron

  • Page 1 Neutron Single Board PC User Manual...
  • Page 2 For permission in the UK contact Blue Chip Technology. Information offered in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing. Blue Chip Technology accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
  • Page 3 Amendment History Issue Issue Author Amendment Details Level Date 29/10/99 First draft 6/01/00 BIOS settings updated 1/09/00 Revised format 14/12/00 ECN 2000/151: include E and Dig I/O options in one build. Were 2 builds.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    WATCHDOG FUNCTION PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL INPUT/OUTPUTS USER EEPROM SOLID STATE DISK SUPPORT BIOS System Setup Utility PCI Support ISA Plug and Play Auto-Configuration Capabilities Advanced Power Management Sleep mode Support Security features CLEARING CMOS MEMORY CONNECTORS JUMPERS Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031...
  • Page 5 Configuring the Disk-On-Chip as the Boot device Configuring the Disk-On-Chip as the first drive CONNECTORS ERROR MESSAGES AMIBIOS Error Beep Codes AMIBIOS Error Codes on the POST display AMIBIOS Error Messages ISA NMI Messages PCI Configuration Error Messages BOARD LAYOUT Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031...

  • Page 6: Company Profile

    Specialising in the provision of industrial computing and electronic solutions for a wide range of UK and European organisations, Blue Chip Technology has one of the UK's largest portfolios of industrial PCs, peripherals and data acquisition cards. This extensive range of products, coupled with our experience and expertise, enables Blue Chip Technology to offer an industrial processing solution for any application.

  • Page 7: Introduction

    IMITATIONS OF IABILITY In no event shall Blue Chip Technology be held liable for any loss, expenses or damages of any kind whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, arising from the design or use of this product or the support materials supplied with this product. If this...

  • Page 8: Precautions

    • be immersed in water • be unsoldered • be recharged • be disassembled IF THE BATTERY IS MISTREATED IN ANY WAY THERE IS A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY OF FIRE, EXPLOSION AND HARM. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 2...

  • Page 9: Related Publications

    All 80x86 and Pentium processors are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. MSDOS and WINDOWS are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. PC/104-plus and PC/104 are registered trademarks of the PC/104 Consortium. Finali is a registered Trademark of Acer Labs Incorporated Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 3...

  • Page 10: User Guide

    P75. The memory sub-system supports 16MB of on-board DRAM. The NEUTRON single board PC utilises the ALI Finali PCI chipset to provide increased integration and performance over other single board PC designs. The Finali PCIset contains an integrated PCI Bus EIDE controller with a high performance IDE interface allowing up to two IDE devices (such as hard drives, CD-ROM readers, etc.).

  • Page 11: Board Level Features

    8x87 math coprocessor and complying with ANSI/IEEE standard 754-1985. BUS EXPANSION SLOTS NEUTRON is designed for use in an embedded application and provides ISA expansion via the standard PC/104 (ISA) connector. There may be up to four PC/104 bus expansion cards.

  • Page 12: Electromagnetic Compatibility

    Failure to observe these recommendations may invalidate the EMC compliance. Warning This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product may cause radio interference in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 6...

  • Page 13: Specification

    /hour) Humidity Operating 10 % to 90 % RH, non-condensing Emissions EN55022 (A) Immunity EN50082-1 in a Blue Chip ICON Industrial PC Chassis MTBF Estimated 100,000 Hrs Dimensions Board only 108 x 96 mm Power Consumption figures given are for a typical configuration. This information is provided only as a guide to calculating approximate total power usage for a system.

  • Page 14: Hardware Description

    A battery is required to maintain the RTC and CMOS memory whilst the power is switched off. NEUTRON is fitted with a connector to allow the use of an off-board 3.7V Lithium battery. The CMOS RAM values can be cleared to the system defaults by disconnecting the external Lithium battery.

  • Page 15: Smc 37C665 Super I/O Controller

    See the section “Using the Additional IO Functions” on the use of the I/O lines. EEPROM NEUTRON provides 128 bytes of user accessible non-volatile memory in the form of an EEPROM. This is selected as an option to the digital I/O function in the BIOS. The EEPROM is not available if the Digital I/O option is specified.

  • Page 16: Solid State Disk Support

    TATE UPPORT NEUTRON supports the use of Solid State Disks using a Disk-on-Chip module fitted into the 32-pin DIL socket. This permits Hard disk read/write emulation with disk capacities currently ranging from 2 M to 288 MBytes. See the section “Disk-On-Chip Support” under Software Description for installation details.

  • Page 17: Bios

    ARDWARE ESCRIPTION The NEUTRON single board PC uses an AMI system BIOS, which is stored in EPROM. In addition to the System BIOS, the EPROM also contains the Setup utility, Power-On Self Test (POST), and the PCI auto-configuration utility. This single board PC supports system BIOS shadowing, allowing the BIOS to execute from 32-bit on-board write-protected DRAM.

  • Page 18: Advanced Power Management

    When in the Stand-by mode, the NEUTRON single board PC reduces power consumption by using the power saving capabilities of the Am5x86-P75 processor and also running down hard drives and turning off DPMS compliant monitors.

  • Page 19: Clearing Cmos Memory

    This should be required under exceptional circumstances such as losing the password, or setting incompatible parameters in the BIOS. Switch off the system and disconnect the off-board battery from the NEUTRON. Wait for two minutes to allow the decoupling capacitor to discharge, and then reconnect the battery.

  • Page 20: Software Description

    For setting up and modifying basic items such as floppy disk drives, hard drives, and system time & date. ADVANCED CMOS SETUP Use to modify the more advanced features of the PC (e.g. system bootup options). ADVANCED CHIPSET SETUP Use to modify hardware level options. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 14...
  • Page 21 You can also press the <F10> key anywhere in the Setup program to do this. Note that unless an off-board battery is connected to the NEUTRON board, the CMOS settings will be lost when power is removed from the board.

  • Page 22: Overview Of The Setup Keys

    The options are Not Installed, 360 KB, 5.25-inch; 1.2 MB, 5.25-inch; 720 KB, 3.5-inch; 1.44/1.25 MB, 3.5-inch; 2.88 MB, 3.5- inch. The default is Not Installed. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 16...
  • Page 23 This reports if a secondary master IDE hard disk is connected to the system. It is configured exactly as described under Primary IDE Master above. The default is “Not Installed”. (Note: Neutron does not support an on board secondary IDE channel). SECONDARY IDE SLAVE This reports if a secondary slave IDE hard disk is connected to the system.
  • Page 24 Selects 32-bit transfer mode. The options are On or Off. The default is Off. BOOT SECTOR VIRUS PROTECTION Detects if software tries to write to the boot sector. Options are Enabled or Disabled. The default is Disabled. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 18...

  • Page 25: Advanced Cmos Setup

    L1 cache memory. The contents of the F0000h memory segment are always copied from the BIOS ROM to system RAM for faster execution. The settings are Enabled or Disabled. The Optimal and Fail-Safe default settings are Enabled. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 19...
  • Page 26 In the AMIBIOS for the ALI Finali chipset, the E000h page is used as ROM during POST and shadowing is enabled for this region. Thus the E000h page is not available on the local bus. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 20...

  • Page 27: Advanced Chipset Setup

    Changing these values to an incorrect setting can cause system instability or even prevent the Neutron board from booting. The options are Enabled or Disabled. The default setting is Enabled.

  • Page 28: Power Management Setup

    Standby mode before the computer is placed in Suspend mode. In Suspend mode, the power use is minimised. The settings are Disabled, 1 (minute), and all one minute intervals up to and including 14. The default settings are Disabled. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 22...
  • Page 29 AMIBIOS. When any activity occurs, the computer enters Full On mode. Each of these options can be set to Monitor or Ignore. The default settings are Ignore. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 23...

  • Page 30: Pci / Plug And Play Setup

    This option is only available when the CPU to PCI Write Buffer is enabled. It allows Neutron to use the 32-bit PCI bus more effectively. When enabled, this feature merges bytes or words to double words. When enabled it improves the system performance in non-32-bit applications or transfers.
  • Page 31 This option specifies the starting address (in hex) of the reserved memory area. The specified ROM memory area is reserved for use by legacy ISA adapter cards. The settings are C0000, C4000, C8000, CC000, D0000, D4000, D8000, DC000. The Optimal and Fail-Safe default settings are CC000. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 25...

  • Page 32: Peripheral Setup

    Selects which IRQ is assigned to the parallel port. Options are 5 or 7. The default is 7. ONBOARD IDE This option specifies the onboard IDE controller channels that will be used. The settings are Primary, Both or Disabled. The Optimal and Fail-Safe default settings are Primary. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 26...
  • Page 33 OFTWARE ESCRIPTION HARDWARE IO PORT BASE ADDRESS The NEUTRON has additional IO functions (watchdog timer, three TTL-compatible, programmable digital input/output lines, and a user-accessible EEPROM). This menu option specifies the base address of the control registers for these options. The permissible values are: 100 hex (default) up to 300 hex, and 8000 hex up to 8300 hex, in increments of 100 hex.

  • Page 34: Address Maps

    880K – DC000 – Solid State Disk Pages 895K DFFFF 896K – E0000 – 128K AMI System BIOS 1023K FFFFF (not available for UMB) 1024K - 100000 – 127M Extended Memory 131072K 8000000 Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 28...

  • Page 35: I/O Map

    FFA8 - FFAF 2ary Bus Master IDE regs FF00-FF07 IDE Bus Master Reg. * only accessible by DWORD accesses. # alternatively based at 100 boundaries up to and including 300 , or 8000 to 8300 Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 29...

  • Page 36: Interrupts & Dma Channels

    Interval Timer Keyboard buffer full Cascade interrupt from slave PIC Serial 2 (COM2) Serial 1 (COM1) Parallel 2 (LPT2) Floppy Controller Parallel (LPT1) Real time clock Math co-processor Primary E-IDE RESERVED Floppy Cascade channel Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 30...

  • Page 37: Using The Additional Io Functions

    Base Address”). WATCHDOG TIMER OPERATION NEUTRON includes a watchdog timer circuit, which may be used to monitor software or processor hardware failure. The time-out period of the watchdog is fixed at 500 milliseconds. It may be enabled or disabled by using the software interrupt at INT 50h, or by writing individual bits to the Watchdog Timer Register directly.
  • Page 38 NEUTRON U ANUAL OFTWARE ESCRIPTION Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 32...

  • Page 39: Eeprom Access And Control

    ;refresh timer EEPROM ACCESS AND CONTROL The EEPROM on the NEUTRON unit is a NM93C46 serially programmed device that is accessed through a single register at IO Base Address +00h. It comprises 128 bytes of user programmable memory, organised as 64 x 16 bit words. The EEPROM does not have to be completely erased before writing to a single location.

  • Page 40: Programmable Digital Input/Outputs

    AH = FF, and Carry flag set if function failed PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL INPUT/OUTPUTS NEUTRON provides three TTL-compatible programmable digital input/output lines as a BIOS-selected option. These lines occupy the lower 3 bits of the byte located at the IO Base Address +00h. They are individually selectable as input or output in the BIOS, or under program control by writing to the IO Base Address +05h.

  • Page 41: Accessing Int 50H Functions

    AH = 00h Function successful, Carry flag cleared AH = 01h Function invalid, Carry flag set AH = 02h Function valid but disabled, Carry flag set AH = 03h Function failed, Carry flag set Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 35...

  • Page 42: Disk-On-Chip Support

    Millennium Flash Modules as solid-state disks. The notes below detail the use of the device with MS-DOS. If support is required for other operating systems, please consult Blue Chip Technology Technical Services, or M-Systems web-site at www.m-sys.com, for drivers and application notes.

  • Page 43: Configuring The Disk-On-Chip As The Boot Device

    • Boot the system and make sure the DiskOnChip is installed correctly as drive D • At the DOS prompt type: DUPDATE D: /FIRST /S:DOC123.EXB After re-booting the system, the DiskOnChip will appear as drive C: Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 37...

  • Page 44: Connectors

    -Chip Select 1 (HD) Not Used Ground VGA CONNECTOR P2 10-way pin header. Mating connector: 10-way 0.1” (IDC) socket. PIN NO SIGNAL PIN NO SIGNAL Ground Green Ground Blue Ground Hsync Ground Vsync Ground Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 38...
  • Page 45 Data bit 2 -Select (input) Data bit 3 Ground Data bit 4 Ground Data bit 5 Ground Data bit 6 Ground Data bit 7 Ground -Acknowledge Ground Busy Ground Paper Empty Ground Select (Output) Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 39...
  • Page 46 Panel Data 34 Ground Panel Data 33 Panel Data 26 Ground Panel Data 27 Panel Data 32 Ground Panel Data 31 Panel Data 28 Ground Panel Data 29 Panel Data 30 Ground Ground Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 40...
  • Page 47 Panel Data 15 Panel Data 16 BATTERY CONNECTOR P10 4-way 0.1” pin header. Mating connector: 4-way Molex KK-type socket (housing 22-01- 3047, crimp 97-00-0445). PIN NO SIGNAL +3.7 Volts DC Not used (key) Ground Ground Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 41...
  • Page 48 Power LED +ve Power Led -ve ( Ground) Reserved Reserved External SMI +ve External SMI -ve (Ground) +5V (fused) 0 Volts (Ground) External +3.6 Volt 0 Volts Battery (Ground) Battery Keyboard Data Keyboard Clock Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 42...
  • Page 49 IOCHRDY Ground -SMEMW SA19 -SMEMR SA18 -IOW SA17 -IOR SA16 -DACK3 SA15 DREQ3 SA14 -DACK1 SA13 DREQ1 SA12 -REF SA11 SA10 IRQ7 IRQ6 IRQ5 IRQ4 IRQ3 -DACK2 BALE +5 Volts Ground Ground Ground Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 43...
  • Page 50 -MEMR DREQ0 -MEMW -DACK5 DREQ5 -DACK6 SD10 DREQ6 SD11 -DACK7 SD12 DREQ7 SD13 +5 Volts SD14 -Master SD15 Ground No Connection Ground POWER CONNECTOR P16 3-way screw terminal block. TERMINAL SIGNAL Ground +12V Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 44...

  • Page 51: Error Messages

    ROM checksum value does not match the value Error encoded in BIOS. CMOS Shutdown The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed. Register Rd/Wrt Error Cache Error / The external cache is faulty. External Cache Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 45...

  • Page 52: Amibios Error Codes On The Post Display

    Disable internal cache. Detect Flash type present. Erase Flash. Program Flash. Flash program successful. BIOS is going to restart. These Checkpoints are only utilised when the NEUTRON is fitted with a Flash BIOS Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 46...
  • Page 53 Different BUSes init (input, IPL, general devices) to start if present. Display different BUSes initialisation error messages. New cursor position read and saved. To display the Hit <DEL> message. To prepare the descriptor tables. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 47...
  • Page 54 NEUTRON U ANUAL RROR ESSAGES To enter in virtual mode for memory test. To enable interrupts for diagnostics mode. To Initialise data to check memory wrap around at 0:0. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 48...
  • Page 55 Keyboard controller interface test over. To write command byte and init circular buffer. Command byte written, Global data init done. To check for lock-key. Lock-key checking over. To check for memory size mismatch with CMOS. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 49...
  • Page 56 To uncompress DMI data and execute DMI POST init. System configuration is displayed. Going to copy any code to specific area. Copying of code to specific area done. Going to give control to INT-19 boot loader. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 50...

  • Page 57: Amibios Error Messages

    Where “ XXXX” is the hex address where the error occurred. On Board Parity Error Parity is not supported on this product, this error will not occur. Parity Error ???? Parity error in system memory at an unknown address. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 51...
  • Page 58 NEUTRON U ANUAL RROR ESSAGES Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 52...

  • Page 59: Isa Nmi Messages

    If the address can be determined, it is displayed as XXXXX. If not, the message is I/O Card Parity Error ????. DMA Bus Time-out A device has driven the bus signal for more than 7.8 microseconds. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 53...

  • Page 60: Pci Configuration Error Messages

    <'Serial Port 1 Resource Conflict '>, \ ; Text <'Serial Port 2 Resource Conflict '>, \ ; Text If more than 15 PCI conflict errors are detected, the “log full” message is displayed. Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 54...

  • Page 61: Board Layout

    NEUTRON U ANUAL OARD AYOUT BOARD LAYOUT Blue Chip Technology Ltd. 01271031 Page 55...

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