Related Manuals for AOpen AX4GR
Summary of Contents for AOpen AX4GR
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Page 1: Ax4Gr / Ax4Gr-N
AX4GR / AX4GR-N DOC. NO.: AX4GRN-OL-E0206B... -
Page 2: Table Of Contents
’ ’ AX4GR / AX4GR-N ........................... 1 What’s in this manual ..............................2 You Must Notice ................................9 Before You Start ................................10 Overview ..................................11 Feature Highlight................................12 Quick Installation Procedure ............................16 Motherboard Map ................................17 Block Diagram................................18 Hardware Installation........................ - Page 3 WOL (Wake on LAN) ..............................46 CNR (Communication and Network Riser) Expansion Slot .................... 48 PC99 Color Coded Back Panel ............................. 49 Support 10/100 Mbps LAN onboard (AX4GR-N only) ....................50 JP13 LAN Enable/Disable Jumper (AX4GR-N only) ...................... 51 Support Six USB2.0 Connectors ........................... 52...
- Page 4 Auto-run Menu from Bonus CD Disc ..........................69 Installing Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility...................... 70 Intel Brookdale-G VGA driver ............................71 Installing Intel IAA Driver ............................... 72 Installing Onboard Sound Driver ........................... 73 Installing LAN Driver (AX4GR-N only) ........................... 75...
- Page 5 Glossary ............................ 96 AC97 ..................................... 96 ACPI (Advanced Configuration & Power Interface) ....................... 96 AGP (Accelerated Graphic Port)............................ 96 AMR (Audio/Modem Riser)............................97 AOpen Bonus Pack CD ..............................97 APM (Advanced Power Management) ........................... 97 ATA (AT Attachment) ..............................97...
- Page 6 ATA/66 ..................................97 ATA/100 ..................................98 ATA/133 ..................................98 BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) ..........................98 Bus Master IDE (DMA mode) ............................99 CNR (Communication and Networking Riser)........................ 99 CODEC (Coding and Decoding) ............................ 99 DDR (Double Data Rated) SDRAM ..........................99 DIMM (Dual In Line Memory Module) ..........................
- Page 7 C Bus ..................................102 IEEE 1394 ................................... 103 Parity Bit ..................................103 PBSRAM (Pipelined Burst SRAM)..........................103 PC-100 DIMM ................................104 PC-133 DIMM ................................104 PC-1600 or PC-2100 or PC-2700 DDR DRAM ......................104 PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) Bus ......................... 104 PDF Format.................................
- Page 8 USB (Universal Serial Bus) ............................107 VCM (Virtual Channel Memory) ........................... 108 ZIP file..................................108 Troubleshooting........................109 Technical Support ........................113 Product Registration ....................... 116 How to Contact Us ........................117...
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Page 9: You Must Notice
All of the specifications and information contained in this manual are subject to change without notice. AOpen reserves the right to revise this publication and to make reasonable changes. AOpen assumes no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual, including the products and software described in it. -
Page 10: Before You Start
This Online Manual will introduce to the user how this product is installed. All useful information will be described in later chapters. Please keep this manual carefully for future upgrades or system configuration changes. This Online Manual is saved format, we recommend using Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 for online viewing, it is included in Bonus CD disc or you can get free download from... -
Page 11: Overview
® Thank you for choosing AOpen AX4GR / AX4GR-N motherboard. The AX4GR / AX4GR-N is Intel Socket 478 motherboard (M/B) based on the ATX form factor featuring the Intel® 845G (Brookdale) chipset. As high performance chipset built in the M/B, ®... -
Page 12: Feature Highlight
1056MB/s. AX4GR / AX4GR-N motherboard can support 4X mode. Of six PCI slots provided, all of them are master PCI slots with arbitration and decoding for all integrated functions and LPC bus. - Page 13 33/66/100, PIO Modes 3 and 4 and Bus Master IDE DMA Mode 5, and supports Enhanced IDE devices. On-board AC’97 Sound AX4GR / AX4GR-N uses the AC97 sound chip. This on-board audio includes a complete audio recording and playback system.
- Page 14 Dr. LED (User Upgrade Optional) Dr. LED has 8 LEDs on this AX4GR / AX4GR-N M/B to easily show what kind of problems you may encounter. Power Management/Plug an d Play Supports the power management function that confirms to the power-saving standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star program.
- Page 15 Hardware Monitoring Management Supports CPU or system fans status, temp erature and voltage monitoring and alert, through the on-board hardware monitor module. Enhanced ACPI ® Fully implement the ACPI standard for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP series compatibility, and supports Soft-Off, STR (Suspend to RAM, S3), STD (Suspend to Disk, S4) features.
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Page 16: Quick Installation Procedure
This page gives you a quick procedure on how to install your system. Follow each step accordingly. Installing CPU and Fan Installing System Memory (DIMM) Connecting Front Panel Cable Connecting IDE and Floppy Cable Connecting ATX Power Cable Connecting Back Panel Cable Power-on and Load BIOS Setup Default Setting CPU Frequency Reboot... -
Page 17: Motherboard Map
Black: CD-IN Connector RealTek RTL8100BL Green: AUX-IN Connector (AX4G-RN only) JP28 Keyboard/Mouse Wakeup JP13 LAN Enable/Disable Jumper Enable/Disable Jumper (AX4GR-N only) CNR Expansion Slot 4-pin 12V. ATX P ower Connector 3300μF Low ESR Capacitors FAN2 Connector AGP Slot 32-bit PCI Expansion Slot x6 (For 1.5V AGP card) -
Page 18: Block Diagram
IDE Drive x4 Secondary ADD Slot Channel AC97 Intel ICH4 CODEC Realtek RTL8100BL LAN connect Component AC Link (AX4GR-N only) CNR Slot USB Port Low Pin Connector x6 Firmware Hub Count Super USB Port 4Mbit Flash EEPROM USB Port Parallel Port... -
Page 19: Hardware Installation
This chapter describes jumpers, connectors and hardware devices of this motherboard. Note: Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your processor, disk drives, expansion boards, and other components. Always observe the following precautions before you install a system component. Do not remove a component from its protective packaging until you are ready to install it. Wear a wrist ground strap and attach it to a metal part of the system unit before handling a component. -
Page 20: About "Manufacturer Upgrade Optional" And "User Upgrade Optional
When you read this online manual and start to assemble your computer system, you may find some of functions are called “Manufacturer Upgrade Optional”, and some are called “User Upgrade Optional”. Though all AOpen motherboards include many amazing and powerful features, in some situations, these powerful features are not used to every user. Hence, we changed some key features as “Manufacturer Upgrade Optional”... -
Page 21: Jp14 Clear Cmos Data
You can clear CMOS to restore system default setting. To clear the CMOS, follow the procedure below. Turn off the system and unplug the AC power. Remove ATX power cable from connector PWR2. Locate JP14 and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds. Return JP14 to its normal setting by shorting pins 1 &... - Page 22 ® This motherboard supports Intel Pentium 4 Socket 478 series CPU. Be careful of CPU orientation when you plug it into CPU socket. 2. Locate Pin 1 in the socket and look for a cut edge on the CPU upper 1.
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Page 23: Cpu Installation
3. Press down the CPU socket lever and finish CPU installation. CPU cut edge Note: If you do not match the CPU socket Pin 1 and CPU cut edge well, it may damage the CPU. Note: This socket supports Micro-FC-PGA2 package CPU, which is the latest CPU package developed by Intel. - Page 24 This motherboard comes with a retention module attached on the CPU socket when shipped, we strongly recommend you to install AOpen special designed CPU Fan as shown below on the retention module for better heat dissipation. Please install the CPU Fan correctly as the following pictures shown.
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Page 25: Cpu Jumper-Less Design
CPU VID signal and SMbus clock generator provide CPU voltage auto-detection and allows the user to set the CPU frequency through the BIOS setup, therefore no jumpers or switches are used. The disadvantages of the Pentium based jumper-less designs are eliminated. There will be no worry of wrong CPU voltage detection. Clock Generator ®... - Page 26 “ ” “ ” With this motherboard, AOpen provides a very special, useful feature for overclockers. When you power-on the system, the BIOS will check last system POST status. If it succeeded, the BIOS will enable “Watch Dog Timer” function immediately, and set the CPU frequency by user’s setting...
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Page 27: Cpu Core Voltage Auto Detectable
Tip: If your system hangs or fails to boot because of Home overclocking, simply use <Home> key to restore the default setting or you can wait the AOpen “Watch Dog Timer” reset the system after five seconds and system will auto-detect hardware ag... - Page 28 Core Frequency = CPU Clock * CPU Ratio PCI Clock = CPU FSB Clock / Clock Ratio Clock = PCI Clock x 2 CPU Core Northwood CPU FSB Clock System Bus Ratio Frequency Note: Since the latest processor, Northwood, would detect the clock Pentium 4 1600MHz 100MHz...
- Page 29 CPU Core Williamett CPU FSB Clock System Bus Ratio Frequency Pentium 4 1500MHz 100MHz 400MHz 1.5G Pentium 4 1600MHz 100MHz 400MHz 1.6G Pentium 4 1700MHz 100MHz 400MHz 1.7G Pentium 4 1800MHz 100MHz 400MHz 1.8G Pentium 4 1900MHz 100MHz 400MHz 1.9G Pentium 4 2000MHz 100MHz...
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Page 30: Cpu And System Fan Connector (With H/W Monitoring)
Plug in the CPU fan cable to the 3-pin CPU FAN connector. If you have chassis fan, you can also plug it on System Fan (FAN2) or FAN3 (AUX Fan) connector. +12V SENSOR FAN2 Connector SENSOR +12V CPU Fan Connector Note: Some CPU fans do not have +12V sensor pin, so that cannot support... -
Page 31: Jp28 Keyboard/Mouse Wake-Up Enable/Disable Jumper
This motherboard provides keyboard / mouse wake-up function. You can use JP28 to enable or disable this function, which could resume your system from suspend mode with keyboard or mouse installed. The factory default setting is set to “Disable”(1-2), and you may enable this function by setting the jumper to 2-3. JP28 KB/Mouse Wake-up Pin 1... -
Page 32: Dimm Sockets
This motherboard has three 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets that allow you to install PC266 PC333 memory up to 2 GB. Only Non-ECC DDR SDRAM are supported, otherwise, it will cause serious damage on memory sockets or SDRAM module (Please note that only CPU FSB 533 supports DDR333). DIMM1 DIMM2 DIMM3... - Page 33 Please follow the procedure as shown below to finish memory installation. Make sure the DIMM module’s pin face down and match the socket’s size as depicted below. 40 pins 52 pins Insert the module straight down to the DIMM slot with both hands and press down firmly until the DIMM module is securely in place.
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Page 34: Front Panel Connector
Attach the power LED, speaker, power and reset switch connectors to the corresponding pins. If you enable “Suspend Mode” item in BIOS Setup, the ACPI & Power LED will keep flashing while the system is in suspend mode. Locate the power switch cable from your ATX housing. It is 2-pin female connector from the housing front panel. -
Page 35: Atx Power Connector
This motherboard comes with a 20-pin and 4-pin ATX power connector. Make sure you plug in the right direction. We strongly recommend you to connect the 4-pin 12V ATX connector before connecting the 20-pin ATX power connector and use standard power supply specially designed for Pentium 4 system. -
Page 36: Ac Power Auto Recovery
A traditional ATX system should remain at power off stage when AC power resumes from power failure. This design is inconvenient for a network server or workstation, without an UPS, that needs to keep power-on. This motherboard implements an AC Power Auto Recovery function to solve this problem. -
Page 37: Ide And Floppy Connector
Connect 34-pin floppy cable and 40-pin IDE cable to floppy connector FDC and IDE connector. The blue connector is IDE1 for clear identification. Be careful of the pin1 orientation. Wrong orientation may cause system damage. Secondary Secondary Master (3rd) Slave (4th) IDE 2 (Secondary) IDE 1 (Primary) Pin 1... - Page 38 IDE1 is also known as the primary channel and IDE2 as the secondary channel. Each channel supports two IDE devices that make a total of four devices. In order to work together, the two devices on each channel must be set differently to Master and Slave mode.
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Page 39: Irda Connector
The IrDA connector can be configured to support wireless infrared module, with this module and application software such as Laplink or Windows 95 Direct Cable Connection, the user can transfer files to or from laptops, notebooks, PDA devices and printers. This connector supports HPSIR (115.2Kbps, 2 meters) and ASK-IR (56Kbps). Install the infrared module onto the IrDA connector and enable the infrared function from BIOS Setup, UART Mode, make sure to have the correct orientation when you plug in the IrDA connector. -
Page 40: S/Pdif (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) Connector
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a newest audio transfer file format, which provides impressive audio quality through optical fiber and allows you to enjoy digital audio instead of analog audio. Normally there are two S/PDIF outputs as shown, one for RCA connector, the most common one used for consumer audio products, and the other for optical connector with better audio quality. -
Page 41: Super 5.1 Channel Audio Effect
This motherboard comes with an ALC650 CODEC, which supports high quality of 5.1 Channel audio effect, bringing you a brand new audio experience. On the strength of the innovative design of ALC650, you're able to use standard line-jacks for surround audio output without connecting any external module. -
Page 42: Agp Slot
With Intel 845G chipset implemented, this AGP slot could automatically become an AGP slot or a Multiplexed Intel DVO Output depending on what kind of cards inserted, like AGP, or ADD (AGP Digital Display) cards. With ADD card cabled to this slot, Multiplexed Intel DVO output could provide high-speed digital connection for digital displays or TV-OUT functionality. -
Page 43: Wom (Zero Voltage Wake On Modem) Connector
Pin 1 WOM Connector +5VSB... -
Page 44: Wom By External Box Modem
Serial Port (Modem Side) Pin 1 Pin 1 Serial Port (Motherboard Side) Note: This picture is for example only, it may not be exactly the same as this motherboard. -
Page 45: Wom By Internal Modem Card
Note: This picture is for example only, it may not be exactly the same as this motherboard. -
Page 46: Wol (Wake On Lan)
This feature is very similar as Wake On Modem, but it goes through local area network. To use Wake On LAN function, you must have a network card with chipset that supports this feature, and connect a cable from LAN card to motherboard WOL connector. The system identification information (probably IP address) is stored on network card and because there is a lot of traffic on the Ethernet, you need to install network management software, such as ADM, for the checking of how to wake up the system. - Page 47 WOL Connector (Ethernet Card Side) WOL Connector (Motherboard Side) Note: This picture is for example only, it may not exactly be the same motherboard.
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Page 48: Cnr (Communication And Network Riser) Expansion Slot
is a riser card specification to replace the AMR (Audio/Modem Riser) that supports V.90 analog modem, multi-channel audio, and phone-line based networking. Owing to CPU computing power getting stronger, the digital processing job can be implemented in main chipset and share CPU power. The analogy conversion (CODEC) circuit requires a different and separate circuit design, which is put on CNR card. -
Page 49: Pc99 Color Coded Back Panel
The onboard I/O devices are PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse, COM1 and VGA, RJ45 LAN (AX4GR-N only), Printer, USB, AC97 sound and game ports. The view angle of drawing shown here is from the back panel of the housing. RJ45 10/100... -
Page 50: Support 10/100 Mbps Lan Onboard (Ax4Gr-N Only)
The South Bridge ICH4 includes a fast Ethernet controller on chip. On the strength of Realtek 8100BL LAN controller on board, which is a highly-integrated Platform LAN Connect device, it provides 10/100M bps Ethernet for office and home use, the Ethernet RJ45 connector is located on top of USB connectors. The green LED indicates the link mode, it lights when linking to network and blinking when transferring data. -
Page 51: Jp13 Lan Enable/Disable Jumper (Ax4Gr-N Only)
JP13 is used to enable or disable onboard LAN. If you don’t want to enable the Onboard LAN, you should set this jumper to 2-3. Disable Enable (Default) -
Page 52: Support Six Usb2.0 Connectors
Compared to traditional USB 1.0/1.1 with the speed of 12Mbps, USB 2.0 has a fancy speed up to 480Mbps, which is 40 times faster than the traditional one. Except for the speed increase, USB 2.0 supports old USB 1.0/1.1 software and peripherals, offering impressive and even better compatibility to customers. -
Page 53: Chassis Intrusion Connector
The “CASE OPEN” header provides chassis intrusion-monitoring function. To make this function works, you have to enable it in the system BIOS, connect this header to a sensor somewhere on the chassis. So, whenever the sensor is triggered by lights or the opening of the chassis, the system will send out beep sound to inform you. -
Page 54: Cd Audio Connector
This connector is used to connect CD Audio cable from CDROM or DVD drive to onboard sound. -
Page 55: Aux-In Connector
This connector is used to connect MPEG Audio cable from MPEG card to onboard sound. -
Page 56: Front Audio Connector
If the housing has been designed with an audio port on the front panel, you’ll be able to connect onboard audio to front panel through this connector. By the way, please remove 5-6 and 9-10 jumper caps from the Front Audio Connector before connecting the cable. -
Page 57: Dr. Led Connector
In conjunction with Dr. LED (Upgrade Optional), which can easily shows what kind of problems may occur on your system during assembly. It can clearly indicate whether there is a component issue or an installed issue by the 8 LEDs on the front panel of Dr. LED. - Page 58 Dr. LED is a CD disc storage box with 8 LEDs on its front panel, the size of Dr. LED is exactly the same as 5.25 in floppy drive, so that it can be mount into normal 5.25 in drive bay of any housing. Boot O.K.
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Page 59: Battery-Less And Long Life Design
This Motherboard implements Flash ROM and a special circuit that allows you to save your current CPU and CMOS Setup configurations without the need of a battery. The RTC (real time clock) can also keep running as long as the power cord is plugged. -
Page 60: Cpu Over-Current Protection
CPU, memory, HDD, add-on cards installed on this motherboard may be damaged because of component failure, human operating error or unknown nature reason. AOpen cannot guaranty the protection circuit will always work perfectly. -
Page 61: Hardware Monitoring
CPU temperature. If any of these systems’ status goes wrong, there will be an alarm through the chassis external speaker or buzzer of motherboard (if existed) to warn the user. Fan Speed AOpen H/W Detection Monitoring... -
Page 62: Aoconfig Utility
Moreover, AOconfig allows users to save information in *.BMP or *.TXT format which users may collect the system information in detail and send them to AOpen directly for technical support or further diagnosis of system problem. The system page shows the... - Page 63 NOTE: AOconfig can be used in Windows 98SE/ME, NT4.0/2000, or even the latest Windows XP. Please be informed that AOconfig can only be operated in a system equipped with an AOpen motherboard. Meanwhile, all applications must be closed before starting AOconfig.
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Page 64: Resetable Fuse
Traditional motherboard has fuse for Keyboard and port to prevent over-current or shortage. These fuses are soldered onboard that when it is broken (function as protecting the motherboard), user still cannot replace it and the motherboard is still malfunctioning. With expensive Resetable Fuse, the motherboard can be resumed back to normal function after the fuse had done its protection job. -
Page 65: 3300Μf Low Esr Capacitor
CPU power. The idea of where to put these capacitors is another know-how that requires experience and detail calculation. Not only that, AX4GR / AX4GR-N implements 3300μF capacitors, which is much larger than normal capacitor (1000 and 1500μ f) and it provides better stability for CPU power. -
Page 66: Layout (Frequency Isolation Wall)
For high frequency operation, especially overclocking, layout is the most important factor to make sure chipset and CPU working in stable condition. The layout of this motherboard implements AOpen’s unique design called “ Frequency Isolation Wall”. Separating each critical portion of motherboard into... -
Page 67: Enlarged Aluminum Heatsink
Cool down CPU and Chipset is important for system reliability. Enlarged aluminum heat sink provides better heat consumption especially when you are trying to over clocking the CPU. -
Page 68: Driver And Utility
There are motherboard drivers and utilities included in AOpen Bonus CD disc. You don’t need to install all of them in order to boot your system. But after you finish the hardware installation, you have to install your operation system first (such as Windows 98) before you can install any drivers or utilities. -
Page 69: Auto-Run Menu From Bonus Cd Disc
You can use the auto-run menu of Bonus CD disc. Choose the utility and driver and select model name. -
Page 70: Installing Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility
® ® You can install the Intel INF Update Utility from the Bonus Pack CD disc auto-run menu to eliminate the “?” marks. -
Page 71: Intel Brookdale-G Vga Driver
You can install Intel VGA Driver to get the best graphics function of the chipset. You can find it in the AOpen Bonus Pack disc. -
Page 72: Installing Intel Iaa Driver
You can install Intel IAA Driver to increase the performance of software applications and reduce PC boot times. You can find it in AOpen Bonus Pack CD disc. -
Page 73: Installing Onboard Sound Driver
This motherboard comes with AC97 CODEC. You can find the audio driver from the Bonus Pack CD disc auto-run menu. -
Page 75: Installing Lan Driver (Ax4Gr-N Only)
Introduction: ------------- This document describes the procedure to install Windows 95 (Golden version), Win95A, OSR2, Windows 98/98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows NT v4.0 driver for Realtek RTL8139 PCI Fast Ethernet adapter. [Windows 95 (Golden version), Win95A and OSR2] Installing driver procedure on Microsoft Windows 95 : ----------------------------------------------------- 1. - Page 76 [Windows NT 3.5, 3.51 & 4.0] Installing driver procedure on Microsoft Windows NT : ----------------------------------------------------- When you are in Windows NT : 1. In the Main group of NT, select the "Control Panel" icon. 2. In the Control Panel window, choose the "Network" icon. 3.
- Page 77 * Windows 2000 Installation Guide ************************************************* Installing Driver in Existing Windows 2000 System ************************************************* After enabling the USB 2.0 controller and rebooting your system, Windows 2000 setup will show a "New Hardware Found" dialog box. Under Windows 2000, "Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller"...
- Page 78 * Windows XP Installation Guide *********************************************** Installing Driver in Existing Windows XP System *********************************************** After enabling the USB 2.0, Windows XP setup will show a "Found New Hardware" dialog box. Under Windows XP, "Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller" will be displayed. 1.
- Page 79 You can install Hardware Monitoring Utility to monitor CPU temperature, fans and system voltage. The hardware monitoring function is automatically implemented by the BIOS and utility software. No hardware installation is needed.
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Page 80: Acpi Suspend To Hard Drive
ACPI Suspend to Hard Drive is basically controlled by Windows operation system. It saves your current work (system status, memory and screen image) into hard disk, and then the system can be totally power off. Next time, when power is on, you can resume your original work directly from hard disk within few seconds without go through the Windows booting process and run your application again. -
Page 81: System Requirement
System Requirement AOZVHDD.EXE 1.30b or later. Delete config.sys and autoexec.bat. Fresh installation of Windows 98 on a new system 1. Execute "Setup.exe /p j" to install Windows 98 2. After Windows 98's installation is complete, go to the Control Panel > Power Management. a. - Page 82 immediately. And 1 minute or so will be taken for the system to save what's in the memory to the hard drive; the larger the memory size the longer this process will take.
- Page 83 Changing from APM to ACPI (Windows 98 only) 1. Run "Regedit.exe" a. Go through the following path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE MICROSOFT WINDOWS CURRENT VERSION DETECT b. Select "ADD Binary" and name it as "ACPIOPTION". c. Right click and select Modify, add "01" after "0000" to make it "0000 01". d.
- Page 84 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE MICROSOFT WINDOWS CURRENT VERSION DETECT ACPI OPTION b. Right click and select "Modify, change "01" to "02" to make it "0000 02". Tip: "02" means Windows 98 is ACPI acknowledged but the ACPI function is disabled. c. Save changes. 2.
- Page 85 This motherboard supports ACPI Suspend to RAM function. With this function, you can resume your original work directly from DRAM without going through the Windows 98 booting process and run your application again. Suspend to DRAM saves your current work in the system memory, it is faster than Suspend to Hard Drive but requires power supplied to DRAM, while Suspend to Hard Drive requires no power.
- Page 86 To implement ACPI Suspend to DRAM, please follow the procedures as below: System Requirement An ACPI OS is required. Currently, except Windows 95 and Windows NT, all other Windows Systems support ACPI. ® The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility must have been installed properly. Procedures Changed the following BIOS settings.
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Page 87: Award Bios
BIOS provides critical low-level support for standard devices such as hard disk drives, serial and parallel ports. Most BIOS setting of AX4GR / AX4GR-N had been optimized by AOpen’s R&D engineering team. But, the default setting of BIOS still can’t fine-tune the chipset controlling entire system. Hence, the rest of this chapter is intended to guide you through the process of configuring your system using setup. - Page 88 … AOpen always dedicates to give users a more friendly computer system. Now, we include all function descriptions of BIOS setup program into the BIOS Flash ROM. When you select one function of BIOS setup program, the function description will appeared at right side of screen.
- Page 89 Award™ BIOS setup program. The following table provides details about how to use keyboard in the Award™ BIOS setup program. By the way, all products of AOpen also provides a special function in the BIOS setup, you can press <F3> key selecting preferred menu language to display.
- Page 90 Description Load Setup Default setting value from CMOS. Load turbo setting value from CMOS. Save changed setting and exit setup program.
- Page 91 After you finish the setting of jumpers and connect correct cables. Power on and enter the BIOS Setup, press <Del> during POST (Power-On Self Test). Choose "Load Setup Defaults" for recommended optimal performance. Warning: Please avoid of using "Load Turbo Defaults", unless you are sure your system components (CPU, DRAM, HDD, etc.) are good enough for turbo setting.
- Page 92 Windows 95/98, 98SE/ME, NT4.0/2000, or even the latest Windows XP. In the meanwhile, in order to provide a much more user-friendly operating environment, AOpen EZWinFlash is natively designed to have multi-language function to provide easier way for users’ usage in changing BIOS setting.
- Page 93 1. Download the new version of BIOS package zip file from AOpen official web site. (ex: http://www.aopen.com) 2. Unzip the download BIOS package (ex: WAX4GR102.ZIP) with WinZip (http://www.winzip.com) in Windows environment.
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Page 94: Overclocking
As a leading manufacturer in motherboard industry, AOpen always listens to what customers want and develop products to fit different user's requirements. Reliability, compatibility, leading technology and friendly features are our basic goals when designing motherboards. Other than above mentioned design criteria, there are power users who are always seeking to push the limitation of the system performance by overclocking which we call them "Overclocker". - Page 95 VGA and HDD is key components for overclocking, for your reference, the following list are what have been successful overclocked in our lab. Please note that AOpen can not guaranty they can be successful overclocked again. Please check the Available Vendor List (AVL) by link to our official website.
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Page 96: Glossary
AGP uses both rising and falling edge of the 66MHz clock, for 2X AGP, the data transfer rate is 66MHz x 4byte x 2 = 528MB/s. AGP is now moving to 4X mode, 66MHz x 4byte x 4 = 1056MB/s. AOpen is the... -
Page 97: Ata/66
Unlike ACPI, BIOS controls most APM power management functions. AOpen Suspend to Hard Drive is a good example of APM power management. ATA is the specification of diskette interface. In 80’s, many software and hardware manufacturers instituted the ATA specification together. -
Page 98: Ata/100
ATA/100 is a new IDE specification under developing. ATA/100 uses both rising edge and falling edge as ATA/66 but clock cycle time is reduced to 40ns. The data transfer rate is (1/40ns) x 2 bytes x 2 = 100MB/s. To use ATA/100, you need special 80-wire IDE cable, the same as ATA/66. - Page 99 The traditional PIO (Programmable I/O) IDE requires the CPU to involve in all the activities of the IDE access including waiting for the mechanical events. To reduce the workload of the CPU, the bus master IDE device transfers data from/to memory without interrupting CPU, and releases CPU to operate concurrently while data is transferring between memory and IDE device.
- Page 100 DIMM socket has total 168-pin and supports 64-bit data. It can be single or double side, the golden finger signals on each side of PCB are different, and that is why it was called Dual In Line. Almost all DIMMs are made by SDRAM, which operate at 3.3V. Note that some old DIMMs are made by FPM/EDO and only operate at 5V.
- Page 101 Also known as E PROM. Both EEPROM and Flash ROM can be re-programmed by electronic signals, but the interface technology is different. Size of EEPROM is much smaller than flash ROM. Traditional motherboard stores BIOS code in EPROM. EPROM can only be erased by ultra-violet (UV) light. If BIOS has to be upgraded, you need to remove EPROM from motherboard, clear by UV light, re-program, and then insert back.
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Page 102: Flash Rom
Flash ROM can be re-programmed by electronic signals. It is easier for BIOS to upgrade by a flash utility, but it is also easier to be infected by virus. Because of increase of new functions, BIOS size is increased from 64KB to 256KB (2M bit). AOpen AX5T is the first board to implement 256KB (2Mbit) Flash ROM. - Page 103 IEEE 1394 is a low-cost digital interface originated by Apple Computer as a desktop LAN and developed by the IEEE 1394 working group. The IEEE 1394 can transport data at 100, 200 or 400 Mbps. One of the solutions to connect digital television devices together at 200 Mbps.
- Page 104 SDRAM DIMM that supports 100MHz CPU bus clock. SDRAM DIMM that supports 133MHz CPU bus clock. Based on FSB frequency, the DDR DRAM has 200MHz, 266MHz and 333 MHz three types of working frequency. Because of DDR DRAM data bus is 64-bit, it provides data transfer bandwidth up to 200x64/8=1600MB/s, and 266x64/8=2100MB/s, and 333x64/8=2700MB/s.
- Page 105 The PnP specification suggests a standard register interface for both BIOS and operating system (such as Windows 95). These registers are used by BIOS and operating system to configure system resource and prevent any conflicts. PnP BIOS or operating system will automatically allocate the IRQ/DMA/Memory. Currently, almost all the PCI cards and most ISA cards are already PnP compliant.
- Page 106 SDRAM comes in 64-bit 168-pin DIMM and operates at 3.3V. AOpen is the first company to support dual-SDRAM DIMMs onboard (AP5V), from Q1 1996 A memory space in Flash-ROM to simulate E PROM operation, AOpen motherboard uses Shadow E...
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Page 107: Ultra Dma
SPD is a small ROM or EEPROM device resided on the DIMM or RIMM. SPD stores memory module information such as DRAM timing and chip parameters. SPD can be used by BIOS to decide best timing for this DIMM or RIMM. Ultra DMA (or, more accurately, Ultra DMA/33) is a protocol for transferring data between a hard disk drive through the computer’s data path (or bus) to the computer’s random access memory (RAM). - Page 108 NEC’s Virtual Channel Memory (VCM) is a new DRAM core architecture that dramatically improves the memory system’s ability to service multimedia requirements. VCM increases memory bus efficiency and performance of any DRAM technology by providing a set of fast static registers between the memory core and I/O pins. Using VCM technology results in reduced data access latency and reduced power consumption.
- Page 109 If you encounter any trouble to boot you system, follow the procedures accordingly to resolve the problem. Start Turn off the power and unplug the AC power cable, then remove all of the add-on cards and cables, including VGA, IDE, FDD, COM1, COM2 and printer.
- Page 110 Continue Install the VGA card. Then connect your monitor and keyboard. Turn on the power and check if the power supply and CPU fan work properly. The problem is probably caused by power supply or motherboard failure. Next Please contact your reseller or local distributor for repairing.
- Page 111 Continue Perhaps your VGA card Check if there is display? or monitor is defective. Press <Ctrl> and <Alt> key at the same time, hold them and then press <Del> to reboot the system. It is very possible that your Check if the system keyboard is defective.
- Page 112 Continue During system rebooting, press <Del> to enter BIOS setup. Choose “Load Setup Default”. Turn off the system and re-connect IDE cable. The problem should be Check if the system can caused reboot successfully? cable or HDD itself. Re-install the operating system such as Windows 98.
- Page 113 Dear Customer, Thanks for choosing AOpen products. To provide the best and fastest service to our customer is our first priority. However, we receive numerous emails and phone-calls worldwide everyday, it is very hard for us to serve everyone on time. We recommend you follow the procedures below and seek help before contact us.
- Page 114 News Group: News posted by computer experts, you are welcome to join any discussion and learning from it. http://www.aopen.com/tech/newsgrp/default.htm Contact Distributors/Resellers: We sell our products through resellers and integrators. They should know your system configuration very well and should be able to solve your problem more efficiently than us. After all, their attitude of service is an important reference for you if next time you want to buy something else from them.
- Page 115 Model name and BIOS version can be found on upper left corner of first boot screen (POST screen). For example: AX4GR R1.20 May.01.2002 AOpen Inc. Award Plug and Play BIOS Extension v1.0A Copyright © 1998, Award Software, Inc. AX4GR is model name of motherboard; R1.20 is BIOS version.
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Page 116: Product Registration
Be able to join the discussions of web-based news groups. AOpen makes sure that the information you provide is encrypted, so that it cannot be read or intercepted by other people or companies. Further, AOpen will not disclose any of information you submitted under any conditions. Please consult our... - Page 117 Please do not hesitate contact us if you have any problem about our products. Any opinion will be appreciated. Pacific Rim Europe America AOpen Inc. AOpen Computer b.v. AOpen America Inc. Tel: 886-2-3789-5888 Tel: 31-73-645-9516 Tel: 1-408-922-2100 Fax: 886-2-3789-5899 Fax: 31-73-645-9604...
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