The complete guide to high-performance computing with your pantera computer (70 pages)
Summary of Contents for ZEOS PANTERA
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COMPLETE GUIDE TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING WITH YOUR PANTERA COMPUTER User’s Guide ®...
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(30) day money-back guarantee, or to repair or replace specific products or services that do not comply with the Limited Warranty offered by ZEOS. In no event will ZEOS be liable for any damages caused, in whole or in part, by customer, or for any economic loss, physical injury, lost revenues, lost profits, lost savings or other indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages incurred by any person, even if ZEOS has been advised of the possibility of such damage for claims.
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(such as incorrect voltages, power surges, improper or insufficient ventilation, failure to follow ZEOS’ provided operating instructions, “acts of God” or other situations beyond the control of ZEOS), or as the result of service or modification by anyone other than ZEOS. Non-ZEOS installed parts or components are not covered, nor is damage to ZEOS provided components covered as a result of their installation.
Contents 1. The Big Picture ................9 Desktop System At A Glance ..........10 Tower System At A Glance ............12 How to Open a Desktop Case ..........14 How to Open a Tower Case ............. 16 Inside a Desktop Computer ............. 18 Inside a Tower Computer ............
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Memory Shadow ................... 40 System Memory ..................41 Extended Memory ................. 41 Advanced Menu ............... 42 Integrated Peripherals ................42 PCI Devices ..................44 BIOS Enable Bus Master ..............44 Plug & Play O/S ..................44 Reset Configuration Data ..............45 Large Disk Access Mode ..............
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5. Mainboard Specifications ............64 Mainboard Environmental Specifications ......... 64 9-Pin Serial Port (J2) Pin Assignment ........65 25-Pin Serial Port (J3) Pin Assignment ........65 Parallel Port (J4) Pin Assignment..........67 Handy Cheat Sheet ..............69 Glossary ..................71 Index .....................
FCC Compliance Statement For US and Canadian Users Warning! Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15, Subpart B of the FCC Rules.
Any product (except for software, software disks, related documentation and consumables) purchased from ZEOS may be returned within thirty days from the date it was shipped by ZEOS for a full refund of the purchase price excluding original shipping charges.
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture 1. The Big Picture Welcome to the ZEOS User’s Guide! The User’s Guide works with the Getting Started manual to help keep your system running trouble free, year after year. This User’s Guide is divided into five chapters.
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Desktop System At A Glance Desktop Front Brightness Power LED Contrast Hard Disk (HDD) LED Monitor Power Switch Reset Button Computer Power Switch (the “ON” Keyboard button) Lock Turbo Button (not used) Drive bays with CD- Turbo LED ROM drive and 3.5”...
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Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Desktop Rear AC Power Cable 110-220V Mouse Cable Switch Connector (9-pin Serial COMA) Video Connector (location Cooling Fan varies with model) Parallel Printer Port Connector (LPT1) AC Power Cable Keyboard Secondary Serial Connector Port (25-pin COMB)
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Tower System At A Glance Turbo LED Hard Disk (HDD) LED (not used) Power LED Turbo Button (not used) Computer Power Switch (the “ON” button) Reset Button Keyboard Lock Drive bays with CD-ROM drive and Brightness 3.5”...
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Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Secondary Cooling Fan Serial Port AC Power (25-pin Cable COMB) Keyboard Mouse Connector Cable Connector (9-pin AC Power Serial Cable COMA) Parallel Printer Port Connector (LPT1) Tower Rear Video Connector (location varies with model)
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture How to Open a Desktop Case Caution: Whenever you open the case or work inside the computer there is danger of static electric shock. These shocks can permanently damage your equipment. Always ground yourself by touching the system cabinet before touching any internal component.
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Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Mounting Screws Cover Chassis Plastic Bezel...
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture How to Open a Tower Case Caution: Whenever you open the case or work inside the computer there is danger of static electric shock. These shocks can permanently damage your equipment. Always ground yourself by touching the system cabinet before touching any internal component.
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Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Mounting Screws Cover Plastic Bezel Chassis...
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Inside a Desktop Computer Expansion Slots Power Supply Hard Disk Drive Mainboard Front of Floppy Drives, Computer CD-ROM Drives, and Tape Backup Units The mainboard is the large circuit board at the bottom of the chassis. It is the heart of your system.
Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Inside a Tower Computer Power Supply Floppy Drives, CD-ROM Drives, and Tape Backup Units Front of Computer Hard Disk Drive Expansion Slots Mainboard Tower systems have the same components as desktop systems. The figure above shows the mainboard and typical components inside a Tower case.
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard 2. The Mainboard The mainboard is the largest circuit board in the computer. It contains the CPU (Central Processing Unit), the Level 2 cache, expansion slots, ports and connectors for other components, and the system’s main memory, or RAM (Random Access Memory).
256K of Level 2 cache. The single cache slot (labelled Cache Socket) is located next to the CPU. Continuous Full-Speed Processing Pantera systems now run continuously at maximum speed, eliminating Turbo Mode. Because of this, the Turbo button and Turbo LED are not used on Pantera systems.
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard On-Board Peripherals Your mainboard has all of the standard peripheral interfaces and many extras built in. This eliminates the need for many peripheral expansion cards and greatly enhances system reliability. Integrated on-board peripherals include: • Two serial ports (16550 UART) •...
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Serial Ports Your mainboard has two RS-232C asynchronous serial ports, which are usually referred to as COM1 or (9-pin) and COM2 (25-pin) ports. The serial ports are used to attach mice, serial printers, modems, or other serial peripheral devices.
IEEE 1284 is divided into three levels, or “modes,” each offering different features: Bi-directional, Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP), and Extended Capabilities Port (ECP). Your Pantera can use all these modes. Pantera also incorporates “ChiProtect” circuitry which protects your computer from damage caused during printer power-on.
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard PCI SCSI/ Ethernet Port The optional on-board SCSI (host adapter allows you to connect and control up to seven peripheral devices such as SCSI-compatible disk drives, tape backup units, communications devices, and CD-ROM drives. The SCSI port is a parallel, multitasking interface which supports both SCSI-1 and SCSI-2 devices.
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Diagram 32-bit PCI 16 bit ISA 9-pin Serial Keyboard 25-pin Expansion Expansion Port COMA 16 bit ISA Connector Serial Port Slots Slots Expansion BIOS Main COMB Slots Power Chip P8, P9 Parallel Port CLR1 Floppy Header Secondary...
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Connectors Connectors and headers are used to attach devices to the mainboard. Attached devices can be internal (e.g., hard disk indicator lights), or external (e.g., serial and parallel ports). The most commonly used connectors are shown in the Mainboard Diagram. The table below provides a brief summary.
BIOS SETUP program to change settings stored in the CMOS. Other mainboards use jumpers to configure upgrade options and parameters on the mainboard. Pantera mainboards use the SETUP program and the FLASH programming utility instead, making BIOS changes and upgrades without removing the BIOS chip.
Chapter 2 - The Mainboard CLK1 The CLK1 jumper sets the speed of the system clock, and enables the appropriate AMD LAN or SCSI chip (optional). It will be set correctly to work with your system, so don’t change this jumper unless you change CPUs.
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Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Burst Cache Module (Synchronous) During a single machine cycle, a bursting CPU generates a beginning address and a quantity of bytes for the Level 2 cache to expect. Then the CPU transfers that quantity of bytes as a single package, without needing to generate any intermediate addresses.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP 3. Using SETUP The SETUP utility program allows you to customize the power-on initialization parameters of your computer’s BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). You may need to use the SETUP program if you add components to your system. To run the BIOS SETUP program, press F2 during system boot.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Main Menu Your system’s BIOS settings were configured at the factory to maximize performance with the options you ordered. Generally, you need to run SETUP only if you install a new or different hard drive, if the on-board battery fails, or if you otherwise add to or change your basic hardware.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Main Menu Options System Time Sets the real-time clock, using a 24-hour format. During the power-up sequence, the real time is read and saved in memory for use by the operating system. After boot up, the operating system updates the system time.
This utility automatically detects and configures your IDE Adapter, if the device conforms to ANSI (American National Standards Institute) specifications. ZEOS drives are configured at the factory, so to add a hard drive you just run Autotype. If Autotype is successful, it will identify your hard drive type and display the drive parameters.
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(and even some newer drives) will not work properly if the number of sectors is set too high. Default: Disabled. Note: Before adding a new hard drive or formatting one from Zeos, first disable Multi-Sector Transfers, then format the drive, then run FDISK. Later, you can enable Multi-Sector Transfers again.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Transfer Mode Reports disk data transfer mode, determined by the Autotype utility. Settings: Standard, Fast PIO 1, Fast PIO 2, Fast PIO 3, Fast PIO 4. Default: Standard (determined by Autotype). Video System Sets the video type. Options: Monochrome, CGA 80 x 25 (80 column Color Graphics), or EGA/VGA (Enhanced/Video Graphics Adapter).
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Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Memory Interleave (System DRAM) Reports the current DRAM interleave configuration determined automatically by the BIOS. Options: No Interleave, or the following Combinations: 1) Bank 0 and 1, 2) Bank 0 and 3, 3) Bank 1 and 2, 4) Bank 2 and 3, 5) Banks 0, 1 and 2, 3 6) Banks 0, 3 and 1, 2.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Cache Memory Regions Allows you to choose which specific shadowed BIOS memory regions (in addition to System code and Video code) will be cached. Regions are identified by hexadecimal (base 16) addresses. Default: All specific regions Disabled. Memory Shadow BIOS shadowing copies data from portions of the computer’s slower ROM (Read-Only Memory) chips into much faster DRAM (system...
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Boot Sequence Configures the following bootup procedures and reports: -Boot Sequence: A then C (default), C then A, C only. -Setup Prompt: Disabled or Enabled (default). -POST Errors: Disabled or Enabled (default). -Floppy check: Disabled or Enabled (default). -Summary screen: Disabled or Enabled (default).
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Advanced Menu Warning! Setting these items incorrectly could cause your system to malfunction. Never needlessly change from the defaults. The Advanced Menu reports or controls the status of Integrated Peripherals, PCI Devices, Advanced Chipset Control, Plug & Play O/S, Reset Configuration Data, and Large Disk Access Mode.
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Chapter 3 - Using SETUP LPT Port Sets the parallel port designation. This allows you to specify the parallel port address and IRQ, which otherwise are factory set. Default: Auto. LPT Mode Allows you to set the parallel port communication mode to match the capabilities of your parallel port device.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP PCI Devices The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Devices submenu allows you to enable or disable the integrated SCSI and LAN options. Enable On-board SCSI Enables/disables the built-in SCSI port, if present. Default: Disabled. On-board Ethernet Enables/disables the on-board AMD Ethernet controller, if present.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Reset Configuration Data Clears system configuration settings. Options: No, Yes. Default: No. Large Disk Access Mode Lets you set your system to expect a large DOS hard disk, or some Other type of hard disk, such as expected by UNIX or Novell Netware. Default: DOS.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Security Options The Security Menu allows you to password-protect system access, a way of safeguarding information. When passwords are enabled, users must type the proper password to access the protected part of the system. Note: 1. It’s easy to forget a password, so we strongly recommend writing down your passwords and storing them in a secure place.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Password on boot When enabled, the system asks you for a password on boot. The system will boot only after the correct supervisor or user password is entered. Default: Disabled. Diskette access Active only when a Supervisor password is enabled, this specifies which level of password (Supervisor or User) is required on bootup to use the floppy disk drives.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Power Options The Power menu lets you tell your system to enter a low-power Standby mode and an even lower-power Suspend mode when it is idle for a certain time. Standby and Suspend reduce your system’s energy consumption while allowing you to resume work within moments.
Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Exit Menu Options Offers Exit and Save options for the SETUP program. Options: Save Changes & Exit, Discard Changes & Exit, Get Default Values, Load Previous Values, Save Changes. Changes to the SETUP’s BIOS settings are stored in CMOS (Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) memory, a non-volatile memory area powered by the on-board battery.
The five ISA and three PCI expansion slots on your mainboard are designed to accept a wide variety of add-on cards (many available from ZEOS). Scanners, tape backup units, video capture devices, and many other devices come on expansion cards, which communicate with the CPU via standard expansion slots.
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Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How to Add an Expansion Board (continued) Mounting Screw Expansion Slot 8. Connect any internal cables to the expansion card. 9. Close the computer case, and turn on the power. Many expansion cards require you to run diagnostic or installation software before the new board will work properly.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How Disk Drives Work There are three main types of disks for storing files - floppy, hard, and compact disks. Floppy disks are small, relatively slow, portable disks. Most people use floppy disks to transfer files or install new programs onto their hard drives.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How a Floppy Drive Works Floppy drives have two cables--a ribbon-type data cable between the floppy drive and its mainboard header, and a power cable that leads to the power supply. The data cable joins the back of the floppy drive with the floppy drive header J6 on the mainboard.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How an IDE Hard Drive Works IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drives are the most common hard drives and are the most likely to be installed on your system. IDE devices have most of the electronics or “smarts” built into the drive, rather than installed on a separate controller card or on the motherboard.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How a CD-ROM Drive Works CD-ROM drives read information from compact discs, or CDs. The “ROM” in CD-ROM stands for Read Only Memory. Compact discs are read-only--you can read information from them, but you can’t add new information to them as you can with a floppy disk or hard disk.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Adding System RAM System memory is often called RAM or Random Access Memory. RAM is the “thinking space” available to your applications. Usually, the more system RAM you have, the faster your system will run. Many software applications simply run much faster and more efficiently when more RAM is available.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Installing SIMMs When installing SIMMs, use 70ns or faster memory chips for maximum system performance. Different speed SIMMs may be mixed, but only if you put them different banks. In addition, always set the CPU/DRAM Speed option in SETUP to match the slowest SIMM.
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Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Installing SIMMs (continued) DRAM Memory Module Inserting a SIMM Retaining Clip Retaining Clip SIMM Socket 5. Ensure the SIMM seats correctly. If not, remove and repeat Step 4. 6. Gently push the top edge toward the retainer clips until the clips snap into place.
You must use a 3-Volt SIMM when you add cache memory. If you aren’t sure, contact ZEOS Technical Support before purchasing or installing a cache SIMM. Note: System cache SIMMs are not the same as RAM memory SIMMs. Do not try to install cache SIMMs in your RAM memory sockets, or RAM SIMMs in your cache SIMM socket.
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Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System 4. Grasping a new SIMM by the edge, remove it from the antistatic bag, find Pin 1 on the SIMM, align it with the socket’s Pin 1, then press it into the socket. Caution: Static RAM is extremely sensitive to static electricity.
Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Installing a New CPU Caution: Static electricity can permanently destroy your CPU. Always ground yourself by touching the system cabinet before beginning the following procedure. We strongly recommend using an antistatic wrist strap attached to cabinet ground. To install a new CPU: 1.
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Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System 6. Set the CLK1 jumper to match the speed of your new CPU. If you need help with this jumper, see Mainboard Jumpers Diagram, earlier. 7. Close case and boot as you normally would. (heat sink ZIF (Zero Insertion not shown)
Chapter 5 - Mainboard Specifications 5. Mainboard Specifications Intel Pentium (P54C) Power consumption Approx. 25Watts (varies with CPU, memory) Clock speeds 75, 90, 100, 120, 133, MHz Chipset VLSI SuperCore 590 ISA bus speed 7.5 MHz for 90MHz system 8.25 MHz for 100 MHz systems I/O transfer rate Up to 33MB/s PCI local bus speed...
Chapter 5 - Mainboard Specifications 9-Pin Serial Port (J2) Pin Assignment Header Pin DB9 Connector Signal Number Pin Number DCD, Data Carrier Detect DSR, Data Set Ready RXD, Receive Data RTS, Request to Send TXD, Transmit Data CTS, Clear To Send DTR, Data Terminal Ready RI, Ring Indicator GND, Ground...
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Chapter 5 - Mainboard Specifications 9-Pin Serial Port (J2) Pin Assignment 5 - GND, Ground 9 - RI, Ring Indicator 4 - DTR, Data Terminal Ready 8 - CTS, Clear To Send 3 - TXD, Transmit Data 7 - RTS, Request to Send 2 - RXD, Receive Data 6 - DSR, Data Set Ready 1 - DCD, Data Carrier Detect...
Chapter 5 - Mainboard Specifications Parallel Port (J4) Pin Assignment Parallel Port Signal Header Pin Connector Pin Number Number STB, Strobe PD0, Data Bit 0 PD1, Data Bit 1 PD2, Data Bit 2 PD3, Data Bit 3 PD4, Data Bit 4 PD5, Data Bit 5 PD6, Data Bit 6 PD7, Data Bit 7...
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Chapter 5 - Mainboard Specifications Parallel Port (J4) Pin Assignment 1 - STB, Strobe 14 - AFD, Auto Feed 2 - PD0, Data Bit 0 15 - ERR, Error 3 - PD1, Data Bit 1 16 - INIT, Initialize 4 - PD2, Data Bit 2 17 - SLIN, Select Input 5 - PD3, Data Bit 3 18 - GND, Ground...
Handy Cheat Sheet Handy Cheat Sheet Here are some of the most often needed or forgotten notes. CTRL-ALT-DEL ............. Warm Reboot Reset button, or Power button ..............Cold Reboot F2 during power up ............Access SETUP CTRL-BREAK, or CTRL-C ......Pause or Break an application or batch file DOS Commands COPY [filename] [drive:][path][newfilename] ....
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Handy Cheat Sheet Handy Cheat Sheet Windows Shortcuts Ctrl-C ................copy to clipboard Ctrl-V ..........paste or copy from the clipboard Ctrl-X ............delete and copy to clipboard Alt-Tab ..........toggle between open applications Alt-Esc ............ jump to next open application Wildcards - wildcards are special characters that can represent any other valid numbers, letters, or symbols in a file name.
Glossary Glossary This glossary provides general definitions of key terms. For an expanded list look in standard reference books on computers. Address - A number or expression representing the folder. physical location of a device or a piece of data. Disk Drive - The physical device which allows the APM - Automatic Power Management.
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Glossary Glossary RAM - also DRAM. Random Access Memory. Small IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic chips or modules that provide the CPU rapid access Engineers. Engineers, scientists and students in to data. Software programs and files reside in RAM electronics and related disciplines.