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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Motherboards|
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- How do I update drivers?
- Does my motherboard support an LS-120 floppy drive?
- Why does it take up to 30 seconds for my system to boot?
- Will an ATX motherboard board work in my existing system?
- Will my existing ISA and PCI boards work in an ATX motherboard?
- What is the 3.3 volt connector for on the Advanced motherboards?
- How can I troubleshoot a dead motherboard?
- What do the beeps mean when my system boots, but nothing appears on the screen?
- What're the meanings of error beeps from the system speaker?
- How can I identify the BIOS ID number for my motherboard?
- Should I flash my BIOS?
- How can I update BIOS?
- How to update Award BIOS?
- What can I do if somehow my BIOS gets corrupted?
- Does my motherboard support Windows 2000?
- Why does the BIOS not recognize the Ultra ATA 66 hard drive and why does the system stop booting at the "Verifying DMI Pool Data......"?
- Do I need to upgrade through all of the BIOS programs for my board?
- Why can't I power on my system with the power button and Keyboard wake-up function and why can't I recover the system from STR (Suspend-To-RAM)?
- How can I get the BIOS to detect my HDDs and CD-ROMs?
- How can I get my system to boot up from a SCSI CD-ROM drive?
- How can I identify the model and manufacturer name for my motherboard?
- Do the BX or LX chipset M/Bs support the AGP 4X mode?
- What's the pin out of the USB port?
- Why do I get PCI to PCI bridge and Standard PCI to PCI bridge I/O conflicts in the system resources?
- I cannot install Windows NT 4.0 when I use the Adaptec AHA-2940UW/Dual or AHA-2940U2W SCSI card.
- I don't have PC100 memory - do I need it?
- How can I connect two HDD drives in the same computer that support different operating systems?
- The CD-ROM doesn't work after the IDE Bus Master Driver is installed.
- How can I upgrade the L2 cache from 256K to 512K with a cache module?
- My system seems very unstable when I installed a RIVA TNT chipset AGP card. How can I use the RIVA TNT chip AGP card?
- I got an "Unknown Flash Type" message on my screen.
- I have just built myself a new PC. I found that BIOS and POST do not report SATA HDDs on port 5 and 6 under AHCI mode.
Is this normal?
- According to the spec on your website, this motherboard supports Hybrid SLI function. But I can't find a related option to enable this function in BIOS.
How do I enable Hybrid SLI function?
- I connect four SATA hard drives with Marvell 88SE6145. If I do not create RAID with them, can they be directly used in OS?
- How do I update drivers?
To update drivers for a motherboard, you should try to visit manufacturer's web site, download a driver upgrade and follow the update instruction.
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- Does my motherboard support an LS-120 floppy drive?
Normally motherboards that have a Phoenix BIOS and use either the Intel 430TX PCIset, Intel 440LX AGPset, Intel 440BX AGPset, or Intel 440EX AGPset chipset support booting from an LS-120 floppy drive.
Support for booting from an LS-120 floppy drive was added to the new version AMI BIOS based motherboards, you could visit the manufacturer's web site to get detail information. You may need update your BIOS.
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- Why does it take up to 30 seconds for my system to boot?
Boot times of about 20 to 30 seconds are normal for normal PCI motherboards. Some of the functions that the BIOS performs during system boot are the Power On Self Test (POST), scan for add-in cards with BIOS extensions, configuration of PCI add-in cards, assignment of system resources to devices that are needed to boot the system, and the isolation of ISA Plug and Play cards. The BIOS also checks for, and configures, IDE devices connected to the onboard IDE interfaces. System boot times can vary with different add-in hardware combinations.
Boot times may be reduced by using the BIOS Setup utility to disable entries that correspond to unused IDE devices. The following process may be available in your system:
Highlight the unused drive in the BIOS CMOS Setup
For IDE Device Configuration select "Disabled"
You should also ensure that if you have performed a BIOS upgrade that you have performed a "CMOS clear" after the upgrade process is completed.
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- Will an ATX motherboard board work in my existing system?
The ATX form factor is a different form factor than previous motherboard products. ATX has different requirements for mounting, cooling and peripheral connections.
The ATX specification is available at
http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/atx.htm.
Additional ATX information also is available at http://www.teleport.com/~ffsupprt.
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- Will my existing ISA and PCI boards work in an ATX motherboard?
The ATX specification has no special requirements for ISA or PCI cards.
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- What is the 3.3 volt connector for on the Advanced motherboards?
The PCI Bus has 5V, +12V and -12V being supplied to it. The 3.3V connector is necessary for compliance with the PCI specification. If you require 3.3 volts supplied to the PCI bus, you will need a special power supply or voltage regulator.
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- How can I troubleshoot a dead motherboard?
You can do the following to troubleshoot your motherboard:
Verify that you are not shorting a power supply input or motherboard run to the system chassis
Remove all peripheral hardware devices such as the hard drive, video board and memory. With only the CPU, system speaker and power connected you should hear three beeps. You should then install the system memory and video board and attempt to boot the system from a bootable floppy. Once you have verified that the motherboard will boot from a floppy you can then install the hard drive and other add-in cards one at time.
You can also perform CMOS clear or BIOS recovery to see if this corrects the problem. Consult the documentation from your place of purchase for details.
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- What do the beeps mean when my system boots, but nothing appears on the screen?
Errors can occur during the POST (Power On Self Test), which is performed every time the system is powered on. Fatal errors, which prevent the system from continuing the boot process, are communicated through a series of audible beeps. You can check your motherboard manufacturer's web site to see list of beep codes and corresponding error messages.
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- What're the meanings of error beeps from the system speaker?
If you find that there is no system display after the power is turned on, you may diagnose the problem according to the number of beeps from the following table. (Sources from abit.com, actual meaning may vary from different manufacturers.)
| Number of beeps | Meaning of error |
| 1 |
DRAM refresh is not working. |
| 2 |
Parity circuit is not working or parity status bits are not
cleared when parity is disabled. |
| 3 |
First 64k memory test failure. Address line test (A0..A15) failure. |
| 4 |
System timer is not counting properly. |
| 5 |
Processor register/flag test failure. |
| 6 |
8042 keyboard controller gate-A20 error. |
| 7 |
Processor exception error encountered. |
| 8 |
Display memory R/W test failure (NON-FATAL) |
| 9 |
ROM-BIOS checksum error. |
| 10 |
CMOS Shutdown Register R/W error. |
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- How can I identify the BIOS ID number for my motherboard?
You should be able to find the BIOS ID number at the first display screen after turning on the system.
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- Should I flash my BIOS?
Unless you are trying to improve some functions or solve some problems, you do not need to update your BIOS. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
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- How can I update BIOS?
The procedure for updating BIOS is different for EPROM and Flash ROM chips. Please refer to the following explanation. If you have an EPROM BIOS chip, it will have a small glass window on the top which is covered by a BIOS label. The internal components of the EPROM chip must undergo exposure by ultraviolet light (visible light is not suitable for this purpose, so an ultraviolet bulb must be used) via the glass window in order to clear it's BIOS content. After exposure, a special tool called EPROM writer is used to install the new BIOS to the cleared chip. At this point the updated chip is ready for use on the main board. To prevent the chip from undergoing unpredictable problems, perform a CMOS discharge before turning the computer on. End-users typically will not have access to the EPROM writer, thus upgrading bios usually involves receiving assistance from your dealer or manufacturer. If you have a Flash ROM BIOS chip, there will be no glass window on the top of the chip and you do not need to use the EPROM writer to install the new BIOS. All you need is access to manufacturer's web site. Download the Award Flash Utility and the relative version of BIOS for your main board. Then, proceed according to the following FAQ.
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- How to update Award BIOS?
- First, please download the latest BIOS file(*.exe) and Award Flash Utility rev5.32 or the latest version (awdflash.exe) from the manufacturer's web site onto a bootable booting disk (please be sure it is not infected with virus).
- Reboot the main board with this booting disk, proceed *.exe. It will automatically decompress into *.bin.
- Proceed Awdflash as "a:\AWDFLASH NEWBIOS /Py /Sn / CC"
- Please be aware! Flash cannot be done under Windows95 and Windows NT environment.
- After you reboot the system, setting up HDD, FDD, Date, and so on. Please do not forget to LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS.
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- What can I do if somehow my BIOS gets corrupted?
You may try the following step by step to recover your BIOS if you have a duplicate board:
- Power on another computer with the exact same main board as the dead one.
- Boot from A: in pure DOS mode without any resident programs.
- Take off the EEPROM carefully from the good main board when it boot up completely under pure MS DOS mode.
- Put your destroyed BIOS on the exact same main board.
- Run awdflash.exe to reprogram the BIOS as normal process. BTW, you have to pay attention to the direction of the EEPROM chip, when you put the BIOS chip onto BIOS socket. If the direction is reversed, the BIOS chip will burn down. If you are not familiar with these procedures, do not know how to do it, or don't have an exact same board. Please just contact your supplier or our branch office near you for help.
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- Does my motherboard support Windows 2000?
Please make sure to install the latest BIOS on your motherboard.
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- Why does the BIOS not recognize the Ultra ATA 66 hard drive and why does the system stop booting at the "Verifying DMI Pool Data......"?
According to the Intel PIIX4 chip specs, the BIOS is not able to recognize the UDMA 66 hard drive. If you met this situation, we suggest you have the utility from the hard drive manufacturer that adjusts the hard drive to Ultra ATA 33. Then it will work normally next time.
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- Do I need to upgrade through all of the BIOS programs for my board?
No, you don't need to upgrade through all of the BIOS files, just upgrade to the latest one and it will include all previous improvements.
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- Why can't I power on my system with the power button and Keyboard wake-up function and why can't I recover the system from STR (Suspend-To-RAM)?
Make sure your ATX power supply can support at least 300mA on the +5V standby lead (+5VSB) ATX Power Supply Connector.
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- How can I get the BIOS to detect my HDDs and CD-ROMs?
You have to press the Del button to go into the BIOS and then goto STANDARD CMOS SETUP to adjust the TYPE and MODE of IDEs to AUTO. Don't forget to save these setting. Next time you will see the model number of HDD or CD-ROM on the first screen after you turn on your system.
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- How can I get my system to boot up from a SCSI CD-ROM drive?
You have to press the Del button to go in the BIOS and then go to BIOS FEATURES SETUP to adjust the Boot sequence to SCSI, and also you have to go into SCSI BIOS to adjust the CD-ROM Boot function to "Enable" mode.
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- How can I identify the model and manufacturer name for my motherboard?
See the white sticker on the side of the last ISA slot or the prints on the board itself.
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- Do the BX or LX chipset M/Bs support the AGP 4X mode?
No, none of the BX and LX chipset M/Bs support the AGP 4X mode.
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- What's the pin out of the USB port?
Ground : Pin 2,4,6,7,8,10,14,15,16.
VCC : PIN 1,9
P0- : PIN 3
P0+: PIN 5
P1- : PIN 11
PI+ : PIN 13
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- Why do I get PCI to PCI bridge and Standard PCI to PCI bridge I/O conflicts in the system resources?
It's due to that windows 95 can not arrange these I/O address when you put an AGP card into the board. For more detailed information, we suggest you contact Microsoft. They might have the patch or something else to fix it.
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- I cannot install Windows NT 4.0 when I use the Adaptec AHA-2940UW/Dual or AHA-2940U2W SCSI card.
Windows NT 4.0 does not have an Adaptec AHA-2940UW/Dual & AHA-2940U2W SCSI card driver due to the fact that those cards are new. So you need to press F6 and install the driver when you start the installation of Windows NT 4.0.
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- I don't have PC100 memory - do I need it?
Almost certainly not! Most of users are running at 100MHz with old PC66 SDRAM. PC100 SDRAM is not a requirement, and neither is the SPD EPROM.
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- How can I connect two HDD drives in the same computer that support different operating systems?
This feature can be set up in the "Standard CMOS Setup Menu". For example, allow DOS/Windows 3.1 to operate the primary master hard disk drive and Windows 95 to operate the primary slave hard disk drive. Given that the system uses the primary master drive as it's default setup drive, you can change to the slave drive by setting "NONE" for the Primary/Master and "Auto" for the Primary/Slave in the Standard CMOS Setup Menu. When you reboot, the system will directly go into the Windows 95 environment.
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- The CD-ROM doesn't work after the IDE Bus Master Driver is installed.
Please update your IDE Bus Master Driver to Rev. 1.01.
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- How can I upgrade the L2 cache from 256K to 512K with a cache module?
A COAST module is only used in conjunction with P.B. SRAM. If your main board already has asynchronous SRAM on board you cannot use the COAST module for expanding the external cache. This is because the two different types of SRAM cannot be used in the same system. If your main board is already equipped with 256KB P.B. SRAM it is easy to upgrade your L2 cache from 256KB to 512KB. Be sure that the COAST module you have purchased meets the COAST Rev. 2.1 specifications.
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- My system seems very unstable when I installed a RIVA TNT chipset AGP card. How can I use the RIVA TNT chip AGP card?
We suggest that you pay attention to the power supply specification, especially in the maximum output force of power supply and the maximum supplied current of 3.3 Volt. Because the RIVA TNT chip needs more current for working around. In general. Using 250 Walt maximum output force of power supply and 15A maximum supplied current of 3.3 Volt should be better.
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- I got an "Unknown Flash Type" message on my screen.
You have used the incorrect EEPROM. Please use MX type no.28F1000PPC-12C4 or Winbond type no.W29EE011-15 EEPROM.
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- I have just built myself a new PC. I found that BIOS and POST do not report SATA HDDs on port 5 and 6 under AHCI mode.
Is this normal?
This is expected behavior of AMD SB700 chipset. SATA HDDs on SATA port 5 and 6 will be detected under Windows OS after the installation of AHCI driver.
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- According to the spec on your website, this motherboard supports Hybrid SLI function. But I can't find a related option to enable this function in BIOS.
How do I enable Hybrid SLI function?
If your system meets the following requirements, there is no need to adjust option in BIOS. You can simply enable Hybrid SLI function in Hybrid SLI driver control panel.
The minimum requirements:
1. At least 2G memory.
2. A VGA card that supports Hybrid SLI function.
3. The OS should be Windows Vista.
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- I connect four SATA hard drives with Marvell 88SE6145. If I do not create RAID with them, can they be directly used in OS?
Yes, you can enter operating system, install Marvell 88SE6145 driver manuallyCand then the devices can be identified directly.
Note: Linux only support Marvell 88SE6145 NON-RAID mode
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