Asus A7N8X Series User Manual Download Page 1

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Motherboard

A7N8X

User Manual

Series

Summary of Contents for A7N8X Series

Page 1: ...Motherboard A7N8X User Manual Series ...

Page 2: ...product design represented by the digit before and after the period of the manual revision number Manual updates are represented by the third digit in the manual revision number For previous or updated manuals BIOS drivers or product release information contact ASUS at http www asus com or through any of the means indicated on the following page ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ...

Page 3: ...g onboard BIOS firmware Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are supplied Chapter 5 Software support A summary of contents on the motherboard support CD ROM Appendix and Glossary Optional components and technical definitions Index Conventions used in this guide To make sure that you perform set up tasks properly take note of the following symbols used throughout this manual WARNING Informa...

Page 4: ...eatures 3 1 4 Motherboard Components 4 1 5 Special Features 6 Chapter 2 Hardware information 7 2 1 Motherboard installation 7 2 2 Layout contents 9 2 3 Before you proceed 10 2 4 Central Processing Unit CPU 11 2 5 System memory 13 2 6 Expansion slots 15 2 7 Jumpers 19 2 8 Connectors 22 Chapter 3 Powering up 35 3 1 Starting up for the first time 35 3 2 Vocal POST Messages 36 3 3 Powering off the com...

Page 5: ... 7 Exit Menu 68 Chapter 5 Software support 71 5 1 Install an operating system 71 5 2 Support CD information 71 5 3 A7N8X Motherboard Support CD 72 5 3 1 Installation Procedure 72 5 3 2 Installation of PCI Drivers Win98 73 5 4 ASUS PC Probe 75 5 5 ASUS Live Update 80 5 6 3Deep Color Tuner 81 5 7 NVIDIA nForce Control Panel 83 5 8 Winbond Editor 88 5 9 RAID 0 1 Configurations 91 Chapter 6 Appendix 9...

Page 6: ...rcuit Make sure that your power supply is set to the voltage available in your area If the power supply is broken contact a qualified service technician or your retailer Operational safety Before installing the motherboard and adding new devices carefully read all the manuals that came with the package Before use ensure all cables are correctly connected and the power cables arenotdamaged Ifyoudet...

Page 7: ... cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which t...

Page 8: ...ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL America Address 6737MowryAvenue MowryBusinessCenter Building 2 Newark CA 94560 USA GeneralFax 1 510 608 4555 GeneralEmail tmd1 asus com Technical Support SupportFax 1 510 608 4555 GeneralSupport 1 502 933 8713 WebSite www asus com SupportEmail tsd asus com ASUS COMPUTER GmbH Germany Austria Address Harkortstr 25 40880Ratingen BRD Germany GeneralFax 49 2102 442066 Genera...

Page 9: ...133 100 66 33 Silicon Image Sil 3112A Controller with 2 Ports Supports RAID 0 1 Deluxe model only Realtek ALC650 6CH with built in HP amplifier Integrated APU Audio Processor Unit Deluxe model only SoundStorm Dolby Digital AC 3 Encoder Deluxe model only 2 Ports MCP integrated NVIDIA MAC Realtek 8201BL PHY MCP integrated 3Com MAC BroadCom AC101L PHY Deluxe model only 2 Ports MCP T integrated IEEE 1...

Page 10: ...el only WOR WOL Chassis Intrusion SM Bus SIR Headphone optional Front MIC optional CD AUX Modem audio in Front Panel Audio connector optional 4Mb Flash ROM Award BIOS TCAV PnP DMI2 0 DMI Green PCI 2 2 USB 1 1 2 0 DMI 2 0 WOL WOR Chassis Intrusion SM Bus Device drivers ASUS PC Probe Trend Microtm PC cillin 2002 anti virus software ASUS LiveUpdate Utility InterVideo WinCinema optional User s manual ...

Page 11: ...Chapter 1 Product introduction ...

Page 12: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 13: ... networking optional Four USB ports plus one header for two more UltraDMA133 data rates TheA7N8X is the perfect vehicle to get ahead in the world of power computing 1 1 Package contents Check your A7N8X package for the following items ASUS A7N8X motherboard ATX form factor 12 in x 9 6 in ASUS A7N8X support CD ASUS 2 port USB Game port module optional 40 pin 80 conductor UltraDMA133 100 66 33 IDE r...

Page 14: ... two IDE devices The controller supports 2 IEEE 1394 ports optional six USB ports two LAN ports optional and is PCI rev2 2 compliant The MCP T MCP supplies an LPC 1 0 interface along with AT legacy functions a clock synthesizer and meets ACPI 1 0 and PCI Power Management 1 1 specifications PC3200 PC2700 DDR Support Equipped with three Double Data Rate Dual Inline Memory Module DDR DIMM sockets to ...

Page 15: ...optional A7N8X offers the ASUS POST Reporter to provide friendly voice messages and alerts during the Power On Self Test POST Through an added external speaker messages inform you of system boot status and causes of boot errors Bundled Winbond Voice Editor software helpsa you customize voice messages and offers multi language support ASUS Q Fan Technology The ASUS Q Fan technology smartly adjusts ...

Page 16: ...violet 41 1 CNTR LFE Connector orange 42 Power ATX Power Supply Connector 4 Form Factor ATX 1 4 Motherboard Components Before installing the A7N8X motherboard take time to familiarize yourself with its configuration Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 Multi I O controller 9 ...

Page 17: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard user guide 5 1 4 1 Component Locations 2 3 5 1 20 18 4 9 7 6 8 16 10 31 29 19 22 25 28 30 11 12 14 15 17 23 21 27 24 13 26 32 34 45 43 36 37 38 44 33 39 35 42 41 40 ...

Page 18: ...s ACPI Ready Advanced Configuration Power Interface ACPI provides more Energy Saving Features for operating systems that support OS Direct Power Management OSPM Concurrent PCI Concurrent PCI allows multiple PCI transfers from PCI master busses to the memory and processor Auto Fan Off The system fans powers off automatically even in sleep mode Dual Function Power Button Push the power button for le...

Page 19: ...Chapter 2 Hardware information ...

Page 20: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 21: ...ssis Refer to the image below It may be more convenient to install major cables the CPU and modular components before fixing the motherboard inside the case frame 2 1 2 Screw holes Place nine 9 screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis Place this side towards the rear of the chassis CAUTION Do not overtighten the screws Doing so may damage the motherboard ...

Page 22: ...onnector Super I O 4Mb BIOS DDR DIMM3 64 72 bit 184 pin module 4 5 Socket 462 PCI 1 PS 2 T Mouse B Keyboard RJ 45 Top USB3 USB4 Bottom Realtek RTL8201 COM2 CTRL_PANEL1 USB56 PWRTMP1 SMB1 CHASSIS1 BUZZ1 IDELED1 CLRTC1 CHA_FAN1 CPU_FAN1 AGP_WARN1 PCI 2 PCI 3 PCI 4 PCI 5 SEC_IDE1 PWR_FAN1 SATALInk Chipset SEC_SATA1 PRI_SATA1 SATA_EN1 SPDIFOUT2 PARALLEL PORT COM1 CNTR LFE1 SURR1 IEEE1394_2 IEEE1394_1 ...

Page 23: ...PY p 26 Floppy Disk Drive Connector 34 1 pin 10 PRIMARY SEC IDE p 26 IDE Connectors 2 x 40 1 pin 11 PRI SEC_SATA1 p 27 SATA Serial ATA Connectors 2 x 7 pin 12 IR_CON1 p 27 ASUS Front Panel Audio Connector 10 pin 13 CPU_FAN1 p 28 CPU Fan Connector 3 pin 14 1394HEAD p 28 IEEE 1394 Header 8 pin Optional 15 ATXPWR p 29 Power Supply Connectors 20 pin block 16 SMB p 29 SMBus Connector 6 1 pin 17 MODEM C...

Page 24: ...aging them due to static electricity 3 Hold components by the edges and do not to touch the ICs on them 4 Whenever you uninstall any component place it on a grounded antistatic pad or in the bag that came with the component 5 Before you install or remove any component ensure that the ATX power supply is switched off or the power cord is detached from the power supply Failure to do so may cause sev...

Page 25: ...thlon XP processors with QuantiSpeed data processing large data caches 3D enhancements and 333 266Mhz bus speeds A7N8X A7N8X Socket 462 AMD CPU CPU NOTCH LOCK CPU NOTCH TO INNER CORNER LEVER Each AMD CPU has a marked corner This corner is usually indicated with a notch and or a golden square or triangle Refer to this indicator while orienting the CPU See the next page for installation details A fa...

Page 26: ...ver upwards The socket lever must be fully opened 90 to 100 degrees 2 Insert the CPU with the correct orientation The notched or golden corner of the CPU must be oriented toward the inner corner of the socket base nearest to the lever hinge NOTE Do not neglect to set the correct Bus Frequency and leave the CPU Multiple setting at default to avoid start up problems CAUTION Take care not to scrape t...

Page 27: ...nging through 64MB 128MB 256MB 512MB to form a total memory size of 64MB to 1GB Three 3 sockets are available for 400MHz PC3200 333MHz PC2700 266MHz PC2100 or 200MHz PC1600 DDR DIMMs to form a memory size of 64MB to 1GB A7N8X A7N8X 184 Pin DDR DIMM Sockets 80 Pins 104 Pins CAUTION DIMMs are keyed to fit into notches with only one direction DO NOT force a DIMM into a socket to avoid damaging the DI...

Page 28: ...he socket 3 Firmly insert the DIMM into the socket until the retaining clips snap back in place 2 5 3 Installing a DIMM CAUTION Make sure to unplug the power supply before adding or removing DIMMs or other system components Failure to do so may cause severe damage to both the motherboard and the components Unlocked Retaining Clip Locked Retaining Clip NOTE To enhance system performance utilize dua...

Page 29: ...Remove the system unit cover if your motherboard is already installed in a chassis 3 Remove the bracket opposite the PCI slot Keep the screw for later use 4 Align the card connector with the slot and press firmly until the card is completely seated on the slot 5 Secure the card to the chassis with the screw you removed earlier 6 Replace the system cover 7 Set up the BIOS if necessary 8 Install the...

Page 30: ...al IRQ will be used If your motherboard also has MIDI enabled another IRQ will be used leaving 4 IRQs free Sometimes IRQs are shared by more than one function in this case IRQ assignments are swapped automatically or adjusted through the BIOS firmware Standard Interrupt Assignments IRQ Priority Standard Function 0 1 System Timer 1 2 Keyboard Controller 2 N A Programmable Interrupt 3 11 Communicati...

Page 31: ...CI cards such as a LAN card SCSI card USB card and other cards that comply with PCI specifications This figure shows a typical PCI card installed into a slot Interrupt Request Table for this Motherboard INT A INT B INT C INT D PCI slot 1 shared PCI slot 2 used PCI slot 3 shared PCI slot 4 used PCI slot 5 shared Serial ATA shared ...

Page 32: ...motherboard provides an Accelerated Graphics Port AGP 8X slot to support AGP graphics cards Take note of the notches on the card golden fingers to ensure that they fit the AGP slot on your motherboard Below is an example of a 1 5V AGP card CAUTION To avoid damaging yourAGP graphics card your computer s power supply should be unplugged before inserting your graphics card into the slot ...

Page 33: ...rs to 2 3 2 7 Jumpers The jumpers on the motherboard allow you to change some feature settings to suit your customized system configuration A7N8X A7N8X Keyboard Power Setting KBPWR1 Default 5V 1 2 5VSB 2 3 2 Keyboard Wake Up 3 pin KBPWR1 This allows you to disable or enable the keyboard power up function Retain the default setting of 1 2 to disable computer keyboard wake up function If you set to ...

Page 34: ...is 1 2 to select 5V because not all computers have the appropriate power supply The USBPWR01 jumper activates the rear panel USB ports The USBPWR23 jumper activates the internal header USB23 NOTE This feature requires an ATX power supply that can supply at least 2A on the 5VSB lead when these jumpers are set to 5VSB Otherwise the system does not power up The total current consumed must NOT exceed ...

Page 35: ... 2 to 2 3 momentarily Replace the jumper cap to the original position 1 2 4 Re install the battery 5 Plug the power cord and turn ON the computer 6 Hold down the Del key during the boot process and enter BIOS setup to re enter data A7N8X A7N8X Clear RTC RAM 1 2 CLRTC1 Normal Clear CMOS 2 3 Default 5 Central Processing Unit FSB CPU_FSB This jumper when set to 1 2 pins default enable support for Fro...

Page 36: ... detected IRQ12 become available to expansion cards 2 PS 2 Keyboard Port Purple 6 pin PS2KBMS This connection is for a standard keyboard using an PS 2 plug mini DIN This connector does not allow standard AT size large DIN keyboard plugs You may use a DIN to mini DIN adapter on standard AT keyboards PS 2 Mouse 6 pin Female WARNING Some pins are used for connectors or power sources These are clearly...

Page 37: ...uoise One 9 pin COM1 One 10 1 pin COM2 One serial port can be used for pointing devices or other serial devices The other is available as an onboard header To enable these ports see Onboard Serial Port 1 Onboard Serial Port 2 in 4 4 3 Integrated Peripherals for the settings Universal Serial Bus USB 2 USB1 USB 4 USB3 COM1 Serial Ports 9 pin Male A7N8X A7N8X Serial COM2 Bracket PIN 1 COM2 ...

Page 38: ...d Parallel Port see 4 4 3 Integrated Peripherals Parallel Port 25 pin Female NOTE Serial printers must be connected to the serial port RJ 45 RJ 45 5 Fast Ethernet Port Connector Two x RJ45 Optional These RJ45 connectors are located on top of the USB Ports 1 2 and 3 4 The RJ45 supports connectivity for local area networks 3COM LAN NVIDIA LAN ...

Page 39: ...ne In light blue connects a tape players or other audio sources The Mic pink connects a microphone For a 4 or 6 speaker audio output the Line In light blue connects to other audio sources The Line Out lime connects to the Left Right Front Speakers The Mic pink connects to a microphone The Surround L R audio connector connects to the Left Right Surround speakers The Center LFE connector connects to...

Page 40: ...E connectors support the IDE hard disk ribbon cables supplied with the motherboard Connect the cable s blue connector to the motherboard s primary IDE connector recommended or the secondary IDE connector Connect the opposite end of the cable to your UltraDMA133 100 66 device hard disk drive If a second hard disk drive is connected youmay reset its jumper to Slave or Master Slave mode Non UltraDMA1...

Page 41: ...wn in Back View and connect a ribbon cable from the module to the motherboard SIR connector according to the pin definitions A7N8X A7N8X SATA Connectors SEC_SATA1 PRI_SATA1 GND RSATA_TXP1 RSATA_TXN1 GND RSATA_RXP1 RSATA_RXN1 GND GND RSATA_TXP2 RSATA_TXN2 GND RSATA_RXP2 RSATA_RXN2 GND 11 SATA Serial ATA Connectors 2 x 7 pin PRI_SATA1 SEC_SATA1 Optional Two headers support serial ATA133 devices incl...

Page 42: ...SUS PC Probe see 5 SOFTWARE SUPPORT A7N8X A7N8X 12 Volt Cooling Fan Power CHA_FAN1 GND Rotation 12V CPU_FAN1 PWR_FAN1 GND Rotation 12V GND Rotation 12V WARNING Make sure to connect the fan cables to the fan connectors Lack of sufficient airflow within the system could cause damage to the motherboard These are not jumpers do not place jumper caps over these connectors 14 IEEE 1394 Header 8 pin 1394...

Page 43: ...i device bus that permits multiple chips to connect to the same bus and enable each one to act as a master by initiating data transfer A7N8X A7N8X ATX Power Connector 3 3VDC 12 0VDC COM PS_ON COM COM COM 5 0VDC 5 0VDC 5 0VDC PWR_OK 12 0VDC 3 3VDC 3 3VDC COM 5 0VDC COM 5 0VDC COM 5VSB ATXPWR1 A7N8X A7N8X SMBus Connector SMB1 1 SMBCLK Ground SMBDATA 3V FLOATING IMPORTANT Make sure that the ATX 12V p...

Page 44: ...ternal Audio Connectors Two x 4 pin CD1 AUX1 MODEM1 These connectors allow you to receive stereo audio input from sound sources as a CD ROM TV tuner Modems or MPEG card A7N8X A7N8X Internal Audio Connectors MODEM1 AUX1 White CD1 Black Modem In Ground Modem Out Ground Right Audio Channel Left Audio Channel Ground Right Audio Channel Left Audio Channel Ground IMPORTANT For S PDIF out function you ma...

Page 45: ...onnector set to a USB header and mount the USB bracket to an open slot in the chassis The USB connector set is optional and does not come with the motherboard package A7N8X A7N8X USB 2 0 Header USB56 USB 5V USB_P6 USB_P6 GND NC USB 5V USB_P5 USB_P5 GND 1 A7N8X A7N8X Power Supply Thermal Connector PWRTMP1 Ground PWRTMP 20 Power Supply Thermal Sensor 2 pin PWRTMP1 Optional This header supports a the...

Page 46: ...Alarm Lead 4 1 pin CHASSIS1 This lead is intended for a chassis designed to support intrusion detection The lead requires an external detection mechanism such as a chassis intrusion monitor sensor or microswitch When any chassis component is removed the sensor is triggered and a high level signal is sent to this lead to record a chassis intrusion event The event is then be processed by software su...

Page 47: ...X power supply PLED Ground PWR PLED Keylock 5V Speaker Speaker Connector Power LED Ground Reset SW SMI Lead ExtSMI GND Reset Ground Ground Ground Keyboard Lock ATX Power Switch 24 System Power LED Lead 3 1 pin PWR_LED This 3 1 pin connector supplies the system power LED The LED lights up when the system power is on and the LED blinks when the system is in sleep or soft off mode 25 Keyboard Lock Sw...

Page 48: ...s 2 pin connector 28 ATX Power Switch Soft Off Switch Lead 2 pin PWR The system power is controlled by a momentary switch attached to this connector Pressing the button switches the system between ON and SLEEP or ON and SOFT OFF depending on the BIOS or OS settings Pressing the button while in the ON mode for more than 4 seconds turns the system off 29 Reset Switch Lead 2 pin RESET This 2 pin conn...

Page 49: ...Chapter 3 Powering up ...

Page 50: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 51: ...ss the ATX power switch If your monitor complies with green standards or if it has a power standby feature the monitor LED may light up or switch between orange and green after the system LED turns on The system then runs the power on tests While the tests are running the BIOS beeps or additional messages appear on the screen If you do not see anything within 30 seconds from the time you turned on...

Page 52: ...d Install an AMD Thoroughbred Athlon XP Athlon Duron Processor into the CPU socket System failed CPU test Check the CPU if properly installed Call ASUS technical support for assistance See the ASUS contact information on page x System failed memory test Install 184 pin unbuffered PC3200 2700 2100 1600 DIMMs into the DIMM sockets Check if the DIMMs on the DIMM sockets are properly installed Make su...

Page 53: ...hard disk drive to the one of the IDE connectors on the motherboard See section 2 8 Connectors CPU temperature too high Check CPU fan if working properly CPU fan failed Check the CPU fan and make sure it turns on after you applied power to the system CPU voltage out of range Check your power supply and make sure it is not defective Call ASUS technical support for assistance See the ASUS contact in...

Page 54: ...u can press the ATX power switch after exiting or shutting down the operating system If you use Windows 95 98 2000 XP click the Start button click Shut Down then click the OK button to shut down the computer The power supply should turn off after Windows shuts down The message You can now safely turn off your computer does not appear when shutting down with ATX power supplies ...

Page 55: ...Chapter 4 BIOS ...

Page 56: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 57: ...is your CD ROM drive to copy AWDFLASH EXE to the boot disk you created 3 Reboot the computer from the floppy disk To use AWDFLASH EXE must be operated from the ROOT directory Therefore copy the AWDFLASH EXE program and the NEW BIOS file to the root directory on the hard disk drive for example type COPY A AWDFLASH EXE C and COPY A BIOSNAME BIN C NOTE AWDFLASH works only in DOS mode It does not work...

Page 58: ...xplain the steps in flashing your BIOS 1 Download the latest BIOS file from the ASUS website seeASUS contact info on Page viii Save the copy to a floppy disk 2 Reboot the computer 3 To use AwardBIOS Flash Utility press Alt F2 during POST to display the following screen NOTE Write down the BIOS file name on a piece of paper You need to type the exact BIOS file name at the Award BIOS Flash Utility 4...

Page 59: ...rogram backs up the file 5 Type the name of the new BIOS file for example AW0702 BIN then press Enter The program asks if you want to save the previous BIOS Select Y since it is advisable to back up the original BIOS in case you need to reprogram it 7 AWDFLASH proceeds to check the new BIOS file and asks the user to program flash the new BIOS file to the motherboard ...

Page 60: ...e AWDFLASH qi BIOSFILE and then Enter For example AWDFLASH qi aw0702 bin The AWDFLASH screen appears and the BIOS file appears in the space File Name to Program 4 Type the name of the new BIOS file for example AW0702 BIN then press Enter The program asks if you want to save the previous BIOS Select Y since it is advisable to back up the original BIOS in case you need to reprogram it 5 Follow steps...

Page 61: ...rd them in the CMOS RAM of the FLASH ROM The FLASH ROM on the motherboard stores the Setup utility When you start up the computer the system provides you with the opportunity to run this program Press Delete during the Power On Self Test POST to enter the Setup utility otherwise POST continues with its test routines If you wish to enter Setup after POST restart the system by pressing Ctrl Alt Dele...

Page 62: ...eyboard until the desired item is highlighted 4 2 2 Legend bar At the bottom of the Setup screen is a legend bar The keys in the legend bar allow you to navigate through the various setup menus The following table lists the keys found in the legend bar with their corresponding functions Navigation Key s Function Description F1 Displays the General Help screen Esc Jumps to the Exit menu or returns ...

Page 63: ...play the first page press End to go to the last page To exit the help window press Enter or Esc Sub menu Note that a right pointer symbol as shown on the left appears to the left of certain fields This pointer indicates that you can display a sub menu from this field Asub menu contains additional options for a field parameter To display a sub menu move the highlight to the field and press Enter Th...

Page 64: ...econd 00 to 59 Use the Tab or Shift Tab keys to move between the hour minute and second fields Legacy Diskette A 1 44M 3 5 in Sets the type of floppy drive installed Configuration options None 360K 5 25 in 1 2M 5 25 in 720K 3 5 in 1 44M 3 5 in 2 88M 3 5 in Legacy Diskette B None Sets the type of floppy drive installed Configuration options None 360K 5 25 in 1 2M 5 25 in 720K 3 5 in 1 44M 3 5 in 2 ...

Page 65: ...old or too new If the hard disk was already formatted on a previous system the setup BIOS may detect incorrect parameters In these cases select Manual to manually enter the IDE hard disk drive parameters See Access Mode below and refer to the next page for more details If no drive is installed or if you are removing a drive and not replacing it select None Configuration options None Auto Manual Ac...

Page 66: ...his is necessary so that you can write or read data from the hard disk Make sure to set the partition of the Primary IDE hard disk drives to active Access Mode Auto Select the hard disk drive type in this field When Logical Block Addressing LBA is enabled the 28 bit addressing of the hard drive is used without regard for cylinders heads or sectors Note that LBA Mode is necessary for drives with mo...

Page 67: ...S Precomp This field displays the precompressed volumes on the hard disk if any in MB Landing Zone This field displays the drive s maximum useable capacity as calculated by the BIOS based on the drive information you entered Sector This field configures the number of sectors per track Refer to the drive documentation to determine the correct value To make changes to this field set the Type field t...

Page 68: ...r too new If the hard disk was already formatted on a previous system the setup BIOS may detect incorrect parameters In these cases select Manual to manually enter the IDE hard disk drive parameters See Access Mode below and refer to the next page for more details If no drive is installed or if you are removing a drive and not replacing it select None Configuration options None Auto Manual Access ...

Page 69: ...These fields set the functional properties of the IDE channels Master Slave PIOs USB IEEE 1394 audio network and modem support as well as serial game midi and parallel addresses Power Management Setup These fields set the functional properties of the ACPI system power management HDD power network wake up and power on options PnP PCI Configuration These fields set the capacity of the BIOS to reset ...

Page 70: ... Disabled CPU Level 2 Cache Enabled This field enables the level 2 cache by default Configuration options Enabled Disabled Quick Power On Self Test Enabled This field enables the power on test Configuration options Enabled Disabled First Boot Device Floppy This field sets the priority of the first boot device by default the system boots up on the floppy diskette drive Configuration options Floppy ...

Page 71: ...nd third and fourth time Configuration options Enabled Disabled Boot up NumLock Status On This field sets the capability of the NumLock light key to display activate the system Configuration options On Off Gate A20 Option Fast This field sets the gateA20 rate The default is Fast Configuration options Normal Fast Typematic Rate Setting Disabled This field enables or disable permission to change the...

Page 72: ... of the full screen logo for environmental protection which is disabled by default Configuration options Enabled Disabled POST Complete Report Enabled This field enables or disables display of the Power On Self Test POST complete report which is Enabled by default Configuration options Enabled Disabled Speech POST Reporter Enabled This field enables or disables the ASUS POST ReporterTM feature Con...

Page 73: ...ion options 100 MHz 200 MHz 204 MHz 207 MHz 211 MHz CPU Frequency Multiple Setting Auto This field sets the frequency multiple between the CPU s internal frequency CPU speed and external frequency Set this field in conjunction with CPU Frequency MHz to match the speed of the CPU CPU Frequency Multiple 5 0x This field is available to unlocked processors only For unlocked processors this field sets ...

Page 74: ... the FSB frqequency Normally the default by SPD permits autodetection Configuration options By SPD 50 60 66 75 80 83 Sync 120 125 133 150 166 200 Resulting Frequency This field displays the resulting memory frequency Memory Timing Optimal This field permits change of memory timing mode for system performance When set to User Defined the next four fields can be set manually Set to Aggressive for hi...

Page 75: ...7 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 90 93 95 97 100MHz System BIOS Cacheable Disabled This field establishes whether or not the BIOS is cacheable Disabled by default Configuration options Enabled Disabled Video RAM Cacheable Disabled This field establishes whether or not the video RAM is cacheable Disabled by default Configuration options Enabled Disabled DDR Reference Vo...

Page 76: ...s field sets the protocols for OnChip processing of USB outputs The default accomodates USB protocols 1 0 and 2 0 Configuration options Disabled V1 1 V2 0 V1 1 USB Legacy Support Disabled This field sets support for USB keyboards0 The USB keyboard is disabled by default Enable this field to use a USB keyboard Configuration options Enabled Disabled USB Mouse Support Disabled This field sets support...

Page 77: ...his field enables the FDA Controller by default Configuration options Enabled Disabled Onboard Serial Port 1 3F8 IRQ4 These fields set the addresses for onboard serial port 1 Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 must have different addresses Configuration options Disabled 3F8 IRQ4 2F8 IRQ3 3E8 IRQ4 2E8 IRQ3 Auto Onboard Serial Port 2 2F8 IRQ3 These fields set the addresses for onboard serial port 2 Ser...

Page 78: ...P EPP ECP DMA Select 3 This field sets the parallel port DMA channel for the selected ECP mode The default setting is 3 This selection is available only if you select ECP or ECP EPP in Parallel Port Mode above Configuration options 1 3 Onboard Game Port 201 This field sets the address of the game port t0 201 by default Disabling the game port makes the port unavailable Configuration options Disabl...

Page 79: ...blanks the screen and turns off vertical and horizontal scanning Configuration options Blank Screen V H SYNC Blank DPMS Support HDD Down In Suspend Disabled This field sets whether or not the HDD is automatically shut down in suspend mode The default disables power to the HDD in suspend mode Configuration options Enabled Disabled PWR button 4 Secs Suspend This field sets the delay after which the ...

Page 80: ... to use this feature AC Power Loss Re Start Disabled This allows you to set whether or not to reboot the system after power interruptions Disabled leaves your system off while Enabled reboots the system Previous State sets the system back to the state it was before the power interruption Configuration options Disabled Enabled Previous State Power On By PS 2 Mouse Disabled When set to Enabled this ...

Page 81: ...t disables this feature Configuration options Enabled Disabled Resources Controlled By Auto ESCD This field sets control over the IRQ resources by the automatic ESCD system or manual assignment of IRQ channels The default enables automatic ESCD control Configuration options Auto ESCD Manual NOTE Selecting Manual access the IRQ Resources sub menu see the next page PCI VGA Palette Snoop Disabled Thi...

Page 82: ...s required for booting and entering for booting and entering into the CMOS setup and into the CMOS setup and all items can be modified only Date and Time could be modified All other items in the CMOS are displayed only Setup A password is required A password is required to enter into the CMOS to enter into the CMOS and items can be modified and only Date and Time could be modified All other items ...

Page 83: ...ll access to the BIOS Setup menus To clear the password highlight this field and press Enter The same dialog box as above appears Press Enter The password is set to Disabled Security Option Setup This field sets the security options The default enables the setup option for security Configuration options Setup System Forgot the password If you forget a password you can clear it by erasing the CMOS ...

Page 84: ...IS Fan Speed xxxx RPM or 0 RPM POWER Fan Speed xxxx RPM or 0 RPM The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects the CPU power and chassis fan speeds and displays the fan speeds in revolutions per minute RPM If any of the fans is not connected to the fan connectors on the motherboard the specific field will show N A Q Fan Control Disabled This field allows you to enable or disable the ASUS Q Fa...

Page 85: ...tem requires more ventilation This item is required to be set when the Q Fan Control field is Enabled Configuration options 10 15 11 15 12 15 13 15 14 15 Full Speed Speed Up Down Response Time 4 Sec 8 Sec This item indicates the time period before the fan speeds adjust to the vale set in the Fan Speed Ratio field This item is required to be set when the Q Fan Control field is Enabled Configuration...

Page 86: ...on even when the PC is turned off NOTE Pressing Esc does not immediately exit this menu Select one of the options from this menu or F10 from the legend bar to exit Exit Discard Changes Select this option only if you do not want to save the changes that you made to the Setup program If you made changes to fields other than system date system time and password the BIOS asks for a confirmation before...

Page 87: ...es to the non volatile RAM Discard Changes This option allows you to discard the selections you made and restore the previously saved values After selecting this option a confirmation appears Select Yes to discard any changes and load the previously saved values Save Changes This option saves your selections without exiting the Setup program You can then return to other menus and make further chan...

Page 88: ...70 Chapter 4 BIOS Setup ...

Page 89: ...Chapter 5 Software support ...

Page 90: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 91: ... this chapter to install the software and drivers contained in the support CD NOTE Because motherboard settings and hardware options vary use the setup procedures presented in this chapter for general reference only Refer to your OS documentation for more information 5 2 Support CD information The support CD that came with the motherboard contains useful software and several utility drivers that e...

Page 92: ...ep installation information of Silicon Image Serial ATA driver for various operating systems 3COM PCI Lan Driver Installs a driver for integrated 3COM LAN Silicon Image Serial ATA Utility Install software utility to monitor and manipulate Silicon Image Serial ATA NOTE You may need to reboot the system more than once during installation 5 3 2 Available Installation Menus 5 3 1 Installation Procedur...

Page 93: ...A Utility If you are not using Serial ATA devices DO NOT install Silicon Image Serial ATA Utility or your system may become unstable 1 Connect the Serial ATA device 2 Install Silicon Image Serial ATA Utility from support CD 3 If you need to remove or disconnect any Serial ATA device UNINSTALL Silicon Image Serial ATA Utility first Utilities ASUS PC Probe Installs a smart utility to monitor your co...

Page 94: ... of this motherboard s manual is available in PDF format at any of our web sites Winbond Voice Editor Installs a convenient utility to customize vocal POST messages optional ASUS Screen Saver Installs a nifty ASUS screen saver E Color 3Deep Installs the 3Deep software 3Deep is the first application that gives online games the competitive edge in multi player skirmishes this application removes dar...

Page 95: ...nal frequencies through the DMI Explorer 5 4 1 Starting ASUS PC Probe WhenASUS PC Probe starts a splash screen appears allowing you to select whether or not to show the screen the next time you open PC Probe To bypass this startup screen clear the Show up in next execution check box The PC Probe icon will appear on the taskbar s system tray indicating that ASUS PC Probe is running Clicking the ico...

Page 96: ... the PC s temperature Temperature Warning threshold adjustment Move the slider up to increase the threshold level or down to decrease the threshold level Fan Monitor Shows the PC s fan rotation Voltage Monitor Shows the PC s voltages Fan Warning threshold adjustment Move the slider up to increase the threshold level or down to decrease the threshold level ...

Page 97: ...urrent monitoring activity of a certain component of your PC for future reference Hard Drives Shows the used and free space of the PC s hard disk drives and the file allocation table or file system used CPU Cooling System Setup Lets you select when to enable software CPU cooling When When CPU Overheated is selected the CPU cooling system is enabled whenever the CPU temperature reaches the threshol...

Page 98: ...plorer Shows information pertinent to the PC such as CPU type CPU speed and internal external frequencies and memory size Utility Lets you run programs outside of the ASUS Probe modules To run a program click Execute Program Memory Shows the PC s memory load memory usage and paging file usage ...

Page 99: ...SUS PC Probe senses a problem with your PC portions of the ASUS PC Probe icon changes to red the PC speaker beeps and the ASUS PC Probe monitor is displayed Right clicking the PC Probe icon will bring up a menu to open or exit ASUS PC Probe and pause or resume all system monitoring ...

Page 100: ...sUpdate 2 Select an update method 3 If you selected downloading from the Internet you will need to select an Internet site Choose the site that is closest to you or clickAuto Select 4 From the FTP site select the BIOS version that you wish to download Click Next 5 Follow the instructions on the succeeding screens to complete the update process If you selected the option to update the BIOS from a f...

Page 101: ...cations to match true internet source colors with the color displayed on the monitor Simply run the setup program from the start menu and follow the instructions on the various setup test screens 5 6 1 3Deep Color Tuning 2 Follow the instructions to manually adjust the brightness level of the monitor 3 Select the faintest of the three colors blue red and green 1 Select the type of monitor connecte...

Page 102: ...ning process is complete Click on the bottom left button to connect to the internet and follow the instructions 5 6 2 The 3Deep Control Panel Using the Windows Start button activate the 3Deep Control Panel program from the 3Deep Applications group on the Main Program menu The control panel offers access to the Color Wizard tuning program a Game Gamma setting and a Tweak slider for brightness adjus...

Page 103: ...he Speaker Setup page is where you go to configure and setup your hardware This page helps identify how the speakers are connected to the audio device as well as what format to use when sending audio signals out of the PC Here the number of speakers can be applied the type of connection digital or analog individual volume levels for each speaker balancing and a host of specialty features A wizard ...

Page 104: ... panned through the center speaker when they pass between the left and right speakers only works for DirectSound3D games Create LFE Channel Generates a subwoofer signal for speaker systems that require it like Dolby Digital receivers or home theaters with discreet subwoofer inputs Rear Speaker Phase Shift Adjusts the output of the rear speakers so that sounds don t cancel out and remove the bass c...

Page 105: ...t can be applied using a preset at the Environment Presets drop down box The power comes in the next section where you have the ability to add or remove effects to construct and environment of our own liking 5 7 3 MIDI This tab allows you to change settings to MIDI playback A MIDI song can be tested at the Audition section using all available effects or just the highted effect The Download Sounds ...

Page 106: ...al hardware and software revisions driver revisions currect DirectX version and in Advanced mode the DSP and voice utilization This is the first place to look when you are verifying what drivers you are running and the last place to look when you want to know what is going on at the lower levels of the APU ...

Page 107: ...audio 3 Is S PDIF equal to Dolby Digital S PDIF Sony Philips Digital Interface is a digital audio transfer standard It defines the physical layer for the transmission media interface and the data format Audio or non audio data can transmit by S PDIF But only the audio data encoded in Dolby Digital format is Dolby Digital 5 1 audio developed in the Dolby Lab 4 Can I get Dolby Digital audio from Ana...

Page 108: ...vantage of natural human auditory masking AC 3 coding is essentially a very selective and powerful noise reduction filter The coder system divides the audio spectrum of each channel into narrow frequency bands of precise proportions each one optimized with respect to the innate frequency selectivity of human hearing Coding noise is filtered out by matching its frequency to the blind spots of human...

Page 109: ... program either from the Winbond Voice Editor icon on your desktop or from the Windows Start menu Programs Winbond Voice Editor Voice Editor The Winbond Voice Editor screen appears Playing the default wave files To play the default wave files simply click on a POST event on the left side of the screen then click the Play button NOTE The default language setting is English IMPORTANT To avoid confli...

Page 110: ...n The event messages for the language you selected appear on the Voice Editor screen NOTE For some languages not all events have a corresponding message due to file size constraints 3 Click on the Write button to update the EEPROM 4 Click Yes on the confirmation window that appears The next time you boot your computer the POST messages are announced in the language that you selected ...

Page 111: ...y management software directs all applications to the surviving drive as it contains a complete copy of the data in the other drive This RAID configuration provides data protection and increases fault tolerance to the entire system 5 9 1 Install the hard disks The Sil 3112A chipset supports Serial ATA hard disk drives For optimal performance install identical drives of the same model and capacity ...

Page 112: ... 2 for the next procedure 5 9 2 Creating and Deleting RAID sets Creating and deleting RAID sets is a built in function found in the BIOS The following sub sections describes how to use the RAID Configuration Utility During POST press CTRL S or F4 to enter RAID configuration utility The following menu options will appear Below this menu items are the listed drives installed on the system The top ri...

Page 113: ...dentical and all subsequent data will be written to both drives as a Mirrored set If however the source disk does not have data stored on it there is no need for Disk Copy 4 The utility will ask Are You Sure Y N before completing the configuration Press Y to confirm or N to go back to the configuration options 5 9 2 3 Deleting RAID Sets 1 To remove one or more RAID sets select Delete RAID Set 2 Se...

Page 114: ...94 Chapter 5 Software reference ...

Page 115: ...Chapter 6 Appendix ...

Page 116: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 117: ...and abstract hardware interface that provides a standard way to integrate power management features throughout a PC system including hardware operating system and application software This enables the system to automatically turn ON and OFF peripherals such as CD ROMs network cards hard disk drives and printers as well as consumer devices connected to the PC such as VCRs TVs phones and stereos Wit...

Page 118: ...n timing enhanced write performance a passive release mechanism and support for PCI 2 1 compliant delayed transactions Concurrent PCI provides increased bandwidth reduced system latencies improves video and audio performance and improves processing of host based applications CPU Central Processing Unit The CPU sometimes called Processor actually functions as the brain of the computer It interprets...

Page 119: ...tions such as 3D video 3D sound video conference Modem A device that allows a computer to talk to another computer through the phone system Network An interconnected computer system linked by telephone wires or other means OnNow The OnNow design initiative is a comprehensive system wide approach to system and device power control OnNow is a term for PC that is always ON but appears OFF and respond...

Page 120: ...way from the CPU control internal registers in the memory accept the request and lets the CPU do something else while the data requested is assembled for the next time the CPU talks to the memory SPD for SDRAM module Serial Presence Detect SPD is most like an ID detect for SDRAM module it using a EEPROM component on DIMM module for storing module configuration information inside The Serial Presenc...

Page 121: ...Index ...

Page 122: ...ASUS A7N8X motherboard ...

Page 123: ...figuration 55 Clear RTC RAM jumper 9 21 Connectors Audio 25 Chassis Fan 9 28 CPU Fan 9 28 Floppy Disk Drive 9 10 26 HDD LED 25 IDE 26 Internal Audio 9 30 Panel 33 Parallel Port 24 PS 2 Keyboard 22 PS 2 Mouse 22 Serial Port 23 SMBus 29 USB 31 D DIMM installing 14 E expansion card installation 15 Expansion slots 15 F Floppy Disk Drive Connector 9 26 H Hard Disk Drives HDDs Cylinders 48 Heads 49 Prim...

Page 124: ...rallel Port Connector 24 Password Supervisor 64 65 User 64 65 PC Probe Using 75 PCI Configuration 63 PS 2 Keyboard 22 PS 2 Keyboard Port 4 PS 2 Mouse 22 PS 2 Mouse Port 4 R RTC RAM Clearing 21 S Serial Ports Connectors 23 slots AGP 18 PCI 17 SMBus Connector 29 Support CD 71 System Date 46 System memory configurations 14 System Time 46 T Troubleshooting 87 U UART2 59 Universal Serial Bus USB 23 Por...

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