Asus Motherboard A7V8X User Manual Download Page 1

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Motherboard

A7V8X

User Guide

Summary of Contents for Motherboard A7V8X

Page 1: ...Motherboard A7V8X User Guide ...

Page 2: ... PARTICULAR PURPOSE IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS ITS DIRECTORS OFFICERS EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS LOSS OF BUSINESS LOSS OF USE OR DATA INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT SPECIF...

Page 3: ...d overview 1 6 1 4 1 Major components 1 6 1 4 2 Core specifications 1 8 Chapter 2 Hardware information 2 1 Motherboard installation 2 1 2 1 1 Placement direction 2 1 2 1 2 Screw holes 2 1 2 2 Motherboard layout 2 2 2 3 Before you proceed 2 3 2 4 Central Processing Unit CPU 2 4 2 4 1 Overview 2 4 2 4 2 Installing the CPU 2 5 2 5 System memory 2 6 2 5 1 Overview 2 6 2 5 2 Memory configurations 2 7 2...

Page 4: ...IOS 4 1 4 1 2 Using AFLASH to update the BIOS 4 3 4 2 BIOS Setup program 4 7 4 2 1 BIOS menu bar 4 8 4 2 2 Legend bar 4 8 4 3 Main Menu 4 10 4 3 1 Primary and Secondary Master Slave 4 12 4 3 2 Keyboard Features 4 16 4 4 Advanced Menu 4 17 4 4 1 Chip Configuration 4 20 4 4 2 I O Device Configuration 4 23 4 4 3 PCI Configuration 4 25 4 5 Power Menu 4 29 4 5 1 Power Up Control 4 29 4 5 2 Hardware Mon...

Page 5: ...e 5 24 5 4 Using the Promise Chip for RAID 0 or 1 5 26 5 4 1 Installing the Hard Disks 5 27 5 4 2 Enter FastTrak376 BIOS and FastBuild Utility 5 28 5 4 3 Creating a RAID 0 Array 5 29 5 4 4 Creating a RAID 1 Array 5 30 5 4 5 Other FastBuild Utility Commands 5 32 5 5 Manual Installation of IDE RAID Drivers 5 34 5 5 1 Win9x ME Promise FastTrak376 Driver 5 34 5 5 2 Win2000 XP Promise FastTrak376 Drive...

Page 6: ... 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 7: ...your area If you are not sure about the voltage of the electrical outlet you are using contact your local power company If the power supply is broken do not try to fix it by yourself Contact a qualified service technician or your retailer Operation safety Before installing the motherboard and adding devices on it carefully read all the manuals that came with the package Before using the product ma...

Page 8: ...ardware setup procedures that you have to perform when installing system components It includes description of the switches jumpers and connectors on the motherboard Chapter 3 Powering up This chapter describes the power up sequence and gives information on the BIOS beep codes Chapter 4 BIOS setup This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus Detailed descriptions o...

Page 9: ...products The ASUS websites are listed in the ASUS Contact Information on page x 2 Optional Documentation Your product package may include optional documentation such as warranty flyers that may have been added by your dealer These documents are not part of the standard package DANGER WARNING Information to prevent injury to yourself when trying to complete a task CAUTION Information to prevent dam...

Page 10: ... COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL America Address 6737 Mowry Avenue Mowry Business Center Building 2 Newark CA 94560 USA General Fax 1 510 608 4555 General Email tmd1 asus com Technical Support Support Fax 1 510 608 4555 General Support 1 502 995 0883 Web Site www asus com Support Email tsd asus com ASUS COMPUTER GmbH Europe Address Harkortstr 25 40880 Ratingen BRD Germany General Fax 49 2102 442066 General...

Page 11: ... qualified DDR400 DDR333 module list 1 x AGP 8X 6 x PCI one shared with ASUS BlueMagic PCI slot 2 x UltraDMA 133 100 66 Promise controller supports one ATA133 channel and two Serial ATA connectors RAID 0 supported by two or three Parallel ATA or Serial ATA connectors RAID 1 supported by two Parallel or Serial ATA connectors Realtek 6 channel CODEC S PDIF in out interface Broadcom 10 100 Mbps or 1 ...

Page 12: ...odem audio in on audio model only 2 x 1394 port on 1394 model only 1 x USB 2 0 connector supports additional 2 USB 2 0 ports 2 x Serial ATA port on serial ATA model only 4Mb Flash ROM Award BIOS TCAV PnP DMI2 0 WfM2 0 SM BIOS2 3 Multi language BIOS ASUS EZ Flash ASUS MyLogo2 PCI 2 2 USB 2 0 WfM 2 0 DMI 2 0 chassis intrusion SMBus ATX form factor 12 in x 9 6 in 30 5 cm x 24 5 cm Device drivers ASUS...

Page 13: ...pter 1 This chapter describes the features of the ASUS A7V8X motherboard It includes brief explanations of the special attributes of the motherboard and the new technology it supports Product introduction ...

Page 14: ...ASUS A7V8X motherboard Chapter summary 1 1 Welcome 1 1 1 2 Package contents 1 1 1 3 Special features 1 2 1 4 Motherboard overview 1 6 ...

Page 15: ...devices on it check the items in your package with the list below 1 2 Package contents Check your ASUS A7V8X package for the following items If any of the above items is damaged or missing contact your retailer ASUS A7V8X motherboard ATX form factor 12 in x 9 6 in 30 5 cm x 24 5 cm ASUS A7V8X series support CD ASUS 2 port USB 2 0 GAME port module ASUS 2 port IEEE 1394 module on 1394 model only ASU...

Page 16: ...ility DDR400 PC3200 support DDR400 PC3200 the latest and fastest DDR memory standard supports bandwidth up to 3 2 GB s to provide enhanced system performance Note PC2700 maximum to 2 DIMM support only PC3200 maximum to 1 DIMM support only Gigabit LAN optional The A7V8X with BroadCom Gigabit LAN delivers transfer speeds up to ten times faster than conventional 10 100 Ethernet connections Gigabit LA...

Page 17: ...ar the messages informing you of the system boot status and causes of boot errors if any The bundled Winbond Voice Editor software allows you to customize the voice messages and provides multi language support ASUS MyLogo2 This new feature present in the A7V8X motherboard allows you to personalize and add style to your system with customizable boot logos ASUS Multi language BIOS The multi language...

Page 18: ...ality 6 channel audio without having to buy advanced sound cards InterVideo WinCinema Software on Gold version only A full array of bundled software is now available with ASUS motherboards Submerge yourself in ahole new multimedia experience WinDVD the world s most popular DVD software supporting 5 1 channel audio WinRip MP3 Player Encoder Ripper featuring virtual 5 1 channel and surround sound ef...

Page 19: ...ASUS A7V8X motherboard user guide 1 5 ...

Page 20: ... AGP warning LED 8 South Bridge controller 9 ASUS ASIC 10 RAID IDE connector 11 SATA connectors 12 Flash ROM 13 SATA controller 14 Stand by LED 15 Super I O controller 16 IEEE 1394 connectorE 17 IEEE 1394 controllerE 18 PCI slots Note The ASUS BlueMagic PCI slot works as a normal PCI slot and it is also compatible with the ASUS proprietary wireless card Spacelink B W See page 1 8 for the specifica...

Page 21: ...ASUS A7V8X motherboard user guide 1 7 2 4 3 15 17 1 7 6 18 8 12 20 21 16 5 10 9 14 13 11 19 22 31 30 29 25 26 27 28 23 24 ...

Page 22: ... connector This connector accommodates the provided ribbon cable for the floppy disk drive One side of the connector is slotted to prevent incorrect insertion of the floppy disk cable IDE connectors These dual channel bus master IDE connectors support up to four Ultra DMA133 100 66 PIO Modes 3 4 IDE devices Both the primary blue and secondary black connectors are slotted to prevent incorrect inser...

Page 23: ...ugging or unplugging devices Super I O controller This Low Pin Count LPC interface provides the commonly used Super I O functionality The chipset supports a high performance floppy disk controller for a 360K 720K 1 44M 2 88M floppy disk drive a multi mode parallel port two standard compatible UARTs a Standard Infrared SIR a Smart Card Reader and a Flash ROM interface IEEE 1394 connectors This conn...

Page 24: ...nnects a tape player or other audio sources In 6 channel mode the function of this jack becomes Line Out Front Speaker Out on audio models only Line Out jack This Line Out lime jack connects a headphone or a speaker In 6 channel mode the function of this jack becomes Front Speaker Out on audio models only Microphone jack This Mic pink jack connects a microphone In 6 channel mode the function of th...

Page 25: ... Hardware information This chapter describes the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform when installing system components It includes details on the switches jumpers and connectors on the motherboard ...

Page 26: ...er summary 2 1 Motherboard installation 2 1 2 2 Motherboard layout 2 2 2 3 Before you proceed 2 3 2 4 Central Processing Unit CPU 2 4 2 5 System memory 2 6 2 6 Expansion slots 2 11 2 7 Switches and jumpers 2 14 2 8 Connectors 2 18 ...

Page 27: ... you place it into the chassis in the correct orientation The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image below 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 Do not overtighten the screws Doing so may damage the motherboard Make sure to un...

Page 28: ...BMS T Mouse B Keyboard IEEE1394_1 USB1 1 T USB0 B USB1 Below Mic In Center Line Out Top Line In DDR DIMM2 64 72 bit 184 pin module 2 3 DDR DIMM3 64 72 bit 184 pin module 4 5 DDR DIMM1 64 72 bit 184 pin module 0 1 Accelerated Graphics Port AGP Pro VIA KT400 Chipset Socket 462 IR_CON1 USBPWR_34 USBPWR_12 KBPWR1 OVER_VOLT1 PRI_RAID1 IDELED1 USB56 VIA VT8235 Chipset ASUS ASIC with Hardware Monitor GBL...

Page 29: ...nt 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 severe damage to the motherboard peripherals and or components When lit the green LED SB_PWR1 indicates that the system is ON in sleep mode or in soft off mode a reminder that you should shut down the system before removing ...

Page 30: ... and applications The A7V8X supports AthlonTM XP AthlonTM and DuronTM processors EachAMD CPU has a marked corner This corner is indicated with a notch and or a golden square or triangle Refer to this indicator while orienting the CPU See the next section for installation details A fan and heatsink should be attached to the CPU to prevent overheating A7V8X A7V8X Socket A AMD CPU CPU NOTCH LOCK CPU ...

Page 31: ...n lift the lever 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 The CPU should drop easily into place Do not force the CPU into the socket to avoid bending the pins If the CPU does not fit check its alignment a...

Page 32: ...e the throughput of SDR memory For example a 200MHz DDR DIMM will support a 100MHz memory bus and a 266MHz DDR DIMM will support a 133MHz memory bus A DDR DIMM has the same physical dimensions as an SDR DIMM but it has a 184 pin footprint compared to the 168 pin of the SDR DIMM Also a DDR DIMM is single notched while an SDR DIMM is double notched Therefore a DDR DIMM is not backward compatible wit...

Page 33: ...512MB and 1GB densities into the DIMM sockets The following table lists the PC3200 DDR400 memory modules that have been tested and qualified for use with this motherboard Vendor Model Size Samsung M368L6423DTM CC4 512MB Samsung M368L3223DTM CC4 256MB Kingston KVR400X64C25 512 512MB Currently only one 1 DIMM slot supports DDR400 modules Make sure to use only the tested and qualified DDR400 DIMMs li...

Page 34: ...M Follow these steps to install a DIMM 1 Unlock a DIMM socket by pressing the retaining clips outward 2 Align a DIMM on the socket such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the socket Unlocked Retaining Clip 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 ...

Page 35: ...hese steps to remove a DIMM 1 Simultaneously press the retaining clips outward to unlock the DIMM 2 Remove the DIMM from the socket Support the DIMM lightly with your fingers when pressing the retaining clips The DIMM might get damaged when it flips out with extra force ...

Page 36: ...2 10 Chapter 2 Hardware information ...

Page 37: ...e bracket opposite the slot that you intend to use 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 2 6 2 Configuring an expansion card After installing the expansion card configure the it by adjusting the software sett...

Page 38: ... 9 Primary IDE Channel 15 10 Secondary IDE Channel These IRQs are usually available for ISA or PCI devices IRQ assignments for this motherboard A B C D E F G H PCI slot 1 shared PCI slot 2 shared PCI slot 3 shared PCI slot 4 shared PCI slot 5 shared PCI slot 6 shared AGP slot shared USB 1 1 UHCI 1 shared USB 1 1 UHCI 2 shared USB 1 1 UHCI 3 shared USB 2 0 EHCI shared AC97 Codec used Onboard LAN sh...

Page 39: ...hes on the card golden fingers to ensure that they fit the AGP slot on your motherboard If you installed an incorrect AGP card such as a SiS305 based AGP card or any other 3 3V AGP card the onboard red LED AGP_WARN1 lights up an indication that the card is not supported on the motherboard As long as this LED is lighted you cannot turn on the system power even if you press the power button thus pre...

Page 40: ...ponding setting in the BIOS see section 4 5 1 Power Up Control 2 VCORE over voltage 3 pin OVER_VOLT1 When enabled this jumper allows CPU VCORE ranges of 1 7V to 2 05V When this jumper is disabled VCORE setting has a range of 1 5V to 1 85V You may adjust the CPU VCORE through the BIOS Setup Setting to a very high core voltage may cause permanent damage to the CPU It is recommended that you keep the...

Page 41: ...ot all computers have the appropriate power supply to support this feature The USBPWR_12 and USBPWR_34 jumpers are for the rear USB ports The USBPWR_56 jumper is for the internal USB header that you can connect to the front USB ports 1 This feature requires a power supply that can provide at least 2A on the 5VSB lead when these jumpers are set to 5VSB Otherwise the system does not power up 2 The t...

Page 42: ...the CMOS memory of date time and system setup parameters by erasing the CMOS RTC RAM data The RAM data in CMOS is powered by the onboard button cell battery To erase the RTC RAM 1 Turn OFF the computer and unplug the power cord 2 Remove the battery 3 Short the jumper by replacing the jumper cap and removing it after 3 seconds 4 Re install the battery 5 Plug the power cord and turn ON the computer ...

Page 43: ...py drive ribbon cable After connecting one end to the motherboard connect the other end to the floppy drive Pin 5 is removed to prevent incorrect insertion when using ribbon cables with pin 5 plug Always connect ribbon cables with the red stripe to Pin 1 on the connectors Pin 1 is usually on the side closest to the power connector on hard drives and CD ROM drives but may be on the opposite side on...

Page 44: ...on for the jumper settings BIOS supports specific device bootup If you have more than two UltraDMA 133 100 66 devices purchase another UltraDMA 133 100 66 cable You may configure two hard disks to be both master devices with two ribbon cables one for the primary IDE connector and another for the secondary IDE connector 1 Pin 20 on each IDE connector is removed to match the covered hole on the Ultr...

Page 45: ...r Important notes on the RAID feature 1 By default the drives that you connect to the PRI_RAID connectors follow the ATA133 100 66 33 protocol as independent drives not as a disk array 2 The connector does not support ATAPI devices such as CD ROMs DVD ROMs etc 3 For RAID 1 you may choose any two connectors of Parallel ATA and Serial ATA connectors For RAID 0 you may choose any two or three connect...

Page 46: ...rted with a jumper cap If you wish to use the chassis intrusion detection feature remove the jumper cap from the pins 6 SMBus connector 6 1 pin SMB_CON1 This connector allows you to connect SMBus System Management Bus devices Devices communicate with an SMBus host and or other SMBus devices using the SMBus interface SMBus is a specific implementation of an I2 C bus a multi device bus that allows m...

Page 47: ... 300W for a fully configured system The system may become unstable and may experience difficulty powering up if the power supply is inadequate 8 Smart Card Reader connector 14 1 pin SMARTCON1 This connector accommodates an optional Smart Card Reader that allows you to conveniently make transactions such as financial health care telephony or traveling services through a Smart Card user interface so...

Page 48: ...x at 12V Connect the fan cables to the fan connectors on the motherboard making sure that the black wire of each cable matches the ground pin of the connector Do not forget to connect the fan cables to the fan connectors Lack of sufficient air flow within the system may damage the motherboard components These are not jumpers DO NOT place jumper caps on the fan connectors A7V8X A7V8X 12 Volt Fan Co...

Page 49: ...ports that support the next generation USB peripherals such as high resolution cameras scanners and printers A7V8X A7V8X USB 2 0 Header Blue USB_56 USB 5V LDM5 LDP5 GND NC USB 5V LDM6 LDP6 GND 1 12 GAME MIDI connector 16 1 pin GAME1 on Audio model only This connector supports a GAME MIDI module If your package came with the optional USB 2 0 GAME module connect the GAME MIDI cable to this connector...

Page 50: ...SB NC CHASSIS 5 V PCIRST GND NC EXTSMI MLED NC BATT NC SMBDATA GND 3VSB IRRX IRTX NC NC NC 5V SMBCLK NC 13 Internal audio connectors 4 pin CD1 AUX1 MODEM1 on audio models only These connectors allow you to receive stereo audio input from sound sources such as a CD ROM TV tuner or MPEG card The MODEM connector allows the onboard audio to interface with a voice modem card with a similar connector It...

Page 51: ...t opening at the back of the system chassis A7V8X Ground Ground TPA TPA TPB TPB Ground 12V Ground Ground TPA TPA TPB TPB Ground 12V A7V8X IEEE 1394 Connectors IEEE1394_1 IEEE1394_2 Make sure to connect IEEE 1394 devices needing internal power supply to the blue IEEE 1394 connector on board IEEEE1394_1 For IEEE 1394 devices that doesn t require internal power you may connect to the white IEEE 1394 ...

Page 52: ... Front panel audio connector 10 1 pin FP_AUDIO1 on audio models only This is an interface for the Intel front panel audio cable that allow convenient connection and control of audio devices Make sure to remove the caps from the Line out_R BLINE_OUT_R Line out_L and BLINE_OUT_L jumpers if you installed the Intel front panel audio cable A7V8X SPDIF1 GND 5V SPDIF_IN SPDIF_OUT GND 1 A7V8X Digital Audi...

Page 53: ...o the motherboard SIR connector according to the pin definitions 18 Serial ATA connector 7 pin PRI_SATA1 SEC_SATA1 on SATA model only These connectors accommodate the primary serial ATA PRI_SATA1 and a secondary serial ATA SEC_SATA1 cables Connect the serial ATA cable to this connector then install to a serial ATA ready hard disk A7V8X A7V8X SATA Connectors SEC_SATA1 PRI_SATA1 GND RSATA_TXP1 RSATA...

Page 54: ...into a suspend mode or green mode where system activity is instantly decreased to save power and to expand the life of certain system components Attach the case mounted suspend switch to this 2 pin connector ATX Power Switch Soft off Switch Lead 2 pin PWR This connector connects a switch that controls the system power Pressing the power switch turns the system between ON and SLEEP or ON and SOFT O...

Page 55: ...Chapter 3 Powering up This chapter describes the power up sequence and gives information on the BIOS beep codes ...

Page 56: ...ASUS A7V8X motherboard Chapter summary 3 1 Starting up for the first time 3 1 3 2 Vocal POST Messages 3 2 3 3 Powering off the computer 3 4 ...

Page 57: ... 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 the power the system may have failed a power on test Check...

Page 58: ...installed 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...

Page 59: ...DE 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...

Page 60: ...ou 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 61: ...Chapter 4 BIOS setup This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided ...

Page 62: ...US A7V8X motherboard Chapter summary 4 1 Managing and updating your BIOS 4 1 4 2 BIOS Setup program 4 7 4 3 Main Menu 4 10 4 4 Advanced Menu 4 17 4 5 Power Menu 4 27 4 6 Boot Menu 4 33 4 7 Exit Menu 4 35 ...

Page 63: ...ollowing screen 4 Insert the disk that contains the new BIOS file into the floppy drive You will receive the error message WARNING Device not ready if you proceed to step 5 without the disk in the drive ASUS EZ Flash V1 00 Copyright C 2002 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC Onboard BIOS Information BIOS Version ASUS A7V8X ACPI BIOS Revision 1001 Beta 003 BIOS Model A7V8X BIOS Built Date 07 29 02 Please Enter Fi...

Page 64: ...e prompt type Y to continue with the update process Pressing N exits the EZ Flash screen and reboots the system without updating the BIOS The following prompts appear if you typed Y 7 Press Y for both items to completely update the main BIOS area and the boot block area BIOS Information in File BIOS Version A7V8X Boot Block WARNING Continue to update the BIOS Y N _ 8 When the update process is don...

Page 65: ...NOT copy AUTOEXEC BAT and CONFIG SYS to the disk 2 Type COPY D AFLASH AFLASH EXE A assuming D is your CD ROM drive to copy AFLASH EXE to the boot disk you created 4 In DOS mode type A AFLASH Enter to run AFLASH 3 Reboot the computer from the floppy disk AFLASH works only in DOS mode It does not work in the DOS prompt within Windows and does not work with certain memory drivers that may be loaded w...

Page 66: ...apter 4 BIOS Setup 5 Select 1 Save Current BIOS to File from the Main menu and press Enter The Save Current BIOS To File screen appears 6 Type a filename and the path for example A XXX XX XXX then press Enter ...

Page 67: ...nu type 2 then press Enter The Update BIOS Including Boot Block and ESCD screen appears 5 Type the filename of your new BIOS and the path for example A XXX XX XXX then press Enter To cancel this operation press Enter 6 When prompted to confirm the BIOS update press Y to start the update Updating the BIOS Update the BIOS only if you have problems with the motherboard and you are sure that the new B...

Page 68: ...ge Flashed Successfully appears 8 Follow the onscreen instructions to continue If you encounter problems while updating the new BIOS DO NOT turn off the system because this may cause boot problems Just repeat the process and if the problem persists load the original BIOS file you saved to the boot disk If the Flash Memory Writer utility is not able to successfully update a complete BIOS file the s...

Page 69: ...ecord 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 D...

Page 70: ...ar 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 or Alt H Displays the General Help screen from any where in the BIOS Setup Esc Jumps to the Exit menu or returns to the main menu from a sub menu Left or Right arrow Selects the men...

Page 71: ...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 A sub menu contains additional options for a field parameter To display a sub menu move the highlight to the field and press Enter The sub menu appears Use the legend keys to enter values and move from ...

Page 72: ...lues for month day and year are Month 1 to 12 Day 1 to 31 Year up to 2099 Use the Tab or Shift Tab keys to move between the month day and year fields Legacy Diskette A 1 44M 3 5 in Legacy Diskette B 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 Floppy 3 Mode Support Disabled This is required to suppor...

Page 73: ...ng system startup Passwords are not case sensitive meaning passwords typed in either uppercase or lowercase letters are accepted The BIOS Setup program allows you to specify two different passwords a Supervisor password and a User password If you did not set a Supervisor password anyone can access the BIOS Setup program If you did the Supervisor password is required to enter the BIOS Setup program...

Page 74: ... be because the hard disk drive is too old or too new If the hard disk was already formatted on an older system Setup may detect incorrect parameters In these cases select User Type HDD to manually enter the IDE hard disk drive parameters Refer to the next section for details Before attempting to configure a hard disk drive make sure you have the correct configuration information supplied by the d...

Page 75: ...s the Esc key to return to the Main menu When the Main menu appears the hard disk drive field displays the size for the hard disk drive that you configured User Type HDD Manually enter the number of cylinders heads and sectors per track for the drive Refer to the drive documentation or on the drive label for this information After entering the IDE hard disk drive information into BIOS use a disk u...

Page 76: ...the Translation Method field to Manual Head This field configures the number of read write heads Refer to the drive documentation to determine the correct value To make changes to this field set the Type field to User Type HDD and the Translation Method field to Manual Sector This field configures the number of sectors per track Refer to the drive documentation to determine the correct value To ma...

Page 77: ...ring Disabled This field allows you to enable or disable the S M A R T Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology system that utilizes internal hard disk drive monitoring technology This parameter is normally disabled because the resources used in the SMART monitoring feature may decrease system performance Configuration options Disabled Enabled PIO Mode 4 This option lets you set a PIO Pro...

Page 78: ...rd Auto Repeat Rate 6 Sec This controls the speed at which the system registers repeated keystrokes Options range from 6 to 30 characters per second Configuration options 6 Sec 8 Sec 10 Sec 12 Sec 15 Sec 20 Sec 24 Sec 30 Sec Keyboard Auto Repeat Delay 1 4 Sec This field sets the time interval for displaying the first and second characters Configuration options 1 4 Sec 1 2 Sec 3 4 Sec 1 Sec ...

Page 79: ...Frequency Multiple is accessible only if you have an unlocked processor If your processor frequency multiple is locked you cannot change the setting of this item CPU Frequency Multiple when CPU Speed is set to Manual 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...

Page 80: ...commended that you keep the default setting Auto to allow the system to automatically determine the appropriate CPU core voltage CPU VCore 1 750V When the CPU VCore Setting parameter above is set to Manual the CPU VCore item allows you to select a specific CPU core voltage This field is not accessible when the CPU VCore Setting is set to Auto AGP Voltage Auto This item controls the AGP operating v...

Page 81: ... or not a PS 2 mouse is detected at startup Configuration options Enabled Auto USB Legacy Support Auto This motherboard supports Universal Serial Bus USB devices The default of Auto allows the system to detect a USB device at startup If detected the USB controller legacy mode is enabled If not detected the USB controller legacy mode is disabled When you set this field to Disabled the USB controlle...

Page 82: ...is item controls the idle clocks after issuing a precharge command to the DDR SDRAM Configuration options 2T 3T SDRAM Configuration By SPD This parameter allows you to set the optimal timings for items 2 5 depending on the memory modules that you are using The default setting is By SPD which configures items 2 5 by reading the contents in the SPD Serial Presence Detect device The EEPROM on the mem...

Page 83: ...pports the AGP 8X interface that enables enhanced graphics performance with high bandwidth speeds up to 2 12GB s AGP8X is backward compatible When set to 1X Mode the AGP interface only provides a peak data throughput of 266MB s even if you are using an AGP 8X card Configuration options Auto 1X Mode 2X Mode 4X Mode 8X Mode AGP Drive Strength Auto Configuration options Auto Manual AGP Drive N Contro...

Page 84: ... to 16MB Configuration options Disabled Enabled Delayed Transaction Disabled When set to Enabled this feature frees the PCI bus when the CPU is accessing 8 bit ISA cards This process normally consumes about 50 60 PCI clocks without PCI delayed transaction Set this field to Disabled when using ISA cards that are not PCI 2 1 compliant Configuration options Enabled Disabled Onboard PCI IDE Both This ...

Page 85: ...writes to the floppy disk drive The default setting R W allows both reads and writes Configuration options R W Read Only Onboard Serial Port 1 3F8H IRQ4 Onboard Serial Port 2 2F8H IRQ3 These fields allow you to set the addresses for the onboard serial connectors Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 must have different addresses Configuration options 3F8H IRQ4 2F8H IRQ3 3E8H IRQ4 2E8H IRQ10 Disabled UAR...

Page 86: ...e selected ECP mode This selection is available only if you select ECP or ECP EPP in Parallel Port Mode above Configuration options 1 3 Onboard AC97 Audio Controller Auto These fields allow you to enable or disable the onboard AC97 audio controller Configuration options Auto Disabled Onboard Game Port 200H 207H These fields allow you to set the addresses for the onboard game connectors Game ports ...

Page 87: ... cards may not show colors properly Setting this field to Enabled corrects this problem If you are using standard VGA cards leave this field to the default setting Disabled Configuration options Disabled Enabled PCI Latency Timer 32 Leave this field to the default setting 32 for best performance and stability USB Function Enabled This field allows you to select the USB port that you wish to activa...

Page 88: ...his particular IRQ is NOT required by a legacy ISA card Set the IRQ field to Yes if you install a legacy ISA card that requires a unique IRQ and you are NOT using ICU Configuration options No ICU Yes 4 4 3 1 PCI IRQ Resource Exclusion Onboard LAN Boot ROM This field allows you to enable or disable the onboard LAN Boot ROM Configuration options Disabled Enabled Onboard ATA device First No This fiel...

Page 89: ...r Defined option allows you to set the period of inactivity before the system enters suspend mode Refer to Suspend Mode item When set to Max Saving system power is conserved to its greatest amount This setting automatically puts the system into suspend mode after a brief period of system inactivity Min Saving allows the least power saving as the system enters suspend mode only after a long period ...

Page 90: ... Min 3 Min 15 Min ACPI Suspend To RAM Disabled This field allows you to enable or disable the ACPI Suspend to RAM feature To support this feature the 5VSB of the power supply should have the capacity to provide more than 720mA current Configuration options Disabled Enabled Suspend Mode Disabled Sets the time period before the system goes into suspend mode Configuration options Disabled 1 2 Min 2 3...

Page 91: ... Disabled Enabled Previous State Wake Power Up On Ext Modem Disabled This allows either settings of Enabled or Disabled for powering up the computer when the external modem receives a call while the computer is in Soft off mode Configuration options Disabled Enabled The computer cannot receive or transmit data until the computer and applications are fully running Thus connection cannot be made on ...

Page 92: ...requires an ATX power supply that provides at least 1A on the 5VSB lead Configuration options Disabled Enabled Power Up On PCI Card Disabled When set to Enabled this parameter allows you to turn on the system through a PCI LAN or modem card This feature requires an ATX power supply that provides at least 1A on the 5VSB lead Configuration options Disabled Enabled Automatic Power Up Disabled This al...

Page 93: ...llow BIOS to auto detect the power supply temperature see page 2 29 for the location of the TRPWR connector The POWER temperature item shows N A if you do not have the appropriate power supply Select Ignore to disable the power temperature auto detect function CPU Fan Speed xxxxRPM or N A Chassis Fan Speed xxxxRPM or N A Power Fan Speed xxxxRPM or N A The onboard hardware monitor automatically det...

Page 94: ...ate fan speed ratio for the system The default 10 15 is the minimum fan speed ratio Select a higher ratio if you installed additional devices and the system requires more ventilation This item appears only when the Q Fan Control item is set to Enabled Configuration options 10 15 11 15 12 15 13 15 14 15 Full Speed Speed Up Down Response Time 16 Sec 32Sec This item indicates the time period before t...

Page 95: ...s IDE Hard Drive ATAPI CD ROM and Other Boot Device Removable Device Legacy Floppy Configuration options Disabled Legacy Floppy LS 120 ZIP ATAPIMO IDE Hard Drive This field allows you to select which IDE hard disk drive to use in the boot sequence Pressing Enter will show the product IDs of all connected IDE hard disk drives ATAPI CD ROM This field allows you to select which ATAPI CD ROM drive to ...

Page 96: ...when it detects a virus If this occurs you can either allow the operation to continue or use a virus free bootable floppy disk to restart and investigate your system Configuration options Disabled Enabled Quick Power On Self Test Enabled This field speeds up the Power On Self Test POST routine by skipping retesting a second third and fourth time Configuration options Disabled Enabled Boot Up Flopp...

Page 97: ...urned off When you select this option a confirmation window appears Select Yes to save changes and exit Exit Discarding 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 exiting Pressing Esc does not immediately exit this menu...

Page 98: ...values 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 ...

Page 99: ...Chapter 5 Software support This chapter describes the contents of the support CD that comes with the motherboard package ...

Page 100: ...erboard Chapter summary 5 1 Install an operating system 5 1 5 2 Support CD information 5 1 5 3 Software information 5 9 5 4 Using the Promise Chip for RAID 0 or 1 5 26 5 5 Manual Installation of IDE RAID drivers 5 34 ...

Page 101: ...o your CD ROM drive The CD automatically displays the welcome screen and the installation menus if Autorun is enabled in your computer 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 The contents of the support CD are subject to change at any time without notice ...

Page 102: ...ver Applicaton This item installs the Avance AC 97 compliant audio controller and application Promise FastTrak 376 Controller Driver This item shows the detailed information installation of the Promise FastTrak 376 controller driver for the Serial ATA and RAID features BroadCom 5702 LAN Drivers or BroadCom 4401 LAN Drivers On Gigabit models this item installs the BroadCom BCM5702 LAN drivers for G...

Page 103: ... LAN settings to Magic Frame To adjust Wake On LAN settings 1 Right click My Computer icon on your desktop and select Properties to display the System Properties window 2 On the System Properties window click on the Hardware tab Click on the Device Manager button to display the Device Manager window 3 On the Device Manager window click the plus sign opposite the Network adapters item to show the A...

Page 104: ...ke Up Capabilities under Property The default value is Wake Up Frame The Wake Up Frame setting wakes up the system from S1 S3 and S4 sleep modes 5 Click the arrow under Value to set to Magic Frame Click OK The Magic Frame setting wakes up the system from S1 S3 S4 and S5 sleep modes If the BCM4401 LAN controller is onboard the Wake On LAN feature does NOT work on DOS mode ...

Page 105: ...y helps you keep your computer at a healthy operating condition ASUS Update This program allows you to download the latest version of the BIOS from the ASUS website Microsoft Direct X 8 0 Driver This item installs the Microsoft V8 0 driver PC cillin 2002 This item installs the PC cillin 2002 anti virus software View the PC cillin online help for detailed information Adobe Acrobat Reader This item ...

Page 106: ... ASUS POST Reporter Use this program if you wish to change the default vocal POST messages See section 3 2 Vocal POST messages for a list of the default messages E Color 3Deep This item installs the 3Deep software 3Deep is the first application that gives online gamers the competitive edge in multi player skirmishes This application removes dark washed out graphics to deliver true vibrant colors 5...

Page 107: ...ional information on the motherboard and the contents of the support CD This section shows the pop up windows that appear when you click the icons Motherboard Info The window displays the general specifications of the A7V8X motherboard Browse this CD The window displays the support CD contents in graphical format ...

Page 108: ...l Support Form The window displays the ASUS Technical Support Request Form that you have to fill up when requesting technical support Filelist The window displays the contents of the support CD and a brief description of each in text format ...

Page 109: ... The ASUS Update is a utility that allows you to update the motherboard BIOS and drivers This utility requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet Service Provider ISP Follow these steps to use the ASUS Update 2 Select your desired update method then click Next 1 Launch the utility from your Windows Start menu Programs AsusUpdate Vx xx xx AsusUpdate The ASUS Update initi...

Page 110: ...atically installed when you install the ASUS Update utility from the software menu See section 5 2 3 Software menu 1 Launch the ASUS Update utility See section 5 3 1 ASUS Update 2 When prompted for the BIOS update method select the option Update BIOS from a file 3 Specify the location of the BIOS file such as from a floppy disk Click Next Follow these steps to use ASUS MyLogo2 Before using ASUS My...

Page 111: ... Next 5 When you click on an image it displays larger on the MyLogo2 screen If you wish you may create your own boot logo image in GIF JPG or BMP file formats MyLogo2 may not support too complex images Try using a simpler image if you encounter any problems Instead of starting from ASUS Update you may also launch ASUS MyLogo2 directly from the Windows Start menu to change your BIOS boot logo After...

Page 112: ...nal external frequencies through the DMI Explorer Starting ASUS PC Probe When ASUS PC Probe starts a splash screen appears allowing you to select whether to show the screen again when you open PC Probe or not To bypass this startup screen clear the Show up in next execution check box The PC Probe icon appears on the taskbar system tray indicating that ASUS PC Probe is running Clicking the icon all...

Page 113: ...erature for supported processors only 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 fan rotation Voltage Monitor Shows the PC voltages Fan Warning threshold adjustment Move the slider up to increase the threshold level or down to decrease the threshold level ...

Page 114: ...ws the used and free space of the PC s hard disk drives and the file allocation table or file system used Fan Control Lets you enable disable Smart Fan Control Smart Fan Control adjusts the fan speed automatically based on the current CPU temperature and predefined threshold CPU Cooling System Setup Lets you select when to enable software CPU cooling When When CPU Overheated is selected the CPU co...

Page 115: ...ation 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 NOTE This feature is currently unavailable Information Memory Shows the PC memory load memory usage and paging file usage ...

Page 116: ...king the PC Probe icon brings up a menu to open or exit ASUS PC Probe and pause or resume all system monitoring When the ASUS PC Probe senses a problem with your PC portions of the ASUS PC Probe icon change to red the PC speaker beeps and the ASUS PC Probe monitor appears ...

Page 117: ...ay also tune your internet applications to match true internet source colors with the color displayed on the monitor 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 adjustment...

Page 118: ...sely blend and match with the background 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 3Deep Color Tuning 1 Select the type of monitor connected to the computer either CRT or LCD ...

Page 119: ...s indicating that the tuning process is complete click Finish 5 The next step repeats the color matching process to achieve full color quality 7 Click on the Set Up Now button to connect to the Internet Follow the screen instructions to set up True Internet Color ...

Page 120: ...rogram Launch the 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 Default Messages POST Events To avoid conflicts do no...

Page 121: ...ck Open The event messages for the language you selected appear on the Voice Editor screen 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 For some languages not all events have a corresponding message due to file size constraints ...

Page 122: ...g software such as Windows Recorder to record your messages 4 Save the messages as wave files WAV It is recommended that you save your files in low quality to keep them small For example use 8 bit mono quality at 22Khz sampling rate 5 From the Voice Editor screen click on the Add button to display the Add Wave File window 6 Copy the wave files that you recorded to the database Close the window whe...

Page 123: ...n on the Edit button The Event Sound Editor window appears 8 Locate and select your wave file for the event then click on the arrow opposite Voice1 The file you selected appears on the space next to it 9 Click OK to return to the Voice Editor screen 10 Do steps 7 to 9 for the other events 11 When done click the Save button A window appears prompting you to save your configuration 12 Type a file na...

Page 124: ... Setting the RealTek ALC650 AC 97 Audio Configuration 1 Install the RealTek ALC650 AC 97 audio driver from the support CD 2 After installation the RealTek Sound Effect icon appears on the bottom right of the screen You must use 4 or 6 channel speakers for this setup 4 Click on the Equalizer tab to display panel to individually control frequency bands and adjust sound output You may also display th...

Page 125: ...ker Out Front Speaker Out Light Blue Line In Rear Speaker Out Rear Speaker Out Pink Mic In Mic In Center Speaker Out Sub woofer 7 Click on the SPDIF In tab for the configuration The ALC650 by default enable the SPDIF Out function If you use the SPDIF In function the SPDIF frequency will be locked by the ALC650 chip TheAC 3 SPDIF In function is not supported by ALC650 it only supports stereo SPDIF ...

Page 126: ... to a second drive If one drive fails the disk array 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 4 1 Install the hard disks The PDC20376 chipset supports Ultra ATA 133 100 66 hard disk drives For optimal performa...

Page 127: ...serial ATA cables b Connect one Serial ATA HDD to each Serial ATA connector using separate serial ATA cables c Connect one Serial ATA HDD to the PRI_RAID1 connector and one Serial ATA HDD to either one of the two serial ATA connectors using separate parallel serial ATA cables 4 Connect the power cable to the power connector on each drive 5 Boot the system and enter the BIOS Setup Utility 6 Go to t...

Page 128: ...imultaneously to display the FastBuild utility main menu MBFastBuild tm Utility 1 21 c 1996 2001 Promise Technology Inc Auto Setup 1 1 View Drive Assignments 2 2 View Array 3 3 Delete Array 4 4 Rebuild Array 5 5 Controller Configuration 6 6 Press 1 6 to select Option ESC Exit Main Menu Keys Available MBFastTrak376 tm BIOS version 1 00 c 2000 2005 Promise Technology Inc All Rights Reserved No Array...

Page 129: ...array 4 Press any key to reboot the system During the boot process the MBFastTrak376 BIOS checks and displays the disk array information 5 Once the array is created use the FDISK utility to format the array as a single hard drive 6 After you have formatted the arrayed drives install an operating system OS The OS will treat the RAID 0 array as a single drive unit 7 Install the RAID driver from the ...

Page 130: ...reated 6 Press any key to reboot the system During the boot process the MBFastTrak376 BIOS checks and displays the disk array information Array has been created Press any key to reboot Do you want the disk image to be duplicated to another Yes No Y Create and Duplicate N Create Only 2 Use the arrow keys to go to the field Optimize Array for and select Security with the space bar The Mode field dis...

Page 131: ...ve to use 6 Use the arrow keys to select the source drive The FastBuild utility will copy all the data from the source drive to the target drive 7 Press Ctrl Y to save the selection and start the duplication The following message appears Do you want the disk image to be duplicated to another Yes No Y Create and Duplicate N Create Only Start to duplicate the image Do you want to continue Yes No Y C...

Page 132: ... reconfigure the system Deleting an array does not remove information on the hard disks If an array is deleted by mistake recover it immediately by redefining it as the deleted array Rebuild Array 5 This command restores the array and system data after faults on RAID 1 arrays Follow these steps to rebuild and restore data in the array 1 On boot up an error message notifies of a system failure 2 Pr...

Page 133: ... intact source hard disk onto a new replacement hard disk A progress gauge displays the copy progress for the duration of the task 9 After the rebuild processis complete the user is prompted to reboot the system Controller Configuration 6 This command shows the default for Controller Configuration The default value is Enabled ...

Page 134: ... 5 5 2 Win2000 XP Promise FastTrak376 Driver 1 Right click My Computer icon on the desktop Select Properties when the menu appears Or you can Press Start button Move highlight bar to Settings and select Control Panel Double click on System icon 2 Select Hardware page and then click Device Manager button 3 View device by type and find Other devices node 4 Right Click the Mass Storage Controller nod...

Page 135: ... 10 Start to install Windows 2000 or XP 11 The operation system installation program will ask you Press F6 if you want to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver 12 Quickly press F6 when you see Press F6 if you want to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver 13 Press S to set up RAID controller 14 Insert the floppy diskette with the files you copied earlier 15 Choose WinXP Promise FastTrak376 ...

Page 136: ...5 36 Chapter 5 Software support ...

Page 137: ...Index This part contains an alphabetical list of the topics found in this document ...

Page 138: ...ASUS A7V8X motherboard ...

Page 139: ...des 3 1 BIOS AFLASH utility 4 3 Boot Device selection 4 33 Boot Up NumLock Status 4 16 Boot Virus Detection 4 34 C Central Processing Unit CPU fan connector 2 22 installation 2 5 Level 1 Level 2 Cache 4 18 Speed 4 17 CPU socket 1 8 2 4 Chip Configuration 4 20 Clear RTC RAM 2 16 Connectors ASUS iPanel 2 24 ATX power 1 6 2 22 chassis alarm 2 20 fan 2 22 floppy disk 1 6 2 17 front panel audio 2 26 ga...

Page 140: ...nterVideo WinCinema 1 4 IEEE 1394 1 9 2 25 IRQ assignments 2 12 J Jumpers Clear RTC 2 16 keyboard power 2 14 USB device wake up 2 15 VCORE over voltage 2 14 K Keyboard Auto Repeat Delay 4 16 Auto Repeat Rate 4 16 Boot up NumLock Status 2 16 L LEDs AGP warning 1 8 2 3 standby power 1 9 2 3 Legacy Diskette 4 10 M Motherboard major components 1 6 IRQ Table 2 12 layout 2 2 placement 2 1 screws 2 1 Mul...

Page 141: ... 1 9 2 27 Serial Ports 1 10 4 23 SMART Monitoring 4 15 Sony Philips Digital Interface S PDIF 2 26 Super I O controller 1 9 Support CD 5 1 ASUS Update 5 9 Drivers menu 5 2 E Color 3Deep 5 17 Main menu 5 1 motherboard information 5 7 multi channel audio 5 24 Utilities menu 5 5 Technical Support Form 5 8 Welcome screen 5 1 Suspend Mode 4 28 System Controller North Bridge 1 8 South Bridge 1 8 System D...

Page 142: ...I 4 Index ...

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Asus Motherboard A7V8X, User Manual, Page: 1 / 142

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