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Chapter 4: BIOS Setup

Video Off Option [Suspend -> Off ]

This field determines when to activate the video off feature for monitor
power management. Configuration options: [Always On] [Suspend -> Off]

Video Off Method [DPMS OFF]

This field defines the video off features. The Display Power Management
System (DPMS) feature allows the BIOS to control the video display card if
it supports the DPMS feature. [Blank Screen] only blanks the screen. Use
this for monitors without power management or “green” features.

Even if installed, your screen saver does not display when you select
[Blank Screen] for the above field.

[V/H SYNC+Blank] blanks the screen and turns off vertical and horizontal
scanning. Configuration options: [Blank Screen] [V/H SYNC+Blank]
[DPMS Standby] [DPMS Suspend] [DPMS OFF] [DPMS Reduce ON]

HDD Power Down [Disabled]

Shuts down any IDE hard disk drives in the system after a period of
inactivity as set in this user-configurable field. This feature does not affect
SCSI hard drives. Configuration options: [Disabled] [1 Min] [2 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 Min] [4~5 min] [8~9 Min]
[20 Min] [30 Min]

PWR Button < 4 Secs [Soft Off]

When set to [Soft off], the ATX switch can be used as a normal system
power-off button when pressed for less than 4 seconds. [Suspend] allows
the button to have a dual function where pressing less than 4 seconds
puts the system in sleep mode. Regardless of the setting, holding the ATX
switch for more than 4 seconds powers off the system. Configuration
options: [Soft off] [Suspend]

Summary of Contents for P4S8X

Page 1: ...Motherboard P4S8X User Manual ...

Page 2: ...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 ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMI...

Page 3: ... BIOS beep codes Chapter 4 BIOS setup How to change system settings using 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 n...

Page 4: ...onent Locations 5 1 5 Value added Solutions 6 Chapter 2 Hardware information 7 2 1 Motherboard installation 7 2 2 Motherboard layout 8 2 3 Before you proceed 10 2 4 Central Processing Unit CPU 11 2 5 System memory 17 2 6 Expansion slots 21 2 7 Jumpers 24 2 8 Connectors 27 Chapter 3 Powering up 41 3 1 Starting up for the first time 41 3 2 Vocal POST Messages 42 3 3 Powering off the computer 44 Chap...

Page 5: ...nu 78 Chapter 5 Software support 81 5 1 Install an operating system 81 5 2 Support CD information 81 5 3 P4S8X Motherboard Support CD 82 5 4 Using the Promise Chip for RAID 0 or 1 84 5 5 Manual Installation of IDE RAID Drivers 92 5 6 ASUS PC Probe 94 5 7 ASUS Live Update 99 5 8 ASUS MyLogo 100 5 9 3Deep Color Tuner 102 5 10 Winbond Voice Editor 104 5 11 Winbond Smart Manager 108 5 12 Multi Channel...

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: ...TIONAL 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 Notebook Support 1 877 918 ASUS 2787 Web Site www asus com Support Email tsd asus com ASUS COMPUTER GmbH Europe Address Harkortstr 25 40880 Ratingen BRD Germany General Fax 49...

Page 9: ...Chapter 1 Product introduction ...

Page 10: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 11: ...esolution graphics via an AGP 8X slot Digital Audio Interface for 3D sound Optional Realtek LAN Controller onboard Optional SerialATAconnection onboard for easy system upgrade Optional Four USB ports plus a headers for two more Before installing the motherboard check the items in your package 1 1 Package contents Check your P4S8X package for the following items ASUS P4S8X motherboard ATX 30 5 cm x...

Page 12: ... support up to 3GB of DDR DRAM the newest memory standard with the highest bandwidth and lowest latency currently available This new memory technology increases performance by executing two actions per clock cycle supplying data transfer rates up to 2 7 GB s for 166MHz DDR SDRAM and 2 1GB s for 133MHz DDR SDRAM UltraDMA133 Support Comes with an onboard PCI Bus Master IDE controller with two connec...

Page 13: ...ring the Power On Self Test POST Through the system s internal speaker or an added external speaker messages inform you of system boot status and causes of boot errors Bundled Winbond Voice Editor software helps customize voice messages and offers multi language support ASUS MyLogo See page 100 This new feature present in the P4S8X motherboard helps you to personalize and add style to your system ...

Page 14: ...Connector 22 Modem Connector 25 IEEE 1394 Header Optional 32 PS 2 Mouse Connector green 33 Parallel Port 34 USB Connectors Port 1 2 39 IEEE 1394 Connector 40 Serial Port COM1 41 USB Connectors Port 3 4 42 PS 2 Keyboard Connector purple 43 Hardware Monitoring System Voltage Monitor integrated in ASUS ASIC 11 Special Feature Onboard AGP Warning LED Red 3 Onboard Power on LED Green 13 Network Feature...

Page 15: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard user guide 5 1 4 1 Component Locations 4 6 7 21 1 15 16 8 14 18 26 23 32 11 13 12 24 27 28 2 5 19 10 17 20 31 3 29 9 22 25 30 33 34 43 42 41 39 36 37 38 35 40 ...

Page 16: ...rature is monitored by the ASUS ASIC through the CPU s internal thermal diode to prevent overheating and damage All system fans are monitored for RPM and failure System voltage levels are monitored to ensure stable voltage to critical motherboard components Auto Fan Off The system fans powers off automatically even in sleep mode ACPI Ready Advanced Configuration Power Interface ACPI provides more ...

Page 17: ...Chapter 2 Hardware information ...

Page 18: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 19: ... motherboard 2 1 1 Placement direction When installing the motherboard make sure that you place it into the chassis in the correct orientation The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis Refer to the image below 2 1 2 Screw holes Place seven 7 screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis Make sure to unplug the power cord before installi...

Page 20: ... DIMM2 64 72 bit 184 pin module 2 3 CPU_FAN PCI1 ATX Power Connector USBPWR_34 AGP_WARN USBPWR_56 GAME SPEECH CLRTC EZ_PLUG ATX12V FLOPPY ASUS ASIC with Hardware Monitor SiS648 HOST Memory Controller SiS963 MuTLOL Media I O IR_CON PCI2 PCI3 PCI4 PCI5 PCI6 PS 2KBMS T Mouse B Keyboard USB2 0 T USB1 B USB2 Top RJ 45 USB2 0 T USB3 B USB4 Below Mic In Center Line Out Top Line In CD AUX MODEM SB_PWR SEC...

Page 21: ...EEE 1394 Port female jack 9 IDELED p 30 IDE Activity LED 2 pin 10 PRI_IDE1 SEC_IDE1 p 31 IDE Connectors Three 40 1 pin PRI_ATA133 11 FLOPPY p 32 Floppy Disk Drive Connector 34 1 pin 12 CPU_ CPA_ PWR_FAN p 32 Chassis and CPU Fan Connectors Two 3 pin 13 ATXPWR p 33 ATX Power Supply Connector 20 pin 14 USB56 p 34 USB Headers Two 10 1 pin 15 CD AUX MODEM p 34 Internal Audio Connectors Three 4 1 pin op...

Page 22: ...omponent 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 severe damage to the motherboard peripherals and or components P4S8X P4S8X Onboard LED SB_PWR AGP_WARN ON Standby Power OFF Powered Off O...

Page 23: ...ecture The Intel NetBurst micro architecture features the hyper pipelined technology rapid execution engine 400 533MHz system bus and execution trace cache Together these attributes improve system performance by allowing higher processor frequencies faster execution of integer instructions and a data transfer rates of 3 2 and 4 2GB s Note in the illustration that the CPU has a gold triangular mark...

Page 24: ... to install a CPU 1 Locate the 478 pin ZIF socket on the motherboard 2 Unlock the socket by pressing the lever sideways then lift it up to a 90 100 angle Make sure that the socket lever is lifted up to 90 100 angle otherwise the CPU does not fit in completely SocketLever 90 100 ...

Page 25: ...he CPU into the socket until it fits in place The CPU fits only in one correct orientation DO NOT force the CPU into the socket to prevent bending the pins and damaging the CPU 5 When the CPU is in place press it firmly on the socket while you push down the socket lever to secure the CPU The lever clicks on the side tab to indicate that it is locked GoldMark ...

Page 26: ...o install the CPU heatsink and fan 1 Place the heatsink on top of the installed CPU making sure that the heatsink fits properly on the retention module base When you buy a boxed Intel Pentium 4 478 Northwood Processor the package includes the heatsink fan and retention mechanism In case you buy a CPU separately make sure that you use only Intel certified heatsink and fan Your boxed Intel Pentium 4...

Page 27: ...sm to the holes on each corner of the module base Keep the retention locks lifted upward while fitting the retention mechanism to the module base Make sure that the fan and retention mechanism assembly perfectly fits the heatsink and module base otherwise you cannot snap the hooks into the holes RetentionHole RetentionHookSnapped totheRetentionHole RetentionLock ...

Page 28: ... to the connector on the motherboard labeled CPUFAN 3 Push down the locks on the retention mechanism to secure the heatsink and fan to the module base When secure the retention locks should point to opposite directions CPUFanConnector CPUFAN Don t forget to connect the CPU fan connector Hardware monitoring errors may occur if you fail to plug this connector ...

Page 29: ...0 PC133 memory known as Single Data Rate SDR SDRAM DDR memory however has the ability to perform two data operations in one clock cycle thus providing twice the throughput of SDR memory P4S8X P4S8X 184 Pin DDR DIMM Sockets 80 Pins 104 Pins 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 notc...

Page 30: ...1 Total system memory Max 3GB Vendor Model Type Size Nanya NT5DS16M8AT 6 PC2700 256MB Samsung K4H280838D TCB3 PC2700 128MB Samsung K4H280838D TCB3 PC2700 256MB Micron MT8VDDT1664AG 335B1 PC2700 128MB Micron MT16VDDT3264AG 335B1 PC2700 256MB DDR333 DIMM Qualified Vendor List The following table lists the DDR333 memory modules that have been tested and qualified for use with this motherboard Use onl...

Page 31: ...MM 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 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 UnlockedRetainingClip ...

Page 32: ...se steps to remove a DIMM 1 Simultaneously press the retaining clips outward to unlock the DIMM Support the DIMM lightly with your fingers when pressing the retaining clips The DIMM might get damaged when it flips out with extra force 2 Remove the DIMM from the socket ...

Page 33: ...ntation that came with it and make the necessary hardware settings for the card 2 Remove the system unit cover if your motherboard is already installed in a chassis 3 Remove the 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 ...

Page 34: ...s 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 Onboard USB HC0 used Onboard USB HC1 used Onboard USB HC2 used Onboard USB HC3 used AGP shared Onboard Audio shared Onboard LAN shared When using PCI cards on shared slots ensure that the drivers support Share IRQ or that the cards do no...

Page 35: ...ard installed on a PCI slot 2 6 4 AGP slot This motherboard has anAccelerated Graphics Port AGP slot that supports any AGP 8X 4X 2X 1 5V cards CAUTION This motherboard does not support 3 3V AGP cards if a 3 3V card is inserted the red LED warning light lights up and the board will not power up use only 1 5V AGP cards To avoid damaging your AGP graphics card your computer s power supply should be u...

Page 36: ... 1A on the 5VSB lead If this requirement is not met the system does not power up The total current consumed must NOT exceed the power supply capability 5VSB whether under normal condition or in sleep mode Also note that ONLY USB 5VSB can support S3 resume function P4S8X P4S8X USB Device Wake Up USBPWR_56 Default 5V 1 2 5VSB 2 3 USBPWR_34 Default 5V 5VSB 1 2 2 3 USBPWR_12 2 7 Jumpers The jumpers on...

Page 37: ...s from these jumpers to allow automatic switching of audio signals between the rear panel Line Out jack and the audio cable P4S8X P4S8X Keyboard Power Setting KBPWR 5V Default 5VSB 1 2 3 2 3 Keyboard Wake Up 3 pin KBPWR This allows you to disable or enable the keyboard power up function Set this jumper to Enable if you wish to use your keyboard by pressing Spacebar to power up your computer This f...

Page 38: ...tion such as system passwords 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 motherboard battery 3 Remove the jumper cap from the CLRTC jumper 1 2 and place it on jumpers 2 3 for a few seconds 4 Replace the jumper cap to the Normal postion 1 2 5 Replace the battery 6 Plug the power cord and turn ON the computer 7 Ho...

Page 39: ...vailable to expansion cards See PS 2 Mouse Function Control in 4 4 Advanced Menu 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 standardAT keyboards PS 2 Mouse 6 pin Female WARNING Some pins are used for connectors or pow...

Page 40: ...able the parallel port and choose the IRQ through Onboard Parallel Port see 4 4 2 I O Device Configuration Universal Serial Bus USB 0 USB 2 USB3 USB 1 Parallel Port 25 pin Female NOTE Serial printers must be connected to the serial port RJ 45 5 Fast Ethernet Port Connector RJ45 optional This RJ45 connector is located on top of the USB Ports 0 1 The RJ45 supports connectivity for local area network...

Page 41: ... 4 2 I O Device Configuration for the settings COM1 Serial Ports 9 pin Male In Mic Out 7 Audio Connectors Three 1 8 AUDIO optional The Line Out lime connects a headphone or speakers The Line In light blue connects a tape players or other audio sources The Mic pink connects a microphone NOTE The functions of the audio connectors Line Out Line In and Mic change when the 6 channel audio feature is en...

Page 42: ...ll cause damage to your motherboard 9 IDE Activity LED 2 pin IDELED This connector supplies power to the hard disk activity LED The read or write activities of any device connected to the primary or secondary IDE connector cause this LED to light up P4S8X P4S8X IDE Activity LED IDE_LED 8 IEEE 1394 Port Female 1394 This IEEE 1394 port supports a variety of devices see 4 4 2 I O Device Configuration...

Page 43: ... connectors See pages 37 and 82 for more information about RAID BIOS supports specific device bootup If more than two UltraDMA133 100 66 devices are used purchase another UltraDMA133 100 66 cable It is possible to configure two hard disks as master devices by using two separate ribbon cables one for the primary IDE connector and another for the secondary IDE connector Pin 20 on each IDE connector ...

Page 44: ... PWR_FAN The two fan connectors support cooling fans of 350mA 4 2 Watts or a total of 1A 12W at 12V Orient the fans so that the heat sink fins allow air flow to go across the onboard heat sinks instead of the expansion slots The fan wiring and plug may vary depending on the fan manufacturer Connect the fan cable to the connector matching the black wire to the ground pin Do not forget to connect th...

Page 45: ...ng a standard ATX power supply that does not have the addedATX 12V plug then simply connect one of the 4 pin device power plugs into the ASUS EZ Plug connector labeled AUX12V Make sure that your ATX 12V power supply can provide at least 8A on the 12V lead and at least 1A on the 5 volt standby lead 5VSB The minimum recommended wattage is 230W or 300W for a fully configured system The system may bec...

Page 46: ... a mono_out such as a speaker between the audio and a voice modem card P4S8X P4S8X Internal Audio Connectors AUX White Right Audio Channel Left Audio Channel Ground Ground CD Black MODEM Modem Out Ground Modem In Ground 14 USB header 2 x 10 1 pin USB_56 If the USB port connectors on the rear panel are inadequate a USB header is available for additional USB port connectors Connect the bundled 2 por...

Page 47: ...rboard package 17 Infrared module connector 5 1 pin IR_CON This connector supports an optional wireless transmitting and receiving infrared module This module mounts to a small opening on system chassis that support this feature You must also configure the UART2 Use As parameter in BIOS to set UART2 for use with IR See section 4 4 2 I O Device Configuration for details Use the five pins as shown i...

Page 48: ... 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 such as LDCM When not using the chassis intrusion lead place a jumper cap over the pins to close the circuit Removing the jumper cap will prevent the system from booting up 18 IEEE 1394 Header 8 pin IEEE1394_2 Opt...

Page 49: ...us host and or other SMBus devices SMBus is a multi 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 21 SATA Serial ATA IDE Connectors 2 x 7 pin PRI_SATA SEC_SATA Two headers support serial ATA IDE HDD devices Both RAID 0 or 1 is supported by both serial connectors Only one HDD may be attached to each serial ATAIDE...

Page 50: ...ftware When using this connector configure the UART2 Use As parameter in BIOS to set UART2 for use with Smart Card See section 4 4 2 I O Device Configuration for details P4S8X P4S8X Smartcard SMARTCON NC SCPWR NC NC NC2 VCC GND SCIO SCRRES NC SCRCLK 1 NC SCRREST P4S8X P4S8X Game Connector GAME 5V 5V J2B1 J2CX MIDI_OUT J2CY J2B2 MIDI_IN J1B1 J1CX GND GND J1CY J1B2 5V 23 Game Connector 16 1 pin GAME...

Page 51: ...udio connector 10 1 pin FP_AUDIO on audio models only This is an interface for the Intel front panel audio cable that supplies convenient connection and control of audio devices Ensure that the jumper caps are removed from the FP_LO_SWR and FP_LO_SWL jumpers if you installed the Intel front panel audio cable Refer to page 25 for the location of the audio jumpers ...

Page 52: ... connector supplies the case mounted speaker to sound system beeps and warnings 27 System Management Interrupt Lead 2 pin SMI This connector permits switching to suspend mode or Green mode system activity is decreased to conserve power and system components Attach the case mounted suspend switch this 2 pin connector 28 ATX Power Switch Soft Off Switch Lead 2 pin PWRSW The system power is controlle...

Page 53: ...Chapter 3 Powering up ...

Page 54: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 55: ...en 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 the jumper settings and connections or call your retailer for assistance 7 This motherboard does not support 3 3V AGP cards if a 3 3V card is inserted the...

Page 56: ...l Pentium 4 478 Northwood 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 and www asus com System failed memory test Install 184 pin unbuffered DDR SDRAM DIMMs into the DIMM sockets Check if the DIMMs on the DIMM sockets are properly installed Make sure that your DIMMs are not defec...

Page 57: ...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 information on pag...

Page 58: ...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 59: ...Chapter 4 BIOS setup ...

Page 60: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 61: ...site see ASUS contact information on page viii Save the file to a floppy disk 2 Reboot the computer 3 To use EZ Flash press Alt F2 during POST to display the following screen Write down the BIOS file name on a piece of paper You need to type the exact BIOS file name at the EZ Flash screen 4 Insert the disk that contains the new BIOS file into the floppy drive You will receive the error message WAR...

Page 62: ...pe Y to continue with the update process Pressing N exits the EZ Flash utility and reboots the system without updating the BIOS The following prompts appear if you pressed Y BIOS Information in File BIOS Version P4S8X Boot Block WARNING Continue to update the BIOS Y N _ 7 For item 1 Update Main BIOS area press Y to update 8 For item 2 Update Boot Block area press Y to update DO NOT shutdown or res...

Page 63: ...e computer from the floppy disk NOTE AFLASH works only in DOS mode It does not function in the DOS prompt within Windows and does not function with certain memory drivers that may be loaded when you boot from the hard drive It is recommended that you reboot using a floppy disk Use only a DOS 6 2 WIN95 WIN98 boot disk NOTE BIOS setup must specify Floppy as the first item in the boot sequence 1 Type...

Page 64: ...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 Update the BIOS only if you have problems with the motherboard and you are sure that the new BIOS revision will solve your problems Careles...

Page 65: ... message 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...

Page 66: ...them in the CMOS RAM of the EEPROM The EEPROM 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 Delete or by ...

Page 67: ...gend 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 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 t...

Page 68: ...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 field t...

Page 69: ...nth day year Valid values for month day and year are Month 1 to 12 Day 1 to 31 Year up to 2084 Use the Tab or Shift Tab keys to move between the month day and year 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 Floppy 3 Mode Support Disabled This is required to support older Ja...

Page 70: ... 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 driv...

Page 71: ... 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 After entering the IDE hard disk drive information into BIOS use a disk utility such as FDISK to partition and format new IDE hard disk drives This is necessary so that you can write or read data from the hard disk Make sure to set...

Page 72: ...eld 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 to User Type HDD and the Translation Method field to Manual CHS Capacity This field shows the drive s maximum CHS capacity as calculated by the BIOS based on the drive information you entered Maximum LBA Capacity This field shows the drive ...

Page 73: ...ay decrease system performance Configuration options Disabled Enabled PIO Mode 4 This option lets you set a PIO Programmed Input Output mode for the IDE device Modes 0 through 4 provide successive increase in performance Configuration options 0 1 2 3 4 Ultra DMA Mode Disabled Ultra DMA capability allows improved transfer speeds and data integrity for compatible IDE devices Set to Disabled to suppr...

Page 74: ... Auto Repeat Rate 12 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 75: ...rds The BIOS Setup program allows you to specify passwords in the Main menu The passwords control access to the BIOS during 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 passwor...

Page 76: ...us The bus frequency external frequency multiplied by the bus multiple equals the CPU speed Memory Frequency Auto This field is defaulted to function automatically and determines whether the memory clock frequency is set to be in synchronous or asynchronous mode with respect to the system frequency CPU VCore Setting Auto This field determines if the CPU Vcore is automatically scaled or set manuall...

Page 77: ...eld is defaulted to Enabled Select Disabled to turn off the CPU Level 2 built in cache Configuration options Disabled Enabled BIOS Update Enabled This field functions as an update loader integrated into the BIOS to supply the processor with the required data When set to Enabled the BIOS loads the update on all processors during system bootup Configuration options Disabled Enabled PS 2 Mouse Functi...

Page 78: ...cted the USB controller legacy mode is disabled When you set this field to Disabled the USB controller legacy mode is disabled whether or not you are using a USB device Configuration options Disabled Enabled Auto OS 2 Onboard Memory 64M Disabled When using OS 2 operating systems with installed DRAM of greater than 64MB you need to set this option to Enabled Otherwise leave to the default setting D...

Page 79: ... voltage interface and module banks Configuration options User Defined By SPD NOTE The following 4 SDRAM parameters appear only when you set the SDRAM Configuration to User Defined SDRAM CAS Latency 2 5T This item controls the latency between the SDRAM read command and the time the data actually becomes available SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay 3T This item controls the latency between the SDRAM active com...

Page 80: ...ts the AGP 8X 4X interfaces When a 4X card is inserted the default is 4X Mode When an 8X card is inserted the default is 8X Mode AGP 8x and 4X are backward compatible so you may keep the default 4X Mode even if you are using an AGP 1X or 2X video card When set to 1X Mode the AGP interface only provides a peak data throughput of 266MB s even if you are using an AGP 2X 4X card When set to 2X Mode th...

Page 81: ...able or disable the PCI 2 1 features Keep the default setting Enabled if you installed PCI 2 1 compliant cards Set to Disabled if you installed any card that is not PCI 2 1 compliant Configuration options Disabled Enabled Onboard PCI IDE Enable Both This field allows tou to enable either the primary IDE channel or secondary IDE channel or both You can also set both channels to Disabled Configurati...

Page 82: ...nboard serial connectors Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 must have different addresses Configuration options 3F8H IRQ4 2F8H IRQ3 3E8H IRQ4 2E8H IRQ10 Disabled UART2 Use As COM Port This field allows you to select the device on which to assign UART2 If you select IR or Smart Card Reader set an I O address for the item Onboard Serial Port 2 Configuration options COM Port IR Smart Card Reader Onboard...

Page 83: ...ield allows you to configure the parallel port DMA channel for the 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 Game Port 200H 207H This field sets the I O address to the game port Configuration options 200H 207H 208H 20FH Disabled Onboard MIDI Disabled This field sets the I O address for MIDI Configur...

Page 84: ...is 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 Primary VGA BIOS PCI VGA Card This field allows you to select the primary graphics card Configuration options PCI VGA Card AGP VGA Card USB Function Enabled This moth...

Page 85: ...This motherboard enables the onboard Promise ATA RAID controller by default Select the Disabled to shut off the ATA controller Configuration options Enabled Disabled Onboard ATA device First Yes This motherboard enables boot up from the Promise ATA RAID controller and its supporting firmware Select the No to deactivate the priority of the Promise controller at boot up Configuration options Yes No ...

Page 86: ...CU Configuration options No ICU Yes 4 4 3 2 PCI IRQ Resource Exclusion Onboard 1394 Controller Enabled The onboard 1394 controller is disabled by default To enable connection of 1394 devices select Auto Configuration options Enabled Disabled Onboard AC97 Audio Controller Auto Auto allows the BIOS to detect whether you are using any modem audio device If a modem audio device is detected the onboard...

Page 87: ...en 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 of inactivity Configuration options User Defined Disabled Min Saving Max Saving You should install the Advanced Power Managemen...

Page 88: ...hard disk drives in the system after a period of inactivity as set in this user configurable field This feature does not affect SCSI hard drives Configuration options Disabled 1 Min 2 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 t...

Page 89: ... 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 the first try Turning an external modem off and then back on while the computer is off causes an initialization string that...

Page 90: ...upply that provides at least 1A on the 5VSB lead Configuration options Disabled Space Bar Ctrl Esc Power Key Automatic Power Up Disabled This allows an unattended or automatic system power up You may configure your system to power up at a certain time of the day by selecting Everyday or at a certain time and day by selecting By Date Configuration options Disabled Everyday By Date ...

Page 91: ...xRPM or N A Chassis Fan Speed xxxxRPM or N A POWER Fan Speed xxxxRPM or N A 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 VCORE Voltage 3 3V Voltage 5V Voltage 12V Voltage The onboard hardwa...

Page 92: ...r up Configuration fields include Removable Devices 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...

Page 93: ...e 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 Floppy Seek Enabled When enabled the BIOS will seek the floppy disk...

Page 94: ...f When you select this option a confirmation window appears Select Yes to save changes and exit Pressing Esc does not immediately exit this menu Select one of the options from this menu or F10 from the legend bar to exit If you attempt to exit the Setup program without saving your changes the program prompts you with a message asking if you want to save your changes before exiting Pressing Enter s...

Page 95: ...g the 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 fu...

Page 96: ...80 Chapter 4 BIOS Setup ...

Page 97: ...Chapter 5 Software support ...

Page 98: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 99: ... in 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 tha...

Page 100: ...appear on the setup screens All drivers and programs install automatically Refer to 6 Software Reference for operating instructions 5 3 2 Available Installation Menus Drivers SiS Mini IDE Driver Installs the IDE support driver Promise FastTrak376 Driver Installs the drivers for the Promise ATA RAID IDE controller SiS AGP Driver Installs the AGP driver for the SiS chipset C Media Audio Driver and A...

Page 101: ...iew online help for more information ADOBE Acrobat Reader Installs the Adobe Acrobat Reader software necessary to view user s manuals saved in PDF format Updated or other language versions of this motherboard s manual is available in PDF format at any of our web sites ASUS Screen Saver Installs a nifty ASUS screen saver E Color 3Deep Installs graphical driver and an application for tuning the qual...

Page 102: ...titioning the array will be addressed as one large volume RAID 1 is also known as data mirroring Mirroring optimizes two identical hard disk drives to copy all data from one hard disk drive to the other and vice versa As new data is written it is duplicated onto both disks using a parallel write process The main advantage of RAID 1 is that it greatly increases the fault tolerance of the entire sys...

Page 103: ...DD to either of the two Serial ATA ports using separate parallel ATA or serial ATA cables b Connect one serial ATA HDD to each serial ATA port using separate serial ATA cables c Connect one serial ATA HDD to the Pri_ATA133 port and one serial ATA HDD to either of the two serialATA ports using separate parallel serial ATA cables 2 Connect the power cables to the hard disks 3 Boot up the PC and ente...

Page 104: ...e FastBuild Utility Main Menu 1 Boot up your computer once more If this is the first time you have booted with two hard disks correctly installed then FastTrak376 BIOS scans the IDE drives and displays this screen 5 4 2 Enter FastTrak376 BIOS and FastBuild Utility ...

Page 105: ...ace keys The Mode field displays Stripe 3 After making the selection use Ctrl Y to save it FastBuild automatically constructs the RAID 0 array 4 Then Press Any Key to Reboot appears Reboot the system and the FastTrak376 Lite BIOS checks and displays the status of the new array 5 To finish installation of your new Operating System to the RAID 0 array reboot with a floppy disk to format the hard dis...

Page 106: ...ld displays Mirror 3 After making the selection use Ctrl Y to save it FastBuild offers a choice between two options Use Y for Create and Duplicate to mirror a pre existing hard disk formatted with data that you want to save on both hard disks Go to step 4 Use N for Create Only if using two new hard disks to configure a new RAID 1 mirrored array Go to step 6 4 If selecting Y for Create and Duplicat...

Page 107: ...ty drive The second warning Offline indicates that one hard disks in a striped array has failed cannot be detected or has become disconnected In this case adjust or replace the hard disk if necessary and rebuild data from a back up source 5 The utility prompts Please SelectASource Disk Choose the pre existing hard disk as the source and then a new blank hard disk as the target Then select Ctrl Y t...

Page 108: ...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 the steps below to rebuild and restore data in the array 1 On boot up an error message notifies of a system failure 2 Press Ctrl F keys to enter the FastBuild Main Menu 3 Select 3 for View Array to verify the ID of the defunct hard disk 4 Power off ...

Page 109: ...he intact source hard disk onto a new replacement hard disk Aprogress gauge displays the copy progress for the duration of the task 9 After the rebuild is complete the user is prompted to reboot the system Controller Configuration 6 Default for Controller Configuration is enabled ...

Page 110: ...00 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 PCI RAID Controller node 5 When the men...

Page 111: ... 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 Controlle...

Page 112: ... frequencies through the DMI Explorer 5 6 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 icon w...

Page 113: ...ws 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 114: ...rent 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 threshold ...

Page 115: ...Explorer 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 116: ...S 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 117: ...AsusUpdate 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 ...

Page 118: ...ction 5 5ASUS Live 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 Before using ASUS MyLogo feature use the AFLASH utility to make a copy of your original BIOS file or obtain the latest BIOS version from the ASUS website Make sure that the BIOS item Full Screen Logo is set to E...

Page 119: ...ing complex images try using a simpler image Yo u may also use a photo editting software to shrink the complex image lay it over a one color 640x480 pixel background and save the image with the background When you use an image it will appear smaller and centered on the screen Instead of starting from ASUS Update you may also launch ASUS MyLogo directly from the Windows Start menu to change your BI...

Page 120: ...tions 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 9 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 connected ...

Page 121: ... tuning process is complete Click on the bottom left button to connect to the internet and follow the instructions 5 9 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 ad...

Page 122: ...program 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 The default language setting is English To avoid con...

Page 123: ...k Open The event messages for the language you selected appear on the Voice Editor screen 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 124: ... POST events on the leftmost column of the screen 2 Prepare your message for each event The total compressed size for all the wave files must not exceed 1Mbit so make your messages as short as possible 3 Use a recording 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 exa...

Page 125: ... 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 nam...

Page 126: ...n Hardware Setup for the connector location Boot up the PC and enter BIOS press del to change the configuration to accept smart card hardware in the Advanced BIOS menu select the I O Device Configuration sub menu go to UART2 and select Smart Card Read save and exit Finish booting up Insert the ASUS Support CD and click on the selection Winbond Smart Manager Application The auto installer prompts t...

Page 127: ...start Windows should auto detect the smart card reader and install its system drivers NOTE Do not install system components or Winbond applications unless you install a smart card reader see page 8 Smart card system software components support various types of smart card applications all system components are compatible with 2000 and WinXP Smart manager setup ...

Page 128: ...er auto detects and displays the Owner Name and Card Type 3 Right click the Smart Manager icon and select Setting Smart Manager Key Center 2 Select the Smart Manager program group and click Smart Manager Logon After you click Smart Manager Logon an icon is created for the software on the bottom right hand corner of the screen The Smart Manager icon resembles a key 1 To launch Windbond Smart Manage...

Page 129: ...PC after the start cycle is complete 3 Always Check configures the Smart Manager to require that the user insert the smart card during start up then if the card is removed at any time during the operation of the PC the Smart Manager protection screen will automatically pop up and the PC is secure until the card is reinserted File Protect Check Mode This is a sub program used to encrypt and decode ...

Page 130: ...les the Line In and Mic In audio jacks on the back panel to setup additional speakers for 4 and 6 Channel Audio 5 12 Multi Channel Audio Feature Setup The C Media PCI Audio Driver and Applications are located on the Support CD Installing the programs enables the multi channel audio feature Note You must use 4 or 6 channel speakers for this setup 5 12 1 The C Media Audio Mixer 1 The C Media Mixer I...

Page 131: ...he yellow MIDI Game Audio connector port located on the back panel The three female connectors are available for use in the 6 Channel audio system 3 The Speaker Channel Configuration Menu displays all the options available to help tune the multi channel audio system even more precisely Connector Settings and Functions Headphone 4 Speaker 6 Speaker 2 Speaker Lime Line Out Line Out Line Out Front Sp...

Page 132: ...114 Chapter 5 Software reference ...

Page 133: ...Glossary ...

Page 134: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 135: ...m 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 With this technology peripherals will also be able to activate the PC For example inserting a tape into a VCR can turn on the PC which could then activate a lar...

Page 136: ...ral Processing Unit The CPU sometimes called Processor actually functions as the brain of the computer It interprets and executes program commands and processes data stored in memory Currently there are socket 370 for Pentium III FC PGA and Celeron PPGA socket 7 for Pentium AMD Cyrix IBM slot 1 for Pentium II and III slot 2 for Xeon and slot A for AMD processors Device Driver A device driver is a ...

Page 137: ...he 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 responds immediately to user or other requests The OnNow design initiative involves changes that will occur in the Microsoft Window...

Page 138: ...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 139: ...Index ...

Page 140: ...ASUS P4S8X motherboard ...

Page 141: ...IOS Beep Codes 41 Boot Device Selection 75 Boot Up NumLock Status 56 Boot Virus Detection 75 C C Media Audio Setup 109 Central Processing Unit CPU 11 installation 12 Speed 58 Chip Configuration 61 Clear RTC RAM 26 Connectors ASUS EZ Plug 33 ATX power supply 33 chassis alarm 32 digital audio 35 fan 32 floppy disk 32 HDD LED 27 infrared module 35 internal audio 34 Parallel Port 28 primary secondary ...

Page 142: ...e 56 Connector 27 Features 56 L Legacy Diskette 51 LiveUpdate 99 Using 99 M Motherboard IRQ Table 22 layout 8 9 placement 7 screws 7 Mouse Connector 27 Multi Channel Audio 109 Using 109 Multi Sector Transfers 54 O Operating system installation 79 P Parallel Port 64 Modes 64 Parallel Port Connector 28 Password Supervisor 57 User 57 PC Probe Using 91 PCI Configuration 66 PCI Latency Timer 66 PCI VGA...

Page 143: ...g 55 SMBus Connector 37 Support CD 79 Welcome screen 79 Winbond Voice Editor 101 Suspend Mode 70 System Date 51 System memory configurations 17 System Time 51 U UART2 66 Ultra DMA Mode 55 Universal Serial Bus USB 28 Ports 28 USB Legacy Support 61 Using 3Deep Color Tuner 99 ASUS Update 96 LiveUpdate 99 Multi Channel Audio Feature 109 PC Probe 91 Windbond Smart Manager 105 USWC 62 W Winbond Smart Ma...

Page 144: ...122 Index ...

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