User manual AOPEN AX3L

Chapter 1 Overview AX3L is a new generation Socket 370 based system board that utilizes Intel 82440LX AGPset on ATX PCI/ISA platform. This AGPset is designed for Pentium II CPU, and supports new architectures such as high speed AGP graphic port, SDRAM, Ultra DMA/33, Bus master IDE and USB port. It has three Dual in-line Memory Module (DIMM) that allow to install SDRAM memory and expand up to a maximum of 768MB. Since the cache is on the Pentium II CPU card (connector SLOT1), there is no second level cache onboard Also, AX3L uses 2M bit Flash ROM BIOS to reserve for future new functions. Not only above features, AX3L also implements many special features as following. Jumper-less Design Celeron PPGA VID signal and SMbus clock generator provide CPU voltage auto-detection and allows user to set CPU frequency through CMOS setup, no jumper or switch is needed. The correct CPU information is saved into EEPROM, with these technologies, the disadvantages of Pentium base jumper-less design are eliminated. There will be no worry of wrong CPU voltage detection and no need to re-open the housing if CMOS battery loss. The only jumper left is to clear CMOS, which is a safety hook if you forget the password. Battery-less AX3L implements EEPROM and special circuit (patent applied) that allows you to save your current CPU and CMOS Setup configurations without the need of battery. The RTC (real time clock) can also keep running as long as power cord is plugged. If you lose your CMOS data by accident, you can just reload the CMOS configurations from EEPROM and the system will recover as usual. APM Suspend To Hard Drive "Immediately" turns on system and goes back to the original screen before power down. You can resume your original work directly from hard disk without go through the Win95 booting process and run your application again. Suspend to Hard Drive saves your current work (system status, memory image) into hard disk. Note that you have to use 1-1 Overview VESA compatible PCI VGA, Sound Blaster compatible sound card with APM driver, for Suspend to Hard Drive to work properly. Zero Voltage Wake on Modem In conjunction with ATX soft power On/Off, it is possible to have system totally power off and wakeup to automatically answer a phone call such as answering machine or to send/receive fax. The most important break through is not only external box modem but also internal modem card can be used to support Wake On Modem. The AX3L and MP56 internal modem card implement special circuit (patent applied) to make sure the modem card work properly without any power. Wake on LAN This feature is very similar as Wake On Modem, but it is through local area network. To use Wake on LAN function, you must have a network card that supports this feature and also need to install a network management software. Wake on RTC Timer The Wake Up Timer is more like an alarm, which wakes up and power on your system at a pre-defined time for specific application. It can be set to wake up everyday or on specific date within a month. The date/time accuracy is second. Wake on Keyboard This feature allows you power on your system by clicking the hot key that you specified. Besides, you also may disable the function of power button and let the system can only be powered on through the preset keys (like a password). Wake on Mouse This function allows you wake up the system by clicking mouse button twice successively. AC Power Auto Recovery A traditional ATX system should remain at power off stage when AC power resumes from power failure. This design is inconvenient for a network server or workstation, without an UPS, that needs to keep power-on. This motherboard implements an AC Power Auto Recovery function to solve this problem. In BIOS Setup setting the item to Enabled lets the system can automatically power-on after AC power resumes. High Efficient Synchronous Switching Regulator Most of the current switching designs are Asynchronous mode, which from the technical point of view, still consumes very high power as well as heat. AX3L implements high efficient synchronous switching design that the temperature of MOS FET is far less than Schottky diode of asynchronous design. Over Current Protection The Over Current Protection was very popular implemented on the Baby AT or ATX 3.3V/5V/12V switching power supply. However, the new generation Celeron PPGA CPU uses different voltage that have regulator to transfer 5V to CPU voltage (for example, 2.0V), and make 5V over current protection useless. AX3L with switching regulator onboard support CPU over current protection, in conjunction with 3.3V/5V/12V power supply provide the full line over current protection. 1-2 Overview CPU and Housing Fan Monitoring AX3L has one more "fan monitoring" function to prevent system overheat. There are two fan connectors, one is for CPU and the other can be an extra housing fan. The system will report and alarm fan malfunction though utility software such as Hardware Monitor utility (Small Icon for Hardware Monitoring). CPU Thermal Protection AX3L has a special thermal detection circuit to have warning through application software when the temperature is higher than a predefined value. System Voltage Monitoring Further more, AX3L implements a voltage monitoring system, As you turn on your system, this smart design will continue to monitor your system working voltage. If any of the system voltage is over the component's standard. There will be alarm though utility software such as Hardware Monitor utility (Small Icon for Hardware Monitoring) for a warning to user. Full-range CPU core voltage This motherboard supports the CPU core voltage from 1.3V to 2.05V, that can be applied to various CPU type in future. Resetable Fuse This motherboard implements resetable fuses to prevent any accidental short circuit caused by keyboard or USB devices hot plug. FCC DoC certificate AX3L has passed FCC DoC test. The radiation is very low, you can use any kind of housing. Powerful Utility Software AOpen Bonus Pack CD disc contains many useful utilities, such as Norton Antivirus, AOchip, Hardware Monitoring Utility, and Suspend to Hard Drive utility. Note: This motherboard is battery-less, that means the RTC (real time clock) can keep running without battery as long as the power cord is plugged. But in case of power failure or the power cord unplugged, you need to reset date and time from "Standard CMOS Setup" section of BIOS Setup. For more information, please see "Chapter 3 BIOS Setup". 1.1 Specifications Form Factor Board Size CPU ATX 305 mm x 190 mm Celeron PPGA 1-3 Overview System Memory Chipset Expansion Slots Serial Port Parallel Port 168-pin DIMM x3, maximum 768MB EDO or 384 SDRAM. Intel 82440LX AGPset ISA x2, PCI x4 and AGP x1 Two serial ports UART 16C550 compatible, and the 3rd UART for IR function. One parallel port supports standard parallel port (SPP), enhanced parallel port (EPP) or extended capabilities port (ECP). Floppy interface supports 3.5 inches drives with 720KB, 1.44MB or 2.88MB format or 5.25 inches drives with 360KB, 1.2MB format. Dual-channel IDE interface support maximum 4 IDE hard disks or CDROM, mode 4, bus master hard disk drives and Ultra DMA/33 mode hard drives are also supported. Two USB ports supported by USB bracket, the BIOS also supports USB driver to simulate legacy keyboard. Mini-Din PS/2 mouse connector onboard. Mini-Din PS/2 keyboard connector onboard. RTC within Intel PIIX4E chipset. Lithium (CR-2032) battery is an option, no battery is needed if power cord is plugged. AWARD Plug-and-Play, 2M bit Flash ROM BIOS. Floppy Interface IDE Interface USB Interface PS/2 Mouse Keyboard RTC and Battery BIOS 1.2 APM Suspend to Hard Drive Suspend to Hard Drive saves your current work (system status, memory and screen image) into hard disk, and then the system can be totally power off. Next time, when power is on, you can resume your original work directly from hard disk within few seconds without go through the Win95 booting process and run your application again. If your memory is 16MB, normally, you need to reserve at least 16MB HDD space to save your memory image. Note that you have to use VESA compatible PCI VGA (AOpen PV70/PT70), Sound Blaster compatible sound card and sound driver that supports APM (AOpen AW32/AW35) for Suspend to Hard Drive to work properly. Of course, we recommend choosing AOpen products for best compatibility. To use Suspend to Hard Drive: 1-4 Overview 1. Go into BIOS setup, Power Management "Suspend to Disk". Suspend Mode Option, select 2. Go into BIOS setup, PNP/PCI Configuration PnP OS Installed, select "No". This can give BIOS the capability to allocate system resources for Suspend to Hard Drive. 3. Boot up your system into DOS command prompt. If you are Win'95 user, Please restart your Windows 95 under "Command Prompt" by pressing "F8" while system shows "Windows 95 Starting ...". Choose "Safe Mode Command Prompt Only" from selection so that system will start in DOS command prompt. 4. Copy AOZVHDD.EXE to the root directory of your C: drive. 5. Option 1: Use /file switch (applied to FAT16 file system): Please use following command to create a hidden file in the root directory of your hard disk for Suspend to Hard Drive to save the system status and memory image. C:>AOZVHDD /c /file Please make sure that you have enough continuous HDD space for creating this hidden file. For example, if you have 32MB of system memory and 4MB of VGA memory, you need at least 36MB (32MB + 4MB) of continuous HDD space. If AOZVHDD failed to allocate the HDD space, you may run "DEFRAG" Utility or "Disk Defragmenter" which come with MSDOS or Win'95 to free HDD space. 1-5 Overview Option2: Use /partition switch (applied to FAT16/FAT32 file system): To create a separate partition for Suspend to Hard Drive, please make sure you have reserved a free partition. We suggest you reserve the free partition which space is appropriate for your future memory expansion. For example, if you have 32MB of system memory and 4MB of VGA memory currently, but you plan to upgrade system memory to 64MB in the near future, then you may reserve a 68MB (64MB+4MB) space by using a disk utility (such as fdisk). Next, use following command to create a suspend partition: C:>AOZVHDD /c /partition If there is no extra free partition and you don't want your data lost, please do not use this partition method. 6. After creating above partition or hidden file, please reboot your system. 7. Push suspend switch (momentary mode) or use Win95 Suspend icon to force system goes into Suspend to Hard Drive mode and then turn system power off by power switch of your power supply. 8. Next time when you turn on your system, it will resume to your original work automatically. Warning: Note that Intel Bus Master and Ultra DMA/33 IDE driver are not fully compatible with Suspend to Hard Drive function, installing these drivers may cause the system unstable. Under this situation, please uninstall the drivers. Warning: This function does not support SCSI hard disks. 1-6 Overview Tip: The following VGA cards have been tested & recognized as VESA compatible VGA device. AOpen PV90 (Trident 9680) AOpen PT60 (S3 Virge/BIOS R1.00-01) AOpen PV60 (S3 Tiro64V+) AOpen PT70 (S3 Virge/DX) ProLink Trident GD-5440 ProLink Cirrus GD-5430 ProLink Cirrus GD-5446 ATI Mach 64 GX ATI 3D RAGE II Diamond Stealth64D (S3 868) Diamond Stealth64V (S3 968) KuoWei ET-6000 ATI 3D RAGE PRO 2x (AGP) PLOTECH 3D IMAGE 9850 (AGP) CARDEX S3 Virge/GX (AGP) Tip: The following sound cards have been tested OK for Suspend to Hard Drive. Creative Sound Blaster PCI 64 Creative Ensoniq Creative Sound Blaster PCI 128 Videologic Sonic Storm If your sound card can not work after resume from Suspend to Hard Drive, check your sound card vendor see if there is driver to support APM, and install it again. Note: The USB function has not been tested for Suspend to Hard Drive. If you find any unstable problem, please go into BIOS, Integrated Peripherals USB Legacy Support. Disable the USB Legacy function. 1-7 Overview 1.3 Zero Voltage Wake on Modem The Wake on Modem discussed here is to wakeup from true power off (identified by fan of power supply is off), This motherboard still supports traditional green PC suspend mode but it is not discussed here. With the help ATX soft power On/Off, it is possible to have system totally power off (The traditional suspend mode of power management function does not really turn off the system power supply), and wakeup to automatically answer a phone call such as answering machine or to send/receive fax. You may identify the true power off by checking fan of your power supply. Both external box modem and internal modem card can be used to support Wake on Modem, but if you use external modem, you have to keep the box modem always power-on. AOpen AX3L and internal modem card implement special circuit (patent applied) and make sure the modem card works properly without any power. We recommend choosing AOpen modem card (MP56) for Wake on Modem applications. TEL Line COM port External Box Modem External Modem Wake Up TEL Line Internal Modem Card Wake Up (such as MP56) 1-8 Overview For Internal Modem Card (AOpen MP56): 1. Go into BIOS setup, Power Management Enable. 0V Wake on Modem, select 2. Setup your application, put into Windows 95 StartUp or use Suspend to Hard Drive function. 3. Turn system power off by soft power switch. 4. Connect 4-pin Wake On Modem cable from MP56 RING connector to AX3L WOM connector. 5. Connect telephone line to MP56. You are now ready to use Wake On Modem. For External Box Modem: 1. Go into BIOS setup, Power Management Enable. 0V Wake on Modem, select 2. Setup your application, put into Windows 95 StartUp or use Suspend to Hard Drive function. 3. Turn system power off by soft power switch. 4. Connect RS232 cable of external box Modem to COM1 or COM2. 5. Connect telephone line to external box Modem. Turn on Modem power (you must keep Modem power always on). You are now ready to use Wake On Modem. Tip: External Wake on Modem signal is detected through COM1 or COM2. Internal modem card wake up signal is detected through cable from connector RING (on modem card) to WOM (on mainboard). Note: If you use external modem, the power of external modem must be kept on to receive signal from telephone line. Internal modem card has no such limitation. 1.4 System Voltage Monitoring This motherboard implements a voltage monitoring system. As you turn on your system, this smart design will continue to monitor your system working voltage. If any of the system voltage is over the component's standard. There will be alarm through application software such as Hardware Monitoring Utility for a warning to user. System voltage monitoring function monitors CPU core 1-9 Overview voltage. It is automatically implemented by BIOS and Hardware Monitoring Utility (the file name is like aohw100.exe, where 100 means the version number), no hardware installation is needed. 1.5 Fan Monitoring There are three fan connectors, two is for CPU, the other can be connected to a housing fan. The fan monitoring function is implemented by connecting fan to 3-pin fan connector CPUFAN1 or FAN and installing Hardware Monitoring Utility. Note: You need 3-pin fan that supports SENSE signal for fan monitoring function to work properly. 1.6 CPU Thermal Protection This mainboard implements special thermal protection circuits. When temperature is higher than a predefined value, there will be warning through application software such as Hardware Monitoring Utility to notify user. It is automatically implemented by BIOS and Hardware Monitoring Utility, no extra hardware installation is needed. 1-10 Overview 1.7 Battery-less Design To preserve the earth, AOpen AX3L implements the battery-less motherboard design. There is no need to have battery for RTC (real time clock) and CMOS Setup as long as ATX power cable is plugged. In case of the AC power is shutdown or power cord is removed by accident, the CMOS Setup and system configuration can be restored from EEPROM, only the system clock needed to be re-set to current date/time. For the convenience of end user, AX3L still shipped with one Lithium (CR2032) battery. If you prefer to use battery, you can still insert it into battery socket. The RTC will still keep running even power cord is removed. 1-11 Chapter 2 Hardware Installation This chapter gives you a step-by-step procedure on how to install your system. Follow each section accordingly. Caution: Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your processor, disk drives, expansion boards, and other components. Always observe the following precautions before you install a system component. 1. Do not remove a component from its protective packaging until you are ready to install it. Wear a wrist ground strap and attach it to a metal part of the system unit before handling a component. If a wrist strap is not available, maintain contact with the system unit throughout any procedure requiring ESD protection. 2. 2.1 Jumper and Connector Locations The following figure shows the locations of the jumpers and connectors on the system board: 2-1 Hardware Installation CDIN1 JP12 BIOS MODEM-CN COM2 PRINTER COM1 USB KB JP28 PS/2 CPU FAN1 CPU FAN2 I S A 2 I S A 1 WOL P C I 4 P C I 3 P C I 2 P C I 1 FDC A G P IrDA PWR2 DIMM1 DIMM2 DIMM3 WOM FAN PANEL JP14 IDE2 IDE1 2-2 Hardware Installation Jumpers: JP12: JP14: JP28: Enable/Disable Sound Clear CMOS KB/MS-WKUP Connectors: PS2: KB: COM1: COM2: PRINTER: PWR2: USB: FDC: IDE1: IDE2: CPUFAN1: CDUFAN2: FAN: IrDA: PANEL: CD-IN: MODEM-CN: WOM: WOL: PS/2 mouse connector PS/2 keyboard connector COM1 connector COM2 connector Printer connector ATX power connector USB connector Floppy drive connector IDE1 primary channel IDE2 secondary channel CPU fan connector CPU fan connector Housing Fan Connector IrDA (Infrared) connector Front panel (Multifunction) connector CD-audio connector Mono in (Pin 1-2) and Mic out (Pin 3-4) Wake On Modem connector Wake On LAN connector 2.2 Jumpers With the help of Celeron PPGA VID signal and SMbus, this motherboard is jumper-less design. 2-3 Hardware Installation 2.2.1 Selecting the CPU Frequency Celeron PPGA VID signal and SMbus clock generator provide CPU voltage auto-detection and allow user to set CPU frequency through CMOS setup, no jumper or switch is needed. The correct CPU information is saved into EEPROM, with these technologies, the disadvantages of Pentium base jumper-less design are eliminated. There will be no worry of wrong CPU voltage detection and no need to re-open the housing if CMOS battery loss. The CPU frequency selection is set by going into: BOIS Setup Chipset Features Setup CPU Clock Frequency (The possible setting is 66.8, 68.5, 70, 73.8, 75, 78.5, 83.3 MHz) BOIS Setup Chipset Features Setup CPU Clock Ratio (The possible setting is 1.5x, 2x, 2.5x, 3x, 3.5x, 4x, 4.5x, 5x, 5.5x, 6x, 6.5x, 7x, 7.5x, and 8x) Core frequency = Ratio * External bus clock INTEL Celeron PPGA Celeron PPGA 300A Celeron PPGA 333 Celeron PPGA 366 Celeron PPGA 400 Celeron PPGA 433 CPU Core Frequency 300MHz= 333MHz= 366MHz= 400MHz= 433MHz= Ratio 4.5x 5x 5.5x 6x 6.5x External Bus Clock 66MHz 66MHz 66MHz 66MHz 66MHz Warning: INTEL 440LX chipset supports maximum 66MHz external CPU bus clock, the higher clock settings are for internal test only. These settings exceed the specification of LX chipset, which may cause serious system damage. 2-4 Hardware Installation 2.2.2 Setting the CPU Voltage This motherboard supports Celeron PPGA VID function, the CPU core voltage is automatically detected, the range is from 1.3V to 3.5V. 2.2.3 Clearing the CMOS JP14 1-2 2-3 Clear CMOS Normal operation (default) Clear CMOS You need to clear the CMOS if you forget your system password. To clear the CMOS, follow below procedures: JP14 1 2 3 JP14 1 2 3 Normal Operation (default) The procedure to clear CMOS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Clear CMOS Turn off the system and unplug the AC power. Remove ATX power cable from connector PWR2. Locate JP14 and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds. Return JP14 to its normal setting by shorting pins 1-2. Connect ATX power cable back to connector PWR2. Turn on the system power. during bootup to enter the BIOS Setup Utility and specify a Press new password, if needed. Tip: If your system hangs or fails to boot because of over-clocking, please clear CMOS and the system will go back to default setting (300MHz). Tip: If your system hangs or fails to boot because of over-clocking, simply use key to restore to the default setting (300MHz). By this smart design, it would be more convenient to clear CPU frequency setting. For using this function, you just need to press key first and then press Power button at the same time. Note that do not release key until POST screen appearing. 2-5 Hardware Installation 2.2.4 Onboard Audio JP12 1-2 2-3 Onboard Audio Enabled (default) Disabled If you want to install another sound card, you have to disable the onboard audio by setting this jumper to Disabled. JP12 123 JP12 123 Enabled (default) Disabled 2.2.5 KB/MS Wakeup JP28 1-2 2-3 KB/MS Wakeup Disabled Enabled This jumper is used to enable or disable Keyboard/Mouse Power ON function. If you select Enabled, you may decide the wakeup mode from BIOS Setup. To implement this function, the 5V Stand By current must be greater than 800mA. Note that only PS/2 mouse supports Wake On Mouse function. JP28 123 JP28 123 Disabled Enabled 2.3 Connectors 2.3.1 Power Cable The ATX power supply uses 20-pin connector shown below. Make sure you 2-6 Hardware Installation plug in the right direction. Caution: Make sure that the power supply is off before connecting or disconnecting the power cable. +5V 5V SB 3.3V 3.3V +5V PWR2 2.3.3 Fan Plug in the fan cable to the fan connectors onboard. The fan connectors are marked CPUFAN1, CPUFAN2 and FAN on the system board. You can plug the CPU fan cable to both the 2-pin fan connector CPUFAN1 and the 3-pin fan connector CPUFAN2. FAN can be reserved for the housing fan. Note that only CPUFAN2 and FAN support the fan monitoring function, because 3-pin fan has an extra pin called SENSE, which periodically sends fan signal out. SENSE +12V GND CPUFAN1 & FAN GND +12V CPUFAN2 2.3.4 PS/2 Mouse The onboard PS/2 mouse connector is a 6-pin Mini-Din connector marked PS2. The view angle of drawing shown here is from back panel of the housing. 2-7 Hardware Installation PCB PS/2 Mouse 2.3.5 Keyboard The onboard PS/2 keyboard connector is a 6-pin Mini-Din connector marked KB2. The view angle of drawing shown here is from back panel of the housing. PCB PS/2 KB 2.3.6 Serial Devices (COM1/COM2) The onboard serial connectors are 9-pin D-type connectors on the back panel of mainboard. The serial port 1 connector is marked as COM1 and the serial port 2 connector is marked as COM2. PCB COM1 COM2 2.3.7 Printer The onboard printer connector is a 25-pin D-type connector marked PRINTER. The view angle of drawing shown here is from back panel of the 2-8 Hardware Installation housing. PRINTER PCB 2.3.8 USB Device You can attach USB devices to the USB connector. The motherboard contains two USB connectors, which are marked as USB. PCB USB 2.3.9 Floppy Drive Connect the 34-pin floppy drive cable to the floppy drive connector marked as FDC on the system board. 2 1 34 33 FDC 2-9