User manual ZEOS PYTHON

The COMPLETE GUIDE TO HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING WITH YOUR PANTERA COMPUTER User's Guide R 1 © Copyright 1995 ZEOS International All rights reserved Words: Jim Parker Illustrations: Steve Scofield, Pat Foust Cover Design by Jean Mueller ZEOS International, Ltd. shall not be held liable for technical or editorial omissions or errors made herein; nor for incidental or consequential damages resulting from furnishing, performance, or use of this material. This document contains proprietary information protected by copyright. No part of this document may be photocopied or reproduced by mechanical, electronic, or other means in any form without prior written permission of ZEOS International, Ltd. Trademark Acknowledgments Adaptec is the trademark of Adaptec, Inc. IBM, XT, AT, and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Laboratories. Phoenix is the trademark of Phoenix Technologies Ltd. Quadtel is the trademark of Quadtel Corp., A Phoenix Technologies Ltd. Co. Intel, 486SX, DX, DX2, DX4, and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporation. XENIX, MS-DOS, GW-Basic, Windows, and Microsoft are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Limitation of remedies and liabilities: ZEOS' entire liability and customers' exclusive and sole remedy for damages from any cause whatsoever (including without limitation any nonperformance, misrepresentation, or breach of warranty) shall be limited to returning the products pursuant to the thirty (30) day satisfaction guarantee, or to repair or replace specific products or services that do not comply with the limited warranty given by ZEOS. Any products or services repaired or replaced by ZEOS pursuant to this paragraph shall be warranted as of the date of delivery in accordance with the terms and conditions herein for the duration of the one-year term of Limited Warranty given by ZEOS. In no event will ZEOS be liable for any damages caused, in whole or in part, by customer, or for any economic loss, physical injury, lost revenues, lost profits, lost savings or other indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages incurred by any person, even if ZEOS has been advised of the possibility of such damage for claims. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages for consumer products, and some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. ZEOS provides no warranties whatsoever on software. 700-0196-00 PYTHON 2 Customer Assurance Program Thirty (30) Day Money-Back Guarantee on Most Products. Any product (except for software, software disks, related documentation and consumables) purchased from ZEOS may be returned within thirty days from the date it was shipped by ZEOS for a full refund of the purchase price excluding original shipping charges. Returned products must be in as new condition, in original packing, complete with all warranty cards, manuals, cables and other materials as originally shipped; not modified or damaged. Any returned product must be shipped prepaid and insured. Any return must carry a ZEOS Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number, obtained from ZEOS, on the outside of each carton. Returns without RMA numbers will not be accepted. After thirty days from shipment, all sales are final and credit or refunds will not be given. 3 ZEOS Computer Systems One Year Limited Warranty All new ZEOS computer systems come with a One Year Limited Warranty which provides that the products ZEOS manufactures or assembles, other than items such as software, disks and related documentation, will remain in good working condition, free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service, for a period of one year from the date of shipment from ZEOS. This warranty is limited to the original purchaser and is not transferable. During this one year period, ZEOS will repair or replace, at its option, any defective product or parts at no additional charge to the customer, provided that the defective product or part is returned, shipment prepaid, to ZEOS. All replaced products and parts become the property of ZEOS. Replacement parts shall be similar new or serviceable used parts. This Limited Warranty does not extend to any products which have been damaged as a result of accident, misuse, abuse (such as incorrect voltages, power surges, improper or insufficient ventilation, failure to follow ZEOS' provided operating instructions, "acts of God" or other situations beyond the control of ZEOS), or as the result of service or modification by anyone other than ZEOS. Non-ZEOS installed parts or components are not covered, nor is damage to ZEOS provided components covered as a result of their installation. This warranty does not cover work performed by others, all warranty work must be performed by ZEOS. 4 FCC Compliance Statement For U.S. and Canadian Users Warning! Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15, Subpart B of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment on and off, 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 into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is needed. · Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. The connection of a non-shielded equipment interface cable to this equipment will invalidate the FCC Certification of this device and may cause interference levels which exceed the limits established by the FCC for this equipment. This equipment is a Class B digital apparatus which complies with the Radio Interference Regulations, C.R.C., c. 1374. Cet appareil numèrique de la classe B est conformè au Règlement sur le brouillage radioèlèctrique, C.R.C., ch. 1374. 5 Contents 1. The Big Picture ......................................................................... 8 Desktop System At A Glance .................................................. 10 Tower System At A Glance ..................................................... 12 How to Open a Desktop Case................................................. 14 How to Open a Tower Case .................................................... 16 Inside a Desktop Computer..................................................... 18 Inside a Tower Computer ........................................................ 19 2. The Mainboard ........................................................................ 20 Mainboard Features ................................................................ 20 PCI Local Bus 32-Bit High Speed Expansion Slots ............................. Secondary Cache Subsystem ............................................................ Continuous Full-Speed Processing ..................................................... On-Board Peripherals ......................................................................... Serial Ports ........................................................................................ Parallel Port ........................................................................................ 21 21 21 22 22 23 Mainboard Diagram ................................................................. Mainboard Connectors ............................................................ Mainboard Jumpers ................................................................ Mainboard Jumpers Described ............................................... FLASH1 .............................................................................................. CLR1 .................................................................................................. CLK .................................................................................................... Cache1 ............................................................................................... P3V and P5V ...................................................................................... CP1 .................................................................................................... 24 25 26 27 27 27 28 28 28 28 3. Using SETUP ........................................................................... 29 Main Menu .............................................................................. 30 System Time ...................................................................................... System Date....................................................................................... Diskette A: ......................................................................................... Diskette B: ......................................................................................... IDE Adapter Sub-menus ..................................................................... Autotype Fixed Disk ............................................................................ Video System ..................................................................................... Memory Cache ................................................................................... Memory Shadow ................................................................................ 30 31 31 31 31 31 32 33 34 6 Advanced Options ................................................................... 35 Integrated Peripherals......................................................................... Advanced Chipset Control .................................................................. Plug & Play O/S .................................................................................. Large Disk Access Mode.................................................................... Set Supervisor Password ................................................................... Set User Password ............................................................................. Password on boot ............................................................................... Diskette access ................................................................................. Fixed disk boot sector ........................................................................ System backup reminder .................................................................... Virus check reminder ......................................................................... Power Savings.................................................................................... Standby Timer Reset Events .............................................................. Standby Break Events ........................................................................ Standby Wakeup Events ..................................................................... 35 36 38 38 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 41 41 42 42 Security Options ...................................................................... 39 Power Options ......................................................................... 41 Exit Menu Options ................................................................... 42 4. Expanding Your System ......................................................... Adding an Expansion Board .................................................... How Disk Drives Work ............................................................. How a Floppy Drive Works ...................................................... How an IDE Hard Drive Works ................................................ How a CD-ROM Drive Works .................................................. Why Is More RAM Better? ...................................................... Installing SIMMs ...................................................................... Adding System Cache Memory .............................................. Installing a New CPU .............................................................. Mainboard Specifications .......................................................... Mainboard Environmental Specifications ................................ 9-Pin Serial Port (J2) Pin Assignment ..................................... 25-Pin Serial Port (J3) Pin Assignment ................................... Parallel Port (J4) Pin Assignment ............................................ 43 43 45 46 47 48 49 50 52 54 57 57 58 58 60 Handy Cheat Sheet ..................................................................... 62 Glossary ...................................................................................... 64 Index ............................................................................................ 66 7 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture 1. The Big Picture Welcome to the ZEOS User's Guide! The User's Guide works with the Getting Started manual to help keep your system running trouble free, year after year. The User's Guide is divided into four chapters, plus technical specifications and some general information about personal computers. Chapter 1, The Big Picture gives an overview of a typical desktop and tower system. It also shows the major components inside the computer case. Chapter 2, The Mainboard gives detailed information about your mainboard. Chapter 3, Using SETUP explains how to view and change your system's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) settings by using the SETUP program. Chapter 4, Expanding Your System shows how to add components and enhancements to your system. These include a video adapter card, a controller card, an internal modem, a floppy drive, an IDE hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, memory SIMMs, system cache, and a new CPU. Mainboard Specifications includes your mainboard specifications, environmental specifications, plus pin assignments for your serial and parallel ports. The Handy Cheat Sheet gives a short summary of some of the most needed or most forgotten commands. The Glossary gives short definitions of some common computer terms. 8 This page intentionally left blank. 9 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Desktop System At A Glance Brightness Power LED Hard Disk (HDD) LED Contrast Monitor Power Switch Reset Button System Unit Power Switch (the "ON" button) Keyboard Lock Turbo Button (not used) Turbo LED (not used) Drive bays with CDROM drive and 3.5" Floppy Drive Front View 10 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture AC Power Cable Mouse Cable Connector (9-pin Serial Port COM A) Cooling Fan Video Connector 110-220V Switch Parallel Printer Port Connector (LPT1) AC Power Cable Keyboard Connector Secondary Serial Port (25-pin COM B) Rear View 11 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Tower System At A Glance Hard Disk (HDD) LED Turbo LED (not used) Turbo Button (not used) System Unit Power Switch (the "ON" button) Reset Button Drive Bays with 3.5" Floppy Drive and CD-ROM Drive Keyboard Lock Power LED Brightness Contrast Monitor Power Switch Front View 12 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Cooling Fan AC Power Cable Secondary Serial Port (25-pin COM B) Keyboard Connector AC Power Cable Mouse Cable Connector (9-pin Serial COM A) Parallel Printer Port Connector (LPT1) Video Connector Rear View 13 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture How to Open a Desktop Case Caution! Whenever you open the case or work inside the computer there is danger of static electric shock. These shocks can permanently damage your equipment. Always ground yourself by touching the system cabinet before touching any internal component. We strongly recommend using an antistatic wrist strap attached to cabinet ground. To open a desktop case: 1. Turn off the monitor and system unit power. Unplug the AC power cables and disconnect any other cables attached to the back of the system unit. 2. Remove the plastic bezel from the back of the case by pulling it away from the case. 3. Unscrew the five mounting screws at the back of the case that hold the case cover to the system unit chassis. 4. Slide the case cover back and up. Be careful not to snag any cables or connectors inside the case. 5. Set the case cover aside while you work on your system. 6. When through, reattach the case cover, screws, bezel, and cables in the reverse order. The figures opposite show the plastic bezel, screw locations, and how to remove a desktop PC's cover. 14 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Mounting Screws Cover Chassis Plastic Bezel Removing the Cover 15 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture How to Open a Tower Case Caution! Whenever you open the case or work inside the computer there is danger of static electric shock. These shocks can permanently damage your equipment. Always ground yourself by touching the system cabinet before touching any internal component. We strongly recommend using an antistatic wrist strap attached to cabinet ground. Opening a vertical case is almost identical to opening a desktop case. To open a vertical case: 1. Turn off the monitor and system unit power. Unplug the AC power cables and disconnect any other cables attached to the back of the system unit. 2. Remove the plastic bezel from the rear of the case by pulling it away from the case. 3. Unscrew the six mounting screws at the back of the case that hold the case cover to the system unit chassis. 4. Slide the case cover back and up. Be careful not to snag any cables or connectors inside the case. 5. Set the case cover aside while you work on your system. 6. When through, reattach the case cover, screws, bezel, and cables in the reverse order. The figures opposite show the plastic bezel, screw locations, and cover motion for a tower case. 16 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Mounting Screws Cover Plastic Bezel Chassis Removing the Cover 17 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Inside a Desktop Computer Expansion Slots (quantity varies with model) Expansion Boards Mainboard Power Supply CPU Hard Disk Drive Floppy Drives, CD-ROM Drives, and Tape Backup Units Desktop Interior The mainboard is the large circuit board at the bottom of the chassis. It is the heart of your system. All of the other components inside the case work for the mainboard. The power supply delivers electricity to the mainboard. The disk drives, keyboard connectors, and other parts of the system unit bring information to and from the mainboard. The figure below shows some of the most common components inside the computer. 18 Chapter 1 - The Big Picture Inside a Tower Computer Floppy Drives, CD-ROM Drives, and Tape Backup Units Power Supply Mainboard Expansion Slots (quantity varies with model) Hard Disk Drive Expansion Boards CPU Tower Interior Tower systems have the same components as desktop systems. The figure above shows the mainboard and typical components inside a Tower case. 19 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard 2. The Mainboard The mainboard is the largest circuit board in the computer. It contains the central processing unit (CPU), secondary cache subsystem, expansion slots, ports and connectors for other computer components, and the system main solid-state memory, or RAM (Random Access Memory). Mainboard Features Your mainboard includes: · Intel 80486DX, DX2, DX4 or Overdrive P24T and P24D running at 25, 33, 50, 66, 75, or 100 MHz · Optional 128K or 512K secondary SRAM system cache, writeback, direct-mapped · Integrated onboard floppy drive controller · Two onboard IDE hard drive interface ports supporting up to 4 IDE devices (primary is PCI local bus) · Bi-directional Parallel Port (configurable through software) · Two RS232, 16550 high-speed serial ports · Flexible RAM: four sockets handle mixed SIMM capacities (512K to 32Mb) and speeds (50, 60, 70ns) in any combination · 128Mb maximum RAM capacity · Flash BIOS, relocatable to system RAM to boost performance · Four 16-bit ISA expansion slots · Three 32-bit PCI local bus expansion slots · Clock/calendar with onboard battery backup · Energy saving, low power "sleep" mode 20 Chapter 2- The Mainboard PCI Local Bus 32-Bit High Speed Expansion Slots The three PCI local bus, high speed expansion slots move information at up to 132 MB/s. This offers a high performance, 32-bit interface to support local bus peripherals such as video cards, LAN adapters and hard disk drives. Secondary Cache Subsystem The secondary (Level 2) cache subsystem enhances the performance of the CPU. The onboard cache controller allows cache memory to provide an ultra highspeed, 12-15-nanosecond buffer between the CPU and conventional (50, 60, or 70ns) RAM. Your system can accommodate three cache configurations: 0K, 128K, or 512K of Level 2 cache. Continuous Full-Speed Processing Pantera systems now run continuously at maximum speed, eliminating Turbo Mode. Because of this, the Turbo button and Turbo LED are not used on Pantera systems. 21 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard On-Board Peripherals Your mainboard has all of the standard peripheral interfaces and many extras built in. This eliminates the need for many peripheral expansion cards and greatly enhances system reliability. Integrated onboard peripherals include: · Two serial ports (16550 UART) · Parallel port (bi-directional, assigned through SETUP) · Floppy drive controller (handles floppy drives up to 2.88Mb) · Two IDE hard drive controller ports each capable of controlling two hard drives (primary port J8 is PCI local bus) Serial Ports Your mainboard has two RS-232C asynchronous serial ports, which are usually referred to as COM1 or COMA (9-pin) and COM2 or COMB (25-pin) ports. The serial ports are used to attach mice, serial printers, modems, or other serial peripheral devices. Both serial ports are 16550 UART compatible for higher data transfer rates. You can install up to two additional serial ports (COM3 and COM4) simultaneously in your system. However, because MS-DOS does not manage more than two COM ports simultaneously very well, you shouldn't attempt to use more than two COM ports at the same time. Specifically, don't try to use COM1 and COM3 at the same time, or COM2 and COM4 at the same time. 22 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Parallel Port The 25-pin Centronics parallel port is often called the printer port because it is usually used for printers. However, devices that use this speedy parallel interface are becoming more common. Your Pantera's parallel port is also Bi-directional, allowing data to flow to and from an external device at the same time. 23 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Diagram 16 bit ISA Expansion Slots FLASH1 and CLR1 Jumpers PCI Configuration Connector J6 BIOS Chip 32-bit PCI Expansion Slots Main 25-pin Serial Port Power COMB J3 Supply Connectors PS1 9-pin Serial Port COMA J2 Keyboard Connector J1 Parallel Port J4 slot 1 slot 2 slot 3 slot 4 slot 6 Floppy Connector J5 Battery (inside chip) Primary IDE Hard Drive Connector J8 Secondary IDE Hard Drive Connector J7 CPU Clock Jumper CLK1 SRAM Sockets for System Cache slot 5 PS2 Secondary Power Supply Connector slot 7 Bank 3 Bank 2 Bank 1 Bank 0 CPU (heat sink not shown) RESET Connector J9 Keylock Connector J10 SIMM Sockets for System RAM Internal Speaker Connector J11 HDD LED Connector J12 24 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Connectors Connectors are used to attach devices to the mainboard. Attached devices can be internal like hard disk indicator lights, or external like serial and parallel ports. The most commonly used connectors are shown in the Mainboard Diagram. The table below provides a brief summary. Mainboard Connectors Connector ID J1 PS1 PS2 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6 J7 J8 J9 J10 J11 J12 Description Keyboard connector Main power supply connector PCI 3.3 volt power supply connector COMA: communications port A (DB9) COMB: communications port B (DB25) Parallel "printer" port connector Floppy disk drive connector PCI Configuration connector Secondary IDE hard drive connector Primary IDE hard drive connector (PCI local bus) RESET switch input KBDLOCK: Keyboard lock input SPEAKER output HDD LED: Hard drive LED output 25 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Jumpers SLOT 5 SLOT 6 SLOT 7 SLOT 1 SLOT 2 SLOT 3 SLOT 4 26 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Jumpers Described Jumpers are small groups of pins that can be connected or disconnected with jumper caps. To connect a jumper, carefully place the jumper cap over the pins you wish to connect, then gently press down. The mainboard uses six jumpers, allowing great system flexibility. However, most system settings are stored in battery-backed CMOS (Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) memory. You can use the BIOS SETUP program to change settings stored in the CMOS. A FLASH programming utility can be used to upgrade the system BIOS. Other mainboards use multiple jumpers to configure upgrade options and parameters mechanically on the board. Pantera mainboards use the SETUP program and the FLASH programming utility instead, making BIOS changes and upgrades fast and easy. FLASH1 The FLASH1 jumper allows or disallows reprogramming of the FLASH BIOS with the FLASH utility program. The default or normal position is to allow programming with the FLASH program. CLR1 The CLR1 jumper holds or resets the CMOS battery backed SETUP memory. You should not clear the CMOS SETUP memory unless it becomes corrupted and cannot be reprogrammed with the SETUP program. To clear the CMOS memory, turn off system power, then momentarily place the jumper in the CLEAR position, then return the jumper to the NORMAL position. Your system will not operate with the jumper in the CLEAR position, so be sure to return the CLR1 jumper to the NORMAL position. (continued next page) 27 Chapter 2 - The Mainboard Mainboard Jumpers Described (continued) CLK The CLK jumper sets the speed of the system clock. It will be set correctly to work with your system, so don't change this jumper unless you change CPUs. When Pin1 and Pin2 are jumpered, CPU clock speed may be 33, 66, or 100 Megahertz. When Pin2 and Pin3 are jumpered, CPU clock speed may be 25, 50, or 75 Megahertz. See the diagram, Mainboard Jumpers, for the location of these jumpers. Cache1 The Cache1 jumper configures the amount of Level 2 cache to be used on your system. Default setting is for 0K or 128K, but it can be adjusted to accept a set of chips giving you 512K Level 2 cache. A fast CPU operates more efficiently when it has a buffer of ultrafast RAM between itself and the main RAM SIMMs. The mainboard is designed to hold a set of six SRAM chips for its optional Level 2 cache. P3V and P5V DX4 CPUs and the newer Pentium chips require less power (3 volts) to operate than previous SX, DX or DX/2 CPUs (5 volts). The P3V and P5V jumpers allow you to run either class of chip on your ZEOS Pantera. Note: If you switch from a 5-volt to a 3-volt CPU, you'll also need a 3-volt power supply. CP1 The CP1 jumper tells the mainboard what kind of CPU (Central Processing Unit) to expect. It also tells the computer whether or not the CPU has its own math coprocessor. 28 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP 3. Using SETUP The SETUP program is part of your computer's Extended BIOS software system. SETUP works with your system BIOS to make your system more flexible and adjustable. To run the BIOS SETUP program, press F2 during system boot. Once inside SETUP, press the right and left arrow keys to reach a section. After that, use the up and down arrow keys to reach a topic. Topics with subsections are indicated by an arrowhead on the left side of the screen. To enter a subsection, highlight a topic, then press the Enter key. SETUP's five sections are Main, Advanced, Security, Power, and Exit. Each section in SETUP contains several system parameters you can alter or experiment with, although our engineers generally optimize them for the system we ship to you. When in doubt, you can simply reload the original factory default settings from ROM by entering SETUP, then pressing the F9 key, or load the most recently saved settings from battery backed CMOS by pressing F10. Pressing F1 toggles the General Help window, while the right-hand panel describes the function of the currently highlighted topic. To change your BIOS settings, first use the arrow keys to highlight the desired topic, then press the space bar or the <+> or <->key on the numeric keypad to rotate through the available options. Note that only an item whose label is surrounded by square brackets may be changed. Once you've finished tinkering, press the Esc key until you reach the Exit menu. There you can decide if you really want to keep your changes, if you'd prefer to return to the factory defaults, or if you want to go back to using your previously saved values. In any case, remember you can always change the BIOS settings again next time you boot up. 29 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Main Menu Your system's BIOS settings are configured at the factory to maximize performance with the options you ordered. Generally, you need to run SETUP only if you install new or different hardware (such as a new hard drive), or if the onboard battery fails. SETUP's Main Menu allows you to view and configure several basic parameters, including System Time and Date, Diskette A and B, System memory amount, Extended memory amount, and Video system type. The Main Menu also offers you the following sub-menus: · IDE Adapter 0 Master (Drive letter, capacity in megabytes) · IDE Adapter 0 Slave (Drive letter, capacity in megabytes) · IDE Adapter 1 Master (Drive letter, capacity in megabytes) · IDE Adapter 1 Slave (Drive letter, capacity in megabytes) Each of these four IDE Adapter sub-menus lets you view and configure a separate IDE device attached directly to you mainboard. The sub-menus are described on the following pages. In addition, SETUP's Main Menu lets you view and configure both your Memory Cache (six SRAM chips, if present), and how your system shadows (copies) BIOS data to your main RAM SIMMs. System Time Sets the real-time clock, using a 24-hour format. During the power-up sequence, the real time is read and saved in memory for use by the operating system. After boot up, the operating system updates the system time. 30 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP System Date Sets the real-time date for month, day, and year. During the power-up sequence, this information is read and saved in memory for use by the operating system to determine the current date. After completing the power-up sequence, the operating system updates the current date. Diskette A: Specifies the size and capacity of the floppy-disk drive installed as drive A. Options are: 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M, and 2.88M. Diskette B: Specifies the size and capacity of the floppy-disk drive installed as drive B. IDE Adapter Sub-menus Each of the four IDE Adapter sub-menus allows you to view and change configurations of the IDE devices attached to your onboard IDE Hard Drive connectors, J7 and J8. The IDE Adapter sub-menus list the IDE devices that are currently installed, and allow you to configure devices you are adding to your system. Your Primary (local bus) hard drive (J8) is listed as IDE Adapter 0 Master. You can attach a second local bus hard drive to the same (J8) cable as IDE Adapter 0 Slave, then two more devices on the Secondary connector (J7) as IDE Adapter 1 Master, or IDE Adapter 1 Slave. The Secondary connector (J7) is not local bus, making it more appropriate for slower IDE devices such as CDROM drives and tape backups. Note: If you attach two drives to a single drive cable, it doesn't matter whether or not the Master drive is connected to the end connector. Just be sure that one drive is configured as Master and the other drive is configured as Slave. Autotype Fixed Disk After you press the Enter key, this utility attempts to detect and configure your IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) adapter for each device you attach to it, assuming it conforms to ANSI (American National Standards Institute) technical specifications. Drives shipped with ZEOS systems are pre-configured at the factory, so you shouldn't have to use the utility unless you're adding a new IDE device. This is usually just a matter of attaching the device properly, then running the Autotype utility within SETUP. If Autotype Fixed Disk is successful, it will (more settings, next page) 31 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP recognize your new hard drive's type and display the correct drive parameters. If the utility can't recognize your new device, you can select Type USER, then set Cylinders, Heads, Sectors/Track and Write Precomp according to the information supplied by the device's manufacturer. Note: Don't alter this parameter unless you change or add a hard drive or other IDE device. Write Precomp Write Precompensation. In older hard drives, this setting tells the drive to apply a stronger magnetic field to inner tracks of the disk to compensate for magnetic drift. Your hard disk manufacturer's documentation should tell you if your drive requires this setting. Default: None (Disabled). Multi-Sector Transfers Determines the number of sectors per block for multiple sector transfers. Options are Disabled, 2, 4, 8, and 16. Older hard drives (and even some newer drives) won't work properly if the number of sectors is set too high. Default: Disabled. Note: Before adding a new hard drive or formatting one from Zeos, first disable Multi-Sector Transfers, then format the drive, then run FDISK. Later, you can enable Multi-Sector Tranfers again. LBA Mode Control Enables or disables Logical Block Addressing, which allows you to use IDE hard drives with capacities greater than 528 MB (megabytes). Default: Disabled. Video System This option sets the video type. It can be set to Monochrome, CGA 80 x 25 (80 column Color Graphics), or EGA/VGA (Enhanced/Video Graphics Adapter). Default: EGA/VGA. 32 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Memory Cache The Memory Cache sub-menu allows you to make detailed changes to your cache memory configuration. Memory Cache makes certain regions of the SRAM cache available to code that has been shadowed in conventional RAM, further boosting system performance. External Cache Permits you to enable or disable the external (level two) cache memory, if the optional SRAM chips are present in your system. Some applications are not compatible with caching, so this option lets you disable memory caching, if necessary. Default: Enabled. SRAM Speed This sets the speed of the SRAM chips either to 15ns (nanoseconds) or 20ns. This must be set to 20ns unless all your SRAM chips operate at 15ns. Default: 20ns. Cache Mode Determines whether the system caches only data reads (Write Through) or if it caches both reads and writes (Write Back). Write Back gives better performance. Default: Write Back. Cache System BIOS area Determines whether the System BIOS code can be cached in the SRAM chips. This boosts system performance. Default: Enabled. Cache Video BIOS area Determines whether Video BIOS code may be cached in SRAM. This boosts video performance. Default: Enabled. (more settings, next page) 33 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Cache Memory Regions Allows you to choose which specific shadowed BIOS memory regions will be cached in SRAM. Default: All specific regions are Disabled. Memory Shadow BIOS shadowing copies data from portions of the computer's slower ROM (ReadOnly Memory) chips into much faster RAM chips in system memory. Because the BIOS data can be read more quickly by the CPU, system performance improves noticeably. The Memory Shadow sub-menu lets you make specific additional regions of your upper memory available for BIOS shadowing, besides those memory regions already reserved for basic system and video BIOS code. System Shadow This setting is not adjustable. System shadow is always Enabled. Video Shadow Enables or disables copying of the video BIOS into upper memory RAM. Shadowing the video BIOS code improves video performance. Default: Enabled. Shadow Memory Regions Allows you to enable which specific memory regions (other than System and Video) will be shadowed in upper RAM memory. If enabled, ROM data in the specified region is copied to shadow RAM. Default: All specific regions are Disabled. 34 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Advanced Options Warning! Setting these items incorrectly could disable your system. Never needlessly change from the defaults. The Advanced Menu lets you view and change the following settings: Integrated Peripherals, Advanced Chipset Control, Plug & Play O/S, and Large Disk Access Mode. Integrated Peripherals This sub-menu lets you view and configure the I/O addresses and interrupts (IRQs) of COMA and COMB, as well as the I/O addresses and IRQs for your integrated onboard serial and parallel ports. COM port When either of the two COM ports is set to Auto, the system will automatically configure the IRQs for both ports. Otherwise, this option allows you to manually configure or disable the IRQ and I/O address settings for both the 9-pin (COM A) and the 25-pin (COM B) serial ports. LPT Port Sets or disables LPT port address and IRQ. The Auto setting configures the address and IRQ automatically. Otherwise you can choose either 278 or 378 as the LPT port address (both addresses use IRQ 7). Default: Auto. LPT Mode Sets the parallel "printer" port to operate in Output Only or Bi-directional mode. Bi-directional mode sends data to and from a peripheral device at the same time. Default: Output Only. Diskette Controller Enables/Disables the onboard floppy disk controller , at connector J5. Default: Enabled. (more settings, next page) 35 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Local Bus IDE Adapter Enables or disables the Primary onboard IDE Adapter (J8). Default: Primary. Alternate IDE Adapter Enables or disables the Secondary onboard IDE Adapter (J7). Default: Secondary. Advanced Chipset Control This sub-menu accesses several features of the mainboard's chipset. Warning! You should never change Advanced Chipset Control settings unless you're thoroughly familiar with how they affect your system. DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) Speed Always set the DRAM speed to the slowest speed of all your installed memory SIMMs. Your mainboard supports 60ns or 70ns memory SIMMs. Pipelined CAS (Column Address Strobe) When Enabled, this removes an extra clock cycle between CAS [3,0] and CAS [7,4] for interleaved DRAM designs. Default: Disabled. Fast Page Write When enabled, this improves performance when writing data sequentially to main system memory (RAM). Default: Disabled. Fast Page Data Read When enabled, this improves performance when reading data sequentially from main system memory (RAM). Default: Disabled. Fast Page Code Read When enabled, this improves performance when executing code sequentially in main system memory (RAM). Default: Disabled. 36 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP PCI Posted Write Buffers When enabled, this improves performance when the CPU or the PCI bus accesses memory destined for the ISA bus. Default: Disabled. CPU to PCI Bursting When enabled, this improves performance on PCI systems when back-to-back CPU memory writes occur. Default: Disabled. CPU to PCI Byte Merging When enabled, this improves performance on PCI systems when back-to-back CPU memory writes occur to the A000h or B000h segment. Default: Disabled. IRQ 12 Connects IRQ 12 either to 8742 ABFULL output (for the PS/2 mouse) or to the ISA bus. Default: ISA Bus. 16 bit I/O Recovery Inserts additional ISA clock cycles between back-to-back Input/Output operations. Default: 0. 8 bit I/O Recovery Inserts additional ISA clock cycles between back-to-back Input/Output operations. Default: 0. DMA (Direct Memory Access) Aliasing Enables/disables ISA Aliasing. Used if the ISA bus has a device attached to I/O ports 90h, 94h-96h, 98h, 9Ch-9Eh. Default: Enabled. (more settings, next page) 37 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Plug & Play O/S Enables/disables Plug & Play option. Pick Yes if your system software supports Plug & Play peripheral devices. Default: No. Large Disk Access Mode Configures the mainboard to expect either a DOS or "other" drive geometry. The Other setting is for operating systems such as UNIX or Novell Netware. Default: DOS. 38 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Security Options The Security Menu allows you to password-protect system access, a way of safeguarding information. When passwords are enabled, users must type the proper password to access the protected part of the system. Note: 1. It's easy to forget a password, so we strongly recommend writing down your passwords and storing them in a secure place. 2. If you type the User password on entering SETUP, you cannot change the Supervisor Password or Diskette Access settings. Warning! If you forget the password, your system will not operate. You will have to completely clear the CMOS memory and reenter your entire system configuration. Write down your password and store it in a safe place. The following security items are available: · Set Supervisor Password · Set User Password · Password on Boot · Diskette Access · Fixed disk boot sector · System Backup Reminder · Virus Check Reminder Set Supervisor Password Allows you to enter a system supervisor password. This password controls access to all features of your system. Set User Password Accessible only after Supervisor Password is enabled, this allows you to enter a system user password. You can't use the User Password to alter the Supervisor Password in SETUP. (more settings, next page) 39 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Password on boot When enabled, the system asks you for a password on boot. The system will boot only after the correct supervisor or user password is entered. Default: Disabled. Diskette access Active only when a Supervisor password is enabled, this specifies which level of password (Supervisor or User) is required on bootup to use the floppy disk drives. This can prevent unauthorized transfer of data. Default: Supervisor. Note: All diskette drive access can be denied (including system diskettes) by 1) setting a Supervisor password, 2) setting Password on Boot to Disabled, then 3) setting Diskette Access to Supervisor. Fixed disk boot sector When enabled, write protects the boot sector on your hard drive to protect against viruses. Default: Disabled. System backup reminder When enabled, this periodically displays a boot reminder message to back up your system. Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Disabled. Default: Disabled. Virus check reminder When enabled, this periodically displays a boot reminder message to scan for viruses. Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Disabled. Default: Disabled. 40 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Power Options The Power menu lets you tell your system to enter a low-power Standby mode when it is idle for a specified time. Standby minimizes your system's energy consumption while allowing you to resume work within moments. Power Savings Lets you choose the how to conserve power used by your CPU, your fixed disk drives, and your monitor. Settings: Customize (default), Maximum, Medium, Minimum, and Disabled. This allows you to opt for one of three preset configurations, customize the Standby settings yourself, or disable power savings altogether. The list below describes what each setting controls: · Standby Timeout controls how long (1 minute to 4 hours, or Disabled) your system must be idle before it enters Standby mode. · Standby CPU Speed dictates the level of CPU activity (Max, High, Medium, Low) during Standby. · Fixed Disk Timeout controls how long (1-16 minutes, or Disabled) an idle system waits before stopping the hard disk motor. · CRT can be set to OFF in Standby or always ON. Standby Timer Reset Events When enabled, these two settings prevent the system from entering Standby mode while you're using the keyboard or the mouse. Keyboard Keeps system from entering Standby mode while you're using the keyboard. Default: Enabled. Mouse Keeps system from entering Standby mode while you're using the mouse. Default: PS/2 (IRQ12). (more settings, next page) 41 Chapter 3 - Using SETUP Standby Break Events When set to Auto, this enables the system to resume full speed operation for as long as the specified IRQ is active. For example, this would allow you to "wake up" a remote computer via its modem, which uses an IRQ. You can set this parameter for 16 hardware IRQs, from IRQ0 to IRQ15. Default: IRQ1 is set to Auto, the rest are Disabled. Standby Wakeup Events When enabled, these return the system to full speed when you begin using the keyboard or the mouse. It takes about six seconds for the CPU and the monitor to wake up, and a few moments for the hard drive to resume full speed from a standstill. Keyboard Returns the system to full speed when you begin using the keyboard. Default: Enabled. Mouse Returns the system to full speed when you begin using the mouse. Default: PS/2 (IRQ12). Exit Menu Options Offers Exit and Save options for the SETUP program. 42 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System 4. Expanding Your System Adding an Expansion Board The four ISA and three PCI expansion slots on your mainboard are designed to accept a wide variety of add-on cards (many available from ZEOS). Scanners, tape backup units, video capture devices, and many other devices come on expansion cards, which communicate with the CPU via standard expansion slots. Often, adding these components is as easy as opening the case, slipping the new card into an empty slot, then connecting the external component (if there is one) to the card. To add an expansion board: 1. Turn off the monitor and system unit power, then unplug the AC power cords from the wall outlet. 2. Open the system unit case (see How to Open a Desktop Case, earlier). 3. Find an empty expansion slot or, if you are replacing an expansion card already in your system (such as when upgrading your video card), locate the old card. 4. Unscrew the mounting screw and remove the blank bracket by sliding it up. If you are removing an old expansion card, carefully lift it straight up (sometimes you have to wiggle it a little). 5. Set any jumpers or switches on the new card. See the card's documentation for the correct jumper settings. 6. Slide the new card into the slot. Press down firmly, so the edge connector slides completely into the slot. 7. Screw in the mounting screw. (more steps, next page) 43 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Adding an Expansion Board (continued) Mounting screw Expansion slot Inserting a Card 8. Connect any internal cables to the expansion card. 9. Close the system unit case, and turn on the power. Many expansion cards require you to run diagnostic or installation software before the new board will work properly. Your expansion card's installation manual should have detailed instructions. 44 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How Disk Drives Work There are three main types of disks for storing files - floppy, hard, and compact disks. Floppy disks are small, relatively slow, portable disks. Most people use floppy disks to transfer files or install new programs onto their hard drives. Floppy disks fit into the floppy disk drives mounted in your system unit. Although there are some combination drives, most floppy disk drives are designed to hold only one size of disk. Hard, or fixed disks, are permanently mounted inside your system unit case. They are very fast, hold a lot of files, and are not removable without disassembling your system. Compact disks fit into CD-ROM drives. Compact disks can store very large amounts of information. Floppy, hard, and CD-ROM disk drives all fit into the drive bays in your system unit. This chapter shows how some of the most common drives connect to the mainboard. Most drives have two connections - a power connection and a data connection. For detailed installation and configuration information, always check the disk drive's documentation. 45 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How a Floppy Drive Works Floppy drives have two primary connectors, a ribbon cable called the data cable, and a power connection to the power supply. The ribbon cable connects the back of the floppy drive with the floppy controller port J5 on the mainboard. Data ribbon cables often have two connectors. If you have more than one floppy drive on your system, they often share the same ribbon cable. The data cable also has a red stripe. Whenever connecting or disconnecting the ribbon cable, be sure to attach the cable connectors so the red stripe is pointing toward pin 1 of the connector. Pin 1 is often labelled with a small triangle or filled in corner. Floppy Drive Primary Floppy Drive Connector DC Power from Power Supply Second Floppy Drive Connector Floppy Drive Ribbon Data Cable Red Stripe (Pin 1) Pin 1 notch on mainboard connector Mainboard Red Stripe (Pin 1) Pin 1 Mark on Cable Connector Floppy Drive Cable Connector J5 Floppy Drive Connectors 46 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How an IDE Hard Drive Works IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drives are the most common hard drives and are the most likely to be installed on your system. IDE devices have most of the electronics or "smarts" built into the drive, rather than installed on a separate controller card or on the motherboard. IDE hard drives have two main connections ­ a ribbon cable called the data cable and a power connection to the power supply. The ribbon cable attaches to the back of the drive and connects to the IDE controller port J7 or J8 on the mainboard. Whenever connecting or disconnecting the ribbon cable, be sure to attach the data cable so the red stripe points toward pin 1 on the connector. Most drives also have configuration jumpers at the back of the drive for setting drive identification and resistors. See your hard drive user's guide for complete information. Keyboard Connector J1 Parallel Port J4 Floppy Connector J5 Red Stripe (pin 1) Front of Computer Primary IDE Hard Drive Connector J8 Secondary IDE Hard Drive Connector J7 SIMM Sockets for System RAM Hard Drive Connectors 47 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System How a CD-ROM Drive Works CD-ROM drives are capable of reading information from compact discs, or CD's. The "ROM" in CD-ROM stands for Read Only Memory. Compact discs are readonly, meaning, you can read information from them, but cannot write files or information onto them like a floppy disk or hard disk drive. With the right software, you can even "read" music by playing audio compact discs on your CDROM drive. Compact disks can store large amounts of information. One compact disk can store as much information as 500 floppy disks. There are many types of CD-ROM drives. Most have three primary connectors, a power connector, a data cable connector, and an audio connector. The power connector is just like the DC power connector on floppy drives and hard disk drives. It accepts DC power from the computer's internal power supply. The data cable is a flat ribbon cable that connects the drive with some type of controller. Some drives use a dedicated controller card inserted into one of the expansion slots on the mainboard. Your IDE CD-ROM drive connects to the 16bit IDE controller port on the mainboard (J7) or to an IDE controller card inserted into one of the expansion slots. Still other drives use a CD-ROM controller port mounted on a sound card in one of the expansion slots. Most CD-ROM drives also have an audio connector where you can connect headphones or computer speakers. If your system has a sound card and speakers installed, the CD-ROM drive's audio connector probably can be connected to the sound card. For detailed information about your CD-ROM drive, check the manufacturer's documentation. 48 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Why Is More RAM Better? System memory is often called RAM or Random Access Memory. RAM is the "thinking space" available to your applications. Usually, the more system RAM you have, the faster your system will run. Many software applications simply run much faster and more efficiently when more RAM is available. You add RAM by inserting Single In-line Memory Modules (SIMMs) into SIMM sockets on the mainboard. Your computer's mainboard will hold up to four SIMMs of 32-bit RAM. Slots must be filled in sequence from 1 to 4, but otherwise your system is remarkably flexible about RAM speeds and capacities. 50ns, 60ns and 70ns SIMMs can be added in any order, as long as the BIOS SETUP is set for the slowest SIMM present. SIMM capacities can vary, too, all the way from small 512K SIMMs up to 32Mb SIMMs. The mainboard will support up to 128Mb of RAM. Note: SIMMs MUST ALWAYS BE INSTALLED IN SEQUENCE FROM BANK 0 TO BANK 3, BUT THEY DON'T NEED TO BE THE SAME SPEEDS OR CAPACITIES. 49 Chapter 4 - Expanding Your System Installing SIMMs When installing SIMMs, use 70ns or faster memory chips for maximum system performance. Faster and slower memory chips may be intermixed. However, always set the CPU/DRAM Speed option in SETUP to the slowest chip speed installed. Remember, larger numbers are slower than smaller numbers (70ns SIMMs are slower than 60ns SIMMs). For best results, use SIMMs from the same manufacturer. Caution! Electrostatic Discharge can result in permanent damage to the equipment. Always ground yourself by touching the system cabinet before beginning the following procedure. We strongly recommend using an antistatic wrist strap attached to cabinet ground. To Install SIMMs: 1. Remove system cover (see How to Open a Desktop Case, earlier). 2. Remove any SIMMs you are replacing with new SIMMs by gently pulling the metal socket clips away from the SIMM to release the SIMM from the socket. Hold them out while you are tilting the SIMM away from the metal clips. Carefully lift the SIMM up and out. Caution! Never use force to remove the module out of the socket. Failure to properly release the retainer clips may break the socket, causing expensive damage which is not covered by your warranty. 3. Grasping a new SIMM by the edge, remove it from the antistatic bag. 4. Insert the bottom edge into the socket slot. Press down firmly on the SIMM while maintaining the proper angle of insertion. (more steps, next page) 50