Chapter1

The VL6 has built-in hardware monitoring functions (you can refer to Appendix J for detailed information), they can monitor and protect your computer insuring a safe computing environment. The motherboard can provide high performance for servers and meets the requirements for desktop systems for multimedia in the future.

1-2. Specifications

! Supports Intel Pentium III 500 ~ 1GHz processors (Based on FC-PGA package) ! Supports Intel Celeron 300A~733MHz processors (Based on 66MHz PPGA & FCPGA package) ! Supports 66, 100 and 133MHz CPU external clock speeds ! Reserves support for future Intel Pentium III processors

1. CPU

2. Chipset
! ! ! ! VIA Apollo Pro 133 chipset (VT82C693A and VT82C686A) Supports Ultra DMA/33 and Ultra DMA/66 IDE protocol Supports Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI) Accelerated Graphics Port connector supports AGP 1x and 2x mode (Sideband) 3.3V device
3. Memory (System Memory)
! Three 168-pin DIMM sockets support SDRAM modules ! Supports up to 768MB MAX. (8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256MB SDRAM) ! Supports ECC

4. System BIOS

! CPU SOFT MENU II, can easily set the processor parameters ! Award Plug and Play BIOS supports APM and DMI ! Write-Protect Anti-Virus function by AWARD BIOS

5. Multi I/O Functions

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Two Channels of Bus Master IDE Ports supporting up to four Ultra DMA 33/66 devices PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors One floppy port connector ( up to 2.88MB) One parallel port connector (EPP/ECP) Two serial ports connectors Two USB connectors On board USB header for two extra USB channels Built-in IrDA TX-RX header Audio/Game connectors (Line-in, Line-out, MIC-in, and Game Port connectors)

6. Audio CODEC Features

! AC 97 2.1 compliant ! Integrated hardware Sound Blaster Pro AC 97 digital audio controller

7. Miscellaneous

! ! ! ! ! ! ATX form factor One AGP slot, five PCI slots, one ISA slot and one AMR slot Built-in Wake on LAN header Built-in IrDA TX/RX header Built-in Wake On Modem header Built-in SM bus header
! Hardware monitoringIncluded fan speed, voltages, CPU and system environment temperature ! Board size: 305 * 190mm
" Supports Wake On LAN, Modem, but your ATX power supply 5V standby power must be able to provide at least a 720mA current capacity. Otherwise, the functions may not work normally. # The 66MHz/100MHz/133MHz bus speeds are supported but not guaranteed due to the PCI, processor and chipset specifications. # Specifications and information contained in this manual are subject to change without notice. Note All brand names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

1-3. Layout Diagram

Figure 1-2. VL6 Motherboard component location

Users Manual

1-4. The System Block Diagram
Figure 1-3. System diagram of the VIA Apollo Pro 133 chipset
Installing the Motherboard
Chapter 2. Installing the Motherboard
This VL6 motherboard not only provides all standard equipment for classic personal computers, but also provides great flexibility for meeting future upgrade demands. This chapter will introduce step by step all of the standard equipment and will also present, as completely as possible, future upgrade capabilities. This motherboard is able to support all Intel Pentium III (FC-PGA) processors and Intel Celeron (PPGA & FC-PGA) processors now on the market. (For details, see specifications in Chapter 1.) This chapter is organized according the following features: 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 Installing the Motherboard to the Chassis Installation of the Intel Pentium III (FC-PGA) & Celeron (PPGA & FC-PGA) CPU Installing System Memory Connectors, Headers and Switches
Before Proceeding with the Installation
Before you install or unplug any connectors or add-on cards, please remember to turn the ATX power supply switch off (fully turn the +5V standby power off), or take the power cord off. Otherwise, you may cause the motherboard components or add-on cards to malfunction or be damaged. User Friendly Instructions Our objective is to enable the novice computer user to perform the installation by himself. We have attempted to write this document in a very clear, concise and descriptive manner to help overcome any obstacles you may face during installation. Please read our instructions carefully and follow them step-by-step.
2-1. Installing the Motherboard to the Chassis
Most computer chassis will have a base on which there will be many mounting holes that allows the motherboard to be securely attached and at the same time, prevents short circuits. There are two ways to attach the motherboard to the base of chassis: ! with studs ! or with spacers Please refer to figure 2-1, which shows the studs and spacers. There may be several types, but all look like the figures below: In principle, the best way to attach the motherboard is with studs. Only if you are unable to do this should you attach the board with spacers. Take a careful look at the motherboard and you will see many mounting holes on it. Line these holes up with the mounting holes on the base. If the holes line up and there are screw holes this means you can attach the Users Manual

Chapter2

motherboard with studs. If the holes line up and there are only slots, this means you can only attach the motherboard with spacers. Take the tip of the spacers and insert them into the slots. After doing this to all the slots, you can slide the motherboard into position aligned with the slots. After the motherboard has been positioned, check to make sure everything is OK before putting the casing back on. Figure 2-2 shows you the way to affix the motherboard using studs or spacers: Note If the motherboard has mounting holes, but they dont line up with the holes on the base and there are no slots to attach the spacers, dont worry, you can still attach the spacers to the mounting holes. Just cut the bottom portion of spacers (the spacer they may be a little hard to cut, so be careful with your hands). In this way you can still attach the motherboard to the base without worrying about short circuits. Sometimes you may need to use the plastic springs to isolate the screw from the motherboard PCB surface, because the circuit wire may be near by the hole. Be careful, dont let the screw contact any the printed circuit wire or parts on the PCB that are near the fixing hole, otherwise it may damage the board or cause board malfunctioning.

3-3. Advanced BIOS Features Setup Menu
In each item, you can press <Enter> at any time to display all the options for this item. Attention Advanced BIOS Features Setup Menu has already been set for maximum operation. If you do not really understand each of the options in this menu, we recommend you use the default values.
Figure 3-4A. Advanced BIOS Features Setup Upper Screen
Figure 3-4B. Advanced BIOS Features Setup Lower Screen Virus Warning: This item can be set to Enabled or Disabled, the default setting being Disabled. When this feature is enabled, if there is any attempt from a software or an application to access the boot sector or the partition table, the BIOS will warn you that a boot virus is attempting to access the hard disk. CPU Level 1 Cache: This item is used to enable or to disable the CPU level 1 cache. When the cache is set to Disabled it is much slower, so the default setting for this item is Enabled since it will speed up memory access. Some old and very poorly written programs will make the computer malfunction or crash if the system speed is too high. In this case, you should disable this feature. The default setting is Enabled. Users Manual
CPU Level 2 Cache: This item is used to enable or to disable the CPU level 2 cache. When the external cache is enable, it will speed up memory access, and the system works faster. The default setting is Enabled. CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking: This item is used to enable or to disable the CPU level 2 cache ECC checking function. The default setting is Enabled. Processor Number Feature This feature can let the program read the data inside your processor. This feature only works with Intel Pentium III processors. When you install a Pentium III processor on your motherboard and boot your system, this item will appear in the BIOS. Two items will be available: Enabled and Disabled. When you choose Enabled, the specific program can read your processor's serial number. When you choose Disabled it will not allow the program to read your processor's serial number. The default setting is Enabled. Quick Power On Self Test: After the computer has been powered on, the BIOS of the motherboard will run a series of tests in order to check the system and its peripherals. If the Quick Power on Self-Test feature is enable, the BIOS will simplify the test procedures in order to speed up the boot process. The default setting is Enabled. First Boot Device: When the computer boots up, the BIOS attempts to load the operating system from the devices in the sequence selected in these items: floppy disk drive A, LS/ZIP devices, hard drive C, SCSI hard disk drive or CD-ROM. There are ten options for the boot sequence that you can choose (The default setting is Floppy.): Floppy ' LS120 ' HDD-0 ' SCSI ' CDROM ' HDD-1 ' HDD-2 ' HDD-3 ' ZIP100 ' LAN ' Disabled. Second Boot Device: Description is the same as the First Boot Device, the default setting is HDD-0. Third Boot Device: Description is same as the First Boot Device, the default setting is LS/ZIP Boot Other Device: Two options are available: Enabled or Disabled. The default setting is Enabled. This setting allows the BIOS to try three kinds of boot devices that set from the above three items. VL6

Swap Floppy Drive: This item can be set as Enabled or Disabled. The default setting is Disabled. When this feature is enabled, you dont need to open the computer case to swap the position of floppy disk drive connectors. Drive A can be set as drive B and drive B can be set as drive A. Boot Up Floppy Seek: When the computer boots up, the BIOS detects if the system has a FDD or not. When this item is enable, if the BIOS detects no floppy drive, it will display a floppy disk drive error message. If this item is disabled, the BIOS will skip this test. The default setting is Disabled. Boot Up NumLock Status: On: At boot up, the Numeric Keypad is in numeric mode. (Default Settings) Off: At boot up, the Numeric Keypad is in cursor control mode. Typematic Rate Setting: This item allows you to adjust the keystroke repeat rate. When set to Enabled, you can set the two keyboard typematic controls that follow (Typematic Rate and Typematic Rate Delay). If this item is set to Disabled, the BIOS will use the default setting. The default setting is Enabled. Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec): When you press a key continuously, the keyboard will repeat the keystroke according to the rate you have set (Unit: characters/second. Eight options are available: 6 ' 8 ' 10 ' 12 ' 15 ' 20 ' 24 ' 30 ' Back to 6. The default setting is 30. Typematic Delay (Msec): When you press a key continuously, if you exceed the delay you have set here, the keyboard will automatically repeat the keystroke according to a certain rate (Unit: milliseconds). Four options are available: 250 ' 500 ' 750 ' 1000 ' Back to 250. The default setting is 250. Security Option: This option can be set to System or Setup. The default setting is Setup. After you have created a password through PASSWORD SETTING, this option will deny access to your system (System) or modification of computer setup (BIOS Setup) by unauthorized users. SYSTEM: When you choose System, a password is required each time the computer boots up. If the correct password is not given, the system will not start. SETUP: When you choose Setup, a password is required only when accessing the BIOS Setup. If you have not set a password in the PASSWORD SETTING option, this option is not available. To disable security, select Set Password at main menu and then you will be asked to enter password. Do not type anything and just press the Enter key and it will disable security. Once security is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter the BIOS setup menu freely Users Manual

PCI#2 Access #1 Retry: Two options are available: Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Enabled. This item allows you enable/disable the PCI #2 Access #1 Retry. When you set the PCI#2 Access#1 to Enabled, the AGP bus will attempt to access the PCI bus at a limited time period before being disconnected. When you set it to Disabled, the AGP bus will try to access the PCI bus until it successfully accesses the PCI bus. AGP Master 1 WS Write: Two options are available: Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Disabled. This implements a single delay when writing to the AGP Bus. When you set it to Disabled, twowait states are used by the system, allowing for greater stability. AGP Master 1 WS Read: Two options are available: Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Disabled. This implements a single delay when reading to the AGP Bus. By default, two-wait states are used by the system, allowing for greater stability. OnChip Sound: Two options are available: Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Enabled. Because this motherboard had built-in the Audio CODEC, so we set this item to Auto. If you want to use the other sound card with this motherboard, you have to disable this item. OnChip Modem: Two options are available: Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Enabled. As this motherboard can use the modem riser card, you need to set it to Enabled in order to auto detect the device. If you want to use the other internal modem card with this motherboard, you have to disable this item. Memory Parity/ECC Check: Two options are available: Disabled or Enabled. The default setting is Disabled. This item can allow BIOS to check memory is parity/ECC module or not.
3-5. Integrated Peripherals
In this menu, you can change the onboard I/O device, I/O port address and other hardware settings.
Figure 3-6A. Integrated Peripherals Menu Upper Screen
Figure 3-6B. Integrated Peripherals Menu Lower Screen Onboard IDE-1 Controller: The onboard IDE 1 controller can be set as Enabled or Disabled.
Master Drive PIO Mode: Auto: The BIOS can auto-detect the transfer mode of the IDE devices in order to set its data transfer rate. (Default)
You can select the PIO mode from 0 to 4 of the IDE devices in order to set its data transfer rate.
Slave Drive PIO Mode: Auto: The BIOS can auto-detect the transfer mode of the IDE devices in order to set its data transfer rate. (Default)
Master Drive Ultra DMA: Ultra DMA is a DMA data transfer protocol that utilizes ATA commands and the ATA bus to allow DMA commands to transfer data at a maximum burst rate of 66 MB/sec.

3-20 Auto:

The system consumption is reduced according the following sequence: Normal > Doze > Standby > Suspend
1. In the Main Menu, select "Power Management Setup" and press "Enter". The following screen is displayed:
Figure 3-7A. Power Management Setup Main Menu 2. Use the arrow keys to go to the item you want to configure. To change the settings, use PgUP, PgDn, + or - key. 3. After you have configured the Power Management feature, press Esc to go back to the Main Menu. We are now going to briefly explain the options in this menu: ACPI Function (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface): ACPI gives the operating system direct control over the power management and Plug and Users Manual
3-24 Play functions of a computer.
If you want ACPI functions to work normally, you should notice two things. One is your operating system must support ACPI, as of now only Microsoft Windows 98 supports these functions. The second thing is that all devices and add-on cards in your system, must fully support ACPI, both hardware and software (drivers). If you want to know if your devices or add-on cards support ACPI or not, please contact the device or add-on card manufacture for more information. If you want to know more about ACPI specifications, please go to the address below for more detailed information: http://www.teleport.com/~acpi/acpihtml/home.htm ACPI requires an ACPI-aware operating system. ACPI features include: ! Plug and Play (including bus and device enumeration) and APM functionality normally contained in the BIOS. ! Power management control of individual devices, add-in cards (some add-in cards may require an ACPI-aware driver), video displays, and hard disk drives. ! A Soft-off feature that enables the operating system to power off the computer. ! Support for multiple wake up events (see Table 3-1). ! Support for a front panel power and sleep mode switch. Table 3-2 describes the system states based on how long the power switch is pressed, depending on how ACPI is configured with an ACPI-aware operating system. Note If you enable the ACPI function in the BIOS setup, the SMI switch function will not work. System States and Power States Under ACPI, the operating system directs all system and device power state transitions. The operating system puts devices in and out of low-power states based on user preferences and knowledge of how devices are being used by applications. Devices that are not being used can be turned off. The operating system uses information from applications and user settings to put the system as a whole into a low-power state. Table 3-1: Wake Up Device and Events The table below describes which devices or specific events can wake the computer from specific states. These device/events can wake up the computer Power switch RTC alarm LAN Modem IR command USB PS/2 keyboard PS/2 mouse Sleep button VL6 from this state Sleeping mode or power off mode Sleeping mode or power off mode Sleeping mode or power off mode Sleeping mode or power off mode Sleeping mode Sleeping mode Sleeping mode Sleeping mode Sleeping mode

Power Management, it is a power management standard set by Microsoft, Intel and other major manufacturers. Video Off Option: Select the saving mode in which the video is switched off. Always On The video will never be switched off in the "no power saving" mode. Suspend * Off The video will only be switched off in Suspend mode. (Default setting) All Modes * Off The video will be switched off in all power saving modes. Video Off Method: Three video off methods are available: "Blank Screen", "V/H SYNC + Blank" and "DPMS Support". The default is "V/H SYNC + Blank". If this setting does not shut off the screen, select Blank Screen. If your monitor and video card support DMPS standard, select DPMS Support. Modem Use IRQ: Eight items available: 3 ' 4' 5' 7 ' 9 ' 10 ' 11 ' NA ' Back to 3. The default setting is NA. You can specify the IRQ for modem use. Soft-Off by PWRBTN: Two items available: Instant-Off or Delay 4 Sec. The default setting is Instant-Off. It is activated when the user presses the power button for more than four seconds while the system is in the working state, then the system will transition to the soft-off (Power off by software). This is called the power button over-ride. State After Power Failure: Three items are available: Auto ' On ' Off. The default setting is Off. If your computer power fails or an abnormal power shutdown occurs, the computer will return to either its previous state, the power on state, or the power off state. Wake Up Events: When one of the specified events occurs, the count down for entry into the power saving mode goes back to zero. Since the computer will enter a power saving mode only after a specified inactivity delay (time specific for Doze, Standby and Suspend modes) and after there has been no activity during this time period, any event will cause the computer to recount the time elapsed. Resume events are operations or signals that cause the computer to resume time counting. Users Manual
Figure 3-7C. Wake Up Events Setup Menu
Two items available: On or Off. The default setting is Off. When set to On, any event occurring at a VGA port will awaken a system, which has been powered down.

LPT & COM:

Four items available: LPT/COM ' None ' LPT ' COM. The default setting is LPT/COM. When set to LPT/COM, any event occurring at a LPT (printer) /COM (serial) port will awaken a system which has been powered down.

Choose the Install VIA ATAPI Vendor Support Driver and click the Next> button to go on.
Choose enable DMA Mode and then click the Next> button.
Choose the Install VIA AGP VxD in Standard mode and then click the Next> button.
Note A-3: What is the difference between Standard & Turbo mode Installing in Turbo mode will give your graphics card the enhanced speed and performance while Standard mode offers increased system stability.
Choose Install VIA Chipset Functions Registry and then click the Next> button.
The installer will show the install progress percentage.
When the installation is complete, the installer will ask you to restart your computer. We suggest that you choose Yes, I want to restart my computer now and then click the Finish button to restart your computer to finish the driver installation.
When your computer system restarts, you will see the Windows 98 SE starts the update process and several new hardware devices will be found and updated. When restarting Windows 98 SE, the CD-ROM drives will fail to be found in the updating process. If the prompt dialogue box asks you to put the Windows 98 SE CD into the CD-ROM drive, just ignore this message and let it go to the next process.
Go to check the System Properties ' Device Manager. It will show you several places that identify the VIA chipset and controller.
Problem under Windows 95 OSR2 If your operating system is Windows 95 OSR2, install the VIA service pack and Microsoft usbsupp.exe for USB devices support. Then restart Windows and go to System Properties ' Device Manager. There will be question marks before PCI Universal Serial Bus and VIA PCI to USB Universal Host Controller. To make these question marks disappear, remove these items and then restart Windows. When Windows completes loading, these devices will returned to normal and the question marks will be gone.
Installing the VIA PCI Audio Driver for Windows 98 SE
Appendix B. Installing the VIA PCI Audio Driver for Windows 98 SE
We will show you how to install the VIA PCI audio drivers for Windows 98 SE operating system.
First check System Properties ' Device Manager ' Sound, Video and game controllers. Your system should now show PCI Multimedia Audio Device.
Exit the Device Manager and insert the VL6 CD-Title into your CD-ROM drive. It should execute the program automatically. If not, you can go to the CD location and execute the execution file from the main directory of this CD-Title. Once executed, you will see the screen below. Move the cursor to Drivers and click on it. This will bring you to the to the next screen.

Appendix B

Move the cursor to VIA Audio Driver and click on it. Go to the next screen.
Choose Install and then click the Next> button to go on. Program will start to install all drivers you choose.

The Welcome screen and its dialogue box appear. Click the Next> button to go on.
The readme screen will appear next. Click the Yes button to continue.
Choose Install and then click the Next> button to go on.
Now you can choose the folder for the destination location you want the drivers installed. We suggest you use the default folder as the destination location. After checking the folder click Next> button.
You can choose the name of the program folder. We suggest you use the default program folder name. After checking the program folder name then click Next> button. Program will start to install drivers system need.
When installation is complete, the installer will ask you to restart your computer. We suggestion you choose Yes, I want to restart my computer now and then click Finish button to restart your computer to finish the drivers updating.
When you restart the Windows, you can see the VIA DMA Tools program group.
You can see the detail about your IDE device.
Installing the VIA PCI Audio Drivers for Windows NT 4.0 Server / Workstation
Appendix E. Installing the VIA PCI Audio Drivers for Windows NT 4.0 Server / Workstation
In this section we will show you how to install the VIA PCI audio drives to your Windows NT 4.0 Server/Workstation operating system. All screen shots are from the Windows NT 4.0 server version. Before you install the VIA PCI audio drivers, please install Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 (or the latest version) first. Then you can install the audio drivers. Note E-1 Details of the Windows NT 4.0 Server/Workstation operating system are not mentioned in this manual. If you have any problems with the settings, operating or installing Windows NT 4.0 Server / Workstation, please refer to your Windows NT 4.0 Server/Workstation user's manual or other databases provided by Microsoft Corporation. Note E-2 For Windows NT 4.0 Server/Workstation operating system, you don't need to install the IDE-USB drivers. But you have to install the Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 (or latest version) first. Insert the VL6 CD-Title into your CD-ROM drive. It should execute the program automatically. If not, you can go to the CD location and execute the execution file from the main directory of this CD-Title. Once executed, you will see the screen below. Move the cursor to Drivers and click on it. This will bring you to the to the next screen.

Appendix E

Move the cursor to "VIA Audio Driver" and click on it. Go to the next screen.
Move the cursor to "Install" and click on it. Go to the next screen.

You will now see the welcome screen and its dialogue box. Click "Next>" to go on.
Choose Install then click the Next> button to go on. Program will start to install all drivers you choose.
The dialogue box will show Please choose Add from the., please click OK button to go on.
Choose Add and then go to next screen.

First, choose the VIA

Controller, then click OK button.
The dialogue box will show Please choose Add from, this time will ask you to install the VIA MIDI External Port. Please click OK button then go on.
Choose Add then go to next screen.
First, choose the VIA MIDI External Port Device, then click OK button.
Program will ask if you want to install the Microsoft sidewinder 3D pro joystick driver. If you have this kind of joystick click Yes, otherwise just click the No button to go on.
When installation is complete, the installer will ask you to restart your computer. We suggest that you choose Yes, I want to restart my computer now then click Finish button to restart your computer to finish the driver update.
When Windows NT restarts, check the "Multimedia Properties". You will see the VIA PCI Audio devices had been identify.
Note E-3 If you are using the PCI bus mastering network adapter in your system under Windows NT 4.0, insert the network adapter into any PCI slot except slot 3. Otherwise, a system conflict may occur.
Installing the VIA Service Pack Drivers for Windows 2000
Appendix F. Installing the VIA Service Pack Drivers for Windows 2000
After youve installed Windows 2000 operation system, you need to install the VIA Service Pack drivers. We will tell you step by step in the following section how to do this. Note F-1 You have to install the VIA Service Pack drivers before you install the VGA and audio drivers. After installing Windows the quality of your display will be poor because it will be set to 640*480 and 16 color. For the best screen capture quality, install the VGA drivers and set the desktop to 800*600 using True Color. Note F-2 Details of the Windows 2000 operating system are not mentioned in this manual. If you have any problems with the settings, operating or installing Windows 2000, please refer to your Windows 2000 user's manual or other databases provided by Microsoft Corporation. First, go to check the System Properties ' Device Manager. We will show you several places that identify the VIA chipset and controller. Some items will illicit questions. (Well discussion the VIA PCI Audio drivers installation in next chapter.)

Appendix K resets automatically. This problem may be due to the Sound Card Driver. During the Starting DOS procedure, press SHIFT (BY-PASS) key, to skip CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT; edit CONFIG.SYS with a text editor, and in function the line that loads the Sound Card Driver, add a remark REM, in order to disable the Sound Card Driver. See the example below. CONFIG.SYS: DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE HIGHSCAN DOS=HIGH, UMB FILES=40 BUFFERS=36 REM DEVICEHIGH=C:\PLUGPLAY\DWCFGMG.SYS LASTDRIVE=Z Restart the system. If the system starts and does not reset, you can be sure that the problem is due to the Sound Card Driver. Write down the Sound Card model, motherboard model, BIOS identification number on the technical support file (refer to main instructions), and describe the problem in the space provided.
--. Main instructions. To fill in this Technical Support Form, refer to the step-by-step instructions given below: 1*. MODEL: Note the model number given in your users manual. Example: VH6, BX6, BH6, etc 2*. Motherboard model number (REV): Note the motherboard model number labeled on the motherboard as REV:*.**. Example: REV: 1.01 3*. BIOS ID and Part Number: See next page example.
4. DRIVER REV: Note the driver version number indicated on the DEVICE DRIVER disk (if have) as Release *.**. For example:

Appendix K

5*. OS/APPLICATION: Indicate the operating system and the applications your are running on the system. Example: MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 95, Windows NT. 6*. CPU: Indicate the brand and the speed (MHz) of your CPU. Example: (A) In the Brand space, write Intel, in the Specifications space, write Pentium II MMX 300MHz 7. HDD: Indicate the brand and specifications of your HDD(s), specify if the HDD is using /IDE1 or /IDE2. If you know the disk capacity, indicate it and check (0) case you give no indication, we will consider that your HDD is 1IDE1 Master. Example: In the HDD space, check the box, in the Brand space, write Seagate, in the Specifications space, write ST31621A (1.6GB). 8. CD-ROM Drive: Indicate the brand and specifications of your CD-ROM drive. Specify if it uses / IDE1 or /IDE2 and check (0) ; in case you give no indication, we will consider that your CD-ROM is 1IDE2 Master. Example: In the CD-ROM drive space, check the box, in the Brand space, write Mitsumi, in the Specifications space, write FX-400D. 9. System Memory (DRAM): Indicate the brand and specifications (SIMM / DIMM) of your system memory. For example: In the Brand space, write Panasonic, in the Specifications space, write SIMM-FP DRAM 4MB-06. Or, in the Brand, write NPNX, in the Specifications space, write SIMM-EDO DRAM 8MB-06. Or, in the Brand space, write SEC, in the Specifications space, write DIMM-S DRAM 8MB-G12. 10. ADD-ON CARD: Indicate which add-on cards you are absolutely sure is related to the problem. If you cannot identify the problems origin, indicate all the add-on cards inserted into your system. Note Items between the * are absolutely necessary. ; in

2 Technical Support Form

! Company Name:

Phone Number:

# Fax Number:

* BIOS ID # DRIVER REV *

" Contact Person:

3 E-mail Address:

Model Motherboard Model No. OS/Application
* Hardware name CPU HDD IDE1 IDE2 CDIDE1 IDE2 ROM Drive System Memory (DRAM) ADD-ON CARD Brand * Specifications

4 Problem Description:

How to Get Technical Support
Appendix L. How to Get Technical Support
(From our website) http://www.abit.com.tw (In North America) http://www.abit-usa.com (In Europe) http://www.abit.nl Thank you for choosing ABIT products. ABIT sells all our products through distributors, resellers and system integrators, we have no direct sales to end-users. Before sending email for tech support please check with your resellers or integrators if you need any services, they are the ones who sold you your system and they should know best as to what can be done, how they serve you is a good reference for future purchases. We appreciate every customer and would like to provide the best service to you. Providing fast service to our customers is our top priority. However we receive many phone calls and a huge amount of email from all over the world. At the present time it is impossible for us to respond to every single inquiry. Therefore it is quite possible that if you send an email to us that you may not receive a response. We have done many compatibility tests and reliability tests to make sure our products have the best quality and compatibility. In case you need service or technical support, please understand the constraint we have and always check with the reseller who sold the product to you first. To expedite service, we recommend that you follow the procedures outlined below before contacting us. With your help, we can meet our commitment to provide the best service to the greatest number of ABIT customers: 1. Check the Manual. It sounds simple but we have taken a lot of care in making a wellwritten and thorough manual. It is full of information that doesn't only pertain to motherboards. The CD-ROM included with your board will have the manual as well as drivers. If you don't have either one go to our Program Download Area of the website or FTP server at: http://www.abit.com.tw/download/index.htm 2. Download latest BIOS, software or drivers. Please go to our Program Download area on our website to check to see if you have the latest BIOS. They are developed over periods of time to fix bugs or incompatibilities. Also please make sure you have the latest drivers from your peripheral cards makers! 3. Check the ABIT Technical Terms Guide and FAQ on our website. We are trying to expand and make the FAQs more helpful and information rich. Let us know if you have any suggestions. For hot topics check out our HOT FAQ!

Appendix L

4. Internet Newsgroups. They are a great source of information and many people there can offer help. ABIT's Internet News group, alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit, is an ideal forum for the public to exchange information and discuss experiences they have had with ABIT products. Many times you will see that your question has already been asked before. This is a public Internet news group and it is reserved for free discussions, Here is a list of some of the more popular ones: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips alt.comp.hardware.overclocking alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt Ask your reseller. Your ABIT authorized distributor should be able to provide the fastest solution to your technical problem. We sell our products through distributors who sell to resellers and stores. Your reseller should be very familiar with your system configuration and should be able to solve your problem much more efficiently than we could. After all, your reseller regards you as an important customer who may purchase more products and who can urge your friends to buy from him or her as well. They integrated and sold the system to you. They should know best what your system configuration is and your problem. They should have reasonable return or refund policies. How they serve you is also a good reference for your next purchase. 5. Contacting ABIT. If you feel that you need to contact ABIT directly you can send email to the ABIT technical support department. First, please contact the support team for the branch office closest to you. They will be more familiar with local conditions and problems and will have better insight as to which resellers offer what products and services. Due to the huge number of emails coming in every day and other reasons, such as the time required for problem reproduction, we will not be able to reply to every email. Please understand that we are selling through distribution channels and don't have the resources to serve every end-user. However, we will try to do our best to help every customer. Please also remember that for many of our technical support team English is a second language, you will have a better chance of getting a helpful answer if your question can be understood in the first place. Be sure to use very, simple, concise language that clearly states the problem, avoid rambling or flowery language and always list your system components. Here is the contact information for our branch offices: