Pentium II Motherboard

USERS MANUAL

USER'S NOTICE
No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (ASUS). ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT. Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or explanation and to the owners benefit, without intent to infringe. Intel, LANDesk, and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines. Symbios is a registered trademark of Symbios Logic Corporation. Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Sound Blaster AWE32 and SB16 are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. Adobe and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. The product name and revision number are both printed on the product itself. Manual revisions are released for each product design represented by the digit before and after the period of the manual revision number. Manual updates are represented by the third digit in the manual revision number. For previous or updated manuals, BIOS, drivers, or product release information, contact ASUS at http://www.asus.com.tw or through any of the means indicated on the following page. SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT. Copyright 1998 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
Product Name: Manual Revision: Release Date:
ASUS P2L-B 1.02 February 1998

ASUS P2L-B Users Manual

ASUS CONTACT INFORMATION

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CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION... How this manual is organized... Item Checklist.... II. FEATURES... Features of the ASUS P2L-B Motherboard.. Introduction to ASUS Smart Series motherboards.. Parts of the ASUS P2L-B Motherboard.. III. INSTALLATION... ASUS P2L-B Motherboard Layout.. Installation Steps... 1. Jumpers... Jumper Settings... 2. System Memory (DIMM)... DIMM Memory Installation.. 3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)... Pentium II Processor... AAVID Heatsink... Elan Vital Heatsink... 4. Expansion Cards... Expansion Card Installation Procedure.. Assigning IRQs for Expansion Cards.. Assigning DMA Channels for ISA Cards.. ISA Cards and Hardware Monitor.. 5. External Connectors... Power Connection Procedures... IV. BIOS SOFTWARE.. Support Software.... Flash Memory Writer Utility.. Main Menu... Advanced Features Menu... Managing and Updating Your Motherboards BIOS. 6. BIOS Setup... Load Defaults... Standard CMOS Setup... Details of Standard CMOS Setup:.. BIOS Features Setup... Details of BIOS Features Setup.. Chipset Features Setup... Details of Chipset Features Setup... 44

II. FEATURES (TX97 Series) 10
Parts of the ASUS P2L-B Motherboard
Thermal Sensor Super Multi-I/O Hardware Monitor 2 ISA Slots 3 PCI Slots
PS/2 Mouse, USB, IrDA Serial, Parallel, Floppy

AT Power Connector

ATX Power Connector

AGP Slot

Intels 440LX AGPset
3 DIMM Sockets SEC CPU Socket (Slot1) IDE Connectors Programmable Flash ROM
II. FEATURES (Motherboard Parts)

III. INSTALLATION

ASUS P2L-B Motherboard Layout

Hardware Monitor

PS/2 Mouse, USB, IrDA

Serial Ports COM 2

Keyboard Power

Keyboard

Super Multi-I/O

Parallel (Printer) Port

Power Fan

AT Power Input

ISA Slot 2

ISA Slot 1

Thermal Sensor

ATX Power Input

PCI Slot 3

PCI Slot 2

Wake on LAN

Floppy Drives

PCI Slot 1
RT2 Pentium II Thermal Sensor Connector
Single Edge Contact CPU Slot (Slot 1)
III. INSTALLATION (Motherboard Layout)

Intel PIIX4 PCIset

RTC Clear

BIOS Power

CR2032 3V Lithium Cell
Socket 3 (64-bit or 72-bit with ECC) 168-pin DIMM module Socket 2 (64-bit or 72-bit with ECC) 168-pin DIMM module Socket 1 (64-bit or 72-bit with ECC) 168-pin DIMM module

CPU Fan

Intel 440LX PCIset

Primary IDE

Secondary IDE

ASUS ASIC

Infrared

BF0 BF1 BF2 BF3

System BIOS Flash EEPROM

Freq. Ratio

FS0 FS1 FS2

Chassis Fan

Clock Freq

Panel Connectors IDE LED

Row 1 0

Jumpers

1) 2) 3) 4) CLRTC KBPWR FS0, FS1, FS2 BF0, BF1, BF2, BF3 p. 15 p. 15 p. 16 p. 16 Real Time Clock RAM (Clear Data) Keyboard Power Up (Enable/Disable) CPU External Clock (BUS) Frequency Selection CPU:BUS Frequency Ratio

Expansion Slots

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) DIMM Sockets SEC CPU Slot ISA Slot 1, 2 PCI Slot 1, 2, 3 AGP p. 17 p. 19 p. 24 p. 24 p. 25 168-Pin DIMM Memory Support Single Edge Contact CPU Support 16-bit ISA Bus Expansion Slots* 32-bit PCI Bus Expansion Slots Accelerated Graphics Port

III. INSTALLATION (Jumpers) 14
WARNING! Computer motherboards, baseboards and components, such as SCSI cards, contain very delicate Integrated Circuit (IC) chips. To protect them against damage from static electricity, you should follow some precautions whenever you work on your computer. 1. Unplug your computer when working on the inside. 2. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. If you do not have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal object, such as the power supply case. 3. Hold components by the edges and try not to touch the IC chips, leads or connectors, or other components. 4. Place components on a grounded antistatic pad or on the bag that came with the component whenever the components are separated from the system.

Jumper Settings

1. Real Time Clock (RTC) RAM (CLRTC) The CMOS RAM is powered by the onboard button cell battery. To clear the RTC data: (1) Unplug your computer, (2) Short solder points, (3) Turn on your computer, (4) Hold down <Delete> during bootup and enter BIOS setup to reenter user preferences. RTC RAM Clear Data CLRTC [short solder points momentarily]

P2L-B Clear RTC RAM

2. Keyboard Power Up (KBPWR) Set this jumper to Enable if you wish to use your keyboard to power up your system. Requires an ATX power supply that can supply at least 300mAmp on the +5VSB lead and new BIOS support. The default is set to Disable because your system will not function without the proper ATX power supply. Setting Disable Enable KBPWR [1-2] (default) [2-3]

KBPWR 3

KBPWR 3 Enable

Disable (Default)

P2L-B Keyboard Power Up
III. INSTALLATION (Jumpers)
3. CPU External (BUS) Frequency Selection (FS0, FS1, FS2) These jumpers tell the clock generator what frequency to send to the CPU. These allow the selection of the CPUs External frequency (or BUS Clock). The BUS Clock times the BUS Ratio equals the CPU's Internal frequency (the advertised CPU speed). 4. CPU to BUS Frequency Ratio (BF0, BF1, BF2, BF3) These jumpers set the frequency ratio between the Internal frequency of the CPU and the External frequency (called the BUS Clock) within the CPU. These must be set together with the above jumpers CPU External (BUS) Frequency Selection.
BF0 BF0 BF0 BF0 BF1 BF1 BF1 BF1 BF2 BF2 BF2 BF2 BF3 BF3 BF3 BF3 4.0x(4/1) 3.0x(3/1) 3.5x(7/2) 4.5x(9/2) 5.0x(5/1) 3
CPU Core:Bus Frequency Multiple
3 FS0 FS1 FS2 60MHz FS0 FS1 FS2 66MHz 3 FS0 FS1 FS2 75MHz 3 FS0 FS1 FS2 83MHz 3
III. INSTALLATION (Jumpers) 16

CPU Bus Frequency

P2L-B CPU Settings
WARNING! Do not overclock your processor. Frequencies above 66MHz exceed the specifications for the onboard Intel Chipset and are not guaranteed to be stable. Overclocking can cause undue stress on the CPU and motherboard. It may result in a slower speed or other unpredictable outcomes. The table on the following page shows the approved CPUs and their settings. Set the jumpers by the Internal speed of your processor as follows:

CPU Model Intel Pentium II Intel Pentium II Intel Pentium II Intel Pentium II Speed 333MHz 300MHz 266MHz 233MHz F. Ratio 5.0x 4.5x 4.0x 3.5x BUS F. 66MHz 66MHz 66MHz 66MHz (BUS Freq.) FS0 FS1 FS2 [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] (Freq. Ratio) BF0 BF1 BF2 [2-3] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3] [1-2] [2-3] [2-3] [1-2] [1-2] [1-2] [2-3] BF3 [2-3] [2-3] [2-3] [2-3]
Intel Pentium II Processor in a SEC Cartridge (233-333MHz 256/512KB L2 Cache)
NOTE: Voltage Regulator Output Selection (VID) is not needed for the Pentium II processor because it sends a VID signal directly to the onboard power controller.

2. System Memory (DIMM)

Only Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) can be used with this motherboard. Three sockets are available for 3.3Volt (power level) Unbuffered Synchronous DRAMs (SDRAM) or EDO DRAM of either 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128MB to form a memory size between 8MB to 384MB. One side (with memory chips) of the DIMM module takes up one Row on the motherboard. To utilize the chipsets Error Checking and Correction (ECC) feature, you must use a DIMM module with 9 chips per side (standard 8 chips/side + 1 ECC chip) which makes 72bits (opposed to standard 64bits) and make the proper settings in the BIOS Chipset Features Setup. IMPORTANT: Memory speed setup is required through "Auto Configuration" in BIOS Chipset Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE. III. INSTALLATION (Jumpers) 17 WARNING: Memory modules must have 18 chips or less. Memory modules with more that 18 chips will cause unstable operation. Install memory in any combination as follows:
DIMM Location Socket 1 (Rows 0&1) Socket 2 (Rows 2&3) Socket 3 (Rows 4&5) 168-pin DIMM Memory Modules SDRAM/EDO 8, 16, 32, 64, 128MB SDRAM/EDO 8, 16, 32, 64, 128MB SDRAM/EDO 8, 16, 32, 64, 128MB x1 x1 x1 Total Memory
Total System Memory (Max 384MB) =

ASUS Memory Examples:

ECC EDO DIMM (9 chips)
Non-ECC SDRAM DIMM (8 chips) General DIMM Notes: (not true for all memory modules)
Four possible memory chips are supported: EDO or SDRAM with and without ECC. SDRAM chips are generally thinner with higher pin density than EDO chips. BIOS shows EDO or SDRAM memory on bootup screen. 8 chip/side modules do not support ECC, only 9 chip/side modules support ECC. Single sided modules are usually 16 or 64 MB, double sided are usually 8, 32, or 128MB.

DIMM Memory Installation

Insert the module(s) as shown. Because the number of pins are different on either side of the breaks, the module will only fit in the orientation as shown. DIMM modules are longer and have different pin contact on each side and therefore have a higher pin density. SIMM modules have the same pin contact on both sides.

20 Pins

60 Pins
III. INSTALLATION (System Memory) 18

88 Pins

P2L-B 168 Pin DIMM Memory Sockets
The Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) must be 3.3V Unbuffered for this motherboard. You can identify the type of DIMM module by the illustration below:
168-Pin DIMM Notch Key Definitions (3.3V)
DRAM Key Position Unbuffered RFU Buffered
Voltage Key Position 5.0V 3.3V Reserved
The notch on the DIMM module will shift between left, center, or right to identify the type and also to prevent the wrong type of DIMM to be inserted into the DIMM socket on the motherboard. Four clock signals are supported on this motherboard. You must ask your retailer for the specifications before purchasing memory modules.
3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
This motherboard provides a Single Edge Contact (SEC) slot for a Pentium II processor packaged in an SEC cartridge.

Pentium II Processor

WARNING! Be sure that sufficient air circulation is available across the processors passive heatsink. Without sufficient circulation, the processor could overheat and damage both the processor and the motherboard. It is recommended that you install an auxiliary fan. You should check to see that you have the following 9 items. (NOTE: The pictures in the following pages will have the same item numbers next to them for your reference. The design and color of your items may be slightly different.)

Lock Holes

Captive Nut
Attach Mount Bridges (Items 1,2) (Factory Installed)
Pentium II Retention Mechanism (Item 3)
(8) Top Bar (4) (5) Pin Posts Base (7) (6) Larger Fin should be on the bottom.
Heatsink Support Base/Top Bar (Items 4-7)
Heatsink bottom Groove for the Support Top Bar Pentium II Processor Heatsink (Item 8)

CPU (Item 9)

III. INSTALLATION (CPU)
The Motherboard As Shipped Four screws should be showing next to each corner of the SEC CPU Slot using two attach mount bridges from the underside of the motherboard.

SEC CPU slot

NOTE: Encircled items are screws from the mount bridges (1 & 2)
III. INSTALLATION (CPU) 20
Installing the Pentium II Processor: 1. Mount the Pentium II Retention Mechanism: The retention mechanism is designed to fit into the SEC slot only one way. TIP: Orient the mechanisms lock holes toward the motherboards chipsets (see motherboard layout for the location of the Intel chipset). Be sure to align the notch in the mechanism with the small rib on one side of the slot and that the mechanism is properly seated on the board. Then, screw the captive nuts in place. WARNING! Do not overtighten the captive nuts. Doing so could damage your motherboard. Tighten captive nuts to no more than 61 inch/pound.

TIP: If the case-mounted LED does not light, try reversing the 2-pin plug.

IDE_LED

P2L-B IDE Activity LED
7. CPU Cooling Fan Connectors (FAN, 3-pins) This connector supports a 3-pin CPU cooling fan of 500mAMP (6WATT) or less with a minimum of 3,500RPM. Depending on the fan manufacturer, the wiring and plug may be different. The red wire should be Positive, the black should be Ground, and the yellow wire should be Rotation signal. WARNING! The CPU and/or motherboard will overheat if there is no airflow across the CPU. Damage may occur to the motherboard and/or the CPU fan if these pins are incorrectly used. These are not jumpers, do not place jumper caps over these pins.

Power Supply Fan

Rotation +12V GND

GND +12V Rotation

CPU Fan Power

Chassis Fan Power

P2L-B 12Volt Cooling Fan Power
8. Wake on LAN Activity Connector (WOL_CON, 3-pins) This connector allows the system to power up when there is a wakeup package (signal) received from the network through the ASUS PCI-L101 LAN card. Requires the ASUS PCI-L101 and an ATX power supply with at least 720mAmp 5VSB.

+5 Volt Standby PME

Ground
P2L-B Wake on LAN Connector
9. Message LED Lead (MSG.LED, 2-pins) This indicates whether a message has been received from a fax/modem. The LED will remain lit when there is no signal and blink when there is data transfer or messages waiting in the inbox. This function requires ACPI OS support. 10. SMI Suspend Switch Lead (SMI, 2-pins) This allows the user to manually place the system into a suspend mode or Green mode where system activity will be instantly decreased to save electricity and expand the life of certain components when the system is not in use. This 2-pin connector (see the figure below) connects to the case-mounted suspend switch. If you do not have a switch for the connector, you may use the Turbo Switch since it does not have a function. SMI is activated when it detects a short to open moment and therefore leaving it shorted will not cause any problems. May require one or two pushes depending on the position of the switch. Wake-up can be controlled by settings in the BIOS but the keyboard will always allow wakeup (the SMI lead cannot wake-up the system). If you want to use this connector, Suspend Switch in the Power Management Setup of the BIOS SOFTWARE section should be on the default setting of Enable. 11. ATX Power Switch/Soft Power Switch Lead (PWR.SW, 2-pins) The system power can be controlled by a momentary switch connected to this lead. Pushing the button once will switch the system between ON and SLEEP. Pushing the switch while in the ON mode for more than 4 seconds will turn the system off. The system power LED shows the status of the systems power. 12. Reset Switch Lead (RESET, 2-pins) This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted reset switch for rebooting your computer without having to turn off your power switch This is a preferred method of rebooting in order to prolong the life of the systems power supply. 13. System Power LED (PWR.LED, 3-pins) This 3-pin connector connects the system power LED, which lights when the system is powered on and blinks when it is in sleep mode. 14. Keyboard Lock Switch Lead (KEYLOCK, 2-pins) This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted key switch to allow keyboard locking. 15. Speaker Connector (SPEAKER, 4-pins) This 4-pin connector connects to the case-mounted speaker.

IV. BIOS (Updating BIOS) 36

6. BIOS Setup

The motherboard supports two programmable Flash ROM chips: 5 Volt and 12 Volt. Either of these memory chips can be updated when BIOS upgrades are released. Use the Flash Memory Writer utility to download the new BIOS file into the ROM chip as described in detail in this section. All computer motherboards provide a Setup utility program for specifying the system configuration and settings. If your motherboard came in a computer system, the proper configuration entries may have already been made. If so, invoke the Setup utility, as described later, and take note of the configuration settings for future reference; in particular, the hard disk specifications. If you are installing the motherboard, reconfiguring your system or you receive a Run Setup message, you will need to enter new setup information. This section describes how to configure your system using this utility. The BIOS ROM of the system stores the Setup utility. When you turn on the computer, the system provides you with the opportunity to run this program. This appears during the Power-On Self Test (POST). Press <Delete> to call up the Setup utility. If you are a little bit late pressing the mentioned key(s), POST will continue with its test routines, thus preventing you from calling up Setup. If you still need to call Setup, reset the system by pressing <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <Delete>, or by pressing the Reset button on the system case. You can also restart by turning the system off and then back on again. But do so only if the first two methods fail. When you invoke Setup, the CMOS SETUP UTILITY main program screen will appear with the following options:
NOTE: The following BIOS screens and descriptions were intended for the BIOS version at the time of product release. Your BIOS version may be slightly different.

IV. BIOS (BIOS Setup)

Load Defaults
The Load BIOS Defaults option loads the minimum settings for troubleshooting. Load Setup Defaults, on the other hand, is for loading optimized defaults for regular use. Choosing defaults at this level, will modify all applicable settings. A section at the bottom of the above screen displays the control keys for this screen. Take note of these keys and their respective uses. Another section just below the control keys section displays information on the currently highlighted item in the list.

Auto detection of hard disks on bootup For each field: Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master, and Secondary Slave, you can select Auto under the TYPE and MODE fields. This will enable auto detection of your IDE hard disk during bootup. This will allow you to change your hard disks (with the power off) and then power on without having to reconfigure your hard disk type. If you use older hard disks that do not support this feature, then you must configure the hard disk in the standard method as described earlier by the User option. NOTE: After the IDE hard disk drive information has been entered into BIOS, new IDE hard disk drives must be partitioned (such as with FDISK) and then formatted before data can be read from and write on. Primary IDE hard disk drives must have its partition set to active (also possible with FDISK). NOTE: SETUP Defaults are noted in parenthesis next to each function heading. Drive A / Drive B (None) These fields record the types of floppy disk drives installed in your system. The available options for drives A and B are: 360KB, 5.25 in.; 1.2MB, 5.25 in.; 720KB, 3.5 in.; 1.44MB, 3.5 in.; 2.88MB, 3.5 in.; None To enter the configuration value for a particular drive, highlight its corresponding field and then select the drive type using the left- or right-arrow keys. Floppy 3 Mode Support (Disabled) This is the Japanese standard floppy drive. The standard stores 1.2MB in a 3.5inch diskette. This is normally disabled but you may choose from either: Drive A, Drive B, Both, and Disabled Video (EGA/VGA) Set this field to the type of video display card installed in your system. The options are EGA/VGA, CGA 49, CGA 80, and Mono (for Hercules or MDA). If you are using a VGA or any higher resolution card, choose EGA/VGA. Halt On (All Errors) This field determines which types of errors will cause the system to halt. Choose from All Errors; No Errors; All,But Keyboard, All,But Diskette; and All,But Disk/Key. IV. BIOS (Standard CMOS) 40

BIOS Features Setup

This BIOS Features Setup option consists of configuration entries that allow you to improve your system performance, or let you set up some system features according to your preference. Some entries are required by the motherboards design to remain in their default settings.
A section at the lower right of the screen displays the control keys you can use. Take note of these keys and their respective uses. If you need information on a particular entry, highlight it and then press <F1>. A pop-up help menu will appear to provide you with the information you need. <F5> loads the last set values, <F6> and <F7> loads the BIOS default values and Setup default values, respectively. NOTE: SETUP Defaults are noted in parenthesis next to each function heading. IV. BIOS (BIOS Features) 41

Video Memory Cache Mode (UC) USWC (uncacheable, speculative write combining) is a new cache technology for the video memory of the processor. It can greatly improve the display speed by caching the display data. You must leave this on the default setting of UC (uncacheable) if your display card cannot support this feature or else your system may not boot. PCI 2.1 Support (Enabled) This function allows you to Enable or Disable PCI 2.1 features. Leave on Enabled setting for PCI 2.1 compliancy. Memory Hole At 15M16M (Disabled) Enabling this feature reserves 15MB to 16MB memory address space to ISA expansion cards that specifically require this setting. This makes the memory from 15MB and up unavailable to the system. Expansion cards can only access memory up to 16MB. The default is Disabled. DRAM are xx bits wide If all your DIMM memory modules have ECC chips (e.g., 8 chips + 1 ECC chip), they are considered 72bits and the following will be displayed:
If your DIMM memory modules do not have ECC chips (e.g. 8 chips), they are considered 64bits and the following will be displayed instead:
Data Integrity Mode (Non-ECC) Non-ECC has byte-wise write capability but no provision for protecting data integrity in the DRAM array. EC-Only data errors are detected but not corrected. ECC allows a detection of single-bit and multiple-bit errors and recovery of single-bit errors. (See section III for more information on DRAM memory modules.).... Onboard FDC Controller (Enabled) When Enabled, this field allows you to connect your floppy disk drives to the onboard floppy disk drive connector instead of a separate controller card. If you want to use a different controller card to connect the floppy disk drives, set this field to Disabled.
IV. BIOS (Chipset Features)
Onboard FDC Swap A & B (No Swap) This field allows you to reverse the hardware drive letter assignments of your floppy disk drives. Two options are available: No Swap and Swap AB. If you want to switch drive letter assignments through the onboard chipset, set this field to Swap AB. Onboard Serial Port 1 (3F8H/IRQ4) Settings are 3F8H/IRQ4, 2F8H/IRQ3, 3E8H/IRQ4, 2E8H/IRQ10, and Disabled for the onboard serial connector. Onboard Serial Port 2 (2F8H/IRQ3) Settings are 3F8H/IRQ4, 2F8H/IRQ3, 3E8H/IRQ4, 2E8H/IRQ10, and Disabled for the onboard serial connector. Onboard Parallel Port (378H/IRQ7) This field sets the address of the onboard parallel port connector. You can select either: 3BCH / IRQ 7, 378H / IRQ 7, 278H / IRQ 5, Disabled. If you install an I/O card with a parallel port, ensure that there is no conflict in the address assignments. The PC can support up to three parallel ports as long as there are no conflicts for each port. Parallel Port Mode (ECP+EPP) This field allows you to set the operation mode of the parallel port. The setting Normal, allows normal-speed operation but in one direction only; EPP allows bidirectional parallel port operation at maximum speed; ECP allows the parallel port to operate in bidirectional mode and at a speed faster than the maximum data transfer rate; ECP+EPP allows normal speed operation in a two-way mode. ECP DMA Select (3) This selection is available only if you select ECP or ECP+EPP in the Parallel Port Mode. Select either DMA Channel 1, 3, or Disable. UART2 Use Infrared (Disabled) When enabled, this field activates the onboard infrared feature and sets the second serial UART to support the infrared module connector on the motherboard. If your system already has a second serial port connected to the onboard COM2 connector, it will no longer work if you enable the infrared feature. By default, this field is set to Disabled, which leaves the second serial port UART to support the COM2 serial port connector. See IrDA-compliant infrared module connector under section III. Onboard PCI IDE Enable (Both) You can select to enable the primary IDE channel, secondary IDE channel, both, or disable both channels (for systems with only SCSI drives). IDE Ultra DMA Mode (Auto) Leave this on Auto or set to Disable to turn off IDE Ultra DMA Mode. IDE 0 Master/Slave PIO/DMA Mode, IDE 1 Master/Slave PIO/DMA Mode (Auto) Each channel (0 &1) has both a master and a slave making four IDE devices possible. Because each IDE device may have a different PIO Mode timing of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, it is necessary for these to be independent. DMA Mode timing allows 0, 1, or 2. The default setting of Auto will allow auto-detection to ensure optimal performance. IV. BIOS (Chipset Features) 46

Power Management Setup

This Power Management Setup option allows you to reduce power consumption. This feature turns off the video display and shuts down the hard disk after a period of inactivity.
Details of Power Management Setup
IV. BIOS (Power Management) 47 Power Management (User Define) This field acts as the master control for the power management modes. Max Saving puts the system into power saving mode after a brief period of system inactivity; Min Saving is almost the same as Max Saving except that this time the system inactivity period is longer; Disable disables the power saving features; User Define allows you to set power saving options according to your preference. IMPORTANT: Advanced Power Management (APM) should be installed to keep the system time updated when the computer enters suspend mode activated by the BIOS Power Management. For DOS environments, you need to add the statement, DEVICE=C:\DOS\POWER.EXE, in you CONFIG.SYS. For Windows 3.x and Windows 95, you need to install Windows with the APM feature. A battery and power cord icon labeled Power will appear in the Control Panel. Choose Advanced in the Power Management Field. Video Off Option (Always On) This field determines when to activate the video off feature for monitor power management. The settings are All Modes -> Off; Always On; Suspend -> Off; and Susp,Stby -> Off.
Video Off Method (Blank Screen) This field defines the video off features. The following options are available: DPMS OFF, DPMS Reduce ON, Blank Screen, V/H SYNC+Blank, DPMS Standby, and DPMS Suspend. The DPMS (Display Power Management System) features allow the BIOS to control the video display card if it supports the DPMS feature. Blank Screen only blanks the screen (use this for monitors without power management or green features. If set up in your system, your screen saver will not display with Blank Screen selected). V/H SYNC+Blank blanks the screen and turns off vertical and horizontal scanning..... PM Timers This section controls the time-out settings for the Power Management scheme. The fields included in this section are HDD Power Down, which places the hard disk into its lowest power consumption mode, and the Doze, Standby and Suspend system inactivation modes. The system automatically wakes up from any power saving mode when there is system activity such as when a key is pressed from the keyboard, or when there is activity detected from the enabled IRQ channels. HDD Power Down (Disable) Shuts down any IDE hard disk drives in the system after a period of inactivity. This time period is user-configurable to 115 Min or Disable. This feature does not affect SCSI hard drives. Suspend Mode (Disable) Sets the period of time after which each of these modes activate: 1 Min, 2 Min, 4 Min, 8 Min, 10 Min, 20 Min, 30 Min, 1 Hour, 2 Hour, and 4 Hour..... Power Up Control This section determines the ways the system can be controlled when it is started or restarted, when modem activity is detected, or when power to the computer is interrupted and reapplied. The Soft-Off mode refers to powering off the system through a momentary button switch (ATX switch) or through the software as opposed to disconnecting the AC power by way of a rocker switch or other means. PWR Button < 4 Secs (Soft Off) When set to Soft Off, the ATX switch can be used as a normal system power-off button when pressed for less than 4 seconds. Suspend allows the button to have a dual function where pressing less than 4 seconds will place the system in sleep mode. No Function disables the ATX switch function when the button is pressed under 4 seconds. Regardless of the setting, holding the ATX switch for more than 4 seconds will power off the system.

V. SOFTWARE (ASUS Support CD) 56
Additonal CD Contents: DMI Configuration utility in the DMI directory and Flash BIOS writer in the PFLASH directory.
Desktop Management Interface (DMI)
Introducing the ASUS DMI Configuration Utility
This motherboard supports DMI within the BIOS level and provides a DMI Configuration Utility to maintain the Management Information Format Database (MIFD). DMI is able to auto-detect and record information pertinent to a computers system such as the CPU type, CPU speed, and internal/external frequencies, and memory size. The onboard BIOS will detect as many system information as possible and store those collected information in a 4KB block in the motherboards Flash EPROM and allow the DMI to retrieve data from this database. Unlike other BIOS software, the BIOS on this motherboard uses the same technology implemented for Plug and Play to allow dynamic real-time updating of DMI information versus creating a new BIOS image file and requiring the user to update the whole BIOS. This DMI Configuration Utility also allows the system integrator or end user to add additional information into the MIFD such as serial numbers, housing configurations, and vendor information. Those information not detected by the motherboard BIOS and has to be manually entered through the DMI Configuration Utility and updated into the MIFD. This DMI Configuration Utility provides the same reliability as PnP updating and will prevent the refreshing failures associated with updating the entire BIOS.

System Requirements

The DMI Configuration Utility (DMICFG.EXE) must be used in real mode in order for the program to run, the base memory must be at least 180K. Memory managers like HIMEM.SYS (required by windows) must not be installed. You can boot up from a system diskette without AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, REM HIMEM.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS, or press <F5> during bootup to bypass your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. V. SOFTWARE (DMI Utility) ASUS P2L-B Users Manual 57
Using the ASUS DMI Configuration Utility
Use the (left-right) cursors to move the top menu items and the (up-down) cursor to move between the left hand menu items. The bottom of the screen will show the available keys for each screen. Press enter at the menu item to enter the right hand screen for editing. Edit component appears on top. The reversed color field is the current cursor position and the blue text are available for editing. The orange text shows auto-detected information and are not available for editing. The blue text Press [ENTER] for detail contains a second pop-up menu is available, use the + - (plus-minus) keys to change the settings. Enter to exit and save, ESC to exit and not save. If the user has made changes, ESC will prompt you to answer Y or N. Enter Y to go back to the left-hand screen and save, enter N to go back to left-hand screen and not save. If editing has not been made, ESC will send you back to the left hand menu without any messages. Options You can save the MIFD (normally only saved to flash ROM) to a file by entering the drive and path here. If you want to cancel save, you may press ESC and a message Bad File Name appears here to show it was not saved. You can load the disk file to memory by entering a drive and path and file name here. You can load the BIOS defaults from a MIFD file and can clear all user modified and added data. You must reboot your computer in order for the defaults to be saved back into the Flash BIOS. Notes A heading, *** BIOS Auto Detect ***, appears on the right for each menu item on the left side that has been auto detected by the system BIOS. A heading, *** User Modified ***, will appear on the right for menu items that have been modified by the user.

Question and Answer

Q: What is Wake-On-LAN ? A: The Wake-On-LAN feature provides the capability to remotely power on systems supporting Wake-On-LAN by simply sending a wake-up frame. With this feature, remotely uploading/downloading data to/from systems during off-peak hours will be feasible. Q: What can Wake-On-LAN do for you ? A: Wake-On-LAN is a remote management tool with advantages that can reduce system management workload, provide flexibility to the system administrators job, and then of course save you time-consuming efforts and costs. Q: What components does Wake-On-LAN require to be enable? A: To enable Wake-On-LAN function, your system requires Ethernet LAN adapter card that can activate Wake-On-LAN function, a client with Wake-On-LAN capability, and software such as LDCM Rev. 3.10 or up that can trigger wake-up frame.