Pentium Motherboard

USER'S MANUAL

USER'S NOTICE

No part of this manual, including the products and softwares 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. 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 board itself. Manual revisions are released for each board 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 RESPONSIBLITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARES DESCRIBED IN IT. Copyright 1997 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
Product Name: ASUS VX97 Manual Revision: 1.02 Release Date: May 1997 2

ASUS VX97 User's Manual

ASUS CONTACT INFORMATION

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.

Marketing Info:
Address: 150 Li-Te Road, Peitou, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC Telephone: 886-2-894-3447 Fax: 886-2-894-3449 Email: info@asus.com.tw

Technical Support:

Fax: BBS: Email: WWW: Gopher: FTP: 886-2-895-9254 886-2-896-4667 tsd@asus.com.tw http://www.asus.com.tw/ gopher.asus.com.tw ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS
ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL
Address: 721 Charcot Avenue, San Jose, CA 95131, USA Telephone: 1-408-474-0567 Fax: 1-408-474-0568 Email: info-usa@asus.com.tw
BBS: Email: 1-408-474-0555 tsd-usa@asus.com.tw

ASUS COMPUTER GmbH

Address: Harkort Str. 25, 40880 Ratingen, BRD, Germany Telephone: 49-2102-445011 Fax: 49-2102-442066 Email: info-ger@asus.com.tw
BBS: Email: 49-2102-448690 tsd-ger@asus.com.tw

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION... How this manual is organized... Item Checklist.... II. FEATURES... Features of the VX97 Motherboard.. Parts of the VX97 Motherboard.. III. INSTALLATION... Map of the VX97 Motherboard.. Installation Steps... 1. Jumpers... Jumper Settings... Compatible Cyrix CPU Identification.. 2. System Memory... DRAM Memory Installation Procedures:.. 3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)... 4. Expansion Cards... Expansion Card Installation Procedure:. Assigning IRQs for Expansion Cards.. Assigning DMA Channels for ISA Cards.. 5. External Connectors... Power Connection Procedures... IV. BIOS SOFTWARE... Support Software.... Flash Memory Writer Utility... Main Menu... Advanced Features Menu... Updating your Motherboard's 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... Power Management Setup... Details of Power Management Setup.. PNP and PCI Setup... Details of PNP and PCI Setup... Load BIOS Defaults.. 4 ASUS VX97 User's Manual 44 46

Load Setup Defaults.. Supervisor Password and User Password.. IDE HDD Auto Detection... Save and Exit Setup.. Exit Without Saving.. V. DESKTOP MANAGEMENT... Desktop Management Interface (DMI).. Introducing the ASUS DMI Configuration Utility.. System Requirements... Using the ASUS DMI Configuration Utility. Notes:... VI. ASUS PCI-SC200 SCSI Card.. NCR SCSI BIOS and Drivers... The ASUS PCI-SC200 SCSI Interface Card.. Setting Up the ASUS PCI-SC200... Setting the INT Assignment.. Terminator Settings... SCSI ID Numbers... VII. ASUS I-A16C Audio Card.. ASUS I-A16C Audio Features... Unpacking and Handling Precautions.. Layout and Connectors.. Connectors... CD-Audio Connector Pin Definitions.. 60 60
The Following Sections are Available with ASUS Audio Bundle Only Audio Driver Installation... 3 Manual Information.. 3 Installation CD... 3 Installation CD Contents.. 3 Win95 Audio Driver... 4 Configuration Manager.. 5 Creative PnP Configuration Manager (CTCM).. 5 Win3.1x Audio Driver... 5 Audio Drivers.... 7 Environment Variables... 11 SOUND Environment variable.. 11 BLASTER Environment Variable.. 11 MIDI Environment Variable.. 12 Maximum Recording Rates for the Audio Hardware. 12 ASUS VX97 User's Manual 5

FCC & DOC COMPLIANCE

Federal Communications Commission Statement
This device complies with FCC Rules Part 15. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: This device may not cause harmful interference, and This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 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 manufacturer's 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 off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

WARNING: The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the graphics card is required to assure compliance with FCC regulations. Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment.
Canadian Department of Communications Statement
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.

I. INTRODUCTION

This manual is divided into the following sections: I. Introduction: II. Features: III. Installation: IV. BIOS Setup: V. Software: VI. ASUS SCSI: VII. ASUS I-A16C: VIII. DOS/Win3.1x: IX. Windows 95: Manual information and checklist Information and specifications concerning this product Instructions on setting up the motherboard BIOS software setup information. Information on the included support software Installation of optional ASUS SCSI cards Installation of an optional 16-bit Audio card Audio Software Manual (with ASUS I-A16C bundle) Audio Software Manual (with ASUS I-A16C bundle) I. INTRODUCTION (Manual / Checklist) 7
How this manual is organized

Item Checklist

Please check that your package is complete. If you discover damaged or missing items, please contact your retailer. The ASUS VX97 motherboard 2 serial port ribbon cables attached to a mounting bracket 1 parallel ribbon cable with mounting bracket 1 IDE ribbon cable 1 floppy ribbon cable Support drivers and utilities as follows (view FILELIST.TXT for details) Flash Memory Writer utility to update the FLASH BIOS Desktop Management Interface (DMI) utility Bus Master IDE Drivers for various operating systems Audio drivers and utilities (included with ASUS I-A16C CD bundle only) Readme files for descriptions and use of the files Technical Support Form This user's manual (Audio sections included with ASUS I-A16C CD bundle) Optional PS/2 mouse cable with mounting bracket Optional infrared module Optional ASUS PCI-SC200 Fast-SCSI or PCI-SC860 Ultra-Fast SCSI card Optional ASUS I-A16C Audio Card

II. FEATURES

Features of the VX97 Motherboard
The ASUS VX97 is carefully designed for the demanding PC user who wants a great many features in a small package. This motherboard: Intel Chipset: Features Intel's 430VX PCIset with I/O subsystems. Versatile Processor Support: Intel Pentium 75-233MHz (P55C-MMX, P54C/ P54CS), IBM/Cyrix 6x86-PR166+ (Rev 2.7 or later), IBM/Cyrix 6x86MX (PR166 & above), AMD-K5 (PR75-PR133), AMD-K6 (PR166-PR233). Easy Installation: Is equipped with BIOS that supports auto detection of hard drives, PS/2 mouse, and Plug and Play devices to make setup of hard drives, expansion cards, and other devices virtually automatic. Desktop Management Interface (DMI): Supports DMI through BIOS which allows hardware to communicate within a standard protocol creating a higher level of compatibility. (Requires DMI-enabled components.) (See section V) L2 Cache: Comes in 256KB or 512KB models. Versatile DRAM Memory Support: Supports 72-pin SIMMs of 4MB, 8MB, 16MB, or 32MB to form a memory size between 8MB to 128MB. Supports both Fast Page Mode (FPM) and Extended Data Output (EDO) SIMMs. ISA and PCI Expansion Slots: Provides three PCI slots, three ISA slots, and one PCI/ISA share slot. Super Multi-I/O: Provides two high-speed UART compatible serial ports and one parallel port with EPP and ECP capabilities. UART2 can also be directed from COM2 to the Infrared Module for wireless connections. Two floppy drives of either 5.25" or 3.5" (1.44MB or 2.88MB) are also supported without an external card. The Japanese "Floppy 3 mode" (3.5" 1.2MB) floppy standard is also supported. PCI Bus Master IDE Controller: Comes with an onboard PCI Bus Master IDE controller with two connectors that supports four IDE devices in two channels, provides faster data transfer rates, and supports Enhanced IDE devices such as Tape Backup and CD-ROM drives. This controller supports PIO Modes 3 and 4 and Bus Master IDE DMA Mode 2. BIOS now supports IDE CDROM or SCSI bootup. Optional IrDA and PS/2 Mouse Connector: This motherboard supports an optional infrared port module for wireless interface and a PS/2 mouse cable set. Symbios SCSI BIOS: This motherboard has firmware that supports optional ASUS SCSI controller cards.

II. FEATURES (Features) 8
Parts of the VX97 Motherboard
Programmable Flash ROM 3 ISA Slots 3 PCI Slots 1 PCI/ISA Share Slot IDE/Floppy
Super Multi-I/O Serial/Parallel Ports

Intel's 430VX PCIset

(4) 72-pin SIMM Sockets
CPU ZIF Socket 7 256KB / 512KB L2 Cache
II. FEATURES (Parts of Board)

III. INSTALLATION

Map of the VX97 Motherboard
Universal Serial Bus (Reserved)

PS/2 Mouse

Keyboard

Serial Ports

Keyboard BIOS

Flash ROM for BIOS

Block Program (Dis/En)

ISA Slot 4

ISA Slot 3

ISA Slot 2

ISA Slot 1
Parallel Port (Printer) Board Power Input
Floppy Drives Primary IDE Secondary IDE

PCI Slot 4

PCI Slot 3

PCI Slot 2

PCI Slot 1

SIMM Socket 1 (Bank 0)

SIMM Socket 2 (Bank 0)

SIMM Socket 3 (Bank 1)

SIMM Socket 4 (Bank 1)
III. INSTALLATION (Map of Board)
BUS FREQ FS2 FS1 FS0 RTC Clear Battery Test

Intel PIIX3 PCIset

Intel 430VX PCIset

CPU ZIF Socket 7

CR2032 3V Lithium Cell (RTC RAM Memory)

CPU Voltage ID VID2 VID1

BUS Ratio

IDE LED

Panel Connections

Infrared Con.

256/512KB OnBoard L2 Cache

Jumpers

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) BBLKW RTCLR / JP1 VID0, 1, 2 FS0, FS1, FS2 BF0, BF1 p. 13 p. 13 p. 14 p. 15 p. 15 Flash ROM Boot Block Program (Disable/Enable) Real Time Clock RAM / Battery Test Lead CPU Voltage Selection CPU External Clock (BUS) Frequency Selection CPU:BUS Frequency Ratio

Expansion Slots

1) 2) 3) 4) SIMM Sockets CPU ZIF Socket 7 ISA Slots PCI Slots p. 16 p. 18 p. 19 p. 19 72-Pin DRAM Memory Expansion Sockets Central Processing Unit (CPU) Socket 16-bit ISA Bus Expansion Slots 32-bit PCI Bus Expansion Slots

Connectors

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) KBCON PS2MOUSE PRINTER COM1, COM2 FLOPPY POWER IDE1, IDE2 IDELED TB LED (PANEL) SMI (PANEL) RESET (PANEL) KEYLOCK (PANEL) SPEAKER (PANEL) IR p. 21 p. 21 p. 22 p. 22 p. 23 p. 23 p. 24 p. 24 p. 25 p. 25 p. 25 p. 25 p. 25 p. 26 Keyboard Connector (5-pin Female) PS/2 Mouse Connector (6-pin Block) Parallel (Printer) Port Connector (26-pin Block) Serial Port COM1 & COM2 (10-pin Blocks) Floppy Drive Connector (34-pin Block) Motherboard Power Connector (12-pin Block) Primary / Secondary IDE Connector (40-pin Blocks) IDE LED Activity Light Turbo LED/Power LED (2-pins) SMI Switch Lead (2-pins) Reset Switch Lead (2-pins) Keyboard Lock Switch Lead (5-pins) Speaker Output Connector (4-pins) Infrared Port Module Connector

ASUS VX97 Users Manual

Installation Steps
Before using your computer, you must complete the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Set Jumpers on the Motherboard Install Memory Modules Install the Central Processing Unit (CPU) Install Expansion Cards Connect Ribbon Cables, Cabinet Wires, and Power Supply Setup the BIOS Software

1. Jumpers

Several hardware settings are made through the use of jumper caps to connect jumper pins (JP) on the motherboard. See "Map of the Motherboard" on page 4 for locations of jumpers. The jumper settings will be described numerically such as [----], [1-2], [2-3] for no connection, connect pins 1&2, and connect pins 2&3 respectively. A "1" is written besides pin 1 on jumpers with three pins. The jumpers will to connect pins 1&2 and to connect also be shown graphically such as pins 2&3. Jumpers with two pins will be shown as for Short (On) and for Open (Off). For manufacturing simplicity, the jumpers may be sharing pins from other groups. Use the diagrams in this manual instead of following the pin layout on the board. Settings with two jumper numbers require that both jumpers be moved together. To connect the pins, simply place a plastic jumper cap over the two pins as diagramed. III. INSTALLATION (Jumpers) 12
WARNING: Computer motheboards and components contain very delicate Integrated Circuit (IC) chips. To protect the motherboard and other components 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. Hold components by the edges and try not to touch the IC chips, leads, or circuitry. 3. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer 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. Flash ROM Boot Block Programming (BBLKW) This sets the operation mode of the boot block area of the Programmable Flash ROM to allow programming in the Enabled position. This is required only if prompted by the Flash Memory Writer Utility as shown in BIOS SOFTWARE. Programming Disabled Enabled BBLKW [1-2] (Default) [2-3]
BBLKW 3 Disabled / Protected (Default)

BBLKW 3 Enabled

Boot Block Programming (Disable / Enable)
2. Real Time Clock (RTC) RAM The CMOS RAM is powered by the onboard button cell battery. To clear the RTC data: (1) Turn off your computer, (2) Short the two pads (Labeled: SHORT HERE TO CLEAR CMOS) momentarily with a metallic object (3) Turn on your computer, (4) Hold down <Delete> during bootup and enter BIOS setup to reenter user preferences. Battery Test Jumper (JP1) (For Service Use Only) You can test the batterys current by removing this jumper and attaching a current meter to the pins. WARNING: You must unplug the power cord to your power supply to ensure that there is no power to your motherboard. The CMOS RAM containing BIOS setup information may be cleared by this action. You should enter BIOS to Load Setup Defaults and re-enter any user information after removing and reapplying this jumper.

IV. BIOS (Standard CMOS)

For IDE hard disk drive setup, you can: Use the Auto setting for detection during bootup. Use the IDE HDD AUTO DETECTION in the main menu to automatically enter the drive specifications. Enter the specifications yourself manually by using the User option. The entries for specifying the hard disk type include CYLS (number of cylinders), HEAD (number of read/write heads), PRECOMP (write precompensation), LANDZ (landing zone), SECTOR (number of sectors) and MODE. The SIZE field automatically adjusts according to the configuration you specify. The documentation that comes with your hard disk should provide you with the information regarding the drive specifications. The MODE entry is for IDE hard disks only, and can be ignored for MFM and ESDI drives. This entry provides three options: Normal, Large, LBA, or Auto (see below). Set MODE to the Normal for IDE hard disk drives smaller than 528MB; set it to LBA for drives over 528MB that support Logical Block Addressing (LBA) to allow larger IDE hard disks; set it to Large for drives over 528MB that do not support LBA. Large type of drive can only be used with MS-DOS and is very uncommon. Most IDE drives over 528MB support the LBA mode.
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 drives during bootup. This will allow you to change your hard drives (with the power off) and then power on without having to reconfigure your hard drive type. If you use older hard drives which do not support this feature, then you must configure the hard drive in the standard method as described above by the "User" option.
IV. BIOS (Standard CMOS) 34
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 key. Floppy 3 Mode Support (Disabled) This is the Japanese standard floppy drive. The standard stores 1.2MB in a 3.5" 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, Mono (for Hercules or MDA), CGA 40, and CGA 80 If you are using a VGA or any higher resolution card, choose the EGA/VGA option. 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) ASUS VX97 User's Manual 35

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 here 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 the <F1> key. A pop-up help menu will appear to provide you with the information you need. To load the last set values, press the <F5> key. <F6> and <F7> load 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) 36
Details of BIOS Features Setup
Virus Warning (Disabled) This field protects the boot sector and partition table of your hard disk against accidental modifications. Any attempt to write to them will cause the system to halt and display a warning message. If this occurs, you can either allow the operation to continue or use a bootable virus-free floppy disk to reboot and investigate your system. This setting is recommended because conflicts with new operating systems. Installation of new operating systems require that you disable this to prevent write errors. CPU Internal Cache (Enabled) These fields allow you to Enable or Disable the CPUs Level 1 primary cache. Caching allows better performance.
External Cache (Enabled) These fields allow you to Enable or Disable the CPUs Level 2 secondary cache. Caching allows better performance. Quick Power On Self Test (Enabled) This field speeds up the Power-On Self Test (POST) routine by skipping retesting a second, third, and forth time. Setup default setting for this field is Enabled. A complete test of the system is done on each test. HDD Sequence SCSI/IDE First (New Feature!) When using both SCSI and IDE hard disk drives, IDE is always the boot disk using drive letter C (default setting of IDE). This new feature allows a SCSI hard disk drive to be the boot disk when set to SCSI. This allows multiple operating systems to be used on both IDE and SCSI drives or the primary operating system to boot using a SCSI hard disk drive. Boot Sequence (C,A) This field determines where the system looks first for an operating system. Options are C,CDROM,A; CDROM,C,A; A,C; C,A The setup default setting is to check first the hard disk and then the floppy drive; that is, C, A. Swap Floppy Drive (Disabled) When enabled, the BIOS swaps floppy drive assignments so that Drive A becomes Drive B, and Drive B becomes Drive A under DOS. Boot Up Floppy Seek (Disabled) When enabled, the BIOS will seek the floppy "A" drive one time. Floppy Disk Access Control (R/W) This allows protection of files from the computer system to be copied to floppy drives by allowing the setting of Read Only to only allow reads from the floppy but not writes. The setup default R/W allows both reads and writes. Boot Up NumLock Status (On) This field enables users to activate the Number Lock function upon system boot. Boot Up System Speed (High) This has no function and should be left on the setup default. IDE HDD Block Mode Sectors (HDD MAX) This field enhances hard disk performance by making multi-sector transfers instead of one sector per transfer. Most IDE drives, except older versions, can utilize this feature. Selections are HDD MAX, Disabled 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32. IV. BIOS (BIOS Features) 37

Typematic Rate Setting (Disabled) When enabled, you can set the two typematic controls listed next. Setup default setting is Disabled. Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) This field controls the speed at which the system registers repeated keystrokes. Options range from 6 to 30 characters per second. Setup default setting is 6; other settings are 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, and 30. Typematic Delay (Msec) (250ms) This field sets the time interval for displaying the first and second characters. Four delay rate options are available: 250ms, 500ms, 750ms and 1000ms. Security Option (System) This field determines when the system prompts for the password. The default setting is System, where the system prompts for the User Password every time you boot up. The other option is Setup, where the system always boots up, and prompts for the Supervisor Password only when the Setup utility is called up. You can specify a password by using the Supervisor Password or User Password option from the main screen as explained later in this section. PS/2 Mouse Function Control (Auto) The default of Auto allows the system to detect a PS/2 Mouse on bootup. If detected, IRQ12 will be used for the PS/2 Mouse. IRQ12 will be reserved for expansion cards if a PS/2 Mouse is not detected. Disabled will reserve IRQ12 for expansion cards and therefore the PS/2 Mouse will not function. PCI/VGA Palette Snoop (Disabled) Some display cards that are nonstandard VGA such as graphics accelerators or MPEG Video Cards may not show colors properly. The setting Enabled should correct this problem. Otherwise leave this on the setup default setting of Disabled. OS/2 Onboard Memory > 64M (Disabled) When using OS/2 operating systems with installed DRAM of greater than 64MB, you need to Enable this option otherwise leave this on the setup default of Disabled.... Video BIOS Shadow (Enabled) This field allows you to change the video BIOS location from ROM to RAM. Relocating to RAM enhances system performance, as information access is faster than the ROM. C8000-CBFFF to DC000-DFFFF (Disabled) These fields are used for shadowing other expansion card ROMs. If you install other expansion cards with ROMs on them, you will need to know which addresses the ROMs use to shadow them specifically. Shadowing a ROM reduces the memory available between 640KB and 1024KB by the amount used for this purpose.

IV. BIOS (BIOS Features) 38

Chipset Features Setup

This Chipset Features Setup option controls the configuration of the boards chipset. Control keys for this screen are the same as for the previous screen.
Details of Chipset Features Setup
Auto Configuration (60ns DRAM) The default setting of 60ns DRAM sets the optimal timings for items 2 through 9 for 60ns DRAM modules. If you are using 70ns DRAM modules, you must change this item to 70ns DRAM. See section III for DRAM installation information. SDRAM CAS# Latency (Leave on default setting of 3T) SDRAM RAS-to-CAS Override (Leave on default setting of Disabled) PCI 2.1 Passive Release (Leave on default setting of Disabled) 16-bit I/O Recovery Time (1 BUSCLK) Timing for 16-bit ISA cards 8-bit I/O Recovery Time (1 BUSCLK) Timing for 8-bit ISA cards Video BIOS Cacheable (Enabled) Allows the Video BIOS to be cached to allow faster execution. Leave on default setting of Enabled for better performance. (Otherwise Disabled)
IV. BIOS (Chipset Features)

(BIOS Features)

Memory Hole at Address (None) This features reserves either 14MB-16MB or 15MB-16MB memory address space to ISA expansion cards that specifically require this setting. Memory from 14MB and up or 15MB and up will be unavailable to the system because expansion cards can only access memory up to 16MB.... Onboard FDC Controller (Enabled) When enabled, this field allows you to connect your floppy disk drives to the onboard floppy drive connector instead of a separate controller card. If you want to use a different controller card to connect the floppy drives, set this field to Disabled. Onboard FDC Swap A: B: (No Swap) This field reverses the 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, set this field to Swap AB, and the swap will be controlled in hardware. This works separately from the BIOS Features floppy disk swap feature. It is functionally the same as physically interchanging the connectors of the floppy disk drives. 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.

(Chipset Features) IV. BIOS (Chipset Features) 40
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 section III of the baseboard manual for the IrDA-compliant infrared module connector. 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 0 Master/Slave Mode, IDE 1 Master/Slave Mode (Auto) Each channel (0 and 1) has both a master and a slave making four IDE devices possible. Because each IDE device may have a different Mode timing (0, 1, 2, 3, 4), it is necessary for these to be independent. The default setting of Auto will allow auto-detection to ensure optimal performance. IV. BIOS (Chipset Features) 41 IV. BIOS (Chipset Features) ASUS VX97 User's Manual

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.
IV. BIOS (Chipset Features) IV. BIOS (Power Management) 42
Details of Power Management Setup
Power Management (User Defined) 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; Disabled disables the power saving features; User Defined 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 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.

PNP and PCI Setup

This PNP and PCI Setup option configures the PCI bus slots. All PCI bus slots on the system use INTA#, thus all installed PCI cards must be set to this value.
Details of PNP and PCI Setup
[Slot Interrupts] (Auto) The first four fields on the screen set how IRQ use is determined for each PCI slot. Slot 1 (Right) is nearest the memory sockets. The default setting for each field is Auto, which uses auto-routing to determine IRQ use. The other options are manual settings of NA, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, or 15 for each slot. PCI Latency Timer (32 PCI Clock) "32 PCI Clock" enables maximum PCI performance for this motherboard. IRQ xx Used By ISA (No/ICU) These fields indicate whether or not the displayed IRQ for each field is being used by a Legacy (non-PnP) ISA card. Two options are available: No/ICU and Yes. The first option, the default value, indicates either that the displayed IRQ is not used or an ISA Configuration Utility (ICU) is being used to determine if an ISA card is using that IRQ. If you install a Legacy ISA card that requires a unique IRQ, and you are not using an ICU, you must set the field for that IRQ to Yes. For example: If you install a Legacy ISA card that requires IRQ 10, then set IRQ10 Used By ISA to Yes.... IV. BIOS (Plug & Play / PCI) 44
DMA x Used By ISA (No/ICU) These fields indicate whether or not the displayed DMA channel for each field is being used by a Legacy (non-PnP) ISA card. Available options include: No/ICU and Yes. The first option, the default setting, indicates either that the displayed DMA channel is not used or an ICU is being used to determine if an ISA card is using that channel. If you install a Legacy ISA card that requires a unique DMA channel, and you are not using an ICU, you must set the field for that channel to Yes. ISA MEM Block BASE (No/ICU) This field allows you to set the base address and block size of a Legacy ISA card that uses any memory segment within the C800H and DFFFH address range. If you have such a card, and you are not using an ICU to specify its address range, select a base address from the six available options; the ISA MEM Block SIZE field will then appear for selecting the block size. If you have more than one Legacy ISA card in your system that requires to use this address range, you can increase the block size to either 8K, 16K, 36K, or 64K. If you are using an ICU to accomplish this task, leave ISA MEM Block BASE to its default setting of No/ICU. NCR SCSI BIOS (Auto) The default uses Auto settings for the onboard NCR SCSI BIOS (see section VI). If you wish not to use the onboard NCR SCSI BIOS, choose Disabled USB Function (Disabled) This motherboard supports Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices but current operating systems do not. The default is set to Disabled until support disks and USB devices are available in which time you can set this function to Enabled.

Save and Exit Setup

IV. BIOS (Load Setup Defaults) 49 IV. BIOS (Save & Exit) Select this option to save into the CMOS memory all modifications you specify during the current session. To save the configuration changes, highlight the Save & Exit Setup option on the main screen and then press the <Enter> key.

Exit Without Saving

Select this option to exit the Setup utility without saving the modifications you specify during the current session. To exit without saving, highlight the Exit Without Saving option on the main screen and then press the <Enter> key.
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V. DESKTOP MANAGEMENT

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 ran 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. DMI (DMI Introduction) ASUS VX97 User's Manual 51
Using the ASUS DMI Configuration Utility

Edit DMI (or delete)

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.
V. DMI (Using DMI Utility) 52

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 has been modified by the user.

Save MIFD

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. Load MIFD
You can load the disk file to memory by entering a drive and path and file name here. Load BIOS Defaults V. DMI (Using DMI Utility) 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. ASUS VX97 User's Manual 53

VI. ASUS PCI SCSI Cards

Aside from the system BIOS, the Flash memory chip on the motherboard also contains the Symbios SCSI BIOS. This Symbios SCSI BIOS works in conjunction with the optional ASUS PCI-SC200 controller card to provide Fast SCSI-2 interface when using compatible SCSI devices or the ASUS PCI-SC860 SCSI controller cards to provide Ultra-Fast SCSI-2 interface when using Ultra-Fast SCSI-2 devices. All SCSI devices you install on your system require driver software to function. The Symbios SCSI BIOS directly supports SCSI hard disks under the DOS, Windows and OS/2 environments. It also uses device drivers from the DOS floppy disk included in the ASUS PCI-SC200 and ASUS PCI-SC860 controller card packages to support hard disks and other SCSI devices working under DOS, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows NT, Novell NetWare and IBM OS/2. These drivers provide higher performance than the direct BIOS support. To use these drivers, you must install them into your system and add them to your system configuration files. Driver support for SCSI devices used with SCO UNIX is also provided. These drivers are included in the second SCO UNIX floppy disk. Windows 95 support is also available using the device drivers included within the Windows software. The ASUS PCI-SC200 and ASUS PCI-SC860 are Plug and Play adapters that are auto detected by BIOS and current operating systems that support Plug and Play features. For information about these drivers and their usage, please view the Readme files included in the driver packages. VI. ASUS SCSI Cards (SCSI BIOS) 55

Service Bulletin

No. 99-003
u u OPTIONAL RECOMMENDED MANDATORY
TIMELINE VISTA, INC. 1755 LA COSTA MEADOWS DRIVE, SUITE B SAN MARCOS, CA 92069 TEL. 760-761-4440 FAX 760-761-4449
support@timelinevista.com
MMR/MMP BIOS Settings for Wide SCSI Card
DATE: MODEL: AFFECTED MOTHERBOARDS: REQUIRED HARDWARE: DESCRIPTION: This service bulletin is mandatory if a Symbios Ultra Wide SCSI card with BIOS version 4.05 or higher is installed in an MMR-8 or MMP-16 unit using any of the above-specified motherboards. This bulletin details Motherboard BIOS settings affecting RAM allocation which must be changed in order for the units to function properly. PROCEDURE: Hardware setup 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Remove cover from the MMR/MMP. Remove the blank ISA plate, and install the PCI video card in the slot labeled Spare. On the rear panel at center-bottom, remove the two phillips head screws that secure the chassis keyboard plate. Be sure to remove the plate from inside the unit. Attach the keyboard through the exposed cutout to the motherboard keyboard port. Attach the video monitor to the video card monitor port. 3/26/99 MMR-8 and MMP-16 ASUS TX-97, ASUS VX-97 and TYAN S1571 PCI Video Card, AT Keyboard, Video Monitor
BIOS setup The required changes to the BIOS are organized into two parts. Part 1 applies to all of the motherboards listed, and Part 2 applies to specific motherboard models. Part 1: Disable the SCSI cards on-board BIOS 1) 2) 3) 4)

ECC NO. 1268

Apply power to unit. When prompted by the Symbios Configuration Utility, press <ctrl> + <c>. Select Change adapter status and press <Enter>. Select Next Boot and press <Enter> to toggle its state from On to Off.

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Service Bulletin No. 99-003
5) 6) Save and exit the Symbios Configuration Utility. Remove Power from Unit.
Part 2: Setup Reserved RAM Space - ASUS TX-97 AND VX-97 MOTHERBOARDS ONLY 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Apply power to unit. Press <Del> when prompted to enter the CMOS Setup utility. Select PNP AND PCI SETUP and press <Enter>. Use the arrow keys to highlight SYMBIOS SCSI BIOS. Press the <page up>/<page down> keys to select Disabled. Use the arrow keys to highlight ISA MEM BLOCK BASE. Press the <page up>/<page down> keys to select D000. Use the arrow keys to highlight ISA MEM BLOCK SIZE. Press the <page up>/<page down> keys to select 64K. Press <Esc> to exit PNP AND PCI SETUP. Press <F10> and then <Y> to save and exit the CMOS Setup utility.
Part 2: Setup reserved RAM Space - TYAN S1751 MOTHERBOARDS ONLY 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Re-assembly 1) 1) 2) 3) Remove the PCI video card and re-attach the ISA blank plate to the chassis. Remove the keyboard cable and re-attach the keyboard cover plate. Check all cables for complete seating into connectors, then re-attach chassis cover. Apply power to system and verify correct operation. END OF PROCEDURE Apply power to unit. Press <Del> when prompted to enter the CMOS Setup utility. Select PNP AND PCI SETUP and press <Enter>. Use arrow keys to highlight USED MEM BASE ADDR. Press the <page up>/<page down> keys to select D000. Use the arrow keys to highlight USED MEM LENGTH. Press the <page up>/<page down> keys to select 64K. Press <Esc> to exit PNP AND PCI SETUP. Press <F10> and then <Y> to save and exit CMOS Setup utility.

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