Asus A7N8X-XE manual

Motherboard A7N8X-XE User Guide[...]

ii Copyright © 2005 ASUST eK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. 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 [...]

iii Contents Notices ...........................................................................................................v Safety Information .......................................................................................... vi About This Guide ..........................................................................................[...]

iv Contents Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.1 Managing and Updating Y our BIOS ............................................... 2-2 2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk ....................................... 2-2 2.1.2 Using AFUDOS to copy the current BIOS ....................... 2-3 2.1.3 Using AFUDOS to update the BIOS ............................... 2-[...]

v 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. This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003. Notices Federal Communications Commis[...]

vi Safety Information Electrical safety • T o prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electrical outlet before relocating the system. • When adding or removing devices to or from the system, ensure that the power cables for the devices are unplugged before the signal cables are connected. If possible, disconnect all[...]

vii Where to find more information Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software updates. 1. ASUS websites The ASUS websites worldwide provide updated information on ASUS hardware and software products. Refer to the ASUS contact information. 2. Optional documentation Y our product package may include option[...]

viii A7N8X-XE Specifications Summary (continued next page) S oc k et A f or A M D A t hl o n™ XP / Se m p ro n ™ / D ur o n™ pr o ce s so r s NVIDIA ® nForce 2 Ultra 400 NVIDIA ® nForce 2 MCP-RAID 400/333/266 MHz 3 x 184-pin DDR DIMM Dockets for up to 3GB memory Support DDR 400/333/266, non-ECC, un-buffered memory Support Dual Channel Arch[...]

ix * Specifications are subject to change without notice. Drivers ASUS PC Probe Anti-Virus Software ASUS LiveUpdate User ʼs Manual UltraDMA cable FDD cable I/O shield SA T A cable A TX, 12” x 7.8” (30.5cm x 19.8cm) A7N8X-XE Specifications Summary Support CD Accessary Form factor[...]

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1 Product Introduction This chapter describes the motherboard features and the new technologies it supports.[...]

1-2 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.3 Special features 1.3.1 Product highlights 400 MHz FSB Athlon XP CPU Support The motherboard supports 400MHz front side bus frequency for AMDʼs Athlon XP and Sempron processors allowing increased office productivity and enhanced digital media experience. See page 1-8. Dual-Channel DDR 400 The 128-bit T winBa[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-3 Serial A T A technology Serial A T A is the next generation A T A specification that provides scalable performance for today and tomorrow . With up to 150MB/s data transfer rate, Serial A T A is faster than current Parallel A T A, while providing 100% software compatibilit y . A7N8X-XE supports RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID [...]

1-4 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.3.2 Innovative ASUS features CrashFree BIOS CrashFree BIOS allows users to restore BIOS data from a floppy diskette even wh e n B IO S c od e a nd d at a a re c or ru pt e d du r in g u pg ra d e or i nv a de d b y v ir us . Unlike other competing vendorsʼ products, ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-5 1.4 Before you proceed T ake note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings. • Unp lug th e p ower c ord fr om t he wal l s ocke t b efor e to uchi ng an y component. • Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or a m e ta l o bj ec [...]

1-6 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.5 Motherboard overview 1.5.1 Motherboard layout Bottom:Mic In Center:Line Out T op:Line In P ANEL A7 N8 X- XE CR2032 3V Lithium Cell CMOS Power AUX IDE1 A TXPWR 19.9cm (7.8in) 30.5cm (12.0in) CPU_F AN DDR DIMMA1 (64 bit,184-pin module) USB34 FLOPPY Super I/O 4Mb BIOS PS/2KBMS T : Mouse B: Ke yboard LAN_USB12 CD[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-7 Do not overtighten the screws! Doing so can damage the motherboard. 1.5.2 Placement direction When installing the motherboard, make sur e that you place it into the chassis in t he correct orientation. The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of t he chassis as indicated in the image below . 1.5.3 Screw holes[...]

1-8 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.6 Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1.6.1 Overview The motherboard has a Socket A for installation. The AMD Athlon™/Sempron™ /Duron™ CPU has a “marked” corner . This corner is usually indicated with a notch, and/or a golden square or triangle. Refer to this indicator when orienting the CPU. A fan and heat[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-9 Sockets Mode DIMM_A1 DIMM_A2 DIMM_B1 Single-channel (1) Populated — — (2) — Populated — (3) — — Populated Dual-channel* (1) Populated — Populated (2) — Populated Populated (3) Populated Populated Populated 1.7 System memory 1.7.1 Overview The motherboard has three Double Data Rate (DDR) DIMM sockets tha[...]

1-10 Chapter 1: Product Introduction DDR400 Qualified V endors List Size V endor Model CL Brand SS/DS Component DIMM socket support (Optional) A* B* C* 256MB Kingston KVR333X64C25/256 N/A Kingston SS D3208DH1T-6 Pass Pass Pass 256MB Kingston KVR333X64C25/256 N/A Hynix SS HY5DU56822BT-J Pass Pass Pass 256MB Kingston KVR333X64C25/256 N/A Hynix DS HY[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-1 1 1.7.3 Installing a DIMM Follow these steps to install a DIMM. 1 . Locate the DIMM sockets in the motherboard. 2. Unlock a DIMM socket by pressing the retaining clips outward. 3 . Align a DIMM on the socket such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the socket. 1.7.4 Removin g a D IMM Follow these steps to r[...]

1-12 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.8 Expansion slots In the future, you may need to install expansion cards. The following sub-sections describe the slots and the expansion cards that they support. 1.8.1 Installing an expansion card T o install an expansion card: 1. Before installing the expansion card, read the documentation that came with it [...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-13 Standard interrupt assignments IRQ Standard Function 0 System T imer 1 Standard 101-102-key or microsoft natural keyboard 2 Programmable interrupt controller 3 ACPI IRQ hold for PCI IRQ steering 4 Communications Port (COM1) 5 C-Media AC 97 audio device 6 Standard floppy disk controller 7 ECP printer port 8 System CMO[...]

1-14 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.8.4 PCI slots The PCI slots support cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other cards that comply with PCI specifications. The figure shows a LAN card installed on a PCI slot. 1.8.3 AGP slot The motherboard has an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot that supports +1.5 V 8X AGP graphics card. No[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-15 1.9 Jumpers 1. Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC) This jumper allows you to clear the Real Time Clock (R TC) RAM in CMOS. Y ou can clear the CMOS memory of da te, time, and system setup parame ters b y e r a s i n g t h e C M O S R T C R A M d a t a . T h e o n b o a r d b u t t o n c e l l b a t t e r y powers the RAM data in CMO[...]

1-16 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 2. PS2/USB Device W ake-up (3-pin PS2USBPW) This jumper allows you to enable or disable the USB/PS2 keyboard or mouse wake-up feature. Set this jumper to +5V to wake up the computer from S1 sleep mode (CPU stopped, DRAM refreshed, system running in low power mode) using the conn ected keyboard, mouse or USB devi[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-17 1. PS/2 mouse port (green). This port is for a PS/2 mouse. 2. Parallel port. This 25-pin port connects a parallel printer , a scanner , or other devices. 3. LAN (RJ-45) port. This port allows 10/100 Mbps connection to a Local Area Network (LAN) through a network hub. 4. Line In port (light blue). This port connects a [...]

1-18 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 2. IDE connectors (40-1 pin PRI_IDE, SEC_IDE) T h i s c o n n e c t o r i s f o r a n U l t r a D M A 1 3 3 s i g n a l c a b l e . T h e U l t r a DMA 133 signal cable has three connectors: a blue connector for the IDE connector on the motherboard, a black connector for an Ultra DMA 133/100/66 IDE slave device [...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-19 3. Serial A T A connectors (7-pin SA T A1, SA T A2) These connectors are for the Serial A T A signal cables for Serial A T A hard disk drives. 4. CPU and chassis fan connectors (3-pin CPU_F AN, CHA_F AN) The fan conne ctor s supp ort coolin g fans of 350 mA~740 mA (8.88 W max.) or a total of 1 A~2.22 A (26.64 W max.) [...]

1-20 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 5. USB connectors (10-1 pin USB56, USB78) These connectors are for USB 2.0 ports. Connect the USB module cable to any of these connectors, then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system chassis. The USB module is purchased separately . Never connect a 1394 cable to the USB connectors. Doing [...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 1-21 7. Front panel audio connectors (10-1 pin FP_AUDIO) This connector is for the front panel audio cable. This connector supports the front panel audio I/O ports. A7N8X -XE ® A7N8X-XE Front panel audio connector FP_AUDIO BLINE_OUT_L MIC2 Line out_R Line out_L BLINE_OUT_R NC MICPWR +5V A AGND 8. A TX power connector (20-[...]

1-22 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 9. System panel connector (20-pin P ANEL) This connector supports several chassis-mounted functions. • System power LED (3-1 pin PLED) This connector is for the system power LED. Connect the chassis power LED cable to this connector . The system power LED lights up when you turn on the system power , and blink[...]

2 BIOS Setup T h i s c h a p t e r t e l l s h o w t o c h a n g e the system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIO S p ara mete rs are als o p rov ide d.[...]

2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2 . 1 M a n a g i n g a n d u p d a ti ng y ou r B I O S The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup. 1. ASUS AFUDOS (Updat es the BIOS in DOS mode usin g a boo table flopp y disk.) 2 . A SU S C ra sh Fr e e B I OS (U pd at es t h e B IO S u si ng a fl op [...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-3 2.1.2 Using AFUDOS to copy the current BIOS The AFUDOS.EXE utility can also be used to copy the current system BIOS settings to a floppy or hard disk. The copy can be used as a backup in case the system BIOS fails or gets corrupted. 1. At the DOS prompt, type the command line: afudos /o[filename] where “filename?[...]

2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 4. At the DOS prompt, type the command line: afudos /i [filename.rom] where [filename.rom] means the latest (or original) BIOS file that you copied to the bootable floppy disk. 5. Press <Enter>. The screen displays the status of the update process. A:>afudos /iA7N8X-XE.rom AMI Firmware Update Utility - Versio[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-5 2.1.4 ASUS CrashFree BIOS utility The ASUS CrashFree BIOS allows you to update the BIOS file when it fails or gets corrupted. Y ou can update a corrupted BIOS file using a floppy disk that contains the updated BIOS file and the AFUDOS utility . T o update the BIOS using CrashFree BIOS: 1. T urn on the system. 2. Wh[...]

2-6 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.1.5 Using ASUS EZ Flash to update the BIOS The ASUS EZ Flash feature allows you to easily update the BIOS without having to go through the long process of booting from a floppy disk and using a DOS-based utility . The EZ Flash is built-in the BIOS LPC chip so it is accessible by simply pressing <Alt> + <F2> [...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-7 2.1.6 ASUS Update utility Th e AS US Up dat e i s a u til ity t hat a llo ws yo u t o m ana ge, s ave , a nd up dat e t he mot herb oar d B IOS in Win dow s ® en viro nme nt. T he ASUS Upd ate ut ili ty a llo ws you to: • Save the current BIOS file • Download the latest BIOS file from the Internet • Update the[...]

2-8 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Updating the BIOS through a BIOS file T o update the BIOS through a BIOS file: 1. Launch the ASUS Update utility from the Windows ® desktop by clicking Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate > ASUSUpdate. The ASUS Update main window appears. 2 . Select Update BIOS from a file option from the drop-down menu, th[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-9 2.2 BIOS setup program This motherboard supports a programmable FLASH ROM that you can update usin g the pro vided util ity d escrib ed in sec tion “2 .1 Ma naging an d upda ting y our BIOS.” Use the BIOS Setup program when you are installing a motherboard, reconfiguring your system, or prompted to “Run Setup.?[...]

2-10 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.2.1 BIOS menu bar The top of the screen has a menu bar with the following selections: MAIN U s e t h i s m e n u t o m a k e c h a n g e s t o t h e b a s i c s y s t e m configuration. ADV ANCED Use this menu to enable and make changes to the advanced features. POWER Use this menu to configure and enable Power Managem[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-1 1 Sub-menu The right pointer symbol that appears at the left of certain parameters indicates that a sub-menu exists for this field. A sub-menu offers additional parameter options. T o display a sub-menu, move the highlight to the field and press <Enter>. The sub-menu appears. Use the legend keys to navigate and [...]

2-12 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.3 Main menu System Time [hh:mm:ss] Sets the system to the time that you specify (usually the current time). The format is hour , minute, second. V alid values for hour , minute and second are Hour: (00 to 23), Minute: (00 to 59), Second: (00 to 59). Use the <T ab> key to move between the hour , minute, and second [...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-13 Primary and Secondary IDE Master/Slave; Third and Fourth IDE Master Primary IDE Master Type [Auto] LBA/Large Mode [Auto] Block (Multi-Sector Transfer) M [Auto] PIO Mode [Auto] DMA Mode [Auto] SMART Monitoring [Auto] 32Bit Data Transfer [Disabled] The BIOS automatically detects the values opposite the dimmed items (Dev[...]

2-14 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup System Information AMIBIOS Version : 08.00.12 Build Date: 06/02/05 Processor Type : AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2500+ Speed : 1833HAz Count : 1 System Memory Size : 256MB PIO Mode [Auto] Selects the PIO mode. Configuration options: [Auto] [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] DMA Mode [Auto ] S el e c t s t h e D MA m o d e . C on f i g ur a t i on[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-15 2.4 Advanced menu The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system devices. JumperFree Configuration USB Configuration CPU Configuration Chipset Onboard Devices Configuration PCIPnP Adjust system frequency/voltage ←→ Select Screen ↑↓ Select Item +- Change Field Enter Go[...]

2-16 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup CPU Frequency [166] Allows you to set the CPU host frequency . Range: 100MHz-300MHz. FSB Spread Spectrum [Disabled] Allows you to enable and disable the FSB clock generator spread spectrum. Configuration options: [Auto] [Disabled] AGP Spread spectrum [Disabled] Allows you to enable and disable the AGP clock generator spr[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-17 2.4.3 CPU Configuration This menu displays the CPU type, speed, cache RAM, and current front side bus frequency auto-detected by the BIOS. CPU C onfigu ratio n CPU Internal Cache [Disabled] Options Disabled Write-Thru Write-Back v02.58 (C)Copyright 1985-2004, American Megatrends, Inc. Processor Type :AMD Athlon(tm) [...]

2-18 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Primary Graphices Adapter [PCI] Graphics Aperture Size [ 64MB] MDA Access Control [PCI] TV Mode Support [Default] C1 Disconnect [Auto Mode] System Clock Settings System Performance Settings NorthBridge Chipset Configuration Northbridge Ch ipset configuratio n This will switch the PCI Bus scanning order while searching f[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-19 Memory Clock [Auto] DRAM Timing [Auto] TRAS [7] TRCD [4] TRP [2] CAS# Latency [Auto] System Clock Settings Memory Clock can be set by the code using AUTO, or you can set one of the standard values. v02.58 (C)Copyright 1985-2004, American Megatrends, Inc. ←→ Select Screen ↑↓ Select Item +- Change Option F1 Gene[...]

2-20 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Onboard LAN [Enabled] MAC Bridge Mode [Enabled] AC97 Audio [Auto] Modem CODEC Interface [Auto] OnBoard SATA Controller [Enabled] SATA Operation Mode [non-RAID] SMBus Interface [Enabled] IOAPIC [Enabled] South Bridge Chipset Configuration South Bridge Chipset configuration Enable or Disable Onboard LAN device v02.58 (C)C[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-21 2.4.5 Onboard Devices Configuration Th e O nbo ard De vic es Con figu rat ion me nu all ows yo u t o a dju st the se tti ngs fo r o nbo ard de vic es . S el ect a n i tem t hen p res s <En te r> to di spl ay th e sub -m enu . Configure Win627 Super IO Chipset Allows BIOS to Enable or Disable Floppy Controller[...]

2-22 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.4.6 PCIPnP The PCIPnP menu allows you to change the settings for installed PCI devices. Select an item then press <Enter> to display the sub-menu. Advan ced PC I/PnP Setti ngs NO: lets the BIOS configure all the devices in the system. YES: lets the operating system configure Plug and Play (PnP) devices not requi[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-23 2.5 Power menu T h e P o w e r m e n u i t e m s a l l o w y o u t o c h a n g e t h e s e t t i n g s f o r t h e A d v a n c e d Po we r M an ag eme nt ( AP M) . Se le ct an i te m, th en p re ss < En te r> to d is pl ay t he configuration options. Suspend Mode [Auto] Repost Vidow on S3 Resume [No] ACPI 2.0 S[...]

2-24 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Power Management/APM [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the Advanced Power Management (APM) feature. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Suspend Power Saving T ype [S1] Configuration options: [C2] [S1] Power Button Mode [On/Off] Configuration options: [On/Off] [Suspend] Video Power Down Mode [Suspend] Al[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-25 PME Resume [Disabled] Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Ring-In Power On [Disabled] This field allows you to enable or disable the Ring-In Power on function. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] RTC Resume [Disabled] Allows you to enable or disable RTC to genera te a wake event. When this item is e [...]

2-26 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.5.2 Hardware Monitor Hardware Health Event Monitoring CPU Temperature : 45ºC/113ºF M/B Temperature : 32ºC/89ºF CPU Fan Speed : 3863 RPM Chassis Fan Speed : N/A Vcore : 1.661 V + 3.30V : 3.403 V + 5.00V : 5.094 V + 12.00V : 11.461 V MB T emperature [xxx°C/xxx°F] CPU T emperature [xxx°C/xxx°F] The onboard hardware[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-27 Boot Settings Boot Device Priority Boot Settings Configuration Security 2.6 Boot menu The Boot menu items allow you to change the system boot settings. Select a sub- menu, then press <Enter> to display the configuration options. Spedcifies the Boot Device Proiority sequence. A virtual floppy disk drive (Flop[...]

2-28 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.6.2 Boot Settings Configuration This menu allows you to adjust the system boot settings. Boot Settings Configuration Allows BIOS to skip certain tests while booting. This will decrease the time needed to boot the system. Quick Boot [Enabled] Full Screen Logo [Enabled] AddOn ROM Display Mode [Force BIOS] Boot From Netw[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-29 W ait for ʻF1ʼ If Error [Enabled] When set to Enabled, the system waits for the F1 key to be pressed when error occurs. configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Hit ʻDEL ʼ Message Display [Enabled] When set to Enabled, the system displays the message “Press DEL to run Setup” during POST . Configuration op[...]

2-30 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup If you forget your BIOS password, you can clear it by erasing the CMOS Real TMe Clock (RTC) RAM. See section “1.6 Jumpers” for information on how to erase the RTC RAM. Change User Password Select this item to set or c hange the user password. The Supervisor Password item on top of the screen shows the default Not Inst[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 2-31 2.7 Exit menu The Exit menu items allow you to save or discard your changes to, and/or load the optimal or failsafe default values for the BIOS items. Exit Options Exit & Save Changes Exit & Discard Changes Discard Changes Load Setup Default Exit system setup after saving the changes. F10 key can be used for t[...]

3 Software Support This chapter describes the contents of the support CD that comes with the motherboard package.[...]

3-2 Chapter 3: Software Support If Autorun is NOT enabled in your computer , browse the contents of the support C D t o l o ca t e t h e f i l e A S SE T U P . E XE f r o m t he B I N f ol d e r. D o ub l e - cl i c k t h e ASSETUP .EXE to run the CD. Click an item to install 3.1 Installing an operating system This motherboard supports Windows ® 9[...]

ASUS A7N8X-XE Motherboard 3-3 3.2.2 Drivers menu The drivers menu shows the available device drivers if the system detects installed devices. Install the necessary drivers to activate the devices. NVIDIA ALL in 1 Driver Install NVIDIA ALL in 1 Driver . Make NVIDIA nForce Chipset Driver Disk Make NVIDIA nForce Chipset Driver Disk. *Note : you can br[...]

3-4 Chapter 3: Software Support ASUS Update The ASUS Update utility allows you to update the motherboard BIOS in a Windows ® environment. This utility requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP). See pages 2-7 to 2-8 for details. ASUS Screen Saver Bring life to your idle screen by installing the A[...]