[. . . ] A7V400-MX SE Motherboard E1942 First edition V1 February 2005 Copyright © 2005 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. 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. 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. 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. [. . . ] The IDE LED lights up or flashes when data is read from or written to the HDD. · · · · 1-26 Chapter 1: Product introduction Reset Ground This chapter tells how to change the system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided. BIOS setup 2 2. 1 Managing and updating your BIOS The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup. A w a r d B I O S F l a s h U t i l i t y (Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a bootable floppy disk. ) ASUS CrashFree BIOS (Updates the BIOS using a floppy disk when the BIOS file fails or gets corrupted. ) ASUS EZ Flash (Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a floppy disk. ) A S U S U p d a t e (Updates the BIOS in Windows® environment. ) Refer to the corresponding sections for details on these utilities. Save a copy of the original motherboard BIOS file to a floppy disk in case you need to restore the BIOS in the future. Copy the original motherboard BIOS using the ASUS Update or AwardBIOS Flash utilities. 2. 1. 1 1. Creating a bootable floppy disk Do either one of the following to create a bootable floppy disk. DOS environment a. Click F i l e from the menu, then select F o r m a t A F o r m a t 3 1 / 2 t. Select C r e a t e a n M S - D O S s t a r t u p d i s k from the format options field, then click S t a r t t. W i n d o w s® 2 0 0 0 e n v i r o n m e n t To create a set of boot disks for Windows® 2000: a. From the Open field, type D:\bootdisk\makeboot a: assuming that D: is your optical drive. Copy the original or the latest motherboard BIOS file to the bootable floppy disk. 2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS setup 2. 1. 2 AwardBIOS Flash Utility You may update the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) using a bootable floppy disk with the executable AwardBIOS Flash utility (AWDFLASH. EXE). Rename the file to *. BIN, then save it to the bootable floppy disk you created earlier. Save only the updated BIOS file in the floppy disk to avoid loading a wrong BIOS file. 2. 4. Copy the AWDFLASH. EXE utility from the support CD to the floppy disk. e x e then press e, <Enter> to display the AwardBIOS Flash Utility screen. The utility automatically checks the new BIOS file on the floppy disk. AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1. 09 (C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved For KM400-8237-A7V400SE-00 Flash Type - SST 39SF020 /5V File Name to Program : DATE: 01/06/2005 a7v4se02. bin Message: Please Wait! 5. After verification, the utility updates the BIOS file. The computer returns to POST after updating the BIOS file. AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1. 09 (C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved For KM400-8237-A7V400SE-00 Flash Type - SST 39SF020 /5V DATE: 01/06/2005 File Name to Program : a7v4se02. bin Program Flashing Memory - 0FE00 OK 32109876543212109876543210987654321098765432 210987654321210 321098765432121098765432109876543210987654321 321098765432121098765432109876543210987654321 98765432109876543210987654321 1 3 Write OK No Update Warning: Don't Turn OFF Power Or Reset System! ASUS A7V400-MX SE 31 321 321 321 2 32 321 321 1 321 321 321 321 321 Write Fail 2-3 2. 1. 3 ASUS CrashFree BIOS utility The ASUS CrashFree BIOS allows you to update the BIOS file when it fails or gets corrupted. You can update a corrupted BIOS file using a floppy disk that contains the updated BIOS file and the AWDFLASH utility. Before using this utility, prepare the bootable floppy disk containing the updated motherboard BIOS and the AWDFLASH. EXE utility. The AWDFLASH. EXE utility is available from the support CD. To update the BIOS using CrashFree BIOS: 1. When prompted, place the floppy disk with the updated BIOS file and the AWDFLASH. EXE utility to the floppy disk drive. Follow the instructions in the previous section to update the BIOS. Before using the ASUS CrashFree BIOS feature on this motherboard, you must install an AGP or PCI VGA card to one of the expansion slots before you turn on the computer. Motherboards with onboard VGA (such as A7V400-MX SE) do not display the screen when the BIOS crashes even after you reboot the computer. 2. 1. 4 ASUS EZ Flash utility The ASUS EZ Flash feature allows you to 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 utility is built-in the BIOS chip so it is accessible by pressing <Alt> + <F2> during the Power-On Self Tests (POST). Before using this utility, prepare the floppy disk containing the updated motherboard BIOS. To update the BIOS using EZ Flash: 1. [. . . ] If you need to erase the CMOS RAM, refer to section "1. 11 Switch and Jumpers" for instructions. 2. Password Check [Setup] Requires users to enter the password before entering the BIOS setup or the operating system. Select [Setup] to require the password before entering the BIOS Setup. Select [System] to require the password before entering the operating system. Configuration options: [Setup] [System] ASUS A7V400-MX SE 2-31 2. 8 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 & Save Changes Exit & Discard Changes Load Setup Default Discard Changes Select Menu Item Specific Help This option saves data to CMOS and exiting the setup menu. F1 : Help ESC : Exit : Select Item : Select Menu -/+ Enter : Change Value : Select Submenu F5 : Setup Defaults F10: Save and Exit Pressing <Esc> does not immediately exit this menu. [. . . ]