User manual ASUS A7V400-MX

[. . . ] A7V400-MX User Guide Motherboard E1817 Checklist Revised Edition V2 October 2004 Copyright © 2004 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. [. . . ] Copy the original BIOS to a bootable floppy disk in case you need to restore the BIOS in the future. 2. 1. 1 Creating a bootable floppy disk 1. At the DOS prompt, type: format a: /s , then press the <Enter> key Windows® XP environment a. Select "Create an MS-DOS Startup Disk" in the Format Options field, then click Start. Copy the original (or the latest) motherboard BIOS to the bootable floppy disk. 2. 1. 2 Using the AwardBIOS Flash Utility You may update the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) using the built-in Award BIOS Flash utility or using a bootable floppy disk with the executable Award BIOS Flash utility (AWDFLASH. EXE). Download the latest BIOS file from the website provided by the system builder. Rename the file to *. BIN, then save it to the bootable floppy disk you created earlier. Insert the disk that contains the new BIOS file to the floppy drive. 2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS information Save only the updated BIOS file in the floppy disk to avoid loading a wrong BIOS file. 3. Press <Alt> + <F2> during POST to display the following screen. The computer returns to POST after the new BIOS file is copied. Updating the BIOS using a bootable floppy disk 1. At the "A:\" prompt, type "C:\" and then press <Enter>. At the "C:\" prompt, type "AWDFLASH BIOSFILENAME" and then <Enter>. For example: "AWDFLASH aw0702. bin" The AWDFLASH screen appears. Follow steps 4 to 5 of the previous section. ASUS A7V400-MX motherboard user guide 2-3 2. 1. 3 CrashFree BIOS feature The CrashFree BIOS feature allows you to boot the computer from a floppy disk and update the BIOS in case the original BIOS fails or gets corrupted. · · · You must have a bootable floppy disk ready before updating the BIOS. The bootable floppy disk could be the one that you created following the procedure in section 2. 1. 1, and should contain the AWDFLASH. EXE utility. A message appears during POST to indicate that the BIOS fails (ROM data or codes are corrupted). To update the BIOS: 1. Follow the BIOS update procedure in section "2. 1. 2 Using the Award BIOS Flash Utility. " To use the CrashFree BIOS feature on this motherboard, install a VGA card into one of the expansion slots before rebooting the computer. On motherboards with onboard VGA, you will not see the screen display when the BIOS crashes even if you reboot the computer. 2. 1. 4 ASUS Update The ASUS Update is a utility that allows you to update the motherboard BIOS in Windows® environment. This utility is available in the support CD that comes with the motherboard package. ASUS Update requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Launch the utility from the Windows desktop by clicking Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate > ASUSUpdate. The ASUS Update initial screen appears. 2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2. If you selected updating/downloading from the Internet, select the ASUS FTP site nearest you to avoid network traffic, or choose Auto Select. [. . . ] Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Boot up NumLock Status [On] Allows you to select the power-on state for the NumLock key. Configuration options: [Off] [On] 2-26 Chapter 2: BIOS information APIC Mode [Enabled] When enabled, this option allows you to distribute interrupt routings other than the 16 IRQs. The Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC) setting allows you to use the 16 IRQs only. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A7V400-MX motherboard user guide 2-27 2. 8 Exit menu Save & Exit Setup Exit Without Saving Load Optimized Defaults Discard Changes Save Changes Select Menu Item Specific Help This option saves data to CMOS and exits the BIOS setup. F1 : Help ESC : Exit : Select Item : Select Menu -/+ : Change Value Enter : Select Sub-menu F5 : Setup Defaults F10 : Save and Exit Save & Exit Setup Once you are finished making your selections, choose this option from the Exit menu to ensure the values you selected are saved to the CMOS RAM. [. . . ]