Asus P4GE-MX manual

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62

Go to page of

A good user manual

The rules should oblige the seller to give the purchaser an operating instrucion of Asus P4GE-MX, along with an item. The lack of an instruction or false information given to customer shall constitute grounds to apply for a complaint because of nonconformity of goods with the contract. In accordance with the law, a customer can receive an instruction in non-paper form; lately graphic and electronic forms of the manuals, as well as instructional videos have been majorly used. A necessary precondition for this is the unmistakable, legible character of an instruction.

What is an instruction?

The term originates from the Latin word „instructio”, which means organizing. Therefore, in an instruction of Asus P4GE-MX one could find a process description. An instruction's purpose is to teach, to ease the start-up and an item's use or performance of certain activities. An instruction is a compilation of information about an item/a service, it is a clue.

Unfortunately, only a few customers devote their time to read an instruction of Asus P4GE-MX. A good user manual introduces us to a number of additional functionalities of the purchased item, and also helps us to avoid the formation of most of the defects.

What should a perfect user manual contain?

First and foremost, an user manual of Asus P4GE-MX should contain:
- informations concerning technical data of Asus P4GE-MX
- name of the manufacturer and a year of construction of the Asus P4GE-MX item
- rules of operation, control and maintenance of the Asus P4GE-MX item
- safety signs and mark certificates which confirm compatibility with appropriate standards

Why don't we read the manuals?

Usually it results from the lack of time and certainty about functionalities of purchased items. Unfortunately, networking and start-up of Asus P4GE-MX alone are not enough. An instruction contains a number of clues concerning respective functionalities, safety rules, maintenance methods (what means should be used), eventual defects of Asus P4GE-MX, and methods of problem resolution. Eventually, when one still can't find the answer to his problems, he will be directed to the Asus service. Lately animated manuals and instructional videos are quite popular among customers. These kinds of user manuals are effective; they assure that a customer will familiarize himself with the whole material, and won't skip complicated, technical information of Asus P4GE-MX.

Why one should read the manuals?

It is mostly in the manuals where we will find the details concerning construction and possibility of the Asus P4GE-MX item, and its use of respective accessory, as well as information concerning all the functions and facilities.

After a successful purchase of an item one should find a moment and get to know with every part of an instruction. Currently the manuals are carefully prearranged and translated, so they could be fully understood by its users. The manuals will serve as an informational aid.

Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    Motherboard P4GE-MX User Guide[...]

  • Page 2

    ii Checklist Copyright © 2004 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[...]

  • Page 3

    iii Features Contents Notices ............................................................................................ v Safety information .......................................................................... vi About this guide ............................................................................. vii Conventions used in this guid[...]

  • Page 4

    iv Safeguards Contents Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS .................................... 2-2 2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk ............................. 2-2 2.1.2 Updating the BIOS with EZ Flash feature .............. 2-3 2.1.3 Recovering the BIOS with CrashFree BIOS .......... 2-4 2.1.4 ASUS Update ......[...]

  • Page 5

    v Notices Federal Communications Commission Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. 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. Canadian Department o[...]

  • Page 6

    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 [...]

  • Page 7

    vii A bout this guide Conventions used in this guide To make sure that you perform certain tasks properly , take note of the following symbols used throughout this manual. W ARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself when trying to complete a task. CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when trying to complete a task. IMPOR[...]

  • Page 8

    viii P4GE-MX specifications summar y CPU Chipset Front System Bus Memory Expansion slots Storage Audio LAN USB Special features Rear Panel I/O Internal I/O connectors ` Socket 478 for Intel ® Pentium ® 4 / Celeron ® processors Supports Intel ® Hyper-Threading T echnology Northbridge: Intel ® 845GE Southbridge: Intel ® ICH4 (FW82801DB) 533/400[...]

  • Page 9

    ix BIOS features Industry standard Form Factor Support CD contents 3Mb Flash ROM, Award BIOS, TCA V , PnP , DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3 PCI 2.2, USB 2.0 MicroA TX form factor: 9.6 in x 8.6 in Device drivers ASUS PC Probe ASUS Live Update Utility T rend Micro™ PC-cillin™ anti-virus software * Specifications are subject to change without notice.[...]

  • Page 10

    x[...]

  • Page 11

    Chapter 1 This chapter describes the features of the motherboard. It includes brief descriptions of the motherboard components, and illustrations of the layout, jumper settings, and connectors. Product introduction[...]

  • Page 12

    1-2 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1. 1W elcome! Thank you for buying the ASUS ® P4GE-MX motherboard! The motherboard delivers a host of new features and latest technologies making it another standout in the long line of ASUS quality motherboards! The motherboard combines the powers of the Intel ® Pentium ® 4 processor and the Intel ® 845GE ch[...]

  • Page 13

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-3 1. 3 Special features 1.3.1 Product Highlights Latest processor technology The motherboard comes with a 478-pin surface mount, Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket for the Intel ® Pentium ® 4 processor in the 478-pin package with 512/256KB L2 cache on 0.13 or 0.09 micron process. This motherboard supports 533/400 MHz sys[...]

  • Page 14

    1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.3.2 Unique ASUS features CrashFree BIOS 2 This feature allows you to restore the original BIOS data from the motherboard support CD or a bootable floppy disk in case the BIOS codes and data are corrupted. This protection eliminates the need to buy a replacement ROM chip. See page 2-4. ASUS EZ Flash BIOS The ASU[...]

  • Page 15

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-5 1. 4 Befor e you proceed T ake note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings. 1. Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component. 2. Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or discharge any static electricity b[...]

  • Page 16

    1-6 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1. 5 Motherboard over view 1.5.1 Motherboard layout F_P ANEL FLOPPY1 SEC_IDE PRI_ IDE Intel 82801DB ICH4 P4GE-MX 3Mbit Firmware Hub A TX12V1 Intel 82845GE Memory Controller Hub AUX CPU_F AN CD CHA_F AN 21.9cm (8.6in) 24.4cm (9.6in) Super I/O GAME1 Socket 478 PCI1 Audio Codec Below:Mic In Center:Line Out T op:Line[...]

  • Page 17

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-7 Do not overtighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard. 1.5.2 Placement direction When installing the motherboard, make sure that you place it into the chassis in the correct orientation. The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image below . 1.5.3 Screw holes Pla[...]

  • Page 18

    1-8 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1. 6 Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1.6.1 Overview The motherboard comes with a surface mount 478-pin Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket designed for the Intel ® Pentium ® 4 processor . T ake note of the marked corner (with gold triangle) on the CPU. This mark should match a specific corner on the socket to ensur[...]

  • Page 19

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-9 1.6.2 Installing the CPU Follow these steps to install a CPU. 1. Locate the 478-pin ZIF socket on the motherboard. Make sure that the socket lever is lifted up to 90°-100° angle; otherwise, the CPU does not fit in completely . 2. Unlock the socket by pressing the lever sideways, then lift it up to a 90°- 100° angle.[...]

  • Page 20

    1-10 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.7.2 Installing a DIMM Follow these steps to install a DIMM. 1. Unlock a DIMM socket by pressing the retaining clips outward. 2. Align a DIMM on the socket such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the socket. 3. Firmly insert the DIMM into the socket until the retaining clips snap back in place and [...]

  • Page 21

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-11 1. 8 Expansion slots To install and configure an expansion card: 1. Install an expansion card following the instructions that came with the chassis. 2. T urn on the system and change the necessary BIOS settings, if any . See Chapter 2 for BIOS information. 3. Assign an IRQ to the card. Refer to the tables next page. 4.[...]

  • Page 22

    1-12 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.8.3 PCI slots The PCI slots support PCI cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other cards that comply with PCI specifications. 1.8.4 AGP slot The Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot supports AGP 4X (+1.5V) cards. When you buy an AGP card, make sure that you ask for one with +1.5V specification. N[...]

  • Page 23

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-13 1. 9 J u m per s 1. Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC) This jumper allows you to clear the Real T ime Clock (RTC) RAM in CMOS. Y ou can clear the CMOS memory of date, time, and system setup parameters by erasing the CMOS RTC RAM data. The RAM data in CMOS, that include system setup information such as system passwords, is powered b[...]

  • Page 24

    1-14 Chapter 1: Product introduction 3. USB device wake-up (3-pin USBPWR_12, USBPWR_34, USBPWR_56) Set these jumpers to +5V to wake up the computer from S1 sleep mode (CPU stopped, DRAM refreshed, system running in low power mode) using the connected USB devices. Set to +5VSB to wake up from S3 and S4 sleep modes (no power to CPU, DRAM in slow refr[...]

  • Page 25

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-15 1. 10 Connector s This section describes and illustrates the motherboard rear panel and internal connectors. 1.10.1 Rear panel connectors 1. PS/2 mouse port. This green 6-pin connector is for a PS/2 mouse. 2. Parallel port. This 25-pin port connects a parallel printer , a scanner , or other devices. 3. RJ-45 port. This[...]

  • Page 26

    1-16 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.10.2 Internal connectors 1. IDE connectors (40-1 pin PRI_IDE, SEC_IDE) This connector supports the provided Ultra DMA 100/66 IDE hard disk ribbon cable. Connect the cable’s blue connector to the primary (recommended) or secondary IDE connector , then connect the gray connector to the Ultra D MA 100/66 slave [...]

  • Page 27

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-17 3. A TX power connectors (20-pin A TX_POWER1, 4-pin A TX12V1) These connectors connect to an A TX 12V power supply . The plugs from the power supply are designed to fit these connectors in only one orientation. Find the proper orientation and push down firmly until the connectors completely fit. In addition to the 20-p[...]

  • Page 28

    1-18 Chapter 1: Product introduction 5. CPU and chassis fan connectors (3-pin CPU_F AN, CHA_F AN) The fan connectors support cooling fans of 350mA~740mA (8.88W max.) or a total of 1A~2.22A (26.64W max.) at +12V . Connect the fan cables to the fan connectors on the motherboard, making sure that the black wire of each cable matches the ground pin of [...]

  • Page 29

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-19 8. Chassis intrusion connector (4-1 pin CHASSIS1) This lead is for a chassis designed with intrusion detection feature. This requires an external detection mechanism such as a chassis intrusion sensor or microswitch. When you remove any chassis component, the sensor triggers and sends a high-level signal to this lead t[...]

  • Page 30

    1-20 Chapter 1: Product introduction 10. Digital Audio connector (6-1 pin SPDIF_OUT) This connector is for the S/PDIF audio module to allow digital sound output. Connect one end of the S/PDIF audio cable to this connector and the other end to the S/PDIF module. 9. GAME/MIDI connector (16-1 pin GAME1) This connector supports a GAME/MIDI module. If a[...]

  • Page 31

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 1-21 11 . Serial connector (9-pin COM2 ) This 9-pin connector connects to a COM2 bracket. Connect the COM2 cable to this connector and install the bracket on an available slot in the rear panel of the chassis. The COM2 bracket is purchased separately . P4GE-MX Serial port connector PIN 1 COM2 ® P4GE-MX 12. Power LED connec[...]

  • Page 32

    1-22 Chapter 1: Product introduction 13. System panel connector (10-1 pin F_P ANEL) This connector accommodates several system front panel functions. • System Power LED Lead (2-pin PLED) This 2-pin connector connects to the system power LED. The LED lights up when you turn on the system power . •A TX Power Switch / Soft-Off Switch Lead (2-pin P[...]

  • Page 33

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-1 Chapter 2 This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided. BIOS information[...]

  • Page 34

    2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2. 1 Managing and updating your BIOS The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup. 1. A wardBIOS Flash Utility (EZ Flash feature that updates the BIOS using a floppy disk during POST .) 2. ASUS CrashFree BIOS ( Updates the BIOS using a bootable floppy d[...]

  • Page 35

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-3 Windows ® XP environment a. Insert a 1.44 MB floppy disk into the floppy disk drive. b. From your Windows desktop, click on Start , then select My Computer . c. Select the 3 1/2 Floppy Drive icon. d. Click File from the menu, then select Format . A Format 3 1/2 Floppy Disk window appears. e. Select Create an MS-DOS sta[...]

  • Page 36

    2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS information 6. After verification, A WDFLASH flashes the new BIOS file. Do not shut down the computer during the flash process. 7. After the new BIOS file is copied, the computer returns to POST . Make sure that the BIOS file in the floppy disk is renamed as “ P4GE-MX.ROM ”. 2.1.3 Recovering the BIOS with CrashFree BIOS 2 Th[...]

  • Page 37

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-5 To recover the BIOS from the support CD: 1. Boot the system. 2. When a corrupted BIOS is detected, the following screen message appears. 3. Place the support CD in the CD-ROM. The support CD contains the a working BIOS for this motherboard. If there is no floppy disk found in the drive, the system automatically checks t[...]

  • Page 38

    2-6 Chapter 2: BIOS information 3. If you selected updating/ downloading from the Internet, select the ASUS FTP site nearest you to avoid network traf fic, or choose Auto Select . Click Next . 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 sup[...]

  • Page 39

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-7 2. From the FTP site, select the BIOS version that you wish to download. Click Next . 5. Follow the instructions on the succeeding screens to complete the update process. If you selected the option to update the BIOS from a file, a window pops up prompting you to locate the file. Select the file, click Save , then follo[...]

  • Page 40

    2-8 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.2 BIOS Setup progr am This motherboard supports a programmable firmware hub (FHW) chip that you can update using the provided utility described in section “ 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS.” Use the BIOS Setup program when you are installing a motherboard, reconfiguring your system, or prompted to “Run Se[...]

  • Page 41

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-9 2.2.2 Menu bar The menu bar on top of the screen has the following main items: Main For changing the basic system configuration Advanced For changing the advanced system settings Power For changing the advanced power management (APM) configuration Boot For changing the system boot configuration Exit For selecting the ex[...]

  • Page 42

    2-10 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.2.4 General help On the right side of the menu screen is a brief description of the selected item. 2.2.5 Sub-menu An item with a sub-menu on any menu screen is distinguished by a solid triangle before the item. T o display the sub-menu, select the item and press Enter . 2.2.6 Pop-up window Select an item in the me[...]

  • Page 43

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-11 2.3 Main menu When you enter the BIOS Setup program, the Main menu screen appears giving you an overview of the basic system information. Refer to section “2.2.1 BIOS menu screen” for information on the menu screen items and how to navigate through them. System Date [mm/dd/yy] Sets the system to the date that you s[...]

  • Page 44

    2-12 Chapter 2: BIOS information Supervisor Password [Clear] / User Password [Clear] These fields allow you to set passwords. T o set a password, highlight the appropriate field and press <Enter>. T ype in a password then press <Enter>. Y ou can type up to eight alphanumeric characters. Symbols and other characters are ignored. T o conf[...]

  • Page 45

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-13 Primary and Secondary Master/Slave IDE Auto-Detection [Press Enter] Press enter to automatically detect an IDE hard disk drive, if the hard drive is not already detected. In cases of undetected HDDs, pressing enter detects the HDD and allows you access to the IDE Primary Master and Access Mode fields. IDE Primary Maste[...]

  • Page 46

    2-14 Chapter 2: BIOS information After entering the IDE hard disk drive information into BIOS, use a disk utility , such as FDISK, to partition and format new IDE hard disk drives. This is necessary so that you can write or read data from the hard disk. Make sure to set the partition of the Primary IDE hard disk drives to active. Before attempting [...]

  • Page 47

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-15 2.4 Advanced menu 2.4.1 Advanced Chipset Features DRAM T iming Selectable [By SPD] Sets the DRAM T iming configuration. Set to manual if you want to configure each item on your own. Configuration options: [Manual] [By SPD] CAS Latency T ime [1.5] Sets the latency between the DRAM command and the time the data actually [...]

  • Page 48

    2-16 Chapter 2: BIOS information DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay [3] Sets the latency between the DRAM active command and the R/W command. Configuration options: [3] [2] DRAM RAS# Precharge [3] Sets the idle clocks after issuing a precharge command to the DRAM. Configuration options: [3] [2] Memory Frequency for [Auto] This item allows you set the FSB and [...]

  • Page 49

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-17 IDE DMA T ransfer Access [Enabled] Disables or enables the IDE DMA transfer access. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] On-Chip Primary PCI IDE [Enabled] Disables or enables the On-chip Primary PCI IDE support. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Primary Master PIO [Auto] Primary Slave PIO [Auto] Second[...]

  • Page 50

    2-18 Chapter 2: BIOS information On-Chip Secondary PCI IDE [Enabled] Disables or enables the On-chip Secondary PCI IDE support. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Primary Master UDMA [Auto] Primary Slave UDMA [Auto] Secondary Master UDMA [Auto] Secondary Slave UDMA [Auto] These items allow you to automatically set or disable the primary ID[...]

  • Page 51

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-19 Parallel Port Mode [ECP] This field allows you to set the operation mode of the parallel port. [SPP] allows normal-speed operation but in one direction only; [EPP] allows bidirectional parallel port operation; [ECP] allows the parallel port to operate in bidirectional DMA mode; [ECP+EPP] allows normal speed operation i[...]

  • Page 52

    2-20 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.5 Power menu ACPI Suspend T ype [S1& S3] Allows you to select the ACPI state to used for system suspend. Configuration options: [S1 (POS)] [S3 (STR)] [S1 & S3] USB Device W ake-Up From S3 [Enabled] Disables or enables the USB device wake-up from S3 feature. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] POWER[...]

  • Page 53

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-21 Hot Key Power ON [Ctrl-F1] Allows you to set a hot-key to wake up the system from sleep mode. T o configure this item, make sure that the Power ON Function is set as Hot KEY . Configuration options: [Ctrl-F1] ... [Ctrl-F12] PWRON After PWR-Fail [Off] Allows you to set whether the system will reboot after power interrup[...]

  • Page 54

    2-22 Chapter 2: BIOS information Hardware Monitor The items in the Hardware Monitor sub-menu displays the status of the hardware devices monitored by the system. CPU W arning T emperature [Disabled] Disables or sets the CPU warning temperature. Configuration options: [Disabled] [50ºC/122ºF] [53ºC/127ºF] [56ºC/133ºF] [60ºC/140ºF] [63ºC/145?[...]

  • Page 55

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 2-23 2.6 Boot menu First, Second, Third Boot Device The Boot Menu allows you to select 13 types of boot devices. Promotion or demotion of devices alters the priority which the system uses to boot device on system power up. Configuration options include [Floppy] [LS120] [HDD-0] [SCSI] [CDROM] [HDD-1] [HDD-2] [HDD-3] [ZIP] [U[...]

  • Page 56

    2-24 Chapter 2: BIOS information 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. The CMOS RAM is sustained by an onboard backup battery and stays on even when the PC is turned off. When you select this option, a confirmation window[...]

  • Page 57

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

  • Page 58

    3-2 Chapter 3: Software support 3. 1 Install an oper ating system This motherboard supports Windows ® 98SE/ME/2000/XP operating system (OS). Always install the latest OS version and corresponding updates to maximize the features of your hardware. 3.2 Suppor t CD information The support CD that came with the motherboard contains useful software and[...]

  • Page 59

    ASUS P4GE-MX 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. Intel Chipset Inf Update Program Click this item to load the installation wizard and install the Intel ® Chipset update driver . Intel Application Accele[...]

  • Page 60

    3-4 Chapter 3: Software support ASUS PC Probe This smart utility monitors the fan speed, CPU temperature, and system voltages, and alerts you on any detected problems. This utility helps you keep your computer at a healthy operating condition. Install ASUS Update This program allows you to download the latest version of the BIOS from the ASUS websi[...]

  • Page 61

    ASUS P4GE-MX motherboard 3-5 3.3 Audio configurations The Realtek ® ALC655 AC ‘97 audio CODEC provides 6-channel audio capability to deliver the ultimate audio experience on your PC. The software provides Connector sensing function, S/PDIF out support and interrupt capability . Follow the installation wizard to install the Realtek AC97 Audio Dri[...]

  • Page 62

    3-6 Chapter 3: Software support The Realtek ® EZ-connection dialog box shows your current audio connections. The text at the bottom of the box explains your audio connection status. An X mark denotes an incorrect connection. If there are detected problems, make sure that your audio cables are connected to the proper audio jack and repeat connector[...]