Acer 9000V User manual

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System Board
System Board 1-1
1.1 Features
The M9A is a dual-processor system board that supports the Intel
P54C and P55C CPUs. The board contains an exclusive slot for the
CPU board that carries the 321-pin zero-insertion force (ZIF) CPU
sockets plus the embedded 512-KB pipeline burst second-level
cache.
This high-performance 64-bit system board utilizes both the EISA and
the PCI local bus architecture. Two EISA, four PCI bus slots, and one
EISA/PCI shared slot reside on the board to allow installation of either
master or slave devices.
The system board has four DRAM banks composed of eight 72-pin
SIMM sockets that accommodate both fast-page mode and EDO
(extended data output) SIMMs. The sockets support a total of 512-
MB system memory using 64-MB SIMMs.
A 50-pin Fast SCSI-II interface and a 68-pin Wide SCSI interface
come with the system board to connect SCSI devices. Standard
external I/O interfaces include two 9-pin serial ports, one parallel port,
a video port, and keyboard and mouse ports.
The system board supports two optional features that allow better
server management, the ASM Pro and the remote diagnostic
management (RDM). The ASM Pro detects system problems, such
as CPU thermal condition, 5V/3.3V detection, and PCI bus utilization
calculation. The RDM allows execution of a diagnostic program from
a remote station to fix the detected problems or to reboot the system.

1-2 User’s Guide
1.2 Major Components
The system board has the following major components:
•Four DRAM banks composed of eight 72-pin SIMM sockets that
support single- and double-density 60 ns SIMMs
•CPU board slot
•Four PCI, two EISA bus slots, and one EISA/PCI shared slot
•256-KB Flash ROM for system BIOS
•System clock/calendar plus 8 KB extended CMOS RAM with
battery backup
•50-pin Fast SCSI-II and 68-pin Wide SCSI interfaces
•Two 24-pin RDM interfaces
•IDE hard disk and diskette drive interfaces
•Onboard VRAM and VRAM sockets for video memory upgrade
•Power connector for 350-watt or 420-watt switching power supply
•Super I/O, SCSI, VGA, memory, and Advanced Server
Management (ASM) controller chipsets
•External ports:
•Two 9-pin serial ports
•PS/2-compatible keyboard port (optional AT-keyboard port)
•PS/2-compatible mouse port
•Parallel port
•Video port

System Board 1-3
1.3 Layout
Figure 1-1 shows the system board components.
1 COM1
2 COM2
3 Mouse port
4 Keyboard port
5 Video port
6 Parallel port
7 Video upgrade sockets
8 CPU board slot
9 PCI slots
10 EISA slots
11 Real-time clock
12 Flash ROM BIOS
13 Buzzer
14 Narrow SCSI connector
15 Wide SCSI connector
16 SIMM sockets
17 Fan connector 1 (FA1)
18 Fan connector 2 (FA2)
19 Fan connector 3 (FA3)
20 420W 5V standby power connector
21 Power connector
22 Power connector
23 Video RAM
24 RDM connectors
Figure 1-1 System Board Layout
3
6
12
5
8910
19 18 17
21
22
24
15
14
12
13
11
16
23
4
7
20

1-4 User’s Guide
1.4 Jumpers and Connectors
1.4.1 Jumper and Connector Locations
Figure 1-2 shows the jumper and connector locations on the system
board.
Figure 1-2 System Board Jumper and Connector Locations
Jumpers are prefixed “JP”. Connectors are
prefixed “CN” and “SW.
The blackened pin of a jumper represents
pin 1.

System Board 1-5
1.4.2 Jumper Settings
Table 1-1 lists the system board jumpers with their corresponding
settings and functions.
Table 1-1 System Board Jumper Settings
Jumper Setting Function
Password Security
JP1 1-2
2-3*Check password
Bypass password
BIOS Type
JP2 1-2*
2-3 Acer OEM
SCSI Termination
JP3 1-2
2-3* Terminator always set to ON Use SCSI Setup Utility to set
terminator to ON or OFF
SCSI Selection
JP4 1-2*
2-3 Wide SCSI Standard
Hardware Reset
JP5 1-2
2-3*
3-4
Software shutdown enabled
Hardware reset enabled
Hardware reset button connector
Sound Feature
JP6 1-2*
2-3 Buzzer Speaker
SCSI Feature
JP7 1-2*
2-3 Enabled Disabled
VGA Feature
JP8 1-2*
2-3 Enabled Disabled
*Default setting

1-6 User’s Guide
1.4.3 Connector Functions
Table 1-2 lists the different connectors on the system board and their
respective functions.
Table 1-2 Connector Functions
Connector Function
CN1 Power connector
CN2 Power connector
CN3 Backplane board HDD status connector
CN5 IDE hard disk connector
CN6 RDM connector
CN7 RDM connector
CN8 Diskette drive connector
CN11 68-pin Wide SCSI connector
CN12 50-pin Fast SCSI-II connector
CN13 RDM cable and LED board connector
CN14 Hard disk LED connector
CN15 Power LED connector
CN16 Speaker connector
CN17 420W 5V standby power connector
CN18 200W 5V standby power connector
SW1 NMI switch

System Board 1-7
1.5 ESD Precautions
Always observe the following electrostatic discharge (ESD)
precautions before installing a system component:
1. Do not remove a component from its antistatic packaging until
you are ready to install it.
2. Wear a wrist grounding strap before handling electronic
components. Wrist grounding straps are available at most
electronic component stores.
Do not attempt the procedures described in
the following sections unless you are a
qualified technician.
1.6 Memory Upgrade
The system board comes with eight 72-pin SIMM sockets that support
4-MB and 16-MB single-density SIMMs as well as 8-MB and 32-MB
double-density SIMMs for a total system memory of 256-MB. The
sockets support both the fast page mode and EDO 60 ns SIMMs.
See Table 1-3 for a list of some possible memory configurations.
1.6.1 Rules for Adding Memory
•Use only one type of SIMM in a given bank. You may combine
different types of SIMMs for a memory configuration as long as
the SIMMs in each bank are of the same type.
•You may use the memory banks (Bank0 ~ Bank3) in any order.
•Always install SIMMs in pairs. For example, for a total memory
of 16 MB, install two 8-MB SIMMs in a bank. You can not use a
16-MB SIMM alone for a 16-MB memory.

1-8 User’s Guide
1.6.2 Memory Configurations
Table 1-3 Memory Configurations
Bank0 Bank1 Bank2 Bank3 Total
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 Memory
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB
16 MB 16 MB 32 MB
32 MB 32 MB 64 MB
64 MB 64 MB 128 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 48 MB
8 MB 8 MB 32 MB 32 MB 80 MB
16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 96 MB
64 MB 64 MB 32 MB 32 MB 192 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 48 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 80 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 112 MB
8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 64 MB 64 MB 240 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 96 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 160 MB
16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 192 MB
32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 384 MB
8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 64 MB
16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 128 MB
32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 256 MB
64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 512 MB
The above configurations are only some of
the available memory combinations. You
can use other combinations as long as you
follow the rules for upgrading memory in
section 1.6.1.

System Board 1-9
1.6.3 Installing a SIMM
Follow these steps to install a SIMM:
1. Carefully slip a SIMM at a 45°angle into a socket making sure
that the curved edge indicating the pin 1 of the SIMM matches
pin 1 of the socket.
A SIMM fits only in one direction. If you slip
in a SIMM but would not completely fit, you
may have inserted it the wrong way.
Reverse the orientation of the SIMM.
2. Gently push the SIMM to a vertical position until the pegs of the
socket slip into the holes on the SIMM, and the holding clips lock
the SIMM into position. The SIMM should be at a 90°angle
when installed.
Figure 1-3 Installing a SIMM
Hole
Peg
Pin 1 Indicator
(curved edge)
12

1-10 User’s Guide
1.6.4 Removing a SIMM
Follow these steps to remove a SIMM:
1. Press the holding clips on both sides of the SIMM outward to
release it.
2. Move the SIMM to a 45°angle.
3. Pull the SIMM out of the socket.
Figure 1-4 Removing a SIMM
1
2
3
Holding Clip