AOpen I915GAPLF-0410A User manual

Table of Contents
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Table of Contents ................................................................................... 1
1.1 A Thank-you Note Before You Get Start..........................................................3
1.2 Features of This Manual ...............................................................................4
1.3 Safety Information ......................................................................................4
Chapter 2 Introduction to This Motherboard............................................... 5
2.1 How does your motherboard look like?...........................................................5
2.2 Specification...............................................................................................6
2.3 Block Diagram ............................................................................................7
Chapter 3 Hardware Installation............................................................... 8
3.1 Quick Installation Procedure .........................................................................8
3.2 Installation You Have to Know.......................................................................9
Installing CPU............................................................................................ 9
Installing CPU Cooler .................................................................................10
Installing CPU and System Fans ..................................................................11
Installing Memory Modules.........................................................................12
Maximum The Performance of the Dual Channel............................................13
Connecting IDE and Floppy Cables ..............................................................14
Connecting Front Panel Cable .....................................................................15
Connecting ATX Power Cables.....................................................................16
3.3 Other Installation for Your Reference ...........................................................17
Setting CPU Voltage and Frequency.............................................................17
Connecting Serial ATA................................................................................18
Adjusting your Hard Disk Setting.................................................................19
Connecting PCI Express x16 Graphics Slot....................................................21
Connecting IrDA........................................................................................22
Connecting Game Port ...............................................................................23
Gigabit LAN Supported...............................................................................24
1

Connecting USB2.0....................................................................................25
Connecting 1394.......................................................................................26
Super 7.1 Channel Audio Effect...................................................................27
Connecting Front Audio..............................................................................28
Connecting CD_IN.....................................................................................29
Connecting COM2 ( for i915Ga-PLF only)......................................................30
Connecting Case Open...............................................................................31
Connecting S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) ........................................32
Colored Coded Back Panel (for i915Ga-PLF)..................................................33
Colored Coded Back Panel (for i915Pa-PLF) ..................................................34
LED Indication ..........................................................................................35
3.4 Jumper Settings........................................................................................36
Chapter 4 Special Features and Utilities................................................... 37
4.1 Other Useful Features ................................................................................37
Chapter 5 Setting BIOS......................................................................... 38
5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................38
5.2 How To Use Phoenix-Award™ BIOS Setup Program........................................39
5.3 How To Enter BIOS Setup...........................................................................39
5.4 BIOS Upgrade under Windows environment..................................................40
5.5 Vivid BIOS technology ...............................................................................42
Chapter 6 Installing Drivers................................................................... 43
6.1 Installing Drivers.......................................................................................44
6.2 Installing Utilities ......................................................................................45
Chapter 7 Troubleshooting..................................................................... 46
Chapter 8 Technical Support .................................................................. 47
Model Name and BIOS Version....................................................................48
Register Your Motherboard .........................................................................48
Technical Support......................................................................................49
2

1.1 A Thank-you Note Before You Get Start
First of all, we would like to express our gratitude for purchasing AOpen products.
Once again, this motherboard is designed uniquely to meet all your personal
needs with our great industry-designing ability and our everlasting perseverance
to the quality of all our products.
This manual will introduce you how this motherboard is installed. Please keep it
well for your future reference. If you lost your printed manual, you may also go to
our website at http://www.aopen.com to download the updated file.
Now, we would like to invite you to personally experience this user-friendly
manual and all of the powerful functions this AOpen product offers.
The logos of Adobe and Acrobat are the registered trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated.
3
The logos of AMD, Athlon, and Duron are the registered trademarks of Advanced Micro
Devices, Inc.
The logos of Intel, Intel Celeron, Pentium II, III, Pentium 4 and Pentium Mare the registered
trademarks of Intel Corporation.
The logos of nVidia are the registered trademarks of nVidia Corporation.
The logos of Microsoft, Windows are the registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in
America and other countries.
All the titles of the products and the trademarks mentioned in this manual are for the
purpose of illustrative conveniences and are possessed by their respective firms.
We regret not informing about any changes in usage standards and other related
information. AOpen reserves the right of altering or modifying the content of this manual. In
case of any mistakes or incorrect descriptions, which include those on the products, AOpen
makes no guarantee or commitments.
This document is based on the copyright laws in order to protect our company and reserve
all rights.
Under no circumstances are any types of duplicating and loading this brochure in any
databases and media permitted except the permission signed on formal document by
AOpen Company.
1996-2004 Copyrights, AOpen Ltd. All rights reserved.

4
1.2 Features of This Manual
To help you grab the useful information of this motherboard and aware of certain
conditions that you might need to know, you will see the icons below frequently:
1.3 Safety Information
This contains knowledge you should know in process
of assembling, or some helpful tips.
This tip tells you some useful information that will
make your installation smoothly.
Please be careful when you see this mark. It
highlights mistakes that occur often during
assembling, or something you need to pay attention
to.
Please wear a wrist strap and attach it to a metal part of the system unit
before handling a component. Alternatively, you can also touch an object
that is of ground connection or with metal surface.
Always unplug the power before you make any jumper setting.
Before you install or remove any components on the motherboard, please
make sure to disconnect the power first in case of damaging motherboard
or other components.
Warning
Tip
Warning
Warning / Caution
Note

Chapter 2 Introduction to This Motherboard
2.1 How does your motherboard look like?
1. COM2 Connector 18. S/PDIF Connector
2. JP28 PS2 KB/Mouse Wakeup Jumper 19. PCI Express x1 Slots X 2
3. 4-pin 12V ATX Power Connector 20. Black Jack Connector
4. ATX Power Connector 21. IRDA Connector
5. SYSFAN1 Connecto
r
22. 32-bit PCI Expansion Slots X 3
6. PWRFAN Connector 23. Game Connector
7. Power Temperature Connector 24. USB 2.0 Connectors X 2
8. PCI Express x16 Graphics slot 25. IEEE 1394 Connector X 2
9. LGA775 CPU Socket supporting Intel FC-LGA4
9. CPU 26. DieHard BIOS Lite
10. CPUFAN Connector 27. Serial ATA Ports X 4
11. Intel 915G / ICH6 (i915Ga-PLF)
11. Intel 915P / ICH6 (i915Pa-PLF) 28. Case Open Connector
12. STBY LED 29. JP14 CMOS Data Clear Jumper
13. 184-pin DIMMs x 4 30. SYSFAN2 Connector
14. CD_IN Connector 31. FDD Connector
15. Realtek Gigabit LAN Chip 32. Front Panel Connector
16. Realtek AC’97 CODEC 33. ATA100 Connector
17. Front Audio Connector 34. BOOT LED
17
22
18
8 9
13
20
21
3
14
15
11
10
34
1
2
4 5
6 7
12
16
19
23
24 25
26 27
28 29
30 31
32 33
Chapter 2 Introduction to This Motherboard
5

2.2 Specification
Here is the main function of your motherboard.
Models i915Ga-PLF i915Pa-PLF
CPU Intel FC-LGA4 CPU Socket T
800MHz
Intel FC-LGA4 CPU
Socket T
800MHz
Chipset Intel 915G/ICH6 Intel 915P/ICH6
Main
Memory
Dual Channel Mode DDR
DDR 333/400
DDR DIMM x 4
DIMM Type : 128/256/512MB & 1GB
Max Memory : 4GB
Dual Channel Mode DDR
DDR 333/400
DDR DIMM x 4
DIMM Type : 128/256/512MB & 1GB
Max Memory : 4GB
Graphics Integrated VGA Engine in chipset
PCI Express x 16 Graphics slot, support
ADD2 card
PCI Express x 16 Graphics slot
IDE
Integrated ATA100 and Serial ATA
Controller
Max Disk: 144,000,000GB [by 48 bits
LBA
Spec.]
Integrated ATA100 and Serial ATA
Controller
Max Disk: 144,000,000GB [by 48 bits
LBA
Spec.]
LAN Realtek Gigabit PCI LAN Chip Realtek Gigabit PCI LAN Chip
Sound AC’97 Codec on-Board
Support 7.1 Channel and above AC’97 Codec on-Board Support 7.1 Channel and above
USB Integrated in chipset, USB 2.0 x 8 Integrated in chipset, USB 2.0 x 8
IEEE 1394 Agere 1394 Control Chip Agere 1394 Control Chip
Slots PCI Express x 1 slots x 2 PCI Express x 16 graphics slot x 1
PCI slots x 3
PCI Express x 1 slots x 2
PCI Express x 16 graphics slot x 1
PCI slots x 3
Back
Panel I/O
PS/2 Keyboard x 1, PS/2 Mouse x 1
USB Port x 4, LAN Port x 1, VGA Port x 1
COM Port x 1, Printer Port x 1
Speaker_Out x 1, Line_In x 1, MIC_In x 1
Side SUR x 1, Rear SUR x 1
Center/Subwoofer x 1
PS/2 Keyboard x 1, PS/2 Mouse x 1
USB Port x 4, LAN Port x 1
COM Port x 2, Printer Port x 1
Speaker_Out x 1, Line_In x 1, MIC_In x 1
Side SUR x 1, Rear SUR x 1
Center/Subwoofer x 1
On Board
Connector
Floppy Drive Connector x 1
IDE Channel: ATA100 x 1
Serial ATA Channel x 4
Front Panel x 1
Front Audio x 1
CPU FAN x 1,System FAN x 1,
Chassis FAN x 1 Power FAN x 1
Power Temperature Connector x 1
Case Open Connector x 1
CD_IN x 1, IrDA x 1, S/PDIF x 1
COM2 x 1
Game Connector x 1
IEEE 1394 x 2
USB2.0 Connectors x 2
Floppy Drive Connector x 1
IDE Channel: ATA100 x 1
Serial ATA Channel x 4
Front Panel x 1
Front Audio x 1
CPU FAN x 1,System FAN x 1,
Chassis FAN x 1 Power FAN x 1,
Power Temperature Connector x 1
Case Open Connector x 1
CD_IN x 1, IrDA x 1, S/PDIF x 1
Game Connector x 1
IEEE 1394 x 2
USB2.0 connectors x 2
BIOS Award PnP 4Mb Flash ROM BIOS Award PnP 4Mb Flash ROM BIOS
Board Size 305 mm x 210 mm 305 mm x 210 mm
6

2.3 Block Diagram
PCI Bus
150MB/s
IDE Drives x2
AC’97
CODEC
ATA 33/66/100
Serial ATA Ports
x4
3
x
32-bit PCI Slots
500MB/s PCI Express x 1
Slots x2
Intel
915G / 915P
Chipset
LGA775
Socket
Intel
FC-LGA4
533/800 MHz
System Bus
Support ADD2 Card
(for i915Ga-PLF)
PCI Express x16
Graphics slot
VGA Onboard
(
i915Ga-PLF
)
CPU
DIMM Sockets x4 Dual Channel DDR
333/400 SDRAM
Up to 4GB
ICH6
4Mbits Flash
EEPROM
USB 2.0 x8
LAN connect
Com
p
onent
Realtek
Gigabit
LAN Chip
Agere
IEEE
1394
Controlle
r
Winbond
Super I/O
Floppy Disk
Drive
Serial Ports x2 IEEE 1394 x2
Parallel Port
7

Chapter 3 Hardware Installation
3.1 Quick Installation Procedure
C
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ap
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e
r
3
H
a
r
d
w
a
r
e
In
s
t
a
ll
a
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o
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1. Installing CPU
2. Installing CPU
Fan & System Fan
3. Installing
Memory Module
4. Installing HD,
CD-ROM and
SATA Disk, etc
6. Connecting ATX
Power Cable
5. Connecting Front
Panel Cable
7. Installing PCI
Express x16 Graphics
cards & PCI Express x 1
cards & PCI Cards
8. Installing Other
Devices (USB, Front
Audio, etc)
9. Connecting
Back Panel Ports
(Keyboard,
Mouse, etc)
10. Loading
Default BIOS,
Setting CPU
Fre
q
uenc
y
11. Installing
Operating System
(such as, Windows
XP)
12. Installing Drivers &
Utilities
8

3.2 Installation You Have to Know
Installing CPU
This socket supports FC-LGA4 CPU, which is the latest CPU package developed by
Intel. Other forms of CPU package are impossible to be fitted in.
1. Pull CPU socket lever and plate up.
2. Remove plastic cap from CPU socket plate.
3. Locate Pin 1 in the socket and look for a golden arrow on the CPU upper
interface. Match Pin 1 and golden arrow. Then insert the CPU into the
socket.
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4. Press down the CPU socket plate and lever to finish CPU installation.
Plastic cap
Plas ptic ca
CPU socket plate
Note: It’s strongly recommended by
Intel to use thermal paste properly to avoid
over-heat generated from Prescott CPU.
Golden
arrow
CPU socket
lever
Socket Pin 1
Warning: If you do not match the CPU
socket Pin 1 and CPU golden arrow well,
you may damage the CPU. And please don’t
touch CPU socket pins when installing CPU.

Installing CPU Cooler
1. Gently put down the CPU fan on CPU socket with four sticks aiming correctly
to the four mounting holes.
Mounting
hole
Mounting
hole
2. Press down four fixing sticks into the holes one by one. Make sure the
sticks are firmly fixed into the holes.
Fixing
stick
Note
you purcha: The picture above may look different from the product sed.
10

Installing CPU and System Fans
Plug the CPU fan cable to the 4-pin CPUFAN connector. If you have chassis fan,
you can also plug it in SYSFAN1 or SYSFAN2 connector.
11
SYSFAN1 Connector
CPUFAN Connector
PWM
SENSOR
GND
+12V
SYSFAN2 Connector
GND
+12V
Sensor
+12V
Sensor
GND
Note: Some CPU fans
do not have sensor pin so
that they cannot support fan
monitoring.

Installing Memory Modules
DIMM slots are designed in Navy Blue and Electronic Blue which are very easy to
recognize. Insert the module straight down to the DIMM slot with both hands and
press down firmly until the DIMM module is securely in place.
12
Pin 1
Tab
Note: The tabs of the
DIMM slot will clip to hold the
DIMM in place when the DIMM
touches the slot’s bottom.
Key

Maximum The Performance of the Dual Channel
To obtain the highest performance of Dual Channel, the configuration of DIMM
must meet the following conditions.
Matched DIMM configuration in each channel
●Same density (128MB~1GB)
As long as you insert memory modules of same density into Channel 1 (DIMM A1
& DIMM A2) and Channel 2 (DIMM B1 & DIMM B2), dual channel mode will be
enabled.
DIMM A1 + DIMM A2= DIMM B1 + DIMM B2
Ex: if you insert 1GB memory module into DIMM A1 and DIMM A2, dual channel
mode will be enabled when DIMM B1 + DIMM B2 = 1GB
●Same DRAM bus width (x8 or x16)
●Either single-sided or double-sided
Note
caus :Using memory modules of different chip will e system unstable.
When dual channel mode is successfully enabled, the screen will show “Dual
Channel Mode Enabled” while entering POST screen.
13

Connecting IDE and Floppy Cables
Connect the 34-pin floppy cable and 40-pin, 80-wire IDE cable to floppy
connector and IDE connector. Be careful of the pin1 orientation. Wrong
orientation may cause system damage.
14
Primary
Slave (2nd)
Pin 1
Primary
Master (1st)
ATA 33/66/100 IDE Connector
FDD Connector
Pin 1

Connecting Front Panel Cable
Attach the power LED, speaker and reset switch connectors to the corresponding
pins. If you enable “Suspend Mode” item in BIOS Setup, the ACPI & Power LED
will keep flashing while the system is in suspend mode.
Locate the power switch cable from your housing, which is a 2-pin female
connector from the housing front panel. Plug this connector to the soft-power
switch connector marked SPWR.
15
Power Switch
1
Front Panel Connector
GND
Power LED-
GND
Power LED+
GND
NC
GND
RESET
GND
NC
NC
+5V
HDD LED
HDD LED
+5V
+5V
GND
NC
SPEAKER

Connecting ATX Power Cables
This motherboard comes with a 24-pin and 4-pin ATX power connector as shown
below. Make sure you plug them in the right direction. We strongly recommend
you to insert the 4-pin connector before connecting the 24-pin connector.
16

3.3 Other Installation for Your Reference
Setting CPU Voltage and Frequency
Setting CPU Core Voltage
This motherboard supports Voltage ID (VID) function to detect CPU voltage
automatically during power-on. It’s not necessary to set CPU core voltage.
Setting CPU Frequency
This motherboard is CPU jumper-less design; you can set CPU frequency by 1MHz
stepping CPU Overclocking in the BIOS. CPU Core Frequency = CPU FSB clock
x CPU Ratio. However, all CPU now sold in market belong to "Fixed Multiplier".
That means users can not adjust the CPU Ratio but change CPU FSB clock to
achieve overclocking only.
BIOS Setup > Frequency / Voltage Control > CPU Speed Setup
(Users will do the overclocking at their own risks!!)
Note: With CPU speed changing rapidly, there might be faster CPU on the
market by the time you received this installation guide. This table is kindly for
your references only.
CPU Ratio 8x, 10x… 24x, 25x, 26x, 27x, 28x
CPU FSB (Adjustment
manually) FSB = 100MHz-250MHz by 1MHz Stepping CPU Overclocking
Processor Number Processor Frequency
FSB CPU Ratio Cache
5 Series
570 3.80G 800MHZ 19x 1MB L2
560 3.60G 800MHZ 18x 1MB L2
550 3.40G 800MHZ 17x 1MB L2
540 3.20G 800MHZ 16x 1MB L2
530 3.00G 800MHZ 15x 1MB L2
520 2.80G 800MHZ 14x 1MB L2
3 Series
350 3.20G 533MHZ 24x 256K L2
345 3.06G 533MHZ 23x 256K L2
340 2.93G 533MHZ 22x 256K L2
335 2.80G 533MHZ 21x 256K L2
Warning: Intel 915G / 915P chipset support maximum 800MHz (200MHz*4) system;
higher clock setting may cause serious system damage.
Note: Some CPU fans do not have sensor pin so that they can’t support fan
ring. monito
17

Connecting Serial ATA
To connect a serial ATA disk, you have to have a 7-pin serial ATA cable. Connect
two ends of the serial ATA cable to the serial ATA header on the motherboard and
the disk. Like every other traditional disk, you also have to connect a power cable.
Please be noted that it is a jumper free implement; you don’t need to set jumpers
to define a master or slave disk. When serial ATA hard disks are installed on serial
ATA ports, the one connected on Port0 (SATA1) will be set as the first boot device
automatically. Please note that it doesn’t support Hot-Plug in function.
SATA1
SATA4
SATA2
SATA3
18

Adjusting your Hard Disk Setting
Except its original 1 set of parallel IDE, this motherboard supports the latest serial
ATA hard disk. If you are unable to find your newly installed serial ATA hard disks
on your operating system after having them installed, the problem may lie in the
BIOS setting. You can simply adjust BIOS settings to have them work properly.
After installing your hard disks properly, you can directly go to BIOS setting
screen for adjustment. Simply pressing “Integrated Peripherals ÆOnChip
IDE Device ÆOn-Chip Serial ATA” to choose your preferable mode. If you
have no intention of changing its original setting, the default would be Auto.
19

If you desire to change the default setting,
press Enter for selection list:
Disabled: You can choose this item if
there are only traditional IDE hard disks
had been installed on your system.
Disabling this item will also cancel the
detection of serial ATA hard disks during
POST, which will theoretically speed up
your boot-up time a little bit; however,
please remember to re-adjust the setting here if you want to use serial ATA hard
disk later.
Auto: This is factory default setting on this motherboard. Basically, if your system
functions properly, it is no necessary to change it. The system will automatically
recognize PATA (IDE) as primary..
Combined Mode: If you have traditional IDE hard disks and serial ATA hard disks
installed at the same time, then you can choose this mode. Under this mode, you
can randomly choose either IDE hard disks or serial ATA had disk as your first boot
device. But please note, IDE will exist with serial ATA in a mapping way, which
means it will occupy one of the serial Channel and leave you one serial Channel
only. When PATA Mode is set to primary, SATA3 and SATA4 will be set to secondary,
and when PATA Mode is set to secondary, SATA1 and SATA2 will be set to primary.
Enhanced Mode: If you are using the latest operating system (say, Windows XP,
Windows.NET Server), it is highly recommended that you select Enhanced Mode.
Under this mode the system will detect all six devices (traditional IDE x 2, Serial
ATA x 4) completely and function perfectly. But please note that PATA Mode is set
to primary under this mode.
Note: According to practical lab tests of us, there are no obvious
problems or mistakes happened when we set this mode under
Windows2000 operating system; however, it is not recommended by
Intel.
SATA Only: You may select this mode if you install serial ATA hard disks only.
20