DFI 915P-TAL User manual

85200507
915P-TAL
915PL-TAL
System Board
User’s Manual

Copyright
This publication contains information that is protected by copyright.
No part of it may be reproduced in any form or by any means or
used to make any transformation/adaptation without the prior
written permission from the copyright holders.
This publication is provided for informational purposes only. The
manufacturer makes no representations or warranties with respect to
the contents or use of this manual and specifically disclaims any
express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any
particular purpose.The user will assume the entire risk of the use or
the results of the use of this document. Further, the manufacturer
reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes to its
contents at any time, without obligation to notify any person or
entity of such revisions or changes.
© 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Trademarks
Product names or trademarks appearing in this manual are for
identification purpose only and are the properties of the respective
owners.
Caution
To avoid damage to the system:
• Use the correct AC input voltage range.....
To reduce the risk of electric shock:
• Unplug the power cord before removing the system chassis
cover for installation or servicing. After installation or servicing,
cover the system chassis before plugging the power cord.
Battery:
• Danger of explosion if battery incorrectly replaced.
• Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommend by
the manufacturer.
• Dispose of used batteries according to the battery
manufacturer’s instructions.

FCC and DOC Statement on Class B
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference
will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from
that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for
help.
Notice:
1. The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority
to operate the equipment.
2. Shielded interface cables must be used in order to comply with
the emission limits.

About this Manual
This user’s manual contains detailed information about the system
board. If, in some cases, some information doesn’t match those
shown in the multilingual manual, the multilingual manual should al-
ways be regarded as the most updated version. The multilingual
manual is included in the system board package.
To view the user’s manual, insert the CD into a CD-ROM drive.The
autorun screen (Mainboard Utility CD) will appear. Click the
“TOOLS” icon then click “Manual” on the main menu.
About the Package
The system board and accessories in the package may not come
similar to the information stated in this manual. This may differ in
accordance to the sales region or models in which it was sold. For
more information about the standard package in your region, please
contact your dealer or sales representative.
Warranty
1. Warranty does not cover damages or failures that arised from
misuse of the product, inability to use the product, unauthorized
replacement or alteration of components and product
specifications.
2. The warranty is void if the product has been subjected to
physical abuse, improper installation, modification, accidents or
unauthorized repair of the product.
3. Unless otherwise instructed in this user’s manual, the user may
not, under any circumstances, attempt to perform service,
adjustments or repairs on the product, whether in or out of
warranty. It must be returned to the purchase point, factory or
authorized service agency for all such work.
4. We will not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental or
consequencial damages to the product that has been modified
or altered.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
1.1 Specifications......................................................................................................................
1.2 Special Features of the System Board.....................................................
1.3 Package Checklist.........................................................................................................
Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation
2.1 System Board Layout ...........................................................................................
2.2 System Memory...........................................................................................................
2.3 CPU........................................................................................................................................
2.4 Jumper Settings.............................................................................................................
2.5 Rear Panel I/O Ports..............................................................................................
2.6 I/O Connectors...........................................................................................................
Chapter 3 - BIOS Setup
3.1 Award BIOS Setup Utility....................................................................................
3.2 Updating the BIOS.....................................................................................................
Chapter 4 - Supported Softwares
4.1 Drivers, Utilities and Software Applications.....................................
4.2 Installation Notes......................................................................................................
7
10
15
16
17
22
28
32
42
54
95
97
103

Introduction
1
6
Appendix A - Enabling the Hyper-Threading
Technology
A.1 Enabling the Hyper-Threading Technology...........................................
Appendix B - System Error Messages
B.1 POST Beep....................................................................................................................
B.2 Error Messages...........................................................................................................
Appendix C - Troubleshooting
C.1 Troubleshooting Checklist.................................................................................
104
107
107
109

1
Introduction
7
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Specifications
Processor
• Intel®Pentium®4 Prescott processor
- Hyper-Threading Technology
- 533MT/s and 800MT/s (200MHz) system bus interface
• Socket LGA 775 (LAN Grid Array)
Chipset
• North bridge:
- Intel®915P Express chipset (915P-TAL)
- Intel®915PL Express chipset (915PL-TAL)
South bridge:
- Intel®82801FB I/O Controller Hub (ICH6)
System Memory
• DIMM sockets
- Four 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets (915P-TAL)
- Two 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets (915PL-TAL)
• Maximum memory
- Up to 4GB system memory (915P-TAL)
- Up to 2GB system memory (915PL-TAL)
• Supports PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) DIMMs
• Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
• Supports non-ECC x8 and x16 DIMMs
• Supports up to 512Mb DRAM densities
• Supports unbuffered DIMMs
Note:
The system board does not support 16Mx8 DRAM.
BIOS
• Award BIOS
• 4Mbit flash memory

Introduction
1
8
Energy Efficient Design
• Supports ACPI specification and OS Directed Power
Management
• Supports ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
• Wake-On-Events include:
- Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
- Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
- Wake-On-Ring (external modem)
- Wake-On-LAN
- RTC timer to power-on the system
• AC power failure recovery
Hardware Monitor
• Monitors CPU/system temperature and overheat alarm
• Monitors Vcore/V3SB/Vcc3/Vcc5/12V/V5SB/VBAT voltages
• Monitors the speed of the CPU/system fan
• CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature
and fan during system boot-up - automatic shutdown upon
system overheat
Onboard Audio Features
• 6-channel audio CODEC
• Full-duplex codec with independent variable sampling rate
• True stereo line level outputs
• S/PDIF-in/out interface
Onboard LAN Features
• Realtek RTL8100C PCI LAN controller
• Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T) and 802.3u
(100BASE-TX) standards
• Integrated power management functions
• Supports wire for management
Serial ATA Interface
• Supports four SATA (Serial ATA) interfaces which are compliant
with SATA 1.0 specification (1.5Gbps interface)
IEEE 1394 Interface
• Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec ports
IDE Interface
• One IDE connector supports up to two UltraDMA100Mbps
hard drives

1
Introduction
9
Rear Panel I/O Ports
• 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
• 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
• 1 DB-25 parallel port
• 2 DB-9 serial ports
• 1 IEEE 1394 port
• 1 RJ45 LAN port
• 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• Line-in, line-out and mic-in jacks
I/O Connectors
• 2 connectors for 4 additional external USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• 1 connector for 1 external IEEE 1394 port
• 1 front audio connector for external line-out and mic-in jacks
• 1 CD-in internal audio connector
• 1 S/PDIF connector
• 1 IrDA connector
• 4 Serial ATA connectors
• 1 IDE connector
• 1 floppy connector
• 1 24-pin ATX power connector
• 1 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
• 1 front panel connector
• 2 fan connectors
Expansion Slots
• 1 PCI Express x16 slot
• 2 PCI Express x1 slots
• 3 PCI slots
PCB
• microATX form factor
• 24.4cm (9.6") x 24.4cm (9.6")

Introduction
1
10
Special Features of the System Board
PCI Express
PCI Express is a high bandwidth I/O infrastructure that possesses
the ability to scale speeds by forming multiple lanes. The system
board currently supports the physical layer of x1 and x16 lane
widths.
The x1 PCI Express lane supports transfer rate of 2.5 Gigabytes
(250MBbps) per second. The PCI Express architecture also provides
a high performance graphics infrastructure by doubling the capability
of the existing AGP 8x designs over a x16 PCI Express lane that
provides 4 Gigabytes per second transfer rate.
Hyper-Threading Technology Functionality Requirements
The system board supports Intel processors with Hyper-Threading
Technology. Enabling the functionality of Hyper-Threading Technology
for your computer system requires ALL of the following platforms.
Components:
• CPU - an Intel®Pentium®4 Processor with HT Technology
• Chipset - an Intel®chipset that supports HT Technology
• BIOS - a BIOS that supports HT Technology and has it enabled
• OS - an operating system that includes optimizations for HT
Technology
Please refer to Appendix A for information a bout enabling the
functionality of the Hyper-Threading Technology. For more information
on Hyper-Threading Technology, go to: www.intel.com/info/
hyperthreading.

1
Introduction
11
CPU Overheat Protection
CPU Overheat Protection has the capability of monitoring the CPU’s
temperature during system boot up. Once the CPU’s temperature
exceeded the temperature limit pre-defined by the CPU, the system
will automatically shutdown. This preventive measure has been added
to protect the CPU from damage and insure a safe computing
environment.
DDR
DDR (Double Data Rate) is a type of SDRAM that doubles the
data rate through reading and writing at both the rising and falling
edge of each clock. This effectively doubles the speed of operation
therefore providing two times faster data transfer.
6-channel Audio
The audio jacks at the rear panel will support 6-channel audio only
when the audio utility is configured to support this function.The mic-
in at the rear will be disabled. Use the front audio’s mic-in jack.
S/PDIF
S/PDIF is a standard audio file transfer format that transfers digital
audio signals to a device without having to be converted first to an
analog format. This prevents the quality of the audio signal from
degrading whenever it is converted to analog. S/PDIF is usually
found on digital audio equipment such as a DAT machine or audio
processing device.The S/PDIF connector on the system board sends
surround sound and 3D audio signal outputs to amplifiers and
speakers and to digital recording devices like CD recorders.
Serial ATA Interface
Serial ATA is a storage interface that is compliant with SATA 1.0
specification. With speed of up to 1.5Gbps, it improves hard drive
performance faster than the standard parallel ATA whose data
transfer rate is 100MB/s.

Introduction
1
12
IEEE 1394 Interface
IEEE 1394 is fully compliant with the 1394 OHCI (Open Host
Controller Interface) 1.1 specification. It supports up to 63 devices
that can run simultaneously on a system. 1394 is a fast external bus
standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400Mbps. In
addition to its high speed, it also supports isochronous data transfer
which is ideal for video devices that need to transfer high levels of
data in real-time. 1394 supports both Plug-and-Play and hot
plugging.
IrDA Interface
The system board is equipped with an IrDA connector for wireless
connectivity between your computer and peripheral devices. The
IRDA (Infrared Data Association) specification supports data
transfers of 115K baud at a distance of 1 meter.
USB Ports
The system board supports USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 ports. USB 1.1
supports 12Mb/second bandwidth while USB 2.0 supports 480Mb/
second bandwidth providing a marked improvement in device
transfer speeds between your computer and a wide range of
simultaneously accessible external Plug and Play peripherals.
Dual Function Power Button
Depending on the setting in the “Soft-Off By PWR-BTTN” field of
the Power Management Setup, this switch will allow the system to
enter the Soft-Off or Suspend mode.
Wake-On-Ring
This feature allows the system that is in the Suspend mode or Soft
Power Off mode to wake-up/power-on to respond to calls coming
from an external modem or respond to calls from a modem PCI
card that uses the PCI PME (Power Management Event) signal to
remotely wake up the PC.
Important:
If you are using a modem add-in card, the 5VSB power source
of your power supply must support a minimum of ≥ 720mA.

1
Introduction
13
Wake-On-LAN
This feature allows the network to remotely wake up a Soft Power
Down (Soft-Off) PC. It is supported via the onboard LAN port or
via a PCI LAN card that uses the PCI PME (Power Management
Event) signal. However, if your system is in the Suspend mode, you
can power-on the system only through an IRQ or DMA interrupt.
Important:
The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support
≥ 720mA.
Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
This function allows you to use the PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 mouse
to power-on the system.
Important:
The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support
≥ 720mA.
Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
This function allows you to use a USB keyboard or USB mouse to
wake up a system from the S3 (STR - Suspend To RAM) state.
Important:
If you are using the Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse function for
2 USB ports, the 5VSB power source of your power supply
must support ≥ 1.5A. For 3 or more USB ports, the 5VSB
power source of your power supply must support ≥ 2A.
RTC Timer to Power-on the System
The RTC installed on the system board allows your system to
automatically power-on on the set date and time.

Introduction
1
14
ACPI STR
The system board is designed to meet the ACPI (Advanced
Configuration and Power Interface) specification. ACPI has energy
saving features that enables PCs to implement Power Management
and Plug-and-Play with operating systems that support OS Direct
Power Management. Currently, only Windows®®
®®
®2000/XP supports
the ACPI function. ACPI when enabled in the Power Management
Setup will allow you to use the Suspend to RAM function.
With the Suspend to RAM function enabled, you can power-off the
system at once by pressing the power button or selecting “Standby”
when you shut down Windows®®
®®
®2000/XP without having to go
through the sometimes tiresome process of closing files, applications
and operating system. This is because the system is capable of
storing all programs and data files during the entire operating session
into RAM (Random Access Memory) when it powers-off. The
operating session will resume exactly where you left off the next time
you power-on the system.
Important:
The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support
≥ 1A.
AC Power Failure Recovery
When power returns after an AC power failure, you may choose to
either power-on the system manually, let the system power-on
automatically or return to the state where you left off before power
failure occurs.

1
Introduction
15
Package Checklist
;One system board
;One IDE cable for UltraDMA 33/66/100 IDE drives
;One 34-pin floppy disk drive cable
;Two Serial ATA data cables
;One Serial ATA power cable
;One I/O shield
;One “Mainboard Utility” CD
;One user’s manual
If any of these items are missing or damaged, please contact your
dealer or sales representative for assistance.

16
2Hardware Installation
System Board Layout
Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation
915P-TAL (shown above) uses the Intel 915P north bridge chip that
supports 4 DDR DIMM sockets while 915PL-TAL uses the Intel 915PL
chip that supports two DIMM sockets only (DDR 1 and DDR 3 only).
The illustrations on the following pages are based on the 915P-TAL
system board.

17
2
Hardware Installation
System Memory
Warning:
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your system board,
processor, disk drives, add-in boards, and other components. Perform
the upgrade instruction procedures described at an ESD workstation
only. If such a station is not available, you can provide some ESD
protection by wearing an antistatic wrist strap and attaching it to a
metal part of the system chassis. If a wrist strap is unavailable,
establish and maintain contact with the system chassis throughout
any procedures requiring ESD protection.
The system board supports DDR SDRAM DIMM.
The four DDR DIMM sockets on 915P-TAL are divided into 2
channels:
Channel A - DDR 1 and DDR 2
Channel B - DDR 3 and DDR 4
The two DDR DIMM sockets on 915PL-TAL are divided into 2
channels:
Channel A - DDR 1
Channel B - DDR 3
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
DDR 1
DDR 2
DDR 3
DDR 4

18
2Hardware Installation
The system board supports the following memory interface.
Single Channel (SC)
Data will be accessed in chunks of 64 bits (8B) from the memory
channels.
Virtual Single Channel (VSC)
If both channels are populated with different memory configurations,
the MCH defaults to Virtual Single Channel.
Dual Channel (DC)
Dual channel provides better system performance because it doubles
the data transfer rate.
Dynamic Mode Addressing
This mode minimizes the overhead of opening/closing pages in
memory banks allowing for row switching to be done less often.
BIOS Setting
Configure the system memory in the Advanced Chipset Features
submenu of the BIOS.
DIMMs are on the same channel.
DIMMs in a channel can be identical or
completely different.
Not all slots need to be populated.
DIMMs of different memory configurations
are on different channels.
Odd number of slots can be populated.
DIMMs of the same memory configuration
are on different channels.
In single channel, requires even number or
rows (side of the DIMM) populated.This
mode can be enabled with 1 SS, 2 SS or
2 DS.
In VSC mode, both channels must have
identical row structure.
Single Channel
Virtual Single
Channel
Dual Channel
Dynamic Mode
Addressing

19
2
Hardware Installation
The table below lists the various optimal operating modes that should
be configured for the memory channel operation.
Config
No memory
Single channel A
Single channel A
Single channel A
Single channel B
Single channel B
Single channel B
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Virtual single channel
Dual channel
Dual channel
Dual channel
DDR 1
E
P
P
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
P
P(**)
p(**)
P
P(**)
P(**)
E
P(*)(1,3)
P(*)(1,3)
DDR 2
E
E
P
P
E
E
E
P(**)
P
P(**)
E
E
E
P(**)
P
P(**)
P(*)(2,4)
E
P(*)(2,4)
DDR 3
E
E
E
E
P
P
E
E
P
P
E
P(**)
P(**)
E
P(**)
P(**)
E
P(*)(1,3)
P(*)(1,3)
DDR 4
E
E
E
E
E
P
P
P(**)
E
P(**)
P
E
P
P(**)
E
P(**)
P(*)(2,4)
E
P(*)(2,4)
Continued on the next page...

20
2Hardware Installation
Config
Dynamic Mode Addressing
Dynamic Mode Addressing
Dynamic Mode Addressing
Dynamic Mode Addressing
Dynamic Mode Addressing
Dynamic Mode Addressing
DDR 1
E
P(*)(1,3)
DS
P(*)(1,3)
DS
E
P(*)(1,3)
SS
P(*)(1,3)
SS
DDR 2
P(*)(2,4)
DS
E
P(*)(2,4)
DS
P(*)(2,4)
SS
E
P(*)(2,4)
SS
DDR 3
E
P(*)(1,3)
DS
P(*)(1,3)
DS
E
P(*)(1,3)
SS
P(*)(1,3)
SS
DDR 4
P(*)(2,4)
DS
E
P(*)(2,4)
DS
P(*)(2,4)
SS
E
P(*)(2,4)
SS
P - denotes populated
E - denotes empty
* - denotes DIMMs are identical
** - denotes DIMMs are not identical
SS - denotes Single Sided DIMM
DS - denotes Double Sided DIMM
1, 2, 3 or 4 - denotes the DDR DIMM slot