VIA Technologies A7F129 User manual

A7F129 Mainboard Manual

Copyright Notice
©Copyright 2000
The information contained in this user’s manual and all accompany-
ing documentation is copyrighted and all rights are reserved. This
publication may not, in whole or in part, be reproduced, transcribed,
stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language or com-
puter language, or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the
prior written consent from the manufacturer, except for copies re-
tained by the purchasers for their personal archival purposes.
The manufacturer reserves the right to revise this user’s manual and
all accompanying documentation and to make changes in the con-
tent without obligation to notify any person or organization of the
revision or change.
IN NO EVENT WILL THE VENDOR BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE
THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, THE
VENDOR SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, OR DATA STORED OR USED WITH THE
PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING,
REPLACING, OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, OR DATA.
All trademarks mentioned in this document are acknowledged.
The specifications in this manual are subject to change without no-
tice.

Preface
ii
Using This Manual
This manual is designed to help you build a reliable Personal Com-
puter based on the A7F129 platform.
Chapter 1—Quick Reference
This chapter is for advanced users who want to quickly assemble a
system. The mainboard layout along with jumper and switch settings,
and memory configuration are provided.
Chapter 2—Introduction
This chapter includes an introduction, a checklist of the items that
ship with this mainboard, and a summary of the principal features
and components.
Chapter 3—Hardware Installation
This chapter explains how to prepare your mainboard for use and
how to make the various connections to other computer components
and peripheral items.
Chapter 4—BIOS Configuration
This chapter explains how to use the system setup utility that is
stored in the mainboard’s firmware.
Chapter 5—Driver and Utility
This chapter briefly describes the drivers and utility programs that
are packaged with the mainboard.

Preface
iii
Table of Contents
1. A7F129 QUICK REFERENCE.................................................................1
1.1. MAINBOARD LAYOUT..............................................................................1
1.2. I/O PORTS..................................................................................................2
1.3. PANEL CONNECTOR.................................................................................3
1.4. JUMPERS....................................................................................................4
1.5. FRONTSIDE BUS SPEED SWITCH.............................................................5
1.6. PCI AND AGP FREQUENCY SETTINGS..................................................6
1.7. MEMORY INSTALLATION........................................................................6
1.8. CONNECTORS............................................................................................6
2. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................7
2.1. OVERVIEW.................................................................................................7
2.2. MAINBOARD SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES....................................8
2.3. MAINBOARD LAYOUT............................................................................10
2.4. MICROPROCESSOR..................................................................................11
2.5. CPU PACKAGING...................................................................................12
2.6. CHIPSET ...................................................................................................12
3. HARDWARE INSTALLATION............................................................13
3.1. UNPACKING.............................................................................................13
3.2. INSTALLATION........................................................................................14
3.3. SAFETY MEASURES................................................................................15
3.4. CONNECTOR/JUMPER LOCATION.........................................................16
3.5. ATTACHING CONNECTORS....................................................................17
3.6. INSTALLINGTHE CPU............................................................................25
4. KT MAINBOARD BIOS ..........................................................................33
4.1. ENTERING SETUP....................................................................................34
4.2. STANDARD CMOS FEATURES.............................................................36
4.3. ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES...............................................................39
4.4. ADVANCED CHIPSET FEATURES..........................................................42
4.5. INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS...................................................................45
4.6. POWERMANAGEMENT SETUP..............................................................49
4.7. PNP/PCI CONFIGURATIONS..................................................................54
4.8. PC HEALTH STATUS OPTION................................................................56
4.9. FREQUENCY/VOLTAGE CONTROL........................................................57
4.10. LOAD OPTIMIZED DEFAULTS OPTION............................................59

Preface
iv
4.11. SET SUPERVISOR/USER PASSWORD................................................59
4.12. SAVE & EXIT SETUP..........................................................................60
4.13. EXITWITHOUT SAVING....................................................................60
5. KM/KL MAINBOARD BIOS .................................................................61
5.1. ENTERING SETUP....................................................................................62
5.2. STANDARD CMOS FEATURES.............................................................64
5.3.ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES...............................................................67
5.4. ADVANCED CHIPSET FEATURES..........................................................70
5.5. INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS...................................................................74
5.6. POWERMANAGEMENT SETUP..............................................................78
5.7. PNP/PCI CONFIGURATIONS..................................................................83
5.8. PC HEALTH STATUS OPTION................................................................85
5.9. FREQUENCY/VOLTAGE CONTROL........................................................86
5.10. LOAD FAIL-SAFE DEFAULTS OPTION.............................................87
5.11. LOAD OPTIMIZED DEFAULTS OPTION............................................87
5.12. SET SUPERVISOR/USER PASSWORD................................................88
5.13. SAVE & EXIT SETUP..........................................................................88
5.14. EXITWITHOUT SAVING....................................................................88
6. DRIVER AND UTILITY..........................................................................89
6.1. FLASH UTILITY.......................................................................................89
6.2. VIA 4-IN-1 DRIVER...............................................................................89
6.3. SYSTEM ENVIRONMENT MONITOR......................................................90
6.4. ATA66/100 CONTROLLER OPTIONS...................................................92
6.5. VIA AC 97 AUDIO CODEC...................................................................92
6.6. ONLINE SERVICES..................................................................................93

1. A7F129 Quick Reference
1.1.Mainboard Layout
LOCK
FREE
3V
+
COM2
CD1 CD2
IR
WOLWOM
PCI5
ISA
PCI4PCI3PCI2PCI1
J2J8
JP2
JP1
JP3
JP5
JP4
J7 BAT
PW
DIMM3 DIMM2 DIMM1
IDE1 IDE2
FDD
AGP
SW3 JP6
SW1
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
1
1
1
1
1 2
3 4
5 7 6 8
1
1
1 2
14
16
15
18
17
USB
ports
PS/2
mouse/keyboard
ports
Game
and
audio
ports
1919
21
1920
22
23
Parallel
and
serial
ports
VGA
port
(KT133)
1. Auxiliary COM port connector (COM2)
2. ATX power connector (POWER)
3. Socket-462 CPU socket (Socket-462)
4. DIMM module sockets (DIMM1~3)
5. CPU clock speed switch (SW3)
6. Floppy drive connector (FDD)
7. CPU clock speed switch (SW1)
8. IDE connector (IDE2)
9. IDE connector (IDE1)
10. CPU fan connector (J2)
11. Northbridge fan connector (J8)
12. CD-ROM audio connectors (CD1/2)
13. Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot
(KT/KM)
14. Infrared connector (IR)
15. PCI expansion slots (PCI1~5)
16. Wake on Modem connector (WOM)
17. Wake on LAN connector (WOL)
18. ISA expansion slot (ISA)
19. BIOS controller
20. RTC battery (BAT)
21. USB connector (USB2)
22. Front panel connectors (JP2)
23. Secondary fan connector (J7)

Mainboard User’s Manual
2I/OPorts
1.2.I/O Ports
1.2.1. KT133/133A
PS/2
mouse
PS/2
keyboard
USB
ports
Parallel port (LPT1)
Serial port
COM 1
Line-out
Microphone
Game port
Line-in
1.2.2. KM133/KM133A/KL133/KL133A
PS/2
mouse
PS/2
keyboard
USB
ports
Parallel port (LPT1)
Serial port
COM 1
Line-out
Microphone
Game port
Line-in
VGA
port

A7F129 Quick Reference
Panel Connector 3
1.3.Panel Connector
The following illustration shows the front panel connector pin as-
signments:
HDD
LED
STANDBY
LED
SPEAKER
Ground
Ground
LED cathode
LED cathode
LED cathode
LED anode
LED anode
LED anode
Keylock
Non
Ground
Ground
Power on/off
Reset Single
+5V
+5V
Speaker-out
POWER LED
& KEYLOCK
RESET
BUTTON
POWER
SWITCH
Pin 1

Mainboard User’s Manual
4Jumpers
1.4.Jumpers
1-2:Normal ModeJP1 2-3:Clear CMOS RAM
1-2:Enables the Suspend to RAM (STR) functionJP3 2-3:Disables the STR function
JP4 JP5 DIMM Voltage
OFF OFF +3.3V
ON OFF +3.4V
OFF ON +3.5V
JP4 & JP5
ON ON +3.6V
Pin
7-85-63-41-2CPU clock ratio
ON ON ON ON 11
ON ON ON OFF 11.5
ON ON OFF ON 12
ON ON OFF OFF 12.5
ON OFF ON ON 5
ON OFF ON OFF 5.5
ON OFF OFF ON 6
ON OFF OFF OFF 6.5
OFF ON ON ON 7
OFF ON ON OFF 7.5
OFF ON OFF ON 8
OFF ON OFF OFF 8.5
OFF OFF ON ON 9
OFF OFF ON OFF 9.5
OFF OFF OFF ON 10
JP6
OFF OFF OFF OFF 10.5

A7F129 Quick Reference
Frontside Bus Speed Switch 5
1.5.Frontside Bus Speed Switch
Use these switches to set the system’s frontside bus (FSB) speed.
Memory Strapping switch (SW1)
CPU clock Frequency
21CPU PCI
ON ON 100 MHz 33.33 MHz
OFF ON 133 MHz 33.33 MHz
Frontside BUS Speed Switch (SW3)
4321CPU PCI
OFF ON ON ON 100 MHz 33.33 MHz
OFF ON OFF ON 110 MHz 36.67 MHz
OFF OFF OFF OFF 133 MHz 33.33 MHz
Note: A CPU clock speed setting of 100/110 MHz requires that
the installed memory modules are PC-100/133. A setting of 133
MHz requires PC-133 memory modules. The CPU clock speed
setting can be adjusted in BIOS Setup. However, when setting
hardware, you must set the CPU frontside bus speed and clock
frequency as shown below:
CPUfrontside bus speed
(SW3) CPU clock frequency (SW1)
100 MHz 100 MHz
110 MHz 100 MHz
133 MHz 133 MHz

Mainboard User’s Manual
6PCI and AGP Frequency Settings
1.6.PCI and AGP Frequency Settings
The PCI and AGP frequency settings are automatically set by the
system.
1.7.Memory Installation
168-Pin DIMM SDRAM MemoryConfiguration
Bank 0 (DIMM1) 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB
Bank 1 (DIMM2) 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB
Bank 2 (DIMM3) 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB
Total 8 MB to 1.5 GB
1.8.Connectors
COM2 Serial Port Connector: This 10-pin header is used to
connect a serial port extension bracket for adding a
second serial port to your system.
J2 CPU FAN Connector: This 3-pin header is used for con-
necting the CPU fan.
J8 Northbridge (NB) FAN Connector: This 2-pin header is
used for connecting the NB fan.
CD1/2 CD Connectors: These 4-pin headers are used for con-
necting the CD ROM audio input to the sound card.
IR Infrared (IR) Connector: This 5-pin header is used to
connect an infrared (IR) port for use of IR devices.
WOM Wake On Modem Connector:This 3-pin headeris used
for remote wake up of the computer through a modem.
WOL Wake On LAN Connector:This 3-pinheaderisusedfor
remote wake up of the computer through a network card.
USB2 USB Connector: This 8-pin header is used for con-
necting front panel USB ports 3 and 4.
J7 System Fan Connector:This 3-pin header is for con-
necting the case fan that keeps the system cool.
This concludes Chapter 1. Chapter 2 covers the mainboard’s specifi-
cations and features.

2. Introduction
2.1.Overview
The A7F129 is a high performance, enhanced function mainboard
that supports 64-bit AMD Athlon/DuronSocket 462 processors.
This mainboard is designed around the latest and fastest VIA
KT133/KT133A/KM133/KM133A/KL133/KL133A chipset in a stan-
dard ATX form factor.
The mainboard delivers high-speed performance with support for the
latest AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus technology, bus master-
ing EIDE (Enhanced IDE) controller, and concurrent PCI bus. With
100/133 MHz FSB (frontside bus), the mainboard accommodates
DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) memory and
supports ATA-33/66/100.
The mainboard achieves the highest reliability by supporting ECC
(Error Checking and Correction) memory protection, enabling the
mainboard to achieve superior data integrity and fault-tolerance in re-
spect to memory errors while running applications.
In addition to superior hardware capabilities, features like bus mas-
tering EIDE driver, Plug and Play, Soft-off, APM (Advanced Power
Management), ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface),
Keyboard Turn On, External Modem Ring On, Wake On LAN
(WOL), Watchdog timer wake up, Fan Off in sleeping state and
BIOS upgradability are provided with this platform.

Mainboard User’s Manual
8Mainboard Specifications and Features
2.2.Mainboard Specifications and Features
2.2.1. Hardware
CPU AMDAthlon/DuronSocket462(SocketA) processors
VRM OnboardVoltageRegulatorModule
Provides1.1Vto1.85Voperatingvoltage
Coprocessor CPUhasbuilt-infloatingpointunit
Speed Systembusclock100/133MHz(133MHzKT/KM/KL133A)
AGPclock66MHz
AGP1x/2x/4x
PCIbusclock33MHz
ISAbusclock8.33~9.35MHz
Chipset KT133/KT133A/KM133/KM133A/KL133/KL133A
VT8363A/VT8365Asystemcontroller
VT82C686A/686BPCItoISAbridge
DRAM Three168-pinDIMMsockets
Supports8MBto1.5GBmemory
SupportsSDRAM,andVCMSDRAMmemorytypes
EIDE
Controller SupportsfourIDEdevicesintwochannels
SupportsPIOmode0throughmode4drives
SupportsBusMasteringDMAmode2drives
SupportsBusMasteringUltraDMA-33/66drives
SupportsATA-66forSouthbridge686A
SupportsATA-100forSouthbridge686B
SupportsIomegaZIPorLS-120removabledrives
Enhanced I/O PCI2.2compliant
Onefloppydiskcontroller
OneStandard/EPP/ECPparallelportconnector
One16550compatibleserialportconnectors
OneVGAport(KM133/KM133A/KL133/KL133A)
S3Savage4graphicsacceleratorintegration(KM133/133A)
TwoUSB(UniversalSerialBus)ports
Dualfull-duplexdirectsoundAC97link-compatiblesound
system(KM133/133A)
I/O OneIrDAcompatibleinfrared(IR)connector
OneconnectorforfrontpanelUSBporttwo
Mouseand
Keyboard PS/2mouseconnector
PS/2keyboardconnector
Expansion
Slots
OneAGP-4X(V2.0)slot

Introduction
Mainboard Specifications and Features 9
Slots Five32-bitPCIslots
One8/16-bitISAslot
Power
Management CompliantwithEPA,APM1.2andACPI
ATXsoft-offpowercontrol
Power–onbyexternalmodemring
Power–onbyalarm
Power–onbyWakeOnLAN(WOL)
System
Management CPUtemperaturewarningandsystemtemperaturedetection
CPUandsystemvoltagedetection
CPUandsecondaryfanRPMdetection
VoltageRegu-
lator Switchingregulator
CPUvoltageauto-detection
FormFactor ATXformfactor22.5cmx30.5cm(8.8-inchx12.0-inch)
2.2.2. Software
BIOS AWARDAGP/PCIBIOS
2M-bitFlashBIOSwithESCD(ExtendedSystem
ConfigurationData)block
SupportsAPM,ACPI,PlugandPlay,Multi-Boot,DMI and
EIDEdevices
Supportshigh-capacityLS-120andZIPremovable
mediadrive
Driverand
Utility IDEBusmasteringUltraDMAdriver
FlashutilityforBIOSupgrade
SystemEnvironmentMonitoringUtility
ESS1989audiodrivers
Operating
System OperateswithMS_DOS,Windows3.x/95/98/2000/NT,OS/2, NovellNetware/UnixWare1.1,andSCOUnix4.2
2.2.3. Environment
Ambient Temperature 0ºCto50ºC(operating)
Relative Humidity 0to85%(operating)
Vibration 0to500Hz
DC Voltage 4.9Vto5.2V
DC Voltage 1.3V to 3.50V
DC Voltage -5V, +12V, -12V, +5VSB 5% tolerance

Mainboard User’s Manual
10 Mainboard Layout
2.3.Mainboard Layout
1
2
3
4
5
10
11
12
15
16
17
18
13
14
6
5
Note: Because of optional items and design changes, your main-
board may not be identical to the one shown in the illustration.

Introduction
Microprocessor 11
Key to Mainboard Components
No Name Function
1PW ATX power connector
2Socket462 CPU socket
3Northbridge VIA VT8363A/VT8365A system controller
4DIMM1~3 Memory module slots
5SW3 CPU clock speed switch
6FDD Floppy drive connector
7SW1 CPU clock speed switch
8IDE1 IDE 1 connector
9IDE2 IDE 2 connector
10 Southbridge VIA VT82C686A/686B ATA-66/100 PCI to ISA
bridge
11 USB2 Connector for USB port 2
12 JP2 Connector for front panel switches and indicators
13 BAT RTC battery
14 BIOS Flash BIOS controller
15 PCI1~5 32-bit PCI expansion slots
16 ISA ISA expansion slot
17 AGP Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot (KT133
KT133/KT133A/KM133/KM133A)
18 TV-out BT868 chip (KM133A/KL133A)
2.4.Microprocessor
The mainboard is designed to operate with the following processors:
Processor Type Speed FSB
AMD Athlon/Duron 600 MHz∼1.4 GHz 200 MHz
An onboard switching voltage regulator provides the required 1.1 to
1.85 volts for the processor. The processor sends five VID (Voltage
Identification) signals to the switching voltage regulator. The switch-
ing regulator generates the correct voltage for the processor.

Mainboard User’s Manual
12 CPU Packaging
2.5.CPU Packaging
Socket-462 CPUs are packaged in a PGA configuration.
2.6.Chipset
The A7F121supports VIA KT133/KT133A/KM133/KM133A/
KL133/KL133A chipsets each chipset comes in a pair—the North-
bridge chip and the Southbridge chip.
Northbridge •CPU interface controller (266 MHz FSB)
•AGP interface controller (AGP 4x)
•Integrated Savage 4 2D/3D Video accelerator
KM133/133A)
•Integrated DRAM controller
Synchronous 100/133 MHz SDRAM (KT133A)
Synchronous 66/100/133 MHz SDRAM
(KM133/KM133A/KL133/KL133A)
•Fully synchronous PCI 2.2 bus interface
•Data buffering:
♦CPU-to-AGP
♦CPU-to-DRAM
♦CPU-to-PCI
♦AGP-to-DRAM
♦AGP-to-PCI
♦PCI-to-AGP
♦PCI-to-DRAM
Southbridge •Interface between the PCI and ISA buses
•Power Management Logic
•USB controller
•EIDE controller 686A (ATA-33/66)
•EIDE controller 686B (ATA-33/66/100)
•Seven DMA channels
•One timer/counter
•Two 8-channel interrupt controllers
•NMI logic and SMI interrupt logic
•PCI/ISA bus arbitrator
•SMBus interface
•Power management Logic
•Realtime clock (RTC)
•ACPI controller
This concludes Chapter 2. Chapter 3 covers hardware installation.

3. Hardware Installation
This chapter explains how to use your mainboard to build a powerful
computer system. At a minimum, you will need the following com-
ponents in order to build a fully functioning system.
•Computer case with ATX power supply
•Socket-462 Processor
•One SDRAM memory module
•One floppy disk drive
•One UDMA-33/66 IDE hard disk drive
•One CD-ROM drive
•One display monitor
•One PS/2 mouse
•One PS/2 keyboard
•One set of loudspeakers
Of course, you can use the system I/O ports and expansion slots to
add many more features and components to your system than the
items listed above.
3.1.Unpacking
The A7F129 mainboard package contains the following items:
qOne mainboard
qOne IDE 40-pin ribbon cable
qOne floppy 34-pin ribbon cable
qDriver and utility CD
qUser's manual
After removing the mainboard from its anti-static bag, place it on a
grounded or anti-static surface (component side up). Inspect the
mainboard and contact your vendor immediately if it is damaged.

Mainboard User’s Manual
14 Installation
3.2.Installation
The A7F129 is designed to fit into a standard ATX form factor chas-
sis. The pattern of the mounting holes and the position of the back
panel connectors meet the ATX system board specification. The
chassis comes with various mounting fasteners, which are made of
metal or plastic. It is highly recommended to use as many metal fas-
teners as possible to mount the mainboard in the chassis for better
grounding.
To install the mainboard you need to install the CPU and DIMM
memory modules, attach the connectors, and set the correct CPU
speed in the CMOS setup.