|
NP BIOS Settings |
*** We
are NOT responsible for any damage that the information on this page may cause
to your system.***
|
Updated
30 May 2002 |
This setup describes how to configure the PCI bus system. This section covers some very technical items and it is recommended that only experienced users should make any changes to the default settings.
The setting in this field tells the system BIOS whether
your operating system (OS) is a Plug and Play (PnP) OS (such as Windows
95/98/ME/2000/XP) or not. A PnP OS will use the system resources record stored
in the ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data) segment to arrange the system
environment.
The Award Plug and Play BIOS has the capacity to
automatically configure all of the boot Plug and Play compatible devices.
However, this capability means absolutely nothing unless you are using a Plug
and Play OS such as Windows 95/98/me/2000/xp.
Manual: The system BIOS will not refer to the ESCD
(Extended System Configuration Data) data to assign IRQ & DMA. Instead, it
will refer to the information in this field when assigning the IRQ & DMA
resource.(anyhow, the system BIOS will always refer to the ESCD data to assign
the I/O and memory space resources).
Auto: The system BIOS will refer to the ESCD segment
for all legacy (non-PnP) information. (BIOS auto manage [i.e., IRQ,DMA] PCI and
ISA PnP card).
This is used for reset ESCD (Extended System Configuration
Data) buffering during the POST phase on system reboot once you have enabled
it. The system BIOS will then change this item’s value back to “Disabled”,
otherwise, the ESCD data will become useless.
IRQ x /DMA x assigned to
There are only 15 IRQs and 8 DMAs available on the normal mainboard and most of them are assigned for some specific purposes. Sometimes, user may feel like to have some more IRQ and DMA in order to install the new add on cards. In this case, you may use this field to assign some certain IRQ and DMA to “PCI/ISA PnP” so that the new add on card will find the free IRQ or DMA available for it.
Legacy ISA : The system BIOS will skip and
never assign the specified IRQ/DMA resource to PCI or ISA PnP devices and the
IRQ and DMA can only be sued by their specified Legacy ISA cards (non-PnP).
PCI/ISA PnP : When the “PCI/ISA PnP” is
been selected, the related IRQ and DMA will be released and they can be used by
other PCI or ISA PnP devices. Whenever there is the new PCI or ISA PnP devices
plugged onto the mainboard, the system BIOS will detect it and assign a free
IRQ or DMA for the new devices.
Note:
This sets the method by which the PCI bus recognizes that
an IRQ service is being requested by a device. Under all circumstances, you
should retain the default configuration unless advised otherwise by your
system’s manufacturer.
Choose Edge or Level. Most PCI trigger signals are Level.
This setting must match the PCI card.
PCI-AUTO : The BIOS will scan and check
the existing of the PCI IDE device and identify the slot location where the PCI
IDE locates, and then the system BIOS will assign IRQ14 for the primary IDE,
and assign IRQ15 for the secondary IDE.
PCI-SLOT1 to PCI-SLOT4 : In this
field, you may tell the system BIOS to assign IRQ14 for primary IDE INT# and
IRQ15 for secondary IDE INT# on some certain PCI slot. Under the normal
condition, this selection is not recommended because the IDE interfaces are
already built on the motherboard.
ISA : The BIOS will not assign any IRQ even when the
system BIOS detects the PCI IDE card on the PCI slot. The reason is because
some certain IDE cards will connect the IRQ14 and 15 directly from ISA slot.
(Such ISA card is called as Legacy Header).
or
This allows you to configure your system to the type of
IDE disk controller in use. If you have equipped your system with a PCI
controller, changing this allows you to specify which slot has the controller
and which PCI interrupt (A,B,C,D) is associated with the connected hard disk.
Select ‘PCI Auto’ allows the system to automatically determine how your IDE
disk system is configured.
These fields are used for some spcial ISA legacy cards
which will request memory space below 1M address. Refer to the user’s manual of
your add on card to find whether it will need such memory space. If your add on
card does need to have such memory space, point out the memory address and its
length of the legacy area in this field. According to what is recorded in this
field, BIOS will skip the UMB area that is used by the legacy device to avoid
the memory conflicting.
Assign IRQ For VGA/USB
The system’s IRQ signals are limited and sometimes you may feel like to some more IRQ signals for your add-on cards. The system BIOS of mainboard allows you to disable the IRQ which is supposed to be connected to VGA and USB ports. When you have choose to disable the IRQ on VGA or USB port, the IRQ on the related port will be released and becomes available for other devices.
Before you decide to proceed with the change, make sure
that your USB and VGA adapter will not use the IRQ signal. Otherwise, your PC
system will become abnormal and the devices connected to these ports may not be
working at all.
It is very simple to tell the difference. If you are going
to disable the IRQ on USB port, check whether is any device connected to the
USB port. If you cannot find any device, you may feel free to disable the IRQ
on the USB port and have the IRQ used by other device.
As for VGA adapter, it will be a little difficult. You may
try to find whether your VGA card requires the IRQ signal or not. If you cannot
find the information from the user’s manual of your VGA card. You may use the
following information to make your choice:
