User manual ASUS A8N-SLI SE

[. . . ] Motherboard A8N-SLI SE E2252 Revised Edition V1 September 2005 Copyright © 2005 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ("ASUS"). Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. [. . . ] The following screen appears. AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1. 01 (C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved For NF-KC804-A8N-SLI-00 DATE: 11/18/2004 Flash Type - SST 49LF004A/B /3. 3V File Name to Program: Message: Please wait. . . 5. When the correct BIOS file is found, EZ Flash performs the BIOS update process and automatically reboots the system when done. Do not shutdown or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot failure! ASUS A8N-SLI SE 4-7 4. 1. 6 ASUS Update utility The ASUS Update is a utility that allows you to manage, save, and update the motherboard BIOS in Windows® environment. The ASUS Update utility allows you to: · · · · · Save the current BIOS file Download the latest BIOS file from the Internet Update the BIOS from an updated BIOS file Update the BIOS directly from the Internet, and View the BIOS version information. This utility is available in the support CD that comes with the motherboard package. ASUS Update requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Installing ASUS Update To install ASUS Update: 1. The ASUS Update utility is copied to your system. Quit all Windows® applications before you update the BIOS using this utility. 4-8 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Updating the BIOS through the Internet To update the BIOS through the Internet: 1. Launch the ASUS Update utility from the Windows® desktop by clicking Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate > ASUSUpdate. The ASUS Update main window appears. 2. Select Update BIOS from the Internet option from the drop-down menu, then click Next. 3. Select the ASUS FTP site nearest you to avoid network traffic, or click Auto Select. 5. From the FTP site, select the BIOS version that you wish to download. Follow the screen instructions to complete the update process. The ASUS Update utility is capable of updating itself through the Internet. Always update the utility to avail all its features. Updating the BIOS through a BIOS file To update the BIOS through a BIOS file: 1. Launch the ASUS Update utility from the Windows® desktop by clicking Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate > ASUSUpdate. Select Update BIOS from a file option from the drop-down menu, then click Next. 2. 3. Follow the screen instructions to complete the update process. 4-10 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4. 2 BIOS setup program This motherboard supports a programmable Low-Pin Count (LPC) chip that you can update using the provided utility described in section "4. 1 Managing and updating your BIOS. " Use the BIOS Setup program when you are installing a motherboard, reconfiguring your system, or prompted to "Run Setup". This section explains how to configure your system using this utility. Even if you are not prompted to use the Setup program, you can change the configuration of your computer in the future. For example, you can enable the security password feature or change the power management settings. This requires you to reconfigure your system using the BIOS Setup program so that the computer can recognize these changes and record them in the CMOS RAM of the LPC chip. When you start up the computer, the system provides you with the opportunity to run this program. Press <Del> during the Power-On Self-Test (POST) to enter the Setup utility; otherwise, POST continues with its test routines. If you wish to enter Setup after POST, restart the system by pressing <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del>, or by pressing the reset button on the system chassis. Being a menu-driven program, it lets you scroll through the various sub-menus and make your selections from the available options using the navigation keys. · The default BIOS settings for this motherboard apply for most conditions to ensure optimum performance. If the system becomes unstable after changing any BIOS settings, load the default settings to ensure system compatibility and stability. See section "4. 7 Exit Menu. " The BIOS setup screens shown in this section are for reference purposes only, and may not exactly match what you see on your screen. [. . . ] The combined bandwidth of these maintain the bandwidth of PCI Express x16. ASUS A8N-SLI SE 5-35 The utility prompts you to restart your system after setting the video card mode. Click Yes to implement settings and restart your system or No to return to the AI Selector menu. 5. 8. 2 1. 3. Using the SLI mode To use SLI mode: Set the SLI Multi-GPU feature in Display Properties. See section "6. 2. 4 Enabling the multi-GPU feature in Windows" on page 6-7 for details. When prompted, click Yes to restart your system. · When the SLI mode is disabled, the multi-monitor feature is automatically enabled. [. . . ]