User manual ASUS A7V8X-X

[. . . ] A7V8X-X User Guide Motherboard E1198 Checklist First Edition V1 January 2003 Copyright © 2003 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. 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. 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. [. . . ] What you see on your screen may not be exactly the same as shown. 2. 1. 2 Using AFLASH to update the BIOS Creating a bootable disk AFLASH. EXE is a Flash Memory Writer utility that updates the BIOS by uploading a new BIOS file to the programmable flash ROM on the motherboard. To determine the BIOS version of your motherboard, check the last four numbers of the code displayed on the upper left-hand corner of your screen during bootup. Larger numbers represent a newer BIOS file. Type FORMAT A:/S at the DOS prompt to create a bootable system disk. DO NOT copy AUTOEXEC. BAT and CONFIG. SYS to the disk. Type COPY D:\AFLASH\AFLASH. EXE A:\ (assuming D is your CD-ROM drive) to copy AFLASH. EXE to the boot disk you created. AFLASH works only in DOS mode. It does not work with certain memory drivers that may be loaded when you boot from the hard drive. It is recommended that you reboot using a floppy disk. 3. Reboot the computer from the floppy disk. BIOS setup must specify "Floppy" as the first item in the boot sequence. 4. In DOS mode, type A:\AFLASH <Enter> to run AFLASH. If the word "unknown" appears after Flash Memory:, the memory chip is either not programmable or is not supported by the ACPI BIOS and therefore, cannot be programmed by the Flash Memory Writer utility. 2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS Information 5. Save Current BIOS to File from the Main menu and press <Enter>. The Save Current BIOS To File screen appears. 6. Type a filename and the path, for example, A:\XXX-XX. XXX, then press <Enter>. Updating the BIOS Update the BIOS only if you are sure that the new BIOS revision will solve your problems. Careless updating may result to more problems with the motherboard! 1. Download an updated ASUS BIOS file from the Internet (WWW or FTP) (see ASUS CONTACT INFORMATION on page x for details) and save to the boot floppy disk you created earlier. At the "A:\" prompt, type AFLASH and then press <Enter>. At the Main Menu, type 2 then press <Enter>. The Update BIOS Including Boot Block and ESCD screen appears. Type the filename of your new BIOS and the path, for example, A:\XXXXX. XXX, then press <Enter>. To cancel this operation, press <Enter>. ASUS A7V8X-X Motherboard 2-5 6. When prompted to confirm the BIOS update, press Y to start the update. 7. The utility starts to program the new BIOS information into the Flash ROM. [. . . ] Install the SoundMAX Audio Driver and Application from the support CD that came with the motherboard package to activate the 6-channel audio feature. You must use 4-channel or 6-channel speakers for this setup. Setting to multi-channel audio After installing the audio driver, you can adjust the audio settings to avail the 6channel audio feature onboard. 3-4 Chapter 3: Starting-Up 1. From the taskbar, double-click on the SoundMAX Digital Integrated Audio icon to display the SoundMAX Sound MAX Digital Integrated Audio icon Control Panel. The Listening Environment screen allows you to set to multi-channel speakers, enable or disable the Virtual Theater Surround, and select Acoustic Environments and Virtual Ear. 3. The default setting is Stereo Speakers (2-channel). [. . . ]