Acer POWER 8400 - Manual

Getting Started Chapter 1 Ap8400-e.book Page 1 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

3 Overview The AcerPower 8400 is an all-in-one, high-performance system that supports the Intel Pentium III CPU. It utilizes the PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) and the AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus designs. Both designs improve system performance, enabling the system to support various m...

Chapter 1Getting Started 4 Preinstallation The preinstallation process involves the following activities: ❑ Selecting a site ❑ Unpacking components Selecting a Site Consider the following when selecting a site for your computer: ❑ Determine the best site for your system. Cable paths should not run n...

5 Features The basic configuration consists of a system unit, a keyboard, a CD-ROM drive, a diskette drive, a fixed disk drive and a mouse. Front Panel The figure below shows the system unit front panel. No. Component No. Component 1 CD-ROM tray 8 Turbo LED 2 Headphone/Earphone port 9 Power/Suspend ...

Chapter 1Getting Started 6 Rear Panel The figure below shows the system unit rear panel. No. Component No. Component 1 Fan 10 Parallel port 2 System main power switch 11 Speaker-out/Audio-out port 3 Voltage selector 12 Audio-in port 4 System power socket 13 Microphone-in port 5 PS/2 keyboard port 14...

7 Internal Components The figure below shows the system unit internal components. No. Component No. Component 1 Power supply 4 Hard disk drive 2 Add-on card brackets 5 Floppy disk drive 3 PCI sockets 6 5.25-inch device drive bays Ap8400-e.book Page 7 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Chapter 1Getting Started 8 Connecting System Components Caution: Do not turn on the system main power switch on the rear panel of the system or plug the system in until you finish connecting all system components. The following sections show how to connect each component to the system: Connecting th...

11 Connecting Multimedia Components Your system also supports optional multimedia features. Connect the multimedia components as shown below: Ap8400-e.book Page 11 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Chapter 1Getting Started 14 Turning On Your Computer After you have connected all peripherals and cables, follow these steps to turn on your computer: 1. Turn on all peripherals connected to the system such as the monitor, printer, fax, speakers, etc. 2. Locate the system main power switch on the ba...

Chapter 1Getting Started 16 Turning Off Your Computer 1. Turn off all peripherals connected to the system such as the monitor, printer, fax, speakers, etc. 2. Press the power button located on the front of the system unit for at least four seconds. Quickly pressing the button puts the system in Susp...

17 Troubleshooting If you encounter a hardware problem, we recommend that you review the following suggestions before calling for service: General failure ❑ Are all cables securely plugged? ❑ Are all system components and peripherals turned on? ❑ Is the system main power switch on? ❑ Is the power ou...

19 Error Messages In the event that you receive an error message, do not continue using the computer. Note the message and take corrective action immediately. This section describes the different types of error messages and suggests corrective measures. There are two general types of error messages:...

21 Correcting Error Conditions As a general rule, the "Press F1 to continue" error message is caused by a configuration problem which can be easily corrected. An equipment malfunction is more likely to cause a fatal error, i.e., an error that causes complete system failure. Here are some cor...

System Board Information Chapter 2 Ap8400-e.book Page 23 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Chapter 2System Board Information 26 Board Layout Your system board should look just like the following figure: The following table lists the components that you will find on the system board: No. Component No. Component 1 PS/2 mouse port 13 AD1881 audio chipset 2 PS/2 keyboard port 14 Buzzer 3 USB ...

27 Jumpers and Connectors Refer to the following figure for the location of the jumpers and connectors on the system board: Panel Connector NOTE: PWLED1 is a power LED connector for Aspire 6400 and AcerPower 4400. However, PWRLED in the PANEL, as shown below, is the one for AcerPower 8400. Ap8400-e....

Chapter 2System Board Information 30 Hard Disk Support The board comes with an enhanced PCI IDE controller that supports PIO mode 4 and Ultra DMA (Direct Memory Access) mode data transfers. Two PCI IDE interfaces are mounted on the board to enable the system to support a maximum of four IDE hard dis...

31 Audio Function For its audio solution, the board comes with a PCI-based audio controller and the following ports: ❑ Mono microphone port ❑ Stereo line-in port ❑ Stereo line-out port ❑ Game/MIDI port These connectors enable the system to accommodate external audio devices. For instructions on how ...

Chapter 2System Board Information 32 USB Support USB is a new serial bus design that is capable of cascading low and medium-speed peripherals (less than 12 Mbps) such as a keyboard, mouse, joystick, scanner, printer and modem/ISDN. With USB, complex cable connections at the back panel of your PC can...

33 Hardware Monitoring Function The Hardware Monitoring function allows you to check the system resources, either locally or in a computer network, by using software such as Acer ADM (Advanced Desktop Manager). Acer ADM is a desktop management program that offers SMART (System Monitoring Analysis an...

Chapter 2System Board Information 34 Wake-on Modem Function The Wake-on Modem function enables the system to resume from shutdown or suspend mode by monitoring the fax/modem (or any device of similar type) activities. Any signal or activity detected from the Modem Ring-in connector automatically ret...

Award BIOS Chapter 3 Ap8400-e.book Page 37 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Chapter 3Award BIOS 40 Entering Setup To enter Setup, press Ctrl-Alt-Esc during the POST (Power-on self-test). The “BIOS Setup” main menu then appears: Note: Choose “Load Setup Defaults” for best performance with light system loading. Refer to “Load Setup Defaults” on page 61. The section at the bot...

41 Standard CMOS Setup The Standard CMOS Setup sets the basic system parameters such as the date, time, and the hard disk type. Use the arrow keys to highlight an item and PgUp or PgDn to select the value for each item. The table below describes each Standard CMOS Setup parameter. Settings in boldfa...

Chapter 3Award BIOS 44 BIOS Features Setup The table below describes the parameters found in this menu. Settings in boldface are the default and suggested settings. Parameter Description Format/Options CPU Internal Cache Enabling this parameter activates the CPU internal cache. Disabling the paramet...

49 Chipset Features Setup Caution: Make sure you fully understand the items contained in this menu before you try to change anything. You may change the parameter settings to improve system performance. However, changing these parameters could make your system unstable if the setting is not correct ...

51 NOTE: The value in the Setup CPU Speed parameter may differ from the value in the CPU Speed Detected parameter. However, the actual running CPU speed shown is always the value in the CPU Speed Detected parameter. DRAM Clock Table Clock Spread Spectrum This item is used to set the clock spread spe...

53 Power Management Setup The table below describes the parameters found in this menu. Settings in boldface are the default and suggested settings. Parameter Description Options Power Management This function allows you to set the default parameters for power-saving modes. Set it to Disable to turn ...

57 Power Management Mode Table Mode Doze Standby Suspend HDD Power Down Max Saving 1 hour 1 hour 1 hour 15 min. Min Saving 1 min. 1 min. 1 min. 1 min. Ap8400-e.book Page 57 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Chapter 3Award BIOS 58 PnP/PCI Configuration The table below describes the parameters found in this menu. Settings in boldface are the default and suggested settings. Parameter Description Options PnP OS Installed Normally, the PnP resources are allocated by BIOS during the POST (Power-on self-test)...

Chapter 3Award BIOS 62 Product Information This screen displays information about your system, like the product name, serial number, mainboard ID, mainboard serial number, BIOS version, etc. These entries are for your reference only and cannot be changed. Ap8400-e.book Page 62 Friday, October 1, 199...

63 Integrated Peripherals The table below describes the parameters found in this menu. Settings in boldface are the default and suggested settings. Parameter Description Options OnChip Primary IDE OnChip Secondary IDE These parameters let you enable or disable the IDE devices connected to the primar...

67 Password Setting A password prevents unauthorized use of your computer. If you set a password, the system prompts for the correct password before booting or to access Setup. To set a password: 1. At the prompt, type your password. Your password can be up to 8 alphanumeric characters. When you typ...

Chapter 3Award BIOS 68 IDE HDD Auto Detection If your system has an IDE hard drive, you can use this function to detect its parameters and enter them into the "Standard CMOS Setup" automatically. This routine only detects one set of parameters for your IDE hard drive. Some IDE drives can use...

Chapter 3Award BIOS 70 Exit without Saving Use this function to exit Setup without saving the CMOS value changes. Do not use this option if you want to save the new configuration. Ap8400-e.book Page 70 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Upgrading the System Chapter 4 Ap8400-e.book Page 71 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

73 Installation Precautions Before you install any system component, we recommend that you read the following sections. These sections contain important ESD precautions along with preinstallation and postinstallation instructions. ESD Precautions Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your process...

Chapter 4Upgrading the System 74 Warning! Not turning off the system properly before you start installing the components may damage your system. Do not attempt the procedures described in the following sections unless you are a qualified service technician. Postinstallation Instructions Observe the ...

75 Opening the System Caution: Before you proceed, make sure that you have turned off the system and all peripherals connected to it. Read the “Preinstallation Instructions” on page 73. This section tells you how to open the housing cover when you need to install additional components inside the sys...

Chapter 4Upgrading the System 76 Replacing the Housing Cover 1. Align the cover’s hinges to the housing frame and then gently push it in. Slide it back into place. 2. Secure the cover with two screws. 3. Follow steps 1 and 2 to replace the other side. Ap8400-e.book Page 76 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:...

77 Installing Additional Memory The three 168-pin sockets onboard support SDRAM-type DIMMs. You may install 32-MB, 64-MB, or 128-MB (single and double density) DIMMs for a maximum of 384-MB system memory. The SDRAM DIMMs should work under 3.3 volts only; 5-volt memory devices are not supported. This...

Chapter 4Upgrading the System 78 Installing a DIMM 1. Open the clips on the socket. 2. Align the DIMM with the socket. 3. Press the DIMM into the socket until the clips lock onto the DIMM. Note: The DIMM socket is slotted to ensure proper installation. If you insert a DIMM but it does not fit easily...

79 Removing a DIMM 1. Press the holding clips on both sides of the socket outward to release the DIMM. 2. Gently pull the DIMM out of the socket. Reconfiguring the System The system automatically detects the amount of memory installed. Run Setup to view the new value for total system memory and make...

Chapter 4Upgrading the System 80 Upgrading the CPU Removing the CPU Note: Observe the ESD precautions on page 73 when installing or removing a system component. Before you can replace or upgrade your processor, you need to remove the previously installed processor on the system board. Follow these s...

Chapter 4Upgrading the System 82 Installing the CPU Note: Observe the ESD precautions on page 73 when installing or removing a system component. Follow these steps to upgrade the CPU: 1. Insert the CPU as shown in the figure below. Ap8400-e.book Page 82 Friday, October 1, 1999 2:20 PM

Chapter 4Upgrading the System 84 Replacing the Hard Disk Follow these steps to replace the hard disk drive: 1. Remove the cover as shown on page 75. 2. Detach the power cable and the disk drive cable from the hard disk. 3. Remove four screws that holds the hard disk to the metal bracket frame. Ap840...