1. How do I update drivers?

To update drivers for a motherboard, you should try to visit manufacturer’s web site, download a driver upgrade and follow the update instruction

2. Does my motherboard support an LS-120 floppy drive?

Normally motherboards that have a Phoenix BIOS and use either the Intel 430TX PCIset, Intel 440LX AGPset, Intel 440BX AGPset, or Intel 440EX AGPset chipset support booting from an LS-120 floppy drive.

Support for booting from an LS-120 floppy drive was added to the new version AMI BIOS based motherboards, you could visit the manufacturer’s web site to get detail information. You may need update your BIOS.

3. Why does it take up to 30 seconds for my system to boot?

Boot times of about 20 to 30 seconds are normal for normal PCI motherboards. Some of the functions that the BIOS performs during system boot are the Power On Self Test (POST), scan for add-in cards with BIOS extensions, configuration of PCI add-in cards, assignment of system resources to devices that are needed to boot the system, and the isolation of ISA Plug and Play cards. The BIOS also checks for, and configures, IDE devices connected to the onboard IDE interfaces. System boot times can vary with different add-in hardware combinations.

Boot times may be reduced by using the BIOS Setup utility to disable entries that correspond to unused IDE devices. The following process may be available in your system. Highlight the unused drive in the BIOS CMOS Setup. For IDE Device Configuration select “Disabled”. You should also ensure that if you have performed a BIOS upgrade that you have performed a “CMOS clear” after the upgrade process is completed.

4. How can I troubleshoot a dead motherboard?

You can do the following to troubleshoot your motherboard:

Verify that you are not shorting a power supply input or motherboard run to the system chassis

Remove all peripheral hardware devices such as the hard drive, video board and memory. With only the CPU, system speaker and power connected you should hear three beeps. You should then install the system memory and video board and attempt to boot the system from a bootable floppy. Once you have verified that the motherboard will boot from a floppy you can then install the hard drive and other add-in cards one at time.

You can also perform CMOS clear or BIOS recovery to see if this corrects the problem. Consult the documentation from your place of purchase for details.

5. What do the beeps mean when my system boots, but nothing appears on the screen?

Errors can occur during the POST (Power On Self Test), which is performed every time the system is powered on. Fatal errors, which prevent the system from continuing the boot process, are communicated through a series of audible beeps.