Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: March 30, 1998.

This page has been added for your convenience. To assist you with your queries, you may find the problem with the following Keywords.
If you have comments or suggestions please let us know.

    BIOS.
  1. How do I know whether my bios is 5V or 12V?
    Ans: All M Technology Pentium board Flash bios is 5V. And 486PCI Flash bios is 12V.

  2. How can I tell which version of bios I have?
    Ans: The version of the bios is usually displayed as REV: X where X denotes the version.
    This message is displayed on the initial boot screen, 3rd line from the top of the screen.
    Typical example:
      Award Modular BIOS v4.51PG, an Energy Star Ally
      Copyright (C) 1984-95, Award Software, Inc.

      REV: 006 << ---- This is the version number.

  3. How do I know which bios file(s) (binary file) I need?
    Ans: The file is usually represented by the model number of the board follow by the bios version.
    Example:
      If you have G_7, then upgrade to H_7.
      If you have 877_B, then upgrade to 877_C.
      If you have Fw, then upgrade Gw.
      If you have Cu or C1u, then upgrade to Du.
      If you have R534E006, then upgrade to R534E007.
    Note: if you could not find the version of the file you want, then you may have to
    upgrade to the next, next version (you can skip thru and go to the lastest version). Please read the README file in our Ftp site.

  4. How do I upgrade (flash) my bios?
    Ans: To upgrade your bios, you need to download the flash utility and bios binary file from our ftp site. For Award bios, the flash utility is Awdflash.exe and for AMI bios it is Flash###.com (eg. flash634.com). The binary file for Award bios has the extension of .bin and for AMI it has the extension of .rom.
    1. Boot from Drive A: and type Awdflash.exe for Award bios (and flash634.com for AMI bios).
    2. It will prompt you to input the file name to program, then use the binary file you downloaded and hit 'Enter'.
    3. It will ask if you want to program, hit 'Y' and then 'Enter'.
    4. After the bios is flashed, power off and 'clear the CMOS'.
    5. Power on and load the 'setup default' and you are done.

  5. How do I know if I have a flash bios?
    Ans: If the model of the MTech board is R525, R526..onward, then you have a flash bios.

  6. Why did I get 'insufficient memory' message when I try to flash my bios?
    Ans: You must have at least 560K of base memory available.
    If you are not sure, please clean boot from drive A: with Dos 6.2 when flashing your bios.

    CPU
  1. What is the MMX Cpu?
    Ans: MMX stands for a cpu that has multi media instruction sets built in. It has 59 extra commands for graphics, voice and other multi media.

  2. How do I know whether my board supports the MMX cpu?
    Ans: All M Technology boards that have 2 Heat-sink regulators will support the MMX cpu. All the R528, R529, R53X, R55X will support theMMX cpu.

  3. How do I set the voltages of my MMX , 6x86L, M2 or K6 cpu that are marked as 2.8V?
    Ans:These are Split rail (Dual power) cpus. The 2.8V is the core voltage.
    The I/O voltage is usually 3.3V. Refer to our Manual Update for proper cpu voltages setting.

  4. How do I know whether I have a split rail (dual voltage) 6x86 CPU?
    Ans: If your CPU is marked as 'with MMX' or '6x86L', then it is a split rail cpu.

    CMOS.
  1. How do I clear the CMOS?
    Ans: The CMOS jumper can be either 2 pins or 3 pins. To clear the CMOS:
    1. Turn off the power.
    2. Close the CMOS jumper or move it to the other 2 pins , if it has 3 pins.
    3. Power on for 2 seconds, then Power off.
    4. Set the CMOS jumper back to the default position.
    5. Power on and 'Load the setup default'.

    ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data)
  1. Why does my system stay at 'updating ESCD...' for a long time before booting?
    Ans: This is because PnP device(s) need to update your bios. To fix this,
    you need to set the bios jumpers to program mode (or 5V Flash mode).

    Memory/SIMM
  1. What does it mean by 'single SIMM' (or half bank) boot?
    Ans: SiS chipset allows 1 72 pin SIMM to boot. However, if you choose
    to use 2 72pin SIMMs, then they have to be of the same size.

  2. Can I mix EDO and SDram DIMM in my board (eg. R534)?
    Ans: No, You usually can not mix these, because SDrams are 3.3V and EDOs are 5V.
    .

  3. Can I use 64MB (2 32MB) SDram on my R534 when running a Cyrix-200+?
    Ans:Yes, you can. However, due to the 75MHz bus speed, Some SDram modules may not run reliably. We strongly recommend that you purchase high quality SDrams from our distributors.

    Model Number
  1. How do I know which model motherboard I have?
    Ans: The model of the board can be found on the front cover page of the
    User Manual. Sometimes it is printed on the circuit board.
    It usually says R###, or R###A2, or R###W2, or R###WP.
    (A= AMI bios, P= Pipelined Burst cache, W= Award bios, 2= 256K cache, 3= 512K cache.)

  2. What are the differences between Mustang R534, R534E, R534F & R534G?
    Ans:The major differences are the PCI Bus, the Regulators and the Slots.
    1. Both the R534 and the R534E have Sync PCI Bus, whereas the R534F and the R534G have Async/Sync PCI Bus.
    2. R534 uses linear regulators, whereas the R534E, R534F and R534G use switching regulators.
    3. The R534 and R534G have 5 ISA & 3 PCI slots, whereas the R534E and R534F have 4 ISA & 4 PCI Slots.
    Note: The only difference between the R534E & R534F is the PCI Bus.
    The only difference between the R534F & the R534G is the Slots.

  3. Which of the Mustang boards should I use?
    Ans:For most users, the R534F & R534G are recommended. Async or Sync may be selected with JP12 present.
    For those who want a Sync PCI Bus only, the R534E is the right choice.

  4. What is the difference between a Sync Bus and an Async Bus?
    Ans:Sync Bus means that the PCI Bus is always running at half the Clk speed. If the Clk speed is 75MHz, then the PCI bus is running at 37.5 MHz. The Async Bus has the PCI Bus speed set at 32MHz regardless of the Clk speed.

    USB ( Universal Serial Bus)
  1. Why do I have a yellow (!) sign in my USB device?
    Ans: This is because Win95 does not have the proper driver for your USB device.
    You may be able to remove this yellow (!) by using the regedit in Explorer.
    To do this, rename the 'class' to 'commondevice' in the following location:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\PCI\VEN_....7001\BUS....&....\

  2. How do I free the IRQ occupied by the USB port on my R534 motherboard?
    Ans: You need to upgrade your bios to a newer version. Either I1_7 or e003 or later.

  3. The R534 and R534E will not support the USB because the "A" version of the SiS chipset does not support the USB.

  4. If you have the R534G or R534F and you not sure whether you have the "A" version or "B" version, call us at 510-226-7696.

    PS/2 Mouse
    If the keyboard doesn't work after you plug in the PS/2 mouse, then swap pin 3 and pin 5 of the PS/2 cable. After you plug in the PS/2 mouse and the keyboard works, but the PS/2 mouse won't work, swap pin 3 and pin 4 of the PS/2 cable.

    No Display
  1. Make sure the CPU jumper setting has been set correctly (dual power cpu/single power cpu).
  2. If you get a long continuous beep, make sure the memory have been set into the SIMM socket correctly.
  3. If you turn on the system and do not get display and no beep occurs, try removing all the memory and see whether it beeps or not. If no beep, try to slowing the cpu speed and see what happen. If it still no display, it could be a faulty regulater. Call your supplier for a replacement.

    IDE (Problems the with Bus Mastering driver)
  1. I have a 'yellow exclamation sign' in my Primary and Secondary Hard Disk Controller in device manager in Win95 and my CD-ROM does not work. What do I do?
    Ans: This is because Win95 does not recognize the IDE Controller chip. To fix this, you need to install the correct 'patch' or IDE 'driver' that come with the m/b. If you do not have it, you can download from our ftp-site. Refer to the following for the files(s) you need.
    1. For R539, R540, R541 & R557 m/bs, you need to install the 'PIIX4.exe'.
    2. For R534 (E,F, & G), R542, R547, R548, R558 & R581A, you need to install the 'SisIDE20.exe'.
    3. For M549, please use Win95 default driver (you may have to re-install Win95). If you have an UDMA hard drive, then install M549UDMA.exe.
    4. For M628, M668 & M668DS, you need to install the 'PIIX4.exe'.
    To install the above file(s), please create a 'folder' (eg. c:\driver) in your hard disk. Copy all the necessary file(s) to this directory and run it from there. Some of the above are self-extracting files. In that case you need to expand the files first and then run the setup from the proper subdirectory. Follow the instruction and you will be set.

  2. I have re-installed the IDE driver several times and I still have 'yellow exclamation sign' in my Primary and Secondary Hard Disk Controller. Why?
    Ans: If you are sure that you have installed the driver correctly and still have 'yellow exclamation sign', please remove the real mode CD-ROM driver in your config.sys file. If it is still not working, you may have to re-install Win95. If you have done all the above any still have problem, it is most likely that you have 'Virus' in your system. Please clean the 'Virus' and your IDE should be working.

  3. Why my CD-ROM and old hard drive have disappeared after installing BusMaster driver?
    Ans: The problem is that your CD-ROM is an ATAPI CD-ROM and your hard drive is a NON EIDE HDD with no Bus Master support. To fix this, you need to modify the registry after you install the Bus Master Drive.
    1. Look for these under "regedit": HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Class/hdc
    2. You will find four subdirectories 0000-0003 (could be 0000-0006)
    3. Look for the one where DriverDesc is something like "Primary Bus Master IDE controller" or "Secondary Bus Master IDE controller", according to the port you want to change (usually it will be 0002 or 0003, sometimes it can be 0005 or 0006).
    4. In this subdirectory change PortDriver from "ideatapi.mpd" to "ESDI_506.pdr"
    5. then, reboot the system.

    Win95/Win98.
  1. My R534 m/b was running Win95 fine, but when I upgraded to Win98 it can only run under 'Safe Mode'. How do I fix it?
    Ans: To fix it, you need to install the 'SisIDE20.exe' driver under 'Safe mode'. After installing the driver, you need to reboot and your system should be fine.
  2. I am installing Win95/Win98 on my SY-5EH with SOYO-i740 (intel 740 chip) AGP VGA card. Why can't I set my resolution higher that 16 color?
    Ans: This is because Win95/Win98 does not have the correcct driver for the Eteq chipset. To fix it, all you have to do is to install both the 'vxd26.exe' and Eteq Miniport drivers.



   

If you can not find the solution that you need, please call Technical Support at (510)-226-7696.