PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Module 4 - Motherboard
Overview
It is a Printed Circuit Board that performs the key functions to enable smooth running of the computer.

Lesson Covered in this Module

Motherboards Standard Expansion Buses

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Lesson 1 - Motherboards
Introduction
Motherboard is a Printed Circuit Board which possesses different components for various purposes. It contains
CPU

BIOS,
Memory I/O ports External I/O connectors

I/O controllers
Expansion slots Chipsets.

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Module 4 - Motherboard
Topics Covered in this Lesson
Physical Form Factors Motherboard Components

System Chipsets and Controllers

CMOS Settings Power On Self Test (POST) System Resources

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1 - Physical Form Factors

Personal Computer Extended Technology (PC-XT)
Introduced by IBM, 8088 microprocessor was used. It has socket for the processor and chips

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1 - Physical Form Factors

AT and Baby AT
To overcome the problem created by AT Form factor, the Baby AT form factor was introduced. Baby AT is designed to hold the peripheral devices like keyboard, video and mouse. It could not accommodate the combination of processor, heat sink and fan. Cooling

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1 - Physical Form Factors

ATX and Micro ATX form factor
Here expansion slots were placed on separate riser cards. It provides software controlled shut down and power up.

Micro ATX form factor

More space for I/O connectors was provided at the rear end.
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1 - Physical Form Factors

LPX and Mini-LPX
It has sound and video to be integrated on to the motherboard. It is not suitable for upgrading and offers poor cooling.

NLX
Small in size Suited for low desktop cases

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 2 - Motherboard Components

The major components of the motherboard
Processor socket or slot Chipset

Super I/O chip

BIOS SIMM/DIMM sockets Bus slots

PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 2 - Motherboard Components

Chipset and Functions
Different chips integrated to a single chip called the chipset. North bridge and South bridge was introduced to the motherboard with PCI slots. The south bridge controls the slower I/O components like the Serial ports, USB ports and the IDE.
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 2 - Motherboard Components

The new technology, Intel Hub Architecture (IHA) uses two chips called hub controllers.
The hub controllers are
Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) I/O Controller Hub (ICH)

The chipset determine

The voltage provided to the processor Number of processors that can be supported

The speed of the processor

The different memory modules that are supported Bus speed The different expansion bus that are supported Power Management

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

The system chipset and controllers are the intelligence of the motherboard.
Chipset has a effect on the quality, feature set and speed of the computer. Controllers found on motherboards
The system chip The keyboard controller The super I/O chip Additional built-in controllers

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Qualities and Functions of Chipset

Chipset Processor Support
Support for Processor Class and Optimization - Supports one generation of processors Support for Processor Speed - Fast processors need chipset control circuitry that has the capacity to manage them. Support for Multiple Processor - Chipset support the capability for building motherboards with two or four processors on them.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Chipset Cache Support - The cache stores recent memory accesses by the processor
Size of Secondary Cache - Chipsets support cache of 256KB or 512 KB. Type of Secondary Cache - three major kinds of cache, Asynchronous, Synchronous burst, Pipeline burst. Write Policy of Secondary Cache - A write-through cache and a write back cache. Cacheability of System Memory - The amount of cacheable memory is dependent on the chipset control circuitry and the amount of tag RAM on the board.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Chipset Memory Support - The chipset determines several permissible features of the memory
Support for Maximum Memory-Determines the maximum quantity of RAM a system can have on the motherboard DRAM Technology - Regulates whether motherboard can make use of FPM, EDO, BEDO, or SDRAM memory. Support for DRAM Packaging and Size - Two main types of memory packages are, single in-line memory module (SIMM) and dual in-line memory module (DIMM). Support for Parity and Error Correction - Error correction logic is offered as part of the memory control circuits of the chipset.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Chipset Peripheral and I/O Bus Control - Most recent computers use two buses, (ISA) bus and l component (PCI) bus.
Bus Types - The chipset determines what type of buses the system can support. Bus Bridges Bridge is used for connecting together devices on two different buses.

IDE/ATA Hard Disk Controller - All motherboards have integrated into them support for four IDE hard disks
DMA Controller and DMA Mode Support Process of transferring information directly to and from memory with no interference of the processor.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Interrupt Controller USB Support AGP Support Plug and Play

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Chipset Power Management Support Works through a number of BIOS settings that determine when to shut down different parts of the computer
Energy Star Advanced Power Management Display Power

Management Signalling
System Management Mode Hard Disk Spindown

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Super I/O Controller Chip super I/O controller handles three ports
Serial Port Control controls the serial ports, UART Parallel Port Control manages and controls the parallel port Floppy Disk Drive Control supports the Floppy Disk Drive and floppy based tape drives

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Processor
Two major components
Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) performs Arithmetic and Logic Operations Control Unit (CU) provides the control signals for performing different operations.

Cache Memory
It is high speed storage memory made of Static RAM (SRAM). Two types of cache memory are L1 or the internal cache and L2 cache or the external cache.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

I/O Ports
Each device connected to a computer uses I/O port address.

Functions of I/O address

Sending commands to the peripheral device Receiving the status of the device whether it is idle or busy Send and receive data Configure the device for interrupts

Bus Speed
The speed of the bus refers to the amount of the data that can be transferred across the bus.
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Some of the bus types are,
Front side Bus - The bus speed in general refers to the speed of the Front Side Bus (FSB).

AGP Bus It connects the video card to the memory and the CPU. Back side Bus It connects the processor to the L2 Cache

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Memory bus It connects the north bridge to the memory. IDE or ATA bus It connects the south bridge to the disk drives.

PCI Bus It connects the PCI slots to the south bridge.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers

Jumpers
It is a small connector which can be placed between two pins to make electrical connections.

DIP switch
The dual inline package switch is a small block provided with a lever.
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

CMOS BIOS ROM
Stores the basic system configuration. The four major components of BIOS are
POST Bootstrap Loader CMOS Setup BIOS ROM

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

CMOS Battery
Battery is used to power up the Real time Clock Chip. This chip maintains the system date and time.

System Configuration
The BIOS should find an operating system on a hard disk or floppy disk drive to start the computer.

Starting the Setup Program

The settings made in the BIOS setup program are stored in the nonvolatile RAM of the CMOS chip.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Step-by-Step CMOS/BIOS Configuration
From the CMOS setup menu, select the menu point to examine or change setting and choose Standard CMOS setup to begin.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

From the standard CMOS configuration screen you can set Date, Time, Hard drives connected to the IDE interface, Floppy disk drive types for drives

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Advanced CMOS Configuration
Here, you can perform the Number Lock setting, keyboard repeats speed, type of video, settings for cache memory, and other special features.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Recommended Advanced CMOS Settings
Depending on the BIOS version, you have to press the ESC key, to return to the main menu

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Power Management Configuration
After a user defined period of inactivity of devices like the monitor, the hard drive, or the CPU will go into different low power modes.
Standby mode

Suspend mode

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Built-In Ports/Peripherals Setup
It can enable or disable ports which built in new systems.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Security/Passwords
Two types of passwords are One must be entered to allow any use of the system

Another one must be entered to allow access to the

BIOS/ CMOS setup

Saving and Recording BIOS/CMOS Settings

BIOS allows you to save the changes and it will reject the changes that happen accidentally. Record the critical BIOS settings

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

BIOS Upgrades
Change the physical chip or to change its contents with software

Flash BIOS Upgrade

Install the BIOS upgrade loader and BIOS image to a floppy disk

Incorrect CMOS Configuration

Restart by using the BIOS Setup auto-configure options, double-check drive configurations, save changes, and restart.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - CMOS Settings

Incorrect Flash BIOS or Failed Update
If the update can't be installed, the motherboard might have jumpers that write-protects the flash BIOS.

Clearing Password

the

BIOS

It can be cleared by using a CMOS jumper that is present in the motherboard.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 5 - Power On Self Test (POST) Error codes

Some main functions of BIOS during POST
Helps to start the Operating System. Check for the integrity of the BIOS code

Some error beeps

No beep - Power supply or system board problem 1 long, 1 short beep - System board problem Long beeps - 3270 keyboard card

Some error codes

100 to 199 - System board 200 to 299 - Memory 300 to 399 - Keyboard

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 6 - System Resources

System resources are components that are required to communicate between the hardware components in a PC.
Interrupt Request Channels (IRQ)
Hardware devices use IRQ signal to the processor There are 16 IRQ channels .

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 6 - System Resources

The snapshot shows the different associated with different devices. IRQ channels

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 6 - System Resources

Direct Memory Access (DMA) channels
Here the data is transferred between the peripheral device and the memory without the intervention of the CPU. Devices connected to serial and parallel port do not use DMA channels

I/O Port Address

It is an interface present in a PC to connect devices

The port address ranges from 0000h to FFFFh

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 6 - System Resources

The snapshot displays the I/O address range used by different devices

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 6 - System Resources

Checking

for Resource Availability

For Windows 3.x or MS-DOS, the resource settings can be verified by using the MSD command present in the DOS directory.

For Windows 2000 or Windows XP, follow the step given below to identify the resources used by the different devices
Click Start Programs Accessories System Tools-> System Information

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Lesson 2 - Standard Expansion Buses

Introduction
The expansion slots are used to enhance the features of the PC. The expansion slots can hold expansion cards like the sound card, VGA card, AGP card, Network card etc There are different types of expansion slots. Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) bus
Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) Bus Extended ISA (EISA) Bus Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) Bus Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)Bus Peripheral Component Interconnect X Accelerated Graphics Port Audio Modem Raiser and Communication Network Raiser
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Lesson 2 - Standard Expansion Buses

Topics Covered in this Lesson
PC Bus Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) Bus

Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) Bus

Extended ISA (EISA) Bus Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) Bus Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Bus Accelerated Graphics Port Audio Modem Raiser Raiser and Communication Network

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1 PC Bus
PC bus is an 8 bit expansion slot to connect 8 bit expansion cards.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 2 - Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) Bus

ISA bus is a 16 bit slot present in 80286, 80386, 80486 and Pentium systems.

The ISA card is configured through jumpers or switches

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 - Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) Bus

Bus Mastering - The components that can take control over the bus are called bus masters.

Features of MCA
It is a 16 or 32 bit bus created by IBM Supports bus mastering Operates at 10-12 MHZ

Can be configured through software

Has Lower Noise Level

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 4 - Enhanced ISA

It is a 32 bit bus.
Capable of using multiple bus mastering devices. Compatible 8 bit PC bus, 16 bit ISA bus. Software setup capability for boards

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 5 - Video Electronics Standard Architecture (VESA) bus

It is a 32 bus. It is used to connect video cards, I/O cards and multimedia expansion cards

Disadvantages of the VESA

80486 dependence Limited number of slots No bus mastering Boards are configured through jumpers
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 6 - Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus

PCI
Operates at a speed of 33 MHz or 66 MHz It is a 64 bit bus Communicates with processor using a bridge circuit.

PCI-X
Operates at 133 MHz bus speed Offers 64 bit Band width Supports 1 GB/Sec data transfer rate Supports efficient bus operation Provides backward Compatibility
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 7 - AGP Bus

It is designed for connecting video cards. PCI bus with 2.1 version at 66MHZ is the basis for AGP slot. It supports a new technique called texture cache.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 8 - Audio Modem Raiser and Communication Network Raiser

This specification developed by Intel. The function of the modem and the analog I/O audio circuitry are combined together on a small circuit board The small circuit board is called raiser card The AMR card enhances the performance by providing better quality audio solutions.

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Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 8 - Audio Modem Raiser and Communication Network Raiser

Communication Network Raiser Card
This is a standard developed by Intel It contains chips for the functioning of modems and audio devices.

PCMCIA or PC Card
It is an expansion board used for laptop and notebook computers. It is used for interfacing components like the Memory, fax/modems, SCSI adapters
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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 8 - Audio Modem Raiser and Communication Network Raiser

The following figure shows different Bus interfaces and the devices that can be connected to each of them

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Lesson 3 - Choosing, Installing and Troubleshooting a Motherboard

Introduction
Motherboard is the most important component of the computer. This is the central component to which every other component is attached,

Topics covered in this module

Choosing a Motherboard Installing a Motherboard Troubleshooting a Motherboard

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1-Choosing a Motherboard

Choosing a Motherboard
Choosing an appropriate motherboard can be quite a challenging task. A lot of factors affect the choice of the motherboard. Future upgradeability of the system is the most important one It should support a higher hard drive capacity, a higher Memory slot on the motherboard, whether it has an AGP slot.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 1-Choosing a Motherboard

IT should support the following

Mother form factor CPU compatibility Functionality Connectors

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 2-Installing a Motherboard

Installing a Motherboard
Installing a motherboard should be done with a lot of care. Connect the motherboard to the mounting holes and tighten the screws. Set the jumpers and switches to the appropriate positions. Once the motherboard is secure, then start connecting the different wires to their appropriate sockets.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Topic 3 Troubleshooting a Motherboard

Troubleshooting a Motherboard
Troubleshooting the motherboard is the trickiest part for a technician. This requires a lot of time, patience and documentation. Since the troubleshooting has to be done at the chiplevel, troubleshooting a motherboard can cost more time and money than buying a new one.

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PC Hardware Basic Guide

Module 4 - Motherboard

Conclusion
PC bus is an 8 bit expansion slot to connect 8 bit expansion cards
The major components of the motherboard are
Processor socket or slot Chipset Super I/O chip BIOS SIMM/DIMM sockets Bus slots

ISA bus is a 16 bit slot present in 80286, 80386, 80486 and Pentium systems
Future upgradeability of the system is the most important one

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