1. PC Hardware Basic Guide
Module 4 - Motherboard

2. Module 4 - Motherboard Overview Lesson Covered in this Module
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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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 profile desktop cases

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. Topic 3 - System Chipset and Controllers
Interrupt Controller
USB Support
AGP Support
Plug and Play

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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

26. Topic 4 - CMOS Settings CMOS Battery System Configuration
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.

27. 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.

28. 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

29. 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.

30. 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

31. 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

32. Topic 4 - CMOS Settings Built-In Ports/Peripherals Setup
It can enable or disable ports which built in new systems.

33. 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

34. Topic 4 - CMOS Settings BIOS Upgrades Flash BIOS Upgrade
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.

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

36. 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 keyboard card
Some error codes
100 to System board
200 to Memory
300 to Keyboard

37. 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 .

38. Topic 6 - System Resources
The snapshot shows the different IRQ channels associated with different devices.

39. 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

40. Topic 6 - System Resources
The snapshot displays the I/O address range used by different devices

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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 and Communication Network Raiser

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

45. Topic 2 - Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) Bus
ISA bus is a 16 bit slot present in 80286, 80386, and Pentium systems.
The ISA card is configured through jumpers or switches

46. 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 MHZ
Can be configured through software
Has Lower Noise Level

47. 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

48. 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

49. Topic 6 - Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus
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

50. 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.

51. 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.

52. 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

53. 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

54. 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

55. Topic 1-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.

56. Topic 1-Choosing a Motherboard
IT should support the following
Mother form factor
CPU compatibility
Functionality
Connectors

57. Topic 2-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.

58. Topic 3 – 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 chip-level, troubleshooting a motherboard can cost more time and money than buying a new one.

59. 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, and Pentium systems
Future upgradeability of the system is the most important one