Short answers to common questions regarding PC Chips M810 (aka ECS K7SEM) series motherboards (M810, M810LR, M810LMR). Use info at own risk. The majority of this info is NOT my own work, and has been gathered from various BBS postings (i.e. The PC Chips Lottery BBS - now defunct).

Many problems that people experience with this motherboard as due to not having a large enough powersupply. Ideally, a quality 350w - 400w powersupply is a minimum. However, not all PSUs are created equal:

"Don't care about the big "300 Watt" writing, see how much draw it allows on the +5V and +3.3V lines. If that's under 160 watts, then forget it." - Peter Missel

Recommended specs for running a decent 3D card (Geforce/Radeon/etc) with Athlon cpus:

• 350w minimum
• 20A for the +3.3V power.
• 30A for the +5V power.
• 165W TCO (Total Combined Output) for the +5V/+3.3V power.

For more info, please visit this excellent resource:
http://www.ocworkbench.com/articles/psu/psup1.htm

Greetings to:
AJZ, bobtimmons, carlb, Crusader98, Denniss, Doon1, e vey, Greebo_x, Milt, otheos, Peter Missel, phrost, preacherphil, shatter, tenzomonk, th, TimMoore46, uart, and everyone else at the old PC Chips Lottery BBS!

General Questions:

1. Where do I download Windows drivers, BIOS, Product Manuals, etc?

Windows drivers, BIOS & Manual:	http://www.pcchips.com.tw/
SiS drivers:	http://download.sis.com/
The following links are sometimes more up-to-date than the official PC Chips releases:
C-Media 9738/9739: or SIS7018	http://www.cmedia.com.tw/?q=en/driver http://driver2.sis.com/audio/7018/7018_119.zip

2. Does the M810LMR support Linux and where can I download drivers?
YES!!! Support for the SiS 730s is built into newer versions of the Linux kernel, including support for the onboard VGA, Sound and LAN. The modem can be set up by downloading a driver. See the question below to learn about setting up an X server for the onboard VGA.

Which Linux Distribution should I get?
People have had success with many distributions of Linux including Debian, SuSE, Redhat, Knoppix, etc. For ease of installing/upgrading, stability and etc, I recommend Debian GNU/Linux. You can download the CD's free from here. There are eight cds, but you only need the first cd to get started. For those who are new to Linux, and want to try it without the scary install, you can download Knoppix. Knoppix is an entire Linux system and software that is run from a single CD. No install necessary! No committment! No risk of data loss! Nothing scary!

For those trying to setup lm_sensors for this board, try the following settings:
    modprobe i2c-isa
    modprobe it87 temp_type=0x38
    sensors -s

For those wanting to set up an X server for Linux, please refer to the FAQ in the VGA Section titled "How do I set up the onboard VGA for Linux / XFree86?"

3. Where do I find the version number of my motherboard?
It is either written onto the Board near the keyboard connector, or silkscreened in very small print in the corner of the board nearest PCI#1 connector (also near "JUSB1").

A brief motherboard history:
Motherboard version 1.0 = No AGP port
Motherboard version 1.3 = No AGP port
Motherboard version 1.6 = First version with AGP port
Motherboard version 3.0 = Some support 266Mhz but not sure which
Motherboard version 5.0 = First with official support for 266FSB and 4 channel sound codec
Motherboard version 7.0 = First to support XP+ CPUs and "Morgan" Duron CPUs
Motherboard version 7.0a = First to support XP+ CPUs and "Morgan" Duron CPUs higher than 1600+
Motherboard version 7.1 = Improved support for XP cpus (not T-Bred "B")
Motherboard version 7.1c = Onboard Duron - permanently soldered, and overclocked.
Motherboard version 9.0m = Onboard Duron - permanently soldered, and overclocked. Onboard RAM - permanently soldered.

4. What about the M810LR-H, M810v71c, M810DLU v5.2a, M810DLU v5.2c, M810v90M?
Firstly there is no M810LR-H. It is just what people commonly think their board is when they see the BIOS string at boot-time.

The M810v71c is the modified version of the M810 series board, but with a Duron onboard. Some are a Duron 850 (overclocked and named a 1200+)and others are a Duron 900 (overclocked and named a 1300+). The cpu is permantently mounted, so no cpu upgrades are possible. All new boards are red in color, unlike the earlier M810LMR boards which were orange.

The M810DLU v5.2a & 5.2c like a hybrid M810/M841 board. It features the SIS740 (renamed to SIS730D) chipset and has 3 PCI slots. The 5.2c like the M810v71c has a built-in Duron cpu. The M810v52 series are more similar to the M841 series than the M810.

The M810 v9.0M appears to be the same as the rev71.c with a built in Duron cpu, but also has built in RAM. CPU is no upgradable, and only one RAM slot is free for upgrades.

5. Why do my LED sockets not match those pictured in my manual?
Very often the manual you receive when purchasing your board is a different version. In most cases this should be no problem. However the earliest revisions had different LED socket layouts. Diagrams of two types can be found here.

CPU related questions

6. Does the M810LMR take a 266 FSB or x MHz cpu?
A brief motherboard and CPU guide:
Version 1.6 = Support AMD Athlon 650MHz~1.2GHz / Duron 550~950MHz - 200FSB only (excluding Morgan/Palomino)
Version 3.0 = Support AMD Athlon 650MHz~1.4GHz / Duron 550~950MHz - 200FSB only (excluding Morgan/Palomino)
Version 5.0 = Support AMD Athlon/Duron 550~1.4 CPUs - 200/266FSB (excluding Morgan/Palomino).
Version 7.0 = Support AMD Athlon XP^* 1500+ & 1600+ Palomino (and previous Athlon/Duron CPUs).
Version 7.0a = Support AMD Athlon XP^* Palomino and ThoroughBred Type "A"^* 2200+ CPUs (and all previous...).
Version 7.1 = Support AMD Athlon XP^* Palomino and ThoroughBred Type "A"^* 2200+ CPUs (and all previous...).

* You will need the latest BIOS to support these newer CPUs
* It is recommended to avoid XP1700+ and XP1800+ of the "Thoroughbred" (0.13 micron type) type on any revision board. The Palomino type is ok.

Important note:
The Duron 1000MHz (and higher) CPU is a Morgan (ie XP+) CPU, and will only work on Version 7.0 motherboards or higher, even though they are less than 1.4GHz.

Addendum:
Some people have discovered that the Duron 1200Mhz (morgan) works with revision 1.6 / 3.0 / 5.0 boards. The risk is yours. The Duron 1000/1100 most likely won't work on these boards.

Many have succeeded in getting faster processors to work than the board officially supports. If you have the latest BIOS, you should definitely try it. Here is a list of CPUS that people have successfully gotten to work. However, they may not work for you...

• Duron 1.0GHz on Rev 1.6 Motherboard (August 02 Bios).
• Duron 1.1GHz on Rev 5.0 Motherboard.
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.1GHz (200FSB) on Rev 1.6 Motherboard.
• Duron 1.2GHz (200FSB) on Rev 1.6/3.0/5.0 Motherboard - The only stable Morgan Duron for these boards!
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.2GHz (200FSB) on Rev 1.6 Motherboard - Fastest known for this version!
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.2GHz on Rev 3.0 Motherboard
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.333GHz (266FSB) on Rev 2.0 Motherboard (running BIOS 14/09/01)
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.333GHz (266FSB) on Rev 3.0 Motherboard
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.4GHz (200FSB) on Rev 3.0 Motherboard
• Athlon Thunderbird 1.4GHz (266FSB) on Rev 3.0 Motherboard
• Athlon XP 1500+ Palomino on Rev 3.0 Motherboard
• Athlon XP 1700+ (modified to run at 100Mhz (200FSB) x 15 = 1500Mhz) on Rev 5.0 Motherboard
• Athlon XP 1900+ on Rev 3.0 Motherboard with Jan 2003 BIOS
• Athlon XP 2000+ on Rev 5.0 Motherboard with Jan 2003 BIOS
• Athlon XP2400+ (266FBS) on Rev 3.0 - Quite a few people have had success with this cpu - strange, as the Rev 3.0 shouldn't support 266FSB.

Note: An imcompatible CPU can cause all kinds of issues including file corruption when installing Windows. Try at own risk.

7. Does the M810LMR support the new AMD Athlon XP/Duron (Morgan, Barton, Thortons, etc) CPU?
To run an XP Athlon or a Morgan Duron, you need to have an M810 with the SIS730s revision B1 chipset. Officially, the M810 does not support AMD Athlon XP processor on the M810LMR with PCB rev. 1.6 / 3.0 / 5.0. These all have revision A1/A2 SIS730s chipsets. It may work with series 7.0 and higher. Some of these have a little white sticker on the PCB that says so.

No matter what revision motherboard you have, it is recommended that you avoid XP1700+ and XP1800+ CPU's of the "Thoroughbred" (0.13 micron) type. These two cpus are reported by to be unstable in any revision - and a BIOS will not fix this. Also any Thoroughbred Type "B" XP cpu is not compatible. Palomino cpus are ok.

Duron CPUs 1000MHz and higher are Morgan CPUS (like the XP+), and will only work on version 7.0 (or higher). Although some have had joy with Duron 1.0 and 1.2 on pre-Rev 7.0 boards, others haven't. Some people have managed to run an XP1700+ on a rev 5 by cutting and joining bridges on the CPU (not recommended unless you know what you are doing) to make it run at 200FSB (100Mhz x 15 = 1500Mhz)!

Update: Some people have discovered that the Duron 1.2 seems to work on earlier boards although SSE is disabled. And one person has claimed that with the latest BIOS that he got an XP2000+ to run on his Rev 5 board. Others have had success with the XP2400+ on rev 3.0 boards.

What about the Barton/Thorton CPU?
The M810 officially does not support 333FSB (166mhz). That being said, some have managed to use overclockers BIOSes for this board to get 333FSB (166mhz). A few have managed to get Bartons (333FSB) working by running at them 266FSB and modifying the cpu bridges to get different multipliers. Doing this will void your warranty. The new Duron Thortons are infact Bartons set to run at 266FSB(133mhz) and have the Level 2 cache crippled. The Level 2 cache can be reenabled, but this will void your warranty. Some have had success with these CPUs.

8. Does the M810LMR support overclocking?
This is an area that I no little about, except that the latest BIOS helps and you will need a heap of cooling. Or an overclockers bios can up your FSB (see FAQ in the bios section). Some peole have had success using a program called CPUCool to raise the FSB, and another has used a "Golden Socket" Adapter to raise the CPU mulitplier. For info on general AMD overlocking and CPU unlocking, check out: http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q3/000711/index.html.

Here are some setups that people have gotten to work (but maybe not real stable):

• Duron 700 @ 933MHz (7.0 x 133FSB) on Rev 5 Motherbaord
• Duron 800 @ 1050MHz (7.5 x 140FSB)
• Duron 800 @ 1066MHz (8.0 x 133FSB @ 1.85v)
• Duron 900 @ 945MHz (9.0 x 105FSB)
• Duron 1000 @ 1200MHz (8 x 150)
• Duron 1000 @ 1261Mhz (9.5 x 132.74FSB, Rev. v7.1A, info)
• Duron 1300 @ 1500MHz (9 x 166FSB @ 1.87v, Rev. v7.1A, info)
• Duron 1300 @ 1500MHz (10 x 150FSB, Rev. v7.1A, info)
• Athlon 1000 @ 1333MHz (10 x 133FSB @ 1.85v)
• Athlon XP 1700+ T-bred 'A' @ 1800MHz (12 x 150FSB, Rev. v7.1A, more info)
• Athlon XP 1700+ T-bred 'B' @ 2500MHz (15 x 166FSB, Rev. v7.1A, more info)
• Athlon XP 2500+ Barton @ 2333MHz (14 x 166FSB, Rev. 7.1a, more info)
• Athlon XP 2500+ Barton @ 2400MHz (16 x 150FSB, Rev. 7.1a, more info)

This page will help you select voltages and multipliers on your AMD CPUs: http://www.ocinside.de/index_e.html?/html/workshop/socketa/socketa_resistors.html.

However, simply closing (unlocking) the L1 bridges, does nothing on this motherboard, as you cannot alter the multiplier. Closing the L7 bridges to increase the voltage, might enable the CPU to be overclocked to 133FSB in the BIOS, or less using CPUFSB, SoftFSB, or CPUCool software.

9. What temperature should be CPU be running at?
Short answer: Full load temperatures below 45C are preferable. However 45C to 55C full load temperatures are acceptable, especially if are running in a high ambient (room) temperature. Interesting point to note is that AMD specs state that the maximum die temperature for Athlon 900Mhz - 1100Mhz cpus and XP 1500+ - 2000+ cpus is 90 degrees celsius. The maximum die temperature for Athlon 1133Mhz - 1400Mhz is 95C. My Duron 900 runs at about 37 degrees celsius.

You can download a program such as Hmonitor (shareware) or MBProbe (freeware) to keep an eye on CPU temperature.

Important:
When using 3rd party temperature monitoring applications, remember that the M810LMR only has 2 temperature sensors (CPU and Mainboard). A third sensor does not exist. Any third sensor shown in these programs will fluctuate randomly, causing a fright to unwary users of this board.

Matt Wahlin has kindly added a HOWTO page on adding custom ventilation fans to your pc case.
Check it out here: http://radel.inet.net.nz/vents.html.

I recommend using Arctic Silver thermal paste to cool your cpu, with a good quality heat sink and fan. If Arctic Silver III is applied according to the official detailed instructions you can expect your cpu to lower a minimum of few degrees. My Duron 900 used to run at 38c, and after applying Arctic Silver III, it ran at around 33c. You experiences may differ though.

VGA related questions

10. What display cards work on the M810LMR?

Here is the official list take from the PC Chips M810LMR info page:

Here are some other cards that users have had success with. Note that many card have to be set to AGP 1x to run with any stability. This has to be done in safe mode with some XP systems. While this affects 3DMark scores, gaming performance is unlikely to be affected in this motherboard. The revision number of the board tested on is listed where available. Just because your revision might not be listed, doesn't necesarily mean it won't work for you (unless specified in list of cards that do not work).

• 3D Club Radeon 9550SE AGP 4X (Motherboard Rev. 5.0)
• Abit Siluro Geforce2 MX400 64MB (on WinXP and v3.0 & v7.0a MB)
• Abit Siluro Geforce4 MX440 (on WinXP with v5.0 MB)
• Abit Siluro FX5200 128Mb DDR (on WinXP with rev 7, Must set to 'AGP 1x' to be stable)
• Abit Radeon 9250 ADT (Motherboard Rev. 7.x, runs at AGP 2x.)
• Albatron GeForce4 MX-480E on Rev 7.1c
• AOpen GeForce 2 Ti 64MB (on Motherboard Rev 3.0 )
• AOpen GeForce 4 Ti4200 64MB (on Motherboard Rev 7.1a with AGP x1 )
• AOpen VideoStation GF2/MX400 (Rev. 3 worked, but locked up on Rev. 5)
• Asus AGP-7100 Magic Geforce2 MX200 32MB TV-out (at AGP 4x mode)
• Asus AGP-7100 Geforce2 ALL except the pro version in rev 3.0
• Asus AGP-7100 Geforce2 MX
• Asus AGP-7100 Geforce2 PRO MX400 (except rev 3.0 motherboard)
• Asus AGP-7700D Geforce2 GTS DDR 32MB
• Asus Geforce2 Ti 64MB
• Asus Geforce 2 GTS
• ATI Radeon VE - all motherboards
• ATI Radeon 7000 SDR (works in all boards. Disable Video Shadow in the bios)
• ATI Radeon 7200 (Motherboard Rev. 5/7, No go on Rev. 3)
• ATI Radeon 7500 (Motherboard Rev. 5/7, No go on Rev. 3)
• ATI Radeon 7500 All-In-wonder (Motherboard Rev. 5/7, Disable Video Shadow in the bios)
• ATI Radeon 8500 (Motherboard Rev. 3, Rev. 5)
• ATI Radeon 8500 128MB LE (Motherboard Rev. 7.1a and latest Catalyst drivers)
• ATI Radeon 8500dv All-In-Wonder (Motherboard Rev. 7.0a)
  - Board had to be modified to fit this card and firewire ports had to be disabled.
• ATI Radeon 9000 (Motherboard Rev. 7.0a - but one guy had a few conflict problems)
• ATI Radeon 9200 SE
• ATI Radeon 9500 Pro (Rev. 5.0 & Catalyst 3.6 drivers, - but infinite loop problems with XP for one person)
• ATI Radeon 9550 - had to set to AGP 1x to work (Amptron K7810/M810LR7)
• ATI Rage IIC AGP (Motherboard Rev 1.6) - supports widescreen resolutions!
• ATI Rage 128 All-In-Wonder PCI (non-pro) (Motherboard Rev. 3, Rev. 5)
• ATI Rage Pro 128 All-In-Wonder AGP
• ATI Rage Pro 128 All-In-Wonder PCI
• ATI Rage XPert 2000 Pro - works in all boards
• BFG Asylum Geforce 4 Ti4200 128MB (rev 5.0 with 30.82 Detonators)
• BFG Asylum Geforce FX5700 Ultra 128MB DDR2 (rev 7.1a @ AGP 1x with NVidia driver's AGPUtil.exe)
• Chaintech (VideoExcel) TNT2 M64 32MB AGP (AGP 2x)
• Chaintech Chameleon GeForce3 Ti-200 (Motherboard Rev. 5)
• Chaintech (VideoExcel) GeForce2-Ti (Motherboard Rev. 3, Rev. 5)
• Chaintech 421 GeForce4 MX 420 - Rev. 5/7. (Worked "somewhat" in Rev. 3)
• Chaintech 424 GeForce4 - Rev. 7, unstable in Rev. 5/3.
• Chaintech 448 GeForce4 440 128Bit DDR - Rev. 3.0
• Chaintech A-G448 GeForce4 440 64MB DDR w/tv - Rev. 7.1.
• Chaintech SiS 315 - Works in all boards.
• Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee PCI
• Creative Labs TNT2 M64 (CT6983)
• Creative Labs Geforce2 MX 400 AGP
• Creative Labs GeForce3 Ti200
• Creative Labs Geforce 4 MX440 (except rev 3 motherboard runs a little unstable)
• Daytona GeForce 2 MX200
• Diamond Viper Card V770 32MB (rev 3.0)
• Elsa Victory Erazor (AGP at 2x and 4x)
• Gainward CardExpert GeForce 2 MX400
• Gainward GeForce 2 MX200 PCI
• Gainward GeForce 2 Ti/450
• Gainward GeForce 4 MX440 AGP 8x (Rev 1.6 with Jan 2003 bios, runs at AGP 4x)
• Gainward GeForce 4 Ti4200 (must be set to AGP 1x)
• GeCube Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB C3 (runs perfectly stable @ 1 x AGP with fast writes disabled)
• Gigabyte Radeon 9000 Pro (must be set to AGP 2x or 1x)
• HIS GeForce3 Ti 200 at AGP 4x on a v3.0 board - no problems
• Inno3D TNT2-M64
• Inno3D Tornado Geforce2 400MX (Motherboard Rev. 7.0)
• Inno3D Tornado Geforce3 Ti200 - Rev. 3.0 & Windows 98SE/2000/XP/2003 Server
• Inno3D Geforce 4 MX 440 (works, however some had problems)
• Inno3D Tornado Geforce 4 Ti 4200 (Motherboard Rev. 7.0, AGP set to 1x)
• I/O MagicGeforce 2-MX200
• Jupiter 888 Evil Master - Radeon 7500
• Leadtek Winfast GeForce 2 MX200
• Leadtek Geforce 4-420MX (Motherboard Rev. 7.0a)
• Leadtek A170 Geforce 4-440MX 64MB (Motherboard Rev. 7.0a)
• Leadtek Geforce 4 A250 Ultra Ti4600 (Motherboard Rev. 7.1)
• Mad Dog Multimedia Prowler GeForce 4 MX440 64MB AGP - runs at AGP 2x but not 4x.
• Matrox G400 AGP -all motherboards
• Matrox G450 AGP -all motherboards
• Matrox G550 AGP -all motherboards
• MSI GeForce 2 MX400/T
• MSI GeForce2 GTS 32MB DDR (all AGP 4x on Win98/XP and RedHat 7.1)
• MSI GeForce 3 Ti200 Pro-TD running perfect and stable at AGP 4x
• MSI GeForce 4 MX440 - One person says it works fine, another had stability problems
• MSI GeForce 4 MX440 64 DDR with TV-OUT (rev 7.1 and set AGP to 1x, dets 28.90 and 40.72)
• MSI GeForce 4 Ti4200
• NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX/MX 400
  - but you have to run AGP transfer rate at 2x using PowerStrip on some cards
• NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX200 64MB running great on a rev 3.0a motherboard
• NVIDIA GeForce 2 GTS 64MB runs great on rev 3.0 motherboard
• NVIDIA GeForce 3 Ti500 (Rev 7.1)
• Pine TNT2 M64 32MB AGP
• Pine GeForce2 MX400 64MB with TV Out
• PixelView TNT2-Ultra
• PixelView GeForce 4 Ti4200 - Worked in Rev. 7, somewhat in Rev5, but nothing in Rev. 3.
• PNY Verto NVidia GeForce 2 MX200 (Rev 7.0a, Jan 03 bios)
• PNY Verto NVidia GeForce 2 Ti 64MB
• PNY NVidia GeForce 3 Titanium Ti200 (rev 5/7)
• PNY Verto NVidia GeForce4 Ti4200 64MB DDR (Motherboard Rev. 7.0a)
• PNY Verto NVidia GeForce4 Ti4400 (Motherboard = Amptron K7-810LM)
• Powercolor Radeon 7500LE runs fine on all except revision 3.0 Motherboard.
• PowercolorGeForce 2 MX200 32MB AGP (AGP 4x)
• Powercolor GeForce 2 MX400 32MB AGP tv-out
• Powercolor GeForce 3 Ti200 tv-out (Rev 7.1a)
• Powercolor GeForce 4 MX440 w/ tv-out (rev v7.0a, 41.09 dets, AGP 1x)
• Powercolor GeForce FX5200 on a Revision 3.0
• Prolink GeForce 4 MX440 (Rev 1.6, 41.09 dets, must disable 'AGP fastwrites' with Rivatuner to be stable)
• S-Media Geforce 2 MX400 64MB AGP - ran at AGP 4x with NVIDIA 44.03, SIS AGP 1.16a and Jan 2003 BIOS.
• S-Media Geforce 4 MX440 (rev v7.1c with latest bios)
• Saphire Radeon 9000 128MB DDR with TV out
• Saphire Radeon 9600 - worked at AGP 1x only! (Rev. 3.0)
• SIS 315 (known to work with all Motherboard revisions)
• Sparkle 6600 GeForce2 Ti
• ST Lab Geforce 2 MX 400 with TV OUT 64 MB AGP on Rev 5 Motherboard at AGP 4x
  - overclocks to 201 Mhz core and 191 MHz memory (no extra cooling)
• Trident Blade XP - Works in all revs.
• Tybotech Geforce 2 MX2 200 32 MB (flawless at AGP 2x)
• Typhoon Matrix II GeForce 2 GTS 32MB - Rev. 7.0a Board
• Visiontek GeForce 2 MX400 64MB PCI - Rev 5.0
• Visiontek GeForce 3 Ti200 64MB AGP Xtasy 6564
• Visiontek GeForce 3 Ti200 (Motherboard Rev. 3, Rev. 5)
• Voodoo3 2000 PCI
• Voodoo3 3000 PCI
• Voodoo4 4500 PCI
• Xelo Radeon 9600 - worked at AGP 4x (Rev 3.0)
• XFX GeForce 2 MX400 64MB TV-out
• XFX GeForce 4 440MXSE (Motherboard Rev. 7.1a, Rev. 7.1c and Win2k (not WinME))
• XFX GeForce 4 440MX AGP 8x (Ran fine at AGP 1x on rev 7.1a).
• XFX GeForce 4 Ti4200 64MB DDR (Motherboard Rev. 3.0 and 5.0)
• XFX GeForce MX4200 AGP (Ran fine at AGP 1x using RivaTuner on rev 3.0) .
• XFX FX 5700LE 128MB (Motherboard Rev. 5.0 - with SIS AGP Driver 1.17, not 1.19)

Cards that some people couldn't get to work for various reasons:

• 3D Labs Oxygen GVX210 won't run on any revision Motherboard
• Abit GeForce 4 Ti4600 won't run on any revision Motherboard
• Apollo KyroII on Rev 5 Motherboard
• Asus V7100 GeForce 2 Pro no go (ALL other V7100 work ok)
• Asus GeForce 3 ALL series no go
• Asus V8440 GF4 MX440 won't run on any revision Motherboard
• Asus V8440 GF4 Ti440
• ATI Radeon 7200 (Motherboard Rev. 3 just blank screen, works on Rev. 5/7)
• ATI Radeon 8500 All-In-Wonder - On Rev 7 series motherboard.
  Seems that capacitor on motherboard left no room to insert this card. No capacitor on earlier boards.
• ATI Rage II+DVD PCI - using generic drivers
• ATI Rage Pro 128 All-In-Wonder PCI (Motherboard Rev. 7.1a)
• ECS SIS315 AGP
• Chaintech GeForce 4 Ti- NONE of this series work on any revision.
• Chaintech 421 GF4MX 420 - revision 3 Motherboard not stable
• Chaintech 424 GF4MX 440 - revision 5/3 Motherboard not stable
• Creative Labs 3D Blaster Geforce 3 Ti200 64MB
• Elsa Geforce 3 Ti200
• Gainward FX5200 - couldn't get it stable for 3D.
• Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 64mb AGP
  - Driver issue! Limited function with Windows Standard VGA driver, but freezes with it's own driver!
• Hercules Kyro II 4500 (Motherboard Rev. 3, Rev. 5)
• Maddog Multimedia 64 Mb AGP TV-Out - did not work on Rev.5
• MSI GeForce 4 MX440 - One person had stability problems
• PixelView GeForce 4 Ti4200 - no go in rev 3.0 and worked a little in 5.0
• PNY GeForce 3 Ti200 - not good in rev 3.0 bu worked on in rev 5/7
• Powercolor"Powered by ATI" 7500LE runs unstable on revision 3.0 Motherboard. Other revisions ok.
• S3 Savage 4 / Savage 2000. No card with this chipset has worked,as yet.
• Visiontek VisionTek Geforce2 32MB GTS DDR with rev. 3.0 board
• Visiontek GF3 Ti500 no-go, just beeps (Motherboard Rev. 3, Rev. 5)
• Voodoo 3/4/5 All AGP Voodoo. Windows detects these cards ok, but the card/drivers malfunction. No solution as yet.

In conclusion, stay away from ALL AGP Voodoo cards and cards with the Kyro II or Savage chipsets. Be cautious with Titanium Geforce2/3 cards, as a few fail to work also. If buying ATI, always buy "made by ATI" not "powered by ATI" if you can afford it.

Hacks:
For troubleshooting lock-ups, see the next FAQ. Many people with NVidia based AGP cards (ie. TNT2, GeForce/2/3, etc) find that the generic unified Detonator drivers issued by NVidia, can increase 3D performance upto 100% over old drivers CD. These can be downloaded from NVidia.com. Personally, I have found that the 23.11 Detonators literally doubled my 3DMark2001 scores! Others may find the converse to be true however.

How to set the AGP rate on an NVidia card that uses Detonator drivers:

1) Open Regedit
2) Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global
3) If there is no 'System' key here, make one. Just right click on the Global
key and choose New > Key. Type in the word System, and hit enter.
4) Now select the new System Key, and right click on it and choose New again
5) Now choose "DWORD Value" and type in ReqAGPRate.
6) Set the value for the new key to 1

"You will need to reboot for this change to take effect."

To get AGP 1x in Linux Xfree4 with the closed source NVidia drivers, Alessandro Borges says:

In my Debian based Linux, I update my XFConfig86-4 file, changing in Section "Device" the following line Option "NvAGP" "0" # disable agp as I was having to much trouble, I choose to disable AGP until I could understand what is going on. Next step I will try to force AGP 1X by editing NVDriver kernel interface, as described in NVidia Linux readme.txt file, APPENDIX F: CONFIGURING AGP.

I also add the following line in Section "Device": Option "UseInt10Module" "on" to allow soft X restart, without disturbing the onboard vcard.

Some of the above cards wouldn't work on this motherboard due to suspected voltage requirements of the port/card (eg some Geforce3 Titanium models), and some were purely driver related (eg Kyro II). One of two just won't fit due to the tiny space on the motherboard where the agp port is. Of course this may mean that your flash new VGA heatsink and fan combo may have to stay in its box! ;-) For minor cases (on rev 7 motherboards) where a capacitor is the only thing prohibiting the insertion of the vga card, the capacitor may be able to be bent out of the way, or relocated by modifying the motherboard a little.
Doing so will definitely void your warranty.

Some people have discovered that certain AGP cards try to use the same IRQ as the onboard sound card. The only way to resolve this is to disable onboard sound until the AGP card has been setup successfully, then re-enable the onboard sound. Others have found with NT/2000/XP systems that the PlugNPlay Hardware Abstraction Layer can be a problem - the fix is to disable PlugNPlay and do a clean/repair install with a new HAL.

11. Why does my new AGP card crashes my pc, causes lockups/instability?
Unfortunately the M810LMR is very choosy about which AGP cards it is compatible with. However here is a list of things to check/try:

• PSU - Your powersupply needs to be powerful (at least 300w - 400w). Signs of PSU problems might include lockups only when AGP is under load (heavy 3D use). See our recommended PSU specs. I have read that some GF3 cards have needed even 400w PSU to run where a 300w wouldn't cut it!
• AGP RATE - Many NVidia/ATI cards will only become stable when AGP is reduced to AGP 1x. Doing so, will not affect gameplay noticably, only perhaps 3DMark scores. Some might get away with AGP 2x, and some at AGP 4x. For NVidia users, try the registry hack above or use RivaTuner. ATI Catalyst drivers have AGP rate setting in the display drivers "Smart GART" tab in the Advanced Properties. As a last resort, PowerStrip may be used. Please note that changing the AGP rate with Rivatuner or Powerstrip is a tempory solution and may revert to old AGP rate after PC enters Suspend mode. Using the options in the drivers or manually editing the registy are the perfered options. Some of these might need to be done initially in safe mode to get the VGA to be stable.
• Drivers - Many cards are shipped with older driver versions. Download the latest drivers and the latest DirectX. Some Geforce 4 cards only work with some versions of the generic Detonator drivers, so you might need to download and try a few.
• BIOS - Update M810LMR to the latest BIOS. Some require BIOS Virus protection to be disabled also. Just as well that PC Chips removed this feature from the later BIOS releases anyway.
• RAM - As always, bad system memory causes lockups.

12. How do I disable the onboard VGA?
When you insert an AGP card the motherboard should detect this and automatically disable the onboard VGA. In BIOS Setup, under PCI / Plug and Play Setup page, ensure that the Primary Graphics Adapter is set to PCI. You may also have to manually uninstall the VGA drivers.

13. When I insert an AGP card, why do I get a blank screen?
Extremely common question. Most cases, it is because the AGP card hasn't been inserted fully. Try re-inserting it with a little more pressure. If this is the case, plug in a monitor to the onboard VGA. If you get a picture, then the AGP is still not inserted fully.

14. Does the M810LMR support 1152x864 screen resolution?
This is a typical MAC resolution and is not supported by the Windows drivers for this chipset. Even with programs such as PowerStrip or HZTool, there is no way (yet) to access this resolution on the SiS730s in Windows. The guy at Entech (maker of PowerStrip) even kindly edited the driver's .inf file to manually add this resolution, but still no success. Programmable stuff like the Linux Xfree driver does anything on any VGA, including our beloved SiS chipset (within the limits set by RAMDAC max pixel clock and RAM bandwidth).

15. How do I enable AGP x4 mode?
The specs of this motherboard (version 1.6 +) has a maximum of AGP x2. This is a great deal better than the earlier versions, that had no AGP port! The latest AGP port driver from SIS should improve AGP performance. With this driver installed, my GeForce2 card is detected at AGP x4. However, I am told that some Revision 7.x boards have been set to AGP 2x in the factory (for stability reasons perhaps).

16. Why is there no M810LMR OpenGL functionality in Windows XP?
The original Windows XP drivers for the SiS730 chipset had no OpenGL support. Only software rendering was available. If you installed the drivers from the cd that came with your motherboard, then chances are that you are using the old drivers. The most recent drivers have OpenGL support.

17. I have just installed Windows, and my OpenGL screensavers crash my system. What gives?
OpenGL operation needs DirectX installed first (for some reason). Many people advise an install of DirectX PRIOR to installing VGA drivers.

18. How do I get TV-out via the onboard SIS730s chipset's inbuilt SIS301 feature?
Although the SIS730s specs state that the chipset supports this, the link over to the 301 is a proprietary connection. On 630S and 730S chipsets, it shares pins with those for the AGP bus, so that you can design an SiS 301 companion card to go into the board's AGP slot. The 630S/730S will then detect the situation and do 301-link instead of AGP then. As no-one has get made such a AGP card as yet, the chances of getting TV-out from the SIS301 is zero. I feel that this is dishonest, as the spec mention nothing of a 3rd party card requirement, and implies that everything needed is onboard. My only advice is to get a NVidia or ATI card with TV-out.

19. Why won't the VGA drivers install under Windows NT 4.0?
You will need to install Windows NT Service Pack 4 prior to installation of VGA drivers.

20. How do I set up the onboard VGA for Linux / XFree86?
XFree86 3.x series

The SiS730s is unofficial supported by this version via the XF86_SVGA server with the sis driver. After installing XFree86, just select the sis630 driver when using XF86Config program. You will almost definitely need to manually edit the XF86Config file with a commandline editor such as mc (Midnight Commander). For more info see: http://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/SiS.html

XFree86 4.x series

If you are using XFree86 4.x, then you may find that the auto-configure utility detects the hardware incorrectly. You will then need to manually edit the XF86Config-4 file with a commandline editor such as mc (Midnight Commander). You may also find the next few lines from my XF86Config-4 file handy

If you are reading this page in a language other than English, the above config file will be wrong.

For more detailed info, see: http://www.xfree86.org/4.2.1/SiS.html
Onboard AGP OpenGL Hardware Acceleration setup info: http://www.winischhofer.net/sisdri.shtml

The SIS730s is also supported in X.org drivers.

BIOS / CMOS related questions

IMPORTANT TIP:
The definitive guide to BIOS flashing can be found at: http://www.amptron.com/html/biosCode.html

Whenever flashing or clearing the BIOS/CMOS always load the OPTIMAL or BEST SETTINGS before making your usual adjustments and setups. Both these will set up hidden BIOS options that are necessary for system performance and stability. I have heard first hand of users trying this, and finding their machines run far better!

21. I can't get into BIOS setup?
This one gets 99% of all people! You gotta be quick to press the DELETE key (or DEL depending on your keyboard) upon booting. Here what I do: when I turn on my pc or reset it, I start pressing the DELETE key again and again, until BIOS setup screen appears.

22. Can I flash the latest BIOS on my early revision motherboard?
Yes! People have flashed the latest BIOS's on boards as early as revision 1.6 with no problems. PC Chips now distribute different BIOS's for every revision. However there are two main type of each (M810 -without LAN and M810LMR -with LAN). Make sure you download the correct BIOS. However, many people go by the rule: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

23. How do I flash my BIOS?
Summary:
If your system currently operate smoothly and there is no problem happened, your system is not suggested to do the BIOS upgrade, since improper operation or wrong BIOS code update might cause the system unable to start again.

The requirements of flashing BIOS
To flash the BIOS, you need the AMI BIOS program and latest BIOS code from http://www.pcchips.com.tw/. Both of these two items can be downloaded from BIOS area of the PC Chips web site. Check the BIOS date code to see if they are the same as before. If so, it's not necessary to flash it since BIOS does not have newer revision. Before flashing it, make sure the BIOS manufacturer and the model number of your board.

The procedure of flashing BIOS:
Always copy the AMINF3xx program and BIOS file to the harddrive - and do not use floppy disks which are easily corrupted. You must flash the bios in DOS mode - with no drivers loaded. With Windows 9x/ME, the safest option is to tap the "F8" key during boot up and to bring up the "boot menu" and then select "Safe Mode Command Prompt Only". Either that or to boot from a floppy with *NO* autoexec.bat or config.sys files. They are only ways that I know of to fully guarentee that no drivers what so ever are loaded. The simplest method of flashing the bios is to use these commands at the DOS prompt:

AMINF3xx BIOSFILE.ROM /A
(This will perform the actual update) .... or....

AMINF3xx BIOSFILE.ROM /SORIGINAL.ROM
(This will save the original BIOS to the file ORIGINAL.ROM)

Full listing of switches for the AMI BIOS Flasher program:

On your first boot, you will get the error message CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR. Do not panic, this is normal. It is because there are no settings selected in the BIOS (CMOS) yet. Just enter the BIOS setup, and load the OPTIMAL or BEST SETTINGS before making your usual adjustments and setups.

24 Where can I get high performance or overclockers bioses?
For official bioses that have simply had special options unlocked, you can download Lemonzests August 2003 bios or the much older Preacher Phil's Tweakers Bios.

Overclockers BIOSes:
BIOSes designed for overclocking the FSB can be downloaded from Rebels Haven PC Chips M810 Bios page: http://www.lejabeach.com/M810/M810.htm.

25. How do I enable CAS 2 and other unavailable BIOS options?
All the memory timings and several other options are selectable in your BIOS. PCchips has for whatever reasons chosen to disable these options. So it's just a matter of re-enabling them, quite simple actually. Download the editor from k7jo.de ( more info here). Install it into a folder, example; C:\biostools Next, Just for ease of access, put a copy of the BIOS you wish to edit in that same folder. Boot the computer from the a:\ drive. You can use your BIOS flash disc for this. Go to the directory path where you put the BIOS files (example: "cd c:\biostools"

Once there type in "amibcp.exe 011109s.rom". You know not to type the quotation marks right? "Configure setup data" is the menu you want to access. as you can see there are tons of options you can change. The "Yes/No" column will either display or not display that option of the "loaded" BIOS. The first time I picked "yes" on everything. I've since refined what I have displayed when I access the BIOS now 'cause I really don't have to have all those options availble. the "Both/Admin" column leave at "Both". The last two columns allow you to set the default "Performance" levels of the options.

So if you have both unlocked your L1 and L7 bridges on your CPU and have decent CPU cooling you could set all of your bus speeds to 133Mhz. I would try it first with CPUcool to see how it works out. YOU MUST HAVE THE BOTTOM OPTION IN "CHIPSET SETUP" SET ON MANUAL OR YOU WONT BE ABLE TO CHANGE ANY OF THE SETTINGS IN THE ADVANCED SETTINGS MENU. Don't forget to save all your changes (you'll be prompted to all along the way). Copy the 011109s.rom to your flash disc and reflash the BIOS.

For info on what each of the BIOS options does check out: http://www.rojakpot.com/freebog.aspx (or The older version).

OR...
Lemonzests August 2003 bios, or The famous Tweaker BIOS (version 1.9) made by Preacher Phil and West Computers can be downloaded here. Flash your BIOS with this and select optimal settings. If you have CAS2 RAM you can adjust even more BIOS settings to get upto an estimated 30% increase in performance. Not guaranteed but worth it. As the makers of this BIOS tweaked many registers that PC Chips haven't, some still prefer this BIOS instead of the more newer PC Chips BIOS's.

26. Why do my CMOS/BIOS settings keep getting lost?
If you find that your CMOS keeps forgetting its settings, then your CMOS battery will no doubt need replacing. Be sure not to get greasy fingerprints on it either. A flat or faulty battery can cause many obscure problems including, and not limited to, spontanious rebooting, or even lockups while editing the CMOS settings.

27. I have just flashed my BIOS, but why has my LAN/Modem disappeared from the CMOS/Windows?
Most likely explanation is that you may have flashed your M810LMR with the M810 BIOS. The M810 board does not have onboard LAN or Modem, hence it has a different BIOS. If this is the case, then re-flash with the correct BIOS for your motherboard.

Harddrive related questions

28. Why does my harddrive run so slowly on my M810LMR?
In short, you need power management in the BIOS set to "APCI", an 80pin ATA66/100 cable for UDMA speeds, and DMA ticked in Windows harddrive driver settings. Due to the way the M810 has been designed, UDMA mode is only available when BIOS is set to ACPI (preferably before installing Windows). Depending on whether you are using Windows9x, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, please read through the solutions to the following FAQs. No doubt you'll find something of use there.

29. How do I get Windows 98 to recognise UDMA for my drives?

• Ensure that in your BIOS that your harddrive is detected as at least PIO mode 4 and that UDMA is enabled (if available)
• The black boot up screen (before Windows starts) should briefly show your harddrive as it's correct type eg ATA66/100. If not, go no further, and trouble shoot here.
• Ensure that ACPI (only) is selected for Power Management in the BIOS
• You will also need the 80pin UDMA harddrive cable to access ATA66/100 speeds.
• In the Windows Control Panel -> System -> "Device Manager" make sure ACPI devices are present. If they are not, and you see PlugNPlay BIOS instead, remove these and reboot.
• Remove any other devices with an (!) next to them and reboot.
• If you have a UDMA drive and the device is not listed as Ultra DMA, then delete this device also and reboot. For example my Seagate ATA66 drive appeared as "STA313032A", but after making these changes, and deleting the device, it was detected as "ST313021A Ultra DMA" and now uses the Ultra DMA driver.
• Also in the "Device Manager", ensure that the DMA checkbox is checked for each HardDrive/ CDROM/ CDR/ CDR-W/ DVD-ROM that supports DMA/ UDMA/ ATA66/ ATA100 /etc.
• Note that regardless of whether your drive is DMA or UDMA the checkbox reads as "DMA".
• You can also safely remove the SiS Harddrive controller from the "Device Manager" and use the standard Windows controller (which some believe is just as good or better). When rebooting it will detect the IDE controllers, and you can choose to install the Windows driver instead.
• If you have tried all this and more, and still no joy, re-install Windows over the top of itself. This is a quick process, and may work. However, I recommend running a program like HDtach prior, as UDMA often works with the "Generic Type 47" driver.
• Sometimes you may have to manually remove your Harddrive devices from the System -> Device Manager in the Windows Control Panel and reboot.
• If you use the standard Windows Harddisk Controller driver instead of the SIS HDC driver, you will see "Generic Type 47" instead of the UDMA harddrive, but UDMA should still work.
• For those with Windows 2000 or XP, see the next 2 FAQs for greater details

30. How do I get Windows 2000 to recognise UDMA for my drives?
The short answer:
Set to ACPI (not ACPI/APM) and run the Win2k setup program again. For details see this MS knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q246236

Detailed instructions:
Enter the BIOS and go to Power Management. You will have several choices of power management. Set the power management to "ACPI." Do not set it to "None" or "ACPI/APM". Save your settings and start Windows. In Windows, run Setup.exe again from the Windows Installation CD. Choose the Upgrade Option.

Verification that it worked and letting Windows know about it:
In Device Manager, click the + sign next to "Computer" and you should see "Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC." If you do not see this, then try to follow the instructions more closely. Click the + sign next to "IDE AYA/ATAPI controllers." Examine the properties of the Primary IDE Channel and look at the tab called "Advanced Settings." Transfer Mode should be set to "DMA If Available." If it is not, then set it that way. Do the same for the Secondary IDE Channel. Reboot. Check your Advanced Settings again in Primary and Secondary Channel again. Current Transfer Mode should be saying "Ultra DMA Mode or DMA Mode" which will depend on what type ot hard drive you have and whether you use an 80 or 40 wire cable from your controller to the hard drive.

The long explaination:
The problem is that Win2k uses a different Hardware Abstraction Layer based on the Power Management BIOS settings and that it is not easy to replace. If Win2k has been installed with ACPI off, the computer type listed under the Windows Device Manager will be "Standard PC". As a result, DMA will only work when the BIOS setting matches the Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer. Due to a bug in the BIOS which doesn't let it recognize DMA capability on the IDE channels when Power Management is "disabled", Win2k may let you set DMA on both IDE channels but it will NOT work properly.

The symptoms to recognize this:
disk speed improved over the "PIO Only" speed, but only by a factor of 3; in addition, the display of "Current Transfer Mode" under the Advanced tab for the Primary IDE Channel (disk) in the device Manager showed "DMA Mode" INSTEAD OF "Ultra DMA Mode".

The solution is re-install Win2k over itself to use its ACPI HAL. To do this you will need to use the Win2k install disk and use the UPGRADE option. Note that the REPAIR option does NOT work in this particular case (going from a "Standard PC" [non-ACPI] to an "ACPI Compliant PC".)

31. How do I get Windows XP to recognise UDMA for my drives?
You must have only ACPI set in Power Management. Once you set Power Management set for ACPI, then you have to Repair XP properly.

To repair XP:
1. Boot from the CD-ROM drive
2. Do not choose Repair when it comes up here
3. Rather, choose Install
4. Your installation will be searched for and hopefully found
5. Now choose Repair
6. Let it do it's thing

32. What is the largest harddrive size recognised by the M810?
The M810 does not support 48bit LBA. The largest IDE drive detected by the M810 BIOS is 137GB. So a 120GIG drive is as big as you can use. You can use bigger harddrives with a PCI IDE controller. Windows XP only recognised harddrives bigger than 137GB if Service Pack 1 is installed. For Windows 9x, your FDISK will may not recognise drives bigger than 64GB, so you will need an updated FDISK from Microsoft.

Trouble-shooting and MISC questions

33. Can I email PC Chips for sales questions or support?
PC-Chips does large volume OEM business. They do talk to these, but they do not do end-user business nor support. That should be done by these OEMs, i.e. the system resellers - many of them don't bother, some, like Amptron or Matsonic, do. There is only one person that I have ever heard of who has gotten an email response from PC Chips themselves. And now, finding a working email address on any of their websites is a rarity.
However, at the beginning of 2003, PC Chips have updated their site. They know have an online support webform.

34. Have sound problems in Windows ME while using modem on the M810LMR (rev. 1.6)?
Go to the driver section for M810LMR and download the latest modem driver.

35. How can I tell if my RAM is at fault?
Download the free mermory testing application from http://www.memtest.org/. You will need a blank floppy to install it on, as it is not a Win32 program. But don't worry, it comes with an installer that creates the boot floppy for you. If you like the program, be sure to email the author and thank him. :-)

36. Why do I get just a blank screen when I turn on my new pc?
Probably one the most FAQs. Did you move the CMOS-clear jumper from the "clear" to the "run" position? These boards wont even power up if you don't do that.

37. Why is my modem ping so high / modem gaming performance bad?
The bundled PC Tel AMR does actaully have great performance. Download speeds are excellent. However, due to the nature of this software-modem's design, with the original drivers, ping times were exceptionally poor. All functionality of this "modem", is in the software - which has now been re-written. With the earlier drivers, pinging your default gateway will be as high as 400ms! This means until you upgrade to the latest drivers, online gaming it out. The latest drivers should ping your default gateway at about 170ms.

38. Why is my RAM not detected correctly?
This can be due to a number of reasons. The RAM might be faulty (refer to FAQ on faulty RAM).

Another reason is simply that the amount of RAM shown at boot-up, often confuses users. For example, if a user has 128MB of RAM, and is using the onboard VGA with the default 16MB allocated to the VGA, they will see this message: 114688KB (shared memory = 16MB) (or similar). Memory at startup is shown in KiloBytes, and is the total amount of RAM minus the amount shared with the VGA. In this card the remaining 112MB is left for system use. In the BIOS you can allocate between 8 and 64 MB to the onboard VGA. 16MB is the default value for this shared memory.

39. Why doesn't my microphone work on my M810LMR?
This may be due to a common error on the way the microphone sockets have been wired on many of these boards. The pins on many have been soldered the wrong way around.

IMPORTANT :
Before making any hardware considerations with regards to the microphone input please be sure that you know how to enable the microphone channel in Windows. You must be aware that there are SEPARATE mixers for RECORDING and for PLAYBACK. You MUST enable the microphone channel in the "RECORDING CONTROL" mixer. If you are in the Windows "Volume Control" (or playback) mixer then look under "options - properties" and select "Record" to get to the "RECORDING CONTROL" mixer that you require.

Short answer :
It appears that the M810 mic input works with most "condensor" (ie 3 wire with stereo plug) microphones but does not work with any "dynamic" (ie two wire with mono plug) microphones.

Long Answer (and dynamic mic fixes) :
Prolog : The wiring anomaly of the M810 "mic in" described below has been observed by users of various revisions of this motherboard. It is not known whether all M810's contain this wiring anomaly however the contrary has never been reported.

It appears that the "mic in" socket on the M810 has the "tip" and "ring" connections reversed from what is the normal convention. Normally the "ring" of the stereo plug is for the "mic-p" connection (microphone bias or power) and the "tip" of the stereo plug is for the actual microphone pick-up signal (called the "mic" connection). On all observed M810's however this has been the other way around.

Interestingly enough the above anomaly does NOT seem to prevent most three wire microphones from working as the M810 "mic-in" input actually allows signals to be amplified from either the "mic" or the "mic-p" contacts and also allows bias or power to be carried by either the "mic-p" or the "mic" contacts. What this means is that (at least to some extent) the "mic" and "mic-p" signals are interchangeable on the M810 when using a three wire mic. The symmetry is not exact however and in the case of the two wire microphone no operation is possible unless corrective action is taken. The following is some of the possible fixes for two wire (mono plug) mic operation.

1. Cut the mono plug off the end of the microphone cable and replace it with a stereo plug. Wire the (wire that previously connected to the) "tip" of the mono plug to the "ring" of the new stereo plug. Wire the (wire that previously connected to the) ground of the mono plug to both the "tip" and the "ground" of the new stereo plug. Your microphone will now work, be sure to use the (advanced) "gain boost" setting under the record mixer when using these dynamic microphones.

2. To avoid having to physically modify the microphone it may be preferable to simply wire a short patch cable to reverse the "tip" and "ring" connections. That is, wire a stereo plug to stereo socket using a short length of shielded pair. Wire shield (ground) to shield (ground). Wire "tip" to "ring" and wire "ring" to "tip".

3. As an off the shelf solution to avoid soldering or wiring of any kind you can use the following adaptors (available for a few dollars at most electronics and audio stores) to break out the stereo socket into two mono sockets. For example use a "3.5mm stereo plug to dual RCA socket" adaptor followed be a "single RCA plug to 3.5mm mono socket" adaptor. You plug the stereo to dual RCA adaptor into the mic-in socket of the M810 and you plug the microphone (3.5mm mono plug) into the single RCA to 3.5mm adaptor socket. You can now plug the RCA plug into either of the two RCA sockets and it will work. If you use the RCA socket that connects though the "ring" of the stereo 3.5mm plug then you can optionally use a shorting plug in the other unused RCA socket to reduce noise pickup.

40. Why doesn't my "front audio" microphone work on my M810?
Question :
"I have wired a socket from the "mic", "mic-p" and "Gnd" pins of the "AUDIO1" header (or front audio header) on the mainboard but I can't make any microphone work with it?"

Answer : (Verified rev7.0a only but may effect all boards) :
The mic-in plug on the back of the M810 has a feature that it shorts out both the "mic" and "mic-p" signals when no microphone is plugged in. This is presumably to reduce stray audio noise pickup. Unfortunately this also shorts out the signals on the internal "ADUDIO1" header rendering it inoperable. If you want to use this "front audio" mic then the only solution is to leave a "dummy" plug (ie not connected to anything) permanently inserted in the rear mic-in" jack.

41. Why does my new PCI card cause resource conflicts with other devices?
The M810LMR can be rather picky as to which resources are used by what device. The is especially the case when using Windows 95. Many device issues are resolved by upgrading to Windows 98SE or newer.

Suggested remedy is to try swapping PCI card slots. My Creative Labs Soundblaster Live! Value conflicted with my Creative Labs BT848 Video Capture card. I just swapped both PCI cards around and they worked fine. Failing that, you could try removing other devices and installing the PCI card. Once the PCI card is working, you can reserve it's resources in the Windows system Device Manager, before reinstalling the other devices.

42. How do I enable 4 channel sound and where do I plug the rear speakers?
All revision 5.0 motherboards and newer support 4 speakers via the SiS 7018 sound engine coupled with a C-Media 9738 4-channel codec. However, the sound driver may need to be updated to one that is aware of that codec's capabilities.

"But where do I plug in the rear speakers?" you may be thinking. The Line-In socket works in reverse as a rear speaker output when 4 channels are activated in the driver settings. You will lose line-in capabilities when this is enabled. Alternative C-Media drivers can be got from Biostar. People have had much trouble getting it to work. For more info read this thread. I am sorry but I am unable to help you any further on this issue.

43. How do I install WinDVD that came on the drivers CD?
According an email I received from PC Chips, WinDVD OEM is only an optional extra that can only be purchased through your OEM. PC Chips charge an extra US$2.50 for the serial code. My distributor was unable to do this for me, and PC Chips wouldn't make the transaction themselves.

There is really no such thing as free DVD decoding software, as there are licensing restrictions for the file formats and codecs. However, all is not lost. You can download some free DVD filters from http://www.dvd-digest.tv/. Just ensure you extract the files to your C:\Windows\System directory and run the .bat file to install. You can add/remove the DVD playing capabilities of Windows Media player with these files http://radel.inet.net.nz/dvd.zip.

For ease of navigation, I linked directly to the filters zip file, but please make sure you pay a visit to http://www.dvd-digest.tv, as they are really cool people, with a top site! Have fun!

44. Why does my PC beep and refuse to boot?
The AMI BIOS which all M810LMR motherboards are fitted with, will beep when there are certain hardware errors/faults. For a detailed guide, see the official AMIBIOS Beep Codes documentation.

45. Why does it crash when I try to install Red Hat Linux?
Many people have tried to install Red Hat Linux 7.2 and found that the installer crashes with a kernel panic. This can be resolved by disabling ACPI/APM in the BIOS prior to installing Red Hat. This can be re-enabled after installation if required. Also, ensure that the CD drive that you are installing from is jumpered to either "master" or "slave", and not "cable select".

Some people who find that Red Hat gets confused when using the onboard VGA (shared memory). The fix is to use the following command "boot: linux mem=64m" when booting from the first CD.

When installing XFree86, it may pay for you to use the command "Xconfigurator --noddcprobe" to prevent crashing. Some people find the alternative VGA driver from http://www.winischhofer.eu/linuxsisvga.shtml better than the default.

I personally have had no such problems with crashes or with X when installing Linux on my machine. This is probably due to the fact that I use Debian GNU/Linux!

46. Why won't 'Colin McRae Rally 2' run on my M810LMR
This is a known issue with no adequate answer. The onboard VGA is known to be incompatible with this game. Solutions to this are welcomed.

47. Why won't 'Medal Of Honor - Allied Assault' run on my M810LMR onboard VGA?
Enable "multi-texturing" in the OpenGL settings. You will find this in the advanced settings for the VGA drivers, in the Display Properties.

48. Why do my case switches and indicator LEDs plugs not fit correctly?
More often than not, the plugs end up not fitting as square as one would think - ie: one of the plugs hanging over the outside of the pins so that it looks like the board is missing a pin and the plug would fall off. Some people have been having problems with the Panel1 setup. The manual (pages 16 and 17) doesn't explain it very well. The first time I (and many others) powered my M825 up I had the case switch wrong.

49. Why is my pc so unstable?
Most causes of lockups and pc instability are caused by cheap generic ram, underpowered PSU , AGP card needing to be see to AGP 1x, CPU too hot. Please read the above FAQ's for more detail on troubleshooting these.

The onboard sis chipset is often the cause of instability. The heatsink that is attached is simply attached with double-side tape which does not conduct heat well. I have written up a complete guide to solving this problem: http://radel.inet.net.nz/chipset/.

50. Where can I find more help?

PC Chips Boards:
AJZ Complete PcChips Support (all motherboards)

PC Chips / ECS family:
ECS Motherboards: The ECS / PC Chips / Elitegroup section at OCWorkbench.com
ASRock Motherboards: ASRock section at OCWorkbench.com

Misc:
ATI Video Cards: Rage3D.com
VIA Chipsets: VIA Arena

Please email me if you want something added or corrected: radel(at)inet.net.nz.

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