FAQ

Below are answers to some of the more common technical issues that we receive. Click on the question below to view the answer. If your problem can't be resolved by the following solutions, contact our Technical Support Dept. at 408-776-7896, toll-free: 888-776-7896, or e-mail: techsupport@corvalent.com



Are all Corvalent boards FCC and CE approved?

Answer: Corvalent tests and certifies all of it’s products. The reports and certificates are available upon request.


I am not able to run the set-up for my Ethernet adapter. The driver CD shows no SETUP file

Answer: Corvalent uses mostly Ethernet controllers that are in the Embedded roadmap. This assures longevity. Some of these adapters need to have their drivers loaded manually. Please follow the instruction found o the driver CD.


I have a fast UDMA5 hard-drive, but the BIOS only recognizes PIO4 or UDMA2. What is wrong?

Answer: For you to take advantage of UDMA5, make sure to use an 80 conductor IDE cable. The standard 40 conductor cable is not able to support UDMA5..

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I’m not able to use the USB ports on my Raptor ATX (RBXAX)

Answer:The BIOS default for the USB ports on the Raptor ATX (RBXAX) and Raptor AT (RBXAT) is DISABLED. Please enable them in the CMOS settings.


I’m not able to use my USB2.0 ports in Windows 2000.

Answer: SATA, or Serial ATA, is the new interface for hard-drives or ATA devices. The previous standard is called PATA, or parallel ATA. The advantage of the STA interface is a less bulky cable and higher throughput. The SATA interface can currently achieve up to 300Mbs for newer SATAII interfaces, and 150Mbs for first generation interfaces. Fastest PATA interface on Intel platforms  runs at 100Mbs.


Some of Corvalent’s boards have multi-serial options, are they full hand-shake?

Answer:Yes, all of the serial ports on Corvalent boards are full hand-shake. Some boards with more than 4 serial ports will have limited hand-shake on COM5 and COM6.

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My system only can recognize 137GB, what is wrong?

Answer: The original Windows XP and 2000 only have support for up to 137GB. Please make sure to use only Windows 2000 with SP3 or higher and windows XP with SP1 or higher


My SATA controller is not running at 150MBs

Answer:You may be running in Emulating Parallel ATA mode and using Windows Parallel ATA drivers (atapi.sys). Ideally you should select Native Mode

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I can’t install my F6 SATA drivers because I don’t have a floppy drive.

Answer:This can happen if you floppy is not recognized by the OS. . It has to be listed in TXSETUP.SIF. The following drives are supported:

Plug and Play ID

USB floppy disk drive model

USB\VID_03EE&PID_6901

Mitsumi

USB\VID_057B&PID_0000

Y-E Data; Sony part number 09K9835

USB\VID_0644&PID_0000

TEAC; IBM option part number 27L4226, FRU 05K9283


What are the numbers that show on the 2 seven segment displays on the board?

Answer:When the BIOS runs through its initialization, it will show the number of the test being performed on the seven segment display, commonly called POST display.


What is the yellow mark that appears in the Windows device manager for a PCI device on RCMAX?

Answer: The PCI device that appears on the screen as unknown is actually a SMBus controller. The SMBus controller performs internal controlling functions in the motherboard. The device is working perfectly, it does not need a driver. The Raptor MicroATX uses a new chip from Intel® called C-ICH. This chip has two Ethernets, Therefore, Intel gave him a new name. Although it has a new name, it has the same functionality as its older brother the ICH2. The windows 9x/2K/XP knows the ICH2 and the SMBus is working fine. The proof is that the memories are being recognized. The memory recognition uses the SMBus. When Intel created the C-ICH and changed its device IDs, they knew that win 9x/2k/XP and other OSes would be able to handle the devices, because the structure of the driver is the same as the ICH2. They also knew that the device manager would complain about the different device ID, showing that question mark in the device manager. However, they decided not to issue a new driver only because the device ID is different, since the functionality is not affected. Maybe Intel or Microsoft will issue a new driver in the future to correct this annoyance. Anyway, the functionality is not affected.

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When loading Windows 95 OSR2, the operating system finds an unknown PCI device. What is this device?

Answer: Windows 95 OSR2 is a "Plug and Play" operating system that tries to identify all hardware and devices in your system and on your motherboard. When Windows 95 does not recognize a device, it will give a message of "Unknown Device Found". The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is one of these devices. Note: All Motherboards using TX and BX chipsets require a patch to be loaded provid


Do I need to update my BIOS to always have the latest BIOS revision for my Motherboard?

Answer: Not really. New BIOS revisions, are created to correct or improve compatibility for certain devices or configurations. If your system is working without any prob


How do I perform a FLASH BIOS procedure?

Answer:Rename the upgrade file provided by Corvalent to AMIBOOT.ROM copy to a floppy, insert in the floppy drive, press CTRL + HOME while powering on the Motherboard.Wait until the Motherboard reboots it self or follow the POST codes and remove the floppy disk from the floppy drive. Note: Some BIOS changes can’t be FLASHED if the revision changes are major. A BIOS chip replacement may be necessary. Contact support@corvalent.com for your specific requirements.

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Why doesn't the PS/2 mouse port work?

Answer: During hookup make sure that you are installing your PS/2 mouse with your system powered off, otherwise you could permanently damage the Motherboard.

Does my Motherboard support UltraDMA (ATA/100)?

Answer: The list of Motherboards that support ATA/66 is as follows:

How to identify an Corvalent Motherboard?

Answer: All of our products have a PID label that includes Motherboard Part#, Serial# and Date Code.

Example: FI-P45MX-01/6 0701-33066

It is very important to have this information in hand while asking for technical support.

When I powered up my Motherboard no Display, no Beep, no Post codes Changes?

Answer: This condition implies that possibly the CPU is not able to run any instruction. Please check for a bad CPU, improper inserting of CPU at the socket, wrong jumper settings around the CPU type and voltage, or even the DC power cables from the power supply to the motherboard. For all the P4 motherboards, make sure to have the proper ATX12V power supply and to connect the additional 12Vpower supply connector

I have 128 MB of memory installed; yet MS-DOS only reports 64 MB. What's wrong?

Answer: 16-bit Operating Systems such as MS-DOS cannot access greater than 64 MB of memory. 32-bit Operating Systems will report the correct memory installed above the MS-DOS 64 MB memory barrier.

How can I ensure that I have the best setting in my BIOS?

Answer: The BIOS optimal default settings are constantly reviewed for performance and compatibility.

Can I mix different brands, speeds and types of memory on my motherboards?

Answer: Mixing memory may introduce timing and other electrical issues that can affect system performance and reliability. Check with your board’s manual for correct memory types.

I can only see the video/graphics card BIOS banner display and nothing else.

Answer: You may have swapped your PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse.

When I power up my Motherboard it display the message NO ROM BIOS, what is wrong with my motherboard?

Answer: When this message is displayed it means that your boot sequence is set for First Device HDD, and your HDD is not formatted, you can fix this problem by formatting your HDD or changing your boot sequence to a bootable device.

Where can I find the board’s serial number?

Answer: the serial number can be found on a 2 inch white label that contains the part number and serial number.

Can I use a PCIE x1 card in the PCIE x4 slot?

Answer: Yes you can. The x4 PCIE slot is backwards compatible with PCIE x1 cards

What BIOS is used on Corvalent motherboards?

Answer: Corvalent uses AMIBIOS. Newer boards will use CORE8, older boards may still use CORE6.31

Can I use ECC memory on the P4EAX and P4GAX boards?

Answer: No. These boards support only unbuffered non-ECC DDR memories. Using ECC DIMMs may damage the board due to higher power requirements.

What add-in AGP cards can be used on the P4EAX and P4GAX?

Answer: These boards support universal AGP cards that comply with the AGP 2.0 spec. You can use a1X, 2X and 4X 1.5V cards. 3.3V VGA cards are NOT supported.

Can UDMA devices be mixed with other devices on the same IDE channel?

Answer: Yes, the chipset is capable of supporting independent IDE device timings. Although, if the hard drives are mixed they may run at the slowest Ultra DMA protocol depending on whether you are using the native operating system IDE driver or Intel® Application Accelerator. Intel® Application Accelerator allows each device to run at its optimal timings. Check with your OS provider to see if their native IDE driver supports independent timings for IDE devices. It is recommended that the Ultra ATA/100 drives be attached to the primary IDE channel using a 40-pin 80-conductor IDE cable and that the other drives be attached to the secondary channel using a good quality, 40-pin 40-conductor IDE cable.

Note: Some Ultra DMA cables use a hole in the ribbon cable as a cable detect mechanism to determine if an Ultra DMA IDE or standard IDE cable is installed

What type of battery is used on Corvalent’s motherboards?

Answer: Our boards use a standard CR2032 3 volt coin cell battery to supply power to the Real Time Clock (RTC) and CMOS settings when power is not available from the power supply.

What is AC’97 and what does it do?

Answer: The AC’97 (Audio Codec 1997) specification defines a high-quality audio architecture that advances the migration to digital audio, while maintaining support for analog interconnects for backward compatibility.