General Technical FAQ:

Q. Where can I find my motherboard BIOS version?

Answer: Your motherboard BIOS date code (version) can be found on the bottom-left corner of the POST (Power On System Test) screen. Please refer to pictures below for its exact location.

Q. How to clear CMOS setting? Or How to remove Power On Password?

Answer: Please point the JP2 in the motherboard and change the jumper setting as indicated below:

Q. What can I do if my system is infected by the CIH computer virus?

Answer: If your system is infected by the CIH computer virus where the system BIOS may have been corrupted, you must:
1. Perform the Clear CMOS (BIOS) operation.
2. Please contact to Mercantile to obtain a new BIOS EEPROM chip to restore your system.

Q. Do I really need to update the motherboard BIOS?

Answer: Please be advised that updating the motherboard BIOS is a serious business therefore one should only update only if it is really necessary. For example, adding new hardware that requires new BIOS for the motherboard to be able to support.

Q. How to update my Motherboard BIOS?

Answer:

1. Download the appropriate BIOS update from www.mercantilepc.com (if available from Mercantile)
   
2. Extract the BIOS binary file and the flash utility program from the zipped file using applications such as WinZip.
   
3. There should be THREE files being extracted from the zipped file. They are: *.EXE , *.BIN and *.TXT file.
   
4. Copy the *.BIN and *.EXE file on to a floppy disk and reboot your system from the floppy drive.
   
5. Type in the following command under DOS prompt (NOT under windows!):
   A:\>[executable] [filename].bin /Sn /Py
   OR
   A:\>[executable] /? for detailed instructions and run exe file as per instruction.
   
6. Reset your computer AFTER the completion of BIOS flash process.
   
7. To check whether your BIOS has been updated successfully please refer to the BIOS date code shown on the bottom left hand corner of the boot up screen.
   
8. Please LOAD OPTIMAL SETTINGS or LOAD BIOS SETUP DEFAULT in the BIOS setup menu during the first system boot up after the flashing the BIOS.

WARNING: Please be very cautious during the BIOS flash process, your system may fail to boot if the BIOS was not programmed correctly.

Please contact Mercantile helpdesk incase you need further details.

Q. After I flashed the motherboard BIOS my system failed to boot!

Answer: You probably have flashed the wrong BIOS or there must be something wrong during the your BIOS flash process. The only possible solution towards this problem is to replace your FLASH EPROM chip. Please contact to Mercantile to obtain the new FLASH EPROM chip.

Q. I got "Insufficient Memory " error message when I attempted to flash the BIOS!

Answer: If you are using the boot disk created by Windows 95/98, please press shift+F5 in the boot up menu option to bypass the loading of all the drivers and unnecessary programs for BIOS flash process.

Q. Are all the changes made in the previous BIOS/Driver versions also included in the latest updates?

Answer: Yes. ALL changes made in the previous BIOS/Driver version are also included in the most updated versions.

Q. What does the POST beep pattern tells me about my system?

Answer: There are two kinds of beep codes in the BIOS. One code indicates that a video error has occurred and the BIOS cannot initialize the video screen to display any additional information. This beep code consists of a single long beep followed by three short beeps. The other code indicates that a DRAM error has occurred. This beep code consists of a single long beep.

MEMORY

Q. Does my motherboard support two pieces of 256MB DIMMs?

Answer: Our system board can support 512MB and there may be 256MB two DIMMs.

Q. Though I installed 128 MB DDR memory in my computer, device manager shows only 96MB. Why?

Answer: Mercantile Personal Computer is designed to use 32 MB memory as a memory of onboard VGA card. This means out of 128 MB, 32 MB is shared for display, due to which device manager shows only 96 MB RAM.

VGA

Q. I am experiencing frequent system errors and lock-ups after installing AGP (2x or 4x) card!

Answer: Our recommendation is to update the video driver to the latest version available from card manufacturer's website. However if your card manufacturer does not have a website, or the driver cannot be found for some reasons, we advise you to download the latest generic driver from your graphic chipset manufacturer which may solve such problem.

Q. After I installed my AGP card driver, my system frequently hangs up. Why?

Answer: There are some display cards with VxD drivers in older versions that will replace the VxD installed from driver attached with motherboards. Therefore after installing your AGP card driver, please re-install the VxD driver attached with the motherboard to replace the old VxD driver before rebooting your system.

Q. Does my motherboard support AGP 4X mode?

Answer: For Pentium grade board, all the chipset supports up to 2X AGP only. If you want to use 4X AGP card on our existing Pentium boards, please make sure that the AGP card can also detect and support 3.3V since the voltage for 2X AGP is 3.3V. While the voltage for 4X AGP is 1.5V. Supposed 4X AGP card should be able to detect both 1.5V and 3.3V. But we can not assure whether all the manufacturer will build the AGP cards supporting dual voltage.

Board having Intel 820 chipset supports both 2X and 4X AGPs. Before that, our system boards do not support 4X AGP. Mercantile PC supports both 3.3 and 1.5 volts signaling.

Q. Why my AGP 4X display card doesn't run properly on my AGP 4X mode supported motherboard?

Answer: Please make sure you have download the latest AGP card driver your AGP card manufacturer The latest version of driver downloaded from AGP supplier's website may be able to solve some of the existing bugs.

Q. I changed my display setting and restarted the computer. But while restarting, it displays error message "HV Frequency High Range". What should I do in this case?

Answer: While choosing the color type 16 bits or 32 bits, please do not forget to keep the display area into 1024X768 pixels, this will solve your problem.

PCI

Q. What does it mean by IRQ sharing?

Answer: IRQ sharing means that more than one device using a same IRQ. On this motherboard, AGP and PCI 1 slot share a same IRQ, while PCI 4 and USB port will also share the same IRQ. IRQ sharing ability depends on the device¡¦s hardware and driver design, thus sharing a same IRQ may sometimes cause device conflict if that particular device does not support IRQ sharing. Due to this potential problem, we strongly advice our users to avoid occupying the above-mentioned slots/port at same time to prevent possible device conflict.

DRIVER

Q. Where can I obtain drivers for operating systems other then Microsoft Windows?

Answer: All our drivers are provided by chipset manufacturers, where some of them may only be in Windows version. If you wish to obtain the drivers for different operating system platform, please contact to Helpdesk, Mercantile Solutions.