For technical support, contact your place of purchase -- which will have the most current information about your specific product or configuration. For general product information see the Intel® Desktop Board site.

Technical FAQ

Marketing FAQ

Technical Questions

• What processor does the Intel® Desktop Board D850EMD2 support?
• How do I install and secure a processor on the D850EMD2 desktop board?
• How many expansion slots does the D850EMD2 desktop board contain?
• Does the D850EMD2 desktop board support STR (Suspend to RAM)?

• What memory configurations are supported on the D850EMD2 desktop board?
• Are there any special memory requirements for 533 MHz system bus processors?
• What kind of problems might occur in an RDRAM-based system that uses non-compliant RIMMs?
• I get a repeating-beep error code and my desktop board does not boot or show any video. What does this mean?

• What kind of power supply do I need for the D850EMD2 desktop board?
• Do I need a special power supply to support Instantly Available PC (Suspend-to-RAM)? How much +5V standby current does the power supply need to support it?

• How should the jumpers be set on my D850EMD2 desktop board?
• Why can't I find speed settings in my BIOS configuration mode?

• What add-in AGP cards can be used?
• Can I use the integrated AGP card retention mechanism with any AGP card?
• How do I designate an add-in PCI video adapter as my primary video adapter?

• What audio solution is available on the D850EMD2 desktop board?
• How can the on-board audio be disabled?
• If audio is disabled, does the D850EMD2 desktop board consume fewer interrupts?
• Does this audio solution have a hardware wave table? Wavetable add-on? Software wavetable driver available in standard-driver package?

• Does the D850EMD2 desktop board support Ultra ATA/66, as well as, ATA/100 hard drives?
• What is Intel® Application Accelerator?
• Should I use Intel® Storage Drivers or Intel Application Accelerator?
• Should I upgrade from ISD to IAA?
• What is the performance difference (IAA and ISD)?
• Will IAA improve my SCSI performance?
• Is IAA compatible with Intel® Active Monitor (IAM)?
• What type of battery is used in the D850EMD2 desktop board?
• How do I disable the onboard LAN?
• Why doesn't my D850EMD2 desktop board power-up?
• Why are the drivers on Intel's public Web site revisions of those available on some vendor public Web sites?
• Does the D850EMD2 desktop board support two serial ports?
• Why isn't my IDE device displayed during power-up POST?
• Can I use a second floppy disk drive on my D850EMD2 desktop board?

Marketing Questions

• What new features are incorporated into the D850EMD2 desktop board?
• What is Intel® Active Monitor and how does it work?

• Does Intel qualify memory for use on Intel desktop boards?

• What is Instantly Available PC?
• What is a wake device?

• What is AC97 and what does it do?

• What is the Communications and Networking Riser (CNR)?

Technical FAQ

General Questions:

• What processor does the Intel® Desktop Board D850EMD2 support?
  The Intel® Desktop Board D850EMD2 supports the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor in the mPGA478-Pin package. The Desktop Board D850EMD2 supports the Intel Pentium 4 processor with a front side system bus (FSB) of either 400 or 533 MHz. See the Processor Support Table for details.

• How do I install and secure a processor on the D850EMD2 desktop board?
  The processor connects to the D850EMD2 desktop board through the mPGA478 pin socket connector. Make sure you use an adequate heat sink solution such as that provided with the Branded Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor.

• How many expansion slots does the D850EMD2 desktop board contain?
  The D850EMD2 has one AGP connector and three dedicated PCI connectors. One optional Communication and Networking Riser (CNR) connector. All PCI expansion slots support bus-mastering devices.

• Does the D850EMD2 desktop board support STR (Suspend to RAM)?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board supports STR when used with STR capable: Operating system, add-in card(s), driver(s), and application(s). Operating systems, add-in cards, drivers, and applications that do not support STR can cause problems when coming out of different sleep states.

• What memory configurations are supported on the D850EMD2 desktop board?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board has two Dual RDRAM* channels supporting up to two RIMMs* per channel (four total RIMM sockets). The D850EMD2 desktop board can support memory configurations from 128 MB (minimum) to 2.0 GB (maximum) utilizing 128 Mbit or 256 Mbit technology PC600 and PC800 compliant RDRAM RIMMs.

• Are there any special memory requirements for 533 MHz system bus processors?
  PC800 RDRAM* memory is offered with two different specifications, PC800-40 and PC800-45, both of which run at the same frequency and have identical bandwidth, but have a subtle difference in internal timing. The Intel® 850E chipset supports the PC800-40 memory when running at 533 MHz system bus. The Intel 850E chipset supports both the PC800-40 and the PC800-45 memory while running at 400 MHz system bus.  The tested memory list for Intel Desktop Boards D850EMD2 and D850EMD2 is also available on the support Web site.

• What kind of problems might occur in an RDRAM-based system that uses non-compliant RIMMs?
  The most extreme example of memory failure is when the system hangs while booting the operating system. This can happen when the system is unable to communicate properly with the memory. In less extreme cases, the memory may generate intermittent errors or fail during stress.

• I get a repeating-beep error code and my desktop board does not boot or show any video. What does this mean?
  This beep code may indicate a problem during detection of the RDRAM memory device. Check to ensure that system memory / continuity RIMMs are properly installed and that the RIMMs are on the D850EMD2 desktop board tested-memory list.

• What kind of power supply do I need for the D850EMD2 desktop board?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board requires a power supply that complies with the ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 1.1*.
  The ATX12V power supply required for the D850EMD2 desktop board has the standard 20-pin ATX Main Power Connector, and a 4-pin +12V auxiliary power connector. An optional 6-pin auxiliary power connector is required only when AGP Pro50 is used.
  The new 4-pin +12V power connector has been added to enable the delivery of more +12VDC current to the desktop board. This connector is used by the board to power the processor's voltage regulator module (VRM).
  CAUTION: Failure to use an ATX12V power supply, or not connecting additional power supply leads to the D850EMD2 board may result in damage to the desktop board and/or power supply.

• Do I need a special power supply to support Instantly Available PC (Suspend-to-RAM)? How much +5V standby current does the power supply need to support it?
  A special power supply is not needed to support "Instantly Available PC". However, the power supply must provide enough standby current to support the needs of all wake-capable devices in the system. The more wake-capable devices in the system, the greater the standby current required from the power supply. Intel recommends starting with a power supply capable of providing a minimum of 1.5 Amps (2.0 Amps recommended) of +5V standby current. To be sure, total the amount of standby current required by the various components that can wake the system from the STR state. In your calculations, include the components on the D850EMD2 desktop board and on the add-in cards. Make sure the power supply provides at least that amount of standby current. Refer to the Technical Product Specification for information on how much +5V standby current the on-board components of the D850EMD2 desktop board require.

• How should the jumpers be set on my D850EMD2 desktop board?
  A single configuration jumper (J9H2) on the desktop board is used to access configuration mode. All configuration options are made available through the BIOS configuration screens. Refer to the D850EMD2 desktop board Configuration Jumpers page in the D850EMD2 Technical Product Specification (TPS).

• Why can't I find speed settings in my BIOS configuration mode?
  The processor speed option previously available in configuration mode is not displayed with Intel® Pentium® 4 Processors and will not affect the processor speed. Intel Pentium 4 processors boot with the ratio preset and are tested during manufacturing.

• What add-in AGP cards can be used?
  The D850EMD2 AGP socket can be used with AGP cards that comply with the AGP 2.0 specification. The D850EMD2 can only accept 4X card(s) operating at 1.5V.
  

  Note Legacy 3.3V AGP cards are not supported.

• Can I use the integrated AGP card retention mechanism with any AGP card?
  The integrated AGP retention mechanism is made for use with AGP cards that meet the AGP 2.0 specification. These cards have a special slot at the back of the card that interlocks with a small plastic stud on the retention mechanism. Cards that do not meet the AGP 2.0 specification should not be used, because the small plastic stud may interfere with correct installation and retention of the card.

• How do I designate an add-in PCI video adapter as my primary video adapter?
  The primary video adapter can be changed from the onboard AGP to an add-in PCI adapter through the desktop board BIOS Setup utility. The setting is located in the Advanced screen under Video Configuration.

• What audio solution is available on the D850EMD2 desktop board?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board offers integrated soft audio that uses a portion of the Intel® 82801BA I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2) with an Analog Devices* AD1885 analog codec to create the basic audio subsystem. This option is not available on all boards.

• How can the on-board audio be disabled?
  The on-board audio can be disabled using the BIOS Setup Utility. Select the advanced menu, then the Peripheral Configuration screen. The menu offers options to enable or disable the audio if it is present on the desktop board. Refer to the D850EMD2 Technical Product Specification (TPS) for more details.

• If audio is disabled, does the D850EMD2 desktop board consume fewer interrupts?
  Enabling or disabling the audio does not affect resource availability as the enabled resources use fully shareable PCI interrupts.

• Does this audio solution have a hardware wave table? Wavetable add-on? Software wavetable driver available in standard-driver package?
  No, the Analog Devices AD1885 audio solution does not have a hardware wavetable and wavetable add-on.
  The software wavetable is provided by the Operating System (OS) and not from the Intel 82801BA I/O Controller Hub (ICH2) and Analog Devices AD1885 analog codec.

• Does the D850EMD2 desktop board support Ultra ATA/66, as well as, ATA/100 hard drives?
  Yes. One of the new features of the D850EMD2 desktop board is its ability to support all Ultra ATA transfer rates (i.e., 33 MB/sec, 66 MB/sec and 100 MB/sec). To realize a true throughput performance difference, a hard drive may need to implement higher spindle speeds, such as 7200 RPM, and a large onboard buffer size to take advantage of the increased bandwidth available on the IDE channel. Refer to the D850EMD2 Technical Product Specification (TPS) for more details.

• What is Intel® Application Accelerator?
  Intel® Application Accelerator (IAA) is designed to take advantage of devices supporting ATA DMA/Ultra DMA technologies, improve system performance, and includes:
  • Faster Boot Time via Accelerated Operating System Load Time
  • Accelerated Disk I/O for Games, Graphics Applications, Disk Utilities, and Media Authoring Applications
  • Performance-enhancing data caching for Intel® Pentium® 4 processor-based systems
  • Support for 137GB and larger hard drives

• Should I use Intel® Storage Drivers or Intel Application Accelerator?
  Use either the Intel® Ultra ATA Storage Driver (ISD) or the Intel Application Accelerator (IAA) to automatically enable fast Ultra ATA transfers for a variety of ATA/ATAPI mass storage devices. IAA offers a performance advantage for those using Intel Pentium 4 processor-based systems while also offering support for next generation storage technology.

• Should I upgrade from ISD to IAA?
  IAA offers a performance-enhancing data caching for Intel Pentium 4 processor-based systems and support for next generation storage technology. Use either the Intel Ultra ATA Storage Driver or the Intel Application Accelerator (IAA) to automatically enable fast Ultra ATA transfers for a variety of ATA/ATAPI mass storage devices.

• What is the performance difference (IAA and ISD)?
  IAA offers performance-enhancing data caching for Intel Pentium 4 processor-based systems. Users of IAA on Intel Pentium 4 processor-based systems may see I/O performance improvements over the Intel Storage Driver.

• Will IAA improve my SCSI performance?
  IAA enables fast Ultra ATA transfers for a variety of ATA/ATAPI mass storage devices. SCSI, USB, and other non-ATA devices will see no benefit from IAA.

• Is IAA compatible with Intel® Active Monitor (IAM)?
  Yes. Intel Active Monitor revision 1.14 or greater is required.

• What type of battery is used in the D850EMD2 desktop board?
  A 3 volt, (CR2032) coin cell is used to supply power to the Real Time Clock (RTC) when power is not available from the power supply.

• How do I disable the onboard LAN?
  Onboard LAN can be disabled through the desktop board BIOS Setup utility. The setting is located in the Advanced screen under Peripheral Configuration. Refer to the D850EMD2 TPS (Technical Product Specification) for more details.

• Why doesn't my D850EMD2 desktop board power-up?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board has specific requirements for the power sequencing and limits. A momentary switch should be used for the power on/off switch and the sleep/resume switch. The power supply chosen must have the additional 4 pin +12 volt connector and meet the ATX12V or later specification.

• Why are the drivers on Intel's public Web site revisions of those available on some vendor public Web sites?
  Intel performs internal testing on all drivers before posting them on the Intel developer desktop board Web site. In many cases, it is not practical to test all drivers on all desktop boards. For this reason, application vendors may release drivers that have not been tested by Intel. These drivers may be available on the vendor public site, but not on the Intel public site. This does not mean the drivers do not work; it simply indicates that Intel has not validated the drivers.

• Does the D850EMD2 desktop board support two serial ports?
  Yes, the D850EMD2 has two, back panel serial connectors.

• Why isn't my IDE device displayed during power-up POST?
  All IDE devices must be ATA4 compliant. Cable length is limited to 18 inches. IDE devices not selected as auto-detect in the BIOS setup are not displayed as part of the POST tests.

• Can I use a second floppy disk drive on my D850EMD2 desktop board?
  No. The D850EMD2 desktop board uses a SMSC SIO component to support the floppy-disk controller. This component and equivalent components can support a single standard-legacy type FDD, a 2.88 MB Super I/O type FDD, or a three-mode type FDD.

Marketing FAQ

General Questions:

• What new features are incorporated into the D850EMD2 desktop board?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board allows use of an AGP 4X adapter card (that must comply with the AGP 2.0 specification) operating at 1.5V. The D850EMD2 supports Ultra ATA-66 and ATA-100 modes. The D850EMD2 has an additional USB controller that provides up to 6 USB channels. Four USB ports are implemented with two stacked back panel connectors; the remaining two USB ports are accessible via the front panel USB connector at location J8J2.
  Some versions of the D850EMD2 desktop board offer an integrated LAN Media Access Controller, which requires a Platform LAN Connect (PLC) device, either on the board or on a Communication and Network Riser (CNR) add-in card. Some versions of the D850EMD2 desktop board support an optional integrated 10/100 PCI LAN adapter.

• What is Intel® Active Monitor and how does it work?
  Some versions of the D850EMD2 desktop board come bundled with a software CD. On that CD there is an Intel utility called Active Monitor. Intel® Active Monitor is a system monitoring tool that alerts you when any monitored sensors on your Intel motherboard have gone outside of their recommended range. If an alert occurs, Intel Active Monitor can provide you with several different alert notifications. The standard notification is the Intel Active Monitor icon in the system tray, which turns red and flashes in the event of an alert. Additionally, you can choose to receive audio alerts and pop-up window alert messages.
  Intel Active Monitor also:
  • Provides easy channel bar navigation in place of menus
  • Retains a history of the previous alerts on your system
  • Provides important information about your system's software and hardware, which you can print or save
  
  Active Monitor reports the D850EMD2 desktop board tach fans along with its temperature zones on the motherboard as outlined:
  • Processor Zone is monitoring the Pentium 4 processor
  • System Temperature is being monitored by an on board component.
  • CPU Fan at location (J6L1) is monitoring the tach signal and is displayed as Fan 1.
    

    Note It is possible to connect the CPU Fan cable to the Fan 1 connector, which is not monitored. For proper CPU Fan protection always connect the CPU Fan into the CPU Fan connector.

  • Fan 1, if installed, (J2H1) is not monitoring the tach signal and is not displayed.
  • Fan 2, if installed, (J9J1) is monitoring the tach signal and is displayed as Fan 2.
  • Fan 3, if installed, (J11A1) is not monitoring the tach signal.
  
  

  Note When removing or adding additional hardware, the Intel Active Monitor should be uninstalled and then reinstalled to redetect any item removed or added.

• Does Intel qualify memory for use on Intel desktop boards?
  No. OEMs and system integrators are solely responsible for qualifying the memory they include in their systems. Intel performs only limited testing of selected memory modules to verify functionality of the desktop board's design. Intel offers a program in which an independent test lab tests system memory and reports passing results to Intel for inclusion on our Internet-based tested-memory list.

• What is Instantly Available PC?
  Instantly Available PC, also known as Suspend-to-RAM (STR), is a technology closely associated with the S3 state of the ACPI specification. STR allows a properly configured system to go into a low-power mode, saving open applications, active files and information about the system's configuration to main memory. In this low-power state, memory remains powered to retain the system information, while most other components turn off to conserve energy. Fans are turned off to provide silent operation so the system appears "off." The PC can be left in STR state and awakened periodically to perform such preprogrammed events as downloading e-mail or searching and filtering Web content. An incoming phone call can also wake the PC and trigger a desired response, similar to a telephone answering machine. When an incoming request arrives via a "wake device" or the user wishes to resume operation, the PC comes alive within a few seconds by reconfiguring itself based on the information previously saved to memory. No boot is required.

• What is a wake device?
  A wake device is a mechanism that awakens the system from the STR state. Typically, this mechanism is a network card or a fax/modem that is compliant with the PCI 2.2 specification. When the system goes into the STR state, these wake devices receive standby current from the power supply. Although these devices are in a low-power state they have sufficient current to remain awake to recognize incoming activity, such as a network request or a phone call.

• What is AC97 and what does it do?
  The AC97 (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.

• What is the Communications and Networking Riser (CNR)?
  The D850EMD2 desktop board supports the CNR connector. The CNR connector is designed to support audio, modem, USB* and LAN interfaces of the 850 chipset. The interfaces supported include AC '97, LAN and SMBus. Some versions of the D850EMD2 desktop board do not ship with a CNR connector.

This applies to:

Intel® Desktop Board D850EMD2