Execute Invalid Bit: Keep enabled to enhance the ability to prevent buffer overflow attacks.
2. IDE/SATA configuration (Advanced → IDE Configuration)
ATA/IDE Configuration: It is recommended to set it to "Enhanced" to fully utilize SATA performance. If compatibility with old systems is required, select "Compatible" and specify Legacy IDE Channels.
Configure SATA as: To use AHCI mode (supporting hot swapping and NCQ), it must be set to AHCI and the corresponding driver must be loaded when installing the operating system. The default IDE mode does not require additional drivers.
S. M.A.R.T.: It is recommended to enable for monitoring the health status of the hard drive.
3. Advanced → SuperIO Configuration
Serial Port1/2 Address/IRQ: By default, COM1 occupies 3F8/IRQ4, and COM2 occupies 2F8/IRQ3. If changes are needed, please ensure consistency with the allocation of operating system resources.
Restore on AC Power Loss by IO: can be set to "Power On", "Power Off", or "Last State". For unmanned devices, "Power On" is usually selected.
4. Hardware Health Monitoring (Advanced → Hardware Health Configuration)
H/W Health Function: Must be enabled to read temperature, voltage, and fan speed.
FAN 1/2 Mode Setting: Provides "Full On mode", "Automatic mode" (temperature control and speed regulation), and "PWM Manual mode" (manual PWM duty cycle). Suggest using Automatic mode to balance heat dissipation and noise.
LCD Brightness Control: It can directly input a value of 0-100 to adjust the backlight brightness and adapt to different environmental lighting conditions.
5. ACPI Configuration (Advanced → ACPI Configuration)
Suspend mode: S1 (POS, pause to RAM but CPU stops) or S3 (STR, suspend to RAM) can be selected. S3 has lower power consumption and faster recovery, but requires support from the operating system.
USB Device Wakeup From S3/S4: To wake up the system via USB keyboard/mouse, it must be set to Enabled.
High Performance Event Timer (HPET): It is recommended to enable it to improve the system clock accuracy.
6. USB Configuration (Advanced → USB Configuration)
Legacy USB Support: Must be enabled to use USB keyboard/mouse in DOS or BIOS interface.
USB 2.0 Controller Mode: Set to HiSpeed (480Mbps) for optimal transfer speed.
BIOS EHCI/XHCI Hand Off: When the operating system does not directly manage the USB controller, these options need to be enabled to allow the BIOS to take over the USB device during the boot phase.
7. PCI/PnP configuration
Plug&Play O/S: Set to "Yes" for the operating system to manage PnP resources, set to "No" for BIOS allocation. Windows 7/10 recommends setting it to Yes.
IRQ Resources: If using an ISA expansion card, the corresponding IRQ/DMA should be set to "Reserved" to avoid conflicts.
8. Guidance and Safety
Quick Boot: Enabled can skip some POST tests and speed up startup.
Quiet Boot: Enabled displays the brand logo, Disabled displays self-test information, and it is recommended to disable it during debugging.
Boot Device Priority: Adjustable order for hard drives, USB drives, optical drives, etc.
Security: Supports two levels of passwords, Supervisor and User. If you forget the password, you need to clear the NVRAM (which can be done through motherboard jumper or CLR_CMOS).
9. Chipset configuration
North Bridge: DRAM frequency (Auto or fixed) and preferred display device (Initiate Graphic Adapter) can be set. If only LVDS screen is used, "IGD" or "PCIe" are usually selected according to the actual connection.
South Bridge: Can control the number of USB Functions, HDA audio controller, SMBus controller, and PCIE port enablement. Please note that the option with the same name as "Restore on AC Power Loss" in SuperIO may exist simultaneously, and ensure that both settings are consistent.
Operating System and Driver Installation
The manual provides complete driver paths for Windows XP and Windows 7 32-bit/64 bit:
Driver type XP path Win7 32/64 path
Chipset X: SP15W03 Chipset setup.exe Same as Left
Touch Screen X: P15W03 Touch etup.exe Same as Left
Audio X: SP15W03 WINXP Audio etup.exe X: SP15W03 WIN7 Audio etup.exe
Graphics card (NVIDIA) X: SP15W03 WINXP NVIDIA etup.exe X: SP15W03 WIN7_32 NVIDIA etup.exe (64 bit corresponds to WIN7_64)
Network card X: SP15W03 WINXP LAN etup.exe X: SP15W03 WIN7_32 LAN etup.exe (64 bit corresponds to WIN7_64)
Suggested installation sequence: chipset → graphics card → audio → network card → touch screen. If using AHCI mode, the AHCI driver needs to be loaded through F6 during the installation of the operating system, or an integrated driver installation image needs to be used.
Key points of system chassis and heat dissipation design
Chapter 3 of the manual systematically lists the environmental factors that need to be evaluated for chassis design: indoor/outdoor, temperature, impact vibration, air pressure, corrosion, waterproof and dustproof, ultraviolet radiation, anti damage, hazardous areas, underwater and sterile requirements. For thermal design, it is necessary to clarify the power consumption of CPU/chipset/GPU and choose active fan cooling or passive fin cooling. SP-15W03 provides a 4-pin fan interface (+5V, NC, GND, SPD_deT), supporting speed detection. If PWM speed regulation is used, it needs to be set to PWM Manual mode in BIOS and configured with duty cycle.