ADLINK cPCI-6965 SBC Embedded Installation and BIOS Tuning Guide

5.2 PXE Network Startup - No Disk Maintenance Tool

Both GbE ports of cPCI-6965 support Intel Preboot Execution Environment (PXE). To enable PXE, the following requirements must be met:

Enable Onboard LAN BIOS Init in BIOS (located in Chipset Setup).

Deploy DHCP servers (with PCIe tags) and TFTP/MTFTP services in the network.

Select LAN as the boot device in Boot Device Priority.

This is very valuable for remote batch deployment of operating systems or diskless workstations.

5.3 Serial port redirection (Remote Access)

For embedded systems without displays, remote management can be achieved through serial ports (COM1/COM2):

Set Remote Access to Enabled.

Select COM1 or COM2 for Serial Port Number.

Baud Rate suggests 115200 (8, n, 1).

Setting the redirection after BIOS POST to Always can capture POST information throughout the process.

5.4 Hardware Health Monitoring

Real time monitoring of CPU temperature, system temperature, core voltage (1.05V, 3.3V, 5V, battery voltage, etc.) facilitates evaluation of heat dissipation and power stability.

5.5 Serial port mode switching (physical switch)

COM1 and COM2 support RS-232/422/485/485+mode switching, set through onboard DIP switches (SW1-SW8), and default to RS-232 full modulation and demodulation mode at the factory. It must be switched during power outage, otherwise it may damage the serial port chip.

Rear Transition Module (RTM) Selection Guide

The J3/J5 backplane connectors of cPCI-6965 can lead out a large amount of I/O to the Rear Routing Module (RTM), which is suitable for wiring at the rear of the cabinet. Comparison of main RTM models:

Interface board mounted function after model width

CPCI-R6000-965 4HP 2 × USB, VGA (DVI to), external 68 pin SCSI SATA, Floppy, internal SCSI, LSI53C1020 Ultra320 SCSI controller (supports RAID 1)

CPCI-R6000-L 4HP 2 × USB, VGA SATA, Floppy (without SCSI)

CPCI-R6000-965D 8HP 4 × USB, VGA, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, Mic-in，Line-out， External SCSI SATA, Floppy, Internal SCSI, RAID 1

CPCI-R6000D-L 8HP 4xUSB, VGA, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, audio SATA, Floppy (without SCSI)

Selection suggestion: If you need to connect high-speed SCSI peripherals (such as disk arrays, tape drives), you must choose the version with SCSI (965/965D). If only universal I/O expansion is needed, the L series is more economical.

Driver installation and software ecosystem

The manual provides the Windows XP driver installation process:

Chipset driver: ..Chipsetfinfinst_autol[9.0.0.1008].exe

Graphics card driver: .. Graphics win2k_xp1434.exe (supports GMA X3100)

Network card driver: ..LANPRO2KXP[13.0].exe

SCSI driver (RTM with SCSI): Manually specify the path through Device Manager ..SCSIxp_x86。

Attention: Be sure to use the ADLINK All in One CD or the dedicated driver downloaded from the official website. The generic public version driver may cause abnormal DVI dual display or PMC recognition failure.

For Linux users, the manual states that Fedora 7/10 requires the use of Intel IEGD driver (non open source) to support dual independent display, and they need to contact ADLINK for BSP support.

Power consumption and heat dissipation engineering considerations

The manual provides measured power consumption data (single 5V power supply, including 2 × 2GB memory and 60GB SATA hard drive):

Core 2 Duo T7500: Approximately 17.45 million when Windows XP is idle（ 3.49A@5V ）At 100% full load, the CPU surged to 47.08W (9.416A).

Celeron 550: idle about 21.39W, full load about 32.67W.

Key points of heat dissipation design:

At least 16CFM of forced air cooling must be provided inside the chassis, otherwise the CPU may experience frequency reduction or thermal protection.

If using a mechanical hard drive, the vibration tolerance is limited (the manual recommends switching to a CF card or USB Flash in high vibration environments).

The working temperature range is 0 ℃~55 ℃ (with forced air cooling), and the storage temperature is -40 ℃~85 ℃.

Suggestion for power margin: The CompactPCI specification allows for a+5%/-3% voltage tolerance, but in engineering, it is recommended that the power capacity be at least twice the measured power consumption of the system to cope with transient peaks.

Common troubleshooting and engineering experience (FAQ style)

Q1: Is there no display when the system is powered on?

Check if the DVI to VGA adapter is secure; Confirm whether the CPU and memory are installed properly; Attempt to clear CMOS (press SW9 switch, located near J1).

Q2: Unable to recognize PMC module?

Check if the JPX1 jumper (3.3V/5V) matches the module voltage; Confirm that the foolproof key position on DB-6965PMC is correct; Attempt to reserve IRQ for PMC in BIOS PCI/PnP settings (set to Reserved).

Q3: Does Watchdog restart repeatedly after timeout reset?

Perhaps the application did not initialize WDT correctly or the feeding interval was too long. It is recommended to check the hardware health status in BIOS, confirm that the temperature is normal, and eliminate the restart caused by hardware failure.

Q4: Is there no signal from VGA after RTM?

Confirm that the RTM model matches the motherboard (with J3/J5 connectors); Check if the DVI to VGA adapter is plugged into the DVI interface of RTM; Try to check if DVI is working properly in front of the motherboard to isolate RTM faults.