Hsin Tech P27G User Manual

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Motherboard User’s Guide

This publication, including photographs, illustrations and software, is under the protection of international copyright laws, with all rights reserved. Neither this user’s guide, nor any of the material contained herein, may be reproduced without the express written consent of the manufacturer. The information in this document is subject to change without notice. The manufacturer makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, the manufacturer reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to time in the content hereof without obligation of the manufacturer to notify any person of such revision or changes.

Trademarks

IBM, VGA, and PS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines. Intel, Pentium/II/III, Pentium 4, Celeron D, Pentium D and MMX are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft, MS-DOS and Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. AMI is a trademark of American Megatrends Inc. It has been acknowledged that other brands or product names in this manual are trademarks or the properties of their respective owners.

Static Electricity Precautions

1. Don’t take this motherboard and components out of their original staticproof package until you are ready to install them.

2. While installing, please wear a grounded wrist strap if possible. If you don’t have a wrist strap, discharge static electricity by touching the bare metal of the system chassis.

3. Carefully hold this motherboard by its edges. Do not touch those components unless it is absolutely necessary. Put this motherboard on the top of static-protection package with component side facing up while installing.

Pre-Installation Inspection

1. Inspect this motherboard whether there are any damages to components and connectors on the board.

2. If you suspect this motherboard has been damaged, do not connect power to the system. Contact your motherboard vendor about those damages.

P27G Series, V1.0

December 2005

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Motherboard User’s Guide

Table of Contents

Trademark ............................................................................................................i

Static Electricity Precautions ......................................................................................... i

Pre-Installation Inspection ............................................................................................. i

Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1

Key Features .................................................................................................................... 1

Package Contents ........................................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation .............................................................. 5

Motherboard Components ............................................................................................ 6

I/O Ports .......................................................................................................................... 7

Installing the Processor ................................................................................................. 7

Installing Memory Modules .......................................................................................... 9

Jumper Settings ............................................................................................................ 11

Install the Motherboard ............................................................................................... 12

Connecting Optional Devices .....................................................................................1 3

Install Other Devices .................................................................................................... 15

Expansion Slots ............................................................................................................ 1 7

Chapter 3: BIOS Setup Utility ....................................................................... 19

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 9

Running the Setup Utility ................................................... …………………………...19

Standard CMOS Setup Page ....................................................................................... 2 0

Advanced Setup Page .................................................................................................. 21

Features Setup Page .................................................................................................... 23

Power Management Setup .......................................................................................... 2 4

PCI/Plug and Play Setup Page .................................................................................. 25

BIOS Security Features Setup Page ........................................................................... 2 6

CPU PnP Setup Page .................................................................................................. 27

Hardware Monitor Page .............................................................................................. 28

Load Optimal Defaults ................................................................................................2 8

Save Changes and Exit ................................................................................................ 2 9

Discard Changes and Exit ........................................................................................... 29

Chapter 4: Software & Applications .............................................................. 31

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 1

Installing Support Software ........................................................................................3 1

Bundled Software Installation ....................................................................................3 3

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Motherboard User’s Guide

Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 RAID Setup Guide .................................................. 35

VIA RAID Configuration .............................................................................................3 5

Installing RAID Software & Drivers ........................................................................... 4 3

Using VIA RAID Tool ................................................................................................... 45

Notice:

Owing to Microsoft’s certifying schedule is various to every supplier, we might have some drivers not certified yet by Microsoft. Therefore, it might happen under Windows XP that a dialogue box (shown as below) pop out warning you this software has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP. Please rest assured that our RD department has already tested and verified these drivers. Just click the “Continue Anyway” button and go ahead the installation.

iii

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1 Introduction

This motherboard has an LGA775 socket for the latest Intel Pentium 4/Celeron D/ Pentium D processors with Hyper-Threading Technology and Front-Side Bus (FSB) speeds up to 1066/800/533 MHz. Hyper-Threading Technology, designed to take advantage of the multitasking features in Windows XP, gives you the power to do more things at once.

It integrates the VIA P4M800Pro Northbridge and VT8237 Southbridge that supports the Serial ATA interface for high-performance and mainstream desktop PCs; the built-in USB 2.0 providing higher bandwidth, implementing Universal Serial Bus Specification Revision 2.0 and is compliant with UHCI 1.1 and EHCI

1.0. It supports AC’ 97 Audio Codec and provides Ultra DMA 133/100/66 function. It has one 8X AGP, one CNR and three 32-bit PCI slots. There is a full set of I/O ports including two PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard, one serial port, one parallel port, one VGA port, one LAN port (optional), three audio jacks for Line-in, Line-out and Microphone, four back-panel USB 2.0 ports and onboard USB headers providing extra ports by connecting the Extended USB Module to the motherboard.

It is a Micro ATX motherboard and has power connectors for an ATX power supply.

Key Features

The key features of this motherboard include:

LGA775 Socket

• Supports the latest Intel Pentium 4/Celeron D/Pentium D Series

processors with Hyper-Threading Technology

• Supports up to 1066/800/533 MHz Front-Side Bus

Hyper-Threading technology enables the operating system into thinking it’s hooked up to two processors, allowing two threads to be run in parallel, both on separate ‘logical’ processors within the same physical processor.

Chipset

There are VIA P4M800Pro Northbridge and VT8237 in the chipsets in accordance with an innovative and scalable architecture with proven reliability and performance.

• High Performance Northbridge with 1066/800/533 MHz FSB for

Pentium 4/Celeron D/Pentium D processors

• V-link 533 MB/s high bandwidth North/South Bridge interconnect

• Integrated UniChrome Pro 3D/2D Graphics & Video Controller,

Microsoft DirectX 9.0 compatible, OpenGL supported

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Motherboard User’s Guide

• Supports for AGP 8X/4X, AGP v3.0 compliant with 1.5V

• Advanced 64-bit DDR2 533 SDRAM controller

Note: P4M800Pro chipset can only support mixed 1024/512/256/128/

64Mb x8/16 DDR2 SDRAMs.

• Supports 16-bit 66 MHz V-Link Host interface with total bandwidth of

1066 MB/s

• Compliant with PCI 2.2 specification at 33 MHz, supporting up to 6

PCI masters

• Integrated Serial ATA Host Controllers, supporting data transfer rates up

to 1.5Gb/s

• Integrated Dual channel UltraDMA 133/100/66 Master Mode EIDE

Controller

• USB 2.0 Controller, supporting up to 8 USB 2.0 ports

• Network Controller, supporting enterprise class 100/10 Mb Fast

Ethernet MAC

• Integrated keyboard Controller with PS2 mouse support

Memory Support

• Two 240-pin DIMM sockets for DDR2 SDRAM memory modules

• Support DDR2 533 DDR2 SDRAM with Maximum memory size of 2

GB.

Expansion Slots

• Three 32-bit PCI slots

• One 8X AGP slot

• One CNR slot

Onboard IDE channels

• Supports PIO (Programmable Input/Output) and DMA (Direct Memory

Access) modes

• Supports IDE Ultra DMA bus mastering with transfer rates of 133/100/

66 MB/sec

Serial ATA

• Two Serial ATA Connectors

• Transfer rate exceeding best ATA (~150 MB/s) with scalability to higher

rates

• Low pin count for both host and devices

AC’97 Audio Codec

• Compliant with AC’97 2.3 specifications

• Meets performance requirements for audio on PC99/2001 systems

• Meets Microsoft WHQL/WLP 2.0 audio requirements

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Chapter 1: Introduction

• Support 48 KHz of S/PDIF output is compliant with AC’97 rev2.3

specification

• HRTF 3D Positional Audio and 10 Bands of Software EQualizer

Onboard I/O Ports

• Two PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard

• One serial port

• One parallel port

• One VGA port

• One LAN port (optional)

• Four back-panel USB2.0 ports

• Audio jacks for microphone, line-in and line-out

Fast Ethernet LAN (optional)

• Single Chip 100Base-TX / 10Base-T Physical Layer Solution

• Dual Speed – 100/10 Mbps

• Half and Full Duplex

• MII Interface to Ethernet Controller

• MII Interface to Configuration & Status

• Auto Negotiation: 10 / 100, Full / Half Duplex

• Meet All Applicable IEEE 802.3, 10Base-T and 100Base-Tx Standards.

• On Chip Wave Shaping – No External Filters Required.

USB 2.0

• Compliant with Universal Serial Bus Specification Revision 2.0

• Compliant with Intel’s Enhanced Host Controller Interface Specification

Revision 1.0

• Compliant with Universal Host Controller Interface Specification Revision

1.1

• PCI multi-function device consists of two UHCI Host Controller cores for

full-/low-speed signaling and one EHCI Host Controller core for highspeed signaling

• Root hub consists 4 downstream facing ports with integrated physical

layer transceivers shared by UHCI and EHCI Host Controller, up to eight functional ports

• Support PCI-Bus Power Management Interface Specification release 1.1

• Legacy support for all downstream facing ports

BIOS Firmware

This motherboard uses AMI BIOS that enables users to configure many system features including the following:

• Power management

• Wake-up alarms

• CPU parameters and memory timing

• CPU and memory timing

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Motherboard User’s Guide

The firmware can also be used to set parameters for different processor clock speeds.

Dimensions

• Micro ATX form factor of 244 x 220 mm

Note: Hardware specifications and software items are subject to change

without notification.

Package Contents

Your motherboard package ships with the following items:

 The motherboard  The User’s Guide  One diskette drive ribbon cable (optional)  One IDE drive ribbon cable  The Software support CD

Optional Accessories

You can purchase the following optional accessories for this motherboard.

 The Extended USB module  The CNR v.90 56 K Fax/Modem card  The Serial ATA cable  The Serial ATA power cable

Note: You can purchase your own optional accessories from the third party,

but please contact your local vendor on any issues of the specification and compatibility.

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

Chapter 2 Motherboard Installation

To install this motherboard in a system, please follow these instructions in this chapter:

 Identify the motherboard components  Install a CPU  Install one or more system memory modules  Make sure all jumpers and switches are set correctly  Install this motherboard in a system chassis (case)  Connect any extension brackets or cables to headers/connectors on the

motherboard

 Install peripheral devices and make the appropriate connections to

headers/connectors on the motherboard

Note:

1. Before installing this motherboard, make sure jumper CLR_CMOS1

is under Normal setting. See this chapter for information about locating CLR_CMOS1 and the setting options.

2. Never connect power to the system during installation; otherwise, it

may damage the motherboard.

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Motherboard User’s Guide

Motherboard Components

ITEM LABEL COMPONENTS

1 CPU Socket

2 CPU_FAN1 CPU Fan connector(4-pin)

3 DDRII1-2 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM sockets

4 IDE1 Primary IDE c onnector

5 IDE2 Secondary IDE c onnector

6 SATA1/2 Serial ATA connectors

7 CLR_CMOS1 Clear CMOS jum per

8 PANEL1 Front Panel Switch/LED header

9 SPK1 Speaker header

10 SYS_FAN1 System Fan connector

11 F_USB1/2 Front Panel USB headers

12 FDD1 Floppy Disk Drive connector

13 CNR1 CNR slot

14 IR1 Infrared header

15 PCI 1-3 32-bit PCI slots

16 CD_IN1 Analog Audio Input header

17 AGP1 AGP slot

18 F_AUDIO1 Front Panel Audio header

19 PWR1 Standard 20-Pin ATX Power connector

20 USB_PWR1 USB Power Select jumper

21 PWR2 Standard 4-Pin ATX Power connector

LGA775 Socket for Intel Pentium 4/ Celeron D/Pentium D processors

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

I/O Ports

The illustration below shows a side view of the built-in I/O ports on the motherboard.

PS/2 M ous e

PS/2 Keyboar d

Par alle l Po rt (L PT1)

COM1

VGA

LAN Port (optional)

USB P or ts

Audio Ports

Use the upper PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 pointing device.

Use the low er PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 keyboard.

Use the Par allel port to connect printers or other parallel communications devices.

Use the COM port to connect ser ial devices s uch as mice or f ax/modems. COM1 is identif ied by the sy stem as COM1.

Use the VGA port to connec t VGA devices.

Connect an RJ-45 jack to the LAN port to connect your computer to the Netw ork.

Use the USB ports to connect USB devices .

Use these three audio jacks to connec t audio devices . The firs t jack is f or ster eo Line-In signal, the sec ond jack f or stereo Line-Out signal, and the third jack f or Microphone.

Installing the Processor

This motherboard has an LGA775 socket for the latest Intel Pentium 4/Celeron D/ Pentium D processors. When choosing a processor, consider the performance requirements of the system. Performance is based on the processor design, the clock speed and system bus frequency of the processor, and the quantity of internal cache memory and external cache memory.

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Motherboard User’s Guide

CPU Installation Procedure

Follow these instructions to install the CPU:

A. Unload the cap

• Use thumb & forefinger to hold the

lifting tab of the cap.

• Lift the cap up and remove the cap

completely from the socket.

B. Open the load plate

• Use thumb & forefinger to hold the

hook of the lever, pushing down and pulling aside unlock it.

• Lift up the lever.

• Use thumb to open the load plate.

Be careful not to touch the contacts.

C. Install the CPU on the socket

• Orientate CPU package to the socket.

Make sure you match triangle marker to pin 1 location.

D. Close the load plate

• Slightly push down the load plate onto

the tongue side, and hook the lever.

• CPU is locked completely.

E. Apply thermal grease on top of the CPU. F. Fasten the cooling fan supporting base

onto the CPU socket on the motherboard.

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

G. Make sure the CPU fan is plugged to the CPU fan connector. Please refer to the CPU cooling fan user’s manual for more detail installation procedure.

Note 1: To achieve better airflow rates and heat dissipation, we suggest

Note 2: The fan connector supports the CPU cooling fan of 1.1A~2.2A

Note 3: DO NOT remove the CPU cap from the socket before installing a

that you use a high quality fan with 3800 rpm at least. CPU fan and heatsink installation procedures may vary with the type of CPU fan/ heatsink supplied. The form and size of fan/heatsink may also vary.

(26.4W max.) at +12V.

CPU.

Installing Memory Modules

This motherboard accommodates two 240-pin DIMM DDRII1~2 sockets (Dual Inline Memory Module) for unbuffered DDR2 533 memory modules (Double Data Rate SDRAM). DDR2 SDRAM is a type of SDRAM that supports data transfers on both edges of each clock cycle (the rising and falling edges), effectively doubling the memory chip’s data throughput. You must install at least one module in any of the two slots. Each module can be installed with 256 MB to 1 GB of memory; total memory capacity is 2 GB.

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Motherboard User’s Guide

Note1: Do not remove any memory module from its antistatic packaging until

you are ready to install it on the motherboard. Handle the modules only by their edges. Do not touch the components or metal parts. Always wear a grounding strap when you handle the modules.

Memory Module Installation Procedure

These modules can be installed with up to 2 GB system memory. Refer to the following to install the memory module.

1. Push down the latches on both sides of the DIMM socket.

2. Align the memory module with the socket. There is a notch on the DIMM socket that you can install the DIMM module in the correct direction. Match the cutout on the DIMM module with the notch on the DIMM socket.

3. Install the DIMM module into the socket and press it firmly down until it is seated correctly. The socket latches are levered upwards and latch on to the edges of the DIMM.

4. Install any remaining DIMM modules.

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

Jumper Settings

Connecting two pins with a jumper cap is SHORT; removing a jumper cap from these pins, OPEN.

CLR_COMS1: Clear CMOS Jumper

Use this jumper to clear the contents of the CMOS memory. You may need to clear the CMOS memory if the settings in the Setup Utility are incorrect and prevent your motherboard from operating. To clear the CMOS memory, disconnect all the power cables from the motherboard and then move the jumper cap into the CLEAR setting for a few seconds.

Function Jumper Setting

Normal Short Pins 1-2 Clear CMOS Short Pins 2-3

Note: To avoid the system unstability after clearing CMOS, we recommend

users to enter the main BIOS setting page to “Load Optimal De-faults” and then “Save Changes and Exit”.

USB_PWR1: USB Power Select Jumper

Use these jumpers to select the voltage for USB port.

Function Jumper Setting

VCC5V Short Pins 1-2 SB5V Short Pins 2-3

Note: Make sure the power supply provides enough SB5V voltage before

selecting the SB5V function.

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Motherboard User’s Guide

Install the Motherboard

Install the motherboard in a system chassis (case). The board is a Micro ATX size motherboard. You can install this motherboard in an ATX case. Make sure your case has an I/O cover plate matching the ports on this motherboard.

Install the motherboard in a case. Follow the case manufacturer’s instructions to use the hardware and internal mounting points on the chassis.

Connect the power connector from the power supply to the PWR1 connector on the motherboard. The PWR2 is a +12V connector for CPU Vcore power.

If there is a cooling fan installed in the system chassis, connect the cable from the cooling fan to the SYS_FAN1 fan power connector on the motherboard.

Connect the case switches and indicator LEDs to the PANEL1 header.

Pin Signal Pin Signal

1 HD_L ED_P ( +) 2 S OS_L ED_P ( +)

3 HD_L ED_N ( - ) 4 SO S_ LED_N (- ) 5 RES ET _SW _ N ( -) 6 POWER _ SW _ P ( + )

7 RESET_SW_P (+) 8 POWER_SW_N (-) 9 RSV D_DNU 10 KEY

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

Connecting Optional Devices

Refer to the following for information on connecting the motherboard’s optional devices:

SPK1: Speaker Header

Connect the cable from the PC speaker to the SPK1 header on the motherboard.

Pin Signal Pin Signal

1SPKR2 NC

3GND4+5V

F_AUDIO1: Front Panel Audio Header

This header allows the user to install auxiliary front-oriented microphone and line-out ports for easier access.

Pin Signal Pin Signal

1 A UD_MIC 2 A UD_GND 3 A UD_MIC_ BIA S 4 A UD_V CC 5 A UD_FPOUT_R 6 A UD_RET_R 7HP_ON 8KEY 9 A UD_FPOUT_L 1 0 A UD_RET_ L

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Motherboard User’s Guide

F_USB1/F_USB2: Front panel USB Headers

The motherboard has USB ports installed on the rear edge I/O port array. Additionally, some computer cases have USB ports at the front of the case. If you have this kind of case, use auxiliary USB headers F_USB1/F_USB2 to connect the front-mounted ports to the motherboard.

Pin Signal Pin Signal

1 V ER G_ FP_ USB PWR 0 2 V ERG _ FP_U SB PWR 0

3 USB_FP_P0(-) 4 USB_FP_P1(-)

5 USB_FP_P0(+) 6 USB_FP_P1(+) 7 GROUND 8 GROUND

9 KEY 10 USB_FP_OC0

1. Locate the F_USB1/F_USB2 header on the motherboard.

2. Plug the bracket cable onto the F_USB1/F_USB2 header.

3. Remove a slot cover from one of the expansion slots on the system chassis. Install an extension bracket in the opening. Secure the extension bracket to the chassis with a screw.

IR1: Infrared Header

The infrared port allows the wireless exchange of information between your computer and similarly equipped devices such as printers, laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and other computers.

Pin Signal Pin Signal

1NC2KEY 3+5V 4GND

5 IRTX 6 IRRX

1. Locate the infrared port-IR1 header on the motherboard.

2. If you are adding an infrared port, connect the ribbon cable from the port to the IR1 header and then secure the port to an appropriate place in your system chassis.

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

Install Other Devices

Install and connect any other devices in the system following the steps below.

Floppy Disk Drive

The motherboard ships with a floppy disk drive cable that can support one or two drives. Drives can be 3.5" or 5.25" wide, with capacities of 360 K, 720 K,

1.2 MB, 1.44 MB, or 2.88 MB. Install your drives and connect power from the system power supply. Use the

cable provided to connect the drives to the floppy disk drive connector FDD1.

IDE Devices

IDE devices include hard disk drives, high-density diskette drives, and CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives, among others.

The motherboard ships with an IDE cable that can support one or two IDE devices. If you connect two devices to a single cable, you must configure one of the drives as Master and one of the drives as Slave. The documentation of the IDE device will tell you how to configure the device as a Master or Slave device. The Master device connects to the end of the cable.

Install the device(s) and connect power from the system power supply. Use the cable provided to connect the device(s) to the Primary IDE channel connector IDE1 on the motherboard.

If you want to install more IDE devices, you can purchase a second IDE cable and connect one or two devices to the Secondary IDE channel connector IDE2 on the motherboard. If you have two devices on the cable, one must be Master and one must be Slave.

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Serial ATA Devices

The Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) is the standard interface for the IDE hard drives, which is designed to overcome the design limitations while enabling the storage interface to scale with the growing media rate demands of PC platforms. It provides you a faster transfer rate of 150 MB/s. If you have installed a Serial ATA hard drive, you can connect the Serial ATA cables to the Serial ATA hard drive or the connector on the motherboard.

On the motherboard, locate the Serial ATA connectors SATA1-2, which support new Serial ATA devices for the highest data transfer rates, simpler disk drive cabling and easier PC assembly.

It eliminates limitations of the current Parallel ATA interface, but maintains register compatibility and software compatibility with Parallel ATA.

Analog Audio Input Header

If you have installed a CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, you can connect the drive audio cable to the onboard sound system.

When you first start up your system, the BIOS should automatically detect your CD-ROM/DVD drive. If it doesn’t, enter the Setup Utility and configure the CD-ROM/DVD drive that you have installed. On the motherboard, locate the 4-pin header CD_IN1.

Pin Signal

1CD IN L

2GND 3GND

4CD IN R

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Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation

Expansion Slots

This motherboard has one AGP, CNR and three 32-bit PCI slots.

Follow the steps below to install an AGP/CNR/PCI expansion card.

1 Locate the AGP, CNR or PCI slots on the motherboard. 2 Remove the blanking plate of the slot from the system chassis. 3 Install the edge connector of the expansion card into the slot. Ensure

the edge connector is correctly seated in the slot.

4 Secure the metal bracket of the card to the system chassis with a

screw.

8X AGP Slot

You can install a graphics adapter that supports the 8X AGP specification and has an 8X AGP edge connector in the AGP slot.

CNR Slot

You can install the CNR (Communications and Networking Riser) cards in this slot, including LAN, Modem, and Audio functions.

PCI Slots

You can install the 32-bit PCI interface expansion cards in the slots.

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Motherboard User’s Guide

Memo

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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup Utility

Chapter 3 BIOS Setup Utility

Introduction

The BIOS Setup Utility records settings and information of your computer, such as date and time, the type of hardware installed, and various configuration settings. Your computer applies the information to initialize all the components when booting up and basic functions of coordination between system components.

If the Setup Utility configuration is incorrect, it may cause the system to malfunction. It can even stop your computer booting properly. If it happens, you can use the clear CMOS jumper to clear the CMOS memory which has stored the configuration information; or you can hold down the Page Up key while rebooting your computer. Holding down the Page Up key also clears the setup information.

You can run the setup utility and manually change the configuration. You might need to do this to configure some hardware installed in or connected to the motherboard, such as the CPU, system memory, disk drives, etc.

Running the Setup Utility

Every time you start your computer, a message appears on the screen before the operating system loading that prompts you to “Hit <DEL>if you want to run SETUP”. Whenever you see this message, press the Delete key, and the Main menu page of the Setup Utility appears on your monitor. If you manually clear CMOS, you need to press the F1 key that enters the Main menu page of the Setup Utility.

Standard CMOS Setup Advanced Setup Features Setup Power Management Setup PCI / Plug and Play Setup BIOS Security Features

: Move Enter: Select +/-/: Value F10: Save Esc: Exit F1: General Help F9: Optimized Settings

Standards COMOS setup for changing time, date, hard disk type, etc.

CPU PnP Setup Hardware Monitor Load Optimal Defaults Save Changes and Exit Discard Changes and Exit

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Motherboard User’s Guide

You can use cursor arrow keys to highlight anyone of options on the main menu page. Press Enter to select the highlighted option. Press the Escape key to leave the setup utility. Press +/-/ to modify the selected field’s values.

Some options on the main menu page lead to tables of items with installed values

that you can use cursor arrow keys to highlight one item, and press

+ and

- keys

to cycle through alternative values of that item. The other options on the main menu page lead to dialog boxes requiring your answer OK or Cancel by selecting [OK] or [Cancel].

If you have already changed the setup utility, press F10 to save those changes and exit the utility. Press F1 to display a screen describing all key functions. Press F9 to install the setup utility with a set of default values.

Standard CMOS Setup Page

This page displays a table of items defining basic information about your system.

System Time 00:01:25 System Date Fri 10/24/2003

Primary IDE Master Hard Disk Primary IDE Slave Not Detected Secondary IDE Master Not Detected Secondary IDE Slave CD/DVD ROM

Floppy A 1.44 MB 3 1/2” Floppy B Disabled

Standard CMOS Setup

Help Item

User [Enter], [TAB] or [SHIFT- TAB] to select a field. Use [+] or [-] to configure system time.

System Time & System Date

These items set up system date and time.

Primary IDE Master/Primary IDE Slave/Secondary IDE Master/Secondary IDE Slave

Your computer has two IDE channels and each channel can be installed with one or two devices (Master and Slave). In addition, this motherboard supports two SATA channels and each channel allows one SATA device to be installed. Use these items to configure each device on the IDE channel.

Floppy A/B

These items set up size and capacity of the floppy diskette drive(s) installed in the system.

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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup Utility

Advanced Setup Page

This page sets up more advanced information about your system. Handle this page with caution. Any changes can affect the operation of your computer.

Quick Boot 1st Boot Device 2nd Boot Device 3rd Boot Device Try Other Boot Device Bootup Num-Lock Boot To OS/2 > 64 MB AGP Aperture Size DRAM Timing DRAM CAS# Latency DRAM Bank Interleave Hyper Threading Function Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk Spread Spectrum Max CPUID Value Limit Execute Disable Bit CPU TM Function C1E Support Intel (R) SpeedStep (tm) tech. Venderpool Technology DRAM Driving

Advanced Setup

Enabled PM-IC35L040AVVN07 SS-Pioneer DVD-R0 1st Floppy Drive Yes On No 64 MB Manual By SPD 4-way Ensabled Enabled Disabled Disabled Enabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Enabled Normal

Help Item

Allows BIOS to skip certain tests while booting. This will decrease the time needed to boot the system.

Quick Boot

If you enable this item, the system starts up more quickly be elimination some of the power on test routines.

1st Boot Device/2nd Boot Device/3rd Boot Device

Use these items to determine the device order the computer uses to look for an operating system to load at start-up time.

Try Other Boot Device

If you enable this item, the system will also search for other boot devices if it fails to find an operating system from the first two locations.

BootUp Num-Lock

This item determines if the Num Lock key is active or inactive at system startup time.

Boot To OS/2> 64MB

Enable this item if you are booting the OS/2 operating system and you have more than 64MB of system memory installed.

AGP Aperture Size

This item defines the size of aperture if you use a graphic adapter.

DRAM Timing

This item allows you to enable or disable the DRAM timing defined by the Serial Presence Detect electrical.

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Motherboard User’s Guide

DRAM CAS# Latency

This item determines the operation of SDRAM memory CAS (column address strobe). It is recommended that you leave this item at the default value. The 2T setting requires faster memory that specifically supports this mode.

DRAM Bank Interleave

Enable this item to increase DRAM memory speed. When enabled, separate memory banks are set for odd and even addresses and the next byte of memory can be accessed while the current byte is being refreshed.

Hyper Threading Function

You can set “Disabled” or “Enabled” to control HT CPU support in O.S. Set “Enabled” to test HT CPU function.

Auto detect DIMM/PCI Clock

When this item is enabled, BIOS will disable the clock signal of free DIMM/PCI slots.

Spread Spectrum

If you enable spread spectrum, it can significantly reduce the EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) generated by the system.

Max CPUID Value Limit

When this item is enabled, you can use Prescott CPU and LGA-775 CPU and there will be a normal NT4.0 installation; otherwise, the automatically restarting will occur while installing.

Execute Disable Bit

It allows the processor to classify areas in memory by where application code can execute and where it cannot. When a malicious worm attempts to insert code in the buffer, the processor disables code execution, preventing damage or worm propagation. Replacing older computers with Execute Disable Bit-enabled systems can halt worm attacks, reducing the need for virus related repairs.

CPU TM Function

For some specific brands of CPU, you can use this item to control the CPU frequency and voltage according to its temperature.

C1E Support

Use this item to decrease the bus ratio that reduces the consumption of CPU electricity and power.

Intel (R) SpeedStep (tm) tech.

Use this item to enable or disable the Intel SpeedStep Technology, which is only for the Intel CPU supporting the SpeedStep Technology function.

Venderpool Technology

Use this item to enable or disable the Venderpool Technology, which is only for the CPU supporting the VT function.

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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup Utility

DRAM Driving

When this item is defaulted at “Normal”, some DDRs might cause the problem of booting or system stability; in that case, please set it at “High”.

Features Setup Page

This page sets up some parameters for peripheral devices connected to the system.

OnBoard Floppy Controller Serial Port1 Address OnBoard IR Port Parallel Port Address Parallel Port Mode ECP Mode DMA Channel Parallel Port IRQ OnBoard PCI IDE Controller Onboard SATA-IDE Audio Device MODEM Device Ethernet Device OnBoard LAN Boot Rom OnBoard USB Function USB Function For DOS

OnBoard Floppy Controller

Use this item to enable or disable the onboard floppy disk drive interface.

OnBoard Serial Port

Use this item to enable or disable the onboard COM1 serial port, and to assign a port address.

OnBoard IR Port

Use this item to enable or disable the onboard infrared port, and to assign a port address.

Onboard Parallel Port

This item enables or disables the onboard LPT1 parallel port, and assigns a port address. The Auto setting will detect and available address.

Parallel Port Mode

Use this item to set the parallel port mode. You can select Normal (Standard Parallel Port), ECP (Extended Capabilities Port), EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port), or EPP & ECP.

Parallel Port IRQ

Use this item to assign IRQ to the parallel port.

Parallel Port DMA

Use this item to assign a DMA channel to the parallel port.

Features Setup

Enabled 3F8/IRQ4 Disabled 378 ECP DMA3 IRQ7 Both IDE Enabled Auto Enabled Disabled Enabled Disabled

Help Item

Allows BIOS to Enable or Disable Floppy Controller.

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OnBoard PCI IDE

Use this item to enable or disable the onboard PCI IDE channel.

OnBoard SATA-IDE

Use this item to select RAID mode, IDE mode or Disabled for onboard SATAIDE.

Audio Device

This item enables or disables the AC’97 audio chip.

MODEM Device

This item enables or disables the MC’97 modem chip.

Ethernet Device

This item enables or disables the onboard Ethernet LAN.

OnBoard LAN Boot ROM

Use this item to enable or disable the LAN Boot ROM function.

OnBoard USB Function

Enable this item if you plan to use the USB ports on this motherboard.

Power Management Setup Page

This page sets some parameters for system power management operation.

ACPI Aware O/S Yes Power Management Enabled ACPI Enhanced Efficiency Disabled Suspend Time Out Disabled Resume on RTC Alarm Disabled LAN/Ring Power On Disabled Keyboard Power On Disabled Wake-Up Key Any Key

Power Management Setup

Help Item

Yes / No ACPI support for Operating System. Yes: If OS supports ACPI. No: If OS does not support ACPI.

ACPI Aware O/S

This itme supports ACPI (Advanced Configuraion and Power Management Interface). Use this item to enable or disable the ACPI feature.

Power Management

Use this item to enable or disable a power management scheme. If you enable power management, you can use this item below to set the power management operation. Both APM and ACPI are supported.

ACPI Enhanced Efficiency

Use this item to enable or disable the function of ACPI enhanced efficiency.

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Suspend Time Out

This item sets up the timeout for Suspend mode in minutes. If the time selected passes without any system activity, the computer will enter power-saving Suspend mode.

Resume on RTC Alarm

The system can be turned off with a software command. If you enable this item, the system can automatically resume at a fixed time based on the system’s RTC (realtime clock). Use the items below this one to set the date and time of the wake-up alarm. You must use an ATX power supply in order to use this feature.

LAN/Ring Power On

The system can be turned off with a software command. If you enable this item, the system can automatically resume if there is an incoming call on the Modem/

Ring, or traffic on the network adapter. You must use an ATX power supply in order to use this feature.

Keyboard Power On/Wake-Up Key

If you enable this item, the system can automatically resume by pressing any keys, hot key, power key on the keyboard, or typing in the password. You must use an ATX power supply in order to use this feature.

PCI / Plug and Play Setup Page

This page sets up some parameters for devices installed on the PCI bus and those utilizing the system plug and play capability.

Primary Graphics Adapter PCI Share Memory Size 32 MB Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA Yes PCI IDE BusMaster Disabled

PCI / Plug and Play Setup

Help Item

Select which graphics controller to use as the primary boot device.

Primary Graphics Adapter

This item indicates if the primary graphics adapter uses the PCI or the AGP bus. The default PCI setting still lets the onboard display work and allows the use of a second display card installed in an AGP slot.

Share Memory Size

This item lets you allocate a portion of the main memory for theonbaord VGA display application with several options.

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Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA

If this item is enabled, an IRQ will be assigned to the PCI VGA graphics system. You set this value to No to free up an IRQ.

PCI IDE BusMaster

This item enables or disables the DMA under DOS mode. We recommend you to leave this item at the default value.

BIOS Security Features Setup Page

This page helps you install or change a password.

Security Settings

Supervisor Password : Not Installed

Change Supervisor Password Press Enter

BIOS Security Features Setup

Help Item

Install or Change the password.

Supervisor Password

This item indicates whether a supervisor password has been set. If the password has been installed, Installed displays. If not, Not Installed displays.

Change Supervisor Password

You can select this option and press <Enter> to access the sub menu. You can use the sub menu to change the supervisor password.

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CPU PnP Setup Page

This page helps you manually configure the mainboard for the CPU. The system will automatically detect the type of installed CPU and make the appropriate adjustments to the items on this page.

Manufacturer: Intel

Ratio Status Locked

CPU Over-clocking Func. Disabled

CPU Frequency 200 MHz

DRAM Frequency Auto

CPU PnP Setup

Help Item

Manufacturer

These items show the brand of the CPU installed in your system.

Ratio Status

This item shows the Locked/Unlocked ratio status of CPU installed in your system.

CPU Over-clocking Func.

This item decides the CPU over-clocking function installed in your system. If the over-clocking fails, please turn off the system power. And then, hold the PageUp key (similar to the Clear CMOS function) and turn on the power, the BIOS will recover the safe default.

CPU Frequency

This item shows the frequency of the CPU installed in your system.

DRAM Frequency

This item shows the frequency of the DRAM in your system.

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Hardware Monitor Page

This page sets up some parameters for the hardware monitoring function of this motherboard.

***System Hardware Monitor***

SYSTEM Temperature 32oC/89oF CPU Temperature 41oC/105oF Chassis Temperature 32oC/89oF SYSTEM FAN Speed 0 RPM CPU FAN Speed 4560 RPM Vcore 1.504 V Vdimm 2.496 V Vivdd 2.608 V Vcc5V 5.107 V SB3V 3.296 V VBAT 3.264 V Smart FAN Control Disabled

Hardware Monitor Setup

Help Item

CPU/System Temperature

These items display CPU and system temperature measurement.

FANs & Voltage Measurements

These items indicate cooling fan speeds in RPM and the various system voltage measurements.

Load Optimal Defaults

This option opens a dialog box to ask if you are sure to install optimized defaults or not. You select [OK], and then press <Enter>, the Setup Utility loads all default values; or select [Cancel], and then press <Enter>, the Setup Utility does not load default values.

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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup Utility

Save Changes and Exit

Highlight this item and press <Enter> to save the changes that you have made in the Setup Utility configuration. When the Save Changes and Exit dialog box appears, select [OK] to save and exit, or select [Cancel] to return to the main menu.

Discard Changes and Exit

Highlight this item and press <Enter> to discard any changes that you have made in the Setup Utility and exit the Setup Utility. When the Discard Changes and Exit dialog box appears, select [OK] to discard changes and exit, or select [Cancel] to return to the main menu.

Note: If you have made settings that you do not want to save, use the

“Discard Changes and Exit” item and select [OK] to discard any changes you have made.

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Memo

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Chapter 4: Software & Applications

Chapter 4 Software & Applications

Introduction

This chapter describes the contents of the support CD-ROM that comes with the motherboard package.

The support CD-ROM contains all useful software, necessary drivers and utility programs to properly run our products. More program information is available in a README file, located in the same directory as the software.

To run the support CD, simply insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. An Auto Setup screen automatically pops out, and then you can go on the autoinstalling or manual installation depending on your operating system.

If your operating system is Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, it will automatically install all the drivers and utilities for your motherboard.

Installing Support Software

1 Insert the support CD-ROM disc in the CD-ROM drive. 2 When you insert the CD-ROM disc in the system CD-ROM drive,

the CD automatically displays an Auto Setup screen.

3 The screen displays three buttons of Setup, Browse CD and Exit on

the right side, and three others Setup, Application and ReadMe at the bottom. Please see the following illustration.

The Setup button runs the software auto-installing program as explained in next section.

The Browse CD button is a standard Windows command that you can check the contents of the disc with the Windows 98 file browsing interface.

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The Exit button closes the Auto Setup window. To run the program again, reinsert the CD-ROM disc in the drive; or click the CD-ROM driver from the Windows Explorer, and click the Setup icon.

The Application button brings up a software menu. It shows the bundled software that this motherboard supports.

The ReadMe brings you to the Install Path where you can find out path names of software driver.

Auto-Installing under Windows 98SE/ME2000/XP

If you are under Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, please click the Setup button to run the software auto-installing program while the Auto Setup screen pops out after inserting the support CD-ROM:

1 The installation program loads and displays the following screen.

Click the Next button.

2 Select the items that you want to setup by clicking on it (the default

options are recommended). Click the Next button to proceed.

3 The support software will automatically install.

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Chapter 4: Software & Applications

Once any of the installation procedures start, software is automatically installed in sequence. You need to follow the onscreen instructions, confirm commands and allow the computer to restart as few times as needed to complete installing whatever software you selected. When the process is finished, all the support software will be installed and start working.

Bundled Software Installation

All bundled software available on the CD-ROM is for users’ convenience. You can install bundled software as follows:

1 Click the Application button while the Auto Setup screen pops out

after inserting the support CD-ROM. 2 A software menu appears. Click the software you want to install. 3 Follow onscreen instructions to install the software program step by

step until finished.

AMI/AWARD Flash Utility

This utility lets you erase the system BIOS stored on a Flash Memory chip on the motherboard, and lets you copy an updated version of the BIOS to the chip. Proceed with caution when using this program. If you erase the current BIOS and fail to write a new BIOS, or write a new BIOS that is incorrect, your system will malfunction. Refer to Chapter 3, Using BIOS for more information.

WinFlash Utility

The WinFlash utility is a Windows version of the DOS BIOS flash writer utility. The utility enables you to flash the system BIOS stored on a Flash Memory chip on the motherboard while in a Windows environment. This utility is currently available for WINXP\2000. To install the WinFlash utility, run AFUWIN.EXE (AMI) or WINFLASH.EXE (Award) from the following directory: \Utility\AMIFlash or AWDFlash.

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Memo

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

Chapter 5 VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

VIA RAID Configurations

The motherboard includes a high performance Serial ATA RAID controller integrated in the VIA VT8237 Southbridge chipset. It supports RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD with two independent Serial ATA channels.

RAID: (Redundant Array of Independent Disk Drives) use jointly several hard drives to increase data transfer rates and data security. It depends on the number of drives present and RAID function you select to fulfill the seurity or performance pruposes or both.

RAID 0 (called data striping) optimizes two identical hard disk drives to read and write data in parallel, interleaved stacks. Two hard disks perform the same work as a single drive but at a sustained data transfer rate, double that of a single disk alone, thus improving data access and storage.

RAID 1 (called data mirroring) copies and maintains an identical image of data from one drive to a second drive. If one drive fails, the disk array management software directs all applications to the surviving drive as it contains a complete copy of the data in the other drive. This RAID configuration provides data protection and increases fault tolerance to the entire system.

JBOD: (Just a Bunch of Drives) Also known as “Spanning”. Two or more hard drives are required. Several hard disk types configured as a single hard disk. The hard drives are simply hooked up in series. This expands the capacity of your drive and results in a useable total capacity. However, JBOD will not increase any performance or data security.

Install the Serial ATA (SATA) hard disks

The VIA VT8237 Southbridge chipset supports Serial ATA hard disk drives. For optimal performance, install identical drives of the same model and capacity when creating a RAID set.

• If you are creating a RAID 0 (striping) array of performance, use two

new drives.

• If you are creating a RAID 1 (mirroring) array for protection, you can

use two new drives or use an existing drive and a new drive (the new drive must be of the same size or larger than the existing drive). If you use two drives of different sizes, the smaller capacity hard disk will be the base storage size. For example, one hard disk has an 80 GB storage capacity and the other hard disk has 60 GB storage capacity, the maximum storage capacity for the RAID 1 set is 60 GB.

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Follow these steps to install the SATA hard disks for RAID configuration.

i Before setting up your new RAID array, verify the status of your hard

disks. Make sure the Master/Slave jumpers are configured properly.

ii Both the data and power SATA cables are new cables. You cannot use

older 40-pin 80-conductor IDE or regular IDE power cables with Serial ATA drives. Installing Serial ATA (SATA) hard disks require the use of new Serial ATA cable (4-conductor) which supports the Serial ATA protocol and a Serial ATA power cable.

iii Either end of the Serial ATA data cable can be connected to the SATA

hard disk or the SATA connector on the motherboard.

1 Install the Serial ATA hard disks into the drive bays. 2 Connect one end of the Serial ATA cable to the motherboard’s primary

Serial ATA connector (SATA1).

3 Connect the other end of Serial ATA cable to the master Serial ATA hard

disk.

4 Connect one end of the second Serial ATA cable to the motherboard’s

secondary Serial ATA connector (SATA2).

5 Connect the other end of Serial ATA cable to the secondary Serial ATA

hard disk.

6 Connect the Serial ATA power cable to the power connector on each

drive.

7 Proceed to section “Entering VIA Tech RAID BIOS Utility” for the next

procedure.

Entering VIA Tech RAID BIOS Utility

1 Boot-up your computer. 2 During POST, press <TAB> to enter VIA RAID configuration utility.

The following menu options will appear.

The RAID BIOS information on the setup screen shown is for reference only. What you see on your screen may not by exactly the same as shown.

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

On the upper-right side of the screen is the message and legend box. The keys on the legend box allow you to navigate through the setup menu options. The message describes the function of each menu item. The following lists the keys found in the legend box with their corresponding functions.

F1 View Array

Enter Confirm the selection

ESC Exit

Create Array

1 In the VIA RAID BIOS utility main menu, select Create Array then

press the <Enter> key. The main menu items on the upper-left corner of the screen are replaced with create array menu options.

Move to the next item

RAID 0 for performance

1 Select the second option item Array Mode, then press the <Enter> key.

The RAID system setting pop-up menu appears.

2 Select RAID 0 for performance from the menu and press <Enter>.

From this point, you may choose to auto-configure the RAID array by selecting Auto Setup for Performance or manually configure the RAID array for stripped sets. If you want to manually configure the RAID array continue with next step, otherwise, proceed to step #5.

3 Select Select Disk Drives, then press <Enter>. Use arrow keys to

select disk drive/s, then press <Enter> to mark selected drive. An asterisk is placed before the selected drive.

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4 Select Block Size, then press <Enter> to set array block size. Lists of

valid array block sizes are displayed on a pop-up menu.

For server systems, it is recommended to use a

Tip

lower array block size. For multimedia computer systems used mainly for audio and video editing, a higher array block size is recommended for optimum performance.

Use arrow keys to move selection bar on items and press <Enter> to select.

5 Select Start Create Process and press <Enter> to setup hard disk for

RAID system. The following confirmation appears:

The same confirmation message appears when the Auto Setup for Performance option is selected.

Press “Y” to confirm or “N” to return to the configuration options.

RAID 1 for data protection

1 Select the second option item Array Mode, then press the <Enter> key.

The RAID system setting pop-up menu appears.

2 Select RAID 1 for data protection from the menu and press <Enter>.

Select next task from pop-up menu. The task Create only creates the mirrored set without creating a backup. Create and duplicate creates both mirrored set and backup.

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

3 Select task and press <Enter>. The screen returns to Create Array menu

items. From this point, you may choose to auto-configure the RAID array by selecting Auto Setup for Data Security or manually configure the RAID array for mirrored sets. If you want to manually configure the RAID array continue with next step, otherwise, proceed to step #5.

4 Select Select Disk Drives, then press <Enter>. Use arrow keys to select

disk drive/s, then press <Enter> to mark selected drive. (An asterisk is placed before a selected drve.)

5 Select Start Create Process and press <Enter> to setup hard disk for

RAID system. The following confirmation message appears:

The same confirmation message appears when the Auto Setup for Performance option is selected.

Press “Y” to confirm or “N” to return to the configuration options.

Delete Array

1 In the VIA RAID BIOS utility main menu, select Delete Array then

press the <Enter> key. The focus is directed to the list of channel used for IDE RAID arrays.

2 Press the <Enter> key to select a RAID array to delete. The following

confirmation message appears.

Press “Y” to confirm or “N” to return to the configuration options.

Select Boot Array

1 In the VIA RAID BIOS utility main menu, select Select Boot Array then

press the <Enter> key. The focus is directed to the list of channel used for IDE RAID arrays.

2 Press the <Enter> key to select a RAID array for boot. The Status of the

selected array will change to Boot. Press <ESC> key to go return to menu items. Follow the same procedure to deselect the boot array.

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Serial Number View

1 In the VIA RAID BIOS utility main menu, select Serial Number View

then press the <Enter> key. The focus is directed to the list of channel used for IDE RAID arrays. Move the selection bar on each item and the serial number is displayed at the bottom of the screen. This option is useful for identifying same model disks.

Duplicate Critical RAID 1 Array

When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if the RAID 1 array has any inconsistencies between user data and backup data. If BIOS detects any inconsistencies, the status of the disk array will be marked as critical, and BIOS will prompt the user to duplicate the RAID 1 in order to ensure the backup data consistency with the user data.

If user selects Continue to boot, it will enable duplicating the array after booting into OS.

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

Rebuild Broken RAID 1 Array

When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if any member disk drives of RAID has failed or is absent. If BIOS detects any disk drive failures or missing disk drives, the status of the array will be marked as broken.

If BIOS detects a broken RAID 1 array but there is a spare hard drive available for rebuilding the broken array, the spare hard drive will automatically become the mirroring drive. BIOS will show a main interface just like a duplicated RAID 1. Selecting Continue to boot enables the user to duplicate the array after booting into operating system.

If BIOS detects a broken RAID 1 array but there is no spare hard drive available for rebuilding the array, BIOS will provide several operations to solve such

1. Power off and Check the Failed Drive:

This item turns off the computer and replaces the failed hard drive with a good one. If your computer does not support APM, you must turn off your computer manually. After replacing the hard drive, boot into BIOS and select

Choose replacement drive and rebuild to rebuild the broken array.

2. Destroy the Mirroring Relationship:

This item cancels the data mirroring relationship of the broken array. For broken RAID 1 arrays, the data on the surviving disk will remain after the destroy operation. However, Destroy the Mirroring Relationship is not recommended because the data on the remaining disk will be lost when the hard drive is used to create another RAID 1 array.

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3. Choose Replacement Drive and Rebuild:

This item enables users to select an already-connected hard drive to rebuild the broken array. After choosing a hard drive, the channel column will be activated.

Highlight the target hard drive and press <Enter>, a warning message will appear. Press Y to use that hard drive to rebuild, or press N to cancel. Please note selecting option Y will destroy all the data on the selected hard drive.

4. Continue to boot:

This item enables BIOS to skip the problem and continue booting into OS.

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

Installing RAID Software & Drivers

Install Driver in Windows OS

New Windows OS (2000/XP/NT4) Installation

The following details the installation of the drivers while installing Windows XP.

1 Start the installation:

Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 when the message “Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver’ appears.

2 When the Windows Setup window is generated, press S to specify an

Additional Device(s).

3 Insert the driver diskette VIA VT8237 Disk Driver into drive A: and

press <Enter>.

4 Depending on your operation system, choose VIA Serial ATA RAID

Controller (Windows XP), VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller (Windows 2000) or VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller (Windows NT4) from the list that appears on Windows XP Setup screen, press the

<Enter> key.

5 Press <Enter> to continue with installation or if you need to specify any

additional devices to be installed, do so at this time. Once all devices are specified, press <Enter> to continue with installation.

6 From the Windows XP Setup screen press the <Enter> key. Setup will

now load all device files and the continue the Windows XP installation.

Existing Windows XP Driver Installation

1 Insert the ECS CD into the CD-ROM drive. 2 The CD will auto-run and the setup screen will appear. 3 Under the Driver tab, click on VIA SATA RAID Utility. 4 The drivers will be automatically installed.

Confirming Windows XP Driver Installation

1 From Windows XP, open the Control Panel from My Computer

followed by the System icon. 2 Choose the Hardware tab, then click the Device manager tab. 3 Click the “+” in front of the SCSI and RAID Controllers hardware

type. The driver VIA IDE RAID Host Controller should appear.

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Installation of VIA SATA RAID Utility

The VIA SATA RAID Utility is the software package that enables highperformance RAID 0 arrays in the Windows*XP operating system. This version of VIA SATA RAID Utility contains the following key features:

• Serial ATA RAID driver for Windows XP

• VIA SATA RAID utility

• RAID0 and RAID1 functions

Insert the ECS CD and click on the Setup to install the software.

The InstallShield Wizard will begin automatically for installation. Click on the Next button to proceed the installation in the welcoming window.

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

Put a check mark in the check box to install the feature you want. Then click Next button to proceed the installation.

Using VIA RAID Tool

Once the installation is complete, go to Start---> Programs---> VIA---> raid_tool.exe to enable VIA RAID Tool.

After the software is finished installation, it will automatically started every time Windows is initiated. You may double-click on the icon shown in the system tray of the tool bar to launch the VIA RAID Tool utility.

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The main interface is divided into two windows and the toolbar above contain the main functions. Click on these toolbar buttons to execute their specific functions. The left windowpane displays the controller and disk drives and the right windowpane displays the details of the controller or disk drives. The available features are as following:

View by Controller

View by Devices

View Event log

Help Topics

It means that VT8237 SATA RAID only has the feature of monitoring the statuses of RAID 0 and RAID 1.

Click on or button to determine the viewing type of left windowpane. There are two viewing types: By controllers and by device. Click on the object in the left windowpane to display the status of the object in the right windowpane. The following screen shows the status of Array 0-RAID 0.

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Chapter 5: VIA VT8237 SATA RAID Setup Guide

Click on the plus (+) symbol next to Array 0--RAID 0 to see the details of each disk.

You may also use the same or button to view the statuses of Array 0--RAID 1.

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Click on the plus (+) symbol next to Array 0; RAID 1 to see the details of each disk.