Nvidia MS-7374 User Manual

K9N2 SLI Platinum

Series

MS-7374 (v1.X) Mainboard

G52-73741X1

The material in this document is the intellectual property of MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL. We take every care in the preparation of this document, but no

guarantee is given as to the correctness of its contents. Our products are under continual improvement and we reserve the right to make changes without notice.

Trademarks

All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, DualNet, and nForce are registered trademarks or trade-

marks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. AMD, Athlon™ , Athlon™ XP, Thoroughbred™, and Duron™ are registered trademarks of AMD Corporation. Intel® and Pentium® are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. PS/2 and OS®/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Windows® 95/98/2000/NT/XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netware® is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. Award® is a registered trademark of Phoenix Technologies Ltd. AMI® is a registered trademark of American Megatrends Inc.

Revision History

Revision Revision History Date

V1.0 First release for PCB 1.X April 2008

Technical Support

If a problem arises with your system and no solution can be obtained from the user’ s manual, please contact your place of purchase or local distributor. Alternatively, please try the following help resources for further guidance.

Visit the MSI website for FAQ, technical guide, BIOS updates, driver updates, and other information: http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?

func=faqIndex

Contact our technical staff at: http://support.msi.com.tw/

Safety Instructions

1. Always read the safety instructions carefully.

2. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference.

3. Keep this equipment away from humidity.

4. Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up.

5. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the equipment from overheating. DO NOT COVER THE OPENINGS.

6. Make sure the voltage of the power source and adjust properly 110/220V before connecting the equipment to the power inlet.

7. Place the power cord such a way that people can not step on it. Do not place anything over the power cord.

8. Always Unplug the Power Cord before inserting any add-on card or module.

9. All cautions and warnings on the equipment should be noted.

10. Never pour any liquid into the opening that could damage or cause electrical shock.

11. If any of the following situations arises, get the equipment checked by a service personnel:

† The power cord or plug is damaged. † Liquid has penetrated into the equipment. † The equipment has been exposed to moisture. † The equipment has not work well or you can not get it work according to

User’s Manual.

† The equipment has dropped and damaged. † The equipment has obvious sign of breakage.

12. DO NOT LEAVE THIS EQUIPMENT IN AN ENVIRONMENT UNCONDITIONED, STORAGE TEMPERATURE ABOVE 600 C (1400F), IT MAY DAMAGE THE EQUIPMENT.

CAUTION: Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer.

iii

FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the measures listed below.

† Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. † Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. † Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

† Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for help.

Notice 1

The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Notice 2

Shielded interface cables and A.C. power cord, if any, must be used in order to comply with the emission limits.

VOIR LA NOTICE D’ INSTALLATION AVANT DE RACCORDER AU RESEAU.

Micro-Star International

MS-7374

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that

may cause undesired operation.

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement

vii

CONTENTS

Copyright Notice..............................................................................................................ii

Trademarks.......................................................................................................................ii

Revision History..............................................................................................................ii

Technical Support...........................................................................................................ii

Safety Instructions.........................................................................................................iii

FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement........................................................iv

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement....................................v

Chapter 1. Getting Started....................................................................................1-1

Mainboard Specifications...................................................................................1-2

Mainboard Layout................................................................................................1-4

Packing Checklist.................................................................................................1-5

Chapter 2. Hardware Setup..................................................................................2-1

Quick Components Guide....................................................................................2-2

CPU (Central Processing Unit)............................................................................2-3

Memory.................................................................................................................2-6

Power Supply......................................................................................................2-8

Back Panel..........................................................................................................2-10

Connectors........................................................................................................2-12

Button.................................................................................................................2-19

Slots....................................................................................................................2-20

LED Status Indicators........................................................................................2-25

Chapter 3 BIOS Setup.............................................................................................3-1

Entering Setup.....................................................................................................3-2

The Main Menu.....................................................................................................3-4

Standard CMOS Features...................................................................................3-6

Advanced BIOS Features...................................................................................3-8

Integrated Peripherals........................................................................................3-11

Power Management Setup...............................................................................3-13

H/W Monitor........................................................................................................3-16

BIOS Setting Password.....................................................................................3-17

Cell Menu............................................................................................................3-18

USER SETTINGS................................................................................................3-23

Load Fail-Safe/ Optimized Defaults.................................................................3-24

Appendix A Realtek ALC888 Audio....................................................................A-1

Installing the Realtek HD Audio Driver................................................................A-2

viii

Software Configuration......................................................................................A-4

Hardware Setup................................................................................................A-19

Appendix B NVIDIA RAID.........................................................................................B-1

Introduction..........................................................................................................B-2

RAID Configuraiton..............................................................................................B-3

Installing Driver....................................................................................................B-7

NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation.............................................................................B-8

Using the NVMediaShield Software.................................................................B-11

Appendix C JMicron RAID Introduction............................................................C-1

Introduction..........................................................................................................C-2

JMicron RAID BIOS Utility....................................................................................C-3

Installing Driver..................................................................................................C-11

JMicron RAID Configurer...................................................................................C-13

Appendix D Dual Core Center..............................................................................D-1

Activating Dual Core Center...............................................................................D-2

Main......................................................................................................................D-3

DOT(Dyanmic OverClocking)..............................................................................D-5

Clock.....................................................................................................................D-6

Voltage.................................................................................................................D-7

FAN Speed...........................................................................................................D-8

Temperature.........................................................................................................D-9

User Profile........................................................................................................D-10

Getting Started

Chapter 1

Getting Started

Thank you for choosing the K9N2 SLI Platinum Series (MS-7374 v1.X) ATX mainboard. The K9N2 SLI Platinum Series mainboards are based on NVIDIA® nForce750a SLI single chipset for optimal system efficiency. Designed to fit the advanced AMD® Phenom/Athlon/ Sempron series in Socket AM2/ AM2+, the K9N2 SLI Platinum Series deliver a high performance and professional desktop platform solution.

1-1

MS-7374 Mainboard

Mainboard Specifications

Processor Support

- AMD® Phenom/ Athlon/ Sempron series processors in AM2/ AM2+ package

- Supports 4 pin CPU Fan Pin-Header with Fan Speed Control

(For the latest information about CPU, please visit

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=cpuform)

Supported FSB

- AM2 CPU supports Hyper Transport 1.0

- AM2+ CPU supports Hyper Transport 3.0

Chipset

- NVIDIA® nForce 750a SLI (MCP 72P) chipset

Memory Support

- DDR2 1066 (for AM2+ CPU only)/ 800/ 667 DRAM (240pin/ 1.8V)

- 4 DDR2 DIMMs (8GB Max)

(For more information on compatible components, please visit

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=testreport)

LAN

- Supports 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8211BL

1394 (optional)

- Transfer rate is up to 400Mbps

- Controlled by VIA VT6308P (optional)

Audio

- Chip integrated by Realtek® ALC888

- Flexible 8-channel audio with jack sensing

- Compliant with Azalia 1.0 spec

IDE

- 2 IDE ports (one by nForce 750a SLI, one by JMB363)

- Supports Ultra DMA 66/100/133 mode

- Supports PIO, Bus Master operation mode

SATA

- 6 SATAII ports by nForce 750a SLI

- 2 ESATA (External-SATA) ports (back panel) by JMB363

- Supports storage and data transfers at up to 3 Gb/s

RAID

- SATA1~6 support RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1/ 5 or JBOD mode

- 2 ESATA (External-SATA) ports support RAID 0/ 1 mode

Floppy

- 1 floppy port

- Supports 1 FDD with 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB and 2.88MB

1-2

Getting Started

Connectors

Back panel

- 1 PS/2 mouse port

- 1 PS/2 keyboard port

- 1 1394 port (optional)

- 1 Optical SPDIF-out jack

- 1 DVI-D port

- 1 LAN jack

- 4 USB 2.0 ports

- 2 ESATA ports

- 6 flexible audio jacks

On-Board Pinheaders

- 3 USB 2.0 pinheaders

- 1 1394 pinheader (optional)

- 1 Front Panel Audio pinheader

- 1 CD-in pinheader

- 1 Serial port pinheader

- 1 TPM Module pinheader (optional)

- 1 SPDIF-out pinheader

- 1 Chassis Intrusion pinheader

TPM (optional)

- Supports TPM

Slots

- 2 PCI Express x16 slots compatible with PCIE 2.0 specification, supports SLI mode

a. the mazarine PCIE x16 (PCI_E1) slot supports up to PCIE 2.0

x16 speed

b. the blue PCIE x16 (PCI_E3) slot is a special design that

supports up to PCIE 2.0 x8 speed

c. if you intend to use both PCIE x16 slots, please use them with

graphics cards in SLI mode and these two PCIE x16 lanes will auto arrange from x16/ x0 to x8/ x8

- 1 PCI Express x 1 slot

- 2 PCI slots

Form Factor

- ATX (30.5cm X 24.4 cm)

Mounting

- 9 mounting holes

1-3

MS-7374 Mainboard

BATT

IDE 1ATX1

J1394_1

PWR_BTN

CLEAR CMOS

JMicron

750a SLI

(optional)

(Optional)

Mainboard Layout

Top : mouse Bottom:keyboard

Top: DVI Bottom: 1394 port (optional) Optical SPDIF-out

USB ports

Top: LAN Jack Bottom: USB ports

eSATA ports

T:Line-In M:Line-Out B:Mic T:RS-Out M:CS-Out B:SS-Out

JCI1

LAN Chip

Chip

JPW3

ports

JPW2

SYSFAN1

SYSFAN2

PCI _E1

I/O

PCI _E2

CPUFAN1

Sock et AM2

DIM

NForce

DIM

SYSFAN3

SATA6

SATA2_4

SATA5

SATA1_3

1-4

Audio

JCD1

PCI _E3

PCI 1

PCI 2

SPDOUT1

FDD1

JFP1

VIA

VT6308P

RESET

JFP2

JCOM1

Coedc

JAUD1

K9N2 SLI Platinum Series (MS-7374 v1.X)

ATX Mainboard

JMB363

JTPM1

JUSB1

JUSB2 JUSB3

SYSFAN4

IDE2

Packing Checklist

Getting Started

MSI motherboard

Power Cable

Floppy Cable

MSI Driver/Utility CD

SATA Cable

external SATA Cable

(Optional)

SLI Video Link Card

IDE Cable

1394 Bracket (Optional)

User’ s Guide

* The pictures are for reference only and may vary from the packing contents of the product you purchased.

Back IO Shield

1-5

Hardware Setup

Chapter 2

Hardware Setup

This chapter provides you with the information about hardware setup procedures. While doing the installation, be careful in holding the components and follow the installation procedures. For some components, if you install in the wrong orientation, the components will not work properly.

Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. Static electricity may damage the components.

2-1

MS-7374 Mainboard

Quick Components Guide

Back Panel I/O, p.2-10

SYSFAN1,

p.2-14

PCI Express slots, p.2-20

JCI1, p.2-15

JCOM1,

p.2-16

PCI Slots,

p.2-24

JPW2, p.2-8

JAUD1,

p.2-15

JCD1,

p.2-15

JPW3, p.2-8

SYSFAN2, p.2-14

SPDOUT1,

p.2-14

FDD1,

p.2-13

CPU, p.2-3

J1394_1,

p.2-17

CPUFAN1, p.2-14

JFP2, p.2-18

JFP1, p.2-18

IDE2,

p.2-12

JTPM1, p.2-17

RESET, p.2-19 PWR_BTN,

p.2-19

SYSFAN4,

p.2-14

DDR2 DIMMs,

p.2-6

IDE1, p.2-12

ATX1, p.2-8

SYSFAN3,

p.2-14

SATA, p.2-13

CLEAR CMOS,

p.2-19

JUSB1~3, p.2-16

2-2

Hardware Setup

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The mainboard supports AMD® Phenom/ Athlon/ Sempron processors in Socket AM2/ AM2+. The Socket AM2/ AM2+ offer a easy CPU installation. When you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a heat sink and a cooling fan attached on the top to prevent overheating. If you do not have the heat sink and cooling fan, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer. For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://global.msi.com.tw/index.

php?func=cpuform

Important

Overheating

Overheating will seriously damage the CPU and system. Always make sure the cooling fan can work properly to protect the CPU from overheating. Make sure that you apply an even layer of thermal paste (or thermal tape) between the CPU and the heatsink to enhance heat dissipation.

Replacing the CPU

While replacing the CPU, always turn off the ATX power supply or unplug the power supply’s power cord from the grounded outlet first to ensure the safety of CPU.

Overclocking

This mainboard is designed to support overclocking. However, please make sure your components are able to tolerate such abnormal setting, while doing overclocking. Any attempt to operate beyond product specifications is not recommended. We do not guarantee the damages or risks caused

by inadequate operation or beyond product specifications.

2-3

MS-7374 Mainboard

Open the lever

Gold arrow

Correct CPU

Incorrect CPU

the lever

CPU Installation Procedures for Socket AM2/ AM2+

1.Please turn off the power and unplug the power cord before installing the CPU.

Sliding

2.Pull the lever sideways away from the socket. Make sure to raise the lever up to a 90-degree angle.

3.Look for the gold arrow on the CPU. The gold arrow should point as shown in the picture. The CPU can only fit in the correct orientation. Lower the CPU down onto the socket.

the plate

90 degree

4.If the CPU is correctly installed, the pins should be completely embedded into the socket and can not be seen. Please note that any violation of the correct installation procedures may cause permanent damages to your mainboard.

5. Press the CPU down firmly into the socket and close the lever. As the CPU is likely to move while the lever is being closed, always close the lever with your fingers pressing tightly on top of the CPU to make sure the CPU is properly and completely embedded into the socket.

2-4

Press down the CPU

placement

Hardware Setup

Installing CPU Cooler Set

When you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a heat sink and a cooling fan attached on the top to prevent overheating. If you do not have the

heat sink and cooling fan, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer.

Important

1. Read the CPU status in BIOS (Chapter 3).

2. Mainboard photos shown in this section are for demonstration of the CPU/ cooler installation only. The appearance of your mainboard may vary depending on the model you purchase.

1.Position the cooling set onto the retention mechanism.

Hook one end of the clip to hook first.

3.Fasten down the lever.

2. Then press down the other end of the clip to fasten the cooling set on the top of the retention mechanism. Locate the Fix Lever and lift it up.

Fixed Lever

4.Attach the CPU fan cable to the CPU fan connector on the mainboard.

2-5

MS-7374 Mainboard

Installed

Memory

These DIMM slots are used for installing memory modules. For more information on compatible components, please visit http://global.msi.com.

tw/index.php?func=testreport

DDR2

240-pin, 1.8V

64x2=128 pin56x2=112 pin

Dual-Channel Memory Population Rules

In Dual-Channel mode, the memory modules can transmit and receive data with two data bus lines simultaneously. Enabling Dual-Channel mode can enhance the system performance. The following illustrations explain the population rules for Dual-Channel mode.

DIMM1 DIMM2

DIMM3 DIMM4

DIMM1 DIMM2 DIMM3 DIMM4

Empty

Important

-DDR2 memory modules are not interchangeable with DDR and the DDR2 standard is not backwards compatible. You should always install DDR2 memory modules in the DDR2 DIMM slots.

-In Dual-Channel mode, make sure that you install memory modules of the same type and density in different channel DIMM slots.

-To enable successful system boot-up, always insert the memory modules into the DIMM1 first.

- Due to the chipset resource deployment, the system density will only be detected up to 7+GB (not full 8GB) when each DIMM is installed with a 2GB memory module.

2-6

Hardware Setup

Installing Memory Modules

1. The memory module has only one notch on the center and will only fit in the right orientation.

2. Insert the memory module vertically into the DIMM slot. Then push it in until the golden finger on the memory module is deeply inserted in the DIMM slot. The plastic clip at each side of the DIMM slot will automatically close when the memory module is properly seated.

Important

You can barely see the golden finger if the module is properly inserted in the DIMM slot.

3. Manually check if the memory module has been locked in place by the DIMM slot clips at the sides.

Volt

Notch

2-7

MS-7374 Mainboard

Power Supply

ATX 24-Pin Power Connector: ATX1

This connector allows you to connect an ATX 24-pin power supply. To connect the ATX 24-pin power supply, make sure the plug of the power supply is inserted in the proper orientation and the pins are aligned. Then push down the power supply firmly into the connector.

You may use the 20-pin ATX power supply as you like. If you’d like to use the 20-pin ATX power supply, please plug your power supply along with pin 1 & pin 13 (refer to the image at the right hand). There is also a foolproof design on pin 11, 12, 23 & 24 to avoid wrong installation.

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL

13 +3.3V 14 -12V 15 GND 16 PS-ON# 17 GND 18 GND 19 GND 20 Res 21 +5V 22 +5V 23 +5V 24 GND

ATX1

PIN SIGNAL

1 +3.3V 2 +3.3V 3 GND 4 +5V 5 GND 6 +5V 7 GND 8 PWR OK 9 5VSB 10 +12V 11 +12V 12 +3.3V

pin 13

pin 12

ATX 8-pin/ 4-pin Power Connector: JPW3/ JPW2

This JPW3 power connector is used to provide power to the CPU. This JPW2 power connector is used to provide power to stable the operation of graphics card.

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL

5 +12V 6 +12V 7 +12V 8 +12V

2-8

JPW3

8 5

JPW2

PIN SIGNAL

1 GND 2 GND 3 GND

4 GND

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL

1 5V 2 GND 3 GND 4 12V

Hardware Setup

Important

1. Make sure that all the connectors are connected to proper ATX power supplies to ensure stable operation of the mainboard.

2. Power supply of 450 watts (and above) is highly recommended for system stability.

3. We recommend you to use the minimum 450 watts power supply to support the needs of SLI technology in the system.

Important Notification about Power Issue

NForce chipset is very sensitive to ESD (Electrostatic Discharge), therefore this issue mostly happens while the users intensively swap memory modules under S5 (power-off) states, and the power code is plugged while installing modules. Due to several pins are very sensitive to ESD, so this kind of memory-replacement actions might cause system chipset unable to boot. Please follow the following solution to avoid this situation.

Unplug the AC power cable (shown in figure 1) or unplug all power connectors on the mainboard (shown in figure 2) before the 1st installation or during system upgrade procedure.

Unplug the AC power cable

Figure 1:

Figure 2: Unplug all the power connectors

2-9

MS-7374 Mainboard

Back Panel

Mouse

Keyboard

DVI-D Port

1394 Port

(optional)

USB Port

Optical S/PDIF-Out

LAN

USB Port

ESATA Port

Line-In

Line-Out

Mic

RS-Out

CS-Out

SS-Out

Mouse/Keyboard

The standard PS/2® mouse/keyboard DIN connector is for a PS/2® mouse/keyboard.

DVI-D Port The DVI-D (Digital Visual Interface-Digital) connector allows you to connect a LCD monitor. It provides a high-speed digital interconnection between the computer and its display device. To connect an LCD monitor, simply plug your monitor cable into the DVI-D connector, and make sure that the other end of the cable is properly connected to your monitor (refer to your monitor manual for more information.)

1394 Port (optional) The IEEE1394 port on the back panel provides connection to IEEE1394 devices.

Optical S/PDIF-Out This SPDIF (Sony & Philips Digital Interconnect Format) connector is provided for digital audio transmission to external speakers through an optical fiber cable.

USB Port The USB (Universal Serial Bus) port is for attaching USB devices such as keyboard, mouse, or other USB-compatible devices.

2-10

Hardware Setup

LAN The standard RJ-45 LAN jack is for connection to the Local Area Network (LAN). You can connect

Green / OrangeYellow

a network cable to it.

LED Color LED State condition

Off LAN link is not established.

Left Orange On (steady state) LAN link is established.

On (brighter & pulsing)The computer is communicating with another computer on the LAN.

Green Off 10 Mbit/sec data rate is selected.

Right On 100 Mbit/sec data rate is selected.

Orange On 1000 Mbit/sec data rate is selected.

ESATA Port This ESATA (External Serial ATA) port is used to connect the external SATA device. You can also use the optional external SATA cable to connect SATA device and ESATA port.

Audio Ports These audio connectors are used for audio devices. It is easy to differentiate between audio effects according to the color of audio jacks.

Line-In (Blue) - Line In is used for external CD player, tape-player or

other audio devices.

Line-Out (Green) - Line Out, is a connector for speakers or headphones. Mic (Pink) - Mic, is a connector for microphones. RS-Out (Black) - Rear-Surround Out in 4/ 5.1/ 7.1 channel mode. CS-Out (Orange) - Center/ Subwoofer Out in 5.1/ 7.1 channel mode. SS-Out (Gray) - Side-Surround Out 7.1 channel mode.

2-11

MS-7374 Mainboard

Connectors

IDE Connector: IDE1 / IDE2

This connector supports IDE hard disk drives, optical disk drives and other IDE devices.

IDE1

IDE2

IDE1 (Primary IDE Connector)

The first hard drive should always be connected to IDE1. IDE1 can connect a Master and a Slave drive.

IDE2 (Secondary IDE Connector) IDE2 can also connect a Master and a Slave drive.

Important

If you install two IDE devices on the same cable, you must configure the drives separately to master / slave mode by setting jumpers. Refer to IDE device’s documentation supplied by the vendors for jumper setting instructions.

2-12

Hardware Setup

Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1

This connector supports 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB or 2.88MB floppy disk drive.

FDD1

Serial ATA Connector: SATA1~6

This connector is a high-speed Serial ATA interface port. Each connector can connect to one Serial ATA device.

SATA6

SATA5

SATA4/SATA2

SATA3/SATA1

Important

1. Please do not fold the Serial ATA cable into 90-degrees angle. Otherwise, data loss may occur during transmission.

2. SATA5 & SATA 6 support AHCI mode and RAID mode only.

2-13

MS-7374 Mainboard

Fan Power Connectors: CPUFAN1, SYSFAN1/ 2/ 3/ 4

The fan power connectors support system cooling fan with +12V. When connecting the wire to the connectors, always note that the red wire is the positive and should be connected to the +12V; the black wire is Ground and should be connected to GND. If the mainboard has a System Hardware Monitor chipset on-board, you must use a specially designed fan with speed sensor to take advantage of the CPU fan control.

CONTROL

SENSOR

+12V GND

CPUFAN1

GND +12V

NC or Sensor

SYSFAN1/2/3

+12V

GND

SYSFAN4

Important

1.Please refer to the recommended CPU fans at processor’s official website or consult the vendors for proper CPU cooling fan.

2.CPUFAN1 supports fan control. You can install Dual Core Center utility that will automatically control the CPU fan speed according to the actual CPU temperature.

3. Fan/heatsink with 3 or 4 pins are both available for CPUFAN1.

SPDIF-Out Connector: SPDOUT1 (optional, for HDMI graphics card only)

This connector is used to connect S/PDIF (Sony & Philips Digital Interconnect Format) interface for digital audio transmission to the HDMI graphics card.

SPDIF

GND

SPDOUT1

2-14

Hardware Setup

Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1

This connector allows you to connect the front panel audio and is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

2 1

JAUD1

HD Audio Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 MIC_L Microphone - Left channel 2 GND Ground 3 MIC_R Microphone - Right channel 4 NC 5 LINE out_R Analog Port - Right channel 6 MIC_JD Jack detection return from front panel microphone JACK1 7 Front_JD Jack detection sense line from the High Definition Audio CODEC

8 NC No control 9 LINE out_L Analog Port - Left channel 10 LINEout_JD Jack detection return from front panel JACK2

jack detection resistor network

Chassis Intrusion Connector: JCI1

This connector connects to the chassis intrusion switch cable. If the chassis is opened, the chassis intrusion mechanism will be activated. The system will record this status and show a warning message on the screen. To clear the warning, you must enter the BIOS utility and clear the record.

GND

CINTRU

JCI1

CD-In Connector: JCD1

This connector is provided for external audio input.

GND

JCD1

2-15

MS-7374 Mainboard

Front USB Connector: JUSB1/ JUSB2/ JUSB3

This connector, compliant with Intel® I/O Connectivity Design Guide, is ideal for connecting high-speed USB interface peripherals such as USB HDD, digital cameras,

MP3 players, printers, modems and the like.

910

JUSB1 / 2/ 3

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

1 VCC 2 VCC 3 USB0- 4 USB15 USB0+ 6 USB1+ 7 GND 8 GND 9 Key (no pin) 10 NC

Pin Definition

USB 2.0 Bracket

(optional)

Important

Note that the pins of VCC and GND must be connected correctly to avoid possible damage.

Serial Port Connector: JCOM1

This connector is a 16550A high speed communication port that sends/receives 16 bytes FIFOs. You can attach a serial device.

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

JCOM1

1 DCD Data Carry Detect 2 SIN Serial In or Receive Data 3 SOUT Serial Out or Transmit Data 4 DTR Data Terminal Ready 5 GND Ground 6 DSR Data Set Ready 7 RTS Request To Send 8 CTS Clear To Send 9 RI Ring Indicate

2-16

Hardware Setup

IEEE1394 Connector: J1394_1 (optional)

This connector allows you to connect the IEEE1394 device via an optional IEEE1394 bracket.

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

J1394_1

10 9

1 TPA+ 2 TPA3 Ground 4 Ground 5 TPB+ 6 TPB7 Cable power 8 Cable power 9 Key (no pin) 10 Ground

IEEE1394 Bracket (optional)

TPM Module Connector: JTPM1 (optional)

This connector connects to a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) module (optional). Please refer to the TPM security platform manual for more details and usages.

JTPM1

Pin Signal Description Pin Signal Description 1 LCLK LPC clock 2 3V_STB 3V standby power 3 LRST# LPC reset 4 VCC3 3.3V power 5 LAD0 LPC address & data pin0 6 SIRQ Serial IRQ 7 LAD1 LPC address & data pin1 8 VCC5 5V power 9 LAD2 LPC address & data pin2 10 KEY No pin 11 LAD3 LPC address & data pin3 12 GND Ground 13 LFRAME# LPC Frame 14 GND Ground

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Front Panel Connectors: JFP1, JFP2

These connectors are for electrical connection to the front panel switches and LEDs. The JFP1 is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

Power

Switch

LED

Reset Switch

JFP1

HDD LED

JFP1 Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 HD_LED + Hard disk LED pull-up 2 FP PWR/SLP MSG LED pull-up 3 HD_LED - Hard disk active LED 4 FP PWR/SLP MSG LED pull-up 5 RST_SW - Reset Switch low reference pull-down to GND 6 PWR_SW + Power Switch high reference pull-up 7 RST_SW + Reset Switch high reference pull-up 8 PWR_SW - Power Switch low reference pull-down to GND 9 RSVD_DNU Reserved. Do not use.

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Speaker

Power LED

JFP2

2 1

JFP2 Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 GND Ground 2 SPK- Speaker3 SLED Suspend LED 4 BUZ+ Buzzer+ 5 PLED Power LED 6 BUZ- Buzzer7 NC No connection 8 SPK+ Speaker+

Hardware Setup

Button

This mainboard provides the following buttons for you to set the computer’s function. This section will explain how to change your mainboard’s function through the use of buttons.

Clear CMOS Button: CLEAR CMOS

There is a CMOS RAM on board that has a power supply from external battery to keep the system configuration data. With the CMOS RAM, the system can automatically boot OS every time it is turned on. If you want to clear the system configuration, use the button to clear data. Press the button to clear the data.

CLEAR CMOS

Important

Make sure that you power off the system before clearing CMOS data.

Reset Button: RESET

This reset button is used to reset the system. Press the button to reset the system.

RESET

Power Button: PWR_BTN

This power button is used to turn-on or turn-off the system. Press the button to turnon or turn-off the system.

PWR_BTN

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Slots

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express Slots

The PCI Express slot supports the PCI Express interface expansion card. The PCI Express 2.0 x 16 supports up to 8.0 GB/s transfer rate. The PCI Express 2.0 x 8 supports up to 4.0 GB/s transfer rate. The PCI Express x 1 supports up to 250 MB/s transfer rate.

Mazarine PCI Express x16 Slot supports up to PCI Express 2.0x 16 speed (PCI_E1 )

PCI Express x 1 Slot (PCI_E2)

Blue PCI Express x 16 Slot supports up to PCI Express 2.0 x 8 speed (PCI_E3)

Important

When adding or removing expansion cards, make sure that you unplug the power supply first. Meanwhile, read the documentation for the expansion card to configure any necessary hardware or software settings for the expansion card, such as jumpers, switches or BIOS configuration.

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Hardware Setup

NV SLI Technology

NVIDIA SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology allows two GPUs to run in tandem within a system to achieve up to twice the performance of a single graphics card. To utilize this technology, the two GPU cards must be connected by an SLI Video Link card.

SLI Video Link Card

If you intend to use the SLI mode for better graphics performance, please refer to the following instructions.

1.Install two graphics cards on PCI Express x16 slots. With two cards installed, an SLI Video Link Card is required to connect the golden fingers on the top of these two graphics cards (refer to the picture below). Please note that although you have installed two graphics cards, only the video outputs on the first card will work. Hence, you only need to connect a monitor to the first PCI Express card.

SLI Video Link Card

Important

1. The photos shown in this section are for demonstration only. The appearance of your mainboard may vary depending on the model you purchase.

2. If you intend to install TWO x16 graphics cards, make sure that these two graphics cards are of the same brand and specifications.

3. Make sure that you connect an adequate power supply to the JPW2 connector (or to the power connector on the graphics card) to ensure stable operation of the graphics card.

4. If you intend to install only ONE graphics card, make sure that the graphics card is Installed on the mazarine PCIE x16 (PCI_E1) slot.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

2. After the hardware installation is completed, restart the system and install the NV SLI driver/utility. A configuration panel will be provided for SLI control. Select the Enable SLI technology (recommended) item to enable the SLI function for the onboard graphics cards (concerning the details of SLI settings, please refer to your graphics card manual) .

Select “Enable SLI technology (recommended)”

3. Restart your system and a pop-up message will show in the system tray confirming the SLI has been enabled.

Important

If you want to remove one graphics card and quit the SLI function, make sure the "SLI" function is disabled.

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Hardware Setup

NVIDIA Hybrid SLI Technology

Hybrid SLI technology, based on NVIDIA’s industry-leading SLI technology, delivers multi-GPU benefits when an NVIDIA mainboard GPU is combined with an NVIDIA discrete GPU.

Enabling Hybrid SLI Technology

Power off the system and install the NVIDIA SLI graphic card that supports Hybrid SLI technology. After then, power on the system and install the “NVIDIA hSLI Driver” which supports Windows Vista only. Restart the system and wait for the Hybrid Icon to show in the system tray. The hybrid icon indicates that the system is in Performance mode and that GeForce Boost is enabled. The chipset will share the rendering load with the graphic card and boost the performance of the graphic card.

Click on the Hybrid Icon in the System tray can select the Hybird mode. The Hybrid modes are listed below.

Hybrid-Performance Mode - The hybrid mode where the discrete GPU (dGPU) and mainboard GPU (mGPU) are simultaneously active and working collaboratively to provide higher performance (GeForce Boost)

Hybrid-Power Mode - The hybrid mode where the dGPU completely shut off and mGPU renders and drives the display (HybridPower).

Important

1. Please note that although you have installed the graphics card in the PCI Express slot, only the onboard video outputs (which be embedded in back panel of mainboard) will work. Hence, you only need to connect a monitor to the onboard video output.

2. Be sure to set [Internal] in “Primary Graphic’ s Adapter” of Advanced BIOS Features in BIOS.

3. We suggest that you have to select 256MB or higher for “ VGA Share Memory Size” in BIOS.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots

The PCI slots support LAN cards, SCSI cards, USB cards, and other add-on cards that comply with PCI specifications. At 32 bits and 33 MHz, it yields a throughput rate of 133 MBps.

32-bit PCI Slot

PCI Interrupt Request Routing

The IRQ, acronym of interrupt request line and pronounced I-R-Q, are hardware lines over which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor. The PCI IRQ pins are typically connected to the PCI bus pins as follows:

Order 1 Order 2 Order 3 Order 4 PCI Slot 1 INT W# INT X# INT Y# INT Z# PCI Slot 2 INT X# INT Y# INT Z# INT W#

Important

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LED Status Indicators

LED15

LED12

LED13

LED14

LED16

LED4

LED5

LED6

LED7

LED8

LED9

LED10

LED1

LED2

LED3

LED11

Hardware Setup

Name Status

LED1 Lights when the 12V power conn. is not connected. LED2 Lights when PCI_E1 slot is functional. LED3 Lights when PCI_E2 slot is functional. LED12 Lights when PCI_E3 slot is functional. LED13 Lights when PCI1 slot is functional. LED14 Lights when PCI2 slot is functional. LED15 Lights when system is power-on. LED16 Lights when system is on standby mode.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

LED 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

These four LEDs allow users to identify system problems through 16 various combinations of LED signals.

Red

LED Signal

Group4 Group3 Group2 Group1

LED4 LED5 LED6 LED7 LED8 LED9 LED10 LED11

Green

Description

System Power ON The D-LED will hang here if the processor is damaged or not installed properly.

Early Chipset Initialization

Memory Detection Test Testing onboard memory size. The D-LED will hang if the memory module is damaged or not installed properly.

Decompressing BIOS image to RAM for fast booting.

Initializing Keyboard Controller.

Group4 Group3 Group2 Group1

LED Signal

Group4 Group3 Group2 Group1

Description

Initializing Video Interface This will start detecting CPU clock, checking type of video onboard. Then, detect and initialize the video adapter.

BIOS Sign On This will start showing information about logo, processor brand name, etc...

Testing Base and Extended Memory Testing base memory from 240K to 640K and extended memory above 1MB using various patterns.

Assign Resources to all ISA.

Initializing Hard Drive Controller This will initialize IDE drive and controller.

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Group4

Testing VGA BIOS

Group3

This will start writing VGA sign-on

Group2

message to the screen.

Group1

Processor Initialization

Group4

This will show information regarding

Group3 Group2

the processor (like brand name, sys-

Group1

tem bus, etc...)

Group4 Group3

Testing RTC (Real Time Clock)

Group2 Group1

Initializing Floppy Drive Controller

Group4 Group3

This will initialize Floppy Drive and

Group2

controller.

Group1

Boot Attempt

Group4 Group3

This will set low stack and boot via

Group2

INT 19h.

Group1

Group4 Group3

Operating System Booting

Group2 Group1

Chapter 3

BIOS Setup

This chapter provides information on the BIOS Setup program and allows you to configure the system for optimum use. You may need to run the Setup program when:

² An error message appears on the screen during the

system booting up, and requests you to run SETUP.

² You want to change the default settings for cus-

tomized features.

BIOS Setup

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Entering Setup

Power on the computer and the system will start POST (Power On Self Test) process. When the message below appears on the screen, press <DEL> key to enter Setup.

Press DEL to enter SETUP

If the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter Setup, restart the system by turning it OFF and On or pressing the RESET button. You may also restart the system by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl>, <Alt>, and <Delete> keys.

Important

1.The items under each BIOS category described in this chapter are under continuous update for better system performance. Therefore, the description may be slightly different from the latest BIOS and should be held for reference only.

2.Upon boot-up, the 1st line appearing after the memory count is the BIOS version. It is usually in the format:

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A7374NMS V1.0 021308 where:

1st digit refers to BIOS maker as A = AMI, W = AWARD, and P = PHOENIX. 2nd - 5th digit refers to the model number. 6th digit refers to the chipset as I = Intel, N = nVidia, and V = VIA. 7th - 8th digit refers to the customer as MS = all standard customers. V1.0 refers to the BIOS version. 021308 refers to the date this BIOS was released.

BIOS Setup

Control Keys

<↑> Move to the previous item <↓> Move to the next item <←> Move to the item in the left hand < →> Move to the item in the right hand

<Enter> Select the item <Esc> Jumps to the Exit menu or returns to the main menu from a

submenu <+/PU> Increase the numeric value or make changes <-/PD> Decrease the numeric value or make changes <F1> General Help <F6> Load Optimized Defaults <F7> Load Fail-Safe Defaults <F10> Save all the CMOS changes and exit

Getting Help

After entering the Setup menu, the first menu you will see is the Main Menu.

Main Menu

The main menu lists the setup functions you can make changes to. You can use the arrow keys ( ↑↓ ) to select the item. The on-line description of the highlighted setup function is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Sub-Menu

If you find a right pointer symbol (as shown in the right view) appears to the left of certain fields that means a sub-menu can be launched from this field. A sub-menu contains additional options for a field parameter. You can use arrow keys ( ↑↓ ) to highlight the field and press <Enter> to call up the submenu. Then you can use the control keys to enter values and move from field to field within a sub-menu. If you want to return to the main menu, just press the <Esc >.

General Help <F1>

The BIOS setup program provides a General Help screen. You can call up this screen from any menu by simply pressing <F1>. The Help screen lists the appropriate keys to use and the possible selections for the highlighted item. Press <Esc> to exit the Help screen.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

The Main Menu

Standard CMOS Features

Use this menu for basic system configurations, such as time, date etc.

Advanced BIOS Features

Use this menu to setup the items of AMI® special enhanced features.

Integrated Peripherals

Use this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.

Power Management Setup

Use this menu to specify your settings for power management.

H/W Monitor

This entry shows your PC health status.

BIOS Setting Password

Use this menu to set the password for BIOS.

Cell Menu

Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control and overclocking.

USER SETTINGS

Use this menu to save or load settings.

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BIOS Setup

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

Use this menu to load the default values set by the BIOS vendor for stable system performance.

Load Optimized Defaults

Use this menu to load the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifically for optimal performance of the mainboard.

Save & Exit Setup

Save changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without Saving

Abandon all changes and exit setup.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Standard CMOS Features

The items in Standard CMOS Features Menu includes some basic setup items. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item and then use the <PgUp> or <PgDn> keys to select the value you want in each item.

Date (MM:DD:YY)

This allows you to set the system to the date that you want (usually the current date). The format is <day><month> <date> <year>.

day Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined by month The month from Jan. to Dec.

date The date from 1 to 31 can be keyed by numeric function keys. year The year can be adjusted by users.

Time (HH:MM:SS)

This allows you to set the system time that you want (usually the current time). The time format is <hour> <minute> <second>.

IDE Primary/Secondary Master/ Slave & SATA 1~6 & E-SATA1/2

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu, and the following screen appears.

Device/ Vender/ Size

It will showing the device information that you connected to the IDE / SATA / ESATA connectors .

BIOS. Read-only.

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BIOS Setup

LBA/Large Mode

This allows you to enable or disable the LBA Mode. Setting to Auto enables LBA mode if the device supports it and the devices is not already formatted with LBA mode disabled.

DMA Mode

Select DMA Mode.

Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T.

This allows you to activate the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology) capability for the hard disks. S.M.A.R.T. is a utility that monitors your disk status to predict hard disk failure. This gives you an opportunity to move data from a hard disk that is going to fail to a safe place before the hard disk becomes offline.

Important

IDE Primary/Secondary Master/Slave, SATA1~6 & E-SATA1/2 are appearing when you connect the HD devices to the IDE/ SATA/ E-SATA connector on the mainboard.

Floppy Drive A

This item allows you to set the type of floppy drives installed. Available options: [None], [360K, 5.25 in.], [1.2M, 5.25 in.], [720K, 3.5 in.], [1.44M, 3.5 in.], [2.88M, 3.5 in.].

System Information

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu, and the following screen appears.

This sub-menu shows the CPU information, BIOS version and memory status of your system (read only).

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Advanced BIOS Features

Full Screen Logo Display

This item enables you to show the company logo on the bootup screen. Settings are:

[Enabled] Shows a still image (logo) on the full screen at boot. [Disabled] Shows the POST messages at boot.

Quick Booting

Setting the item to [Enabled] allows the system to boot within 10 seconds since it will skip some check items.

Boot Up Num-Lock LED

This setting is to set the Num Lock status when the system is powered on. Setting to [On] will turn on the Num Lock key when the system is powered on. Setting to [Off] will allow users to use the arrow keys on the numeric keypad.

IOAPIC Function

This field is used to enable or disable the APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller). Due to compliance with PC2001 design guide, the system is able to run in APIC mode. Enabling APIC mode will expand available IRQ resources for the system.

MPS Table Version

This field allows you to select which MPS (Multi-Processor Specification) version to be used for the operating system. You need to select the MPS version supported by your operating system. To find out which version to use, consult the vendor of your operating system.

3-8

BIOS Setup

Password Check

After you set the password in BIOS Setting Password menu, this item will appear. Selecting [setup] will request the password when enter the BIOS setup menu. Selecting [always] will request the password when enter both the operating system and the BIOS setup menu.

Primary Graphic’s Adapter

This setting specifies which graphic card is your primary graphics adapter.

PCI Latency Timer

This item controls how long each PCI device can hold the bus before another takes over. When set to higher values, every PCI device can conduct transactions for a longer time and thus improve the effective PCI bandwidth. For better PCI performance, you should set the item to higher values.

CPU Feature

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

SVM Support (for AM2+ CPU only)

This item is used to enable or disable the AMD SVM (Secure Virtual Machine) mode.

Chipset Feature

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

HPET

The HPET (High Precision Event Timers) is a component that is part of the chipset. You can to enable it, and will provide you with the means to get to it via the various ACPI methods.

On-Chip VGA

This item is used to enable or disable the on-chip VGA.

VGA Share Memory Size

The system shares memory to the on-chip VGA. This setting controls the exact memory size shared to the on-chip VGA.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Boot Sequence

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

1st/ 2nd/ 3rd Boot Device

The items allow you to set the first/ second/ third boot device where BIOS attempts to load the disk operating system.

Boot From Other Device

Setting the option to [Yes] allows the system to try to boot from other device. If the system fails to boot from the 1st/ 2nd/ 3rd boot device.

Trusted Computing

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears

TCG/TPM SUPPORT

This field is used to enable or disable TPM (Trusted Platform Module).

Execute TPM Command

Setting the option to [Enable] enable the system to execute TPM Command.

Clearing the TPM

Press Enter to clear the TPM status.

TPM Enable/Disable status, TPM Owner Status

These items show the status of TPM (read only).

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BIOS Setup

Integrated Peripherals

USB Controller

This setting allows you to enable/disable the onboard USB controller.

USB Device Legacy Support

Select [Enabled] if you need to use a USB-interfaced device in the operating system.

Onboard LAN Controller

This item is used to enable/disable the onboard LAN controller.

LAN Option ROM

This item is used to decide whether to invoke the Boot ROM of the LAN controller.

Onboard IEEE1394 Controller

This item allows you to enable/disable the onboard IEEE1394 controller.

Extra RAID/IDE Controller (for JMicron RAID)

This item allows you to enable/disable the extra RAID/IDE JMB363 controller (IDE2, ESATA1 and E-SATA2).

RAID Mode

This item allows you to select the RAID function for extra RAID/ IDE controller. Select [RAID] will enable RAID.

HD Audio Controller

This item allows you to enable/disable the onboard HD audio controller.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

On-Chip ATA Devices

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

On-Chip IDE Controller

This item allows you to enable/ disable the IDE controller.

PCI IDE BusMaster

This item allows you to enable/ disable BIOS to used PCI busmastering for reading/ writing to IDE drives.

On-Chip SATA Controller

This item allows you to enable/ disable the SATA controller.

RAID mode

Setting this option to [RAID] activates the following fields, and use the following fields to enable RAID for SATA hard disks.

SATA 1/2/3/4/5/6

These items are used to enable RAID for SATA 1/2/3/4/5/6.

I/O Devices

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

COM Port 1

Select an address and corresponding interrupt for the first serial port.

3-12

Power Management Setup

Important

BIOS Setup

S3-related functions described in this section are available only when your BIOS supports S3 sleep mode.

ACPI Function

This item is to activate the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface) Function. If your operating system is ACPI-aware, such as Windows 2000/ XP, select [Enabled].

ACPI Standby State

This item specifies the power saving modes for ACPI function. If your operating system supports ACPI, such as Windows 2000/ XP , you can choose to enter the Standby mode in S1(POS) or S3(STR) fashion through the setting of this field. Settings are:

[S1] The S1 sleep mode is a low power state. In this state, no

[S3] The S3 sleep mode is a lower power state where the in

system context is lost (CPU or chipset) and hardware maintains all system context.

formation of system configuration and open applications/files is saved to main memory that remains powered while most other hardware components turn off to save energy. The information stored in memory will be used to restore the system when a “wake up ” event occurs.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Re-call VGA BIOS From S3

When ACPI Standby State is set to [S3], users can select the options in this field. Selecting [Yes] allows BIOS to call VGABIOS to initialize the VGA card when system wakes up (resumes) from S3 sleep state. The system resume time is shortened when you disable the function, but system will need an VGA driver to initialize the VGA card. Therefore, if the VGA driver of the card does not support the initialization feature, the display may work abnormally or not function after resuming from S3.

Power Button Function

This feature sets the function of the power button. Settings are:

[Power On/Off]The power button functions as normal power on/ off button. [Suspend] When you press the power button, the computer enters the

Restore On AC Power Loss

This item specifies whether your system will reboot after a power failure or interrupt occurs. Settings are:

[Off] Always leaves the computer in the power off state. [On] Always leaves the computer in the power on state. [Last State] Restores the system to the status before power failure

Wake Up Event Setup

Press <Enter> and the following sub-menu appears.

suspend/sleep mode, but if the button is pressed for more than four seconds, the computer is turned off.

or interrupt occurred.

Wake Up Event By

Setting to [BIOS] activates the following fields, and use the following fields to set the wake up events. Setting to [OS], the wake up events will be defined by OS.

Resume From S3 By USB Device

The item allows the activity of the USB device to wake up the system from S3 (Suspend to RAM) sleep state.

Resume From S3 By PS/2 Keyboard

This setting determines whether the system will be awakened from what power saving modes when input signal of the PS/2 keyboard is detected.

3-14

BIOS Setup

Resume From S3 By PS/2 Mouse

This setting determines whether the system will be awakened from what power saving modes when input signal of the PS/2 mouse is detected.

Resume By PCI Device (PME#)

When set to [Enabled], the feature allows your system to be awakened from the power saving modes through any event on PME (Power Management Event).

Resume By PCI-E Device

When set to [Enabled], the feature allows your system to be awakened from the power saving modes through any event on PCI Express device.

Resume By Onbaord Lan

When set to [Enabled], the feature allows your system to be awakened from the power saving modes through any event on LAN device.

Resume By RTC Alarm

The field is used to enable or disable the feature of booting up the system on a scheduled time/date.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

H/W Monitor

Chassis Intrusion

The field enables or disables the feature of recording the chassis intrusion status and issuing a warning message if the chassis is once opened. To clear the warning message, set the field to [Reset]. The setting of the field will automatically return to [Enabled] later.

CPU Smart FAN Target

The mainboard provides the Smart Fan function which can control the CPU fan speed automatically depending on the current temperature to keep it with in a specific range. You can select a fan target value here. If the current CPU fan temperature reaches to the target value, the smart fan function will be activated. It provides several sections to speed up for cooling down automatically.

CPU Min. FAN Speed (%)

When you set a FAN target in “ CPU Smart FAN Target”, this item will appear. This item allows you to select how percentage of minimum speed limit for the CPU fan.

SYS FAN1 Control

This item is used to specify the percentage of SYSFAN1 speed.

---- PC Health Status --- CPU/ System Temperature, CPU FAN/ SYS FAN1/ SYS FAN2 Speed, CPU

Vcore, 3.3V, 5V, 12V

These items display the current status of all of the monitored hardware devices/ components such as CPU voltage, temperatures and all fans’ speeds.

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BIOS Setup

BIOS Setting Password

When you select this function, a message as below will appear on the screen:

Type the password, up to six characters in length, and press <Enter>. The password typed now will replace any previously set password from CMOS memory. You will be prompted to confirm the password. Retype the password and press <Enter>. You may also press <Esc> to abort the selection and not enter a password. To clear a set password, just press <Enter> when you are prompted to enter the password. A message will show up confirming the password will be disabled. Once the password is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup without entering any password. When a password has been set, you will be prompted to enter it every time you try to enter Setup. This prevents an unauthorized person from changing any part of your system configuration.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Cell Menu

Important

Change these settings only if you are familiar with the chipset.

Current CPU/ DRAM Frequency

These items show the current clocks of CPU and Memory speed. Read-only.

D.O.T Control

D.O.T. (Dynamic Overclocking Technology) is the automatic overclocking function, included in the MSITM’s newly developed CoreCell detect the load balance of CPU while running programs, and to adjust the best CPU frequency automatically. When the motherboard detects CPU is running programs, it will speed up CPU automatically to make the program run smoothly and faster. When the CPU is temporarily suspending or staying in the low load balance, it will restore the default settings instead. Usually the Dynamic Overclocking Technology will be powered only when users' PC need to run huge amount of data like 3D games or the video process, and the CPU frequency need to be boosted up to enhance the overall performance. Settings are:

3-18

Technology. It is designed to

BIOS Setup

[Disabled] Disable Dynamic Overclocking. [Private] 1st level of overclocking, increasing the frequency by 1%. [Sergeant] 2nd level of overclocking, increasing the frequency by 3%. [Captain] 3rd level of overclocking, increasing the frequency by 5%. [Colonel] 4th level of overclocking, increasing the frequency by 7%. [General] 5th level of overclocking, increasing the frequency by 10%. [Commander] 6th level of overclocking, increasing the frequency by 15%.

Important

Even though the Dynamic Overclocking Technology is more stable than manual overclocking, basically, it is still risky. We suggest user to make sure that your CPU can afford to overclocking regularly first. If you find the PC appears to be unstable or reboot incidentally, it's better to disable the Dynamic Overclocking or to lower the level of overclocking options. By the way, if you need to conduct overclocking manually, you also need to disable the Dynamic OverClocking first.

AMD Cool’n’Quiet

The Cool’ n’ Quiet technology can effectively and dynamically lower CPU speed and power consumption.

Important

To ensure that Cool’n’Quiet function is activated and will be working properly, it is required to double confirm that:

1.Run BIOS Setup, and select Cell Menu. Under Cell Menu, find AMD Cool’n’Quiet, and set this item to “Enable.”

2.Enter Windows, and select [Start]-> [Settings]->[Control Pannel]->[Power Options]. Enter Power Options Prop-

erties tag, and select Minimal Power Management under Power schemes.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Adjust CPU FSB Frequency (MHz)

This item allows you to select the CPU Front Side Bus clock frequency (in MHz).

Adjust CPU Ratio

This item is used to adjust CPU clock multiplier (ratio). It is available only when the processor supports this function.

Adjusted CPU Frequency (MHz)

This item shows the adjusted CPU frequency. Read only.

Advance DRAM Configuration

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears.

DRAM Timing Mode

Selects whether DRAM timing is controlled by the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) EEPROM on the DRAM module. Setting to [Auto] enables DRAM timings and the following related items to be determined by BIOS based on the configurations on the SPD. Selecting [Manual] allows users to configure the DRAM timings and the following related items manually.

Bank Interleaving

This field selects 2-bank or 4-bank interleave for the installed SDRAM. Disable the function if 16MB SDRAM is installed.

1T/2T Memory Timing

When the Memory Timings is set to [Manual], the field is adjustable. This field controls the SDRAM command rate. Selecting [1T] makes SDRAM signal controller to run at 1T (T=clock cycles) rate. Selecting [2T] makes SDRAM signal controller run at 2T rate.

SoftWare Memory Hole

In order to improve performance, certain space in memory can be reserved for ISA peripherals. This memory must be mapped into the memory space below 16MB. When this area is reserved, it cannot be cached.

FSB/DRAM Ratio

This setting controls the ratio of CPU FSB Clock & DRAM Frequency to enable the CPU FSB & DRAM to run at different frequency combinations (non-synchronous overclocking). Please note that the setting options vary according to the CPU FSB Clock preset.

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BIOS Setup

Adjusted DRAM Frequency (MHz)

This item shows the adjusted DRAM frequency. Read only.

HT Configuration

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears.

SB to AM2 FreqAuto

Selecting [Disabled] allows users to configure the frequency (from SB to CPU) and the following related items manually.

SB to AM2 Freq

This field selects the frequency from SB to CPU.

SB to AM2 Link

This field selects the bandwidth from SB to CPU.

Adjust PCI-E Frequency (MHz)

This field allows you to select the PCI Express frequency (in MHz).

Auto Disabled PCI Frequency

When set to [Enabled], the system will remove (turn off) clocks from empty PCI slots to minimize the electromagnetic interference (EMI).

CPU Voltage (V)

This item allows you to increase the CPU voltage.

DRAM Voltage (V)

Adjusting the voltage can increase the memory speed.

NB Voltage (V)

Adjust the North Bridge chipset voltage.

HT Link Voltage (V)

Adjust the Hyper-Transport link voltage.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Spread Spectrum

This setting is used to enable or disable the Spread Spectrum feature. When overclocking, always set it to [Disabled].

Important

1.If you do not have any EMI problem, leave the setting at [Disabled] for optimal system stability and performance. But if you are plagued by EMI, select the value of Spread Spectrum for EMI reduction.

2.The greater the Spread Spectrum value is, the greater the EMI is reduced, and the system will become less stable. For the most suitable Spread Spectrum value, please consult your local EMI regulation.

3.Remember to disable Spread Spectrum if you are overclocking because even a slight jitter can introduce a temporary boost in clock speed which may just cause your overclocked processor to lock up.

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BIOS Setup

USER SETTINGS

Save Settings 1/2

Select this item and press “Enter” to save any changes you have made to your current settings.

Load Settings 1/2

Select this item and press “Enter” to load settings from the store.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Load Fail-Safe/ Optimized Defaults

The two options on the main menu allow users to restore all of the BIOS settings to the default Fail-Safe or Optimized values. The Optimized Defaults are the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifically for optimal performance of the mainboard. The Fail-Safe Defaults are the default values set by the BIOS vendor for stable system performance.

When you select Load Fail-Safe Defaults, a message as below appears:

Selecting Ok and pressing Enter loads the BIOS default values for the most stable, minimal system performance.

When you select Load Optimized Defaults, a message as below appears:

Selecting Ok and pressing Enter loads the default factory settings for optimal system performance.

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Appendix A

Realtek ALC888 Audio

The Realtek ALC888 provides 10-channel DAC that simultaneously supports 7.1 sound playback and 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the Front-Out-Left and Front-OutRight channels.

MS-7374 Mainboard

Installing the Realtek HD Audio Driver

You need to install the HD audio driver for Realtek ALC888 codec to function properly before you can get access to 2-, 4-, 6-, 8- channel or 7.1+2 channel audio operations. Follow the procedures described below to install the drivers for different operating systems.

Installation for Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista

For Windows® 2000, you must install Windows® 2000 Service Pack4 or later before installing the driver. For Windows® XP, you must install Windows® XP Service Pack1 or later before installing the driver. The following illustrations are based on Windows® XP environment and could look slightly different if you install the drivers in different operating systems.

1. Insert the application CD into the CD-ROM drive. The setup screen will automatically appear.

2. Click Realtek HD Audio Driver .

Important

The HD Audio Configuration software utility is under continuous update to enhance audio applications. Hence, the program screens shown here in this section may be slightly different from the latest software utility and shall be held for reference only.

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Click here

Realtek ALC888 Audio

3. Click Next to install the Realtek High Definition Audio Driver.

Click here

4. Click Finish to restart the system.

Click here

Select this option

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Software Configuration

After installing the audio driver, you are able to use the 2-, 4-, 6- or 8- channel audio feature now. Click the audio icon from the system tray at the lower-right corner of the screen to activate the HD Audio Configuration. It is also available to enable the

HD Audio Configuration by clicking the Realtek HD Audio Manager from the Control Panel.

Double click

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

Sound Effect

Here you can select a sound effect you like from the Environment list.

Environment Simulation

You will be able to enjoy different sound experience by pulling down the arrow, several kinds of sound effect will be shown for selection. Realtek HD Audio Sound Manager also provides five popular settings “Stone Corridor” , “Bathroom”, “Sewer pipe”, “Arena” and “Audio Corridor” for quick enjoyment.

You may choose the provided sound effects, and the equalizer will adjust automatically. If you like, you may also load an equalizer setting or make an new equalizer setting to save as an new one by using the “ Load EQ Setting” and “Save Preset ” button, click “Reset EQ Setting” button to use the default value, or click “Delete EQ Set- ting” button to remove a preset EQ setting.

There are also other pre-set equalizer models for you to choose by clicking “Others” under the Equalizer part.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Equalizer Selection

Equalizer frees users from default settings; users may create their owned preferred settings by utilizing this tool.

10 bands of equalizer, ranging from 100Hz to 16KHz.

Save

The settings are saved permanently for future use

Enable / Disable

To disable, you can temporarily stop the sound effect without losing the settings

Delete

To delete the pre-saved settings which are created from previous steps.

Reset

10 bands of equalizer would go back to the default setting

Load

Whenever you would like to use preload settings, simply click this, the whole list will be shown for your selection.

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

Frequently Used Equalizer Setting

Realtek recognizes the needs that you might have. By leveraging our long experience at audio field, Realtek HD Audio Sound Manager provides you certain optimized equalizer settings that are frequently used for your quick enjoyment.

[How to Use It] Other than the buttons “Pop” “Live” “Club” & “Rock” shown on the page, to pull down the arrow in “Others”, you will find more optimized settings available to you.

Karaoke Mode

Karaoke mode brings Karaoke fun back home. Simply using the music you usually play, Karaoke mode can help you eliminate the vocal of the song or adjust the key to accommodate your range.

1.Vocal Cancellation: Single click on “ Voice Cancellation” , the vocal of the song would be eliminated, while the background music is still in place, and you can be that singer!

2.Key Adjustment: Using “Up / Down Arrow” to find a key which better fits your vocal range.

Raise the key

Remove the human voice

Lower the key

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Mixer

In the Mixer part, you may adjust the volumes of the rear and front panels individually.

1. Adjust Volume

You can adjust the volume of the speakers that you plugged in front or rear panel by select the Realtek HD Audio rear output or Realtek HD Audio front output items.

Important

Before set up, please make sure the playback devices are well plugged in the jacks on the rear or front panel. The Realtek HD Audio front output item will appear after you plugging the speakers into the jacks on the front panel.

2. Multi-Stream Function

ALC888 supports an outstanding feature called Multi-Stream, which means you may play different audio sources simultaneously and let them output respectively from the indicated real panel or front panel. This feature is very helpful when 2 people are using the same computer together for different purposes.

Click the button and the Mixer ToolBox menu will appear. Then check the Enable

playback multi-streaming and click OK to save the setup.

Important

If you use AC97 front panel, the device have to be plugged into the jacks on the panel before enable the multi-stream function.

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

When you are playing the first audio source (for example: use Windows Media Player to play DVD/VCD), the output will be played from the rear panel, which is the default setting.

Then you must to select the Realtek HD Audio front output from the scroll list first, and use a different program to play the second audio source (for example: use Winamp to play MP3 files). You will find that the second audio source (MP3 music) will come out from the Line-Out audio jack of Front Panel.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

3. Playback control

Playback device

Tool Mute

This function is to let you freely decide which ports to output the sound. And this is essential when multistreaming playback enabled.

- Realtek HD Audio Rear Output

- Realtek HD Audio Front Output

Mute

You may choose to mute single or multiple volume controls or to completely mute sound output.

Tool

- Show the following volume controls

This is to let you freely decide which volume control items to be displayed.

- Advanced controls

- Enable playback multi-streaming With this function, you will be able to have an audio chat with your friends via headphone (stream 1 from front panel) while still have music (stream 2 from back panel) in play. At any given period, you can have maximum 2 streams operating simultaneously.

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4. Recording control

Realtek ALC888 Audio

Tool Mute

Recording device

-Back Line in/Mic, Front Lin in

-Realtek HD Audio Input

Mute

You may choose to mute single or multiple volume controls or to completely mute sound input.

Tool

- Show the following volume controls

This is to let you freely decide which volume control items to be displayed.

- Enable recording multi-streaming

Important

ALC888 allows you to record the CD, Line, Mic and Stereo Mix channels simultaneously, frees you from mixing efforts. At any given period, you may choose 1 of the following 4 channels to record.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Audio I/O

In this tab, you can easily configure your multi-channel audio function and speakers. You can choose a desired multi-channel operation here.

a. Headphone for the common headphone b. 2CH Speaker for Stereo-Speaker Output c. 4CH Speaker for 4-Speaker Output d. 6CH Speaker for 5.1-Speaker Output e. 8CH Speaker for 7.1-Speaker Output

Speaker Configuration:

1. Plug the speakers in the corresponding jack.

2. Dialogue “ connected device” will pop up for your selection. Please select the device you have plugged in.

- If the device is being plugged into the correct jack, you will be able to find the icon beside the jack changed to the one that is same as your device.

- If not correct, Realtek HD Audio Manager will guide you to plug the device into the correct jack.

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

Connector Settings

Click to access connector settings.

Disable front panel jack detection (option)

Find no function on front panel jacks? Please check if front jacks on your system are so-called AC’97 jacks. If so, please check this item to disable front panel jack detection.

Mute rear panel output when front headphone plugged in.

Enable auto popup dialogue, when device has been plugged in

Once this item checked, the dialog “Connected device” would automatically pop up when device plugged in.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

S/PDIF

Short for Sony/Philips Digital Interface, a standard audio file transfer format. S/PDIF allows the transfer of digital audio signals from one device to another without having to be converted first to an analog format. Maintaining the viability of a digital signal prevents the quality of the signal from degrading when it is converted to analog.

Output Sampling Rate

44.1KHz: This is recommend while playing CD. 48KHz: This is recommended while playing DVD or Dolby. 96KHz: This is recommended while playing DVD-Audio. 192KHz: This is recommended while playing High quality Audio.

Output Source

Output digital audio source: The digital audio format (such as .wav, .mp3,.midi etc) will come out through S/PDIF-Out.

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

Test Speakers

You can select the speaker by clicking it to test its functionality. The one you select will light up and make testing sound. If any speaker fails to make sound, then check whether the cable is inserted firmly to the connector or replace the bad speakers

with good ones. Or you may click the auto test button to test the sounds of each speaker automatically.

Center

Front Left

Side Left

Rear Left

Front Right

Side Right

Subwoofer

Rear Right

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Microphone

In this tab you may set the function of the microphone. Select the Noise Suppression to remove the possible noise during recording, or select Acoustic Echo Cancellation to cancel the acoustic echo during recording.

Acoustic Echo Cancellation prevents playback sound from being recorded by

microphone together with your sound. For example, you might have chance to use VOIP function through Internet with your friends. The voice of your friend will come out from speakers (playback). However, the voice of your friend might also be recorded into your microphone then go back to your friend through Internet. In that case, your friend will hear his/her own voice again. With AEC(Acoustic Echo Cancellation) enabled at your side, your friend can enjoy the benefit with less echo.

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

3D Audio Demo

In this tab you may adjust your 3D positional audio before playing 3D audio applications like gaming. You may also select different environment to choose the most suitable environment you like.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Information

In this tab it provides some information about this HD Audio Configuration utility, including Audio Driver Version, DirectX Version, Audio Controller & Audio Codec. You may also select the language of this utility by choosing from the Language list.

Also there is a selection Show icon in system tray. Switch it on and an icon will show in the system tray. Right-click on the icon and the Audio Accessories

dialogue box will appear which provides several multimedia features for you to take advantage of.

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Realtek ALC888 Audio

Hardware Setup

Connecting the Speakers

When you have set the Multi-Channel Audio Function mode properly in the software utility, connect your speakers to the correct phone jacks in accordance with the setting in software utility.

n 2-Channel Mode for Stereo-Speaker Output

1 Line In 2 Line Out (Front channels) 3 MIC 4 No function 5 No function 6 No function

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MS-7374 Mainboard

n 4-Channel Mode for 4-Speaker Output

1 Line In 2 Line Out (Front channels) 3 MIC 4 Line Out (Rear channels) 5 No function 6 No function

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n 6-Channel Mode for 6-Speaker Output

Realtek ALC888 Audio

1 Line In 2 Line Out (Front channels) 3 MIC 4 Line Out (Rear channels) 5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel) 6 No function

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MS-7374 Mainboard

n 8-Channel Mode for 8-Speaker Output

1 Line In 2 Line Out (Front channels) 3 MIC 4 Line Out (Rear channels) 5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel) 6 Line Out (Side channels)

Important

To enable 7.1 channel audio-out function on Vista operating system, you have to install the Realtek Audio Driver. Or, the mainboard will support 5.1 channel audio-out only.

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Appendix B

NVIDIA RAID

NVIDIA brings Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology—which is used by the world’s leading businesses—to the common PC desktop. This technology uses multiple drives to either increase total disk space or to offer data protection. For all levels, RAID techniques optimize storage solutions by using multiple disks grouped together and treating them as a single storage resource.

nVidia RAID

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Introduction

System Requirement

Operating System Support

NVRAID supports the following operating systems:

Windows XP, Windows Vista

RAID Arrays

NVRAID supports the following types of RAID arrays described in this section: RAID 0: RAID 0 defines a disk striping scheme that improves the disk read and write times for many applications. RAID 1: RAID 1 defines techniques for mirroring data. RAID 0+1: RAID 0+1 combines the techniques used in RAID 0 and RAID 1 arrays. RAID 5: RAID 5 defines techniques for parity data. Spanning (JBOD): JBOD provides a method for combining drives of different sizes into one large disk

Summary of RAID Configurations

Array Uses Advantages Drawbacks # Hard

RAID 0 Non-critical data

RAID 1 Small databases or any

RAID 0+1 Critical data requiring

RAID 5 Critical data and

requiring high performance.

other small capacity environment requiring fault tolerance.

high performance.

reasonable level of performance.

High data throughput. No fault tolerance. multiple None

100% data redundancy.

Optimized for both 100% data redundancy and performance. Allows spare disks.

Fault tolerance and better utilization of disk space.

Requires 2 drives for the storage space of 1 drive.

Requires 2 drives for the storage space of 1 drive—the same as RAID level 1.

Decreased write performance due to parity calculations. Requires at least three drives.

Disks

2 Yes

4+ Yes

3+ Yes

Fault Tolerance

JBOD Combining odd size

drives into one big drive

Combines and uses the capacity of odd size drives.

Decreases performance because of the difficulty in using drives concurrently or to optimize drives for different uses.

Multiple No

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nVidia RAID

RAID Configuration

Basic Configuration Instructions

The following are the basic steps for configuring NVRAID:

Non-Bootable RAID Array

1. Choose the hard disks that are to be RAID enabled in the system BIOS. (Refer the bios section for details.)

2. Specify the RAID level, either Mirroring (RAID 1), Striping (RAID 0), Striping and Mirroring (RAID 0+1), RAID 5 or JBOD and create the desired RAID array.

3. Enter the Windows OS, run the Windows nForce Setup application and install the RAID software. (Check B-8 for details.)

4. Initialize the NVRAID Array Disks.

Bootable RAID Array

1. Choose the hard disks that are to be RAID enabled in the system BIOS. (Refer the bios section for details.)

2. Specify the RAID level, either Mirroring (RAID 1), Striping (RAID 0), Striping and Mirroring (RAID 0+1), RAID 5 or JBOD and create the desired RAID array.

3. Boot from the Windows CD, use the floppy disk that has the RAID driver to copy and install the nForce RAID software. (Check p.B-7 for details.)

4. Initialize the NVRAID Array Disks.

Setting Up the NVRAID BIOS

Be sure to enable the RAID function in SATA Channel of Integrated Peripherals in BIOS before configuring the NVRAID BIOS. After that press F10 to save the configuration and exit. The PC will reboot right away. Then enter the RAID BIOS Setup by pressing F10 when prompted, and follow the procedures described below to set up the NVRAID BIOS. NVRAID BIOS setup lets you choose the RAID array type and which hard drives you want to make part of the array.

Entering the RAID BIOS Setup

1. After rebooting your PC, wait until you see the RAID software prompting you to press F10. The RAID prompt appears as part of the system POST and boot process prior to loading the OS.

2. Press F10, and the NVIDIA RAID Utility

--- Define a New Array window will appear. The default RAID Mode is set to Mir-

roring and Striping Block is set to Optimal.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Understanding the “Define a New Array” Window

Use the Define a New Array window to

• Select the RAID Mode

• Set up the Striping Block

• Specify which disks to use for the RAID Array

The SATA ports are called channels and they are associated with adapters. The first digit in the Location field defines the adapter that the port is associated with. The 2nd digit defines the channel.

0 . 1

Channel Adapter

In the example above, 0.1 means the hard drive is attached to Adapter 0, Channel 1. The following is a list of all possible combinations:

Serial ATA

0.0 Adapter 0, Channel 0 (SATA1)

0.1 Adapter 0, Channel 1 (SATA2)

0.2 Adapter 0, Channel 3 (SATA3)

0.3 Adapter 0, Channel 4 (SATA4)

Important

There is no such thing as Slave drive in Serial ATA. All drives are considered to be Master since there is a one to one connection between the drive and the controller.

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nVidia RAID

Using the Define a New Array Window

If necessary, press the tab key to move from field to field until the appropriate field is highlighted.

• Selecting the RAID Mode

By default, this is set to [Mirroring]. To change to a different RAID mode, press the down arrow key until the mode that you want appears in the RAID Mode box—either [Mirroring], [Striping], [RAID5], [Spanning], or [Stripe Mirroring].

• Selecting the Striping Block Size

Striping Block size is given in kilobytes, and affects how data is arranged on the

disk. It is recommended to leave this value at the default [Optimal], which is 32KB, but the values can be between [4 KB] and [128 KB].

• Assigning the Disks

The disks that you enabled from the RAID Config BIOS setup page appear in the Free Disks block. These are the drives that are available for use as RAID array disks.

To designate a free disk to be used as a RAID array disk,

1. Tab to the Free Disks section. The first disk in the list is selected.

2. Move it from the Free Disks block to the Array Disks block by pressing the right

arrow key (-->). The first disk in the list is moved, and the next disk in the list is selected and ready to be moved.

3. Continue pressing the right-arrow key (--> ) until all the disks that you want to use

as RAID array disks appear in the Array Disks block.

It shows that two disks have been assigned as RAID1 array disks in the figure above.

- Define a New Array -

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Completing the RAID BIOS Setup

1.After assigning your RAID array disks, press F7. The Clear disk data prompt appears.

2.Press Y if you want to wipe out all the data from the RAID array, otherwise press N. You must choose Yes if the drives were previously used as RAID drives. The Array List window appears, where you can review the RAID arrays that you have set up.

3. Use the arrow keys to select the array that you want to set up, then press Enter. The Array Detail window appears.

4. If you want to mark this disk as empty and wipe out all its contents then press C.

5. At the prompt, press Y to wipe out all the data, otherwise press N.

6.Press Enter again to go back to the previous window and then press Ctrl+X to exit the RAID setup. Now that the RAID setup has been configured from the RAID BIOS, the next step is to configure and load NVRAID drivers under Windows, as explained in “Installing the NVIDIA MediaShield Software Under Windows” on B-8.

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nVidia RAID

Installing Driver

Install Driver in Windows Vista / XP

† New Windows Vista/ XP Installation

For Windows XP:

1. When you start installing Windows XP, you may encounter a message stating, “Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices installed in your system”. If this is the case, then you are already in the right place and are ready to supply the driver. If this is not the case, then press F6 when prompted at the beginning of Windows setup.

2. Press the “ S” key to select “Specify Additional Device”.

3. You should be prompted to insert a floppy disk containing the NVIDIA RAID driver into the A: drive,and then press ENTER.

Important

Please follow the instruction below to make an “NVIDIA RAID Driver” for yourself. a. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive. b. Click the “Browse CD” on the Setup screen. c.Copy all the contents in the

\\nVidia\System\MCP72\IDE\WinXP\sataraid\Floppy to a formatted floppy disk.

\\ChipSet\nVidia\Vista32 (for 32 bits) or Visat64(for 64 bits)\MCP72\ IDE\ WinVista (for 32 bits) or WinVista64 (for 64 bits)\sataraid to a

medium (floppy disk/ CD/DVD or USB).

d.The driver diskette for NVIDIA RAID Controller is done.

4. You should be shown a list of available NVRAID Adapaters.

5. Select the “NVIDIA RAID Driver” and press ENTER.

6. Press “S” again at the Specify Devices screen, then press ENTER.

7. Select “NVIDIA NForce Storage Controller” and then press ENTER.

8. Press Enter to continue with Windows XP Installation. Be sure to leave the floppy disk inserted in the floppy drive until the blue screen portion of Windows XP installation is completed, then take out the floppy.

9. Follow the instructions on how to install Windows XP. After Windows XP is completely installed, it is recommended that you install the RAID management tool.

For Windows Vista:

During the operating system installation, after selecting the location to install Windows Vista, please click on the “ Load Driver” button to load RAID driver. Please refer the Important notice above to make a RAID Driver medium. And then, follow the instructions to complete the whole installation.

Notice: Each time you add a new hard drive to a RAID array, the RAID driver will have to be installed under Windows once for that hard drive. After that, the driver will not have to be installed.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation

Installing the NVIDIA MediaShield Software Under Windows (for Non-bootable RAID Array)

The existing Windows Serial ATA driver must be upgraded to use the NVIDIA Serial ATA driver. This section describes how to run the setup application and install the RAID software which will upgrade the Windows SATA driver and install the RAID software.

1.Start the NVIDIA nForce Drivers installation program to open the NVIDIA Windows nForce Drivers page.

2.Select the NVIDIA MediaShield.

3.Click Next and then follow the instructions.

4.After the installation is completed, be sure to reboot the PC.

5.After the reboot, initialize the newly created array.

B-8

nVidia RAID

Initializing and Using the Disk Array

The RAID array is now ready to be initialized under Windows.

1.Launch Computer Management by clicking “Start” --> “Settings” --> “Control Panel”

then open the “ Administrative Tools” folder and double click on “Computer Management”.

2.Click “Disk Management” (under the “ Storage” section). The Initialize and Convert

Disk Wizards appears.

3.Click Next. The Select Disks to Initialize window appears. The disks listed depend

on how many arrays you have configured.

4.Click Next. The Select Disks to Convert window appears.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

5.Check the disk in the list if you want to make the array a dynamic disk, then click

Next. The Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard window appears.

6.Click Finish. The “Computer Management” window appears.

The actual disks listed will depend on your system, and the unallocated partition is the total combined storage of two hard disks. You must format the unallocated disk space in order to use it.

7.Format the unallocated disk space. Right click “Unallocated space”, select “New

Partition…” and follow the wizard. After the drive has been formatted, it is ready for use.

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nVidia RAID

Using the NVMediaShield Software

Accessing the Storage Page

To access the NVIDIA Control Panel Storage page:

1.Click Star-> Programs-> NVIDIA Corporation-> NVIDIA Control Panel-> Storage.

2.The NVIDIA Control Panel - Storage page appears.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Using the Storage Page

From the Storage page, you can accomplish the following tasks:

• Create an Array

• Delete an Array

• Rebuild an Array

• Synchronize an Array

• Designate a Spare Disk

• Remove a Spare

• Migrate an Array

• View Storage Information

Create an Array

This option is available only if there are free disks that are RAID-enabled. Click Create array to start the Create Array Wizard and then follow the instructions. You can press F1 to access the online help that walks you through the Wizard with step-by-step instructions.

Delete an Array

This option is available only if RAID arrays have been created. Click Delete array to start the Delete Array Wizard and then follow instructions. You can press F1 to access the online help that walks you through the Wizard with step-by-step instructions.

Rebuild an Array

About Rebuilding

Rebuilding is the process of restoring data to a hard drive from other drives in the array. For example, if you have a three disk RAID 5 array and one of the drives fails, you will need to replace the failed drive with a new one, and rebuild the array to regenerate the lost data on the newly added drive. Rebuilding applies only to fault-tolerant arrays such as RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5 Arrays.

Instructions

Click Rebuild array to start the Rebuild Create Array Wizard and then follow the instructions. You can press F1 to access the online help that walks you through the Wizard with step-by-step instructions. The rebuilding process takes some time to complete, and occurs in the background so as not to affect the performance of the system.

Synchronize an Array

Synchronizing an array will force a rebuild of redundancy or parity. The operation applies to any fault-tolerant array such as RAID 1, 0+1 and RAID 5. Click Synchronize array to start the Synchronize Array Wizard and then follow instructions. You can press F1 to access the online help that walks you through the Wizard with step-by-step instructions.

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nVidia RAID

Designate a Spare Disk

About Spare Disks

You can designate a hard drive to be used as a spare drive for a RAID 1, RAID 0+1 or RAID 5 array2. The spare drive can take over for a failed disk. MediaShield RAID supports two types of spare drives:

Free Disk

A free disk is a disk that is not part of any RAID array, but can be used by any available RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5 array that requires another disk when one of its disks crashes or becomes unusable. The process is automatic and requires no user interaction. Example: A system may have four hard disks where one disk is used to boot the OS, two hard drives are set up in a mirrored array, and a fourth hard disk is set up as a free disk. If one of the mirrored array drives fails, the free disk will be assigned automatically to the mirrored array to replace the failed disk.

Dedicated Disk

A dedicated free disk is a disk that is assigned to a RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5 array. The dedicated disk is used by that array only when needed - for example, during a system crash where a RAID mirrored drive is broken. The dedicated disk can be used only by the array that it is assigned to and not by any other array, unlike a free disk which can be used by any available RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5 array. To mark a disk as dedicated (reserve it for use by a specific array), you must have at least one free disk and you must also have at least two RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5 arrays created.

Requirements for Designating a Spare Disk

The Designate Spare option on the Storage page appears only if all the following conditions are met.

• There must be at least two fault tolerant arrays already created.

• There must be at least one free disk with capacity equal to or greater than the

smallest disk in the given fault tolerant array. For example, if a mirror array is created with disk capacities of 40 GB and 80 GB, there should be at least one free disk available of capacity equal to or greater than 40GB to be used as a spare disk for that array.

Instructions

Click Designate spare to start the Designate Spare Wizard and then follow instructions. You can press F1 to access the online help that walks you through the Wizard with step-by-step instructions.

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MS-7374 Mainboard

Remove a Spare

The Remove spare option appears only if you have a RAID array with a spare disk allocated to it. Click Remove spare to start the Remove Spare Wizard and then follow the instructions. You can press F1 to access the online help that walks you through the Wizard with step-by-step instructions.

Migrate an Array

In a traditional RAID environment, when a user wants to change the current state of a disk or a current array to a new RAID configuration, the process of reconfiguring the new array involves multiple steps. The user must back up the data, delete the array, re-boot the PC, and then reconfigure the new array. MediaShield RAID allows the end user to change the current state of the disk or array to another with a one-step process called "Migrating". This section describes the NVIDIA Migrating process and explains how to use Migrating to convert from one RAID array type to another.

General Migrating Requirements

• The new array capacity must be equal to or greater than the previous array. For example, it is possible to migrate from a RAID 1 array to a RAID 0 array as long as the RAID 0 array is the same size as (or larger than) the RAID 1 array.

• The number of disks in the new array cannot be less than the number of disks in the original array.

• You cannot migrate

- To or from a JBOD (Spanning) array

- From RAID 1 to RAID 1

- From RAID 0+1 to RAID 1

- From RAID 5 to 1

Migrating to an Array Larger Than 2 TB

Your disks must be partitioned using the GUID partition table (GPT) if you plan to migrate to an array with greater than 2 TB storage.

If your original array is not a GPT disk and you expand your array’s capacity using the migration feature to over 2 TB, you will not be able to access the additional storage above 2 TB in the new array. To use the additional storage in this situation, back up your data, repartition the array using GPT, then restore your data to the new volume.

Important

Be sure to make the volume dynamic if you plan to have more than four partitions.

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Nvidia MS-7374 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual