SUPER MICRO Computer H8QME-2, H8QM8-2 User Manual

SUPER

H8QM8-2

H8QME-2

®

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.0d

The information in this User’s Manual has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be accurate.
The vendor assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained in this document,
makes no commitment to update or to keep current the information in this manual, or to notify any
person or organization of the updates. Please Note: For the most up-to-date version of this

manual, please see our web site at www.supermicro.com.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. ("Supermicro") reserves the right to make changes to the product
described in this manual at any time and without notice. This product, including software, if any,
and documentation may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or
reduced to any medium or machine without prior written consent.

IN NO EVENT WILL SUPERMICRO BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL,
SPECULATIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO
USE THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, SUPERMICRO SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY
HARDWARE, SOFTW ARE, OR DA TA STORED OR USED WITH THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE
COSTS OF REPAIRING, REPLACING, INTEGRATING, INSTALLING OR RECOVERING SUCH
HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA.

Any disputes arising between manufacturer and customer shall be governed by the laws of Santa
Clara County in the State of California, USA. The State of California, County of Santa Clara shall
be the exclusive venue for the resolution of any such disputes. Super Micro's total liability for
all claims will not exceed the price paid for the hardware product.

FCC Statement: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference with radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely
to cause harmful interference, in which case you will be required to correct the interference at your
own expense.

California Best Management Practices Regulations for Perchlorate Materials: This Perchlorate
warning applies only to products containing CR (Manganese Dioxide) Lithium coin cells. “Perchlorate
Material-special handling may apply. See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate”

WARNING: Handling of lead solder materials used in this
product may expose you to lead, a chemical known to
the State of California to cause birth defects and other
reproductive harm.

Manual Revision 1.0d
Release Date: September 9, 2008

Unless you request and receive written permission from Super Micro Computer, Inc., you may not
copy any part of this document.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies
referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark
holders.

Copyright © 2006 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

Preface

About This Manual

This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and
knowledgeable PC users. It provides information for the installation and use of the
H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 serverboard. The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 is based on the nVidia®
MCP55Pro and AMD 8132 chipset and supports two or four AMD Opteron Socket F
type processors and up to 128 GB DDR2-667/533/400 registered ECC SDRAM.

Please refer to the serverboard specifi cations pages on our web site for updates on
supported processors (http://www.supermicro.com/aplus/). This product is intended
to be professionally installed.

Manual Organization

Chapter 1 includes a checklist of what should be included in your serverboard

box, describes the features, specifi cations and performance of the serverboard and
provides detailed information about the chipset.

Chapter 2 begins with instructions on handling static-sensitive devices. Read this
chapter when installing the processor(s) and memory modules and when installing
the serverboard in a chassis. Also refer to this chapter to connect the fl oppy and
hard disk drives, the parallel and serial ports, the mouse and keyboard and the
twisted wires for the power and reset buttons and the system LEDs.

If you encounter any problems, see Chapter 3, which describes troubleshooting
procedures for the video, the memory and the setup confi guration stored in CMOS.
For quick reference, a general FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section is pro­vided. Instructions are also included for contacting technical support. In addition,
you can visit our web site for more detailed information.

Chapter 4 includes an introduction to BIOS and provides detailed information on
running the CMOS Setup utility.

Appendix A provides BIOS Error Beep Code Messages.
Appendix B lists BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

iii

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 1-1

Checklist ................................................................................................... 1-1

Contacting Supermicro ............................................................................. 1-2

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 Image ...................................................................... 1-3

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 Serverboard Layout ................................................ 1-4

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 Quick Reference ..................................................... 1-5

Serverboard Features .............................................................................. 1-6

nVidia MCP55 Pro/AMD-8132 Chipset: System Block Diagram ............. 1-8

1-2 Chipset Overview ........................................................................................... 1-9

1-3 PC Health Monitoring ................................................................................... 1-10

1-4 Power Confi guration Settings ....................................................................... 1-11

1-5 Power Supply ............................................................................................... 1-12

1-6 Super I/O .......................................................................................................1-13

Chapter 2: Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices ................................................................................. 2-1

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation ............................................................... 2-2

2-3 Mounting the Serverboard into a Chassis ...................................................... 2-5

2-4 Installing Memory ........................................................................................... 2-5

2-5 I/O Port and Control Panel Connections ........................................................ 2-7

2-6 Connecting Cables ......................................................................................... 2-8

ATX Power Connector .............................................................................. 2-8

Processor Power Connector .................................................................... 2-8

NMI Button ............................................................................................... 2-8

Power LED ............................................................................................... 2-9

HDD LED ................................................................................................ 2-9

NIC1 LED ................................................................................................. 2-9

NIC2 LED ................................................................................................. 2-9

Overheat/Fan Fail LED ............................................................................ 2-9

Power Fail LED ...................................................................................... 2-10

Reset Button .......................................................................................... 2-10

Power Button .......................................................................................... 2-10

Universal Serial Bus Ports ..................................................................... 2-10

USB Headers ......................................................................................... 2-11

Serial Port .............................................................................................. 2-11

iv

Table of Contents

Fan Headers .......................................................................................... 2-11

Chipset Fan Headers ............................................................................. 2-11

Power LED/Keylock/Speaker ................................................................. 2-12

ATX PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Ports .......................................................... 2-12

Chassis Intrusion .................................................................................... 2-12

Overheat LED ........................................................................................ 2-12

Wake-On-LAN ........................................................................................ 2-13

Wake-On-Ring ........................................................................................ 2-13

SMBus Power Header ........................................................................... 2-13

3rd Power Supply Alarm Reset Header ................................................. 2-13

JLAN1/2 (Ethernet Ports) ....................................................................... 2-14

Compact Flash Power Headers ............................................................. 2-14

3rd Power Supply Fail Detect Header ................................................... 2-14

SGPIO .................................................................................................... 2-14

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-15

Explanation of Jumpers ......................................................................... 2-15

CMOS Clear ........................................................................................... 2-15

VGA Enable/Disable ............................................................................... 2-16

JLAN Enable/Disable ............................................................................. 2-16

2

I

C to PCI-X Slots Enable/Disable ......................................................... 2-16

SCSI Controller Enable/Disable ............................................................. 2-17

SCSI Termination Enable/Disable .......................................................... 2-17

Compact Flash Master/Slave ................................................................. 2-17

PCI-X Slot Frequency Select ................................................................. 2-18

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ..................................................................... 2-18

2-8 Onboard Indicators ....................................................................................... 2-19

JLAN1/JLAN2 LEDs ............................................................................... 2-19

Onboard Power LED .............................................................................. 2-19

2-9 Floppy, IDE, Parallel Port, SCSI and SATA Drive Connections ................... 2-20

Floppy Connector ................................................................................... 2-20

IDE Connector ........................................................................................ 2-21

Parallel Port Connector .......................................................................... 2-22

SATA Connectors ................................................................................... 2-22

SCSI Connectors ................................................................................... 2-23

2-10 Enabling SATA RAID .................................................................................... 2-24

2-11 Installing Software Drivers ............................................................................ 2-26

v

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

3-1 Troubleshooting Procedures ........................................................................... 3-1

Before Power On ..................................................................................... 3-1

No Power ................................................................................................. 3-1

No Video .................................................................................................. 3-1

Memory Errors ......................................................................................... 3-2

Losing the System’s Setup Confi guration ................................................ 3-2

3-2 Technical Support Procedures ........................................................................ 3-2

3-3 Frequently Asked Questions ........................................................................... 3-3

3-4 Returning Merchandise for Service ................................................................ 3-4

Chapter 4: BIOS

4-1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 4-1

4-2 Main Menu ...................................................................................................... 4-2

4-3 Advanced Settings Menu ............................................................................... 4-2

4-4 Boot Menu .................................................................................................... 4-16

4-5 Security Menu ............................................................................................... 4-17

4-6 Exit Menu ...................................................................................................... 4-18

Appendices:

Appendix A: BIOS Error Beep Codes
Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

vi

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1

Introduction

1-1 Overview

Checklist

Congratulations on purchasing your computer serverboard from an acknowledged
leader in the industry. Our boards are designed with the utmost attention to detail
to provide you with the highest standards in quality and performance.

Please check that the following items have all been included with your serverboard.
If anything listed here is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

Included with retail box only

 One (1) H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 serverboard

 One (1) IDE cable (CBL-036L-02)

 One (1) fl oppy cable (CBL-022L)

 One (1) COM port cable (CBL-010)

 One (1) SCSI cable, H8QM8-2 only (CBL-034L-U320)

 Two (2) SATA cables, H8QM8-2 only (CBL-044L)

 Four (4) SATA cables, H8QME-2 only (CBL-044L)

 Four (4) heatsink retention modules with four (8) screws (BKT-0012L)

 One (1) I/O shield (CSE-PT7L)

 One (1) CD containing drivers and utilities

1-1

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Contacting Supermicro

Headquarters

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

980 Rock Ave.
San Jose, CA 95131 U.S.A.

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

Web Site: www.supermicro.com

Europe

Address: Super Micro Computer B.V.

Het Sterrenbeeld 28, 5215 ML
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)
[e-mail] (Customer Support)

Asia-Pacifi c

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

4F, No. 232-1, Liancheng Rd.
Chung-Ho 235, Taipei County
Taiwan, R.O.C.

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.supermicro.com.tw
Technical Support:
Email: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone], ext.132 or 139

1-2

Figure 1-1. H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 Image

Chapter 1: Introduction

Note:
H8QM8-2 is pictured. The H8QME-2 shares the same layout but with no SCSI com­ponents, connectors or jumpers.

1-3

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Figure 1-2. H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 Serverboard Layout

(not drawn to scale)

SUPER H8QM8-2

FAN7/CPU3

Kybd/

Mouse

USB0/1

COM1

Parallel

Port

J4

VGA

JLAN1

JLAN2

FAN8/CPU4

FAN9

JPL1

ES 1000

ATI

Battery

Slot #5: PCI-Express x8

JPG1

HT Connector

CPU 3

DIMMC 2A
DIMMC 2B
DIMMC 1A
DIMMC 1B

DIMMD 1B
DIMMD 1A
DIMMD 2B
DIMMD 2A

CPU 4

Slot #6: PCI-Express x16 HT Connector

2

C3

JI

2

JI

C4

JPXA1/JPXB1

Slot #4: 133/100 MHz PCI-X

Slot #3: 133/100 MHz PCI-X

COM2

Slot #2: 100 MHz PCI-X

2

C1

JI

2

JI

C2

Slot #1: 100 MHz PCI-X (ZCR)

JUSB2/3

JWD

nFAN2

BIOS

nFAN1

N-SATA3N-SATA1

nVidia MCP55 Pro

JWOL

N-SATA5N-SATA4N-SATA2N-SATA0

AMD-8132

JBT1

JPA2

JA1: SCSI CH A

DIMMB 1B
DIMMB 1A
DIMMB 2B
DIMMB 2A

CPU 2

CPU 1

DIMMA 2A
DIMMA 2B
DIMMA 1A
DIMMA 1B

JF2

SIMSO

AIC-7902W

PS_SMBUS

JA2: SCSI CH B

JF1

JPA1

JPA3/JL1

FAN1

FAN2

FAN3/CPU2

FAN4/CPU1

FAN5

SGPIO1
SGPIO2
JWF1

JP1

JWOR

JOH1

Speaker

IDE#1

Floppy

J3P

JAR

DP2

FAN6

J1B1

JPW1

JPW2

Notes:

1. Jumpers not indicated are for test purposes only.

2. The H8QME-2 has the same layout as the H8QM8-2 but with no SCSI compo­nents, connectors or jumpers.

3. The silkscreen on the motherboard noting CPU3 and CPU4 have been reversed
on PCB revisions 2.01 and later. Since you must install either two or four CPUs, this
change has no affect on the board's functionality.

1-4

Chapter 1: Introduction

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 Quick Reference

Jumpers Description Default Setting

JBT1 CMOS Clear (See Section 2-7)

2

JI

C1/2 I2C to PCI-X Enable/Disable Pins 2-3 (Disabled)

2

C3/4 I2C to PCI-E Enable/Disable Pins 2-3 (Disabled)

JI
JP1 Compact Flash Card Master/Slave Closed (Master)
JPA1* SCSI Enable/Disable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPA2/JPA3* SCSI Channel A/B Term. Open (Enabled)
JPG1 VGA Enable/Disable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPL1 JLAN Enable/Disable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPXA1 PCI-X Slots 1 & 2 Freq. Select Open (Auto)
JPXB1 PCI-X Slots 3 & 4 Freq. Select Open (Auto)
JWD Watch Dog Pins 1-2 (Reset)

Connectors Description

COM1, COM2 COM1/COM2 Serial Port/Header
FAN 1-9 CPU/Chassis Fan Headers
Floppy Floppy Disk Drive Connector
HT Connector Hyper Tranport Slot
IDE#1 IDE Drive/Compact Flash Card Connector
J1B1 24-Pin ATX Power Connector
J3P 3rd Power Supply Fail Detect
J4 Parallel (Printer) Port
JA1/JA2* U320 SCSI Channel A/B Connector
JAR 3rd Power Supply Alarm Reset Header
JF1 Front Panel Connector
JF2 Onboard Speaker/Keylock/Power LED
JL1 Chassis Intrusion Header
JLAN1/2 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) Ports
JOH1 Overheat Warning Header
JPW1/JPW2 8-Pin Processor Power Connectors
JWF1 Compact Flash Card Power Connector
JWOL Wake-On-LAN Header
JWOR Wake-On-Ring Header
nFAN 1-2 Chipset Fan Headers
N-SATA0 ~ 5 Serial ATA Ports
PS_SMBUS System Management (I
SIMSO IPMI 2.0 (with virtual media over LAN) Slot
SGPIO1/SGPIO2 SGPIO Headers
USB0/1 Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports
USB2/3 USB Headers

*H8QM8-2 only

2

C) Power Header

1-5

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Serverboard Features

CPU

• Two (dual) or four (quad) AMD Opteron Socket F type processors

Memory

• Sixteen dual-channel DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB DDR2-667/533/400
registered ECC SDRAM (or 256 GB of DDR2-667/533/400 for 8-way only)

Note: Only 64 GB supported in dual-CPU confi gurations. Refer to Section 2-4 before installing.

Chipset

• nVidia MCP55 Pro

• AMD-8132

Expansion Slots

• One (1) PCI-Express x16 slot

• One (1) PCI-Express x8 slot

• Two (2) PCI-X 133/100 MHz slots

• Two (2) PCI-X 100 MHz slot (one is a ZCR slot)

• Two (2) HT (Hyper Transport) slots

BIOS

• 8 Mb AMIBIOS

• DMI 2.3, PCI 2.2, ACPI 2.0, SMBIOS 2.3, Plug and Play (PnP)

®

LPC Flash ROM

PC Health Monitoring

• Onboard voltage monitors for four CPU cores, Hyper Transport (1.2V), memory
banks (1.8V), chipset (1.5V)

• Fan status monitor with fi rmware/software on/off and speed control

• Watch Dog

• Environmental temperature monitoring via BIOS

• Power-up mode control for recovery from AC power loss

• System resource alert (via included utility program)

• Auto-switching voltage regulator for the CPU core

1-6

Chapter 1: Introduction

ACPI Features

• Slow blinking LED for suspend state indicator

• BIOS support for USB keyboard

• Main switch override mechanism

• Internal/external modem ring-on

Onboard I/O

• On-chip SATA controller supporting six (6) 3 Gb/s SATA ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1,
5 and JBOD)

• Adaptec AIC-7902W U320 SCSI controller (H8QM8-2 only, RAID 0, 1, 10 and
JBOD)

• One (1) UltraDMA (ATA) 133/100 IDE port

• One (1) fl oppy port interface (up to 2.88 MB)

• Two (2) Fast UART 16550 compatible serial ports

• On-chip (AMD-8132) Ethernet controller supports two Gigabit LAN ports

• PS/2 mouse and PS/2 keyboard ports

• Four (4) USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 ports/headers

Other

• Wake-on-Ring (JWOR)

• Wake-on-LAN (JWOL)

• Chassis intrusion detection

CD Utilities

• BIOS fl ash upgrade utility

Dimensions

• Extended ATX form factor, 16" x 13.05" (406 x 332 mm)

1-7

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

DDR2-667/533/400

DIMMC 2A

DIMMC 2B

DIMMC 1A

DIMMC 1 B

DIMMD 1B

DIMMD 1A

DIMMD 2B

DIMMD 2 A

Slot #1: PCI-X 100

Slot #2: PCI-X 100

SCSI

Po rts (2)

AIC 7902W

Slot #3: PCI-X 133/100

Slot #4: PCI-X 133/100

Gb LAN Ports (2)

16 x 16 HT link (1 GHz )

PCI-X
CH A

PCI-X
CH B

AMD Socket F Type

Processor (CPU3)

AMD Socket F Type

Processor (CPU2)

AMD
8132

16 x 16 HT link (1 GHz)

800 MHz link

ATI

ES 1000

SIMSO

AMD Socket F Type

Processor (CPU4)

AMD Socket F Type

Processor (CPU1)

nVidia

MCP55Pro

S I/O BIOS

PCI-E

SATA

UDMA133

USB 2.0

LPC

DDR2- 667/533/400

DIMMB 1B

DIMMB 1A

DIMMB 2B

DIMMB 2A

DIMMA 2A

DIMMA 2B

DIMMA 1A

DIMMA 1B

Slot #5: PCI-E x8

Slot #6: PCI-E x16

SATA Ports (6)

IDE (ATA133)

USB Ports (4)

IPMI

Floppy

Kybd/

Mouse

Serial Ports

(2)

Parallel

Port

Figure 1-3. nVidia MCP55 Pro/AMD-8132 Chipset:

System Block Diagram

Note: This is a general block diagram and may not exactly represent

the features on your serverboard. See the previous pages for the

actual specifi cations of your serverboard.

1-8

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-2 Chipset Overview

The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 serverboard is based on the nVidia MCP55 Pro and AMD­8132 chipset. The MCP55 Pro functions as Media and Communications Processor
(MCP) and the AMD-8132 as a PCI-X Tunnel. Controllers for the system memory
are integrated directly into the AMD Opteron processors.

MCP55 Pro Media and Communications Processor

The MCP55 Pro is a single-chip, high-performance HyperTransport peripheral
controller. It includes a 28-lane PCI Express interface, an AMD Opteron 16-bit
Hyper Transport interface link, a six-port (3 Gb/s) Serial ATA interface, a dual-port
Gb Ethernet interface, an ATA133 bus master interface and a USB 2.0 interface.
This hub connects directly to CPU#1.

AMD-8132 HyperTransport PCI-X Tunnel

This hub includes AMD-specifi c technology that provides two PCI-X bridges with
each bridge supporting a 64-bit data bus as well as separate PCI-X operational
modes and independent transfer rates. Each bridge supports up to fi ve PCI masters
that include clock, request and grant signals. This hub connects to the processors
and through them to system memory. It also interfaces directly with the Serial ATA
and Ethernet controllers.

HyperTransport Technology

HyperTransport technology is a high-speed, low latency point to point link that was
designed to increase the communication speed by a factor of up to 48x between
integrated circuits. This is done partly by reducing the number of buses in the
chipset to reduce bottlenecks and by enabling a more effi cient use of memory in
multi-processor systems. The end result is a signifi cant increase in bandwidth
within the chipset.

1-9

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

1-3 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the H8QM8-2/H8QME-

2. The serverboard has an onboard System Hardware Monitor chip that supports
PC health monitoring.

Onboard Voltage Monitors for four CPU cores, Hyper Transport
(1.2V), memory (1.8V), chipset (1.5V)

The onboard voltage monitor will scan these voltages continuously . Once a voltage
becomes unstable, it will give a warning or send an error message to the screen.
Users can adjust the voltage thresholds to defi ne the sensitivity of the voltage moni-
tor. Real time readings of these voltage levels are all displayed in BIOS.

Fan Status Monitor with Firmware/Software Speed Control

The PC health monitor can check the RPM status of the cooling fans. The onboard
fans are controlled by thermal management via BIOS.

CPU Overheat/Fan Fail LED and Control

This feature is available when the user enables the CPU overheat/Fan Fail warning
function in the BIOS. This allows the user to defi ne an overheat temperature. When
this temperature is exceeded or when a fan failure occurs, then, the Overheat/Fan
Fail warning LED is triggered.

Auto-Switching Voltage Regulator for the CPU Core

The 3-phase-switching voltage regulator for the CPU core can support up to 80A and
auto-sense voltage IDs ranging from 0.8 V to 1.55V. This will allow the regulator
to run cooler and thus make the system more stable.

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-4 Power Confi guration Settings

This section describes the features of your serverboard that deal with power and
power settings.

Microsoft OnNow

The OnNow design initiative is a comprehensive, system-wide approach to system
and device power control. OnNow is a term for a PC that is always on but appears
to be off and responds immediately to user or other requests.

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

When the CPU goes into a suspend state, the chassis power LED will start blinking
to indicate that the CPU is in suspend mode. When the user presses any key, the
CPU will wake-up and the LED will automatically stop blinking and remain on.

BIOS Support for USB Keyboard

If a USB keyboard is the only keyboard in the system, it will function like a normal
keyboard during system boot-up.

Main Switch Override Mechanism

When an ATX power supply is used, the power button can function as a system
suspend button. When the user depresses the power button, the system will enter
a SoftOff state. The monitor will be suspended and the hard drive will spin down.
Depressing the power button again will cause the whole system to wake-up. Dur­ing the SoftOff state, the ATX power supply provides power to keep the required
circuitry in the system alive. In case the system malfunctions and you want to turn
off the power, just depress and hold the power button for 4 seconds. The power
will turn off and no power will be provided to the serverboard.

Wake-On-LAN (JWOL)

Wake-On-LAN is defi ned as the ability of a management application to remotely
power up a computer that is powered off. Remote PC setup, up-dates and access
tracking can occur after hours and on weekends so that daily LAN traffi c is kept
to a minimum and users are not interrupted. The serverboard has a 3-pin header
(JWOL) to connect to the 3-pin header on a Network Interface Card (NIC) that has
WOL capability. Wake-On-LAN must be enabled in BIOS. Note that Wake-On-LAN
can only be used with an ATX 2.01 (or above) compliant power supply.

1-11

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Wake-On-Ring Header (JWOR)

Wake-up events can be triggered by a device such as the external modem ringing
when the system is in the SoftOff state. Note that external modem ring-on can only
be used with an ATX 2.01 (or above) compliant power supply.

1-5 Power Supply

As with all computer products, a stable power source is necessary for proper and
reliable operation. It is even more important for processors that have high CPU
clock rates.

The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 accommodates 12V ATX power supplies. Although
most power supplies generally meet the specifi cations required by the CPU, some
are inadequate. A 2 amp current supply on a 5V Standby rail is strongly recom­mended.

It is strongly recommended that you use a high quality power supply that meets
12V ATX power supply Specifi cation 1.1 or above. Additionally, in areas where
noisy power transmission is present, you may choose to install a line fi lter to shield
the computer from noise. It is recommended that you also install a power surge
protector to help avoid problems caused by power surges.

Warning: To prevent the possibility of explosion, do not use the wrong type of
onboard CMOS battery or install it upside down.

1-12

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-6 Super I/O

The disk drive adapter functions of the Super I/O chip include a fl oppy disk drive
controller that is compatible with industry standard 82077/765, a data separator,
write pre-compensation circuitry, decode logic, data rate selection, a clock genera­tor, drive interface control logic and interrupt and DMA logic. The wide range of
functions integrated onto the Super I/O greatly reduces the number of components
required for interfacing with fl oppy disk drives. The Super I/O supports two 360
K, 720 K, 1.2 M, 1.44 M or 2.88 M disk drives and data transfer rates of 250 Kb/s,
500 Kb/s or 1 Mb/s.

It also provides two high-speed, 16550 compatible serial communication ports
(UARTs), one of which supports serial infrared communication. Each UART in­cludes a 16-byte send/receive FIFO, a programmable baud rate generator, complete
modem control capability and a processor interrupt system. Both UARTs provide
legacy speed with baud rate of up to 115.2 Kbps as well as an advanced speed
with baud rates of 250 K, 500 K, or 1 Mb/s, which support higher speed modems.

The Super I/O supports one PC-compatible printer port (SPP), Bi-directional Printer
Port (BPP) , Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) or Extended Capabilities Port (ECP).

The Super I/O provides functions that comply with ACPI (Advanced Confi guration
and Power Interface), which includes support of legacy and ACPI power manage­ment through a SMI or SCI function pin. It also features auto power management
to reduce power consumption.

The IRQs, DMAs and I/O space resources of the Super I/O can be fl exibly adjusted
to meet ISA PnP requirements, which support ACPI and APM (Advanced Power
Management).

1-13

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Notes

1-14

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. T o prevent dam­age to your system board, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following
measures are generally suffi cient to protect your equipment from ESD.

Precautions

• Use a grounded wrist strap designed to prevent static discharge.

• Touch a grounded metal object before removing the board from the antistatic
bag.

• Handle the board by its edges only; do not touch its components, peripheral
chips, memory modules or gold contacts.

• When handling chips or modules, avoid touching their pins.

• Put the serverboard and peripherals back into their antistatic bags when not in
use.

• For grounding purposes, make sure your computer chassis provides excellent
conductivity between the power supply, the case, the mounting fasteners and
the serverboard.

• Use only the correct type of CMOS onboard battery as specifi ed by the manufac-
turer. Do not install the CMOS onboard battery upside down, which may result
in a possible explosion.

Unpacking

The serverboard is shipped in antistatic packaging to avoid static damage. When
unpacking the board, make sure the person handling it is static protected.

Installation Procedures

Follow the procedures as listed below to install the serverboard into a chassis:

1. Install the processor(s) and the heatsink(s).

2. Install the serverboard in the chassis.

3. Install the memory and add-on cards.

4. Finally, connect the cables and install the drivers.

2-1

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

!

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation

Exercise extreme caution when handling and installing the proces­sor. Always connect the power cord last and always remove it be­fore adding, removing or changing any hardware components.

CPU Backplates

Two CPU backplates (BKT-0011L) have been preinstalled to the serverboard to
prevent the CPU area of the serverboard from bending and to provide a base for
attaching the heatsink retention modules.

Installing the Processor (must populate two or four CPU sockets)

1. Begin by removing the cover plate
that protects the CPU. Lift the lever on
the CPU socket until it points straight
up. With the lever raised, lift open the
silver CPU retention plate.

Triangles

2. Use your thumb and your index
fi nger to hold the CPU. Locate and
align pin 1 of the CPU socket with pin
1 of the CPU. Both are marked with
a triangle.

2-2

3. Align pin 1 of the CPU with pin 1

of the socket. Once aligned, carefully
place the CPU into the socket. Do not

drop the CPU on the socket, move the
CPU horizontally or vertically or rub the
CPU against the socket or against any
pins of the socket, which may damage
the CPU and/or the socket.

4. With the CPU inserted into the

socket, inspect the four corners of the
CPU to make sure that it is properly in­stalled and fl ush with the socket. Then,
gently lower the silver CPU retention
plate into place.

Chapter 2: Installation

5. Carefully press the CPU socket le-

ver down until it locks into its retention
tab. For a dual-CPU system, repeat
these steps to install another CPU into
the CPU#2 socket (and into CPU#2,
#3 and #4 sockets for a quad-CPU
confi guration).*
Note: in dual-CPU configurations,
only the CPU1 and CPU2 DIMM slots
are addressable for a maximum of 16
GB memory.

*Note: The silkscreen on the motherboard noting CPU3 and CPU4 have been re­versed on PCB revisions 2.01 and later. Since you must install either two or four
CPUs, this change has no affect on the board's functionality.

2-3

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Installing the Heatsink Retention Modules

Two heatsink retention modules (BKT-0012L) and four screws are included in the
retail box. Once installed, these are used to help attach the heatsinks to the CPUs.
To install, align the module with the standoffs of the preinstalled CPU backplate and
with the four feet on the module contacting the serverboard. Secure the retention
module to the backplate with two of the screws provided. See Figure 2-1. Repeat for
the second CPU socket. Note: BKT-0012L is included for use with non-proprietary
heatsinks only. When installing proprietary heatsinks, only BKT-0011L (the CPU
backplate) is needed. The BKT-0012L retention module was designed to provide
compatibility with clip-and-cam type heatsinks from third parties.

Figure 2-1. CPU Heatsink Retention Module Installation

Installing the Heatsink

The use of active type heatsinks (except for 1U systems) are recommended. Con­nect the heatsink fans to the appropriate fan headers on the serverboard. To install
the heatsinks, please follow the installation instructions included with your heatsink
package (not included).

2-4

Chapter 2: Installation

2-3 Mounting the Serverboard into a Chassis

All serverboards and motherboards have standard mounting holes to fi t different
types of chassis. Make sure that the locations of all the mounting holes for both
the serverboard and the chassis match. Although a chassis may have both plastic
and metal mounting fasteners, metal ones are highly recommended because they
ground the serverboard to the chassis. Make sure that the metal standoffs click in
or are screwed in tightly.

1. Check the compatibility of the serverboard ports and the I/O shield

The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 serverboard requires a chassis that can support extended
ATX boards of 16" x 13" in size. Make sure that the I/O ports on the serverboard
align with their respective holes in the I/O shield at the rear of the chassis.

2. Mounting the serverboard onto the mainboard tray in the chassis

Carefully mount the serverboard onto the mainboard tray by aligning the serverboard
mounting holes with the raised metal standoffs in the tray. Insert screws into all
the mounting holes in the serverboard that line up with the standoffs. Then use a
screwdriver to secure the serverboard to the mainboard tray - tighten until just snug
(if too tight you might strip the threads). Metal screws provide an electrical contact
to the serverboard ground to provide a continuous ground for the system.

2-4 Installing Memory

CAUTION

Exercise extreme care when installing or removing memory modules

to prevent any possible damage.

1. Insert each memory module vertically into its slot, paying attention to the notch

along the bottom of the module to prevent inserting the module incorrectly (see
Figure 2-2). Insert fi rst into the 1A slot(s), then the 1B slot(s), then the 2A slot(s)
and 2B slot(s). See support information below.

2. Gently press down on the memory module until it snaps into place.

Note: Each processor has its own built-in memory controller, consequently each
CPU has a four-slot memory bank associated with it. (Memory installed into a bank
with no CPU present cannot be accessed.) 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB and 2
GB memory modules are supported. It is highly recommended that you remove the
power cord from the system before installing or changing any memory modules.

2-5

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Support

The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 supports single or dual-channel, registered ECC DDR2­667/533/400 SDRAM.
Both interleaved and non-interleaved memory are supported, so you may populate
any number of DIMM slots (see note on previous page). Populating two adjacent
slots at a time with memory modules of the same size and type will result in inter­leaved (128-bit) memory, which is faster than non-interleaved (64-bit) memory.

Optimizing memory performance

It is better to spread pairs of DIMMs across all memory banks with a CPU installed
than to fi ll up one CPU memory bank while leaving another empty. For example,
if you were to install eight DIMMs in a quad-CPU confi guration, you should install
two in the CPU1 DIMM slots (slots 1A and 1B) , two in the CPU2 DIMM slots, two
in the CPU3 DIMM slots and two in the CPU4 DIMM slots rather than four in any
two CPU DIMM slots. If you install four more, install two in the remaining CPU1
DIMM slots and two in the the remaining CPU2 DIMM slots, etc. This balances the
load over all CPUs to optimize performance. In a dual-CPU confi guration, memory
can only be installed in the banks associated with CPU#1 and CPU#2.

Maximum memory: 128 GB DDR2-667/533/400 registered ECC SDRAM (256 GB
for 8-way confi guration). In a dual-CPU confi guration, memory support is halved.

Figure 2-2. Side and Top Views of DDR Installation

To Install:

Insert module vertically
and press down until it
snaps into place. The
release tabs should
close - if they do not
you should close them
yourself.

To Remove:

Use your thumbs to
gently push each re­lease tab outward to
release the DIMM from
the slot.

Notch

Release

Tab

Note: Notch

should align

with its

receptive point

on the slot

Note the notch in the slot and on the bottom of the DIMM.
These prevent the DIMM from being installed incorrectly.

Notch

Release

Tab

2-6

Chapter 2: Installation

2-5 I/O Port and Control Panel Connections

The I/O ports are color coded in conformance with the PC99 specifi cation to make
setting up your system easier. See Figure 2-3 below for the colors and locations
of the various I/O ports.

Figure 2-3. I/O Port Locations and Defi nitions

Front Control Panel

JF1 contains header pins for various front control panel connectors. See Figure 2-4
for the pin defi nitions of the various connectors. Refer to Section 2-6 for details.

Figure 2-4. JF1: Front Control Panel Header (JF1)

20 19

Ground

x (key)

Power LED

HDD LED

NIC1
NIC2

OH/Fan Fail LED

Power Fail LED

Ground

NMI
x (key)
Vcc
Vcc
Vcc
Vcc
Vcc
Vcc
Reset Button

Ground

2 1

Power Button

Note: NMI is not supported on the H8QM8-2 or the H8QME-2.

2-7

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

2-6 Connecting Cables

ATX Power Connector

The primary ATX power supply con­nector (J1B1) meets the SSI (Super­set ATX) 24-pin specifi cation. Refer to
the table on the right for the pin defi ni-
tions of the ATX 24-pin power connec­tor. This connection supplies power to
the chipset, fans and memory.

Note: Y ou must also connect the 8-pin
JPW1 and JPW2 power connectors to
your power supply (see below).

Processor Power Connector

In addition to the primary ATX power
connector (above), the 8-pin proces­sor power connector at JPW1 must
also be connected to your power
supply. See the table on the right for
pin defi nitions.

ATX Power 24-pin Connector

Pin Defi nitions (J1B1)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
13 +3.3V 1 +3.3V
14 -12V 2 +3.3V
15 COM 3 COM
16 PS_ON 4 +5V
17 COM 5 COM
18 COM 6 +5V
19 COM 7 COM
20 Res (NC) 8 PWR_OK
21 +5V 9 5VSB
22 +5V 10 +12V
23 +5V 11 +12V
24 COM 12 +3.3V

Processor Power

Connector 1

Pin Defi nitions (JPW1)

Pins Defi nition
1 through 4 Ground
5 through 8 +12V

Required Connection

Processor Power Connector

An additional 8-pin processor power
connector at JPW2 must also be con­nected to your power supply. See the
table on the right for pin defi nitions.

NMI Button

The non-maskable interrupt button
header is located on pins 19 and 20
of JF1. Refer to the table on the right
for pin defi nitions.

Processor Power

Connector 2

Pin Defi nitions (JPW2)

Pins Defi nition
1 through 4 Ground
5 through 8 +12V

Required Connection

NMI Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
19 Control
20 Ground

NMI not supported

2-8

Chapter 2: Installation

Power LED

The Power LED connection is located
on pins 15 and 16 of JF1. Refer to the
table on the right for pin defi nitions.

HDD LED

The HDD (IDE Hard Disk Drive) LED
connection is located on pins 13 and
14 of JF1. Attach the IDE hard drive
LED cable to display disk activity.
Refer to the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

NIC1 LED

The NIC1 (Network Interface Control­ler) LED connection is located on pins
11 and 12 of JF1. Attach the NIC1
LED cable to display network activity.
Refer to the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

Power LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
15 Vcc
16 Control

HDD LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
13 Vcc
14 HD Active

NIC1 LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
11 Vcc
12 NIC1 Active

NIC2 LED

The NIC2 (Network Interface Control­ler) LED connection is located on pins
9 and 10 of JF1. Attach the NIC2
LED cable to display network activity.
Refer to the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

Overheat/Fan Fail LED

Connect an LED to the OH connection
on pins 7 and 8 of JF1 to provide ad­vanced warning of chassis overheat­ing. Refer to the table on the right for
pin defi nitions and status indicators.

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
9 Vcc
10 NIC2 Active

OH/Fan Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
7 Vcc
8 Control

NIC2 LED

OH/Fan Fail

LED Status

State Indication
Solid Overheat
Blinking Fan fail

2-9

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Power Fail LED

The Power Fail LED connection is
located on pins 5 and 6 of JF1. Refer
to the table on the right for pin defi ni-
tions. This feature is only available
for systems with redundant power
supplies.

Reset Button

The Reset Button connection is lo­cated on pins 3 and 4 of JF1. Attach
it to the hardware reset switch on the
computer case. Refer to the table on
the right for pin defi nitions.

Power Button

Power Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
5 Vcc
6 Control

Reset Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
3 Reset
4 Ground

The Power Button connection is
located on pins 1 and 2 of JF1. Mo­mentarily contacting both pins will
power on/off the system. This button
can also be confi gured to function
as a suspend button (see the Power
Button Mode setting in BIOS). To turn
off the power when set to suspend
mode, depress the button for at least
4 seconds. Refer to the table on the
right for pin defi nitions.

Universal Serial Bus Ports
(USB0/1)

Two Universal Serial Bus ports
(USB2.0) are located beside the key­board/mouse ports. See the table on
the right for pin defi nitions.

Power Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
1 PW_ON
2 Ground

Universal Serial Bus Ports

Pin Defi nitions (USB0/1)

USB0
Pin # Defi nition

1 +5V 1 +5V
2 PO- 2 PO­3 PO+ 3 PO+
4 Ground 4 Ground

USB1
Pin # Defi nition

2-10

Chapter 2: Installation

USB Headers

Two additional USB2.0 head­ers (USB2/3) are included on the
serverboard. These may be con­nected to provide front side access.
A USB cable (not included) is needed
for the connection. See the table on
the right for pin defi nitions.

Serial Ports

The COM1 serial port is located under
the parallel port and the COM2 header
is located between PCI-x slots #2 and
#3. Refer to the table on the right for
pin defi nitions.

Universal Serial Bus Headers

Pin Defi nitions (USB2/3)

USB2
Pin # Defi nition

1 +5V 1 +5V
2 PO- 2 PO­3 PO+ 3 PO+
4 Ground 4 Ground
5 Key 5 No connection

Serial Port Pin Defi nitions

Pin # Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 DCD 6 DSR
2 RXD 7 RTS
3 TXD 8 CTS
4 DTR 9 RI
5 Ground 10 NC

USB3
Pin # Defi nition

(COM1/COM2)

Fan Headers

The serverboard has nine fan head­ers, which are designated FAN1
through FAN9. Fans speed may be
set to full or variable speed with a
BIOS setting. See the table on the
right for pin defi nitions.

Note: when using active heatsinks,
FAN4 is for CPU1, FAN3 is for CPU2,
FAN7 is for CPU3 and FAN8 is for
CPU4.

Chipset Fan Headers

Two additional fan headers, designat­ed nFAN1 and nFAN2, are included
on the serverboard. nFAN1 and
nFAN2 should be connected to the
heatsinks on the MCP55 and 8132
(chipset) chips, respectively. See the
table on the right for pin defi nitions.

Note: NC indicates no connection.

Fan Header

Pin Defi nitions

(FAN1-9)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Ground (Black)
2 +12V/9V (Red)
3 Tachometer

Note: Fan speed may controlled by a BIOS
setting to change with system temperature.
As a result, pin 2 may be either 12V or 9 V.
See Chapter 4.

Chipset Fan Headers

Pin Defi nitions

(nFAN1-2)

Pin# Defi nition
1 12V
2 Ground

2-11

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Power LED/Keylock/Speaker

On the JF2 header, pins 2, 4 and 6
are for the power LED, pins 8 and 10
are for the keylock and pins 1, 3, 5
and 7 are for the speaker (there is no
pin 9). See the tables on the right for
pin defi nitions and below right for pin
locations

Note: The speaker connector pins are
for use with an external speaker. If
you wish to use the onboard speaker,
you should close pins 5 and 7 with a
jumper.

Speaker Connector

Pin Defi nitions (JF2)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Red wire, speaker data
3NC
5 Buzzer signal
7 Speaker data

Pwr LED/Keylock Connector

Pin Defi nitions (JF2)

Pin# Defi nition
2 +Vcc
4 -Vcc
6 -Vcc
8 Keylock
10 Ground

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and
PS/2 Mouse Ports

The ATX PS/2 keyboard and the PS/2
mouse ports are located at J3. The
mouse is the top (green) port. See the
table on the right for pin defi nitions.

Chassis Intrusion

A Chassis Intrusion header is located
at JL1. Attach the appropriate cable
to inform you of a chassis intrusion.

PS/2 Keyboard and

Mouse Port Pin
Defi nitions (J3)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Data
2NC
3 Ground
4 VCC
5 Clock
6NC

Chassis Intrusion

Pin Defi nitions (JL1)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Intrusion Input
2 Ground

Overheat LED

Connect an LED to the JOH1 header
to provide warning of chassis over­heating. See the table on the right for
pin defi nitions.

Overheat LED

Pin Defi nitions (JOH1)

Pin# Defi nition
1 +3.3V
2 OH Active

2-12

Wake-On-LAN

The Wake-On-LAN header is desig­nated JWOL. See the table on the
right for pin definitions. You must
have a LAN card with a Wake-On-LAN
connector and cable to use the Wake­On-LAN feature.

Wake-On-Ring

Chapter 2: Installation

Wake-On-LAN

Pin Defi nitions

(JWOL)

Pin# Defi nition
1 +5V Standby
2 Ground
3 Wake-up

The Wake-On-Ring header is desig­nated JWOR. This function allows your
computer to receive and "wake-up" by
an incoming call to the modem when
in suspend state. See the table on the
right for pin defi nitions. You must have
a Wake-On-Ring card and cable to use
this feature.

System Management Bus
Power Header (PS_SMBUS)

The header designated PS_SMBUS
may be used to monitor the power sup­ply for system management. See the
table on the right for pin defi nitions.

Wake-On-Ring
Pin Defi nitions

(JWOR)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Ground (Black)
2 Wake-up

System Management Bus

Power Header

Pin Defi nitions (PS_SMBUS)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Clock
2 Data
3 PWR Fail
4 Gnd
5 +3.3V

3rd Power Supply Alarm
Reset Header

Connect a cable from your power sup­ply to JAR to provide you with warning
of a power supply failure. The warning
signal is passed through the PWR_LED
pin to indicate a power failure. See the
table on the right for pin defi nitions.

2-13

3rd Power Supply

Alarm Reset Header

Pin Defi nitions (JAR)

Pin# Defi nition
1 P/S 1 Fail Signal
2 P/S 2 Fail Signal
3 P/S 3 Fail Signal
4 Reset (from MB)

Note: This feature is only available when using
redundant power supplies.

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

JLAN1/2 (Ethernet Ports)

Two Gigabit Ethernet ports (designated
JLAN1 and JLAN2) are located beside
the COM2 port. These Ethernet ports
accept RJ45 type cables.

Compact Flash Power
Headers

A Compact Flash Card Power Connector
is located at JWF1. For the Compact
Flash Card to work properly, you will
fi rst need to connect the device's power
cable to JWF1 and correctly set the
Compact Flash Jumper (JP1).

3rd Power Supply Fail
Detect Header

Connect your power supply to J3P to
provide you with warning of a power
supply failure. The warning signal is
passed through the PWR_LED pin to
indicate a power failure. See the table
on the right for pin defi nitions.

Compact Flash

Power Header

Pin Defi nitions (JWF1)

Pin# Defi nition
1 +5V
2 Ground
3 Signal

3rd Power Supply Fail

Detect Header

Pin Defi nitions (J3P)

Pin# Defi nition
1 P/S 1 Fail Signal
2 P/S 2 Fail Signal
3 P/S 3 Fail Signal
4 Alarm Reset

Note: This feature is only available when using
redundant Supermicro power supplies.

SGPIO

SGPIO1 and SGPIO2 (Serial General
Purpose Input/Output) provide a bus
between the SATA controller and
the SATA drive backplane to provide
SATA enclosure management func­tions. Connect the appropriate cables
from the backplane to the SGPIO1
and SGPIO2 header(s) to utilize
SATA management functions on your
system.

2-14

Pin Defi nitions (SGPIO1, SGPIO2)

SGPIO Header

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1NC 2NC
3 Ground 4 Data
5 Load 6 Ground
7NC 8NC

Note: NC indicates no connection.

2-7 Jumper Settings

Explanation of
Jumpers

Chapter 2: Installation

To modify the operation of the
serverboard, jumpers can be used to
choose between optional settings.
Jumpers create shorts between two
pins to change the function of the
conne cto r. Pin 1 is identifi ed with
a square solder pad on the printed
circu it boar d. See the d iagra m at
right for an example of jumping pins
1 and 2. Refer to the ser ve rboard
layout page for jumper locations.

Note 1: On two-pin jumpers,
"Clos ed" means the j umper is on
and "Open" means the jumper is

off t he pins.

CMOS Clear

Connector

3 2 1

Pins

Jumper

3 2 1

Setting

JBT1 is used to clear CMOS and will also clear any passwords. Instead of pins,
this jumper consists of contact pads to prevent accidentally clearing the contents
of CMOS.
To clear CMOS,

1) First power down the system and unplug the power cord(s).

2) With the power disconnected, short the CMOS pads with a metal object such as

a small screwdriver for at least four seconds.

3) Remove the screwdriver (or shorting device).

4) Reconnect the power cord(s) and power on the system.

Notes:

Do not use the PW_ON connector to clear CMOS.

The onboard battery does not need to be removed when clearing CMOS, however
you must short JBT1 for at least four seconds.

JBT1 contact pads

2-15

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

VGA Enable/Disable

JPG1 allows you to enable or disable
the VGA port. The default position is
on pins 1 and 2 to enable VGA. See
the table on the right for jumper set­tings.

JLAN Enable/Disable

Change the setting of jumper JPL1
to enable or disable the JLAN1 and
JLAN2 Gb Ethernet ports. See the
table on the right for jumper settings.
The default setting is enabled.

I2C to PCI-X Sl ots Ena ble/
Disable

VGA Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings (JPG1)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Enabled
Pins 2-3 Disabled

JLAN1/2 Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings (JPL1)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Enabled
Pins 2-3 Disabled

The JI2C1/2 pair of jumpers allows you
to connect the System Management
Bus to the PCI-X slots. The default
sett ing is pins 2-3 fo r both jumper s to
disabl e the conn ectio n. Both co nnec­tors mus t be set t he sam e (JI

2

C1 is f or
data and JI2C2 is for the clock). See
the table on right for jumper settings.

I2C to PCI- E Slot s Enab le/
Disable

The JI2C3/4 pair of jumpers allows you
to connect the System Management
Bus to the PC I-E xpress sl ot s . T h e d e­fault setting is pins 2-3 for both jumpers
to disable the connection. Both con­necto r s mu st b e s et t h e s am e (JI
for data and JI

2

C4 is for the clock). See

the table on right for jumper settings.

2

C3 is

I2C to PCI-X Slots

Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings

(JI2C1/2)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Enabled
Pins 2-3 Disabled

I2C to PCI-E Slots

Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings

2

C3/4)

(JI

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Enabled
Pins 2-3 Disabled

2-16

SCSI Controll er Enable/
Disable (H8QM8-2 only)

Jumper JPA1 is used to enable or dis­able the Adaptec AIC-7902W SCSI
controller. The default setting is on pins
1-2 to enable SCSI. See the t able on
right for jumper settings.

SCSI Termination Enable/
Disable (H8QM8-2 only)

Jumper s JPA2 and JPA3 are used to
enable or di sabl e termi nation f or SCS I
channels A and B, respectively. The
default setting is open to enable termi­nation. See the table on right for jump­er settings.

Note: In order for the SCSI drives to
function properly, please do not change
the default setting (enabled) set by the

Chapter 2: Installation

SCSI Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings (JPA1)

Both Jumpers Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Enabled
Pins 2-3 Disabled

SCSI Term. Enable/Disable

Jumper Settings (JPA2/JPA3)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Open Enabled
Closed Disabled

manufacturer.)

Compact Flash Master/Slave

The JP1 jumper allows you to assign ei­ther master or slave status to a compact
fl ash card installed in the IDE#1 slot.
You will need to connect compact fl ash
power to JWF1 to use. See the table
on the right for jumper settings.

2-17

Compact Flash

Master/Slave

Jumper Settings (JP1)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Closed Master
Open Slave

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

PCI-X Slot Frequency Select

Jumper JPXA1 is are used to set
the speed of PCI-X slots #1 and #2.
The recommended (default) setting is
open for Auto. See the table on the
right for jumper settings.

PCI-X Slot Frequency Select

Jumper JPXB1 is are used to set
the speed of PCI-X slots #3 and #4.
The recommended (default) setting is
open for Auto. See the table on the
right for jumper settings.

PCI-X Slot #3/#4

Frequency Select

Jumper Settings

(JPXA1)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 66 MHz PCI-X
Pins 2-3 66 MHz PCI
Open Auto

PCI-X Slot #3/#4

Frequency Select

Jumper Settings

(JPXB1)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 66 MHz PCI-X
Pins 2-3 66 MHz PCI
Open Auto

Watch Dog Enable/Disable

JWD c ontro ls the Watc h Dog f unct ion.
Watch Dog is a system monitor that
can reboot the system when a software
applic atio n hangs. Pin s 1-2 will c ause
WD to reset the system if an applica­tion has frozen. Leaving the jumper
open will disable the Watch Dog fea­ture. See the table on the right for
jumper settings. Watc h D o g m u st a ls o
be enable d in BIOS (sett ing loc ated in
the Power Menu).

2-18

Watch Dog

Jumper Settings (JWD)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Reset
Open Disabled

Note: When ena bled, th e user nee ds to
write their own applicatio n software in or­der to disable the Watch Dog timer. There
is no setting for closing pins 2-3.

2-8 Onboard Indicators

JLAN1/JLAN2 LEDs

The Ethernet ports (located beside
the VGA port) have two LEDs. On
each Gb LAN port, one LED indicates
activity when blinking while the other
LED may be green, amber or off to
indicate the speed of the connection.
See the table on the right for the func­tions associated with the connection
speed LED.

Chapter 2: Installation

JLAN LED

(Connection Speed Indicator)

LED Color Defi nition
Off 10 MHz
Green 100 MHz
Amber 1 GHz

Onboard Power LED (DP2)

DP2 is an Onboard Power LED. When
this LED is lit, it means power is present
on the serverboard. In suspend mode
this LED will blink on and off. Be sure to
turn off the system and unplug the power
cord(s) before removing or installing
components.

2-19

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

2-9 Floppy, IDE, Parallel Port, SCSI and SATA Drive
Connections

Use the following information to connect the fl oppy and hard disk drive cables.

 The fl oppy disk drive cable has seven twisted wires.
 A red mark on a wire typically designates the location of pin 1.
 A single fl oppy disk drive ribbon cable has 34 wires and two connectors to provide

for two fl oppy disk drives. The connector with twisted wires always connects to
drive A, and the connector that does not have twisted wires always connects to
drive B.

 The 80-wire ATA133 IDE hard disk drive cable that came with your system has

two connectors to support two drives. This special cable should be used to take
advantage of the speed this new technology offers. The blue connector connects
to the onboard IDE connector interface and the other connector(s) to your hard
drive(s). Consult the documentation that came with your disk drive for details
on actual jumper locations and settings for the hard disk drive.

Floppy Connector

The fl oppy connector is located
beside the IDE#1 connector.
See the table on the right for
pin defi nitions.

Floppy Drive Connector
Pin Defi nitions (Floppy)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 GND 2 FDHDIN
3 GND 4 Reserved
5 Key 6 FDEDIN
7 GND 8 Index­9 GND 10 Motor Enable
11 GND 12 Drive Select B­13 GND 14 Drive Select A­15 GND 16 Motor Enable
17 GND 18 DIR­19 GND 20 STEP­21 GND 22 Write Data­23 GND 24 Write Gate­25 GND 26 Track 00­27 GND 28 Write Protect­29 GND 30 Read Data­31 GND 32 Side 1 Select­33 GND 34 Diskette

2-20

Chapter 2: Installation

IDE Connector

There are no jumpers to con­fi gure the onboard IDE#1 con­nector. See the table on the
right for pin defi nitions.

IDE Drive Connector

Pin Defi nitions (IDE#1)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 Reset IDE 2 Ground
3 Host Data 7 4 Host Data 8
5 Host Data 6 6 Host Data 9
7 Host Data 5 8 Host Data 10
9 Host Data 4 10 Host Data 11
11 Host Data 3 12 Host Data 12
13 Host Data 2 14 Host Data 13
15 Host Data 1 16 Host Data 14
17 Host Data 0 18 Host Data 15
19 Ground 20 Key
21 DRQ3 22 Ground
23 I/O Write 24 Ground
25 I/O Read 26 Ground
27 IOCHRDY 28 BALE
29 DACK3 30 Ground
31 IRQ14 32 IOCS16
33 Addr1 34 Ground
35 Addr0 36 Addr2
37 Chip Select 0 38 Chip Select 1
39 Activity 40 Ground

2-21

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Parallel Port
Connector

The parallel (printer) port is
located on the I/O backplane.
See the table on the right for
pin defi nitions.

Parallel Port Connector

Pin Defi nitions (J4)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 Strobe- 2 Auto Feed­3 Data Bit 0 4 Error­5 Data Bit 1 6 Init­7 Data Bit 2 8 SLCT IN­9 Data Bit 3 10 GND
11 Data Bit 4 12 GND
13 Data Bit 5 14 GND
15 Data Bit 6 16 GND
17 Data Bit 7 18 GND
19 ACK 20 GND
21 BUSY 22 Write Data
23 PE 24 Write Gate
25 SLCT 26 NC

SATA Ports

There are no jumpers to con­fi gure the SATA ports, which
are designated N-SATA0 ~ N­SATA5. See the table on the
right for pin defi nitions.

SATA Ports

Pin Defi nitions

(N-SATA0 ~ N-SATA5)

Pin # Defi nition
1 Ground
2 TXP
3 TXN
4 Ground
5 RXN
6 RXP
7 Ground

2-22

Chapter 2: Installation

SCSI Connectors
(H8QM 8-2 onl y)

Refer to the table at right for
pin defi nitions for the Ultra320
SCSI connectors located at
JA1 and JA2.

Ultra320 SCSI Drive Connectors

Pin Defi nitions (JA1/JA2)

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 +DB (12) 35 -DB (12)
2 +DB (13) 36 -DB (13)
3 +DB (14) 37 -DB (14)
4 +DB (15) 38 -DB (15)
5 +DB (P1) 39 -DB (P1)
6 +DB (0) 40 -DB (0)
7 +DB (1) 41 -DB (1)
8 +DB (2) 42 -DB (2)
9 +DB (3) 43 -DB (3)
10 +DB (4) 44 -DB (4)
11 +DB (5) 45 -DB (5)
12 +DB (6) 46 -DB (6)
13 +DB (7) 47 -DB (7)
14 +DB (P) 48 -DB (P)

15 Ground 49 Ground
16 DIFFSENS 50 Ground
17 TERMPWR 51 TERMPWR
18 TERMPWR 52 TERMPWR
19 Reserved 53 Reserved
20 Ground 54 Ground
21 +ATN 55 -ATN
22 Ground 56 Ground
23 +BSY 57 -BSY
24 +ACK 58 -ACK
25 +RST 59 -RST
26 +MSG 60 -MSG
27 +SEL 61 -SEL
28 +C/D 62 -C/D
29 +REQ 63 -REQ
30 +I/O 64 -I/O
31 +DB (8) 65 -DB (8)
32 +DB (9) 66 -DB (9)
33 +DB (10) 67 -DB (10)
34 +DB (11) 68 -DB (11)

2-23

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

2-10 Enabling SATA RAID

Serial ATA (SATA)

Serial ATA (SATA) is a physical storage interface that employs a single cable with
a minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices.
This connection is a serial link. The serial cables used in SATA are thinner than
the traditional cables used in Parallel ATA (PATA) and can extend up to one meter
in length, compared to only 40 cm for PATA cables. Overall, SATA provides better
functionality than PATA.

Installing the OS/SATA Driver

Before installing the OS (operating system) and SA TA RAID driver, you must decide
if you wish to have the operating system installed as part of a bootable RAID array
or installed to a separate non-RAID hard drive. If on a separate drive, you may
install the driver either during or after the OS installation. If you wish to have the
OS on a SATA RAID array, you must follow the procedure below and install the
driver during the OS installation.

Note: the SATA RAID driver is supported by Windows 2000 and XP only.

Building a Driver Diskette

You must fi rst build a driver diskette from the CD-ROM that was included with the
system. (You will have to create this disk on a computer that is already running and
with the OS installed.) Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive and start the system.
A display as shown in Figure 2-5 will appear. Click on the icon labeled "Build Driver
Diskettes and Manuals" and follow the instructions to create a fl oppy disk with the
driver on it. Once it's been created, remove the fl oppy and insert the installation
CD for the Windows Operating System you wish to install into the CD-ROM drive
of the new system you are about to confi gure.

Enabling SATA RAID in the BIOS

Before installing the Windows Operating System, you must change some settings
in BIOS. Boot up the system and hit the <Del> key to enter the BIOS Setup Utlility.
After the Setup Utility loads,

1. Use the arrow keys to move to the Exit menu. Scroll down with the arrow keys
to the "Load Optimal Defaults setting and press <Enter>. Select "OK" to confi rm,
then <Enter> to load the default settings.

2-24

Chapter 2: Installation

2. Use the arrow keys to move to Advanced > Floppy/IDE/SATA Confi guration >
nVidia RAID Setup and press the <Enter> key. Once in the submenu, enable the
"nVidia RAID Function" setting, which will cause the SATA0/1/2 Primary/Secondary
settings to appear. Enable the SATA devices and channels you will be using.

3. Hit the <F10> key to "Save Changes and Exit", then hit <Enter> to verify.

4. After exiting the BIOS Setup Utility, the system will reboot. When prompted
during the startup, press the <F10> key when prompted to run the nVidia RAID
Utility program.

Using the nVidia RAID Utility

The nVidia RAID Utility program is where you can defi ne the drives you want to
include in the RAID array and the mode and type of RAID. Two main windows are
shown in the utility (see Figure 2-5). The "Free Disks" window on the left will list all
available drives. Use the arrow keys to select and move drives to the window on
the right, which lists all drives that are to become part of the RAID array.

Once you have fi nished selecting the drives and type of RAID you wish to use for
your RAID array, press the <F7> key. You will be prompted to verify your choice; if
you want to continue with your choices, select "Yes". Note that selecting "Yes" will
clear all previous data from the drives you selected to be a part of the array. You
are then given the choice of making the RAID array bootable by pressing the the
<B> key. After you have fi nshed, press the <Ctrl> and <X> keys simultaneously.
Figure 2-6 shows a list of arrays that have been set up with the utility.

Installing the OS and Drivers

With the Windows OS installation CD in the CD-ROM drive, restart the system.
When you see the prompt, hit the <F6> key to enter Windows setup. Eventually a
blue screen will appear with a message that begins "Windows could not determine
the type of one or more storage devices . . ." When you see the screen, hit the <S>
key to "Specify Additional Device", then insert the driver diskette you just created
into the fl oppy drive. Highlight "Manufuacturer Supplied Hardware Support Disk"
and hit the <Enter> key. Highlight the fi rst "nVidia RAID" driver shown and press
the <Enter> key to install it. Soon a similar blue screen will appear again. Again hit
the <S> key, then highlight the second item, "nForce Storage Controller" and press
the <Enter> key, then <Enter> again to continue with the Windows setup.

2-25

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Figure 2-5. SATA RAID Utility: Main Screen

Figure 2-6. SATA RAID Utility: Array List

2-26

Chapter 2: Installation

2-11 Installing Software Drivers

After all the hardware and operating system have been installed, you need to install
certain drivers. The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro CD that
came packaged with your serverboard. After inserting this CD into your CD-ROM
drive, the display shown in Figure 2-7 should appear. (If this display does not
appear, click on the My Computer icon and then on the icon representing your CD­ROM drive. Finally, double click on the S "Setup" icon.)

Figure 2-7. Driver Installation Display Screen

Click the icons showing a hand writing on paper to view the readme fi les for each
item. Click the tabs to the right of these in order from top to bottom to install each
item one at a time. After installing each item, you must reboot the system
before moving on to the next item on the list. You should install everything here
except for the SUPER Doctor utility, which is optional. The bottom icon with a CD
on it allows you to view the entire contents of the CD.

2-27

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Notes

2-28

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

Chapter 3

Troubleshooting

3-1 Troubleshooting Procedures

Use the following procedures to troubleshoot your system. If you have followed all
of the procedures below and still need assistance, refer to the ‘Technical Support
Procedures’ and/or ‘Returning Merchandise for Service’ section(s) in this chapter.
Always disconnect the AC power cord before adding, changing or installing any
hardware components.

Before Power On

1. Check that the onboard power LED is lit (DP2 on the serverboard).

2. Make sure that the main ATX power connector at J1B1 and the 8-pin connectors
at JPW1 and JPW2 are all connected to your power supply.

3. Make sure that no short circuits exist between the serverboard and chassis.

4. Disconnect all ribbon/wire cables from the serverboard, including those for the
keyboard and mouse.

5. Remove all add-on cards.

6. Install CPUs and heatsinks (making sure they are fully seated) and connect
the internal (chassis) speaker and the power LED to the serverboard. Check all
jumper settings as well.

7. Use the correct type of onboard CMOS battery as recommended by the manufac­turer. To avoid possible explosion, do not install the CMOS battery upside down.

No Power

1. Make sure that no short circuits exist between the serverboard and the chas­sis.

2. Verify that all jumpers are set to their default positions.

3. Check that the 115V/230V switch on the power supply is properly set.

4. Turn the power switch on and off to test the system.

5. The battery on your serverboard may be old. Check to verify that it still supplies
~3VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

No Video

1. If the power is on but you have no video, remove all the add-on cards and
cables.

2. Use the speaker to determine if any beep codes exist. Refer to Appendix A for
details on beep codes.

3-1

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

NOTE

If you are a system integrator, VAR or OEM, a POST diagnostics

card is recommended. For I/O port 80h codes, refer to App. B.

Memory Errors

1. Make sure that the DIMM modules are properly and fully installed.

2. You should be using registered ECC DDR-2 memory (see next page). Also, it
is recommended that you use the same memory type and speed for all DIMMs in
the system. See Section 2-4 for memory details and limitations.

3. Check for bad DIMM modules or slots by swapping modules between slots and
noting the results.

4. Check the power supply voltage 115V/230V switch.

Losing the System’s Setup Confi guration

1. Make sure that you are using a high quality power supply. A poor quality power
supply may cause the system to lose the CMOS setup information. Refer to Sec­tion 1-6 for details on recommended power supplies.

2. The battery on your serverboard may be old. Check to verify that it still supplies
~3VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

3. If the above steps do not fi x the setup confi guration problem, contact your vendor
for repairs.

3-2 Technical Support Procedures

Before contacting Technical Support, please take the following steps. Also, note
that as a serverboard manufacturer, we do not sell directly to end-users, so it is
best to fi rst check with your distributor or reseller for troubleshooting services. They
should know of any possible problem(s) with the specifi c system confi guration that
was sold to you.

1. Please review the ‘Troubleshooting Procedures’ and 'Frequently Asked Questions'
(FAQs) sections in this chapter or see the FAQs on our web site before contacting
Technical Support.

2. BIOS upgrades can be downloaded from our web site.

Note: Not all BIOS can be fl ashed depending on the modifi cations to the boot block
code.

3-2

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

3. If you still cannot resolve the problem, include the following information when
contacting us for technical support:

 Serverboard model and PCB revision number
 BIOS release date/version (this can be seen on the initial display when your

system fi rst boots up)

 System confi guration

An example of a Technical Support form is posted on our web site.

4. Distributors: For immediate assistance, please have your account number ready
when contacting our technical support department by e-mail.

3-3 Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What type of memory does my serverboard support?
Answer: The H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 supports up to 128 GB DDR2-667/533/400 regis-

tered ECC interleaved SDRAM with four CPUs installed. In an 8-way confi guration
(using the HT slots) the maximum memory support is 128 GB for registered ECC
DDR2-667/533/400 (only 64 GB supported in dual-CPU confi gurations). See Sec-
tion 2-4 for details on installing memory.

Question: How do I update my BIOS?
Answer: It is recommended that you not upgrade your BIOS if you are not experi-

encing problems with your system. Updated BIOS fi les are located on our web site.
Please check our BIOS warning message and the information on how to update
your BIOS on our web site. Also, check the current BIOS revision and make sure
it is newer than your current BIOS before downloading.

Select your serverboard model on the web page and download the corresponding
BIOS fi le to your computer. Unzip the BIOS update fi le, in which you will fi nd the
readme.txt (fl ash instructions), the afudos.exe (BIOS fl ash utility) and the BIOS
image (xxx.rom) fi les. Copy these fi les to a bootable fl oppy disk, insert the disk
into drive A and reboot the system. At the DOS prompt after rebooting, enter the
command "fl ash" (without quotation marks) then type in the BIOS fi le that you want
to update with (xxxx.rom).

Question: What's on the CD that came with my serverboard?
Answer: The supplied compact disc has quite a few drivers and programs that will

greatly enhance your system. We recommend that you review the CD and install the
applications you need. Applications on the CD include chipset drivers for Windows
and security and audio drivers.

3-3

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Question: Why can't I turn off the power using the momentary power on/off
switch?

Answer: The instant power off function is controlled in BIOS by the Power But-

ton Mode setting. When the On/Off feature is enabled, the serverboard will have
instant off capabilities as long as the BIOS has control of the system. When the
Standby or Suspend feature is enabled or when the BIOS is not in control such
as during memory count (the fi rst screen that appears when the system is turned
on), the momentary on/off switch must be held for more than four seconds to shut
down the system. This feature is required to implement the ACPI features on the
serverboard.

Question: How do I connect the ATA133 cable to my IDE device(s)?
Answer: The 80-wire/40-pin high-density ATA133 IDE cable that came with your

system has two connectors to support two drives. This special cable must be used
to take advantage of the speed the ATA133 technology offers. Connect the blue

connector to the onboard IDE header and the other connector(s) to your hard
drive(s). Consult the documentation that came with your disk drive for details on

actual jumper locations and settings.

3-4 Returning Merchandise for Service

A receipt or copy of your invoice marked with the date of purchase is required be­fore any warranty service will be rendered. You can obtain service by calling your
vendor for a Returned Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. When returning
to the manufacturer, the RMA number should be prominently displayed on the
outside of the shipping carton, and mailed prepaid or hand-carried. Shipping and
handling charges will be applied for all orders that must be mailed when service
is complete.

For faster service, RMA authorizations may be requested online (http://www.
supermicro.com/support/rma/).

This warranty only covers normal consumer use and does not cover damages in­curred in shipping or from failure due to the alteration, misuse, abuse or improper
maintenance of products.

During the warranty period, contact your distributor fi rst for any product problems.

3-4

Chapter 4: BIOS

Chapter 4

BIOS

4-1 Introduction

This chapter describes the AMIBIOS™ Setup utility for the H8QM8-2/H8QME-2.
The AMI ROM BIOS is stored in a fl ash chip and can be easily upgraded using a
fl oppy disk-based program.

Note: Due to periodic changes to the BIOS, some settings may have been added or
deleted and might not yet be recorded in this manual. Please refer to the Manual
Download area of our web site for any changes to BIOS that may not be refl ected
in this manual.

Starting the Setup Utility

To enter the BIOS Setup Utility, hit the <Delete> key while the system is booting-up.
(In most cases, the <Delete> key is used to invoke the BIOS setup screen. There are
a few cases when other keys are used, such as <F1>, <F2>, etc.) Each main BIOS
menu option is described in this manual.

The Main BIOS screen has two main frames. The left frame displays all the options
that can be confi gured. “Grayed-out” options cannot be confi gured. The right frame
displays the key legend. Above the key legend is an area reserved for a text mes­sage. When an option is selected in the left frame, it is highlighted in white. Often a
text message will accompany it. (Note that BIOS has default text messages built in.
We retain the option to include, omit, or change any of these text messages.) Set­tings printed in Bold are the default values.
A "

" indicates a submenu. Highlighting such an item and pressing the <Enter>

key will open the list of settings within that submenu.

The BIOS setup utility uses a key-based navigation system called hot keys. Most of
these hot keys (<F1>, <F10>, <Enter>, <ESC>, <Arrow> keys, etc.) can be used at
any time during the setup navigation process.

4-1

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

4-2 Main Menu

When you fi rst enter AMI BIOS Setup Utility, you will see the Main Menu screen.
You can always return to the Main Menu by selecting the Main tab on the top of
the screen with the arrow keys.

The Main Menu screen provides you with a system overview, which includes the
version, built date and ID of the AMIBIOS, the type, speed and number of the
processors in the system and the amount of memory installed in the system.

System Time/System Date

You can edit this fi eld to change the system time and date. Highlight System Time
or System Date using the <Arrow> keys. Enter new values through the keyboard.
Press the <Tab> key or the <Arrow> keys to move between fi elds. The date must
be entered in DAY/MM/DD/YYYY format. The time is entered in HH:MM:SS format.
Please note that time is in a 24-hour format. For example, 5:30 A.M. appears as
05:30:00 and 5:30 P.M. as 17:30:00.

4-3 Advanced Settings Menu

 BOOT Features

Quick Boot

If Enabled, this option will skip certain tests during POST to reduce the time
needed for the system to boot up. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Quiet Boot

If Disabled, normal POST messages will be displayed on boot-up. If Enabled,
this display the OEM logo instead of POST messages.

Add-On ROM Display Mode

Set this option to display add-on ROM (read-only memory) messages. The de­fault setting is Force BIOS. Select Force BIOS to allow the computer system
to force a third party BIOS to display during system boot. Select Keep Current
to allow the computer system to display the BIOS information during system
boot. The options are Force BIOS and Keep Current.

4-2

Chapter 4: BIOS

Boot up Num-Lock

Set this value to allow the Number Lock setting to be modifi ed during boot up.
The options are On and Off.

PS/2 Mouse Support

Set this value to modify support for a PS/2 mouse. The options are Auto, En­abled and Disabled.

Wait for ‘F1’ If Error

Select Enable to activate the Wait for F1 if Error function. The options are

Enabled and Disabled.

Hit ‘DEL’ Message Display

Select Enabled to display message to hit the DEL key to enter Setup. The op­tions are Enabled and Disabled.

Interrupt 19 Capture

Select Enabled to allow ROMs to trap Interrupt 19. The options are Enabled
and Disabled.

OS Installation

Change this setting if using a 64-bit Linux operating system. The available op­tions are Other and Linux.

ACPI Version Features

Use this setting the determine which ACPI version to use. Options are ACPI
v1.0, ACPI v2.0 and ACPI v3.0.

ACPI APIC Support

Determines whether to include the ACPI APIC table pointer in the RSDT pointer
list. The available options are Enabled and Disabled.

ACPI OEMB Table

Determines whether to include the ACPI APIC table pointer in the RSDT pointer
list. The available options are Enabled and Disabled.

Headless Mode

Use this setting to Enable or Disable headless operation mode through
ACPI.

4-3

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Restore on AC Power Loss

This setting allows you to choose how the system will react when power returns
after an unexpected loss of power. The options are Power Off, Power On and

Last State.

Watch Dog Timer Select

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the Watch Dog Timer function. It must
be used in conjunction with the Watch Dog jumper (see Chapter 2 for details).
To enable, choose from 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 15 or 30 min.

MPS Revision

This setting allows the user to select the MPS revision level. The options are

1.1 and 1.4.

SMBIOS SMI Support

Use this setting to Enable or Disable SMBIOS SMI wrapper support for PnP
function 50h-54h.

 CPU Confi guration

This submenu lists CPU information and contains the following settings:

GART Error Reporting

This setting is used for testing only.

Power Now

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the AMD Power Now feature.

Thermal Throttling

This setting is used to Enable or Disable Thermal Throttling.

4-4

Chapter 4: BIOS

 Floppy/IDE/SATA Confi guration

Floppy A

Move the cursor to these fi elds via up and down <arrow> keys to select the fl oppy
type. The options are Disabled, 360 KB 5 1/4", 1.2 MB 5 1/4", 720 KB 3½", 1.44

MB 3½”, and 2.88 MB 3½".

Floppy B

Move the cursor to these fi elds via up and down <arrow> keys to select the fl oppy
type. The options are Disabled, 360 KB 5 1/4", 1.2 MB 5 1/4", 720 KB 3½", 1.44

MB 3½”, and 2.88 MB 3½".

Onboard Floppy Controller

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the onboard fl oppy controller.

Onboard IDE Controller

There is a single fl oppy controller on the motherboard, which may be Enabled or
Disabled with this setting.

Serial ATA Devices

This setting is used to determine if SATA drives will be used and how many. Op­tions are Disabled, Device 0, Device 0/1 and Device 0/1/2.

 nVidia RAID Setup

nVidia RAID Function

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the nVidia ROM. If Enabled, the set­ting below will appear.

SATA0/1/2 Primary/Secondary Channel

This setting is used to Enable or Disable the SATA0 Primary, SATA0 Second­ary, SATA1 Primary, SATA1 Secondary, SATA2 Primary and SATA2 Secondary
channels (six settings total).

4-5

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Primary IDE Master/Slave

Highlight one of the items above and press <Enter> to access the submenu for
that item.

Type

Select the type of device connected to the system. The options are Not Installed,

Auto, CDROM and ARMD.

LBA/Large Mode

LBA (Logical Block Addressing) is a method of addressing data on a disk drive.
The options are Disabled and Auto.

Block (Multi-Sector Transfer)

Block mode boosts IDE drive performance by increasing the amount of data
transferred. Only 512 bytes of data can be transferred per interrupt if block mode
is not used. Block mode allows transfers of up to 64 KB per interrupt. Select
"Disabled" to allow the data to be transferred from and to the device one sec­tor at a time. Select "Auto" to allows the data transfer from and to the device
occur multiple sectors at a time if the device supports it. The options are Auto
and Disabled.

PIO Mode

PIO (Programmable I/O) mode programs timing cycles between the IDE drive
and the programmable IDE controller. As the PIO mode increases, the cycle time
decreases. The options are Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Select Auto to allow AMI
BIOS to auto detect the PIO mode. Use this value if the IDE disk drive support
cannot be determined. Select 0 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 0. It has a
data transfer rate of 3.3 MBs. Select 1 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 1.
It has a data transfer rate of 5.2 MBs. Select 2 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO
mode 2. It has a data transfer rate of 8.3 MBs. Select 3 to allow AMI BIOS to
use PIO mode 3. It has a data transfer rate of 11.1 MBs. Select 4 to allow AMI
BIOS to use PIO mode 4. It has a data transfer rate of 16.6 MBs. This setting
generally works with all hard disk drives manufactured after 1999. For other disk
drives, such as IDE CD-ROM drives, check the specifi cations of the drive.

4-6

Chapter 4: BIOS

DMA Mode

Selects the DMA Mode. Options are SWDMA0, SWDMA1, SWDMA2,
MWDMA0. MDWDMA1, MWDMA2, UDMA0. UDMA1, UDMA2, UDMA3,
UDMA4 and UDMA5. (SWDMA=Single Word DMA, MWDMA=Multi Word DMA,
UDMA=UltraDMA.)

S.M.A.R.T.

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) can help predict
impending drive failures. Select "Auto" to allow BIOS to auto detect hard disk
drive support. Select "Disabled" to prevent AMI BIOS from using the S.M.A.R.T.
Select "Enabled" to allow AMI BIOS to use the S.M.A.R.T. to support hard drive
disk. The options are Disabled, Enabled, and Auto.

32-Bit Data Transfer

Select "Enabled" to activate the function of 32-Bit data transfer. Select "Disabled"
to deactivate the function. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Serial ATA0/1/2 Primary/Secondary Channel

Highlight one of the items above and press <Enter> to access the submenu for that
item. If a drive is present, information on that drive will be displayed here.

Type

Select the type of device connected to the system. The options are Not Installed,

Auto, CDROM and ARMD.

LBA/Large Mode

LBA (Logical Block Addressing) is a method of addressing data on a disk drive.
The options are Disabled and Auto.

Block (Multi-Sector Transfer)

Block mode boosts IDE drive performance by increasing the amount of data
transferred. Only 512 bytes of data can be transferred per interrupt if block mode
is not used. Block mode allows transfers of up to 64 KB per interrupt. Select
"Disabled" to allow the data to be transferred from and to the device one sec­tor at a time. Select "Auto" to allows the data transfer from and to the device
occur multiple sectors at a time if the device supports it. The options are Auto
and Disabled.

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H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

PIO Mode

PIO (Programmable I/O) mode programs timing cycles between the IDE drive
and the programmable IDE controller. As the PIO mode increases, the cycle time
decreases. The options are Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Select Auto to allow AMI
BIOS to auto detect the PIO mode. Use this value if the IDE disk drive support
cannot be determined. Select 0 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 0. It has a
data transfer rate of 3.3 MBs. Select 1 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 1.
It has a data transfer rate of 5.2 MBs. Select 2 to allow AMI BIOS to use PIO
mode 2. It has a data transfer rate of 8.3 MBs. Select 3 to allow AMI BIOS to
use PIO mode 3. It has a data transfer rate of 11.1 MBs. Select 4 to allow AMI
BIOS to use PIO mode 4. It has a data transfer rate of 16.6 MBs. This setting
generally works with all hard disk drives manufactured after 1999. For other disk
drives, such as IDE CD-ROM drives, check the specifi cations of the drive.

DMA Mode

Selects the DAM Mode. Options are SWDMA0, SWDMA1, SWDMA2,
MWDMA0. MDWDMA1, MWDMA2, UDMA0. UDMA1, UDMA2, UDMA3,
UDMA4 and UDMA5. (SWDMA=Single Word DMA, MWDMA=Multi Word DMA,
UDMA=UltraDMA.)

S.M.A.R.T.

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) can help predict
impending drive failures. Select "Auto" to allow BIOS to auto detect hard disk
drive support. Select "Disabled" to prevent AMI BIOS from using the S.M.A.R.T.
Select "Enabled" to allow AMI BIOS to use the S.M.A.R.T. to support hard drive
disk. The options are Disabled, Enabled, and Auto.

32-Bit Data Transfer

Select "Enabled" to activate the function of 32-Bit data transfer. Select "Disabled"
to deactivate the function. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Hard Disk Write Protect

Select Enabled to enable the function of Hard Disk Write Protect to prevent data
from being written to HDD. The options are Enabled or Disabled.

IDE Detect Time Out (Sec)

This feature allows the user to set the time-out value for detecting ATA, ATA PI
devices installed in the system. The options are 0 (sec), 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and

35.

4-8

Chapter 4: BIOS

ATA(PI) 80Pin Cable Detection

This setting allows AMI BIOS to auto-detect the 80-Pin ATA(PI) cable. The options
are Host, Device and Host & Device.

 PCI/PnP Confi guration

Clear NVRAM

Select Yes to clear NVRAM during boot-up. The options are Yes and No.

Plug & Play OS

Select Yes to allow the OS to confi gure Plug & Play devices. (This is not required
for system boot if your system has an OS that supports Plug & Play.) Select No
to allow AMIBIOS to confi gure all devices in the system.

PCI Latency Timer

This option sets the latency of all PCI devices on the PCI bus. Select a value to
set the PCI latency in PCI clock cycles. Options are 32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192,
224 and 248.

Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA

Set this value to allow or restrict the system from giving the VGA adapter card an
interrupt address. The options are Yes and No.

Palette Snooping

Select "Enabled" to inform the PCI devices that an ISA graphics device is installed
in the system in order for the graphics card to function properly. The options are
Enabled and Disabled.

PCI IDE BusMaster

Set this value to allow or prevent the use of PCI IDE busmastering. Select "Enabled"
to allow AMI BIOS to use PCI busmaster for reading and writing to IDE drives. The
options are Disabled and Enabled.

Offboard PCI/ISA IDE Card

This option allows the user to assign a PCI slot number to an Off-board PCI/ISA
IDE card in order for it to function properly. The options are Auto, PCI Slot1, PCI
Slot2, PCI Slot3, PCI Slot4, PCI Slot5, and PCI Slot6.

4-9

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

IRQ3/IRQ4/IRQ5/IRQ7/IRQ9/IRQ10/IRQ11/IRQ14/IRQ15

This feature specifi es the availability of an IRQ to be used by a PCI/PnP device.
Select Reserved for the IRQ to be used by a Legacy ISA device. The options are

Available and Reserved.

DMA Channel 0/Channel 1/Channel 3/Channel 5/Channel 6/Channel
7

Select Available to indicate that a specifi c DMA channel is available to be used by
a PCI/PnP device. Select Reserved if the DMA channel specifi ed is reserved for
a Legacy ISA device. The options are Available and Reserved.

Reserved Memory Size

You may set reserved memory with this setting. The options are Disabled, 16k,
32k and 64k.

Onboard SCSI HostRAID

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the onboard SCSI Host RAID.

 Super IO Confi guration

Serial Port1 Address

This option specifi es the base I/O port address and Interrupt Request address of
serial port 1. Select "Disabled" to prevent the serial port from accessing any system
resources. When this option is set to Disabled, the serial port physically becomes
unavailable. Select "3F8/IRQ4" to allow the serial port to use 3F8 as its I/O port
address and IRQ 4 for the interrupt address. The options are Disabled, 3F8/IRQ4,
3E8/IRQ4 and 2E8/IRQ3.

Serial Port2 Address

This option specifi es the base I/O port address and Interrupt Request address of
serial port 2. Select "Disabled" to prevent the serial port from accessing any system
resources. When this option is set to "Disabled", the serial port physically becomes
unavailable. Select "2F8/IRQ3" to allow the serial port to use 2F8 as its I/O port
address and IRQ 3 for the interrupt address. The options are Disabled, 2F8/IRQ3,
3E8/IRQ4 and 2E8/IRQ3.

Serial Port 2 Mode

Tells BIOS which mode to select for serial port 2. The options are Normal,
IrDA and ASKIR.

4-10

Chapter 4: BIOS

Parallel Port Address

This option specifi es the I/O address used by the parallel port. Select Disabled to
prevent the parallel port from accessing any system resources. When the value of
this option is set to Disabled, the printer port becomes unavailable. Select 378 to
allow the parallel port to use 378 as its I/O port address. The majority of parallel
ports on computer systems use IRQ7 and I/O Port 378H as the standard setting.
Select 278 to allow the parallel port to use 278 as its I/O port address. Select 3BC
to allow the parallel port to use 3BC as its I/O port address.

Parallel Port Mode

Specify the parallel port mode. The options are Normal, Bi-directional, EPP
and ECP.

Parallel Port IRQ

Select the IRQ (interrupt request) for the parallel port. The options are IRQ5
and IRQ7.

 Chipset Confi guration
 NorthBridge Confi guration

 Memory Confi guration

Memclock Mode

This setting determines how the memory clock is set. Auto has the memory
clock by code and Limit allows the user to set a standard value.

MCT Timing Mode

Sets the timing mode for memory. Options are Auto and Manual.

Bank Interleaving

Select Auto to automatically enable interleaving-memory scheme when this
function is supported by the processor. The options are Auto and Disabled.

Enable Clock to All Dimms

Use this setting to enable unused clocks to all DIMMSs, even if some DIMM
slots are unpopulated. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

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H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Mem Clk Tristate C3/ALTVID

Use this setting to Enable or Disable memory clock tristate during C3 and
ALT VID.

CS Sparing Enable

Use this setting to Enable or Disable the CS Sparing function.

Memory Hole Remapping

When "Enabled", this feature enables hardware memory remapping around
the memory hole. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

 ECC Confi guration

DRAM ECC Enable

DRAM ECC allows hardware to report and correct memory errors automati­cally. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

4-Bit ECC Mode

Allows the user to enabled 4-bit ECC mode (also known as ECC
Chipkill). Options are Enabled and Disabled.

DRAM Scrub Redirect

Allows system to correct DRAM ECC errors immediately, even with
background scrubbing on. Options are Enabled and Disabled.

DRAM BG Scrub

Corrects memory errors so later reads are correct. Options are Dis­abled and various times in nanoseconds and microseconds.

L2 Cache BG Scrub

Allows L2 cache RAM to be corrected when idle. Options are Disabled and
various times in nanoseconds and microseconds.

Data Cache BG Scrub

Allows L1 cache RAM to be corrected when idle. Options are Disabled and
various times in nanoseconds and microseconds.

4-12

Chapter 4: BIOS

Power Down Control

Allows DIMMs to enter power down mode by deasserting the clock enable signal
when DIMMs are not in use. Options are Auto and Disabled.

Alternate VID

Specifi es and alternate VID while in low power states. Options are Auto and
various voltages between .8V and 1.115V.

Memory Timing Parameters

Allows the user to select which CPU Node's timing parameters (memory clock,
etc.) to display. Options are CPU Node 0, CPU Node1, CPU Node2 and CPU
Node3.

 SouthBridge Confi guration

USB 1.1 Controller

Enable or disable the USB 1.1 controller.

USB 2.0 Controller

Enable or disable the USB 2.0 controller.

USB Devices Enabled

This fi eld dsiplays the USB devices currently enabled.

Legacy USB Support

Select "Enabled" to enable the support for USB Legacy . Disable Legacy support
if there are no USB devices installed in the system. "Auto" disabled Legacy
support if no USB devices are connected. The options are Disabled, Enabled
and Auto.

USB 2.0 Controller Mode

Select the controller mode for your USB ports. Options are HiSpeed and
FullSpeed. (HiSpeed=480 Mbps, FullSpeed=12 Mbps).

BIOS EHCI Hand-Off

Enable or Disable a workaround for OS's without EHCI hand-off support.

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H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

 Event Log Confi guration

View Event Log

Highlight this item and press <Enter> to view the contents of the event log.

Mark All Events as Read

Highlight this item and press <Enter> to mark all events as read.

Clear Event Log

Select Yes and press <Enter> to clear all event logs. The options are Yes and
No to verify.

 Remote Access Confi guration

Remote Access

Allows you to Enable or Disable remote access. If enabled, the settings below
will appear.

Serial Port Number

Selects the serial port to use for console redirection. Options are COM1 and
COM2.

Serial Port Mode

Selects the serial port settings to use. Options are (115200 8, n, 1), (57600 8,
n, 1), (38400 8, n, 1), (19200 8, n, 1) and (09600 8, n, 1).

Flow Control

Selects the fl ow control to be used for console redirection. Options are None,
Hardware and Software.

Redirection After BIOS POST

Options are Disable (no redirection after BIOS POST), Boot Loader (redirection
during POST and during boot loader) and Always (redirection always active).
Note that some OS's may not work with this set to Always.

Terminal Type

Selects the type of the target terminal. Options are ANSI, VT100 and VT­UTF8.

4-14

Chapter 4: BIOS

VT-UTF8 Combo Key Support

Allows you to Enable or Disable VT-UTF8 combination key support for ANSI/
VT100 terminals.

Sredir Memory Display Delay

Use this setting to set the delay in seconds to display memory information. Op­tions are No Delay, 1 sec, 2 secs and 4 secs.

 System Health Monitor

CPU Overheat Temperature

Use the "+" and "-" keys to set the CPU temperature threshold to between 65o
and 90
sis will light up and an alarm will sound. The LED and alarm will turn off once
the CPU temperature has dropped to 5 degrees below the threshold set. The
default setting is 72

o

C. When this threshold is exceeded, the overheat LED on the chas-

o

C.

Other items in the submenu are systems monitor displays for the following
information:

CPU1 Temperature, CPU2 Temperature, CPU3 Temperature, CPU4 Tempera­ture, (for 4U systems), System Temperature, CPU1 Vcore, CPU2 Vcore, CPU3
Vcore, CPU4 Vcore (for 4U systems), 3.3V Vcc, +5Vin, +12Vin, 5V standby and
battery voltage.

 System Fan Monitor

Fan Speed Control

This feature allows the user to determine how the system will control the speed of
the onboard fans. Select "Workstation" if your system is used as a Workstation.
Select "Server" if your system is used as a Server. Select "Disable" to disable
the fan speed control function to allow the onboard fans to continuously run at
full speed (12V). The options are 1) Disabled (Full Speed) 2) Optimized for
Server and 3) Optimized for Workstation.

FAN1 Speed through FAN9 Speed

The speeds of the onboard fans (in rpm) are displayed here.

4-15

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

4-4 Boot Menu

This feature allows the user to confi gure the following items:

 Boot Device Priority

This feature allows the user to prioritize the boot sequence from the available de­vices. The devices to set are:

· 1st Boot Device

· 2nd Boot Device

· 3rd Boot Device

· 4th Boot Device

· 5th Boot Device

 Hard Disk Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the boot sequence from available hard disk
drives.

1st Drive

Specifi es the boot sequence for the 1st Hard Drive.

 Removable Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the Boot sequence from available remov­able drives.

1st Drive

Specifi es the boot sequence for the 1st Removable Drive. The options are 1st
Floppy Drive and Disabled.

 CD/DVD Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the Boot sequence from available CD/DVD
drives.

4-16

Chapter 4: BIOS

4-5 Security Menu

AMI BIOS provides a Supervisor and a User password. If you use both passwords,
the Supervisor password must be set fi rst.

Change Supervisor Password

Select this option and press <Enter> to access the sub menu, and then type in
the password.

Change User Password

Select this option and press <Enter> to access the sub menu, and then type in
the password.

Boot Sector Virus Protection

This option is near the bottom of the Security Setup screen. Select "Disabled" to
deactivate the Boot Sector Virus Protection. Select "Enabled" to enable boot sector
protection. When "Enabled", AMI BIOS displays a warning when any program (or
virus) issues a Disk Format command or attempts to write to the boot sector of the
hard disk drive. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

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H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

4-6 Exit Menu

Select the Exit tab from AMI BIOS Setup Utility screen to enter the Exit BIOS Setup
screen.

Save Changes and Exit

When you have completed the system confi guration changes, select this option
to leave BIOS Setup and reboot the computer, so the new system confi guration
parameters can take effect. Select Save Changes and Exit from the Exit menu
and press <Enter>.

Discard Changes and Exit

Select this option to quit BIOS Setup without making any permanent changes to
the system confi guration and reboot the computer. Select Discard Changes and
Exit from the Exit menu and press <Enter>.

Discard Changes

Select this option and press <Enter> to discard all the changes and return to AMI
BIOS Utility Program.

Load Optimal Defaults

To set this feature, select Load Optimal Defaults from the Exit menu and press
<Enter>. Then Select "OK" to allow BIOS to automatically load the Optimal Defaults
as the BIOS Settings. The Optimal settings are designed for maximum system
performance, but may not work best for all computer applications.

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

To set this feature, select Load Fail-Safe Defaults from the Exit menu and press
<Enter>. The Fail-Safe settings are designed for maximum system stability, but
not maximum performance.

4-18

Appendix A: BIOS Error Beep Codes

Appendix A

BIOS Error Beep Codes

During the POST (Power-On Self-Test) routines, which are performed each time
the system is powered on, errors may occur.

Non-fatal errors are those which, in most cases, allow the system to continue the
boot-up process. The error messages normally appear on the screen.

Fatal errors are those which will not allow the system to continue the boot-up pro­cedure. If a fatal error occurs, you should consult with your system manufacturer
for possible repairs.

These fatal errors are usually communicated through a series of audible beeps.
The numbers on the fatal error list, on the following page, correspond to the number
of beeps for the corresponding error. All errors listed, with the exception of Beep
Code 8, are fatal errors.

POST codes may be read on the debug LEDs located beside the LAN port on the
serverboard backplane. See the description of the Debug LEDs (LED1 and LED2)
in Chapter 5.

A-1 AMIBIOS Error Beep Codes

Beep Code Error Message Description

1 beep Refresh Circuits have been reset.
(Ready to power up.)

5 short, 1 long Memory error No memory detected in
system

8 beeps Display memory read/write error Video adapter missing or
with faulty memory

A-1

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User’s Manual

Notes

A-2

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

Appendix B

BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

When AMIBIOS performs the Power On Self Test, it writes checkpoint codes to I/O
port 0080h. If the computer cannot complete the boot process, diagnostic equipment
can be attached to the computer to read I/O port 0080h.

B-1 Uncompressed Initialization Codes

The uncompressed initialization checkpoint codes are listed in order of execution:

Checkpoint Code Description

D0h The NMI is disabled. Power on delay is starting. Next, the initialization code check-

D1h Initializing the DMA controller, performing the keyboard controller BAT test, starting

D3h Starting memory sizing next.
D4h Returning to real mode. Executing any OEM patches and setting the Stack next.
D5h Passing control to the uncompressed code in shadow RAM at E000:0000h. The

sum will be verifi ed.

memory refresh and entering 4 GB fl at mode next.

initialization code is copied to segment 0 and control will be transferred to segment

0.

B-1

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

B-2 Bootblock Recovery Codes

The bootblock recovery checkpoint codes are listed in order of execution:

Checkpoint Code Description

E0h The onboard fl oppy controller if available is initialized. Next, beginning the base

E1h Initializing the interrupt vector table next.
E2h Initializing the DMA and Interrupt controllers next.
E6h Enabling the fl oppy drive controller and Timer IRQs. Enabling internal cache mem-

Edh Initializing the fl oppy drive.
Eeh Looking for a fl oppy diskette in drive A:. Reading the fi rst sector of the diskette.
Efh A read error occurred while reading the fl oppy drive in drive A:.
F0h Next, searching for the AMIBOOT.ROM fi le in the root directory.
F1h The AMIBOOT.ROM fi le is not in the root directory.
F2h Next, reading and analyzing the fl oppy diskette FAT to fi nd the clusters occupied

F3h Next, reading the AMIBOOT.ROM fi le, cluster by cluster.
F4h The AMIBOOT.ROM fi le is not the correct size.
F5h Next, disabling internal cache memory.
FBh Next, detecting the type of fl ash ROM.
FCh Next, erasing the fl ash ROM.

512 KB memory test.

ory.

by the AMIBOOT.ROM fi le.

FDh Next, programming the fl ash ROM.
FFh Flash ROM programming was successful. Next, restarting the system BIOS.

B-2

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

B-3 Uncompressed Initialization Codes

The following runtime checkpoint codes are listed in order of execution.
These codes are uncompressed in F0000h shadow RAM.

Checkpoint Code Description

03h The NMI is disabled. Next, checking for a soft reset or a power on condition.
05h The BIOS stack has been built. Next, disabling cache memory.
06h Uncompressing the POST code next.
07h Next, initializing the CPU and the CPU data area.
08h The CMOS checksum calculation is done next.
0Ah The CMOS checksum calculation is done. Initializing the CMOS status register for

0Bh The CMOS status register is initialized. Next, performing any required initialization

0Ch The keyboard controller input buffer is free. Next, issuing the BAT command to the

0Eh The keyboard controller BAT command result has been verifi ed. Next, performing

0Fh The initialization after the keyboard controller BA T command test is done. The key-

10h The keyboard controller command byte is written. Next, issuing the Pin 23 and 24

11h Next, checking if <End or <Ins> keys were pressed during power on. Initializing

12h Next, disabling DMA controllers 1 and 2 and interrupt controllers 1 and 2.
13h The video display has been disabled. Port B has been initialized. Next, initializing

14h The 8254 timer test will begin next.
19h Next, programming the fl ash ROM.
1Ah The memory refresh line is toggling. Checking the 15 second on/off time next.

date and time next.

before the keyboard BAT command is issued.

keyboard controller.

any necessary initialization after the keyboard controller BAT command test.

board command byte is written next.

blocking and unblocking command.

CMOS RAM if the Initialize CMOS RAM in every boot AMIBIOS POST option was
set in AMIBCP or the <End> key was pressed.

the chipset.

2Bh Passing control to the video ROM to perform any required confi guration before the

2Ch All necessary processing before passing control to the video ROM is done. Look-

2Dh The video ROM has returned control to BIOS POST. Performing any required pro-

23h Reading the 8042 input port and disabling the MEGAKEY Green PC feature next.

24h The confi guration required before interrupt vector initialization has completed. In-

video ROM test.

ing for the video ROM next and passing control to it.

cessing after the video ROM had control

Making the BIOS code segment writable and performing any necessary confi gura-
tion before initializing the interrupt vectors.

terrupt vector initialization is about to begin.

B-3

H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Checkpoint Code Description

25h Interrupt vector initialization is done. Clearing the password if the POST DIAG

27h Any initialization before setting video mode will be done next.
28h Initialization before setting the video mode is complete. Confi guring the mono-

2Ah Bus initialization system, static, output devices will be done next, if present. See the

2Eh Completed post-video ROM test processing. If the EGA/VGA controller is not

2Fh The EGA/VGA controller was not found. The display memory read/write test is

30h The display memory read/write test passed. Look for retrace checking next.
31h The display memory read/write test or retrace checking failed. Performing the alter-

32h The alternate display memory read/write test passed. Looking for alternate display

34h Video display checking is over. Setting the display mode next.
37h The display mode is set. Displaying the power on message next.
38h Initializing the bus input, IPL, general devices next, if present. See the last page of

39h Displaying bus initialization error messages. See the last page of this chapter for

switch is on.

chrome mode and color mode settings next.

last page for additional information.

found, performing the display memory read/write test next.

about to begin.

nate display memory read/write test next.

retrace checking next.

this chapter for additional information.

additional information.

3Ah The new cursor position has been read and saved. Displaying the Hit <DEL> mes-

3Bh The Hit <DEL> message is displayed. The protected mode memory test is about

40h Preparing the descriptor tables next.
42h The descriptor tables are prepared. Entering protected mode for the memory test

43h Entered protected mode. Enabling interrupts for diagnostics mode next.
44h Interrupts enabled if the diagnostics switch is on. Initializing data to check memory

45h Data initialized. Checking for memory wraparound at 0:0 and fi nding the total sys-

46h The memory wraparound test is done. Memory size calculation has been done.

47h The memory pattern has been written to extended memory. Writing patterns to the

48h Patterns written in base memory. Determining the amount of memory below 1 MB

49h The amount of memory below 1 MB has been found and verifi ed.
4Bh The amount of memory above 1 MB has been found and verifi ed. Checking for a

sage next.

to start.

next.

wraparound at 0:0 next.

tem memory size next.

Writing patterns to test memory next.

base 640 KB memory next.

next.

soft reset and clearing the memory below 1 MB for the soft reset next. If this is a
power on situation, going to checkpoint 4Eh next.

B-4

Checkpoint Code Description

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

4Ch The memory below 1 MB has been cleared via a soft reset. Clearing the memory

4Dh The memory above 1 MB has been cleared via a soft reset. Saving the memory size

4Eh The memory test started, but not as the result of a soft reset. Displaying the fi rst

4Fh The memory size display has started. The display is updated during the memory

50h The memory below 1 MB has been tested and initialized. Adjusting the displayed

51h The memory size display was adjusted for relocation and shadowing.
52h The memory above 1 MB has been tested and initialized. Saving the memory size

53h The memory size information and the CPU registers are saved. Entering real mode

54h Shutdown was successful. The CPU is in real mode. Disabling the Gate A20 line,

57h The A20 address line, parity, and the NMI are disabled. Adjusting the memory size

58h The memory size was adjusted for relocation and shadowing. Clearing the Hit

59h The Hit <DEL> message is cleared. The <WAIT...> message is displayed. Starting

above 1 MB next.

next. Going to checkpoint 52h next.

64 KB memory size next.

test. Performing the sequential and random memory test next.

memory size for relocation and shadowing next.

information next.

next.

parity, and the NMI next.

depending on relocation and shadowing next.

<DEL> message next.

the DMA and interrupt controller test next.

60h The DMA page register test passed. Performing the DMA Controller 1 base register

62h The DMA controller 1 base register test passed. Performing the DMA controller 2

65h The DMA controller 2 base register test passed. Programming DMA controllers 1

66h Completed programming DMA controllers 1 and 2. Initializing the 8259 interrupt

67h Completed 8259 interrupt controller initialization.
7Fh Extended NMI source enabling is in progress.
80h The keyboard test has started. Clearing the output buffer and checking for stuck

81h A keyboard reset error or stuck key was found. Issuing the keyboard controller

82h The keyboard controller interface test completed. Writing the command byte and

83h The command byte was written and global data initialization has completed. Check-

84h Locked key checking is over. Checking for a memory size mismatch with CMOS

85h The memory size check is done. Displaying a soft error and checking for a password

test next.

base register test next.

and 2 next.

controller next.

keys. Issuing the keyboard reset command next.

interface test command next.

initializing the circular buffer next.

ing for a locked key next.

RAM data next.

or bypassing WINBIOS Setup next.

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H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

Checkpoint Code Description

86h The password was checked. Performing any required programming before WIN-

87h The programming before WINBIOS Setup has completed. Uncompressing the

88h Returned from WINBIOS Setup and cleared the screen. Performing any necessary

89h The programming after WINBIOS Setup has completed. Displaying the power on

8Ch Programming the WINBIOS Setup options next.
8Dh The WINBIOS Setup options are programmed. Resetting the hard disk controller

8Fh The hard disk controller has been reset. Confi guring the fl oppy drive controller

91h The fl oppy drive controller has been confi gured. Confi guring the hard disk drive

95h Initializing the bus option ROMs from C800 next. See the last page of this chapter

96h Initializing before passing control to the adaptor ROM at C800.
97h Initialization before the C800 adaptor ROM gains control has completed. The adap-

98h The adaptor ROM had control and has now returned control to BIOS POST . Perform-

BIOS Setup next.

WINBIOS Setup code and executing the AMIBIOS Setup or WINBIOS Setup utility
next.

programming after WINBIOS Setup next.

screen message next.

next.

next.

controller next.

for additional information.

tor ROM check is next.

ing any required processing after the option ROM returned control.

99h Any initialization required after the option ROM test has completed. Confi guring the

9Ah Set the timer and printer base addresses. Setting the RS-232 base address next.
9Bh Returned after setting the RS-232 base address. Performing any required initializa-

9Ch Required initialization before the Coprocessor test is over. Initializing the Coproces-

9Dh Coprocessor initialized. Performing any required initialization after the Coproces-

9Eh Initialization after the Coprocessor test is complete. Checking the extended keyboard,

A2h Displaying any soft errors next.
A3h The soft error display has completed. Setting the keyboard typematic rate next.
A4h The keyboard typematic rate is set. Programming the memory wait states next.
A5h Memory wait state programming is over. Clearing the screen and enabling parity

A7h NMI and parity enabled. Performing any initialization required before passing control

A8h Initialization before passing control to the adaptor ROM at E000h completed. Passing

timer data area and printer base address next.

tion before the Coprocessor test next.

sor next.

sor test next.

keyboard ID, and Num Lock key next. Issuing the keyboard ID command next.

and the NMI next.

to the adaptor ROM at E000 next.

control to the adaptor ROM at E000h next.

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Checkpoint Code Description

Appendix B: BIOS POST Checkpoint Codes

A9h Returned from adaptor ROM at E000h control. Performing any initialization required

Aah Initialization after E000 option ROM control has completed. Displaying the system

Abh Uncompressing the DMI data and executing DMI POST initialization next.
B0h The system confi guration is displayed.
B1h Copying any code to specifi c areas.
00h Code copying to specifi c areas is done. Passing control to INT 19h boot loader

after the E000 option ROM had control next.

confi guration next.

next.

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H8QM8-2/H8QME-2 User's Manual

(continued from front)
The products sold by Supermicro are not intended for and will not be used in life support systems,
medical equipment, nuclear facilities or systems, aircraft, aircraft devices, aircraft/emergency com­munication devices or other critical systems whose failure to perform be reasonably expected to
result in signifi cant injury or loss of life or catastrophic property damage. Accordingly, Supermicro dis-
claims any and all liability, and should buyer use or sell such products for use in such ultra-hazardous
applications, it does so entirely at its own risk. Furthermore, buyer agrees to fully indemnify, defend
and hold Supermicro harmless for and against any and all claims, demands, actions, litigation, and
proceedings of any kind arising out of or related to such ultra-hazardous use or sale.

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