i

G31M SeriesMS-7379 ( V2.X ) Mainboard

G52-73791X1

ii

Copyright Notice

The material in this document is the intellectual property of MICRO-STARINTERNATIONAL. We take every care in the preparation of this document, but noguarantee is given as to the correctness of its contents. Our products are undercontinual improvement and we reserve the right to make changes without notice.

Trademarks

All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

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

Revision History

Revision Revision History DateV2.0 First release July 2007

Technical Support

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

Visit the MSI website for FAQ, technical guide, BIOS updates, driver updates,and other in f ormat ion: ht tp: / /g lobal .msi.com.tw/ index.php?func=faqIndexContact our technical staff at: http://support.msi.com.tw/

iii

Safety Instructions

CAUTION: Danger of explos ion if bat tery is incorrectly replaced.Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommended by themanufacturer.

1. Always read the safety instructions carefully.2. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference.3. Keep this equipment away from humidity.4. Lay this equipment on a reliable f lat surface before setting it up.5. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the equip-

ment from overheating. DO NOT COVER THE OPENINGS.6. Make sure the voltage of the power source and adjust properly 110/220V be-

fore connecting the equipment to the power inlet.7. Place the power cord such a way that people can not step on it. Do not place

anything over the power cord.8. Always Unplug the Power Cord before inserting any add-on card or module.9. All cautions and warnings on the equipment should be noted.10. Never pour any liquid into the opening that could damage or cause electrical

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

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

User’s Manual.Ü The equipment has dropped and damaged.Ü The equipment has obvious sign of breakage.

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

iv

FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has beentested and found to complywith the limits for a Class Bdigital device, pursuant to Part15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protectionagainst harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates,uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accor-dance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particularinstallation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or televisionreception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user isencouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the measures listedbelow.

Ü Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

Ü Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

Ü Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that towhich the receiver is connected.

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

Notice 1The changes or modif ications not expressly approved by the party responsible forcompliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Notice 2Shielded interface cables and A.C. power cord, if any, must be used in order tocomply with the emission limits.

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

Micro-Star InternationalMS-7379

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to thefollowing two conditions:(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that

may cause undesired operation.

v

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement

vi

vii

viii

CONTENTSCopyright Notice .............................................................................................................. iiTrademarks ....................................................................................................................... iiRevision History .............................................................................................................. iiTechnical Support ........................................................................................................... iiSafety Instructions ......................................................................................................... iiiFCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement ........................................................ ivWEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement .................................... vChapter 1. Getting Started .................................................................................... 1-1

Mainboard Specifications ................................................................................... 1-2Mainboard Layout ................................................................................................ 1-4Packing Checklist ................................................................................................. 1-5

Chapter 2. Hardware Setup .................................................................................. 2-1Quick Components Guide .................................................................................... 2-2CPU (Central Processing Unit) ............................................................................ 2-3Memory................................................................................................................. 2-7Power Supply ...................................................................................................... 2-9Back Panel .......................................................................................................... 2-10Connectors ........................................................................................................ 2-12Jumpers .............................................................................................................. 2-19Slots ................................................................................................................... 2-20

Chapter 3. BIOS Setup ............................................................................................ 3-1Entering Setup ..................................................................................................... 3-2The Main Menu ..................................................................................................... 3-4Standard CMOS Features ................................................................................... 3-6Advanced BIOS Features ................................................................................... 3-9Integrated Peripherals ....................................................................................... 3-13Power Management Setup ............................................................................... 3-15PNP/PCI Configurations ..................................................................................... 3-18H/W Monitor ........................................................................................................ 3-20Frequency/Voltage Control ............................................................................... 3-21Load Fail-Safe/ Optimized Defaults ................................................................. 3-25BIOS Setting Password ..................................................................................... 3-26

Appendix A. Realtek Audio ................................................................................... A-1Installing the Realtek HD Audio Driver ................................................................ A-2Software Configuration ...................................................................................... A-4Hardware Setup ................................................................................................A-19

ix

Appendix B. Dual Core Center ............................................................................. B-1Activating Dual Core Center ............................................................................... B-2Main ...................................................................................................................... B-3DOT (Dynamic OverClocking) ............................................................................. B-5Clock ..................................................................................................................... B-6Voltage ................................................................................................................. B-7FAN Speed ........................................................................................................... B-8Temperature ......................................................................................................... B-9User Profile ........................................................................................................ B-10

Appendix C. Intel ICH7R SATA RAID ....................................................................C-1ICH7R Introduction ............................................................................................... C-2BIOS Configuration .............................................................................................. C-3Installing Software .............................................................................................. C-9RAID Migration Instructions ............................................................................... C-15Degraded RAID Array ........................................................................................ C-22

1-1

Getting Started

Getting StartedChapter 1

Thank you for choosing the G31M Series (MS-7379 v2.X)Micro ATX mainboard. The G31M Series mainboards arebased on Intel® G31 & ICH7/ ICH7R (optional) chipsets foroptimal system efficiency. Designed to fit the advanced Intel®Core 2 Quad/ Core 2 Due/ Pentium and Celeron processor,the G31M Series deliver a high performance and profes-sional desktop platform solution.

MS-7379 Mainboard

1-2

Mainboard Specifications

Processor Support

- Intel® Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo, Pentium and Celeron in theLGA775 package.

(For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=cpuform)

Supported FSB

- 1333/1066/ 800 MHz

Chipset

- North Bridge: Intel® G31 chipset- South Bridge: Intel® ICH7/ ICH7R (optional) chipset

Memory Support

- DDR2 800/ 667 SDRAM (2GB Max)- 2 DDR2 DIMMs (240pin / 1.8V) (For more information on compatible components, please visit

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

LAN

- Supports 10/ 100 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8101E- Or Supports PCIE LAN 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek8111B (optional)/ 8111C (optional)

Audio

- Chip integrated by Realtek® ALC888/ 883 (optinal)/ 861 (optional)- Flexible 7.1-channel audio with jack sensing- Compliant with Azalia 1.0 Spec- Meet Microsoft Vista Premium SPEC

IDE

- 1 IDE port- Supports Ultra DMA 66/100 mode- Supports PIO, Bus Master operation mode

SATA

- 4 SATA ports- Supports storage and data transfers at up to 300MB/s

Floppy

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

1-3

Getting Started

RAID (optional)

- SATA1~4 support RAID 0/ /1/ 10/ 5 mode

Connectors

Back panel- 1 PS/2 mouse port- 1 PS/2 keyboard port- 1 COM port- 1 VGA port- 4 USB 2.0 ports- 1 LAN jack- 6 flexible audio jacks

On-Board Pinheaders/ Connectors- 1 Parallel port pinheader supporting SPP/EPP/ECP mode- 2 USB 2.0 pinheaders- 1 CD-In pinheader- 1 Front Panel Audio pinheader- 1 SPDIF-Out pinheader- 1 Chassis Intrusion Switch pinheader

Slots

- 1 PCI Express x16 slot- 1 PCI Express x1 slot- 2 PCI slots (support 3.3V/ 5V PCI bus Interface)

TPM (optional)

- Supports TPM

Form Factor

- Mircro-ATX (24.4 cm X 21.5 cm)

Mounting

- 6 mounting holes

MS-7379 Mainboard

1-4

G31M Series (MS-7379 v2.X) M-ATX Mainboard

Mainboard Layout

PCI 2

PCI 1

BATT+

PCI _E2

PCI _E1

ATX1

IDE1

JSP1

LANChip

JCI1

JLPT1

JPW1

JTPM1 (optional)

CPUFAN1SYSFAN1

JAUD1

Codec

WinbondW83627DHG

CD_IN1

FDD 1 JUSB2 JUSB1

SATA4

DIM

M1

DIM

M2

SATA1 SATA2

SATA3

T: LAN jackB: USB ports

USB ports

Top : mouse Bottom: keyboard

IntelG31

IntelICH7/

ICH7R (optional )

JFP2JFP1JBAT1

COM1

VGA Port

1-5

Getting Started

Packing Checklist

Power Cable

SATA Cable (Optional)

User’s Guide

MSI motherboardMSI Driver/Utility CD

Back IO Shield

USB Bracket (Optional)

Standard Cable forIDE Devices

* The pictures are for reference only. Your packing contents may vary depending onthe model you purchased.

Parallel Port Bracket(Optional)

2-1

Hardware Setup

Hardware SetupChapter 2

This chapter provides you with the information abouthardware setup procedures. While doing the installation,be careful in holding the components and follow theinstallation procedures. For some components, if youinstall in the wrong orientation, the components will notwork properly.

Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computercomponents. S tatic elec tr ic ity may damage thecomponents.

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-2

Quick Components Guide

JPW1, p.2-9

Back PanelI/O, p.2-10

CPU, p.2-3 CPUFAN1,p.2-14

DIMM1~2, p.2-7

ATX1,

p.2-9

JSP1, p.2-15

SYSFAN1,p.2-14

IDE1,p.2-12

SATA1~4,

p.2-13

JTPM1,

(optional)p.2-15

JFP1,2,

p.2-16

JBAT1,

p.2-19

JUSB1,2,p.2-18

FDD1,p.2-12

CD_IN1,

p.2-15

JAUD1,p.2-17

PCI,p.2-20

PCI_E,

p.2-20

JLPT1,p.2-17

JCI1,p.2-14

2-3

Hardware Setup

CPU (Central Processing Unit)This mainboard supports Intel® processor in LGA 775 package. When you are install-ing the CPU, make sure to install the cooler to prevent overheating. If you donot have the CPU cooler, consult your dealer before turning on the computer.For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=cpuform

Introduction to LGA 775 CPUThe surface of LGA 775 CPU.Remember to apply some ther-mal paste on it for better heatdispersion.

Yellow triangle is the Pin 1 indicator

The pin-pad side of LGA 775CPU.

Yellow triangle is the Pin 1 indicator

Alignment Key Alignment Key

Important

OverheatingOverheating will seriously damage the CPU and system. Always make surethe cooling fan can work properly to protect the CPU from overheating. Makesure that you apply an even layer of thermal paste (or thermal tape) betweenthe CPU and the heatsink to enhance heat dissipation.Replaceing the CPUWhile replacing the CPU, always turn off the ATX power supply or unplug thepower supply’s power cord from the grounded outlet first to ensure the safetyof CPU.OverclockingThis mainboard is designed to support overclocking. However, please makesure your components are able to tolerate such abnormal setting, whiledoing overclocking. Any attempt to operate beyond product specifications isnot recommended. We do not guarantee the damages or risks causedby inadequate operation or beyond product specifications.

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-4

Important

1. Confirm if your CPU cooler is firmly installed before turning on your system.2. Do not touch the CPU socket pins to avoid damaging.3. The availability of the CPU land side cover depends on your CPU packing.

2. Remove the cap from lever hingeside (as the arrow shows).

1. The CPU socket has a plastic cap onit to protect the contact from damage.Before you install the CPU, alwayscover it to protect the socket pin.

3. The pins of socket reveal.

CPU & Cooler InstallationWhen you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a cooler attached onthe top to prevent overheating. Meanwhile, do not forget to apply some thermalpaste on CPU before installing the heat sink/cooler fan for better heat dispersion.Follow the steps below to install the CPU & cooler correctly. Wrong installation willcause the damage of your CPU & mainboard.

4. Open the load lever.

2-5

Hardware Setup

6. After confirming the CPU directionfor correct mating, put down theCPU in the socket housing frame.Be sure to grasp on the edge ofthe CPU base. Note that the align-ment keys are matched.

8. Cover the load plate onto thepackage.

7. Visually inspect if the CPU isseated well into the socket. If not,take out the CPU with pure verticalmotion and reinstall.

alignmentkey

5. Lift the load lever up and open theload plate.

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-6

10. Align the holes on the mainboardwith the heatsink. Push down thecooler unti l i ts four c lips getwedged into the holes of themainboard.

12. Turn over the mainboard to con-firm that the clip-ends are cor-rectly inserted.

11. Press the four hooks down to fas-ten the cooler. Then rotate the lock-ing switch (refer to the correct di-rection marked on it) to lock thehooks.

9. Press down the load lever lightlyonto the load plate, and then se-cure the lever with the hook underretention tab.

lockingswitch

Important

1. Read the CPU status in BIOS (Chapter 3).2. Whenever CPU is not installed, always protect your CPU socket pin with the

plastic cap covered (shown in Figure 1) to avoid damaging.3. Mainboard photos shown in this section are for demonstration of the CPU/

cooler installation only. The appearance of your mainboard may vary depend-ing on the model you purchase.

2-7

Hardware Setup

Memory

64x2=128 pin 56x2=112 pin

DDR2240-pin, 1.8V

Dual-Channel: Channel A in GREEN; Channel B in ORANGE

These DIMM slots are used for installing memory modules.For more information on compatible components, please visit http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=testreport

DIMM1 DIMM2

Dual-Channel mode Population RuleIn Dual-Channel mode, the memory modules can transmit and receive data with twodata bus lines simultaneously. Enabling Dual-Channel mode can enhance the systemperformance. Please refer to the following illustrations for population rules underDual-Channel mode.

EmptyInstalled

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-8

Installing Memory Modules1. The memory module has only one notch on the center and will only fit in the right

orientation.2. Insert the memory module vertically into the DIMM slot. Then push it in until the

golden finger on the memory module is deeply inserted in the DIMM slot.

3. The plastic clip at each side of the DIMM slot will automatically close.

Important

You can barely see the golden finger if the memory module is properly insertedin the DIMM slot.

Important

- DDR2 memory modules are not interchangeable with DDR and the DDR2standard is not backwards compatible. You should always install DDR2memory modules in the DDR2 DIMM slots.

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

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

- Due to the chipset resource deployment, the system density will only bedetected up to 1+GB (not full 2GB) when each DIMM is installed with a 1GBmemory module.

Volt Notch

2-9

Hardware Setup

Power Supply

PIN SIGNAL

13 +3.3V14 -12V15 GND16 PS-ON#17 GND18 GND19 GND20 Res21 +5V22 +5V23 +5V24 GND

PIN SIGNAL

1 +3.3V 2 +3.3V 3 GND 4 +5V 5 GND 6 +5V 7 GND 8 PWR OK 9 5VSB10 +12V11 +12V12 +3.3V

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL

1 GND2 GND3 12V4 12V

Pin Definition

pin 12

pin 13

JPW1

ATX1

ATX 24-Pin Power Connector: ATX1This connector allows you to connect an ATX 24-pin power supply.To connect the ATX 24-pin power supply, make sure the plug of thepower supply is inserted in the proper orientation and the pins arealigned. Then push down the power supply firmly into the connector.You may use the 20-pin ATX power supply as you like. If you’d liketo use the 20-pin ATX power supply, please plug your power sup-ply along with pin 1 & pin 13 (refer to the image at the right hand).

ATX 12V Power Connector: JPW1This 12V power connector is used to provide power to the CPU.

1

12 24

13

13

4 2

Important

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

2. Power supply of 350 watts (and above) is highly recommended for systemstability.

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-10

Back Panel

Keyboard USB Porta

Line-In

Mouse LAN

VGA PortSerial Port

RS-Out

CS-Out

SS-Out

Line-Out

Mic

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

Serial PortThe serial port is a 16550A high speed communications port that sends/ receives 16bytes FIFOs. You can attach a serial mouse or other serial devices directly to theconnector.

VGA PortThe DB15-pin female connector is provided for monitor.

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

LANThe standard RJ-45 LAN jack is for con-nection to the Local Area Network (LAN).You can connect a network cable to it.

Link IndicatorActivity Indicator

LED Color LED State Condition

Off LAN link is not established.

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

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

Green Off 10 Mbit/sec data rate is selected.

Right On 100 Mbit/sec data rate is selected.Orange On 1000 Mbit/sec data rate is selected.

2-11

Hardware Setup

Audio PortsThese audio connectors are used for audio devices. You can differentiate the colorof the audio jacks for different audio sound effects.

Line-In (Blue) - Line In, is used for external CD player, tapeplayer or other audio devices. Line-Out (Green) - Line Out, is a connector for speakers or headphones. Mic (Pink) - Mic, is a connector for microphones. RS-Out (Black) - Rear-Surround Out in 4/ 5.1/ 7.1 channel mode. CS-Out (Orange) - Center/ Subwoofer Out in 5.1/ 7.1 channel mode. SS-Out (Gray) - Side-Surround Out 7.1 channel mode.

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-12

Connectors

Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1This connector supports 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB or 2.88MB floppy disk drive.

FDD1

IDE Connector: IDE1This connector supports IDE hard disk drives, optical disk drives and other IDE devices.

IDE1

Important

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

2-13

Hardware Setup

Serial ATA Connector: SATA1/ SATA2/ SATA3/ SATA4This connector is a high-speed Serial ATA interface port. Each connector can connectto one Serial ATA device.

SATA1 SATA2

SATA3SATA4

Important

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

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-14

Fan Power Connectors: CPUFAN1, SYSFAN1The fan power connectors support system cooling fan with +12V. When connectingthe wire to the connectors, always note that the red wire is the positive and shouldbe connected to the +12V; the black wire is Ground and should be connected to GND.If the mainboard has a System Hardware Monitor chipset on-board, you must use aspecially designed fan with speed sensor to take advantage of the CPU fan control.

Important

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

2. CPUFAN1 supports fan control. You can install Dual Core Center utilitythat will automatically control the CPU fan speed according to the actualCPU/System temperature.

3. Fan cooler set with 3 or 4 pins power connector are both available forCPUFAN/SYSFAN.

CPUFAN1

SENSOR+12VGND

CONTROL

Chassis Intrusion Connector: JCI1This connector connects to the chassis intrusion switch cable. If the chassis isopened, the chassis intrusion mechanism will be activated. The system will recordthis status and show a warning message on the screen. To clear the warning, youmust enter the BIOS utility and clear the record.

JCI1

21

GNDCINTRU

SYSFAN1

SENSOR+12VGND

NC

2-15

Hardware Setup

S/PDIF Bracket (Optional)

S/PDIF-Out Connector: JSP1This connector is used to connect S/PDIF (Sony & Philips Digital Interconnect Format)interface for digital audio transmission.

CD-In Connector: CD_IN1This connector is provided for external audio input.

TPM Module connector: JTPM1(optional)This connector connects to a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) module (optional)

Pin Signal Description Pin Signal Description1 LCLK LPC clock 2 3V dual/3V_STB 3V dual or 3V standby power3 LRST# LPC reset 4 VCC3 3.3V power5 LAD0 LPC address & data pin0 6 SIRQ Serial IRQ7 LAD1 LPC address & data pin1 8 VCC5 5V power9 LAD2 LPC address & data pin2 10 KEY No pin11 LAD3 LPC address & data pin3 12 GND Ground13 LFRAME# LPC Frame 14 GND Ground

VCCSPDIF

GND

CD_IN1

GND

RL

21

1413JTPM1

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-16

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 HD_LED + Hard disk LED pull-up2 FP PWR/SLP MSG LED pull-up3 HD_LED - Hard disk active LED4 FP PWR/SLP MSG LED pull-up5 RST_SW - Reset Switch low reference pull-down to GND6 PWR_SW + Power Switch high reference pull-up7 RST_SW + Reset Switch high reference pull-up8 PWR_SW - Power Switch low reference pull-down to GND9 RSVD_DNU Reserved. Do not use.

JFP1 Pin Definition

Front Panel Connectors: JFP1, JFP2These connectors are for electrical connection to the front panel switches and LEDs.The JFP1 is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

21

109JFP1

HDDLED

ResetSwitch

PowerLED

PowerSwitch

++

+

--

-

Power LED

Speaker

12

78JFP2

-- +

+

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 GND Ground2 SPK- Speaker-3 SLED Suspend LED4 BUZ+ Buzzer+5 PLED Power LED6 BUZ- Buzzer-7 NC No connection8 SPK+ Speaker+

JFP2 Pin Definition

2-17

Hardware Setup

Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1This connector allows you to connect the front panel audio and is compliant withIntel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

JAUD1 12

910

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 MIC_L Microphone - Left channel2 GND Ground3 MIC_R Microphone - Right channel4 PRESENCE# Active low signal-signals BIOS that a High Definition Audio dongle

is connected to the analog header. PRESENCE# = 0 when aHigh Definition Audio dongle is connected

5 LINE out_R Analog Port - Right channel6 MIC_JD Jack detection return from front panel microphone JACK17 Front_JD Jack detection sense line from the High Definition Audio CODEC

jack detection resistor network8 NC No control9 LINE out_L Analog Port - Left channel10 LINEout_JD Jack detection return from front panel JACK2

HD Audio Pin Definition

Parallel Port Header: JLPT1This connector is used to connect an optional parallel port bracket. The parallel portis a standard printer port that supports Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and ExtendedCapabilities Parallel Port (ECP) mode.

2 1

26 25

JLPT1

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

1 RSTB# 2 AFD#

3 PRND0 4 ERR#5 PRND1 6 PINIT#7 PRND2 8 LPT_SLIN#9 PRND3 10 GND11 PRND4 12 GND13 PRND5 14 GND

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

15 PRND6 16 GND

17 PRND7 18 GND19 ACK# 20 GND21 BUSY 22 GND23 PE 24 GND25 SLCT 26 Key (No Pin)

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-18

Front USB Connector: JUSB1 / JUSB2This connector, compliant with Intel® I/O Connectivity Design Guide, is ideal for con-necting high-speed USB interface peripherals such as USB HDD, digital cameras,MP3 players, printers, modems and the like.

1 9 2 10JUSB2/1

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL1 VCC 2 VCC

3 USB0- 4 USB1-

5 USB0+ 6 USB1+7 GND 8 GND

9 Key (no pin) 10 USBOC

Pin Definition

Important

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

USB 2.0 Bracket(Optional)

2-19

Hardware Setup

Jumpers

Clear CMOS Jumper: JBAT1There is a CMOS RAM onboard that has a power supply from an external battery tokeep the data of system configuration. With the CMOS RAM, the system can auto-matically boot OS every time it is turned on. If you want to clear the system configuration,set the jumper to clear data.

JBAT1 1

Keep Data Clear Data

3 13 1

Important

You can clear CMOS by shorting 2-3 pin while the system is off. Then returnto 1-2 pin position. Avoid clearing the CMOS while the system is on; it willdamage the mainboard.

MS-7379 Mainboard

2-20

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

Order 1 Order 2 Order 3 Order 4

PCI Slot 1 INT A# INT B# INT C# INT D#

PCI Slot 2 INT B# INT C# INT D# INT A#

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express SlotThe PCI Express slot supports the PCI Express interface expansion card.The PCI Express x 16 slot supports up to 4.0 GB/s transfer rate.The PCI Express x 1 slot supports up to 250 MB/s transfer rate.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) SlotThe PCI slot supports LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other add-on cards thatcomply with PCI specifications.

Slots

PCI Express x16 Slot

PCI Express x1 Slot

32-bit PCI Slot

Important

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

3-1

BIOS Setup

Chapter 3

BIOS Setup

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

² An error message appears on the screen during thesystem booting up, and requests you to run SETUP.

² You want to change the default settings for cus-tomized features.

3-2

MS-7379 Mainboard

Entering Setup

Important

1. The items under each BIOS category described in this chapter are undercontinuous update for better system performance. Therefore, the descrip-tion may be slightly different from the latest BIOS and should be held forreference only.

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

A7379IMS V2.0 072007 where:

1st digit refers to BIOS maker as A = AMI, W = AWARD, and P =PHOENIX.2nd - 5th digit refers to the model number.6th digit refers to the chipset as I = Intel, N = nVidia, and V = VIA.7th - 8th digit refers to the customer as MS = all standard customers.V2.0 refers to the BIOS version.072007 refers to the date this BIOS was released.

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

Press DEL to enter SETUP

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

3-3

BIOS Setup

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

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

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

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

Control Keys

<↑> Move to the previous item<↓> Move to the next item<←> Move to the item in the left hand<→> Move to the item in the right hand<Enter> Select the item<Esc> Jumps to the Exit menu or returns to the main menu from a

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

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Standard CMOS FeaturesUse this menu for basic system configurations, such as time, date etc.

Advanced BIOS FeaturesUse this menu to setup the items of AMI® special enhanced features.

Integrated PeripheralsUse this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.

Power Management SetupUse this menu to specify your settings for power management.

PNP/PCI ConfigurationsThis entry appears if your system supports PnP/PCI.

H/W MonitorThis entry shows your PC health status.

Frequency/Voltage ControlUse this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control and overclocking.

Load Fail-Safe DefaultsUse this menu to load the default values set by the BIOS vendor for stable systemperformance.

The Main Menu

3-5

BIOS Setup

Load Optimized DefaultsUse this menu to load the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifi-cally for optimal performance of the mainboard.

BIOS Setting PasswordUse this menu to set the password for BIOS.

Save & Exit SetupSave changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without SavingAbandon all changes and exit setup.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

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

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

day Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined byBIOS. Read-only.

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

Time (HH:MM:SS)This allows you to set the system time that you want (usually the current time). Thetime format is <hour> <minute> <second>.

IDE Primary Master/Slave, SATA1~4Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu, and the following screen appears.

Standard CMOS Features

3-7

BIOS Setup

Device / Vender / SizeIt will showing the device information that you connected to the SATA connector.

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

DMA ModeSelect DMA Mode.

Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T.This allows you to activate the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis & ReportingTechnology) capability for the hard disks. S.M.A.R.T is a utility that monitors yourdisk status to predict hard disk failure. This gives you an opportunity to movedata from a hard disk that is going to fail to a safe place before the hard diskbecomes off line.

Important

IDE Primary Master/Slave and SATA 1/2/3/4 Channels are appearingwhen you connect the HD devices to the IDE/ SATA connector on themainboard.

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

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MS-7379 Mainboard

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

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

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BIOS Setup

Boot Sector ProtectionThis function protects the BIOS from accidental corruption by unauthorized users orcomputer viruses. When enabled, the BIOS’ data cannot be changed when attempt-ing to update the BIOS with a Flash utility. To successfully update the BIOS, you’llneed to disable this Flash BIOS Protection function.You should enable this function at all times. The only time when you need to disableit is when you want to update the BIOS. After updating the BIOS, you should immedi-ately re-enable it to protect it against viruses.

Full Screen LOGO DisplayThis item enables you to show the company logo on the bootup screen. Settings are:

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

Quick BootingSetting the item to [Enabled] allows the system to boot within 10 seconds since it willskip some check items.

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

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

Advanced BIOS Features

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MS-7379 Mainboard

MPS Table VersionThis field allows you to select which MPS (Multi-Processor Specification) version tobe used for the operating system. You need to select the MPS version supported byyour operating system. To find out which version to use, consult the vendor of youroperating system.

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

Hyper-Threading TechnologyThis field appears only when the CPU supports Hyper-Threading. The proces-sor uses Hyper-Threading technology to increase transaction rates and re-duces end-user response times. The technology treats the two cores inside theprocessor as two logical processors that can execute ins t ruct ionssimultaneously. In this way, the system performance is highly improved. If youdisable the function, the processor wil l use only one core to execute theinstructions.

Execute Bit SupportIntel's Execute Disable Bit functionality can prevent certain classes of malicious"buffer overflow" attacks when combined with a supporting operating system.This functionality allows the processor to classify areas in memory by whereapplication code can execute and where it cannot. When a malicious wormattempts to insert code in the buffer, the processor disables code execution,preventing damage or worm propagation.

Set Limit CPUID MaxVal to 3The Max CPUID Value Limit is designed to limit the listed speed of the processorto older operating systems.

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

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

3-11

BIOS Setup

1st/ 2nd/ 3rd Boot DeviceThese items allow you to set the f irst/ second/ third boot device where BIOSattempts to load the disk operating system.

Boot From Other DeviceSetting the option to [Yes] allows the system to try to boot from other device. ifthe system fails to boot from the 1st/ 2nd/ 3rd boot device.

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

VGA Share Memory SizeThe system shares memory to the onboard VGA card. This setting controls theexact memory size shared to the VGA card.

DVMT Mode SelectThis item allows you to set the mode for the graphics core..[Fixed Mode], a fixed-size fragment of the system memory is allocated to thegraphics core. It can only be used by the graphics core.[DVMT Mode], the driver of the graphics core uses the system memory like anyother OS component or application does.

DVMT/FIXED MemorySpecify the size of DVMT memory to allocate for video memory.

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

TCG/TPM SUPPORTThis field is used to enable or disable TPM (Trusted Platform Module) support inBIOS.

Execute TPM CommandThis field is used to enable(activate)/disable(deactivate) Command to TPM

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Clearing the TPMClearing the TPM is the process of returning the TPM to factory defaults.

TPM Enable/Disable status, TPM Owner StatusThese items show the status of TPM (read only).

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BIOS Setup

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

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

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

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

HW/AC97/HD Audio ControllerThis setting is used to enable/disable the onboard audio controller.

On-Chip ATA DevicesPress <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

Integrated Peripherals

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MS-7379 Mainboard

On-Chip IDE ControllerThese items allow users to enable or disable the IDE controller.

PCI IDE BusMasterThis item allows you to enable/ disable BIOS to used PCI busmastering forreading/ writing to IDE drives.

On-Chip SATA ControllerThese items allow users to enable or disable the SATA controller.

I/O DevicePress <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears:

COM Port 1Select an address and corresponding interrupt for the first serial port.

Parallel PortThis item allows you to set parallel port.

Parallel Port ModeThis item allows you to select the parallel port mode.

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BIOS Setup

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

ACPI Standby StateThis item specif ies the power saving modes for ACPI function. If your operatingsystem supports ACPI, such as Windows 2000/ XP , you can choose to enter theStandby mode in S1(POS) or S3(STR) fashion through the setting of this field. Set-tings are:

[S1] The S1 sleep mode is a low power state. In this state, no systemcontext is lost (CPU or chipset) and hardware maintains all systemcontext.

[S3] The S3 sleep mode is a lower power state where the in formation ofsystem configuration and open applications/files is saved to mainmemory that remains powered while most other hardware compo-nents turn off to save energy. The information stored in memory willbe used to restore the system when a “wake up” event occurs.

Important

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

Power Management Setup

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Re-Call VGA BIOS from S3Selecting [Enabled] allows BIOS to call VGA BIOS to initialize the VGA card whensystem wakes up (resumes) from S3 sleep state. The system resume time is short-ened when you disable the function, but system will need an AGP driver to initializethe VGA card. Therefore, if the AGP driver of the card does not support the initializa-tion feature, the display may work abnormally or not function after resuming from S3.

Suspend Time Out (Minute)If system activity is not detected for the length of time specified in this f ield, alldevices except CPU will be shut off.

Power Button FunctionThis feature sets the function of the power button. Settings are:

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

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

Restore On AC Power LossThis item specifies whether your system will reboot after a power failure or interruptoccurs. Settings are:

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

or interrupt occurred.

Wakeup Event SetupPress <Enter> and the following sub-menu appears.

Resume From S3 By PS/2 KeyboardThis setting determines whether the system will be awakened from what powersaving modes when input signal of the PS/2 keyboard is detected.

Resume From S3 By PS/2 MouseThis setting determines whether the system will be awakened from what powersaving modes when input signal of the PS/2 mouse is detected.

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

3-17

BIOS Setup

Resume by PCI-E DeviceWhen set to [Enabled], the feature allows your system to be awakened from thepower saving modes through any event on PCIE device.

Resume by RTC AlarmThe field is used to enable or disable the feature of booting up the system on ascheduled time/date.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Primary Graphic’s AdapterThis setting specifies which graphics card is your primary graphics adapter.

PCI Latency TimerThis item controls how long each PCI device can hold the bus before another takesover. When set to higher values, every PCI device can conduct transactions for alonger time and thus improve the effective PCI bandwidth. For better PCI performance,you should set the item to higher values.

PNP/PCI ConfigurationsThis section describes configuring the PCI bus system and PnP (Plug & Play) feature.PCI, or Peripheral Component Interconnect, is a system which allows I/O devices tooperate at speeds nearing the speed the CPU itself uses when communicating withits special components. This section covers some very technical items and it isstrongly recommended that only experienced users should make any changes to thedefault settings.

3-19

BIOS Setup

IRQ Resource SetupPress <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears.

IRQ 3/4/5/7/9/10/11/14/15These items specify the bus where the specified IRQ line is used.The settings determine if AMIBIOS should remove an IRQ from the pool of avail-able IRQs passed to devices that are configurable by the system BIOS. Theavailable IRQ pool is determined by reading the ESCD NVRAM. If more IRQs mustbe removed from the IRQ pool, the end user can use these settings to reservethe IRQ by assigning an [Reserved] setting to it. Onboard I/O is configured byAMIBIOS. All IRQs used by onboard I/O are configured as [Available]. If all IRQsare set to [Reserved], and IRQ 14/15 are allocated to the onboard PCI IDE, IRQ 9will still be available for PCI and PnP devices.

Important

IRQ (Interrupt Request) lines are system resources allocated to I/O devices.When an I/O device needs to gain attention of the operating system, it sig-nals this by causing an IRQ to occur. After receiving the signal, when theoperating system is ready, the system will interrupt itself and perform theservice required by the I/O device.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

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

CPU/SYS Smart FAN TargetThe mainboard provides the Smart Fan function which can control the CPU/Systemfan speed automatically depending on the current temperature to keep it with in aspecific range. You can select a fan target value here. If the current CPU/System fantemperature reaches to the target value, the smart fan function will be activated. Itprovides several sections to speed up for cooling down automaticlly .

CPU Min.FAN Speed (%)This field is used to set the minimum CPU fan speed.

PC Health Status CPU/ System Temperature, CPU FAN/ SYS FAN1 Speed, CPU Vcore, 3.

3V, 5V, 12V, 3VSBThese items display the current status of all of the monitored hardware devices/components such as CPU voltage, temperatures and all fans’ speeds.

H/W Monitor

3-21

BIOS Setup

Current CPU / DRAM FrequencyThese items show the current clocks of CPU and Memory speed. Read-only.

Intel EISTThe Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology allows you to set the performance level ofthe microprocessor whether the computer is running on battery or AC power. Thisfield will appear after you installed the CPU which support speedstep technology.

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

Adjust CPU RatioThis item allows you to set the CPU ratio. This field will available after you installed theCPU which support speedstep technology.

Adjusted CPU FrequencyIt shows the adjusted CPU frequency. Read-only.

Advance DRAM ConfigurationPress <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears.

Frequency/Voltage Control

Important

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

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Configuration DRAM Timing by SPDSetting to [Enabled] enables DRAM CAS# Latency automatically to be determinedby BIOS based on the configurations on the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) EEPROMon the DRAM module.

DRAM CAS# LatencyWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable.This controls the CAS latency, which determines the timing delay (inclock cycles) before SDRAM starts a read command after receiving it.

DRAM RAS# to CAS# DelayWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable. When DRAM is refreshed, both rows and columns are addressedseparately. This setup item allows you to determine the timing of the transitionfrom RAS (row address strobe) to CAS (column address strobe). The less theclock cycles, the faster the DRAM performance.

DRAM RAS# PrechargeWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], this field isadjustable. This setting controls the number of cycles for Row Address Strobe(RAS) to be allowed to precharge. If insufficient time is allowed for the RAS toaccumulate its charge before DRAM refresh, refresh may be incomplete andDRAM may fail to retain data. This item applies only when synchronous DRAM isinstalled in the system.

DRAM RAS# Activate to PrechargeWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], this field isadjustable. This item controls the number of cycles for Row Address Strobe(RAS) to be allowed to precharge. If insufficient time is allowed for the RAS toaccumulate its charge before DRAM refresh, refresh may be incomplete andDRAM may fail to retain data. This item applies only when synchronous DRAM isinstalled in the system.

DRAM TRFCWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable. This setting determines the time RFC takes to read from and write toa memory cell.

3-23

BIOS Setup

DRAM TWRWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable. Minimum time interval between end of write data burst and the startof a precharge command. Allows sense amplifiers to restore data to cells.

DRAM TWTRWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable. Minimum time interval between the end of write data burst and thestart of a column-read command. It allows I/O gating to overdrive sense amplifiersbefore read command starts.

DRAM TRRDWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable. Specifies the active-to-active delay of different banks. Time intervalbetween a read and a precharge command.

DRAM TRTPWhen the Configuration DRAM Timing by SPD sets to [Disabled], the field isadjustable. Time interval between a read and a precharge command.

FSB/Memory RatioThis item will allow you to adjust the FSB/Ratio of the memory.

Adjusted DDR Memory FrequencyIt shows the adjusted DDR memory frequency. Read-only.

Auto Disable DIMM/PCI FrequencyWhen set to [Enabled], the system will remove (turn off) clocks from empty DIMM andPCI slots to minimize the electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Memory Voltage (V)This item will allow you to adjust the Memory voltage.

SB VoltageThis item will allow you to adjust the South bridge voltage.

Spread SpectrumWhen the motherboard’s clock generator pulses, the extreme values (spikes) of thepulses create EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). The Spread Spectrum functionreduces the EMI generated by modulating the pulses so that the spikes of the pulsesare reduced to flatter curves. If you do not have any EMI problem, leave the setting atDisabled for optimal system stability and performance. But if you are plagued by EMI,set to Enabled for EMI reduction. Remember to disable Spread Spectrum if you areoverclocking because even a slight jitter can introduce a temporary boost in clockspeed which may just cause your overclocked processor to lock up.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

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

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

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

Important

3-25

BIOS Setup

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

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

Pressing OK loads the BIOS default values for the most stable, minimal systemperformance.

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

Pressing OK loads the default factory settings for optimal system performance.

Load Fail-Safe/ Optimized Defaults

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MS-7379 Mainboard

BIOS Setting Password

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

Type the password, up to six characters in length, and press <Enter>. The passwordtyped now will replace any previously set password from CMOS memory. You willbe prompted to confirm the password. Retype the password and press <Enter>. Youmay also press <Esc> to abort the selection and not enter a password.To clear a set password, just press <Enter> when you are prompted to enter thepassword. A message will show up confirming the password will be disabled. Oncethe password is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup withoutentering any password.When a password has been set, you will be prompted to enter it every time you tryto enter Setup. This prevents an unauthorized person from changing any part of yoursystem configuration.

A-1

Realtek Audio

Realtek AudioAppendix A

The Realtek audio chip provides 10-channel DAC thatsimultaneously supports 7.1 sound playback and 2 chan-nels of independent s tereo sound output (multiplestreaming) through the Front-Out-Left and Front-Out-Right channels.

MS-7379 Mainboard

A-2a

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

Installation for Windows 2000/XP/VistaFor Windows® 2000, you must install Windows® 2000 Service Pack4 or later beforeinstalling the driver. For Windows® XP, you must install Windows® XP Service Pack1or later before installing the driver.The following illustrations are based on Windows® XP environment and could lookslightly different if you install the drivers in different operating systems.

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

2. Click Realtek HD Audio Driver.

Installing the Realtek HD Audio Driver

Important

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

Click here

A-3

Realtek Audio

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

Click here

Select thisoption

4. Click Finish to restart the system.

Click here

MS-7379 Mainboard

A-4a

After installing the audio driver, you are able to use the 2-, 4-, 6- or 8- channel audiofeature now. Click the audio icon from the system tray at the lower-right corner ofthe screen to activate the HD Audio Configuration. It is also available to enable theaudio driver by clicking the Realtek HD Audio Manager from the Control Panel.

Double click

Software Configuration

A-5

Realtek Audio

Sound Effect

Environment SimulationYou will be able to enjoy different sound experience by pulling down the arrow,totally 23 kinds of sound effect will be shown for selection. Realtek HD Audio SoundManager also provides five popular settings “Stone Corridor”, “Bathroom”, “Sewerpipe”, “Arena” and “Audio Corridor” for quick enjoyment.

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

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

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

MS-7379 Mainboard

A-6a

SaveThe settings are savedpermanently for futureuse

Reset10 bands of equalizerwould go back to the de-fault setting

Enable / DisableTo disable, you can tem-porarily s top the soundeffect without losing thesettings

LoadWhenever you would like touse preload settings, simplyclick this, the whole list willbe shown for your selection.

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

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

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

A-7

Realtek Audio

Raise the key

Lower the key

Remove thehuman voice

Frequently Used Equalizer SettingRealtek recognizes the needs that you might have. By leveraging our long experienceat audio field, Realtek HD Audio Sound Manager provides you certain optimized equal-izer settings that are frequently used for your quick enjoyment.

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

Karaoke ModeKaraoke mode brings Karaoke fun back home. Simply using the music you usuallyplay, Karaoke mode can help you eliminate the vocal of the song or adjust the key toaccommodate your range.1.Vocal Cancellation: Single click on “Voice Cancellation”, the vocal of the song would be eliminated, while the background music is still in place, and you can be that singer!2.Key Adjustment: Using “Up / Down Arrow” to find a key which better fits your vocal range.

MS-7379 Mainboard

A-8a

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

1. Adjust VolumeYou can adjust the volume of the speakers that you pluged in front or rear panel byselect the Realtek HD Audio rear output or Realtek HD Audio front outputitems.

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

Click the button and the Mixer ToolBox menu will appear. Then check the Enableplayback multi-streaming and click OK to save the setup.

Important

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

Important

You have to plug audio device into the jacks on the rear and front panel firstbefore enable the multi-stream function.

A-9

Realtek Audio

W hen you are playing the f irst audio source (for example: use W indows MediaPlayer to play DVD/VCD), the output will be played from the rear panel, which is thedefault setting.

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

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3. Playback control

Playback deviceThis function is to let you freely decide which ports tooutput the sound. And this is essential when multi-streaming playback enabled.- Realtek HD Audio Rear Output- Realtek HD Audio Front Output

Tool Mute

MuteYou may choose to mute single or multiple volume controls or to completely mutesound output.

Tool- Show the following volume controlsThis is to let you freely decide which volume control items to be displayed.- Advanced controls- Enable playback multi-streamingW ith this function, you will be able to have an audio chat with your friends viaheadphone (stream 1 from front panel) while still have music (stream 2 from backpanel) in play. At any given period, you can have maximum 2 streams operatingsimultaneously.

A-11

Realtek Audio

4. Recording control

Recording device-Back Line in/Mic, Front Lin in-Realtek HD Audio Input

MuteYou may choose to mute single or multiple volume controls or to completely mutesound input.Tool- Show the following volume controlsThis is to let you freely decide which volume control items to be displayed.- Enable recording multi-streaming

Tool Mute

Important

Realtek audio allows you to record the CD, Line, Mic and Stereo Mix channelssimultaneously, frees you from mixing efforts. At any given period, you maychoose 1 of the following 4 channels to record.

MS-7379 Mainboard

A-12a

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

a. Headphone for the common headphoneb. 2CH Speaker for Stereo-Speaker Outputc. 4CH Speaker for 4-Speaker Outputd. 6CH Speaker for 5.1-Speaker Outpute. 8CH Speaker for 7.1-Speaker Output

Speaker Configuration:

1. Plug the speakers in the corresponding jack.

2. Dialogue “connected device” will pop up for your selection. Please select thedevice you have plugged in. - If the device is being plugged into the correct jack, you will be able to find the icon beside the jack changed to the one that is same as your device. - If not correct, Realtek HD Audio Manager will guide you to plug the device into the correct jack.

A-13

Realtek Audio

Connector Settings

Click to access connector settings.

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

Mute rear panel output when front headphone plugged in.

Enable auto popup dialogue, when device has been plugged inOnce this item checked, the dialog “Connected device” would automatically pop upwhen device plugged in.

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A-14a

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

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

Output Source Output digital audio source: The digital audio format (such as .wav, .mp3,.midi etc) will come out through S/PDIF-Out. S/PDIF-in to S/PDIF -out pass though mode: The data from S/PDIF-In can be real- time played from S/PDIF-Out.

A-15

Realtek Audio

Test SpeakersYou can select the speaker by clicking it to test its functionality. The one you selectwill light up and make testing sound. If any speaker fails to make sound, then checkwhether the cable is inserted f irmly to the connector or replace the bad speakerswith good ones. Or you may click the auto test button to test the sounds ofeach speaker automatically.

Subwoofer

Front Right

Rear Right

Center

Front Left

Rear Left

Side Left

Side Right

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MicrophoneIn this tab you may set the function of the microphone. Select the Noise Suppres-sion to remove the possible noise during recording, or select Acoustic Echo Can-cellation to cancel the acoustic echo druing recording.

Acoustic Echo Cancellation prevents playback sound from being recorded bymicrophone together with your sound. For example, you might have chance to useVOIP function through Internet with your friends. The voice of your friend will comeout from speakers (playback). However, the voice of your friend might also berecorded into your microphone then go back to your friend through Internet. In thatcase, your friend will hear his /her own voice again. W ith AEC(Acoustic EchoCancellation) enabled at your side, your friend can enjoy the benefit with less echo.

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Realtek Audio

3D Audio DemoIn this tab you may adjust your 3D positional audio before playing 3D audio applica-tions like gaming. You may also select different environment to choose the mostsuitable environment you like.

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

Also there is a selection Show icon in system tray. Switch it on and an icon

will show in the system tray. Right-click on the icon and the Audio Accessoriesdialogue box will appear which provides several multimedia features for you to takeadvantage of.

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Realtek Audio

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

n 2-Channel Mode for Stereo-Speaker Output

1 Line In2 Line Out (Front channels)3 MIC4 No function5 No function6 No function

Hardware Setup

3

1

2

6

4

5

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n 4-Channel Mode for 4-Speaker Output

4-Channel Analog Audio Output

1 Line In2 Line Out (Front channels)3 MIC4 Line Out (Rear channels)5 No function6 No function

3

1

2

6

4

5

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Realtek Audio

n 6-Channel Mode for 6-Speaker Output

6-Channel Analog Audio Output

1 Line In2 Line Out (Front channels)3 MIC4 Line Out (Rear channels)5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel)6 No function

1

2

6

4

5

3

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n 8-Channel Mode for 8-Speaker Output

8-Channel Analog Audio Output

1 Line In2 Line Out (Front channels)3 MIC4 Line Out (Rear channels)5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel)6 Line Out (Side channels)

1

2

6

4

5

3

Important

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

B-1

Dual Core Center

Dual Core Center

Dual CoreCenter, the most useful and powerful utilitythat MSI has spent much research and ef forts todevelop, helps users to monitor or configure the hard-ware status of MSI Mainboard & MSI Graphics card inwindows, such as CPU/GPU clock, voltage, fan speedand temperature.Before you install the Dual CoreCenter, please makesure the system has meet the following requirements:

1. Intel Pentium4 / Celeron, AMD Athlon XP/ Sempron or newer processor.2. 256MB system memory.3. CD-ROM drive for software installation.4. Operation system: Windows XP.5. DotNet Frame Work 2.0

Appendix B

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Activating Dual Core Center

Once you have your Dual Core Center installed (locate the setup source file in thesetup CD accompanying with your mainboard, path: Utility --> MSI Utility --> DualCore Center), it will have an icon in the system tray, a short cut icon on thedesktop, and a short cut path in your “Start-up” menu. You may double-click on eachicon to enable Dual Core Center.

short-cut icon in the system tray

short-cut path in the start-up menu( p ath : S t ar t - - > P r og rams - - > MSI - - >DualCoreCenter-->DualCoreCenter)

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Dual Core Center

Main

Before using this utility, we have to remind you: only when installing the MSI V044(V044 has to install with the version 8.26 or newer driver)/ V046 or V060 graphicscard can activate the full function of this utility. If you install a graphics card of otherbrand, only hardware status of the MSI mainboard would be available.

Introduction:Click each button appearing above to enter sub-menu to make further configurationor to execute the function.

M BClick MB button to read current CPU temperature, FSB and CPU clock ofmainboard will show below.

VGAClick VGA button to read current GPU temperature, GPU clock and memoryclock of graphics card will show below.

DOTClick DOT button to enable or disable the Dynamic Overclocking Technology.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

AV/ Game/ Office/ Silence/ CoolMSI provides five common settings for different environments. The settingshad been set to optimal values to reach better performance in eachenvironment. Click the button you need.

ClockIn this sub-menu, you can adjust and monitor the clocks of MB and graphicscard.

VoltageIn this sub-menu, you can adjust and monitor the voltages of MB and graphicscard.

FAN SpeedIn this sub-menu, you can adjust and monitor the fan speeds of MB andgraphics card.

TemperatureIn this sub-menu, you can monitor the temperatures of MB and graphics card.

User ProfileIn this sub-menu, you can set the values of clock, voltage and fan speed byyour need and save them in a profile. You can save 3 profiles for further use.

Important

Click on the icon , the clock, voltage, fan, and temperature buttons willappear beside the icon.

Important

Before clicking the AV/ Game/ Office/ Silence or Cool button, select Smoothmode or Sharp mode to decide whether you want the system to reach theoptimal values smoothly or quickly.

Sharp mode Smooth mode

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Dual Core Center

DOT (Dynamic OverClocking)

Dynamic Overclocking Technology is an automatic overclocking function, included inthe MSITM’s newly developed Dual CoreCenter Technology. It is designed to detect theloading of CPU/ GPU while running programs, and to over-clock automatically. Whenthe motherboard detects that the loading of CPU is exceed the default threshold for atime, it will speed up the CPU and fan automatically to make the system run smootherand faster. When the graphics card detects that the loading of GPU is exceed thedefault threshold for a time, it will speed up the GPU, memory, fan and voltageautomatically to make the system run smoother and faster. When the CPU/ GPU istemporarily suspending or staying in low loading balance, it will restore the defaultsettings instead. Usually the Dynamic Overclocking Technology will be powered onlywhen users' PC runs huge amount of data, like 3D games or video process, and themotherboard/ graphicd card need to be boosted up to enhance the overall performance.There will be several selections when you click the DOT rate button (include increaserate and decrease rate buttons), to select the DOT level, then you have toclick the DOT button to apply the DOT function.

Important

Even though the Dynamic Overclocking Technology is more stable thanmanual overclocking, basically, it is still risky. We suggest user to makesure that your CPU can afford to overclock regularly first. If you find the PCappears to be unstable or reboot incidentally, it's better to lower the level ofoverclocking options. By the way, if you need to conduct overclockingmanually, please do not to apply the DOT function.

DOT FSB-DOWNRate button

DOT FSB-UPRate button

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MS-7379 Mainboard

Clock

In the Clock sub-menu, you can see clock status (including FSB/ CPU clock ofmainboard and GPU/ memory clock of graphics card) of your system. And you canselect desired value for overclocking. There will be several items for you to select foroverclocking after you click button. You can click the plus sign button to increase the clock, or click the minus sign button to decrease the clock. Andfinally, click the Apply button to apply the values adjusted. If you do not want to applythe adjustments, click the Cancel button to cancel. Or click the Default button torestore the default values.

On the underside, it shows the graphs of the clocks. Only the curves of the itemwhich the button is lit up with red color will be shown.

Important

In the user profile, clicking the Save button can save the changes to it. In thedefault profile, the Save button is not available.

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Dual Core Center

Voltage

In the Voltage sub-menu, you can see voltage status (including Vcore, memory, GPUvoltage... etc.) of your system, and you can select desired value for overclocking. Itwill show several items to select for overclocking after you click the button.You can click the plus sign button to increase the voltage, or click the minus signbutton to decrease. And finally, click the Apply button to apply the adjustments.If you do not want to apply the adjustments, click the Cancel button to cancel. Or clickthe Default button to restore the default values.

On the underside, it shows the graphs of the voltages. Only the curves of the itemwhich the button is lit up with red color will be shown.

I

Important

In the user profile, clicking the Save button can save the changes to it. In thedefault profile, the Save button is not available.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

FAN Speed

In the FAN Speed sub-menu, you can read fan status of your system. Select higherspeed for better cooling effect. There are several sections for you to change the fanspeed to a section after clicking button. Click the plus sign button toincrease the fan speed to a section, or click the minus sign button to decrease.Or click the Default button to restore the default values.

On the underside, it shows the graphs of the fan speed. Only the curves of the itemwhich the button is lit up with red color will be shown.

Important

1. When you set the fan speed manually, please make sure to disabled the “CPU Smart FAN Target” item in the BIOS.2. In the user profile, clicking the Save button can save the changes to it. In the default profile, the Save button is not available.

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Dual Core Center

Temperature

In the Temperature sub-menu, you can see temperature status of your system.

On the underside, it shows the graphs of the temperatures. Only the curves of theitem which the button is lit up with red color will be shown.

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MS-7379 Mainboard

User Profile

In the User Profile sub-menu, click the setting button that besides the user profilebar, and the next screen will appear.

Here you can define the clock/ fan speed/ voltage by your need, click thebutton to choose a value quickly, or click the plus / minus sign button toincrease/ decrease the value.

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Dual Core Center

Use the draw bar to set the max system temperature. When the system temperatureexceeds the threshold you defined, the system will pop up a warning message andshut down the system.Use the draw bar to set the minimal fan speed. When the fan speed is lower than thethreshold you defined, the system will pop up a warning message.

Finally, you can choose the user profile by click the button in the left side and click theApply button to load the user profile.

After setting all values you need, you can change the user profile name in the boxthen click the save button to save all changes in a profile.

C-1

Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

Intel ICH7R SATA RAIDAppendix C

The ICH7R provides a hybrid solution that combinesfour independent SATAII ports for support of up to fourSerial ATAII (Serial ATAII RAID) drives.It offers RAID level 0 (Striping), RAID level 1 (Mirroringand Duplexing), RAID level 5 (Block Interleaved Distrib-uted Parity), RAID level 10 (A Stripe of Mirrors) andIntel® Martix Storage Technology.

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ICH7R Introduction

Important

The least number of hard drives for RAID 0, RAID 1 or Matrix mode is 2. Theleast number of hard drives for RAID 10 mode is 4. And the maximum numberof hard drives for RAID 5 mode is 3.All the information/volumes listed in your system might differ from the illus-trations in this appendix.

The ICH7R provides a hybrid solution that combines four independent SATAII ports forsupport of up to four Serial ATAII (Serial ATAII RAID) drives.

Serial ATAII (SATAII) is the latest generation of the ATA interface. SATA hard drivesdeliver blistering transfer speeds up to 300MB/sec. Serial ATA uses long, thin cables,making it easier to connect your drive and improving the airflow inside your PC. Themost outstanding features are:

1. Supports 300MB/s transfers with CRC error checking.2. Supports Hot-plug-n-play feature.3. Data handling optimizations including tagged command queuing, elevator

seek and packet chain command.

Intel® ICH7R offers RAID level 0 (Striping), RAID level 1 (Mirroring and Duplexing),RAID level 5 (Block Interleaved Distributed Parity), RAID level 10 (A Stripe of Mirrors)and Intel® Martix Storage Technology.

RAID 0 breaks the data into blocks which are written to separate hard drives. Spreadingthe hard drive I/O load across independent channels greatly improves I/O performance.RAID 1 provides data redundancy by mirroring data between the hard drives andprovides enhanced read performance. RAID 5 Provides data striping at the byte leveland also stripe error correction information. This results in excellent performanceand good fault tolerance. Level 5 is one of the most popular implementations of RAID.RAID 10 Not one of the original RAID levels, multiple RAID 1 mirrors are created, anda RAID 0 stripe is created over these. Intel Matrix RAID Technology is the advancedability for two RAID volumes to share the combined space of two hard drives beingused in unison.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

BIOS Configuration

After the above message shows, press <Ctrl> and <I> keys simultaneously to enterthe RAID Configuration Utility.

Important

The “Driver Model”, “Serial #” and “Size” in the following example might bedifferent from your system.

Important

The following procedure is only available with a newly-built system or if youare reinstalling your OS. It should not be used to migrate an existing systemto RAID.

The Intel Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM should be integrated with the systemBIOS on all motherboards with a supported Intel chipset. The Intel Matrix StroageManager Option ROM is the Intel RAID implementation and provides BIOS and DOSdisk services. Please use <Ctrl> + <I> keys to enter the “Intel(R) RAID for Serial ATA”status screen, which should appear early in system boot-up, during the POST(Power-On Self Test). Also, you need to enable the RAID function in BIOS to create,delete and reset RAID volumes.

Using the Intel Matrix Stroage Manager Option ROM1. Creating, Deleting and Resetting RAID Volumes:The Serial ATA RAID volume may be configured using the RAID Configuration utilitystored within the Intel RAID Option ROM. During the Power-On Self Test (POST), thefollowing message will appear for a few seconds:

MS-7379 Mainboard

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(1) Create RAID Volume1. Select option 1 “Create RAID Volume” and press <Enter> key. The following

screen appears. Then in the Name field, specify a RAID Volume name andthen press the <TAB> or <Enter> key to go to the next field.

2. Use the arrow keys to select the RAID level best suited to your usage modelin RAID Level.

After pressing the <Ctrl> and <I> keys simultaneously, the following window willappear:

C-5

Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

3. In the Disk field, press <Enter> key and the following screen appears. Use<Space> key to select the disks you want to create for the RAID volume, thenclick <Enter> key to finish selection.

4. Then select the strip value for the RAID array by using the “upper arrow” or“down arrow” keys to scroll through the available values, and pressing the<Enter> key to select and advance to the next field. The available valuesrange from 4KB to 128 KB in power of 2 increments. The strip value should bechosen based on the planned drive usage. Here are some typical values:RAID0 – 128KBRAID10 – 128KBRAID5 – 64KB

5. Then select the capacity of the volume in the Capacity f ield. The defaultvalue is the maximum volume capacity of the selected disks.

MS-7379 Mainboard

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6. Then the following screen appears for you to confirm if you are sure tocreate the RAID volume. Press <Y> to continue.

7. Then the following screen appears to indicate that the creation is finished.

Important

Since you want to create two volumes (Intel Matrix RAID Technology), thisdefault size (maximum) needs to be reduced. Type in a new size for the firstvolume. As an example: if you want the first volume to span the first half of thetwo disks, re-type the size to be half of what is shown by default. The secondvolume, when created, will automatically span the remainder of two harddrives.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

(2) Delete RAID VolumeHere you can delete the RAID volume, but please be noted that all data on RAIDdrives will be lost.

Select option 2 Delete RAID Volume from the main menu window and press<Enter> key to select a RAID volume for deletion. Then press <Delete> key todelete the selected RAID volume. The following screen appears.

Press <Y> key to accept the volume deletion.

Important

If your system currently boots to RAID and you delete the RAID volume in theIntel RAID Option ROM, your system will become unbootable.

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C-8

(3) Reset Disks to Non-RAIDSelect option 3 Reset Disks to Non-RAID and press <Enter> to delete the RAIDvolume and remove any RAID structures from the drives. The following screenappears:

Press <Y> key to accept the selection.

Important

1. You will lose all data on the RAID drives and any internal RAID structureswhen you perform this operation.

2. Possible reasons to ‘Reset Disks to Non-RAID’ could include issues suchas incompatible RAID configurations or a failed volume or failed disk.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

Installing Software

Install Driver in Windows XP / 2000Ü New Windows XP / 2000 InstallationThe following details the installation of the drivers while installing W indows XP /2000.

1. Start the installation:Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 when the message "Press F6 if you needto install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears.

2. When the W indows XP Setup window is generated, press S to specify anAdditional Device(s).

3. Insert the driver diskette Intel IAA RAID XP Driver For ICH7R (NH82801GR)into drive A: and press <Enter>.

4. Choose the driver Intel(R) 82801GR SATA RAID Controller from the drop-down list that appears on Windows XP Setup screen, and press the <Enter>key.

5. Press <Enter> to continue with installation or if you need to specify anyadditional devices to be installed, do so at this time. Once all devices arespecified, press <Enter> to continue with installation.

6. From the Windows XP/2000 Setup screen, press the <Enter> key. Setup willnow load all device files and then continue the Windows XP/2000 installation.

Ü Existing Windows XP/2000 Driver Installation1. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive.2. The CD will auto-run and the setup screen will appear.3. Under the Driver tab, click on Intel IAA RAID Edition.4. The drivers will be automatically installed.

Ü Confirming Windows XP/2000 Driver Installation1. From Windows XP/2000, open the Control Panel from My Computer fol-

lowed by the System icon.2. Choose the Hardware tab, then click the Device Manager tab.3. Click the "+" in front of the SCSI and RAID Controllers hardware type. The

driver Intel(R) NH82801GR SATAII RAID Controller should appear.

Important

Please follow the instruction below to make an “Intel IAA RAID XP DriverFor ICH7R (NH82801GR)” for yourself.

1. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive.2. Click the “Browse CD” on the Setup screen.3. Copy all the contents in the: \\IDE\Intel\ICH7R\Floppy to a formatted

floppy disk.4. The driver disk for ICH7R RAID controller is done.

MS-7379 Mainboard

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Installation of Intel Matrix Storage ConsoleThe Intel Application Accelerator RAID Edition driver may be used to operate the harddrive from which the system is booting or a hard drive that contains important data.For this reason, you cannot remove or un-install this driver from the system afterinstallation; however, you wil l have the ability to un-install all other non-drivercomponents.Insert the MSI CD and click on the Intel IAA RAID Edition to install the software.

Click on this item

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

The InstallShield Wizard will begin automatically for installation showed as following:

Click on the Next button to proceed the installation in the welcoming window.

MS-7379 Mainboard

C-12

After reading the license agreement in the following window, click Yes button tocontinue.

The window shows the components to be installed. Click Next button to continue.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

Select the folder in which you want the program to be installed in the followingwindow, and click Next button to start installation.

Select a program folder in the following window where you want Setup to add theprogram icon.

MS-7379 Mainboard

C-14

Once the installation is complete, the following window appears.

The following window appears to show the Intel Application Accelerator RAID EditionSetup installation status.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

RAID Migration Instructions

Important

A Create from Existing Disk operation will delete all existing data from theadded disk and the data cannot be recovered. It is critical to backup allimportant data on the added disk before proceeding. However, during themigration process, the data on the source disk is preserved.

The Intel Matrix Storage Console offers the flexibility to upgrade from a single SerialATA (SATA) hard drive to RAID configuration when an additional SATA hard drive isadded to the system. This process will create a new RAID volume from an existingdisk. However, several important steps must be followed at the time the system isfirst configured in order to take advantage of RAID when upgrading to a secondSATA hard drive:

1. BIOS must be configured for RAID before installing Windows XP on thesingle SATA hard drive. Refer to On Chip SATA Setting for properlysetting of the BIOS.

2. Install the Intel Application Accelerator RAID Driver during Windows Setup.Refer to Installing Software for instructions on installing the driver dur-ing Windows Setup.

3. Install the Intel Matrix Storage Console after the operating system is installed.To create a volume from an existing disk, complete the following steps:

After the Intel Matrix Storage Console has been successfully installed and the sys-tem has rebooted, click on the Intel Application Accelerator shortcut link (Start --> AllPrograms --> Intel Matrix Storage Manager --> Intel Matrix Storage Console)and the following window will appear:

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Create RAID Volume from Existing DiskTo create a RAID volume from an existing disk, choose Action --> Create RAIDVolume from Existing Hard Drive.

The Create RAID Volume from Existing Hard Drive Wizard pops up to lead youfor the following procedure. Click Next to continue.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

(1) Step 1: Configure VolumeHere you can configure the new RAID volume by entering the volume name, selectingthe RAID level and strip size.

Ü RAID Volume Name:A desired RAID volume name needs to be typed in where the ‘RAID_Volume1’ textcurrently appears above. The RAID volume name has a maximum limit of 16 characters.The RAID volume name must also be in English alphanumeric ASCII characters.

Ü RAID Level:Select the desired RAID level:

RAID 0 (Performance) – A volume optimized for performance will allow you toaccess your data more quickly.

RAID 1 (Redundancy) – A volume optimized for data redundancy will provideyou with a realtime duplicate copy of your data. Note:Only half of the available volume space will be avail-able for data storage.

RAID 5 (Useful) – RAID 5 can be used on three or more disks, with zeroor more spare-disks. The resulting RAID-5 device sizewill be (N-1)*S, where N is the how many drive, S is thesize of the smallest drive in the array. If one of the disksfail, all data are still intact. It can rebuild the disk fromthe parity information. If spare disks are available, re-construction will begin immediately after the devicefailure. If two disks fail simultaneously, all data are lost.RAID-5 can survive one disk failure, but not two ormore. Both read and wri te performance usuallyincrease, but can be hard to predict how much. Readsare similar to RAID-0 reads, writes can be either rather

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C-18

expensive (requiring read-in prior to write, in order tobe able to calculate the correct parity information), orsimilar to RAID-1 writes. The write efficiency dependsheavily on the amount of memory in the machine, andthe usage pattern of the array. Heavily scattered writesare bound to be more expensive.

RAID 10 (Mirrored Stripes) –A RAID 1 array of two RAID 0 arrays.Ü Strip Sizes:Select the desired strip size setting. As indicated, the optimal setting is 128KB. Se-lecting any other option may result in performance degradation. Even though 128KBis the recommended setting for most users, you should choose the strip size valuewhich is best suited to your specific RAID usage model. The most typical strip sizesettings are:

4KB: For specialized usage models requiring 4KB strips8KB: For specialized usage models requiring 8KB strips16KB: Best for sequential transfers32KB: Good for sequential transfers64KB: Good general purpose strip size128KB: Best performance for most desktops and workstations

(2) Select the source diskThen select the source disk that you wish to use and then click “--->” to move it to theSelected field. Then click Next to continue.It is very important to note which disk is the source disk (the one containing all of theinformation to be migrated) and which one is the target disk. On a RAID Readysystem, this can be determined by making a note during POST of which port (e.g. Port0 or Port 1) the single disk is attached to.You can also use the Intel Application Accelerator RAID Edition utility before thesecond disk is installed to verify the Port and serial number of the drive that containsall the data.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

(3) Select Member Hard Drive(s)Then select the member disk (the target disk) that you wish to use and then click “--->” to move it to the Selected field. Then click Next to continue.Please note that the existing data on the selected hard drive(s) will be deletedpermanently. Do not forget to back up all the important data before continuing.

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(4) Specify Volume SizeSpecify the amount of available array space to be used by the new RAID volume. Youmay enter the amount in the space or use the slider to specify. It is recommended youuse 100% of the available space for the optimized usage. For RAID 0 volume, if youdo not specify 100% of the hard drive space, the rest hard drive space will beworked as RAID 1 volume, which is the new technology called Intel Matrix RAID. Thenclick Next to continue.

(5) Start Creating RAID Volume from Existing Hard Drive WizardBefore you continue the procedure of RAID volume creation from existing hard drive,read the dialogue box below carefully. Please note that once you click Finish, theexisting data on the selected hard drive(s) will be deleted permanently and thisoperation cannot be undone. It is critical that you backup all important data beforeselecting Finish to start the migration process.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

(6) Start MigrationThe migration process may take up to two hours to complete depending on the sizeof the disks being used and the strip size selected. A dialogue window will appearstating that the migration process may take considerable time to complete, meanwhilea popup dialogue at the taskbar will also show the migration status. While you can stillcontinue using your computer during the migration process, once the migration proc-ess starts, it cannot be stopped. If the migration process gets interrupted and yoursystem is rebooted for any reason, it will pick up the migration process where it leftoff. You will be provided with an estimated completion time (the remaining time willdepend on your system) once the migration process starts.

The following screen appears if the migration process is completed successfully.Then you have to reboot your system to use the full capacity of the new volume.

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A RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10 volume is reported as degraded when one of its harddrive members fails or is temporarily disconnected, and data mirroring is lost. As aresult, the system can only utilize theremaining functional hard drive member. To re-establish data mirroring and restore data redundancy, refer to the procedure belowthat corresponds to the current situation.

Missing Hard Drive Member1. Make sure the system is powered off.2. Reconnect the hard drive.3. Reboot the system to Windows; the rebuild will occur automatically.

Failed Hard Drive Member1. Make sure the system is powered off.2. Replace the failed hard drive with a new one that is of equal or greater

capacity.3. Reboot the system to Intel RAID Option ROM by press <Ctrl> and <I> keys

simultaneously during the Power-On Self Test (POST).

Degraded RAID Array

4. Select the port of the destination disk for rebuilding, and then press ENTER.

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Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

5. Exit Intel RAID Option ROM, and then reboot to Windows system.6. When prompted to rebuild the RAID volume, click 'Yes'.7. The Intel(R) Storage Utility will be launched. Right-click the new hard drive and

select 'Rebuild to this Disk'. The 'Rebuild Wizard' will be launched which willguide you through the process of rebuilding to the new hard drive.