K8T Master2-FAR Series MS-9130 (v1.X) Mainboard Version 1.
Manual Rev: 1.0 Release Date: July 2003 FCC-A Radio Frequency Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
Copyright Notice The material in this document is the intellectual property of MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL. We take every care in the preparation of this document, but no guarantee is given as to the correctness of its contents. Our products are under continual improvement and we reserve the right to make changes without notice. Trademarks All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. AMD, Athlon™, Athlon™ XP, Thoroughbred™, and Duron™ are registered trademarks of AMD Corporation.
Safety Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Always read the safety instructions carefully. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference. Keep this equipment away from humidity. Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the equipment from overheating. Do not cover the openings. Make sure the voltage of the power source and adjust properly 110/220V before connecting the equipment to the power inlet.
CONTENTS FCC-A Radio Frequency Interference Statement .......................................... iii Copyright Notice .......................................................................................... iii Revision History ........................................................................................... iii Safety Instructions ....................................................................................... v Chapter 1. Getting Started .................................................
RJ-45 LAN Jack: Giga-bit LAN .................................................... 2-13 Parallel Port .................................................................................. 2-14 Connectors ......................................................................................... 2-15 Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1 ........................................... 2-15 Hard Disk Connectors: IDE1 & IDE2 ........................................... 2-15 Fan Power Connectors: CFAN1/2, SFAN1/2, NBFAN1 ....
Advanced Chipset Features ............................................................... 3-11 Integrated Peripherals ........................................................................ 3-14 Power Management Setup ................................................................. 3-18 PNP/PCI Configuration ...................................................................... 3-21 PC Health ...........................................................................................
Getting Started Chapter 1. Getting Started Getting Started Thank you for purchasing the K8T Master2-FAR (MS9130 v1.x), an excellent ATX serverboard from MSI. Based on the innovative VIA K8T 800 and VIA VT8237 chipsets for optimal system efficiency, the K8T Master2-FAR mainboard accommodates dual latest AMD Opteron DPTM processors in the 940-pin lidded ceramic micro PGA package, and supports up to four 144-bit DDR registered ECC DIMMs (at 200, 266 and 333 MHz) to provide the maximum of 8 GB memory capacity.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Mainboard Specifications Target Market Segment h Target in the workstation/high-end desktop user. CPU h Supports dual Socket 940 for AMD Opteron DPTM (SledgeHammer DP) processors. h Supports Opteron DPTM 244 and higher. h AMD x86-64 Technology. - AMD’s 64-bit, x86 instruction set extensions. - 64-bit integer registers, 48-bit virtual address, 40-bit physical address. - Eight new 64-bit integer registers (16 total). - Eight new 128-bit SSE/SSE2 registers (16 total).
Getting Started Slots h One AGP Pro 8x/4x slot. h Four 32-bit/33 MHz PCI slots. Networking h Broadcom BCM5705 LAN controller. h Provides 1000/100/10 MB per second data rates Power Management Features h Wake-on-LAN (WOL), USB, PCI, mouse. h RTC alarm. h Supports ACPI S1/S4/S5 functions. System Management h SMBus (I2C). h Temperature, voltage, and fan monitors. h Chassis intrusion. BIOS h 4 Mb flash EEPROM. h PCI 2.2 compliant, VPD, and DMI. h PnP 1.0A, SMBIOS 2.3, ACPI 1.0A/2.0.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard DDR 4 JPR1 DDR 3 Top : mouse Bottom: keyboard DDR 2 DDR 1 Mainboard Layout CFAN1 USB ports Top : Parallel Port Bottom: COM A COM B JLCD1 CFAN2 JPWR1 LAN Jack BATT + JPWR2 Broadcom 5705 NBFAN1 VIA K8T 800 AG P Pro Slot PCI Slot 1 BIOS JUSB1 JFP2 JUSB2 PCI Slot 2 JFP1 IDE 1 Winbond W83627THF JCI1 PCI Slot 3 VIA VT 8237 Codec PCI Slot 4 JCD1 JAUX1 JAUD1 IDE 2 J7 FDD 1 JIR1 SFAN1 SATA2 SATA1 K8T Master2-FAR (MS-9130 v1.
Getting Started MSI Special Features Core Center The Core Center is a new utility you can find in the CD-ROM disk. The utility is just like your PC doctor that can detect, view and adjust the PC hardware and system status during real time operation. In the left side it shows the current system status, including the Vcore, 3.3V, +5V and 12V. In the right side it shows the current PC hardware status such as the CPU & system temperatures and all fans speeds.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Left-side: Current system status In the left sub-menu, you can configure the settings of FSB, Vcore, Memory Voltage and AGP Voltage by clicking the radio button in front of each item and make it available (the radio button will be lit as yellow when selected), use the “+” and “-” buttons to adjust, then click “ok” to apply the changes. Then you can click Save to save the desired FSB you just configured.
Hardware Setup Chapter 2. Hardware Setup Hardware Setup This chapter provides you with the information about hardware setup procedures. While doing the installation, be careful in holding the components and follow the installation procedures. For some components, if you install in the wrong orientation, the components will not work properly. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. Static electricity may damage the components.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Quick Components Guide CFAN1, p.2-15 DDR1~4, p.2-6 JPR1, p.2-9 CPU1, p.2-3 I/O Ports, p.2-10 CFAN2, p.2-15 JLCD1, p.2-15 JPWR1, p.2-10 CPU2, p.2-3 BATT + JPWR2, p.2-8 NBFAN1, p.2-15 JUSB1, p.2-20 AGP1, p.2-22 JUSB2, p.2-20 JFP2, p.2-17 PCI Slots, p.2-22 JFP1, p.2-17 JCI1, p.2-20 IDE1/2, p.2-14 J7, p.2-21 JCD1, p.2-21 JBAT1, p.2-21 JAUX1, p.2-21 JAUD1, p.2-19 JIR1, p.2-20 2-2 FDD1, p.2-14 SATA1/2, p.2-16 SFAN1, p.
Hardware Setup Central Processing Unit: CPU The mainboard supports Single/Dual AMD® Opteron DP™ processor (s). The mainboard uses two CPU sockets called Socket 940 for easy CPU installation. You can install SINGLE or DUAL CPUs on the mainboard to meet your own needs. Keep the following points in mind before installing CPU(s): 1. If SINGLE CPU is intended, always install the CPU on the CPU1 socket. CPU1 & CPU2 2.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard CPU Installation Procedures for Socket 940 Open Lever 1. Make sure that the computer is turned off, and the power cord disconnected before installing the CPU. Slid P ing l at e 2. Pull the lever sideways away from the socket, and raise it up to a 90-degree angle. 3. Locate the cut edge of the CPU. When the CPU is installed into the socket, this cut edge should be aligned with the corner marking an arrow on the Socket 940.
Hardware Setup Installing the CPU heatsink/cooler As processor technology pushes to faster speeds and higher performance, thermal management becomes increasingly important. To dissipate heat, you need to attach the CPU heatsink/cooler on top of the CPU. Follow the instructions below to install the heatsink/cooler: 1. Locate the CPU and its retention modules on the motherboard. retention modules 2. Position the heatsink/cooler onto the retention modules.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Memory The mainboard provides four slots for 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM (Double In-Line Memory Module) modules and supports up to 4GB memory size. You can install PC2700/DDR333, PC2100/DDR266, or PC1600/DDR200 modules on the DDR DIMM slots (DDR 1~4). DDR DIMM Slots (DDR1~4) Installing DDR Modules 1. The DDR DIMM has only one notch on the center of module. The module will only fit in the right orientation. 2. Insert the DIMM memory module vertically into the DIMM slot.
Hardware Setup Memory Population Rules The mainboard supports DDR333/266/200 memory interface. Each DIMM slot supports up to a maximum size of 2GB. Users can install either single- or double-sided modules depending on their needs.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Power Supply The mainboard supports SSI power supply for the power system, while ATX power supply is also available for this mainboard. Before inserting the power supply connector, always make sure that all components are installed properly to ensure that no damage will be caused. SSI 12V Power Connector: JPWR2 This connector is used to provide +12V power output to AGP Pro add-on card.
Hardware Setup ATX 20-Pin Power Connector: ATX1 You may also choose to use ATX power supply. To connect to the ATX power supply, make sure the plug of the power supply is inserted in the proper orientation and the pins are aligned. Then push down the power supply firmly into the connector. ATX1 20 11 10 1 ATX1 Pin Definition PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3.3V 3.3V GND 5V GND 5V GND PW_OK 5V_SB 10 12V 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 3.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard SSI 8-Pin Power Connector: JPWR1 This connector is used to provide the power output to the CPU. 8 4 5 JPWR1 Pin Definition 1 JPWR1 PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL 1 2 3 4 GND GND GND GND 5 6 7 8 +12V +12V +12V +12V ATX 12V Power Connector: JPW1 You may also choose to use ATX 12V power supply. This 12V power connector is used to provide power to the CPU. 4 3 2 1 JPW1 JPW1 Pin Definition PIN SIGNAL 1 2 3 4 GND GND 12V 12V MSI Reminds You...
Hardware Setup Back Panel View of the Back Panel The back panel provides the following connectors: Parallel Mouse Keyboard USB COM1 LAN COM2 Mouse Connector The mainboard provides a standard PS/2® mouse mini DIN connector for attaching a PS/2® mouse. You can plug a PS/2® mouse directly into this connector. The connector location and pin assignments are as follows.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Keyboard Connector The mainboard provides a standard PS/2® keyboard mini DIN connector for attaching a PS/2® keyboard. You can plug a PS/2® keyboard directly into this connecto. The connector location and pin assignments are as follows.
Hardware Setup USB Ports The mainboard provides a UHCI (Universal Host Controller Interface) Universal Serial Bus root for attaching USB devices such as keyboard, mouse or other USB-compatible devices. You can plug USB devices directly into the ports.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Parallel Port The mainboard provides a 25-pin female centronic connector as LPT. A parallel port is a standard printer port that supports Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Extended Capabilities Parallel Port (ECP) mode.
Hardware Setup Connectors The mainboard provides connectors to connect FDD, IDE HDD, front panel of the system case, audio ports, USB Ports, and CPU/System FANs. Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1 The mainboard provides a standard floppy disk drive connector that supports 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB and 2.88MB floppy disk types.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Fan Power Connectors: CFAN1/2, SFAN1/2, NBFAN1 The CAN1/2 (processor fan), SFAN1/2 (system fan) and NBFAN1 (Northbridge fan) support system cooling fan with +12V. It supports 3-pin head connector. When connecting the wire to the connectors, always take note that the red wire is the positive and should be connected to the +12V, the black wire is Ground and should be connected to GND.
Hardware Setup Serial ATA/Serial ATA RAID Connectors controlled by VT8237: SATA1 & SATA2 The Southbridge of this mainboard is VIA VT8237 which supports two serial connectors SATA1& SATA2. SATA1 & SATA2 are dual high-speed Serial ATA interface ports. Each supports 1st generation serial ATA data rates of 150 MB/s. Both connectors are fully compliant with Serial ATA 1.0 specifications. Each Serial ATA connector can connect to 1 hard disk device.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Front Panel Connectors: JFP1 & JFP2 The mainboard provides two front panel connectors for electrical connection to the front panel switches and LEDs. JFP1 is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.
Hardware Setup Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1 The mainboard provides one front audio connector for users to connect the optional audio cable.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Front USB Connectors: JUSB1 & JUSB2 The mainboard provide two front Universal Serial Bus connectors for users to connect to USB ports. Pin Definition JUSB1 & JUSB2 9 10 1 2 Pin Description Pin Description 1 USBPWR 2 USBPWR 3 USBP2- 4 USBP3- 5 USBP2+ 6 USBP3+ 7 GND 8 GND 9 NC 10 GND IrDA Infrared Module Header: JIR1 The connector allows you to connect to IrDA Infrared module.
Hardware Setup SCSI LED Connector: J7 Connect the J7 to the LED connector on the add-on SCSI adaptor and the HDD LED will blink when add-on SCSI device is active. Pin Definition J7 1 PIN SIGNAL 1 2 3 4 VCC5 SCSI LED HDD LED VCC5 CD-In Connector: JCD1 This connector is provided for CD-ROM audio. JCD1 R GND L Aux Line-In Connector: JAUX1 The connector is for DVD add-on card with Line-in connector.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Jumpers The mainboard provides the following jumpers for you to set the computer’s function. This section will explain how to change your mainboard’s function through the use of jumpers. Clear CMOS Jumper: JBAT1 There is a CMOS RAM on board that has a power supply from external battery to keep the data of system configuration. With the CMOS RAM, the system can automatically boot OS every time it is turned on.
Hardware Setup Slots The K8D Master-2 FAR mainboard provides one AGP slot and four 32bit/33 MHz PCI slots. AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) Slot The AGP slot allows you to insert the AGP graphics card. AGP is an interface specification designed for the throughput demands of 3D graphics. It introduces a 66MHz, 32-bit channel for the graphics controller to directly access main memory. The slot supports 8x/4x AGP card.
BIOS Setup Chapter 3. BIOS Setup BIOS Setup This chapter provides information on the BIOS Setup program and allows you to configure the system for optimum use. You may need to run the Setup program when: An error message appears on the screen during the system booting up, and requests you to run SETUP. You want to change the default settings for customized features.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Entering Setup Power on the computer and the system will start POST (Power On Self Test) process. When the message below appears on the screen, press key to enter Setup. Press DEL to enter SETUP If the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter Setup, restart the system by turning it OFF and On or pressing the RESET button. You may also restart the system by simultaneously pressing , , and keys.
BIOS Setup Getting Help After entering the Setup menu, the first menu you will see is the Main Menu. Main Menu The main menu lists the setup functions you can make changes to. You can use the control keys ( ↑↓ ) to select the item. The on-line description of the highlighted setup function is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard The Main Menu Once you enter Award® BIOS CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu (figure below) will appear on the screen. The Main Menu allows you to select from twelve setup functions and two exit choices. Use arrow keys to select among the items and press to accept or enter the sub-menu. Standard CMOS Features Use this menu for basic system configurations, such as time, date etc. Advanced BIOS Features Use this menu to setup the items of Award® special enhanced features.
BIOS Setup Frequency/Voltage Control Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control. Load Fail-Safe Defaults Use this menu to load the BIOS values for the best system performance, but the system stability may be affected. Load Optimized Defaults Use this menu to load factory default settings into the BIOS for stable system performance operations. Set Supervisor Password Use this menu to set Supervisor Password. Set User Password Use this menu to set User Password.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Standard CMOS Features The items in Standard CMOS Features Menu are divided into 11 categories. Each category includes no, one or more than one setup items. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item and then use the or keys to select the value you want in each item. Date The date format is . day month date year Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined by BIOS. Readonly. The month from Jan. through Dec.
BIOS Setup If you select Manual, related information is asked to be entered to the following items. Enter the information directly from the keyboard. This information should be provided in the documentation from your hard disk vendor or the system manufacturer. Access Mode The settings are CHS, LBA, Large, Auto. Capacity The formatted size of the storage device. Cylinder Number of cylinders. Head Number of heads. Precomp Write precompensation. Landing Zone Cylinder location of the landing zone.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Advanced BIOS Features Hard Disk Boot Priority Press and the following sub-menu appears: Select the hard disk priority (from the 1st to the 8th) in this list. Use the arrow-up and arrow-down keys to select a device, then press <+> to move it up or <-> to move it down. Virus Warning The item is to set the Virus Warning feature for IDE Hard Disk boot sector protection.
BIOS Setup 1st/2nd/3rd Boot Device The items allow you to set the sequence of boot devices where BIOS attempts to load the disk operating system. The settings are: Floppy The system will boot from floppy drive. LS120 The system will boot from LS-120 drive. Hard Disk The system will boot from the hard disk. CDROM The system will boot from the CD ROM. ZIP100 The system will boot from the ATAPI ZIP drive. USB-FDD The system will boot from the USB-interface floppy drive.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard MPS Version Control For OS This field allows you to select which MPS (Multi-Processor Specification) version to be used for the operating system. You need to select the MPS version supported by your operating system. To find out which version to use, consult the vendor of your operating system. Settings: 1.4, 1.1. Video BIOS Shadow This allows you to copy Video BIOS to shadow RAM. When setting to Enabled, the performance improves. Settings: Enabled and Disabled.
BIOS Setup Advanced Chipset Features MSI Reminds You... Change these settings only if you are familiar with the chipset. DRAM Configuration Press and the following sub-menu appears: Current FSB Frequency, Current DRAM Frequency Those two items are read-only to show the current FSB and DRAM Frequency information. DDR Timing Setting by This field allows you to select the DDR timing setting. Setting to Auto enables Max Memclock (Mhz) automatically to be determined by SPD.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard AGP & P2P Bridge Control Press and the following sub-menu appears: AGP Aperture Size This setting controls just how much system RAM can be allocated to AGP for video purposes. The aperture is a portion of the PCI memory address range dedicated to graphics memory address space. Host cycles that hit the aperture range are forwarded to the AGP without any translation. The option allows the selection of an aperture size of 32MB, 64MB, 128MB and 256MB.
BIOS Setup AGP Master 1 WS Write When Enabled is selected , writes to the AGP bus are executed with one wait state inserted. AGP Master 1 WS Read When Enabled is selected, one wait state is inserted in the AGP read cycle. LDT & PCI Bus Control Press and the following sub-menu appears: Upstream / Downstream LDT Bus Width These two item control the utilized widths of the HyperTransport link. Setting options: 8 bit, 16 bit.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Integrated Peripherals VIA OnChip IDE Device Press and the following sub-menu appears: Serial ATA controller This allows you to enable or disable onchip Serial ATA controller. Settings: Disabled and Enabled. IDE DMA transfer access Setting to Enabled will open DMA bus master and execute DMA action in DOS, which will make the data transferring faster. Settings: Disabled, Enabled.
BIOS Setup IDE Prefetch Mode The onboard IDE drive interfaces support IDE prefetching, for faster drive accesses. When you install a primary and/or secondary add-in IDE interface, set this option to Disabled if the interface does not support prefetching. Primary/Secondary Master/Slave PIO The four IDE PIO (Programmed Input/Output) fields let you set a PIO mode (0-4) for each of the four IDE devices that the onboard IDE interface supports. Modes 0 through 4 provide successively increased performance.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard controller cards to connect audio connectors, set the field to Disabled. Setting options: Disabled, Auto. USB Controller Select Enabled if your system contains a Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller and you have USB peripherals. Settings: All Enabled, All Disabled, 1&2 USB Port, 2&3 USB Port, 1&3 USB Port, 1 USB Port, 2 USB Port, 3 USB Port. USB 2.0 Set to Enabled if you need to use any USB 2.0 device in the operating system that does not support or have any USB 2.
BIOS Setup Onboard Serial Port 1/2 These items specify the base I/O port address and IRQ for the onboard Serial Port A (COM A)/Serial Port B (COM B). Selecting Auto allows BIOS to automatically determine the correct base I/O port address. Settings: Disabled, 3F8/IRQ4, 2F8/IRQ3, 3E8/IRQ4, 2E8/IRQ3, Auto. Onboard Parallel Port This specifies the I/O port address and IRQ of the onboard parallel port. Settings: 378/IRQ7, 278/IRQ5, 3BC/IRQ7, Disabled.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Power Management Setup Suspend Mode If system activity is not detected for the length of time specified in this field, all devices except CPU will be shut off. Settings: Disabled, 1 Min, 2 Min, 4 Min, 6 Min, 8 Min, 12 Min, 20 Min, 30 Min, 40 Min, 1 Hour. AC Loss Auto Restart This item specifies whether your system will reboot after a power failure or interrupt occurs. Available settings are: Off Leaves the computer in the power off state.
BIOS Setup VGA, LPT & COM, HDD & FDD, PCI Master These fields specify whether the system will be awakened from power saving modes when activity or input signal of the specified hardware peripheral or component is detected. PowerOn by PCI Card When it is set to Enabled, the feature allows your system to be powered on by the PCI card. Setting options: Enabled, Disabled. Modem Ring Resume When it is set to Enabled, the feature allows your system to support COM port Modem to resume.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Primary INTR Setting ON will cause the system to wake up from power saving modes if activity is detected from any enabled IRQ channels. Setting options: ON, OFF. IRQ3~IRQ15 IRQ3~IRQ15 enable or disable the monitoring of the specified IRQ lines. If set to Enabled, the activity of the specified IRQ line will prevent the system from entering power saving modes or awaken it from power saving modes. MSI Reminds You...
BIOS Setup PNP/PCI Configurations This 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 to operate at speeds nearing the speed the CPU itself uses when communicating with its special components. This section covers some very technical items and it is strongly recommended that only experienced users should make any changes to the default settings.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard PC Health Status This section shows the status of your CPU, fan, overall system status, etc. Monitor function is available only if there is hardware monitoring mechanism onboard. Shutdown Temperature If the CPU temperature reaches the limit preset in this setting, the system will shotdown automatically. Case Open Warning The field enables or disables the feature of recording the chassis intrusion status and issuing a warning message if the case is once opened.
BIOS Setup CPU Fan1/CPU Fan2/SYS Fan Tolerance Value You can select a fan tolerance value here for the specific range for the “Smart CPU Fan1/CPU Fan2/SYS Fan Temperature” items. If the current temperatures of the 3 fans reach to the maximum threshold (the temperatures set in the “Smart CPU Fan1/CPU Fan2/SYS Fan Temperature” plus the tolerance values you set here), the fans will speed up for cooling down.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Frequency/Voltage Control Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control. Auto Detect PCI Clk This option allows you to enable/disable the feature of auto detecting the clock frequency of the installed PCI bus. The settings are: Enabled, Disabled. Spread Spectrum When the motherboard’s clock generator pulses, the extreme values (spikes) of the pulses creates EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).
BIOS Setup Load Fail-Safe/Optimized Defaults The two options on the main menu allow users to restore all of the BIOS settings to the default Fail-Safe or Optimized values. The Optimized Defaults are the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifically for optimal performance of the mainboard. The Fail-Safe Defaults are the default values set by the BIOS vendor for stable system performance.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Set Supervisor/User Password When you select this function, a message as below will appear on the screen: Type the password, up to eight characters in length, and press . The password typed now will replace any previously set password from CMOS memory. You will be prompted to confirm the password. Retype the password and press . To clear a set password, just press when you are prompted to enter the password.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Appendix. Using 4- or 6-Channel Appendix A: VIA VT8237 Serial ATA Audio Function RAID Introduction The Southbridge VT8237 provides a hybrid solution that combines two independent SATA ports for support of up to two Serial ATA (Serial ATA RAID) drives. Serial ATA (SATA) is the latest generation of the ATA interface. SATA hard drives deliver blistering transfer speeds of up to 150MB/sec.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Introduction This section gives a brief introduction on the RAID-related background knowledge and a brief introduction on VIA SATA RAID Host Controller. For users wishing to install their VIA SATA RAID driver and RAID software, proceed to Driver and RAID Software Installation section. RAID Basics RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a method of combining two or more hard disk drives into one logical unit.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction RAID 0 (Striping) RAID 0 reads and writes sectors of data interleaved between multiple drives. If any disk member fails, it affects the entire array. The disk array data capacity is equal to the number of drive members times the capacity of the smallest member. The striping block size can be set from 4KB to 64KB. RAID 0 does not support fault tolerance. RAID 1 (Mirroring) RAID 1 writes duplicate data onto a pair of drives and reads both sets of data in parallel.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard BIOS Configuration When the system powers on during the POST (Power-On Self Test) process, press key to enter the BIOS configuration. The Serial ATA RAID volume may be configured using the VIA Tech. RAID BIOS. Always use the arrow keys to navigate the main menu, use up and down arrow key to select the each item and press to call out the list of creation steps.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Create Disk Array Use the up and down arrow keys to select the Create Array command and press . MSI Reminds You... The “Channel”, “Drive Name”, “Mode” and “Size (GB)” in the following example might be different from your system. Select Array Mode and press , a list of array modes will appear. Highlight the target array mode that you want to create, and press to confirm the selection.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard After array mode is selected, there are two methods to create a disk array. One method is “Auto Setup” and the other one is “Select Disk Drives”. Auto Setup allows BIOS to select the disk drives and create arrays automatically, but it does not duplicate the mirroring drives even if the user selected Create and duplicate for RAID 1. It is recommended all disk drives are new ones when wanting to create an array.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction MSI Reminds You... Even though 64KB is the recommended setting for most users, you should choose the block size value which is best suited to your specific RAID usage model. 4KB: For specialized usage models requiring 4KB blocks 8KB: For specialized usage models requiring 8KB blocks 16KB: Best for sequential transfers 32KB: Good for sequential transfers 64KB: Optimal setting Use the arrow key to highlight Start Create Process and press .
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Delete Disk Array A RAID can be deleted after it has been created. To delete a RAID, use the following steps: 1. Select Delete Array in the main menu and press . The channel column will be activated. 2. Select the member of an array that is to be deleted and press . A warning message will show up, press Y to delete or press N to cancel. Deleting a disk array will destroy all the data on the disk array except RAID 1 arrays.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Create and Delete Spare Hard Drive If a RAID 1 array is created and there are drives that do not belong to other arrays, the one that has a capacity which is equal to or greater than the array capacity can be selected as a spare drive for the RAID 1 array. Select Create/Delete Spare and press , the channel column will then be activated. Select the drive that you want to use as a spare drive and press , the selected drive will be marked as Spare.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard View Serial Number of Hard Drive Highlight Serial Number View and press . Use arrow key to select a drive, the selected drive’s serial number can be viewed in the last column. The serial number is assigned by the disk drive manufacturer. Press the F1 key to show the array status on the lower screen. If there are no disk arrays then nothing will be displayed on the screen.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Duplicate Critical RAID 1 Array When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if the RAID 1 array has any inconsistencies between user data and backup data. If BIOS detects any inconsistencies, the status of the disk array will be marked as critical, and BIOS will prompt the user to duplicate the RAID 1 in order to ensure the backup data consistency with the user data. If user selects Continue to boot, it will enable duplicating the array after booting into OS.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Rebuild Broken RAID 1 Array When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if any member disk drives of RAID has failed or is absent. If BIOS detects any disk drive failures or missing disk drives, the status of the array will be marked as broken. If BIOS detects a broken RAID 1 array but there is a spare hard drive available for rebuilding the broken array, the spare hard drive will automatically become the mirroring drive.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction 3. Choose Replacement Drive and Rebuild: This item enables users to select an already-connected hard drive to rebuild the broken array. After choosing a hard drive, the channel column will be activated. Highlight the target hard drive and press , a warning message will appear. Press Y to use that hard drive to rebuild, or press N to cancel. Please note selecting option Y will destroy all the data on the selected hard drive. 4.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Installing RAID Software & Drivers Install Driver in Windows OS h New Windows OS (2000/XP/NT4) Installation The following details the installation of the drivers while installing Windows XP. 1. Start the installation: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 when the message "Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears. 2. When the Windows Setup window is generated, press S to specify an Additional Device(s). 3.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Installation of VIA SATA RAID Utility The VIA SATA RAID Utility is the software package that enables highperformance RAID 0 arrays in the Windows* XP operating system. This version of VIA SATA RAID Utility contains the following key features: h Serial ATA RAID driver for Windows XP h VIA SATA RAID utility h RAID0 and RAID1 functions Insert the MSI CD and click on the VIA SATA RAID Utility to install the software. MSI Reminds You...
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard The InstallShield Wizard will begin automatically for installation. Click on the Next button to proceed the installation in the welcoming window. Put a check mark in the check box to install the feature you want. Then click Next button to proceed the installation.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Using VIA RAID Tool Once the installation is complete, go to Start ---> Programs --->VIA -->raid_tool.exe to enable VIA RAID Tool. After the software is finished installation, it will automatically started every time Windows is initiated. You may double-click on the icon shown in the system tray of the tool bar to launch the VIA RAID Tool utility.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard The main interface is divided into two windows and the toolbar above contain the main functions. Click on these toolbar buttons to execute their specific functions. The left windowpane displays the controller and disk drives and the right windowpane displays the details of the controller or disk drives.
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction Click on the plus (+) symbol next to Array 0---RAID 0 to see the details of each disk. You may also use the same Array 0---RAID 1.
MS-9130 Workstation Mainboard Click on the plus (+) symbol next to Array 0---RAID 1 to see the details of each disk.
