945GM2/ 945PLM2 Series

MS-7210 (v1.X) M-ATX Mainboard

945GM2 Series 945PLM2 Series

G52-M7210X1

i
Manual Rev: 1.0
Release Date: Oct. 2005

FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested
and found to comply with the
limits for a class B digital device,
pursuant to part 15 of the FCC
rules. These limits are designed
to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference
will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one
or more of the measures listed below.
=Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
=Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
=Connec the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
=Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for help.

Notice 1
The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for
compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

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

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

Micro-Star International
MS-7210

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

ii
Copyright Notice
T he material in this document is the intellec tual property of M ICRO-STAR
INTERNATIONAL. W e 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™64 and Athlon™ FX are registered trademarks of AMD Corporation.

Intel® and Pentium® are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
PS/2 and OS ® /2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. W indows ® 98/2000/NT/
XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, DualNet, and nForce are registered trademarks or trade-
marks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
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.
Kensington and MicroSaver are registered trademarks of the Kensington Technology
Group.
PCMCIA and CardBus are registered trademarks of the Personal Computer Memory
Card International Association.

Revision Revision History Date

V1.0 First release for PCB 1.X Oct. 2005
with Intel 945G & ICH7/ ICH7R

iii
Technical Support
If a problem arises with your system and no solution can be obtained from the user’s
manual, please contact your place of purchase or local distributor. Alternatively,
please try the following help resources for further guidance.
† Visit the MSI homepage & FAQ site for technical guide, BIOS updates, driver
updates, and other information: http://www.msi.com.tw & http://www.msi.
com.tw/program/service/faq/faq/esc_faq_list.php
† Contact our technical staff at: [email protected]

Safety Instructions
1. Always read the safety instructions carefully.
2. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference.
3. Keep this equipment away from humidity.
4. Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up.
5. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the 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:
† The power cord or plug is damaged.
† Liquid has penetrated into the equipment.
† The equipment has been exposed to moisture.
† The equipment has not work well or you can not get it work according to
User’s Manual.
† The equipment has dropped and damaged.
† The equipment has obvious sign of breakage.
12. Do not leave this equipment in an environment unconditioned, storage
temperature above 60 0 C (140 0F), it may damage the equipment.

CAUT ION: Danger of explosion if battery is incorrec tly replac ed.

Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommended by the
manufacturer.

iv
WEEE Statement

v
vi
vii
 CONTENTS
FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement .......................................................... ii
Copyright Notice .............................................................................................................. iii
Technical Support .......................................................................................................... iv
Safety Instructions ......................................................................................................... iv
WEEE Statement .............................................................................................................. v
Chapter 1. Getting Started .................................................................................... 1-1
Mainboard Specifications ................................................................................... 1-2
Mainboard Layout ................................................................................................ 1-4
Packing Contents ................................................................................................. 1-6
Chapter 2. Hardware Setup .................................................................................. 2-1
Quick Components Guide ................................................................................... 2-2
Central Processing Unit: CPU ............................................................................. 2-3
Introduction to LGA 775 CPU ...................................................................... 2-3
CPU & Cooler Installation ............................................................................. 2-4
Memory ................................................................................................................. 2-7
Introduction to DDR2 SDRAM ..................................................................... 2-7
Memory Module Population Rules ............................................................... 2-7
Installing DDR2 Modules .............................................................................. 2-8
Power Supply ...................................................................................................... 2-9
ATX 24-Pin Power Connector: ATX1 ......................................................... 2-9
ATX 12V Power Connector: JPW 1/ JPWR1 .............................................. 2-9
Mouse/Keyboard Connector .................................................................... 2-10
Serial Port Connector: COM Port .............................................................................. 2-10
Back Panel ......................................................................................................... 2-10
IEEE 1394 Port ............................................................................................ 2-10
VGA Connector .......................................................................................... 2-11
USB Connectors ......................................................................................... 2-11
LAN (RJ-45) Jack ...................................................................................... 2-12
Audio Port Connectors .............................................................................. 2-12
Parallel Port Connector: LPT1 ................................................................... 2-13
Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1 ........................................................ 2-14
Fan Power Connectors: CPU_F2/ SYS_F1 ............................................. 2-14
Connectors ........................................................................................................ 2-14
Hard Disk Connector: IDE1 ....................................................................... 2-15
Serial ATA Connectors controlled by Intel ICH7/ ICH7R: SATA1~SATA4 2-16
CD-In Connector: JCD1 ............................................................................. 2-17

viii
 Front Panel Connectors: JFP1 / JFP2 ...................................................... 2-17
Front USB Connectors: JUSB1 / JUSB2 .................................................................. 2-18
Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1 ...................................................... 2-18
IEEE 1394 Connector: J1394_1 (Optional) .............................................................. 2-19
Chassis Intrusion Switch Connector: JCI1 .............................................. 2-20
W ake On LAN Connector: JW OL1 ........................................................... 2-20
Serial Port Header: COM2 (Optional) ....................................................................... 2-20
Jumpers .............................................................................................................. 2-21
Clear CMOS Jumper: JBAT1 ..................................................................... 2-21
BIOS Write Protect Jumper: BIOS_WP (Optional) ................................... 2-21
Slots .................................................................................................................... 2-22
PCI Express Slots (optional) ..................................................................... 2-22
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots ...................................... 2-23
PCI Interrupt Request Routing ................................................................... 2-23
Chapter 3. BIOS Setup ............................................................................................ 3-1
Entering Setup ..................................................................................................... 3-3
Control Keys ................................................................................................ 3-3
Getting Help .................................................................................................. 3-3
The Main Menu ..................................................................................................... 3-5
Standard CMOS Features ................................................................................... 3-7
Advanced Chipset Features ............................................................................. 3-11
Power Management Setup ............................................................................... 3-16
PNP/PCI Configurations ..................................................................................... 3-19
H/W Monitor ........................................................................................................ 3-22
Load Optimized Defaults ................................................................................... 3-25
BIOS Setting Password .................................................................................... 3-25
Chapter 4. Introduction to DigiCell ..................................................................... 4-1
Main ...................................................................................................................... 4-2
Introduction: ................................................................................................. 4-2
H/W Diagnostic .................................................................................................... 4-4
Communication ..................................................................................................... 4-5
Software Access Point ....................................................................................... 4-6
Terminology .................................................................................................. 4-6
Access Point Mode ..................................................................................... 4-7
WLAN Card Mode ........................................................................................ 4-8
Live Update .......................................................................................................... 4-9
MEGA STICK ....................................................................................................... 4-10
Basic Function ........................................................................................... 4-10

ix
 Non-Unicode programs supported ........................................................... 4-12
V-Center ............................................................................................................. 4-14
Power on Agent ................................................................................................. 4-15
Power On ................................................................................................... 4-15
Power Off / Restart ................................................................................... 4-16
Start W ith .................................................................................................... 4-16
Auto Login .................................................................................................. 4-17
Chapter 5. Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID .......................................... 5-1
BIOS Configuration .............................................................................................. 5-2
Using the Intel Matrix Stroage Manager Option ROM ............................... 5-2
Installing Software .............................................................................................. 5-8
Install Driver in W indows XP / 2000 .......................................................... 5-8
Installation of Intel Matrix Stroage Console ............................................... 5-9
RAID Migration Instructions .............................................................................. 5-14
Create RAID Volume from Existing Disk ................................................... 5-15
Chapter 6. Introduction to Realtek ALC880 ..................................................... 6-1
Installation for W indows 2000/XP ...................................................................... 6-2
Installing the Audio Driver ................................................................................... 6-3
Software Configuration ...................................................................................... 6-4
Sound Effect ................................................................................................ 6-5
Mixer ............................................................................................................. 6-8
AudioIO ....................................................................................................... 6-12
Microphone ................................................................................................ 6-17
3D Audio Demo ........................................................................................... 6-18
Information ................................................................................................. 6-19
Using 2-, 4-, 6- & 8- Channel Audio Function ................................................. 6-20

x
 Getting Started

Chap t er 1 . Ge tting
Started
Getting Started
Thank you for choosing the 945GM2/945PLM2 Series (MS-
7210) v1.x Micro-ATX mainboard. The 945GM 2/945PLM2 Series
mainboard is based on Intel® 945G/945PL and Intel® ICH7/ ICH7R
chipset for optimal system efficiency. Designed to fit the advanced
Intel ® Pentium 4 Prescott LG A775 proc ess or, the 945G M 2/
945PLM 2 Series mainboard delivers a high performance and pro-
fessional desktop platform solution.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Mainboard Specifications

CPU
† Supports Intel® Pentium 4/ Pentium D/ Celeron D Prescott/ Smithfield (DualCore and
CederMill up to 2.8G or higher CPU without HT technology) LGA775 processors in
LGA775 package.
† Supports up to Pentium 4 3XX, 5XX, 6XX & 8XX without 840EE.
† Supports 4-pin CPU Fan pin header with Fan Speed Control.
(For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://www.msi.com.tw/program/
products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_cpu_support.php)

Chipset
† Intel® 945G/945PL chipset
- Supports FSB 533/ 800/ 1066 MHz (1066MHz for 945G only).
- Supports PCI Express x16 graphics interface.
- Supports DDR2 400/533/667 (DDR2 667 for 945G only).
- Integrated graphics controller (for 945G only).
† Intel® ICH7/ICH7R chipset
- Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0) controller, 480Mb/sec, up to 8 ports.
- 4 SATAII ports with transfer rate up to 3Gb/s.
- 1 channel Ultra ATA 66/100 bus Master IDE controller.
- PCI Master v2.3, I/O APIC.
- ACPI 2.0 Compliant.
- Serial ATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5 and Matrix RAID. (for ICH7R)
- Integrated AHCI controller.

M ain M emory
† Supports four unbuffered DIMM of 1.8 Volt DDR2 SDRAM
† Supports up to 4GB memory size. (for 945G)
† Supports up to 2GB memory size. (for 945PL)
† Supports Dual channel DDR memory architecture.
† Supports DDR2 400/533/667 (DDR2 667 is for 945G only) memory interface.
(For the updated supporting memory modules, please visit http://www.msi.com.tw/
program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_trp_list.php.)

Slots
† One PCI Express x16 slot.
† One PCI Express x4 slots.
† Two 32-bit v2.3 Master PCI bus slots (support 3.3v/5v PCI bus interface).

On-Board IDE
† One Ultra DMA 66/100 IDE controllers integrated in ICH7/ICH7R.
- Supports PIO, Bus Master operation modes.
- Can connect up to two Ultra ATA drives.

1-2
 Getting Started

† SATAII controller integrated in ICH7/ICH7R.

- Up to 300 MB/sec transfer speed.
- Can connect up to four SATAII devices.
- Supports AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, RAID 1 and Matrix RAID (for ICH7R).

On-Board Peripherals
† On-Board Peripherals include:
- 1 floppy port supports 1 FDD with 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88Mbytes
- 2 serial ports (COM1 on Rear IO, COM2 via pin header)
- 1 VGA port (for 945G only)
- 1 parallel port supports SPP/EPP/ECP mode
- 1 Line-In / Line-Out / MIC-In / Rear Speaker Out / Center-Subwoofer Speaker
Out (5 in 1) audio connector and a optical SPDIF-Out
- 8 USB ports (Rear * 4/ Front * 4)
- 1 RJ-45 LAN jack
- 2 IEEE 1394 ports (front*1/ rear*1) (optional)

On-board LAN
†Realtek RTL8110S or RTL8100C (RTL8100C is optional)
- Supports 10 / 100 / 1000 Mb/s (1000 Mb/s on 8110S only).
- Compliane with PCI 2.2.
- Supports ACPI Power Management.

1394 (optional)
† Supports two IEEE1394 ports. Transfer rate is up to 400 Mbps.
† Controlled by VIA VT6307 chip.

Audio
† High Definition link controller integrated in Intel® ICH7/ICH7R chip.
† 7.1 channels audio codec Realtek ALC880
- Compliant with Azalia 1.0 Spec.

BIOS
† The mainboard BIOS provides “Plug & Play” BIOS which detects the peripheral
devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
† The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) function which
records your mainboard specifications.

M ounting and Dimension

† Micro-ATX Form Factor: 24.4 cm (W ) x 24.4 cm (L)
† 8 mounting holes

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Mainboard Layout

DIMM 1

DIMM 2

DIMM 3

DIMM 4
Top : mouse
Bottom: keyboard

ATX1
Top : Parallel Port

Bottom:
COM 1
VGA Port

IDE 1
JPW1

FDD1
T: LAN jack
B: USB ports

T: 1394 port (optional) CPU_F2 Intel 945G

BIOS
B: USB ports

JPWR1
T: Line-I n
JCI1
M:Line-Ou t
B: Mic Wi nbon d
W836 27EHF
T: RS -Out
M:CS -Out
BIOS_WP
B: SP DI F Out
PCIE_X16

S YS _F1

LAN
PCIE_X4
Chi p BATT
+

Intel ICH7
PCI2 / ICH7R
SATA 4
VIA
VT6307
S ATA 2

ALC880 PCI1
SATA 3
J BAT1
J US B1
SATA 1
J US B2
J FP2 JFP 1
JAUD1 JCD1 COM2( optional) JW OL1 J 1394_ 1(optional)

945GM2 (MS-7210) Series v1.X Micro-ATX Mainboard

1-4
 Getting Started

DIMM 1

DIMM 3
Top : mouse
Bottom: keyboard

ATX1
Top : Parallel Port

Bottom:
COM 1

IDE 1
JPW1

FDD1
T: LAN jack
B: USB ports

T: 1394 port CPU_F2 Intel 945PL

BIOS
B: USB ports

JPWR1
T: Line-I n
JCI1
M:Line-Ou t
B: Mic Wi nbon d
W836 27EHF
T: RS -Out
M:CS -Out
BIOS_WP
B: SP DI F Out
PCIE_X16

S YS _F1

LAN
PCIE_X4
Chi p BATT
+

Intel ICH7/
PCI2 ICH7R
SATA 4
VIA
VT6307
S ATA 2

ALC880 PCI1
SATA 3
J BAT1
SATA 1
J US B1 J US B2
J FP2 JFP 1
JAUD1 JCD1 COM2( optional) JW OL1 J 1394_ 1(optional)

945PLM2 (MS-7210) Series v1.X Micro-ATX Mainboard

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Packing Contents

MSI motherboard MSI Driver/Utility CD SATA Cable

Standard Cable for Standard Cable for

Power Cable Floppy Disk IDE Devices

IEEE1394-Bracket
USB Bracket (Optional) Back IO Shield
(Optional)

* The pictures are for reference only and may vary

f rom the pac king c ontents of the product you
User’s Guide purchased.

1-6
 Hardware Setup

Chapter 2. Hardware Setup

Hardware Setup
This chapter tells you how to install the CPU, memory modules,
and expansion cards, as well as how to setup the jumpers on the
mainboard. Also, it provides the instructions on connecting the periph-
eral devices, such as the mouse, keyboard, etc.
W hile doing the installation, be careful in holding the compo-
nents and follow the installation procedures.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Quick Components Guide

JCI1, p2-20 CPU, p.2-3 DIMM1/2/3/4, p.2-7

JPWR1, p.2-9
JPW1, p.2-9 ATX1, p.2-9
CPU_F2, p2-14

Back Panel, p.
2-10
FDD 1,
p.2-14

Int el 945G
I DE 1 ,
p.2-15
BIOS_WP,
p.2-21

PCIE_X16, SYS_F1,
p.2-22 p.2-14

PCIE_X4,
p.2-22
SATA1~4,
PCI 1/2, p.2-16
p.2-23

JAUD1,
p.2-18 JFP1/JFP2,
p.2-17
JBAT1, p.2-3
JCD1, JWOL1,
p.2-17 p.2-20 JUSB1/2,
J1394, p.2-18
COM2,
p.2-19
p.2-20

2-2
 Hardware Setup

Central Processing Unit: CPU

The mainboard supports Intel® Pentium 4/ Pentium D/ Celeron D Prescott/

Smithfield (DualCore and CederMill up to 2.8G or higher CPU without HT technology)
processors. The mainboard uses a CPU socket called LGA775. W hen you are install-
ing the CPU, make sure to install the cooler to prevent overheating. If you do
not have the CPU cooler, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before
turning on the computer.
For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://www.msi.com.tw/pro-
gram/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_cpu_support.php.

MSI Reminds You...

Overheating
Overheating will seriously damage the CPU and system, always make
sure the cooling fan can work properly to protect the CPU from
overheating.
Replacing the CPU
While replacing the CPU, always turn off the ATX power supply or
unplug the power supply’s power cord from grounded outlet first to
ensure the safety of CPU.

Introduction to LGA 775 CPU

The pin-pad side of LGA 775 The surface of LGA 775 CPU.
CPU. Remember to apply some sili-
cone heat transfer compound on
it for better heat dispersion.

Alignment Key Alignment Key

Yellow triangle is the Pin 1 indicator

Yellow triangle is the Pin 1 indicator

2-3
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

CPU & Cooler Installation

W hen you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a cooler at-
tached on the top to prevent overheating. If you do not have the cooler, contact
your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer. Meanwhile,
do not forget to apply some silicon heat transfer compound on CPU before installing
the heat sink/cooler fan for better heat dispersion.
Follow the steps below to install the CPU & cooler correctly. W rong installation
will cause the damage of your CPU & mainboard.

1. The CPU has a land side cover on the 2. Take out the accompanying CPU Clip
bottom to protect the CPU contact from and rotate it for the same direction
damage. Rotate it to make the pin 1 as the CPU (Pin 1 indicator is in the
indicator (yellow triangle) in the right- left-bottom corner).
bottom corner.

land side cover

3. Use 2 hands to remove the land side 4. Align the two pin 1 indicators (the
cover (if any). Please note not to touch triangles on the CPU & the CPU Clip),
the pins. and use the CPU Clip to clip the CPU
up, pressing the clips on both sides
to the center, as the arrows shown.

MSI Reminds You...

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.

2-4
 Hardware Setup

5. The CPU has a plastic cap on it to 6. Remove the cap from lever hinge side
protect the contact from damage. (as the arrow shows). The pins of
Before you have installed the CPU, socket reveal.
always cover it to protect the socket
pin.

7. Lift the load lever up and open the 8. Correctly align the triangle of CPU Clip
load plate. with the CPU chamfer, and the square
on the CPU Clip to the hook of the
socket.

9. Use your thumb and the middle fin- 10. The CPU is installed well on the CPU
gers to push the clips to release the socket.
CPU, then press down the CPU with
your index finger to allow the whole
module to be installed onto the CPU
socket.

2-5
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

11. Visually inspect if the CPU is seated 12. Press down the load lever lightly
well into the socket, then remove the onto the load plate, and then secure
CPU Clip with 2 fingers. Then cover the lever with the hook under reten-
the load plate onto the package. tion tab.

13. Align the holes on the mainboard with 14. Press the four hooks down to fasten
the cooler. Push down the cooler until the cooler. Then rotate the locking
its four c lips get wedged into the switch (refer to the correct direction
holes of the mainboard. marked on it) to lock the hooks.

locking
switch

15. Turn over the mainboard to confirm Note: If you want to uninstall the CPU,
that th e c li p-en ds are c orrec tly align the 4 points (see Point 8 for
inserted. details) again and push the clip to
lift up the CPU.

MSI Reminds You...

1. Check the information in PC Health Status of H/W M onitor in BIOS
(Chapter 3) for the CPU temperature.
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. Please note that the mating/unmating durability of the CPU is 20 cycles.
Therefore we suggest you do not plug/unplug the CPU too often.

2-6
 Hardware Setup

Memory
The 945GM2 series provides 4 slots for 240-pin DDR2 DIMM, which supports
the memory size up to 4GB. And the 945PLM2 series provides 2 slots for 240-pin
DDR2 DIMM, which supports the memory size up to 2GB.
Since DDR2 modules are not interchangeable with DDR1 and the DDR2 stand-
ard is not backward compatible, you should always install DDR2 memory module in
the DDR2 slot. Otherwise, you are not able to boot up your system and your mainboard
might be damaged.
For the updated supporting memory modules, please visit http://www.msi.
com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_trp_list.php.

DIMM1~DIMM4
(from left (Orange) to right(Green))

Channel A (DIMM1 & DIMM2): Orange

Channel B (DIMM3 & DIMM4): Green

945GM2 provides 4 (DIMM1/2/3/4) slots

945PLM2 provides 2 (DIMM1/3) slots

Introduction to DDR2 SDRAM

DDR2 is a new technology of memory module, and its speed is the top limit of
current DDR1 technology. DDR2 uses a 1.8V supply for core and I/O voltage, com-
pared to 2.5V for DDR1, and requires 28% less power than DDR1 chips. DDR2 truly
is the future of memory, but will require some changes as the technology is not
backwardly compatible and only motherboards specifically designed for DDR2 memory
will be able to support these chips.
DDR2 incorporates new features at the chip level that give it better signal
integrity, thereby enabling higher clock speeds.
DDR2 modules have 240 pins, versus 184 pins on a DDR1 module, and the
length of DDR2 module is 5.25”. DDR2 modules have smaller and tighter spaced pins.
The height of DDR2 modules varies, but they will typically be less than 1.3” in height.

Memory Module Population Rules

Install at least one DIMM module on the slots. Each DIMM slot supports up to a
maximum size of 1GB. Users can install either single- or double-sided modules to
meet their own needs. Please note that each DIM M can work respectively for
single-channel DDR, while both channels (in different color) populated
with same amount of memory size will work as dual-channel DDR.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

ORANGE ORANGE GREEN GREEN

DIMM1 (Ch A) DIMM2 (Ch A) DIMM3 (Ch B) DIMM4 (Ch B) System Density
256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 512MB~2GB
256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 512MB~2GB
256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 512MB~2GB
256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 512MB~2GB
256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 256MB~1GB 1GB~4GB

MSI Reminds You...

- Dual-channel DDR2 works ONLY in the 5 combinations listed in
the table shown in the previous page.
- Please select the identical memory modules to install on the dual
channel, and DO NOT install three memory modules on three
DIMMs, or it may cause some failure.
- Always insert the memory modules into the ORANGE slots first,
and it is strongly recommended not to insert the memory modules
into the GREEN slots while the ORANGE slots are left empty.
- This mainboard DO NOT support the memory module installed
with more than 18 pieces of IC (integrated circuit).
- Due to the South Bridge resource deployment, the system density
will only be detected up to 3+GB (not full 4GB) when each DIMM is
installed with an 1GB memory module.

Installing DDR2 Modules

1. The DDR2 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. Then push it in
until the golden finger on the memory module is deeply inserted in the socket.
3. The plastic clip at each side of the DIMM slot will automatically close.

Volt Notch

MSI Reminds You...

You can barely see the golden finger if the module is properly in-
serted in the socket.

2-8
 Hardware Setup

Power Supply
The mainboard supports ATX power supply for the power system. Before
inserting the power supply connector, always make sure that all components are
installed properly to ensure that no damage will be caused.

ATX 24-Pin Power Connector: ATX1

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

Pin Definition
12 24
PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL
1 +3.3V 13 +3.3V
2 +3.3V 14 -12V
3 GND 15 GND
ATX1 4 +5V 16 PS-ON#
5 GND 17 GND
6 +5V 18 GND
7 GND 19 GND
8 PWR OK 20 Res
9 5VSB 21 +5V
10 +12V 22 +5V
1 13 11 +12V 23 +5V
12 +3.3V 24 GND

ATX 12V Power Connector: JPW1/ JPWR1

The JPW1 12V power connector is used to provide power to the CPU. And the
JPW R1 12V power connector is used to provide power to the PCIEX16 graphics
card.

4 8
JPW1 Pin Definition ATX2 Pin Definition
1
PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL 2 PIN SIGNAL
1 GND 5 +12V 3
1 5V
2 GND 6 +12V 4 2 GND
1 5 3 GND 7 +12V 3 GND
4 GND 8 +12V JPWR1 4 12V
JPW1

MSI Reminds You...

1. These three connectors connect to the ATX power supply and have to
work together to ensure stable operation of the mainboard.
2. Power supply of 400 watts (and above) is highly recommended for
system stability.
3. ATX 12V power connection should be greater than 18A.

2-9
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Back Panel
The back panel provides the following connectors:

L-In RS-Out
IEEE
Parallel
LAN 1394
M ou se
(optional)

Keyboard COM Port VGA Port USB Ports L-Out CS-Out

(for 945G only) Mic SPDIF
Out

Mouse/Keyboard Connector
The mainboard provides a standard PS/2® mouse/keyboard mini DIN connector
for attaching a PS/2® mouse/keyboard. You can plug a PS/2® mouse/keyboard directly
into this connector. The connector location and pin assignments are as follows:

Pin Definition
6 5 PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

4 3 1 Mouse/Keyboard Data Mouse/Keyboard data

2 NC No connection
3 GND Ground
2 1
4 VCC +5V
PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard 5 Mouse/KeyboardClock Mouse/Keyboard clock
(6-pin Female) 6 NC No connection

Serial Port Connector: COM Port

The mainboard offers one 9-pin male DIN connector COM Port. It’s a 16550A
high speed communication port that send/receive/ 16 bytes FIFOs. You can attach a
serial mouse or other serial device directly to it.
Pin Definition
PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION
1 2 3 4 5
1 DCD Data Carry Detect
2 SIN Serial In or Receive Data
3 SOUT Serial Out or Transmit Data
4 DTR Data Terminal Ready)
6 7 8 9 5 GND Ground
6 DSR Data Set Ready
9-Pin Male DIN Connector
7 RTS Request To Send
COM Port 8 CTS Clear To Send
9 RI Ring Indicate

2-10
 Hardware Setup

VGA Connector (for 945G only)

The mainboard provides a DB 15-pin female connector to connect a VGA
monitor.

5 1 Pin Signal Description Pin Signal Description

1 RED 2 GREEN
3 BLUE 4 N/C
5 GND 6 GND
7 GND 8 GND
15 11 9 +5V 10 GND
11 N/C 12 SDA
VGA Connector 13 Horizontal Sync 14 Vertical Sync
(DB 15-pin) 15 SCL

USB Connectors
The mainboard provides an OHCI (Open Host Controller Interface) Universal
Serial Bus root for attaching USB devices such as keyboard, mouse or other USB-
compatible devices. You can plug the USB device directly into the connector.

USB Port Description

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION
1 VCC +5V
2 -Data 0 Negative Data Channel 0
1 2 3 4
3 +Data0 Positive Data Channel 0
4 GND Ground
5 VCC +5V
6 -Data 1 Negative Data Channel 1
5 6 7 8
7 +Data 1 Positive Data Channel 1
USB Ports 8 GND Ground

IEEE 1394 Port (optional)

There is one 1394 port on the back panel providing the connection for 1394
devices.

1394 port

2-11
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

LAN (RJ-45) Jack

The mainboard provides 1 standard RJ-45 jack for connection to single Local
Area Network (LAN). This LAN enables data to be transferred at 1000Mbps (for
8110S only), 100Mbps or 10Mbps. You can connect a network cable to it.
Giga-bit LAN Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 D0P Differential Pair 0+

2 D0N Differential Pair 0-

3 D1P Differential Pair 1+
4 D2P Differential Pair 2+
RJ-45 LAN Jack
5 D2N Differential Pair 2-
6 D1N Differential Pair 1-

7 D3P Differential Pair 3+

8 D3N Differential Pair 3-

Audio Port Connectors

The left 3 audio jacks are for 2-channel mode for stereo speaker output: Line
Out is a connector for Speakers or Headphones. Line In is used for external CD
player, Tape player, or other audio devices. Mic is a connector for microphones.
However, there is an advanced audio application provided by Realtek ALC880
to offer support for 7.1-channel audio operation and can turn rear audio connectors
from 2-channel to 4-/5.1-/7.1- channel audio.

Line In / Line Out Rear Speaker Out

(Surround R/L) (in 7.1CH / 5.1CH)
(in 7.1 CH)
Center/Subwoofer
Line Out Speaker Out
(Front R/L) ( in 7.1CH / 5.1CH)

M IC SPDIF-Out

MSI Reminds You...

For the advanced functions of the audio codec, please refer to Chapter
6: Introduction to Realtek ALC880 Audio Codec for details.

2-12
 Hardware Setup

Parallel Port Connector: LPT1

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 Ex-
tended Capabilities Parallel Port (ECP) mode.

13 1

25 14

Pin Definition
PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION
1 STROBE Strobe
2 DATA0 Data0
3 DATA1 Data1
4 DATA2 Data2
5 DATA3 Data3
6 DATA4 Data4
7 DATA5 Data5
8 DATA6 Data6
9 DATA7 Data7
10 ACK# Acknowledge
11 BUSY Busy
12 PE PaperEnd
13 SELECT Select
14 AUTO FEED# AutomaticFeed
15 ERR# Error
16 INIT# Initialize Printer
17 SLIN# Select In
18 GND Ground
19 GND Ground
20 GND Ground
21 GND Ground
22 GND Ground
23 GND Ground
24 GND Ground
25 GND Ground

2-13
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Connectors
The mainboard provides connectors to connect to FDD, IDE HDD, case, LAN,
and USB Ports.

Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1

The mainboard provides a standard floppy disk drive connector that supports
360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88M floppy disk types.

FD D 1
(black)

Fan Power Connectors: CPU_F2/ SYS_F1

The CPU_F2 (processor fan) and SYS_F1 support system cooling fan with
+12V. It supports four/three-pin head connector. W hen connecting the wire to the
connectors, always take note that the red wire is the positive and should be con-
nected to the +12V, the black wire is Ground and should be connected to GND. If the
mainboard has a System Hardware Monitor chipset on-board, you must use a spe-
cially designed fan with speed sensor to take advantage of the CPU fan control.

GND
+12V GND
SENSOR +12V
Control Sens or

CPU_F2 SYS_F1

MSI Reminds You...

1. Always consult the vendors for proper CPU cooling fan.
2. Please refer to the recommended CPU fans at Intel® official
website.

2-14
 Hardware Setup

Hard Disk Connector: IDE1

The mainboard has 32-bit Ultra DMA 66/100 IDE controllers integrated in the
chips Intel ICH7/ ICH7R, which supports PIO & Bus Master operation modes and it can
connect two Ultra ATA drives.

IDE1 (blue)

IDE1
The IDE1 can connect a Master and a Slave drive. You must configure second hard
drive to Slave mode by setting the jumper accordingly.

MSI Reminds You...

If you install two hard disks on cable, you must configure the second
drive to Slave mode by setting its jumper. Refer to the hard disk
documentation supplied by hard disk vendors for jumper setting
instructions.

2-15
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Serial ATA Connectors controlled by Intel ICH7/ ICH7R:

SATA1~SATA4
The SouthBridge of this mainboard is Intel ICH7/ ICH7R which supports four
serial ATA connectors SATA1~SATA4.
SATA1~SATA4 are dual high-speed Serial ATA interface ports. Each supports
2nd generation serial ATA data tranfer rates of 3 Gb/s. They are fully compliant with
Serial ATA 1.0 specifications. Each Serial ATA connector can connect to 1 hard disk
device.

1 7
SATA1~ SATA4 Pin Definition
SATA4
PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

SATA2 1 GND 2 TXP

3 TXN 4 GND
5 RXN 6 RXP
SATA3
7 GND

SATA1

Serial ATA cable

Take out the dust cover and

connect to the hard disk
devices

Connect to serial ATA ports

MSI Reminds You...

Please do not fold the serial ATA cable in a 90-degree angle, since
this might cause the loss of data during the transmission.

2-16
 Hardware Setup

CD-In Connector: JCD1

The connector is for CD-ROM audio connector.

L GND R

JCD1

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.

JFP1 Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

Power Power
LED Switch 1 HD_LED_P Hard disk LED pull-up
2 FP PWR/SLP MSG LED pull-up
2 10 3 HD_LED_N Hard disk active LED
JFP1 1 9 4 FP PWR/SLP MSG LED pull-up
5 RST_SW_N Reset Switch low reference pull-down to GND
HDD Reset 6 PWR_SW_P Power Switch high reference pull-up
LED Switch
7 RST_SW_P Reset Switch high reference pull-up
8 PWR_SW_N Power Switch low reference pull-down to GND
9 RSVD_DNU Reserved. Do not use.

Speaker
JFP2 Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

JFP2 2 8 1 GND 2 SPK-
1 7
3 SLED 4 BUZ+
Power 5 PLED 6 BUZ-
LED 7 NC 8 SPK+

2-17
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Front USB Connectors: JUSB1 / JUSB2

The mainboard provides two standard USB 2.0 pin headers JUSB1/ JUSB2.
USB 2.0 technology increases data transfer rate up to a maximum throughput of
480Mbps, which is 40 times faster than USB 1.1, and is ideal for connecting high-
speed USB interface peripherals such as USB HDD, digital cameras, MP3 players,
printers, modems and the like.
Pin Definition
PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL
2 10
1 9 1 VCC 2 VCC

3 USB0- 4 USB1-
JUSB1 / JUSB2
(USB 2.0/standard spec) 5 USB0+ 6 USB1+

7 GND 8 GND

9 Key 10 USBOC

MSI Reminds You...

Note that the pins of VCC and GND must be connected correctly, or it
may cause some damage.

Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1

The JAUD1 front panel audio connector allows you to connect to the front
panel audio and is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

2 10 JAUD1
1 9

Pin Definition
PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION

1 PORT 1L Analog Port 1 - Left channel

2 GND Ground
3 PORT 1R Analog Port 1 - Right channel
4 PRESENCE# Active low signal - signals BIOS that a High Definition Audio
dongle is connected to the analog header. PRESENCE# = 0
when a High Definition Audio dongle is connected.
5 PORT 2R Analog Port 2 - Right channel
6 SENSE1_RETIRN Jack detection return from front panel JACK1
7 SENSE_SEND Jack detection sense line from the High Definition Audio CODEC
jack detection resistor network
8 KEY ConnectorKey
9 PORT 2L Analog Port 2 - Left channel
10 SENSE2_RETIRN Jack detection return from front panel JACK2

2-18
 Hardware Setup

IEEE 1394 Connector: J1394_1 (Optional)

The mainboard provides one 1394 pin header that allow you to connect
optional IEEE 1394 port.

Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL PIN SIGNAL

1 1 TPA+ 2 TPA-
10 2 3 Ground 4 Ground
5 TPB+ 6 TPB-
J1394_1 7 Cable power 8 Cable power
9 Key (no pin) 10 Ground

How to attach the IEEE 1394 Port:

Connected to J1394_1 (Green connector)

IEEE1394 Bracket (Optional)

Foolproof
design

2-19
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Serial Port Header: COM2 (Optional)

The mainboard offers one 9-pin header as serial port. The port is a 16550A high
speed communication port that sends/receives 16 bytes FIFOs. You can attach a
serial mouse or other serial device directly to it.

Pin Definition
PIN SIGNAL DESCRIPTION
5 1 1 DCD Data Carry Detect
2 SIN Serial In or Receive Data
3 SOUT Serial Out or Transmit Data
4 DTR Data Terminal Ready)
9 6 5 GND Ground
6 DSR Data Set Ready
7 RTS Request To Send
COM2 8 CTS Clear To Send
9 RI Ring Indicate

Chassis Intrusion Switch Connector: JCI1

This connector is connected to a 2-pin chassis switch. If the chassis is opened,
the switch will be short. The system will record this status and show a warning
message on the screen. To clear the warning, you must enter the BIOS utility and
clear the record.

GND 2
CINTRU 1

JCI1

Wake On LAN Connector: JWOL1

This connector allows you to connect to a LAN card with W ake On LAN
function. You can wake up the computer via remote control through a local area
network.

GND
5VSB MP_WAKEUP

JWOL1

2-20
 Hardware Setup

Jumpers
The motherboard provides the following jumper for you to set the computer’s
function. This section will explain how to change your motherboard’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 system configuration data. With the CMOS RAM, the system can automati-
cally boot OS every time it is turned on. If you want to clear the system configuration,
use the JBAT1 (Clear CMOS) Jumper to clear data. Follow the instructions below to
clear the data:

JBAT1

3 1 3 1

Keep Data Clear Data

MSI Reminds You...

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

BIOS Write Protect Jumper: BIOS_WP (Optional)

This jumper is used to lock or unlock the boot block area on BIOS. W hen
unlocked, the BIOS boot block area can be updated. W hen locked, the BIOS boot
block area cannot be updated.

1 1 1

BIOS_WP
Unlocked Locked
(Enable BIOS Flash) (Disable BIOS Flash)

2-21
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Slots

The mainboard provides a PCI Express x16 slot, a PCI Express x4 slot and
three 32-bit PCI bus slots.

PCI Express Slots (optional)

The PCI Express slots, as a high-bandwidth, low pin count, serial, intercon-
nect technology, support Intel highest performance desktop platforms utilizing the
Intel Pentium 4 processor with HT Technology.
PCI Express architecture provides a high performance I/O infrastructure for
Desktop Platforms with transfer rates starting at 2.5 Giga transfers per second over
a PCI Express x1 lane for Gigabit Ethernet, TV Tuners, 1394 controllers, and general
purpose I/O. Also, desktop platforms with PCI Express Architecture will be designed
to deliver highest performance in video, graphics, multimedia and other sophisticated
applications. Moreover, PCI Express architecture provides a high performance graphics
infrastructure for Desktop Platforms doubling the capability of existing AGP 8x de-
signs with transfer rates of 4.0 GB/s over a PCI Express x16 lane for graphics
controllers.
You can insert the expansion cards to meet your needs. W hen adding or
removing expansion cards, make sure that you unplug the power supply first.

PCI Express x16 slot

PCI Express x4 slot

2-22
 Hardware Setup

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots

The PCI slots allow you to insert the expansion cards to meet your needs.
W hen adding or removing expansion cards, make sure that you unplug the power
supply first. Meanwhile, read the documentation for the expansion card to make any
necessary hardware or software settings for the expansion card, such as jumpers,
switches or BIOS configuration.

PCI Slots

PCI Interrupt Request Routing

The IRQ, acronym of interrupt request line and pronounced I-R-Q, are hard-
ware lines over which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor. The
PCI IRQ pins are typically connected to the PCI bus INT A# ~ INT D# 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#

2-23
 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:
² An error message appears on the screen during the system boot-
ing up, and requests you to run SETUP.
² You want to change the default settings for customized features.

MSI Reminds You...

1. The items under each BIOS category described in this chapter are
under continuous update for better system performance. Therefore,
the description may be slightly different from the latest BIOS and
should be held for reference only.
2. Upon boot-up, the 1st line appearing after the memory count is the
BIOS version. It is usually in the format:

A7210IMS V1.0 100805 where:

1st digit refers to BIOS maker as A = AMI, W= AWARD.

2nd - 5th digit refers to the model number.
6th refers to the Intel Chipset
7th - 8th digit refers to the customer as MS = all standard customers.
V1.0 refers to the BIOS version.
100805 refers to the date this BIOS was released.

3-1
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Entering Setup

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

Press DEL to enter SET UP

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

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> Jum ps to the Exit m enu or returns to the m ain
m enu from a subm enu
<+/PU > Increase the num eric value or m ake changes
<-/PD> Decrease the num eric value or m ake changes
<F1> General help, only for Status Page Setup Menu
and O ption Page Setup M enu
<F6> Load Optim ized defaults
<F10> Save all the CMO S changes and exit

3-2
 BIOS Setup

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

M ain M enu
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.

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

General Help <F1>

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

3-3
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

The Main Menu

Once you enter AMI® BIOS CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu will appear on the
screen. The Main Menu allows you to select from several setup functions and two
exit choices. Use arrow keys to select among the items and press <Enter> 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.

Advanced Chipset Features

Use this menu to change the values in the chipset registers and optimize your system’s
performance.

Integrated Peripherals
Use this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.

Power M anagement Features

Use this menu to specify your settings for power management.

PNP/PCI Configurations
This entry appears if your system supports PnP/PCI.

H/W Monitor
This entry shows your PC health status.

3-4
 BIOS Setup

Load Optimized Defaults

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

BIOS Setting Password

Use this menu to set the Password.

Save & Exit Setup

Save changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without Saving

Abandon all changes and exit setup.

3-5
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Standard CMOS Features

The items in Standard CMOS Features Menu are divided into several categories.
Each category includes no, one or more than one setup items. Use the arrow keys to
highlight the item and then use the <PgUp> or <PgDn> keys to select the value you
want in each item.

Date (MM:DD:YY)
This allows you to set the system to the date that you want (usually the current date).
The format is <day><month> <date> <year>.
day Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined by
BIOS. Read-only.
mon th 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). The
time format is <hour> <minute> <second>.

IDE Primary/Secondary M aster/ Slave

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

3-6
 BIOS Setup

Device/ Vender/ Size

It will showing the device information that you connected to the IDE/SATA con-
nector .
LBA/Large M ode
This allows you to enable or disable the LBA Mode. Setting to Auto enables LBA
mode if the device supports it and the devices is not already formatted with LBA
mode disabled. Setting options: [Auto], [Disabled].
DM A M ode
Select DMA Mode.
Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T.
This allows you to activate the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis & Reporting
Technology) capability for the hard disks. S.M.A.R.T is a utility that monitors your
disk status to predict hard disk failure. This gives you an opportunity to move
data from a hard disk that is going to fail to a safe place before the hard disk
becomes offline. Setting options: [Auto], [Enabled], [Disabled].

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

Halt On
The setting determines whether the system will stop if an error is detected at boot.
Available options are:

[No Errors] The system doesn’t stop for any detected error.
[All, But Keyboard] The system doesn’t stop for a keyboard error.

3-7
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

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

Total System M emory/ BIOS Version/ CPU Information

The items show the CPU information, BIOS version and memory status of your
system (read only).

3-8
 BIOS Setup

Advanced BIOS Features

Quick Boot
Select Enabled to reduce the amount of time required to run the power-on self-test
(POST). A quick POST skips certain steps. We recommend that you normally disable
quick POST. It is better to find a problem during POST than lose data during your work.
Setting options: [Enabled], [Disabled].

Boot Up Num-Lock LED

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

Boot to OS/2
This allows you to run the OS/2® operating system with DRAM larger than 64MB.
W hen you choose [No], you cannot run the OS/2® operating system with DRAM larger
than 64MB. But it is possible if you choose [Yes].

Hyper-Threading Technology
The processor uses Hyper-Threading technology to increase transaction rates and
reduces end-user response times. The technology treats the two cores inside the
processor as two logical processors that can execute instructions simultaneously.
In this way, the system performance is highly improved. If you disable the function,
the processor will use only one core to execute the instructions. Please disable
this item if your operati ng system doesn’ t support HT Fun ction, or
unreliability and instability may occur. Setting options: [Enabled], [Disabled].

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is designed for memory buffer overflow protection, it can prevent
viruses from proliferating. Setting options: [Enabled], [Disabled].

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

M PS Table Version
This field allows you to select which MPS (Multi-Processor Specification) version to
be used for the operating system. You need to select the MPS version supported by
your operating system. To find out which version to use, consult the vendor of your
operating system. Setting options: [1.4], [1.1].

Full Screen LOGO Show

This item enables you to show the company logo on the bootup screen. Settings are:
[Enabled] Shows a still image (logo) on the full screen at boot.
[Disabled] Shows the POST messages at boot.

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

1st/2nd/3rd Boot Device

The items allow you to set the sequence of boot devices where BIOS attempts
to load the disk operating system.

3-10
 BIOS Setup

Advanced Chipset Features

MSI Reminds You...

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

Configure DRAM Timing by SPD

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

DRAM CAS# Latency

The field controls the CAS latency, which determines the timing delay before SDRAM
starts a read command after receiving it. Setting options: [By SPD], [2.5T], [2T]. [2T]
increases system performance while 2.5T provides more stable system performance.
Setting to By SPD enables DRAM CAS# Latency automatically to be determined by
BIOS based on the configurations on the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) EEPROM on
the DRAM module.

DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay

This field allows you to set the number of cycles for a timing delay between the CAS
and RAS strobe signals, used when DRAM is written to, read from or refreshed.
Fas t s peed of fers f aster perf ormanc e while s low s peed of f ers more stable
performance. Setting options: [6 DRAM Clocks], [5 DRAM Clocks], [4 DRAM Clocks].

3-11
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

DRAM RAS# Precharge

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 to accumulate its charge
before DRAM refresh, refresh may be incomplete and DRAM may fail to retain data.
This item applies only when synchronous DRAM is installed in the system. Setting
options: [6 DRAM Clocks], [5 DRAM Clocks], [4 DRAM Clocks].

DRAM RAS Activate to Prec

This setting determines the time RAS takes to read from and write to a memory cell.
Setting options: [8~15 DRAM Clocks].

M emory Hole
In order to improve performance, certain space in memory can be reserved for ISA
peripherals. This memory must be mapped into the memory space below 16MB. W hen
this area is reserved, it cannot be cached. Setting options: [Disabled], [15MB-16MB].

Int. Gfx Memory Size Select

The field specifies the size of system memory allocated for video memory. Setting
options: [Enabled, 1MB], [Enabled, 8MB], [Disabled].

3-12
 BIOS Setup

Integrated Peripherals

USB Controller
This setting disables/enables theUSB controller. Setting options: [Enabled], [Disabled].

USB Device Legacy Support

Set to Enabled if your need to use any USB 1.1/2.0 device in the operating system
that does not support or have any USB 1.1/2.0 driver installed, such as DOS and SCO
Unix. Set to Disabled only if you want to use any USB device other than the USB
mouse. Setting options: [Disabled], [Enabled].

Onboard LAN Controller

This setting allows you to enable/disable the onboard LAN controller. Setting options:
[Enabled], [Disabled].

Onboard Lan Option ROM

This item is used to decide whether to invoke the Boot ROM of the Onboard LAN Chip.
Setting options: [Enabled], [Disabled].

Onboard IEEE1394 Controller

This setting allows you to enable/disable the onboard IEEE 1394 controller. Setting
options: [Enabled], [Disabled].

Onboard Audio Controller

This item allows you to enable/ disable the audio controller. Disable the function if you
want to use other controller cards to connect an audio device. Setting options:
[Enabled], [Disabled].

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

On-Chip ATA Device

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

PCI IDE BusM aster

This item allows you to enable/ disable the PCI IDE busmaster. Setting options:
[Disabled], [Enabled].
ATA/IDE Configuration
This item is used to specify the SATA & IDE devices. The setting options are:
Compatible You can use the IDE channels with the SATA devices and
IDE devices.
Enhanced You can use two IDE devices and all of four SATA devices.
Disabled Disable all IDE and SATA devices.
Legacy IDE Channels
The item will appear when you select “Compatible” mode in the ATA/IDE
Configuration item. You can use the two IDE channels with SATA devices and
IDE devices by your desire. And each channel supports up to 2 devices. Please
refer the table below for detail setting:

Setting options Available devices

SATA Only SATA1/2/3/4 devices only
PATA Pri, SATA Sec IDE1/2 by IDE channel 1 & SATA1/2 by IDE
channel 2
SATA Pri, PATA Sec SATA1/2 by IDE channel1 & IDE1/2 by IDE
channel 2
PATA Only IDE devices only

Configure SATA as
The item will appear when you select Enhanced mode in the “ATA/IDE Configu-
ration” item. You can set the SATA mode in this item. Setting options are:
RAID configure the SATA devices as RAID mode
AHCI IDE configure the SATA devices as AHCI IDE mode

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 BIOS Setup

I/O Devices Configuration

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

OnBoard Floppy Controller

This item allows you to enable/ disable the floppy controller. Setting options:
[Disabled], [Enabled].
COM Port 1/ 2
Select an address and corresponding interrupt for Serial Port 1/ 2. Setting options:
[3F8/IRQ4], [2E8/IRQ3], [3E8/IRQ4], [2F8/IRQ3], [Disabled].
Parallel Port
This specifies the I/O port address and IRQ of the onboard parallel port. Setting
options: [378/IRQ7], [278/IRQ5], [3BC/IRQ7], [Disabled].
Parallel Port M ode
[EPP] Enhanced Parallel Port
[ECP] Extended Capability Port
[ECP + EPP] Extended Capability Port + Enhanced Parallel Port
[Normal]
[Bi-Directional]
To operate the onboard parallel port as Standard Parallel Port only, choose [SPP].
To operate the onboard parallel port in the EPP mode simultaneously, choose
[EPP]. By choosing [ECP], the onboard parallel port will operate in ECP mode only.
Choosing [ECP + EPP] will allow the onboard parallel port to support both the ECP
and EPP modes simultaneously.
Parallel Port IRQ
This item allows you to set parallel port IRQ. Setting options: [IRQ5], [IRQ7].

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Power Management Setup

MSI Reminds You...

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

ACPI Function
This item is to activate the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Management
Interface) Function. If your operating system is ACPI-aware, such as Windows 98SE/
2000/ME, select [Enabled]. Setting options: [Yes] and [No].

ACPI Standby State

This item specifies the power saving modes for ACPI function. If your operating
system supports ACPI, such as W indows 98SE, W indows ME and W indows 2000,
you can choose to enter the Standby mode in S1(POS) or S3(STR) fashion through
the setting of this field. Options are:
S1(POS) The S1 sleep mode is a low power state. In this state, no
system context is lost (CPU or chipset) and hardware
maintains all system context.
S3(STR) The S3 sleep mode is a lower power state where the in
formation of system configuration and open applications/
files is saved to main memory that remains powered
while most other hardware components turn off to save
energy. The information stored in memory will be used
to restore the system when a “ wake up “ event occurs.
Auto The system will auto detect the state.

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 BIOS Setup

Re-Call VGA BIOS from S3

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

Suspend Time Out (M inute)

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], [2], [4], [8], [10], [20],
[30], [40], [50], [60].

Power Button Function

This feature allows users to configure the Power Button function. Settings are:
[On/ Off] The power button functions as a normal power-on/-off
button.
[Suspend] W hen you press the power button, the computer enters
the suspend/sleep mode, but if the button is pressed for
more than four seconds, the computer is turned off.

Restore on AC Power Loss

This setting specifies whether your system will reboot after a power failure or
interrupt occurs. Available settings are:
[Power Off] Leaves the computer in the power off state.
[Power On] Leaves the computer in the power on state.
[Last State] Restores the system to the previous status before power
failure or interrupt occurred.

Wakeup Event Setup

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

Resume By PS/2 Keyboard

The item specifies how the system will be awakened from power saving mode
when input signal of the PS2 keyboard is detected. Use the <PageUp> &
<PageDown> keys to select the options. W hen selecting [Password], enter the
desired password. Setting options: [Disabled], [Password], [Hot Key].

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Resume By PS/2 M ouse

This setting only works Resume By PS/2 KB is set to [Hot Key]. This setting
determines whether the system will be awakened from what power saving
modes when input signal of the PS/2 mouse is detected. Setting options: [Disabled],
[Enabled].
Resume By LAN
This setting determines whether the system will be awakened from what power
saving modes when input signal of the LAN device is detected. Setting options:
[Disabled], [Enabled].
Resume by PCI Device (PME#)
W hen setting to [Enabled], this setting allows your system to be awakened from
the power saving modes through any event on PME (Power Management Event).
Setting options: [Disabled], [Enabled].
Resume by RTC Alarm
This is used to enable or disable the feature of booting up the system on a
scheduled time/date from the S3, S4, and S5 state. Setting options: [Disabled],
[Enabled].

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 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 communi-
cating 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.

Primary Graphics Adapter

This setting specifies which VGA card is your primary graphics adapter. Setting
options:
[PEG/PCI] The system initializes the installed PCI Express graphics card first. If
an PCI Express graphics card is not available, it will initialize the PCI
VGA card.
[PEG/IGD] The system initializes the installed PCI Express graphics card first. If
an PCI Express graphics card is not available, it will initialize the
onboard VGA port.
[PCI/PEG] The system initializes the installed PCI VGA card first. If a PCI VGA
card is not available, it will initialize the PCI Express graphics card.
[PCI/IGD] The system initializes the installed PCI VGA card first. If a PCI VGA
card is not available, it will initialize the onboard VGA port.
[IGD] Only onboard VGA port availabled.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

PCI Latency Timer

This item controls how long each PCI device can hold the bus before another takes
over. W hen set to higher values, every PCI device can conduct transactions for a
longer time and thus improve the effective PCI bandwidth. For better PCI performance,
you should set the item to higher values. Setting options: [32], [64], [96], [128], [160],
[192], [224], [248].

PCI slot 1/2 IRQ

This item specifies the IRQ line for each PCI slot.

IRQ Resource Setup

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

IRQ 3/4/5/7/9/10/11/14/15
These 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. The
available IRQ pool is determined by reading the ESCD NVRAM. If more IRQs must
be removed from the IRQ pool, the end user can use these settings to reserve
the IRQ by assigning an [Reserved] setting to it. Onboard I/O is configured by
AMIBIOS. All IRQs used by onboard I/O are configured as [Available]. If all IRQs
are set to [Reserved], and IRQ 14/15 are allocated to the onboard PCI IDE, IRQ 9
will still be available for PCI and PnP devices. Available settings: [Reserved] and
[Available].

MSI Reminds You...

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 signals this by causing an IRQ to occur. After receiving the
signal, when the operating system is ready, the system will interrupt
itself and perform the service required by the I/O device.

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 BIOS Setup

DM A Resource Setup
Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears.

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

These items specify the bus that the system DMA (Direct Memory Access)
channel is using.
The settings determine if AMIBIOS should remove a DMA from the available
DMAs passed to devices that are configurable by the system BIOS. The avail-
able DMA pool is determined by reading the ESCD NVRAM. If more DMAs must be
removed from the pool, the end user can reserve the DMA.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

H/W Monitor
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.

Spread Spectrum
W hen the motherboard’s clock generator pulses, the extreme values (spikes) of the
pulses creates EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). The Spread Spectrum function
reduces the EMI generated by modulating the pulses so that the spikes of the pulses
are reduced to flatter curves.

MSI Reminds You...

1. If you do not have any EMI problem, leave the setting at [Disabled] for
optimal system stability and performance. But if you are plagued by
EMI, select the value of Spread Spectrum for EMI reduction.
2. The greater the Spread Spectrum value is, the greater the EMI is
reduced, and the system will become less stable. For the most suit-
able Spread Spectrum value, please consult your local EMI regulation.
3. Remember to disable Spread Spectrum if you are overclocking be-
cause even a slight jitter can introduce a temporary boost in clock
speed which may just cause your overclocked processor to lock up.

Smart Fan Target

The mainboard provides the Smart Fan system which can control the fan speed
automatically depending on the current temperature to keep it with in a specific range.

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 BIOS Setup

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

CPU/System Temperature, CPU FAN Speed, Vcore, +3.3 V, +5.0 V, +12.0V

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

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Load Optimized Defaults

The option on the main menu allow users to restore all of the BIOS settings to
the default Optimized values. The Optimized Defaults are the default values set by the
mainboard manufacturer specifically for optimal performance of the mainboard.

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

Pressing [Y] loads the default factory settings for optimal system performance.

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 BIOS Setup

BIOS Setting Password

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

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

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 Introduction to DigiCell

Chapter 4. Introduction to DigiCell

Introduction to DigiCell
DigiCell, the most useful and powerful utility that MSI has spent much
research and efforts to develop, helps users to monitor and configure all the
integrated peripherals of the system, such as audio program, power
management, MP3 files management and communication / 802.11g W LAN
settings. Moreover, with this unique utility, you will be able to activate the
MSI well-known features, Live Update and V-Center, which makes it easier
to update the BIOS/drivers online, and to monitor the system hardware sta-
tus (CPU/Fan temperature and speed).

Once you have your DigiCell installed (locate the setup source file in
the setup CD accompanying with your mainboard, path: Utility --> MSI Util-
ity --> MSI DigiCell), it will have an icon in the system tray, a short cut
icon on the desktop, and a short cut path in your “Start-up” menu. You may
double-click on each icon to enable DigiCell.

short-cut icon in the system tray

short-cut path in the start-up menu

(path: Start-->Programs-->MSI-->DigiCell)

4-1
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Main
Before using this utility, it is required to have all the integrated peripherals/cards (LAN
card, W ireless LAN card, MegaStick... etc.) and all the necessary drivers (onboard
LAN driver, audio driver, V-Center, Live Update... etc.) installed correctly.
The icon representing each item will be lit up if it is inserted/installed correctly and
properly. Otherwise, the icon will remain gray and user is not able to view the
functionality/connection of that item.

Introduction:
Click on each icon appearing above to enter the sub-menu to make further configuration.

M SI
Click on this button to link to MSI website:
http://www.msi.com.tw.

Quick Guide
Click on this button and the quick guide of DigiCell will be displayed for you
to review.

H/W Diagnostic
In this sub-menu, it provides the information of each DigiCell button for you to
check if the representing peripherals/cards/drivers are correctly installed.

Comm.
In this sub-menu, you can see the configuration details for communication
products, including the status, strength, speed and channel of the connec-
tion of the Ethernet LAN & W ireless LAN.

Software Access Point

In this sub-menu, you can change your connection mode to different ones,
and configure the advanced settings for each mode, such as the authentica-
tion encryption... etc.

4-2
 Introduction to DigiCell

Live Update
You can take advantage of Live Update to detect and update BIOS and
drivers online.

V-Center
You can take advantage of V-Center to monitor the health status of your
system.

M EGA STICK
If you have your MEGA STICK connected to your system, this icon will be lit
up. Click this blue icon to turn DigiCell into a MP3 player, and then you can load
media files from your MEGA STICK or the system, and edit the preferred
playlist.

Audio Speaker Setting

In this sub-menu, you can configure and test the multi-channel audio function,
speakers, sound effect and environment.

Power on Agent
In this sub-menu, you can configure date, time and auto-executed programs
of the power-on, power-off and restarting features.

MSI Reminds You...

Click on back button in every sub-menu and it will bring you back to the
main menu.

4-3
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

H/W Diagnostic

In the H/W Diagnostic sub-menu, you can see the information, status and note of
each DigiCell. You may double check the connection and installation of the item
marked as gray.

You may also click on the Mail to MSI button to send your questions or suggestions
to MSI’s technical support staff.

4-4
 Introduction to DigiCell

Communication

In the Communication sub-menu, you can see the status of all the LAN / W LAN /
Bluetooth on the screen if the hardware is installed. The first icon indicates the
onboard LAN on your system, the second icon indicates the wireless LAN status,
and the third one is the information about the bluetooth on your system. Click on each
item for details.

This icon indicates the information and connection status of onboard LAN,
which is read-only.

The second icon indicates the wireless connection. You may click this icon
to configure the advanced settings in the WLAN Card Mode dialogue box
(see the image on p.4-8). Please note that it is only available when the
Software Access Point is set to WLAN Card Mode.

The third icon indicates the connection using bluetooth devices. If your
system is connected to the bluetooth device, the icon will light up.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Software Access Point

In the Software Access Point sub-menu, you can see the communication status on
your system and choose the desired software access point mode by clicking on the
desired icon, in which the default settings are configured for your usage. The default
software access point mode is set to WLAN Card M ode. For more advanced
security settings and channels switching, click on “Setting” button to enter its sub-
menu.

Terminology
Here are the introduction of W LAN / AP communication terminology.
WEP Key
In the wireless network environment, the administrator can set up password
(Network Key) to protect the network from being attacked or unauthorized
access. W hen building the network, you can set up 4 sets of W EP keys,
which can be 5 characters (10 hex-adecimal digital) or 13 characters (26
hex-adecimal digital) and specify one of them to use.
Ad-hoc M ode
An Ad-hoc network is a local area network or other small network, especially
one with wireless or temporary plug-in connections, in which some of the
network devices are part of the network only for the duration of a communi-
cations session. Users in the network can share files, print to a shared
printer, and access the Internet with a shared modem. In this kind of network,
new devices can be quickly added; however, users can only communicate
with other wireless LAN computers that are in this wireless LAN workgroup,
and are within range.
Infrastructure M ode
The difference between Infrastructure network and Ad-hoc network is that
the former one includes an Access Point. In an Infrastructure network, the
Access Point can manage the bandwidth to maximize bandwidth utilization.
Additionally, the Access Point enables users on a wireless LAN to access an
existing wired network, allowing wireless users to take advantage of the
wired networks resources, such as Internet, email, file transfer, and printer
sharing. The scale and range of the Infrastructure networking are larger and
wider than that of the Ad-hoc networking.

4-6
 Introduction to DigiCell

Access Point Mode

Click on “Setting” button of the Access Point Mode and the following screen will
display.

IP Sharing
Click on this icon to enable/disable the IP sharing. The default of this setting is disabled.

Disabled. Enabled.

Enabling/disabling IP sharing depends on the different situation. For example:

1. If your family and you are getting on Internet at home with multi computers, and
your ISP only provides one IP for you, you may need to enable IP Sharing
function in order to use this one IP to get on Internet with multi computers
simultaneously.
2. If you are getting on Internet in office, usually the LAN card will automatically get
the IP this computer uses. In this case you don’t have to enable this function.
SSID
Means Service Set Identifier, a unique name shared among all points in a wireless
network. It must be identical for all points in the network. Then the card will be able
to connect to an access point with the same SSID.
Channel
Specifies the operating radio frequency channel in Infrastructure mode, which
should be set to an available one (ex: with less traffic to ensure the stable and better
connection).
Associated Client List
This option is to display information of stations that are currently associated to your
wireless gateway.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Association Control
This option allows you to control which PC can connect to the wireless LAN. If you
enable this feature, only PCs with MAC address located in Association Control List
can connect to the wireless LAN.
M AC Address
MAC stands for Media Access Control. A MAC address is the hardware address of
a device connected to a network.
Security
This option allows you to enable/disable the authentication function.
Authentication
Open: Communicates the key across the network.
Shared: Devices must have identical W EP settings to communicate.

WLAN Card Mode

Click on “Setting” button of the WLAN Card Mode for the WEP status of your APs.
If the AP you are selecting (the highlighted one) is not encrypted (Disabled shown in
the Encryption column), the screen will display as below. You can click “Connect”
to make connection to that AP, click “Cancel” to close this dialogue box, or click
“Refresh” button to update the available W LAN connections.

If the network you are selecting is encrypted (WEP shown in the Encryption column),
the screen will display as below. You need to enter the correct W EP key defined by
AP in the specified WEP Key 1~4 fields to make the connection.

4-8
 Introduction to DigiCell

Live Update

Click on the Live Update icon in the main menu and the Live Update program will be
enabled.

The Live Update 3™ is a tool used to detect and update your BIOS/
drivers/VGA BIOS/VGA Driver/Utility online so that you don’t need to
search for the correct BIOS/driver version throughout the whole
W eb site. To use the function, you need to install the “MSI Live
Update 3” application. After the installation, the “MSI Live Update 3”
icon (as shown on the right) will appear on the screen.
Double click the “MSI Live Update 3” icon, and the following screen
will appear:

Several buttons are placed on the left column of the screen. Click the desired button
to start the update process.

Live BIOS – Updates the BIOS online.

Live Driver – Updates the drivers online.
Live VGA BIOS – Updates the VGA BIOS online.
Live VGA Driver – Updates the VGA driver online.
Live Utility – Updates the utilities online.

If the product you purchased does not support any of the functions listed above, a
“sorry” message is displayed. For more information on the update instructions, insert
the companion CD and refer to the “Live Update Guide” under the “Manual” Tab.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

MEGA STICK

In the MEGA STICK sub-menu, you can configure the settings of MSI MEGA STICK
and the media files (*.m3u, *.mp3, *.wav, *.cda, *.wma) on your system.

Basic Function
Here you can edit your own play list with the buttons “load”, “save”, “delete”,
“shuttle”, “repeat” & “print”.

Load To load media files or the playlist of mp3 files (*.m3u) on your system or
on your MEGA STICK.
Save To save a loaded playlist of mp3 files (*.m3u) on your system or on
your MEGA STICK.
Del ete Click on the media files in the Play List: field and use “Delete” button
to remove the media file from the play list. You may remove multi media
files simultaneously by using “Ctrl” to select multi files.
Shuffle To play the media file in the Play List: in a random order.
Repeat To repeat the selected files in the Play List:.
Print This button has 2 functions:
1. To print out the details of current play list through your printer with
the following information:
Song title --- Song length --- Singer name
2. To save the details of current play list and save the file in the plain
text file format in the \\Program files\MSI\DigiCell\MyMusic.txt for
your reference. The MyMusic.txt file is with the following information:
Song title --- Song length --- Singer name

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 Introduction to DigiCell

There is also a toolbar for you to execute some basic function, like play, stop, pause,
previous/next song, song info and volume adjust. There is also a scroll bar on the top
for you to forward/rewind.

pause
previous next
forward/rewind
bar

stop song’s information

play

Right-click on the MP3 file and choose “Info”, a MP3 Info dialogue
will pop up to show the information of the file, including the title, artist,
album, release year and others. You may also add your own comment
in the comment field. Then click “Save” to save the change, click
“Cancel” to discard the change, or click “Remove” to remove all
this information.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Non-Unicode programs supported

If you are using an operating system in European languages, and you’d like to play the
media files in MEGA STICK with East-Asian languages (such as Chinese, Japanese...
etc.), it is possible that the file names display incorrectly.
However, you can ins tall the Supplemental Language Support provided by
Microsoft to solve this problem. You need to have your Microsoft Setup CD prepared
in the CD-ROM. The system will start to install the necessary components after the
settings are configured here. Follow the steps described below.
1. Go to [Control Panel] and choose [Regional and Languages Options].

2. Go to the [Languages] tab and enable the check box of [Install files for East
Asian languages]. A dialogue box will pop up to remind you the above selection
is chosen.

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 Introduction to DigiCell

3. Then go to the [Advanced] tab and select the language you want to be
supported (the language of the filename in the MegaStick) from the drop-
down list in the [Language for non-Unicode programs], then click [Apply]. The
system will install the necessary components from your Microsoft Setup CD
immediately.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

V-Center
Click on the V-Center icon in the main menu and the V-Center program will be
enabled.

V-Center is just like your PC doctor that can detect, view the CPU & system tempera-
ture and Vcore voltage.

Stable - Click on this icon, it will automatic configure the stable values for the system.
Normal - Click on this icon, it will automatic get the original values for the system.

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 Introduction to DigiCell

Power on Agent

In the Power on Agent sub-menu, you can configure setting of power-on, power-
off and restarting status.
In the screen below, you can set the date, time, start-up programs respectively for
power-on, power-off and restarting.

Power On
Here are the available settings for Power On function:
Date Use the drop-down list to select the date for power-on.
T im e Use the arrow keys to select the hour/minute/second for power-on,
power-off and restarting. Then click “Apply” to save the changes. As
you click “Apply”, the following dialogue will appear to show you the
next power-on schedule, and the system will start to count down to
restart. Click “OK” to restart the computer right away or click “Later”
to restart your computer later.

MSI Reminds You...

Please note that the new setting will not take effect until you restart your
computer.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Power Off / Restart

You may configure the time (in the format hh:mm:ss) for the next power-off / restart.

Start With
Use the button “+Add” to add the start-up programs
as DigiCell is activated next time. For example, you
may like to have Outlook activated or a specified
website linked when you get to the office every
morning.
Step 1: Click on the Program: field and click “>>” add the desired start-
button to browse for the path of Outlook or with program
Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on “OK” to apply the setting.
Step 3: For specified file or specified website, you
may enter the file name with the complete
path or the website link in the Parameters: field.

To activate Outlook as DigiCell To activate a specified website

is enabled next time as DigiCell is enabled next time

Of course you may use the button “-Delete” to remove the added programs, or you
can right-click on the selected program and click Delete.

delete the added program

MSI Reminds You...

You can also enable the Every turn on function, which will enable the
specified program(s) and file(s) every time the Digi Cell utility runs.

4-16
 Introduction to DigiCell

Auto Login

Since the Power On function allows the system to power on automatically, you may
have to enable this Auto Login function in the following situations:
1. If you are using a computer belonging to a domain in office, and you need to
enter your user name & password everytime when you boot up your computer.
2. If there are multi users using the same computer and you’d like to power on the
computer automatically with one specific user.

Enable Auto Login

Enable this setting if you want to use the Auto Login feature. It supports the
following operating systems: W in9X, W indows ME, W indows 2000 & W indows XP.

Default User Name

It is only available for W indows 2000 & W indows XP.
-- If you are using a computer belonging to a domain in office, please enter your
login user name in this field.
-- If you are using a computer with multi users (for Windows XP operating system),
please enter the user name you’d like to auto power-on in this field.

Default Password
It is only available for W indows 2000 & W indows XP.
-- If you are using a computer belonging to a domain in office, please enter your
login password in this field.
-- If you are using a computer with multi-users (for Windows XP operating system),
please enter the password for the user name you’d like to auto power-on in
this field.

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 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

Chapter 5. Intel ICH7R SATA

RAID

Introduction to Intel
ICH7R SATA RAID
The optional southbridge ICH7R provides a hybrid solution that com-
bines four independent SATAII ports for support of up to four Serial ATAII
(Serial ATAII RAID) drives.
Serial ATAII (SATAII) is the latest generation of the ATA interface.
SATA hard drives deliver 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. The most 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. Spreading the hard drive I/O load across independent chan-
nels greatly improves I/O performance. RAID 1 provides data redundancy
by mirroring data between the hard drives and provides enhanced read
performance. RAID 5 Provides data striping at the byte level and also stripe
error correction information. This results in excellent performance and 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, and a RAID 0 stripe is created over these. Intel Matrix RAID
Technology is the advanced ability for two RAID volumes to share the
combined space of two hard drives being used in unison.

MSI Reminds You...

The minimum number of hard drives for RAID 0, RAID 1 or Matrix mode
is 2. The minimum number of hard drives for RAID 10 mode is 4. And
the minimum number of hard drives for RAID 5 mode is 3.
All the information/volumes listed in your system might differ from the
illustrations in this appendix.

5- 1
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

BIOS Configuration
The Intel Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM should be integrated with the
system BIOS on all motherboards with a supported Intel chipset. The Intel Matrix
Stroage Manager Option ROM is the Intel RAID implementation and provides BIOS and
DOS disk 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 system BIOS to
create, delete and reset RAID volumes.

Using the Intel Matrix Stroage Manager Option ROM

1. Creating, Deleting and Resetting RAID Volumes:

The Serial ATA RAID volume may be configured using the RAID Configuration
utility stored within the Intel RAID Option ROM. During the Power-On Self Test (POST),
the following message will appear for a few seconds:

MSI Reminds You...

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

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

MSI Reminds You...

The following procedure is only available with a newly-built system or if
you are reinstalling your OS. It should not be used to migrate an exist-
ing system to RAID.

5- 2
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

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

(1) Create RAID Volume

1. Select option 1 “Create RAID Volume” and press <Enter> key. The following
screen appears. Then in the Name field, specify a RAID Volume name and
then 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 model
in RAID Level.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

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, then
click <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 values
range from 4KB to 128 KB in power of 2 increments. The strip value should be
chosen based on the planned drive usage. Here are some typical values:
RAID0 – 128KB
RAID10 – 128KB
RAID5 – 64KB
5. Then select the capacity of the volume in the Capacity field. The default
value is the maximum volume capacity of the selected disks.

5- 4
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

MSI Reminds You...

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

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

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

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

(2) Delete RAID Volume

Here you can delete the RAID volume, but please be noted that all data on RAID
drives will be lost.

MSI Reminds You...

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

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 to delete
the selected RAID volume. The following screen appears.

Press <Y> key to accept the volume deletion.

5- 6
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

(3) Reset Disks to Non-RAID

Select option 3 Reset Disks to Non-RAID and press <Enter> to delete the RAID
volume and remove any RAID structures from the drives. The following screen
appears:

Press <Y> key to accept the selection.

MSI Reminds You...

1. You will lose all data on the RAID drives and any internal RAID
structures when you perform this operation.
2. Possible reasons to ‘Reset Disks to Non-RAID’ could include issues
such as incompatible RAID configurations or a failed volume or
failed disk.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Installing Software

Install Driver in Windows XP / 2000

† New Windows XP / 2000 Installation

The 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 need
to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears.
2. W hen the W indows XP Setup window is generated, press S to specify an
Additional 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 W indows XP Setup screen, and press the <Enter>
key.
5. Press <Enter> to continue with installation or if you need to specify any
additional devices to be installed, do so at this time. Once all devices are
specified, press <Enter> to continue with installation.
6. From the W indows XP/2000 Setup screen, press the <Enter> key. Setup will
now load all device files and then continue the Windows XP/2000 installation.

† Existing Windows XP/2000 Driver Installation

1. 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.

† Confirming Windows XP/2000 Driver Installation

1. From W indows XP/2000, open the Control Panel from My Computer fol-
lowed by the System icon.
2. Choose the Hardware tab, then click the Device M anager tab.
3. Click the "+" in front of the SCSI and RAID Controllers hardware type. The
driver Intel(R) NH82801GR SATAII RAID Controller should appear.

5- 8
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

Installation of Intel Matrix Stroage Console

The Intel Application Accelerator RAID Edition driver may be used to operate
the hard drive from which the system is booting or a hard drive that contains impor-
tant data. For this reason, you cannot remove or un-install this driver from the system
after installation; however, you will have the ability to un-install all other non-driver
components.
Insert the MSI CD and click on the Intel IAA RAID Edition to install the software.

Click on this item

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

The InstallShield Wizard will begin automatically for installation showed as

following:

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

5-10
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

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

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

5-11
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

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

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

5-12
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

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

Once the installation is complete, the following window appears.

5-13
 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

RAID Migration Instructions

The Intel Matrix Storage Console offers the flexibility to upgrade from a single
Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive to RAID configuration when an additional SATA hard
drive is added to the system. This process will create a new RAID volume from an
existing disk. However, several important steps must be followed at the time the
system is first configured in order to take advantage of RAID when upgrading to a
second SATA hard drive:
1. BIOS must be configured for RAID before installing W indows XP on the
single SATA hard drive. Refer to On Chip ATA Device for properly
setting of the BIOS.
2. Install the Intel Application Accelerator RAID Driver during W indows Setup.
Refer to Installing Software for instructions on installing the driver
during W indows 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:

MSI Reminds You...

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

After the Intel Matrix Storage Console has been successfully installed and
the system has rebooted, click on the Intel Application Accelerator shortcut link (Start
--> All Programs --> Intel M atrix Storage M anager --> Intel Matrix Storage
Console) and the following window will appear:

5-14
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

Create RAID Volume from Existing Disk

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

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

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

(1) Step 1: Configure Volume

Here you can configure the new RAID volume by entering the volume name,
selecting the RAID level and strip size.

† RAID Volume Name:

A desired RAID volume name needs to be typed in where the ‘RAID_Volume0’ text
currently 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.

† RAID Level:
Select the desired RAID level:
RAID 0 (Performance) – A volume optimized for performance will allow you to
access your data more quickly.
RAID 1 (Redundancy) – A volume optimized for data redundancy will provide
you 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 zero
or more spare-disks. The resulting RAID-5 device size
will be (N-1)*S, where N is the how many drive, S is the
size of the smallest drive in the array. If one of the disks
fail, all data are still intact. It can rebuild the disk from
the parity information. If spare disks are available,
reconstruction will begin immediately after the device
failure. If two disks fail simultaneously, all data are lost.
RAID-5 can survive one disk failure, but not two or
more. Both read and wri te perf ormanc e us ually
increase, but can be hard to predict how much. Reads
are similar to RAID-0 reads, writes can be either rather

5-16
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

expensive (requiring read-in prior to write, in order to

be able to calculate the correct parity information), or
similar to RAID-1 writes. The write efficiency depends
heavily on the amount of memory in the machine, and
the usage pattern of the array. Heavily scattered writes
are bound to be more expensive.
RAID 10 (Mirrored Stripes) – A RAID 1 array of two RAID 0 arrays.
† 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 128KB
is the recommended setting for most users, you should choose the strip size value
which is best suited to your specific RAID usage model. The most typical strip size
settings are:
4KB: For specialized usage models requiring 4KB strips
8KB: For specialized usage models requiring 8KB strips
16KB: Best for sequential transfers
32KB: Good for sequential transfers
64KB: Good general purpose strip size
128KB: Best performance for most desktops and workstations

(2) Select the source disk

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

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

(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 deleted
permanently. Do not forget to back up all the important data before continuing.

5-18
 Introduction to Intel ICH7R SATA RAID

(4) Specify Volume Size

Specify the amount of available array space to be used by the new RAID
volume. You may enter the amount in the space or use the slider to specify. It is
recommended you use 100% of the available space for the optimized usage. For
RAID 0 volume, if you do not specify 100% of the hard drive space, the rest hard
drive space will be worked as RAID 1 volume, which is the new technology called
Intel Matrix RAID. Then click Next to continue.

(5) Start Creating RAID Volume from Existing Hard Drive Wizard
Before 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, the existing data on the selected hard drive(s) will be deleted permanently
and this operation cannot be undone. It is critical that you backup all important data
before selecting Finish to start the migration process.

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 M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

(6) Start Migration

The migration process may take up to two hours to complete depending on
the size of the disks being used and the strip size selected. A dialogue window will
appear stating that the migration process may take considerable time to complete,
meanwhile a popup dialogue at the taskbar will also show the migration status. W hile
you can still continue using your computer during the migration process, once the
migration process starts, it cannot be stopped. If the migration process gets inter-
rupted and your system is rebooted for any reason, it will pick up the migration
process where it left off. You will be provided with an estimated completion time (the
remaining time will depend on your system) once the migration process starts.

T he following sc reen appears if the migration proc es s is c ompleted

successfully. Then you have to reboot your system to use the full capacity of the
new volume.

5-20
 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

Chapter
Chapter 6.
6. Introduction to Realtek
Itroduction to Realtek
ALC880
ALC880

Introduction to
Realtek ALC880
The mainboard is equipped with Realtek ALC880 chip, which provides
support for 8-channel audio output, including 2 Front, 2 Rear, 2 Side, 1
Center and 1 Subwoofer channel. ALC880 allows the board to attach 2, 4,
6 or 8 speakers for better surround sound effect. The section will tell you
how to install and use 2-, 4-, 6- or 8-channel audio function on the board.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Installing the Audio Driver

You need to install the driver for Realtek ALC880 codec to function properly
before you can get access to 2-, 4-, 6- or 8- channel audio operations. Follow the
procedures described below to install the drivers for different operating systems.

Installation for Windows 2000/XP

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

1. Insert the companion CD into the CD-ROM drive. The setup screen will
automatically appear.
2. Click Realtek HD Audio Driver.

Click here

MSI Reminds You...

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

6-2
 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

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

Clic k he r e

4. Click Finish to restart the system.

Se le ct this
o ptio n

Clic k he r e

6-3
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Software Configuration

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

Double click

6-4
 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

Sound Effect

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

Load EQ Setting

Reset EQ Setting

EQ Setting On/Off

Save Preset

Delete EQ
Setting

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 a new
equalizer setting to save as a 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 Setting” 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.

Environment Simulation
You 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 Sound
Manager also provides five popular settings “Stone Corridor”, “Bathroom”, “Sewer
pipe”, “Arena” and “Audio Corridor” for quick enjoyment.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

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

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

Save Reset
The settings are saved 10 bands of equalizer
permanently for future would go back to the
use. default setting.

Enable / Disable Lo ad
To disable, you can W henever you would like
temporarily stop the to use preload settings,
sound effect without simply click this, the whole
losing the settings. list will be shown for your
selection.

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

6-6
 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

Frequently Used Equalizer Setting

Realtek recognizes the needs that you might have. By leveraging our long experience
at audio field, Realtek HD Audio Sound Manager provides you certain optimized 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 down
the arrow in “Others” , you will find more optimized settings available to you.

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

Raise the key

Remov e the
human voice

Lower the key

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Mixer
In the Mixer part, you may adjust the volumes of the rear and front panels
individually.
1. Volume
You can adjust the volume of the speakers that you pluged in front or rear
panel by select the Realtek HD Audio rear output or Realtek HD Audio front
output items.

MSI Reminds You...

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

2. Multi-Stream Function
ALC880 supports an outstanding feature called Multi-Stream, which means
you may play different audio sources simultaneously and let them output respectively
from the indicated real panel or front panel. This feature is very helpful when 2
people are using the same computer together for different purposes.

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

MSI Reminds You...

We strongly recommend you to plug the speakers into the audio jacks
on the back & front panel before enable the multi-stream function.
There will be only 6-channel audio effect in multi-stream mode from the
back panel.

6-8
 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

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

Then you must to select the Realtek HD Audio 2nd output from the scroll
list first, and use a different program to play the second audio source (for example:
use W inamp to play MP3 files). You will find that the second audio source (MP3
music) will come out from the Line-Out audio jack of Front Panel.

6-9
M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

3. Playback control

Tool Mute Playback device

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

M u te
You may choose to mute single or multiple volume controls or to completely mute
sound output.
Tool
Show the following volume control
This is to let you freely decide which volume control items to be displayed, total 13
items to be chosen.

Advanced controls

Enable playback multi-streaming

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

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

4. Recording control

Recording device
Tool Realtek HD Audio Input
Realtek HD Digital Input
Tool
Show the following volume controls
This is to let you freely decide which volume control items to be displayed.
Advanced controls.
Advanced control is a “Microphone Boost” icon.
Once this item is checked, you will find “advanced” icon beside “Front Pink In” & “Mic
Volume”. With this, the input signal into “Front Pink In” & “Mic Volume” will be strengthen.
Enable recording multi-streaming
At any given period, you can have maximum 2 streams operating simultaneously.

If you want to use microphone to record, usually the microphone is con-

nected to the MIC jack (the pink one) in the rear panel. You can start recording in this
case. If you’d like to connect your microphone to the front audio panel. You may
control the microphone volume by Mic Volume or front mic-in on the mixer.

MSI Reminds You...

If you intend to record by via two microphones, please note that you have
to check the “Stereo Mix” item to enable these two microphobes.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

AudioIO
In this tab, you can easily configure your multi-channel audio function and
speakers.
You can choose a desired multi-channel operation here.
a. Headphone for the common headphone
b. 2CH Speaker for Stereo-Speaker Output
c. 4CH Speaker for 4-Speaker Output
d. 6CH Speaker for 5.1-Speaker Output
e. 8CH Speaker for 8-Speaker Output (default setting)

Realtek HD Audio Manager frees you from default speaker settings. Different from
before, for each jack, they are not limited to perform certain functions. Instead, now
each jack is able to be chosen to perform either output (i.e. playback) function or
input (i.e. Recording) function, we call this “Retasking”.1
Audio I/O aims to help you set jacks right. Moreover, other than blue to blue, pink to
pink, the way that you used to do, Audio I/O would guide you to other right jacks that
can also serve as microphone / speaker / headphone.

Speaker Configuration
Step 1: Plug in the device in any available jack.
Step 2: Dialogue “connected device” will pop up for your selection. Please select the
device you are trying to plug in.
If the device is being plugged into the correct jack, you will be able to find the icon
beside the jack changed to the one that is same as your device.
If not correct, Realtek HD Audio Manager will guide you to plug the device into the
correct jack.

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

Correct M essage
Assume to plug a headphone in the Green jack at back panel. The icon beside
green jack become visible and the dialogue “connected device” pops up.
Check the headphone, then click OK. As soon as OK is clicked, the icon
beside green jack becomes “headphone” as your selection.

Error M essage
Assume to plug a headphone in the Blue jack at back panel. The icon beside
Blue jack becomes visible and the dialogue “connected device” pops up (the
default setting of blue jack is “Line-in”. Check the headphone anyway, then
click OK. You should notice the icon beside blue jack remains the same
without any change and the error message pops.

Pop-screen check list

2CH Speakers configutaion - check the Front Speaker Out anyway.
4CH Speakers configuration - check the Front Speaker Out & Rear Speaker
Out anyway.
6CH Speakers configuraion - check the Front Speaker Out / Rear Speaker
Out & Center/ Subwoofer Speaker out
anyway.
8CH Speakers configuraion - check the Front Speaker Out / Rear Speaker
Out / Center/Subwoofer Speaker out & Side
Speaker Out anyway.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Global Connector Settings

Click to access global connector settings.

1. M ute rear panel when front headphone plugged in

Once this item is checked, whenever front headphone is plugged, the music that is
playing from the back panel, will be stopped.
2. Disable front panel jack detection (option)
Find no function on front panel jacks? Please check if front jacks on your system are
so-called AC’97 jacks. If so, please check this item to disable front panel jack
detection.
3. Enable auto popup dialogue, when device has been plugged in
Once this item checked, the dialog “Connected device”, would not automatically pop
up when device plugged in.

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

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

Output Sampling Rate

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

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

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Test Speakers
You can select the speaker by clicking it to test its functionality. The one you
select will light up and make testing sound. If any speaker fails to make sound, then
check whether the cable is inserted firmly to the connector or replace the bad
speakers with good ones. Or you may click the auto test button to test the
sounds of each speaker automatically.

C e n te r

Front Left Front Right

Side Rig ht

Subwoo fe r
Side Left

Rear Left Rear Right

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

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

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

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

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

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

Also there is a selection Show icon in system tray. Switch it on and an icon will
show in the system tray. Right-click on the icon and the Audio Accessories dia-
logue box will appear which provides several multimedia features for you to take
advantage of.

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

Using 2-, 4-, 6- & 8- Channel Audio Function

Connecting the Speakers

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

n 2-Channel M ode for Stereo-Speaker Output

Refer to the following diagram and caption for the function of each phone jack on the
back panel when 2-Channel Mode is selected.

Back Panel

4
1

2
5

3
6

1 Line In
2 Line Out (Front channels)
3 MIC
4 Line Out (Rear channels, but no functioning in this mode)
5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel, but no functioning in this mode)
6 S/PDIF Out-Optical

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

n 4-Channel M ode for 4-Speaker Output

Back Panel

4
1

2
5

3
6

Description:
Connect two speakers to back
panel’s Line Out connector and
two speakers to the real-chan-
nel Line Out connector.

4-Channel Analog Audio Output

1 Line In
2 Line Out (Front channels)
3 MIC
4 Line Out (Rear channels)
5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel, but no functioning in this mode)
6 S/PDIF Out-Optical

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M S-7210 Micro-ATX Mainboard

n 6-Channel M ode for 6-Speaker Output

Back Panel
4
1

2 5

3
6

Description:
Connect two speakers to back
panel’s Line Out connector, two
speakers to the rear-channel
Line out connector Line out con-
nector and two speakers to the
center/subwoofer-channel Line
Out connector.
6-Channel Analog Audio Output

1 Line In
2 Line Out (Front channels)
3 MIC
4 Line Out (Rear channels)
5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel)
6 S/PDIF Out-Optical

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 Introduction to Realtek ALC880

n 8-Channel M ode for 8-Speaker Output

Back Panel
4
1

2 5

3
6

Description:
Connect two speakers to back
panel’s Line Out connector, two
speakers to the rear-channel
Line out connector, two speak-
ers to the center/subwoofer-
channel Line Out connector,
and two speakers to the side-
8-Channel Analog Audio Output channel Line Out connector.

1 Side Surround Out (Side channels)

2 Line Out (Front channels)
3 MIC
4 Line Out (Rear channels)
5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel)
6 S/PDIF Out-Optical

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