ASROCK A55M-DGS User Manual
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ASROCK A55M-DGS User Manual

ASROCK A55M-DGS User Manual

User manual
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A55M-DGS

User Manual

Version 1.0
Published May 2012
Copyright©2012 ASRock INC. All rights reserved.
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Summary of Contents for ASROCK A55M-DGS

  • Page 1: User Manual

    A55M-DGS User Manual Version 1.0 Published May 2012 Copyright©2012 ASRock INC. All rights reserved.

  • Page 2: Copyright Notice

    ASRock. ASRock assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions that may appear in this manual. With respect to the contents of this manual, ASRock does not provide warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warran- ties or conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots) ......16 Dual Graphics Operation Guide ..........17 Dual Monitor and Surround Display Features ......19 ASRock Smart Remote Installation Guide ......... 22 Jumpers Setup ................24 Onboard Headers and Connectors ........25 2.10 Serial ATA (SATA) / Serial ATAII (SATAII) Hard Disks...
  • Page 4 3. UEFI SETUP UTILITY............36 Introduction ................36 3.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar ..............36 3.1.2 Navigation Keys ............... 37 Main Screen ................37 OC Tweaker Screen..............38 Advanced Screen ..............41 3.4.1 CPU Configuration ............42 3.4.2 North Bridge Configuration ..........43 3.4.3 South Bridge Configuration ..........

  • Page 5: Introduction

    In case any modifications of this manual occur, the updated ver- sion will be available on ASRock website without further notice. You may find the latest VGA cards and CPU support lists on ASRock website as well. ASRock website http://www.asrock.com...

  • Page 6: Specifications

    1.2 Specifications Platform - Micro ATX Form Factor: 8.8-in x 6.8-in, 22.4 cm x 17.3 cm - Solid Capacitor for CPU power - Support for Socket FM1 100W processors - Supports AMD’s Cool ‘n’ Quiet Technology - UMI-Link GEN2 Chipset - AMD A55 FCH (Hudson-D2) Memory - Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology (see CAUTION 1)
  • Page 7 Live! Explorer, AMD Fusion, CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial, ASRock MAGIX Multimedia Suite - OEM Unique Feature - ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU) (see CAUTION 5) - ASRock Instant Boot - ASRock Instant Flash (see CAUTION 6) - ASRock APP Charger (see CAUTION 7)
  • Page 8 ® Vista / XP. For Windows 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation. You can use ASRock XFast RAM to utilize the memory that ® Windows cannot use. The maximum shared memory size is defined by the chipset vendor and is subject to change.
  • Page 9 Real-Time Analysis of Your Data: With the status window, you can easily recognize which data streams you are currently transfer- ring. 11. ASRock XFast RAM is a new function that is included into ASRock Ex- treme Tuning Utility (AXTU). It fully utilizes the memory space that cannot ®...
  • Page 10 To improve heat dissipation, remember to spray thermal grease between the CPU and the heatsink when you install the PC system. ® ® 13. ASRock XFast RAM is not supported by Microsoft Windows XP / XP 64-bit. 14. EuP, stands for Energy Using Product, was a provision regulated by Eu- ropean Union to define the power consumption for the completed system.

  • Page 11: Motherboard Layout

    1.3 Motherboard Layout 17.3cm (6.8-in) PWR_FAN1 CPU_FAN1 USB 2.0 T: USB2 B: USB3 USB 2.0 T: USB0 B: USB1 CMOS BATTERY A55M-DGS CLRCMOS1 HD_AUDIO1 PCIE1 CHA_FAN1 DX11 A55 FCH SPEAKER1 (Hudson-D2) 32Mb Chipset BIOS AUDIO CODEC PCI1 SATA_1 USB8_9 USB6_7...

  • Page 12: I/O Panel

    1.4 I/O Panel PS/2 Mouse Port (Green) USB 2.0 Ports (USB01) LAN RJ-45 Port USB 2.0 Ports (USB23) Line In (Light Blue) DVI-D Port ** 4 Front Speaker (Lime) D-Sub Port Microphone (Pink) PS/2 Keyboard Port (Purple) * There are two LED next to the LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED indications.

  • Page 13: Installation

    2. Installation This is a Micro ATX form factor (8.8-in x 6.8-in, 22.4 cm x 17.3 cm) motherboard. Before you install the motherboard, study the configuration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard fits into it. Pre-installation Precautions Take note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings.

  • Page 14: Cpu Installation

    2.1 CPU Installation Step 1. Unlock the socket by lifting the lever up to a 90 angle. Step 2. Position the CPU directly above the socket such that the CPU corner with the golden triangle matches the socket corner with a small triangle. Step 3.

  • Page 15: Installation Of Memory Modules (Dimm)

    2.3 Installation of Memory Modules (DIMM) This motherboard provides two 240-pin DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3) DIMM slots, and supports Dual Channel Memory Technology. For dual channel configuration, you always need to install two identical (the same brand, speed, size and chip- type) memory modules in the DDR3 DIMM slots to activate Dual Channel Memory Technology.

  • Page 16: Expansion Slots (Pci And Pci Express Slots)

    2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots) There is 1 PCI slot and 1 PCI Express slot on this motherboard. PCI Slot: PCI slot is used to install expansion cards that have the 32-bit PCI interface. PCIE Slot: PCIE1 (PCIE x16 slot; Black) is used for PCI Express x16 lane width graphics cards.

  • Page 17: Dual Graphics Operation Guide

    2.5 AMD Dual Graphics Operation Guide This motherboard supports AMD Dual Graphics feature. AMD Dual Graphics brings multi-GPU performance capabilities by enabling an AMD A55 FCH (Hudson-D2) integrated graphics processor and a discrete graphics processor to operate simultaneously with combined output to a single display for blisteringly-fast frame ®...
  • Page 18 Step 7. You can also click “AMD VISION Engine Control Center” on your ® Windows taskbar to enter AMD VISION Engine Control Center. AMD VISION Engine Control Center Step 8. In AMD VISION Engine Control Center, please choose “Performance”. Click “AMD CrossFire ”.

  • Page 19: Dual Monitor And Surround Display Features

    2.6 Dual Monitor and Surround Display Features Dual Monitor Feature This motherboard supports dual monitor feature. With the internal VGA output sup- port (D-Sub and DVI-D), you can easily enjoy the benefits of dual monitor feature without installing any add-on VGA card to this motherboard. This motherboard also provides independent display controllers for D-Sub and DVI-D to support dual VGA output so that D-Sub and DVI-D can drive same or different display contents.
  • Page 20 Surround Display Feature This motherboard supports surround display upgrade. With the internal VGA output support (D-Sub and DVI-D) and external add-on PCI Express VGA cards, you can easily enjoy the benefits of surround display feature. Please refer to the following steps to set up a surround display environment: 1.
  • Page 21 ® For Windows 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista / Vista 64-bit OS: Right click the desktop, choose “Personalize”, and select the “Display Settings” tab so that you can adjust the parameters of the multi-monitor according to the steps below. A.

  • Page 22: Asrock Smart Remote Installation Guide

    2.7 ASRock Smart Remote Installation Guide ASRock Smart Remote is only used for ASRock motherboard with CIR header. Please refer to below procedures for the quick installation and usage of ASRock Smart Remote. Step1. Find the CIR header located next to the USB 2.0 header on ASRock...
  • Page 23 The Multi-Angle CIR Receiver does not support Hot-Plug function. Please install it before you boot the system. * ASRock Smart Remote is only supported by some of ASRock motherboards. Please refer to ASRock website for the motherboard support list: http://www.asrock.com...

  • Page 24: Jumpers Setup

    2.8 Jumpers Setup The illustration shows how jumpers are setup. When the jumper cap is placed on pins, the jumper is “Short”. If no jumper cap is placed on pins, the jumper is “Open”. The illustration shows a 3-pin jumper whose pin1 and pin2 are “Short”...

  • Page 25: Onboard Headers And Connectors

    2.9 Onboard Headers and Connectors Onboard headers and connectors are NOT jumpers. Do NOT place jumper caps over these headers and connectors. Placing jumper caps over the headers and connectors will cause permanent damage of the motherboard! Serial ATA2 Connectors These four Serial ATA2 (SATA2) connectors support (SATA_1: see p.11, No.

  • Page 26: Infrared Module Header

    Infrared Module Header This header supports an IRTX +5VSB optional wireless transmitting (5-pin IR1) DUMMY and receiving infrared module. (see p.11 No. 16) IRRX Consumer Infrared Module Header This header can be used to connect the remote (4-pin CIR1) IRTX IRRX controller receiver.
  • Page 27 PWRBTN (Power Switch): Connect to the power switch on the chassis front panel. You may con- figure the way to turn off your system using the power switch. RESET (Reset Switch): Connect to the reset switch on the chassis front panel. Press the reset switch to restart the computer if the computer freezes and fails to per- form a normal restart.
  • Page 28 ATX Power Connector Please connect an ATX power supply to this connector. (24-pin ATXPWR1) (see p.11 No. 7) Though this motherboard provides 24-pin ATX power connector, it can still work if you adopt a traditional 20-pin ATX power supply. To use the 20-pin ATX power supply, please plug your power supply along with Pin 1 and Pin 13.

  • Page 29: Serial Ata (Sata) / Serial Ataii (Sataii) Hard Disks Installation

    2.10 Serial ATA (SATA) / Serial ATAII (SATAII) Hard Disks Installation This motherboard adopts AMD A55 FCH (Hudson-D2) chipset that supports Serial ATA (SATA) / Serial ATAII (SATAII) hard disks and RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10) functions. You may install SATA / SATAII hard disks on this motherboard for internal storage devices.

  • Page 30: Sata / Sataii Hdd Hot Plug And Hot Swapfeature And Operation Operation Guide

    3. Please make sure the SATA / SATAII driver is installed into system properly. The latest SATA / SATAII driver is available on our support website: www.asrock.com 4. Make sure to use the SATA power cable & data cable, which are from our motherboard package.

  • Page 31: How To Hot Plug A Sata / Sataii Hdd

    How to Hot Plug a SATA / SATAII HDD: Points of attention, before you process the Hot Plug: Please do follow below instruction sequence to process the Hot Plug, improper procedure will cause the SATA / SATAII HDD damage and data loss. Step 1 Step 2 Connect SATA data cable to...

  • Page 32: Driver Installation Guide

    STEP 2: Make a SATA / SATAII Driver Diskette. (Please use USB floppy or floppy disk.) Insert the ASRock Support CD into your optical drive to boot your system. During POST at the beginning of system boot-up, press <F11> key, and then a window for boot devices selection appears.

  • Page 33: 64-Bit / Vista

    STEP 3: Use “RAID Installation Guide” to set RAID configuration. Before you start to configure RAID function, you need to check the RAID installation guide in the Support CD for proper configuration. Please refer to the BIOS RAID installation guide part of the document in the following path in the Support CD: ..

  • Page 34: Tm Tm

    When you see “Where do you want to install Windows?” page, please insert the USB flash to your system, and click the “Load Driver” button to load the RAID drivers. After that, you can continue the OS installation. ® 2.15 Installing Windows 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista / Vista 64-bit / XP /...

  • Page 35: Tm Tm

    ® 2.15.2 Installing Windows 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista / Vista 64-bit Without RAID Functions ® If you want to install Windows 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista / Vista 64-bit on your SATA / SATAII HDDs without RAID functions, please follow below steps. Using SATA / SATAII HDDs with NCQ and Hot Plug functions (AHCI mode) STEP 1: Set up UEFI.

  • Page 36: Uefi Setup Utility

    3. UEFI SETUP UTILITY 3.1 Introduction This section explains how to use the UEFI SETUP UTILITY to configure your system. The UEFI chip on the motherboard stores the UEFI SETUP UTILITY. You may run the UEFI SETUP UTILITY when you start up the computer. Please press <F2>...

  • Page 37: Navigation Keys

    3.1.2 Navigation Keys Please check the following table for the function description of each navigation key. Navigation Key(s) Function Description Moves cursor left or right to select Screens Moves cursor up or down to select items + / - To change option for the selected items <Tab>...

  • Page 38: Oc Tweaker Screen

    3.3 OC Tweaker Screen In the OC Tweaker screen, you can set up overclocking features. EZ OC Mode You can use this option to load EZ overclocking setting. Please note that overclocing may cause damage to your components and motherboard. It should be done at your own risk and expense.
  • Page 39 CPU Voltage It allows you to adjust the value of CPU voltage. However, for safety and system stability, it is not recommended to adjust the value of this item. GFX Engine Clock Use this to adjust graphics engine clock. The default value is [Auto]. DRAM Configuration DRAM Frequency If [Auto] is selected, the motherboard will detect the memory module(s)
  • Page 40 Row Precharge Time (tRP) Use this item to change Row Precharge Time (tRP) Auto/Manual setting. The default is [Auto]. RAS# Active Time (tRAS) Use this item to change RAS# Active Time (tRAS) Auto/Manual setting. The default is [Auto]. Command Rate (CR) Use this item to change Command Rate (CR) Auto/Manual setting.

  • Page 41: Advanced Screen

    Would you like to save current setting user defaults? In this option, you are allowed to load and save three user defaults according to your own requirements. 3.4 Advanced Screen In this section, you may set the configurations for the following items: CPU Configu- ration, Nouth Bridge Configuration, South Bridge Configuration, Storage Configura- tion, Super IO Configuration, ACPI Configuration, and USB Configuration.

  • Page 42: Cpu Configuration

    3.4.1 CPU Configuration Core C6 Mode Use this item to enable or disable Core C6 mode. The default value is [Enabled]. Cstate Pmin Mode Use this item to enable or disable Cstate Pmin mode. The default value is [Disabled]. Cool ‘n’ Quiet Use this item to enable or disable AMD’s Cool ‘n’...

  • Page 43: North Bridge Configuration

    3.4.2 North Bridge Configuration Primary Graphics Adapter This item will switch the PCI Bus scanning order while searching for video card. It allows you to select the type of Primary VGA in case of multiple video controllers. The default value of this feature is [PCI Express]. Con- figuration options: [Onboard], [PCI] and [PCI Express].

  • Page 44: South Bridge Configuration

    3.4.3 South Bridge Configuration Onboard HD Audio Select [Auto], [Enabled] or [Disabled] for the onboard HD Audio feature. If you select [Auto], the onboard HD Audio will be disabled when PCI Sound Card is plugged. Front Panel Select [Auto] or [Disabled] for the onboard HD Audio Front Panel. Onboard LAN This allows you to enable or disable the onboard LAN feature.

  • Page 45: Storage Configuration

    3.4.4 Storage Configuration SATA Controller Use this item to enable or disable the “SATA Controller” feature. SATA Mode Use this item to adjust SATA Mode. The default value of this option is [AHCI Mode]. Configuration options: [AHCI Mode], [RAID Mode] and [IDE Mode]. Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T.

  • Page 46: Super Io Configuration

    3.4.5 Super IO Configuration Serial Port Use this item to enable or disable the onboard serial port. Serial Port Address Use this item to set the address for the onboard serial port. Configuration options: [3F8 / IRQ4] and [3E8 / IRQ4]. Infrared Port Use this item to enable or disable the onboard infrared port.

  • Page 47: Acpi Configuration

    3.4.6 ACPI Configuration Suspend to RAM Use this item to select whether to auto-detect or disable the Suspend-to- RAM feature. Select [Auto] will enable this feature if the OS supports it. Check Ready Bit Use this item to enable or disable the feature Check Ready Bit. Restore on AC/Power Loss This allows you to set the power state after an unexpected AC/power loss.
  • Page 48 ACPI HPET table Use this item to enable or disable ACPI HPET Table. The default value is [Enabled]. Please set this option to [Enabled] if you plan to use this moth- ® erboard to submit Windows Vista certification.

  • Page 49: Usb Configuration

    3.4.7 USB Configuration USB 2.0 Controller Use this item to enable or disable the use of USB 2.0 controller. Legacy USB Support Use this option to select legacy support for USB devices. There are four confi guration options: [Enabled], [Auto], [Disabled] and [UEFI Setup Only]. The default value is [Enabled].

  • Page 50: Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen

    3.5 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen In this section, it allows you to monitor the status of the hardware on your system, including the parameters of the CPU temperature, motherboard temperature, CPU fan speed, chassis fan speed, and the critical voltage. CPU Fan 1 Setting This allows you to set the CPU fan 1 speed.

  • Page 51: Boot Screen

    3.6 Boot Screen In this section, it will display the available devices on your system for you to config- ure the boot settings and the boot priority. Setup Prompt Timeout This shows the number of seconds to wait for setup activation key. 65535(0xFFFF) means indefi nite waiting.

  • Page 52: Security Screen

    3.7 Security Screen In this section, you may set or change the supervisor/user password for the system. For the user password, you may also clear it.

  • Page 53: Exit Screen

    3.8 Exit Screen Save Changes and Exit When you select this option, it will pop-out the following message, “Save configuration changes and exit setup?” Select [OK] to save the changes and exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY. Discard Changes and Exit When you select this option, it will pop-out the following message, “Discard changes and exit setup?”...

  • Page 54: Software Support

    Click on a specific item then follow the installation wizard to install it. 4.2.4 Contact Information If you need to contact ASRock or want to know more about ASRock, welcome to visit ASRock’s website at http://www.asrock.com; or you may contact your...
  • Page 55 Installing OS on a HDD Larger Than 2TB in AHCI Mode ® This motherboard is adopting UEFI BIOS that allows Windows OS to be installed on a large size HDD (>2TB). Please follow below procedure to install the operating system. ®...

  • Page 56: Installing Os On A Hdd Larger Than 2Tb In Raid Mode

    Installing OS on a HDD Larger Than 2TB in RAID Mode ® This motherboard is adopting UEFI BIOS that allows Windows OS to be installed on a large size HDD (>2TB). Please follow below procedure to install the operating system. ®...
  • Page 57 7. And then key in drvcfg –s [Drv number] [Ctrl number] to enter Raid Utility. For example: key in drvcfg –s 4E B5. 8. Choose Logical Drive Main Menu to set up Raid Drive. 9. Choose Logical Drive Create Menu to create a Raid Drive. 10.
  • Page 58 11. Press Space on keyboard to toggle checkbox. 12. Choose Ld Size setting, and key in the Raid size. 13. After set up Raid size, please click Start to Create. 14. Press <F10> to exit Utility. 15. During reboot, please press <F11> to enter Boot Manual. Choose UEFI: SCSI CD/DVD Drive.
  • Page 59 ® 16. Follow Windows Installation Guide to install OS. ® If you install Windows 7 64-bit / Vista 64-bit in a large hard disk (ex. Disk ® volume > 2TB), it may take more time to boot into Windows or install driver/ utilities.
  • Page 60 B. Disable “Volume Shadow Copy” service. a. Type “computer management” in the Start Menu, then press “Enter”. b. Go to “Services and Applications>Services”; Then double click “Volume Shadow Copy”. c. Set “Startup type” to “Disable” then Click “OK”.
  • Page 61 C. Reboot your system. D. After reboot, please start to install motherboard drivers and utilities. ® Windows 7 64-bit: A. Please request the hotfix KB2505454 thru this link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2505454/ ® B. After installing Windows 7 64-bit, install the hotfix kb2505454. (This may take long time;...

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