ASROCK A55 Pro, User Manual

Page 1: ...1 A55 Pro User Manual Version 1 0 Published August 2012 Copyright 2012 ASRock INC All rights reserved ...

Page 2: ...ies or conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose In no event shall ASRock its directors officers employees or agents be liable for any indirect special incidental or consequential damages including damages for loss of profits loss of business loss of data interruption of business and the like even if ASRock has been advised of the possibility of such damages arising from an...

Page 3: ... Onboard Headers and Connectors 29 2 11 Serial ATA SATA Serial ATA2 SATA2 Hard Disks Installation 34 2 12 Hot Plug and Hot Swap Functions for SATA SATA2 HDDs 34 2 13 SATA SATA2 HDD Hot Plug and Hot Swap Feature and Operation Operation Guide 35 2 14 Driver Installation Guide 37 2 15 Installing Windows 7 7 64 bit VistaTM VistaTM 64 bit XP XP 64 bit With RAID Functions 37 2 15 1 Installing Windows XP...

Page 4: ... Bridge Configuration 50 3 4 4 Storage Configuration 51 3 4 5 Super IO Configuration 52 3 4 6 ACPI Configuration 53 3 4 7 USB Configuration 55 3 5 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen 56 3 6 Boot Screen 57 3 7 Security Screen 58 3 8 Exit Screen 59 4 Software Support 60 4 1 Install Operating System 60 4 2 Support CD Information 60 4 2 1 Running Support CD 60 4 2 2 Drivers Menu 60 4 2 3 Utilities...

Page 5: ...ut notice 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 If you require technical support related to this motherboard please visit our website for specific information about the model you are using www a...

Page 6: ...upports AMD Quad CrossFireXTM CrossFireXTM and Dual Graphics Graphics AMD Radeon HD 65XX 64XX graphics DirectX 11 Pixel Shader 5 0 Max shared memory 512MB Dual VGA Output support D Sub and DVI D ports by independent display controllers Supports DVI with max resolution up to 1920x1200 75Hz Supports D Sub with max resolution up to 1920x1600 60Hz Supports AMD Steady VideoTM New video post processing ...

Page 7: ...t 4 USB 2 0 ports BIOS Feature 32Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support Supports Plug and Play ACPI 1 1 Compliance Wake Up Events Supports jumperfree SMBIOS 2 3 1 Support CPU DRAM VDDP SB Voltage Multi adjustment Support CD Drivers Utilities AntiVirus Software Trial Version AMD Live Explorer AMD Fusion CyberLink MediaEspresso 6 5 Trial ASRock MAGIX Multimedia Suite OEM Hardware CPU Temperature Se...

Page 8: ...P 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 3 ASRock XFast RAM is not supported by Microsoft Windows XP XP 64 bit WARNING Please realize that there is a certain risk involved with overclocking including adjusting the setting in the BIOS applying Untied Overclocking Technology or using third party ove...

Page 9: ...nt Boot ASRock Instant Boot allows you to turn on your PC in just a few seconds provides a much more efficient way to save energy time money and improves system running speed for your sys tem It leverages the S3 and S4 ACPI features which normally enable the Sleep Standby and Hibernation modes in Windows to shorten boot up time By calling S3 and S4 at specific timing during the shutdown and startu...

Page 10: ...LAN provides a faster internet access which includes the benefits listed below LAN Application Prioritiza tion You can configure your application s priority ideally and or add new programs Lower Latency in Game After setting online game s priority higher it can lower the latency in games Traffic Shaping You can watch Youtube HD videos and download si multaneously Real Time Analysis of Your Data Wi...

Page 11: ...LRCMOS1 30 PCI Express 2 0 x1 Slot PCIE4 14 Chassis Speaker Header SPEAKER 1 31 PCI Express 2 0 x1 Slot PCIE3 15 System Panel Header PANEL1 32 PCI Express 2 0 x16 Slot PCIE2 16 SATA2 Connector SATA_3 33 PCI Express 2 0 x1 Slot PCIE1 CMOS Battery DDR3_B1 64 bit 240 pin module DDR3_A1 64 bit 240 pin module ATXPWR1 Super I O PCIE2 PCI1 PCIE1 HD_AUDIO1 1 IR1 1 COM1 1 PLED1 1 CLRCMOS1 1 HDLED RESET PLE...

Page 12: ...ct a front panel audio cable to the front panel audio header Please refer to below steps for the software setting of Multi Streaming For Windows XP After restarting your computer you will find Mixer tool on your system Please select Mixer ToolBox click Enable playback multi streaming and click ok Choose 2CH or 4CH and then you are allowed to select Realtek HDA Primary output to use Rear Speaker an...

Page 13: ...evere damage to the motherboard peripherals and or components 1 Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component 2 To avoid damaging the motherboard components due to static elec tricity NEVER place your motherboard directly on the carpet or the like Also remember to use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safety grounded object before you handle components 3 Hold components ...

Page 14: ...e that it is locked 2 2 Installation of CPU Fan and Heatsink After you install the CPU into this motherboard it is necessary to install a larger heatsink and cooling fan to dissipate heat You also need to spray thermal grease between the CPU and the heatsink to improve heat dis sipation Make sure that the CPU and the heatsink are securely fastened and in good contact with each other Then connect t...

Page 15: ...nstall only one memory module or two non identical memory modules it is unable to activate the Dual Channel Memory Technology Installing a DIMM Please make sure to disconnect power supply before adding or removing DIMMs or the system components Step 1 Unlock a DIMM slot by pressing the retaining clips outward Step 2 Align a DIMM on the slot such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the ...

Page 16: ...I Express x16 graphics card on PCIE2 slot 2 In CrossFireXTM mode please install PCI Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE2 and PCIE5 slots Therefore PCIE2 slot will work at x16 bandwidth while PCIE5 slot will work at x4 bandwidth Installing an expansion card Step 1 Before installing the expansion card please make sure that the power supply is switched off or the power cord is unplugged Please read th...

Page 17: ...dates 2 5 1 Graphics Card Setup Different CrossFireXTM cards may require different methods to enable CrossFi reXTM feature For other CrossFireXTM cards that AMD has released or will release in the future please refer to AMD graphics card manuals for detailed installation guide Step 1 Insert one Radeon graphics card into PCIE2 slot and the other Radeon graphics card to PCIE5 slot Make sure that the...

Page 18: ...aphics card you purchase not bundled with this motherboard Please refer to your graphics card vendor for details CrossFire Bridge or Step 3 Connect the DVI monitor cable to the DVI connector on the Radeon graph ics card on PCIE2 slot You may use the DVI to D Sub adapter to convert the DVI connector to D Sub interface and then connect the D Sub monitor cable to the DVI to D Sub adapter ...

Page 19: ... to downloading and installing the CATALYST Control Center Please check Microsoft website for details For Windows 7 VistaTM OS Install the CATALYST Control Center Please check AMD website for de tails Step 4 Restart your computer Step 5 Install the VGA card drivers to your system and restart your computer Then you will find ATI Catalyst Control Center on your Windows taskbar ATI Catalyst Control C...

Page 20: ...d or not if not please select it again and then you are able to enjoy the benefit of CrossFireXTM feature Step 7 You can freely enjoy the benefit of CrossFireXTM or Quad CrossFireXTM feature CrossFireXTM appearing here is a registered trademark of AMD Technologies Inc and is used only for identification or explanation and to the owners benefit without intent to infringe For further information of ...

Page 21: ...D website for further information Chipset Model Driver AMD RADEON HD6670 ASUS DIS PCIE2 1 ASUS HDMI EAH6670 DI 1GD3 1G DDR3 8 881 AMD RADEON HD6570 MSI DIS PCIE2 1 MSI HDMI R6570 MD1GD3 LP 1G DDR3 8 881 AMD RADEON HD6450 MSI DIS PCIE2 1 MSI HDMI R6450 MD1GD3 LP 1G DDR3 8 881 Enjoy the benefit of AMD Dual Graphics Step 1 Please keep the default UEFI setting of Dual Graphics option on Auto Step 2 In...

Page 22: ... check AMD website for up dates and details Step 9 Click Enable CrossFireTM and click Apply to save your change Step 10 Reboot your system Then you can freely enjoy the benefit of Dual Graphics feature AMD VISION Engine Control Center Step 7 You can also click AMD VISION Engine Control Center on your Windows taskbar to enter AMD VISION Engine Control Center Step 8 In AMD VISION Engine Control Cent...

Page 23: ...erboard 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 To enable du...

Page 24: ...efault value of Share Memory Auto will disable D Sub function when the add on VGA card is inserted to this motherboard 4 Install the onboard VGA driver and the add on PCI Express VGA card driver to your system If you have installed the drivers already there is no need to install them again 5 Set up a multi monitor display For Windows XP XP 64 bit OS Right click the desktop choose Properties and se...

Page 25: ...efore you can enjoy the superior display quality with high definition HDCP encryption contents Please refer to below instruction for more details about HDCP function What is HDCP HDCP stands for High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection a specification developed by Intel for protecting digital entertainment content that uses the DVI interface HDCP is a copy protection scheme to eliminate the possi...

Page 26: ...r Please make sure the wire assignments and the pin assignments are matched correctly 1 2 4 3 5 USB_PWR P P GND ATX 5VSB IRRX IRTX GND DUMMY Step3 Install Multi Angle CIR Receiver to the front USB port Step4 Boot up your system Press F2 or Del to enter BIOS Setup Utility Make sure the option CIR Controller is setting at Enabled Advanced Super IO Configuration CIR Controller Enabled If you cannot f...

Page 27: ...her port will remain USB function 2 Multi Angle CIR Receiver is used for front USB only Please do not use the rear USB bracket to connect it on the rear panel Multi Angle CIR Receiver can receive the multi direction infrared signals top down and front which is compatible with most of the chassis on the market 3 The Multi Angle CIR Receiver does not support Hot Plug function Please install it befor...

Page 28: ...ar and reset the system parameters to default setup please turn off the computer and unplug the power cord from the power supply After waiting for 15 seconds use a jumper cap to short pin2 and pin3 on CLRCMOS1 for 5 seconds However please do not clear the CMOS right after you update the BIOS If you need to clear the CMOS when you just finish updating the BIOS you must boot up the system first and ...

Page 29: ...P 7 GND DUMMY USB_PWR USB_PWR P 6 P 6 GND 1 Serial ATA2 Connectors These six Serial ATA2 SATA_1 see p 11 No 8 SATA2 connectors support SATA_2 see p 11 No 9 SATA data cables for internal SATA_3 see p 11 No 16 storage devices The current SATA_4 see p 11 No 17 SATA2 interface allows up to SATA_5 see p 11 No 20 3 0 Gb s data transfer rate SATA_6 see p 11 No 19 Serial ATA SATA Either end of the SATA da...

Page 30: ...C2_L B Connect Audio_R RIN to OUT2_R and Audio_L LIN to OUT2_L C Connect Ground GND to Ground GND D MIC_RET and OUT_RET are for HD audio panel only You don t need to connect them for AC 97 audio panel E To activate the front mic For Windows XP XP 64 bit OS Select Mixer Select Recorder Then click FrontMic For Windows 7 7 64 bit VistaTM VistaTM 64 bit OS Go to the FrontMic Tab in the Realtek Control...

Page 31: ... A front panel module mainly consists of power switch reset switch power LED hard drive activity LED speaker and etc When connecting your chassis front panel module to this header make sure the wire assignments and the pin assign ments are matched correctly Power LED Header Please connect the chassis 3 pin PLED1 power LED to this header to see p 11 No 18 indicate system power status The LED is on ...

Page 32: ... 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 ATX 12V Power Connector Please connect an ATX 12V 8 pin ATX12V1 power supply to this connector see p 11 No 1 Though this motherboard provides 8 pin ATX 12V power connector it can still work if you adopt a traditional 4 pin ATX 12V power sup...

Page 33: ...PDIF header providing 2 pin HDMI_SPDIF1 SPDIF audio output to HDMI see p 11 No 26 VGA card allows the system to connect HDMI Digital TV projector LCD devices Please connect the HDMI_SPDIF connector of HDMI VGA card to this header ...

Page 34: ... 2 12 Hot Plug and Hot Swap Functions for SATA SATA2 HDDs This motherboard supports Hot Plug and Hot Swap functions for SATA SATA2 in RAID AHCI mode AMD A55 FCH Hudson D2 chipset provides hardware support for Advanced Host controller Interface AHCI a new programming interface for SATA host controllers developed thru a joint industry effort NOTE What is Hot Plug Function If the SATA SATA2 HDDs are ...

Page 35: ... connector interface The SATA 15 pin power connector Black connect to SATA SATAII HDD Points of attention before you process the Hot Plug 1 Below operation procedure is designed only for our motherboard which supports SATA SATAII HDD Hot Plug The SATA SATAII Hot Plug feature might not be supported by the chipset because of its limitation the SATA SATAII Hot Plug support information of our motherbo...

Page 36: ...ct SATA data cable to the SATA SATAII HDD How to Hot Unplug a SATA SATAII HDD Points of attention before you process the Hot Unplug Please do follow below instruction sequence to process the Hot Unplug improper procedure will cause the SATA SATAII HDD damage and data loss Please connect SATA power cable 1x4 pin end White to the power supply 1x4 pin cable Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 2 SATA pow...

Page 37: ...it on a RAID disk composed of 2 or more SATA SATAII HDDs with RAID functions please follow below steps STEP 1 Set up UEFI A Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration B Set the SATA Mode option to RAID STEP 2 Make a SATA SATAII Driver Diskette Please use USB floppy or floppy disk A Insert the ASRock Support CD into your optical drive to boot your system B During POST at the beg...

Page 38: ...I Driver Diskette Make a SATA SATAII driver diskette by following section 2 15 1 step 2 on page 37 STEP 4 Install Windows 7 7 64 bit VistaTM VistaTM 64 bit OS on your system 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 in...

Page 39: ...tall Windows XP XP 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 A Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration B Set the SATA Mode option to AHCI STEP 2 Make a SATA SATAII Driver Diskette Make a SATA SATAII driver diskette by following section 2 15 1 step 2 on p...

Page 40: ...nstalling Windows 7 7 64 bit VistaTM VistaTM 64 bit Without RAID Functions If you want to install Windows 7 7 64 bit VistaTM VistaTM 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 A Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration B Set the SATA Mode option to AHCI ST...

Page 41: ...he system off and then back on Because the UEFI software is constantly being updated the following UEFI setup screens and descriptions are for reference purpose only and they may not exactly match what you see on your screen 3 1 1 UEFI Menu Bar The top of the screen has a menu bar with the following selections Main To set up the system time date information OC Tweaker To set up overclocking featur...

Page 42: ...p the selected screen PGUP Go to the previous page PGDN Go to the next page HOME Go to the top of the screen END Go to the bottom of the screen F1 To display the General Help Screen F7 Discard changes and exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY F9 Load optimal default values for all the settings F10 Save changes and exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY F12 Print screen ESC Jump to the Exit Screen or exit the current s...

Page 43: ...urbo Core Technology This item appears only when the processor you adopt supports this fea ture Use this to select enable or disable AMD Turbo Core Technology The default value is Enabled Processor Maximum Frequency It will display Processor Maximum Frequency for reference Processor Maximum Voltage It will display Processor Maximum Voltage for reference Multiplier Voltage Change This item is set t...

Page 44: ...utomatically DRAM Timing Control Power Down Enable Use this item to enable or disable DDR power down mode Bank Interleaving Interleaving allows memory accesses to be spread out over banks on the same node or accross nodes decreasing access contention Channel Interleaving It allows you to enable Channel Memory Interleaving Configuration op tions Disabled Auto The default value is Auto CAS Latency t...

Page 45: ...fresh Cyle Time tRFC Auto Manual setting The default is Auto RAS to RAS Delay tRRD Use this item to change RAS to RAS Delay tRRD Auto Manual setting The default is Auto Write to Read Delay tWTR Use this item to change Write to Read Delay tWTR Auto Manual setting The default is Auto Read to Precharge tRTP Use this item to change Read to Precharge tRTP Auto Manual setting The default is Auto Four Ac...

Page 46: ...e Use this to select SB Voltage The default value is Auto 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 ...

Page 47: ... utility Please be noted that the USB flash drive or hard drive must use FAT32 16 12 file system If you execute Instant Flash utility the utility will show the UEFI files and their respective information Select the proper UEFI file to update your UEFI and reboot your system after UEFI update process completes 3 4 Advanced Screen In this section you may set the configurations for the following item...

Page 48: ...unction please set this item to Enabled Please note that enabling this function may re duce CPU voltage and memory frequency and lead to system stability or compatibility issue with some memory modules or power supplies Please set this item to Disable if above issue occurs SVM When this option is set to Enabled a VMM Virtual Machine Architecture can utilize the additional hardware capabilities pro...

Page 49: ...ure The default value is Auto Configuration options Auto 32MB 64MB 128MB 256MB and 512MB Onboard HDMI HD Audio This allows you to enable or disable the Onboard HDMI HD Audio fea ture Dual Graphics This item appears only when you install AMD RADEON HD6670 6570 6450 graphics card on this motherboard Use this to enable or disable Dual Graphics feature If you enable this option you can choose onboard ...

Page 50: ... 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 Good Night LED Enable this option to turn off Power LED when the system is power on The keyboard LED will also be turned off in S1 S3 and S4 state The de fault value is Auto ...

Page 51: ...o RAID mode it is suggested to install SATA ODD driver on SATA_5 and SATA_6 ports SATA IDE Combined Mode This item is for SATA_5 and SATA_6 ports Use this item to enable or dis able SATA IDE combined mode The default value is Enabled If you want to build RAID on SATA_5 and SATA_6 ports please disable this item Hard Disk S M A R T Use this item to enable or disable the S M A R T Self Monitoring Ana...

Page 52: ...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 Infrared Port Address Use this item to set the address for the onboard infrared port Confi guration options 2F8 IRQ3 and 2E8 IRQ3 ...

Page 53: ...tem starts to boot up when the power recovers PS 2 Keyboard Power On Use this item to enable or disable PS 2 keyboard to turn on the system from the power soft off mode PCI Devices Power On Use this item to enable or disable PCI devices to turn on the system from the power soft off mode Ring In Power On Use this item to enable or disable Ring In signals to turn on the system from the power soft of...

Page 54: ...CPI 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 VistaTM certification ...

Page 55: ... default value is Enabled Please refer to below descriptions for the details of these four options Enabled Enables support for legacy USB Auto Enables legacy support if USB devices are connected Disabled USB devices are not allowed to use under legacy OS and UEFI setup when Disabled is selected If you have USB compatibility is sue it is recommended to select Disabled to enter OS UEFI Setup Only US...

Page 56: ...ual Mode and Automatic Mode The default is value Full On Chassis Fan 2 Setting This allows you to set chassis fan 2 speed Configuration options Level 1 to Level 4 The default is value Level 4 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 s...

Page 57: ...o launch Configuration options Legacy ROM and EFI Compatible ROM The default vale is Legacy ROM Full Screen Logo Use this item to enable or disable OEM Logo The default value is Enabled AddOn ROM Display Use this option to adjust AddOn ROM Display If you enable the option Full Screen Logo but you want to see the AddOn ROM information when the system boots please select Enabled Configuration option...

Page 58: ...58 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 59: ...hanges and Exit When you select this option it will pop out the following message Discard changes and exit setup Select OK to exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY without saving any changes Discard Changes When you select this option it will pop out the following message Discard changes Select OK to discard all changes Load UEFI Defaults Load UEFI default values for all the setup questions F9 key can be us...

Page 60: ...rive The CD automatically displays the Main Menu if AUTORUN is enabled in your com puter If the Main Menu did not appear automatically locate and double click on the file ASSETUP EXE from the BIN folder in the Support CD to display the menus 4 2 2 Drivers Menu The Drivers Menu shows the available devices drivers if the system detects the installed devices Please install the necessary drivers to ac...

Page 61: ...aTM 64 bit with SP1 or above or Windows 7 64 bit 2 Press F2 or Delete at system POST Set AHCI Mode in UEFI Setup Utility Advanced Storage Configuration SATA Mode 3 Choose the item UEFI xxx to boot in UEFI Setup Utility Boot Boot Option 1 xxx is the device which contains your Windows installation files Normally it is an optical drive You can also press F11 to launch boot menu at system POST and cho...

Page 62: ...ws VistaTM 64 bit with SP1 or above or Windows 7 64 bit 2 Press F2 or Delete at system POST Set RAID Mode in UEFI Setup Utility Advanced Storage Configuration SATA Mode 3 Choose onboard RAID 3TB unlocker UEFI Mode For GPT partition Press F10 to save the change and exit 4 Press F11 to enter Boot Manual Choose UEFI Built in EFI Shell 5 Key in drvcfg for example you will see below Drv 4E Ctrl B5 Lang...

Page 63: ...ber 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 Choose Usable Physical Drive List to select Raid HDD ...

Page 64: ... 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 This option only shows on Windows 7 64 bit and VistaTM 64 bit OS ...

Page 65: ...ies If you encounter this problem you will need to following instructions to fix this problem Windows VistaTM 64 bit Microsoft does not provide hotfix for this problem Below steps are Microsoft suggested solution A Disable System Restore a Type systempropertiesprotection in the Start Menu Then press Enter b De select Local Disks for System Restore Then Click Turn System Restore Off to confirm Then...

Page 66: ... 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 67: ...he 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 30 mins C Reboot your system It may take about 5 mins to boot D The Windows will install this hotfix then reboot by itself E Please start to install motherboard drivers and utilities ...