Foxconn H55A manual

H55A Series Motherboard User ’ s Manual[...]

Statement: This manual is the intellectual property of Foxconn, Inc. Although the information in this manual may be changed or modied at any time, Foxconn does not obligate itself to inform the user of these changes. T rademark: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. V ersion: User ’s Manual V1.0 for H55A Series motherboar[...]

Declaration of conformity HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY COMP ANY L TD 66 , CHUNG SHAN RD., TU-CHENG INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT , T AIPEI HSIEN, T AIW AN, R.O.C. declares that the product Motherboard H55A is in conformity with (reference to the specication under which conformity is declared in accordance with 89/336 EEC-EMC Directive) ■ EN 55022: 1998/A2[...]

Declaration of conformity T rade Name: FOXCONN Model Name: H55A Responsible Party: PCE Industry Inc. Address: 458 E. Lambert Rd. Fullerton, CA 92835 T elephone: 714-738-8868 Facsimile: 714-738-8838 Equipment Classication: FCC Class B Subassembly T ype of Product: Motherboard Manufacturer: HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY COMP ANY L TD Address: 66 , CH[...]

Installation Precautions Please carefully read the following procedures to install your computer : ■ It is suggested to select high-quality , certied fans in order to avoid damage to the motherboard and CPU due to high temperature. Never turn on the computer if the CPU fan is not properly installed. ■ We cannot guarantee that your system can[...]

T ABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Product Introduction Product Specications .............................................................................. 2 Layout....................................................................................................... 4 Back Panel Connectors .............................................................[...]

Congure ......................................................................................... 62 About & Help .................................................................................... 64 FOX LOGO ............................................................................................. 65 FOX DMI ...........................[...]

Thank you for buying Foxconn H55A Series motherboard. Foxconn products are engineered to maximize c omputing power , providing only what you need for break-through performance. With advanced overclocking capability and a range of connectivity feat ures for today mult i-medi a comput ing requir ements , H55A enabl es you to unleash more power from y[...]

1 2 1-1 Product Specications CPU Support LGA 1 156 socket Intel ® CPU, Max processor power up to 95w For the latest CPU information, please visit: http://www .foxconnchannel.com Chipset Intel ® H55 Memory 4 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets Support up to 16GB of system memory Dual channel DDR3 1600(oc*)/1333/1066 MHz architecture (oc:Overclocking) E[...]

1 3 Back Panel 1 x PS/2 port Connectors 1 x DVI-I port 1 x HDMI port 2 x eSA T A ports 6 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x RJ-45 LAN port 8-channel Audio Ports Hardware Monitor System voltage detection CPU/System temperature detection CPU/System fan speed detection CPU/System overheating shutdown CPU/System fan speed control P CI Ex p re s s x 1 Support 250MB/s [...]

1 4 1-2 Layout Note : The above motherboard layout is for reference only , please refer to the physical motherboard for detail. 1. 8-pin A TX 12V Power Connector 2. SYS_F AN2 Header 3. PCI Express x1 Slot 4. PCI Express x16 Slot 5. PCI Slots 6. S/PDIF Out Connector 7. CD-IN Connector 8. Front Audio Connector 9. Speaker Connector 10. Intel ® ME Jum[...]

1 5 1-3 Back Panel Connectors 1. PS/2 Port Use the PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 mouse or keyboard. 2. USB Ports The USB port supports the USB 2.0/1.1 specication. Use this port for USB devices such as an USB keyboard/mouse, USB printer , USB ash drive and etc. 3. DVI-I Port The DVI-I port supports DVI-I specication. Connect a monitor that s[...]

1 6 7. Audio Ports For the denition of each audio port, please refer to the table below : Port 2-channel 4-channel 5.1-channel 7.1-channel Blue Line In Line In Line In Line In Green Line Out Front Speaker Out Front Speaker Out Front Speaker Out Pink Microphone In Microphone In Microphone In Microphone In Orange - - Center/Subwoofer Out Center/Su[...]

This chapter introduces the hardware installation process, including the installation of the CPU, memory , power supply , slots, pin headers and the mounting of jumpers. Caution should be exercised during the installation of these modules. Please refer to the motherboard layout prior to any installation and read the contents in this chapter careful[...]

8 2 8 2-1 Install the CPU and CPU Cooler Install the CPU Locate the alignment keys on the motherboard CPU socket and the notches on the CPU. Read the following guidelines before you begin to install the CPU : ■ Make sure that the motherboard supports the CPU. ■ Always turn off the computer and unplug the power cord from the power supply before [...]

9 2 9 Follow the steps to install the CPU onto the CPU socket : 2. Lift the metal cover on the CPU socket. 3. Remove protective socket cover . 5. W h e n CP U i s p ro p er l y se a t ed , replace the metal cover and push the CPU socket lever back to its locked position. 4. Check pin one marking (triangle) with the pin one corner of the CPU socket,[...]

10 2 10 Install the CPU Cooler Follow the steps below to correctly install the CPU cooler on the motherboard. 1. Apply and spread an even thermal grease on the surface of CPU. 2. Place the four bolts of the CPU co oler to the ho les o f the mo the rbo ard, pus h them strai ght down from the top, and the bolts will be fastened on the motherboard. Th[...]

1 1 2 1 1 2-2 Install the Memory Dual Channel Memory Conguration This motherboard provides Four DDR3 memory sockets and supports Dual Channel T echnology . When memory is installed, the BIOS will automatically check the memory in your system. Four DDR3 memory sockets are divided into two channels : Channel 0 : DIMM1 , DIMM2 Channel 1 : DIMM3 , D[...]

12 2 12 Installing a Memory If you take a look at fron t side of mem ory mod ule, it has asymm etric pin cou nts on both sides sep arate d by a notch in the middle, so it can only t in one direction. Follow the steps below to correctly install your memory modules into the sockets. Step 1: Spread the clips at both ends of the memory socket. Place[...]

13 2 13 2-3 Install an Expansion Card Follow the steps below to correctly install your expansion card in the expansion slot. 1. Locate an expansion slot that supports your card. Remove the metal slot cover from the chassis back panel. 2. Align the card with the slot, and press down on the card until it is fully seated in the slot. 3. Make sure the [...]

14 2 14 2-4 Install other Internal Connectors Power Connectors This motherboard uses an A TX power supply . In order not to damage any device, make sure all the devices have been installed properly before applying the power supply . 24-pin A TX Power Connector : PWR1 PWR1 is the A TX power supply connector. Make sure that the power supply cable and[...]

15 2 15 COM Connector : COM1 This motherboard supports one serial RS232 COM po rt f or leg ac y co mp ati bi lit y . U se r mu st pur ch ase another RS232 cable with a 9-pin D-sub connector at one end to conn ect with the exte rnal RS2 32 dev ice and another end with 10-pin female connector to connect with COM1 connector in the motherboard. Fan Con[...]

16 2 16 Audio Connector : F_AUDIO The audio connector supports HD Audio standard. It provides the Front Audio output choice. Speaker Connector : SPEAKER The speaker connector is used to connect speaker of the chassis. S/PDIF OUT Connector : SPDIF_OUT The connector is used for S/PDIF output. USB Connectors : F_USB1/2/3 In addition to the USB ports o[...]

17 2 17 Front Panel Connector : FP1 This motherboard includes one connector for connecting the front panel switch and LED Indicators. Hard Disk LED Connector (HDD-LED) Connect to the chassis front panel IDE indicator LED. It indicates the active status of the hard disks. This 2-pin connector is directional with +/- sign. Reset Switch (RESET -SW) At[...]

18 2 18 2-5 Jumpers For some featur es needed, user s can chang e the jumper sett ings on this moth erboard to modify them. This section explains how to use the various functions of this motherboard by changing the jumper settings. Users should read the following content carefully prior to modifying any jumper setting. Description of Jumpers 1. For[...]

19 2 19 Intel ® ME Jumper: MFG This motherboard uses MFG jumper to enable or disable Intel ® Management Engine function. Intel ® Management Engine (ME) is an embedded microcontroller located in Intel chipset. It provides latest IT management features such as Intel ® AMT , that allows to improve management of corporate assets. Set the jumper to [...]

This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided. Y ou have to run the Setup Program when the following cases occur : 1. An error message appears on the screen during the system Power On Self T est (POST) process. 2. Y ou want to change the default CMOS set[...]

3 21 Enter BIOS Setup The BIOS is the communication bridge between hardware and software, correctly setting up the BIOS parameters is critical to maintain optimal system performance. Power on the computer , when the message " Press <DEL> to enter Setup, <ESC> to boot menu " appears at the bottom of the screen, you can press &l[...]

3 22 ► Power Management Setup All the items related with Green function features can be set up through this menu. ► PC Health Status This setup enables you to read/change Fan speeds, and displays temperatures and voltages of your CPU/System. ► BIOS Security Features The Supervisor/User password can be set up through this menu to prevent unaut[...]

3 23 System Information This sub-menu is used to set up the standard BIOS features, such as the date, time, memory and so on. Use the arrow up/down keys to select an item, then use the <+> or <-> keys to change the setting. ► System Time This item allows you to congure the desired time. Use [ENTER], [T AB] or [SHIFT -T AB] to selec[...]

3 24 ► BIOS V ersion It displays the current BIOS version. User can check this information and discuss with the eld service people if a BIOS upgrade is needed. ► Memory This item displays the current memory size. The size is depending on how many memory mod- ules were installed in your system before powering on. ► MAC Address This item sho[...]

3 25 Advanced BIOS Features ► Quiet Boot This item is used to enable/disable the quiet boot. [Disabled] : Displays the normal POST messages. [Enabled] : Displays OEM customer logo instead of POST messages. ► Bootup Num-Lock This item denes if the keyboard Num Lock key is active when your system is started. The available settings are: On (def[...]

3 26 Intel VT -d Conguration CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc. Intel VT -d Conguration Help Item Intel VT-d Disabled Enabled ↑↓←→:Move Enter:Select +/-/:V alue F10:Save ESC:Exit F1:General Help F9:Optimized Defaults [Disabled] Options ► Intel VT -d Intel® Virtualization T echnology for Directed[...]

3 27 Fox Central Control Unit ► CPU Conguration Press <Enter> to go to relative submenu. ► CPU Clock This item is used to adjust the CPU Clock. ► Ratio CMOS Setting This item is used to set the ratio between CPU Core Clock and the FSB Frequency . Y ou can use [+] or [-] to adjust the value. ► Adjust VTT V oltage This item is used t[...]

3 28 This item allows you to select the row precharge time (in clock cycles). ► DRAM tRCD (RAS-to-CAS Delay) This item allows you to select a delay time (in clock cycles) between the CAS# and RAS# strobe signals. ► DRAM tWR (Write Recovery) This item allows you to select the write recovery time (in clock cycles). ► DRAM tRFC(Auto-Refresh-to-A[...]

3 29 CPU Conguration ► Intel PPM Configuration Press <Enter> to go to relative submenu. ► C1E Support (Appears only when CPU supports) C1E represents Enhanced HAL T State. It is a feature which CPU uses to reduce power consumption when in halt state. C1E drops the CPU’s multiplier and voltage to lower levels when a HL T (halt) comman[...]

3 30 ► Intel(R) HT T echnology This item is used to enable/disable the Hyper Threading T echnology feature. ► Active Processor Cores This item is used to set the number of cores to enable in each processor package. ► A20M Legacy OSes and APs may need A20M enabled. Intel PPM Conguration ► EIST Function Y ou can select the EIST (Processor [...]

3 31 This item is used to enable/disable C3 State. ► C6 State This item is used to enable/disable C6 State. ► C1 Auto Demotion When enabled, CPU will conditionally demote C3/C6/C7 requests to C1 based on uncore auto-demote information. ► C3 Auto Demotion When enabled, CPU will conditionally demote C6/C7 requests to C3 based on uncore auto- de[...]

3 32 Advanced Chipset Features ► Memory Remap Feature This item is used to enable/disable memory remapping around memory hole. PCI doesn't actually care much which addresses are used, but by convention the PC platform puts them at the top of the 32-bit address space. For many years it wasn't possible or practical to put that much RAM in[...]

3 33 Integrated Peripherals ► IDE Configuration/OnBoard Configuration/SuperIO Configuration/USB Configuration Press <Enter> to go to relative submenu. IDE Conguration ► Configure SA T A as This item is used to set the operation mode of your SA T A ports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Set to [IDE] can congure the SA T A ports to support IDE mode.[...]

3 34 OnBoard Conguration CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc. OnBoard Conguration OnBoard Audio Controller Help Item OnBoard LAN Controller [Enabled] OnBoard LAN Boot ROM [Disabled] Enabled Disabled ↑↓←→:Move Enter:Select +/-/:V alue F10:Save ESC:Exit F1:General Help F9:Optimized Defaults [Enabled] O[...]

3 35 SuperIO Conguration ► Serial Port1 Address This item is used to assign the I/O address and interrupt request (IRQ) for the onboard serial port 1. CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc. SuperIO Conguration SuperIO Conguration Help Item Serial Port1 Address [3F8/IRQ4] ↑↓←→:Move Enter:Select +/-[...]

3 36 USB Conguration ► Legacy USB Support This item is used to enable the support for USB devices on legacy OS. If you have a USB keyboard or mouse, set to auto or enabled. ► USB 2.0 Controller Mode This item is used to set the transmission rate mode of USB 2.0. The available settings are : [HiSpeed] in 480Mbps; [Full Speed] in 12Mbps. ► B[...]

3 37 Power Management Setup ACPI (Advanced Conguration and Power Interface) is an open industry standard interfaces enabling OS-directed conguration, power management, and thermal management of mobile, desktop, and server platforms. It denes ve sleeping states, they are : S1 - The S1 sleeping state is a low wake latency sleeping state. [...]

3 38 ► HPET HPET stands for High Precision Even Timer . If you have the HPET disabled, then windows does not have access to it and therefore falls back to less accurate timing methods. This item is used to enable or disable the HPET Support. ► ACPI Suspend T ype This item is used to set the energy saving mode of the ACPI function. When you sele[...]

3 39 PC Health Status ► W arning T emperature This option is used to set the warning temperature for the system. When the temperature of CPU is higher than the set value, the motherboard will send out warning information. ► Shutdown T emperature This item is used to set the system temperature upper limit. When the temperature exceeds the set va[...]

3 40 BIOS Security Features ► Change Supervisor Password This item is used to install or change supervisor password. After you input Supervisor password, it then will ask you to input user password optionally . ► User Access Level This item is used to set user access level. The available settings are: [No Access]: Prevent user access to the set[...]

3 41 Load Optimal Defaults Optimal defaults are the best settings of this motherboard. Always load the Optimal defaults after updating the BIOS or after clearing the CMOS values. Select this option and press Enter , it will pop out a dialogue box to let you load the defaults. Select <OK> and then press <Enter> to load the defaults. Sele[...]

The utility CD that came with the motherboard contains useful software and several utility drivers that enhance the motherboard features. This chapter includes the following information: ■ Install driver and utility ■ FOX ONE ■ FOX LiveUpdate ■ FOX LOGO ■ FOX DMI Note : Because each module is independent, so the section number will be reo[...]

43 4 43 Install driver and utility This mothe rboard comes with one Ut ility CD, after installing the Oprating System,Y ou can simp ly put it in to you r CD/DVD-R OM dri ve, and the main menu will be displayed on your PC screen to guide you how to install. 1. Driver Use these options to install all the drivers for your system. Y ou must click "[...]

44 4 44 2. Utility Use these options to install additional software programs.[...]

45 4 45 FOX ONE FOX ONE is a powerful utility for easily modifying system settings. It also allows users to monitor various temperature values, voltage values, frequencies and fan speeds at any time. With FOX ONE, you can : ■ Modify system performance settings, such as the CPU and memory bus speeds, CPU voltages, fan speeds, and other system perf[...]

46 4 46 1. Main Page T oolbar Use the toolbar to navigate to other pages. Alert Lamp When the system is in healthy state, the color of alert lamp is green. When the system is in abnormal state, the alert lamp color is red. Switch Button Click this button, it will simplify the whole FOX ONE control panel to a smaller information bar (i.e. Simple Mod[...]

47 4 47 Skin Button There are more choices of FOX ONE screen panels. Click this button, you can select your favorite skin (FOX ONE Panel). Exit Click this button to exit the program. Minimum Click this button to drop the FOX ONE to Windows system tray located at the lower right corner of your screen. Homepage Click this button to visit Foxconn moth[...]

48 4 48 Conguration This menu allows you to congure : 1). Monitor interval (ms) : This is to dene the interval of different messages of system settings which are to be displayed on Simple Mode screen. Minimum value is 1 second. 2). Simple Mode : T o select which message of system settings are to be displayed in the Simple Mode. Messages su[...]

49 4 49 what the CPU clock should be. Step 1 : Click Calibration icon, a message pops out to ask for continue. Select Y es. Step 2 : After data is collected, it will ask you to restart your computer now . Later on, when the FOX ONE program is activated, and F .I.S. feature (in CPU Page) is also enabled, FOX ONE will automatically adjust your CPU cl[...]

50 4 50 2. CPU Page - CPU Control This page lets you select (or overclock) CPU clock to meet the current performance level of the system. The fastest and suitable CPU clock running for current system can be calculated by FOX ONE automatically or manually input by yourselves. Manual : Y ou can press the up/down button to adjust your CPU clock. Auto [...]

51 4 51 Y ou can see the system is raising CPU clock until the system hangs. Push RESET button on the front panel of your system to restart the computer . Run FOX ONE program again, it will inform you the previous test found that 255MHz is the recommended CPU clock for your system. Click Y es to apply it to your system. Now , your system is running[...]

52 4 52 FOX Intelligent Stepping (F .I.S., Optional) Select FOX Intelligent Stepping will allow your system to automatically adjust your CPU clock rate based on different system loadings. For example, if you select Power Gaming, CPU clock will be driven to run at its maximum speed. While in Energy Saving, CPU will lower down its speed to a minimum.[...]

53 4 53 4. Limit Setting 4.1 Limit Setting - CPU T emperature This page lets you to set CPU high limit temperature and enable the alert function. 4.2 Limit Setting - System T emperature This page lets you to set system high limit temperature and enable the alert function. Go to Limit Setting page Set high limit by dragging the lever Show current CP[...]

54 4 54 4.3 Limit Setting - CPU Fan This page lets you to set CPU fan low limit rpm and enable the alert function. 4.4 Limit Setting - System Fan This page lets you to set system fan low limit rpm and enable the alert function. Set low limit rpm by dragging the lever Show current CPU fan rpm value Enable alert function when the CPU fan runs slower [...]

55 4 55 4.5 Limit Setting - F AN1 Fan This page lets you to set F AN1 fan low limit rpm and enable the alert function. 5. V oltage Page - V oltage Control (Optional) This page lets you set CPU voltage, memory voltage and North Bridge voltage manually . CPU voltage can be stepped up/down by a unit of 12.5mV , while memory is 0.05V/step, and North Br[...]

56 4 56 6. Fan Page - Fan Control This page lets you enable Smart Fan function or set the fan speed by manual. When Smart Fan is selected, you must use a 4-pin CPU cooler in your system. Go to Fan page Set fan speed by dragging the lever Enable or disable smart fan function Apply the changes[...]

57 4 57 FOX LiveUpdate FOX LiveUpdate is a useful utility to backup and update your system BIOS, drivers and utilities by local or online. Supporting Operating Systems : ■ Windows 2000 ■ Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit) ■ Windows 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit) ■ Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) ■ Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) Using FOX LiveUpdat[...]

58 4 58 1-2 Local Update - Backup This page can backup your system BIOS. Y ou can click “Backup”, and key in a le name, then click “Save” to nish the backup operation. The extension of this backup le is ".BIN" for Award BIOS and ".ROM" for AMI BIOS. Default directory is "C:DesktopMy Documents" in Win[...]

59 4 59 2. Online Update 2-1 Online Update - Update BIOS This page lets you update your system BIOS from Internet. Click “start”, it will search the new BIOS from Internet. Then follow the wizard to nish the update operation. 2-2 Online Update - Update Driver This page lets you update your system drivers from Internet. Click “start”, it [...]

60 4 60 2-3 Online Update - Update Utility This page lets you update utilities from Internet. Click “start”, it will search the new utilities from Internet. Then follow the wizard to nish the update operation. Browse detailed information Install the selected driver Close the window Select the driver to update Click here Current information S[...]

61 4 61 2-4 Online Update - Update All This page lets you update your system drivers from Internet. Click “start”, it will search all new BIOS/drivers/utilities from Internet. Then follow the wizard to nish the update operation. Click here Current information Search all new BIOS/ drivers/utilities from Internet Browse detailed BIOS informati[...]

62 4 62 3. Congure 3-1 Congure - option This page lets you set auto search options. After you enable the auto search function, FOX LiveUpdate will start its searching from Internet and if any qualied item found, it will pop out a message on the task bar to inform you to do the next step. Double click on the icon as show below , you can see[...]

63 4 63 When you enable "Auto Search FOX LiveUpdate", if your FOX LiveUpdate version is older , it will auto search from internet and prompt you to install the new version. 3-2 Congure - System This page lets you set the backup BIOS location. Click here Set the location of download les or auto backup BIOS Determine if the FOX LiveUp[...]

64 4 64 3-3 Congure - Advance This page lets you select to ash BIOS / Boot Block and clear CMOS. If you choose Flash Boot Block, it means BIOS is not protective, and you must make sure the ash process is continuous and without any interruption. 4. About & Help This page shows some information about FOX LiveUpdate. C A U T I O N ! We re[...]

65 4 65 FOX LOGO FOX LOGO is a simple and useful utility to backup, change and delete the boot time Logo. The boot Logo is the image that appears on screen during POST (Power-On Self-T est). Y ou can prepare a JPG image (1024x768) le, then use FOX LOGO to open it and change the boot time Logo. Boot time Logo will be displayed if you enable the B[...]

66 4 66 FOX DMI FOX DMI is a full Desktop Management Interface viewer , and it provides three DMI data formats : Report, Data Fields and Memory Dump. With DMI information, system maker can easily analyze and troubleshoot your mother- board if there is any problem occurred. Supporting Operating Systems : ■ Windows 2000 ■ Windows XP (32-bit and 6[...]