Gigabyte GA-8VT880P Combo User manual

TableofContents
ConfiguringSATAHardDrive(s)(Controller:VIAVT8237/VT8237R)................................................2
(1)Installing SATAharddrive(s)inyourcomputer......................................................................2
(2)Configuring SATAcontrollermode and bootsequenceinBIOSSetup ..................................3
(3)Configuring RAIDsetinRAIDBIOS........................................................................................5
(4)Making aSATADriverDisk ...................................................................................................10
(5)Installing SATAcontrollerdriverduring OSinstallation .........................................................12

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 2-
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Configuring SATAHardDrive(s)(Controller:VIAVT8237/VT8237R)
To configureSATAharddrive(s),followthestepsbelow:
(1)Install SATAharddrive(s)inyoursystem.
(2)ConfigureSATAcontrollermodeandbootsequenceinBIOSSetup.
(3)*ConfigureRAIDsetinRAIDBIOS.
(4)MakeafloppydiskcontainingtheSATAcontrollerdriver.
(5)InstalltheSATAcontrollerdriverduringOSinstallation.
Beforeyoubegin
Pleaseprepare:
(a)TwoSATAharddrives(toensureoptimalperformance,itisrecommended thatyou usetwohard
driveswithidenticalmodeland capacity).If you do notwanttocreateRAIDwiththe SATA
controller,you mayprepareonlyone harddrive.
(b)Anemptyformatted floppydisk.
(c)WindowsXP/2000 setup disk.
(d)DriverCD foryourmotherboard.
(1)Installing SATAharddrive(s)inyourcomputer
Attachone end ofthe SATAsignalcabletothe rearofthe SATAharddriveand the otherend toavailable
SATAport(s)on the motherboard.(If therearemorethan one SATAcontrolleron yourmotherboard,you
maycheck the nameofthe SATAconnectortoidentifythe SATAcontrollerforthe connector.Forexample,
SATA0_SB/SATA_SB iscontrolled bythe SATAcontrolleron South-Bridge.)Then connectthe power
connectorfromyourpowersupplytothe harddrive.
"*"Skipthisstep ifyou do notwanttocreateRAIDarrayon the SATAcontroller.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R))- 3-
(2)Configuring SATAcontrollermodeand bootsequence inBIOSSetup
You havetomakesurewhetherthe SATAcontrollerisconfigured correctlyinsystemBIOSSetup and
setBIOSbootsequenceforthe SATAharddrive(s).
Step 1:
Turnon yourcomputerand press DeltoenterBIOSSetup during POST(Power-OnSelfTest).If you want
tocreateRAID,selectSATAModeunderthe IntegratedPeripheralsmenu (Figure1)and setthisitem
toRAID(RAIDbydefault).SetSATAModetoIDEifyou do notwanttocreateRAID.
Figure1
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
IntegratedPeripherals
IDE DMA transfer access [Enabled]
OnChip IDE Channel 0 [Enabled]
OnChip IDE Channel 1 [Enabled]
OnChip Serial ATA [Enabled]
SATA Mode [RAID]
AC97 Audio [Auto]
VIA Onboard LAN [Enabled]
USB 1.1 Controller [Enabled]
USB 2.0 Controller [Enabled]
USB Keyboard Support [Disabled]
USB Mouse Support [Disabled]
Onboard H/W LAN [Enabled]
Onboard H/W 1394 [Enabled]
Onboard H/W Serial ATA [Enabled]
Serial ATA Function [RAID]
GigaBit LAN Boot ROM [Disabled]
On-Chip LAN Boot ROM [Disabled]
Onboard Serial Port 1 [3F8/IRQ4]
Onboard Serial Port 2 [2F8/IRQ3]
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF6:Fail-SafeDefaultsF7:OptimizedDefaults
Item Help
Menu Level}
The BIOSSetup menusdescribed inthissection maynotshowthe exactsettingsforyour
motherboard.The actualBIOSSetup menu optionsyou will see shall depend on the motherboard
you haveand the BIOSversion.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 4-
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Step 3:
SetFirstBootDeviceunderthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures menutoCDROMtobootfromCD-ROM
aftersystemrestarts(Figure3).
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
AdvancedBIOSFeatures
}Hard Disk Boot Priority [Press Enter]
First Boot Device [CDROM]
Second Boot Device [Hard Disk]
Third Boot Device [CDROM]
Boot Up Floopy Seek [Disabled]
Password Check [Setup]
Flexible AGP 8X [Auto]
Init Display First [AGP]
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF6:Fail-SafeDefaultsF7:OptimizedDefaults
Item Help
Menu Level}
Step 4:
Saveand exitBIOSSetup.
Figure3
Step 2:
Later,selectHardDisk BootPriorityunderthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures menu.Inthe HardDisk
BootPrioritysubmenu,selectthe modelofthe SATAharddriveontowhichyou intenttoinstall Microsoft
Windows2000/XP (Figure2).
Figure2
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
HardDiskBootPriority
1. SCSI-0 : ST3120026AS
2. SCSI-1 : ST3120026AS
3. Bootable Add-in Cards
hi: Move PU/PD/+/-: Change Priority F10: Save ESC: Exit
Item Help
Menu Level }}
Use <h>or<i> to
select a device, then
press <+> to move it
up, or <-> to move it
down the list. Press
<ESC> to exit this
menu.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R))- 5-
(3)Configuring RAIDsetinRAIDBIOS
Enterthe RAIDBIOSsetup utilitytoconfigureaRAIDarray.Skipthisstep and proceed toSection 4if
you do notwanttocreateRAID.
Step 1:
Afterthe POSTmemorytestbeginsand beforethe operating systembootbegins,the following information
will appearon screen (Figure4).Press the TAB keytoenterthe VT8237 SerialATARAIDBIOS
configuration utility.
Figure4
VIA Technologies, Inc. VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID BIOS Setting Utility V2.31
Copyright (C) VIA Technologies, Inc. All Right reserved.
Scan Devices, Please wait...
Press <Tab> key into User Window!
Serial_Ch0 Master : ST3120026AS
Serial_Ch1 Master : ST3120026AS
Step 2:
Inthe VT8237 SATARAIDBIOSutilityscreen (Figure5),you can usethe UPorDOWNARROWkey
tohighlightthrough choices.Highlightan itemthatyou wanttoexecuteand press ENTER.
Figure5
uCreate Array
uDelete Array
uCreate/Delete Spare
uSelect Boot Array
uSerial Number View
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Hdd
Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Hdd
Create a RAID array with
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 6-
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Figure6
A.CreateArray:
InMainMenu,selectCreateArray and press ENTER,ascreen similartoFigure6belowwill appear.
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Hdd
Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Hdd
Create a RAID array with
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uAuto Setup For Performance
uArray Mode RAID 0 (Striping)
uSelect Disk Drives
uBlock Size 64K
uStart Create Process
The firststep tocreateaRAIDarrayistosetthe RAIDmode.SelectArray Modeand press ENTER.
And the RAIDmode selection menu will appear(Figure7).The supported RAIDmodesinclude RAID
0forperformance,RAID1fordataprotection,and RAIDSPAN forcapacity.Usethe UPorDOWN
ARROWkeytoselectaRAIDmode.
Figure7
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Hdd
Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Hdd
Create a RAID array with
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uAuto Setup For Data Security
uArray Mode RAID 0 (Striping)
uSelect Disk Drives
uBlock Size 64K
uStart Create Process
RAID 0 for performance
RAID 1 for data protection
RAID SPAN for capacity

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R))- 7-
Afterselecting aRAIDmode,you mustdecide whetheryou wantthe RAIDarraytobe configured
automaticallyormanually.
AutoSetup allowsBIOStoassign the harddrivesand createarrays automatically,butitdoesnotduplicate
the mirroring driveseven ifuserselectsCreateand duplicateforRAID1.It isrecommended all hard
drivesarenewoneswhen you wanttocreatean array.
SelectDisk Drives letsusersselectthe arraydrivesbytheirrequirements.Selectthe SelectDisk Drives
itemand press ENTER,usethe ARROWkeys toselectthe targetharddrive(s).The selected harddrives
will be marked withan asterisk (Figure8).
Next, usethe ARROWkeys toselectStartCreateProcess and press ENTER.The prompt"Thedata
on theselecteddisks will bedestroied.Continue?(Y/N)"will appear.Press YtoconfirmorNto
abort.
ImportantAll existing contentsinthe harddrivewill be destroyed afterthe arraycreation.
Figure8
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
[*]Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Stripe0
[*]Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Stripe1
Create a RAID array with
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uAuto Setup For Performance
uArray Mode RAID 0 (Striping)
uSelect Disk Drives
uBlock Size 64K
uStart Create Process
If you selecttocreateRAID0arraymanually,you can specifythe block size.Usethe UPorDOWN
ARROWkeys toselectBlock Sizeand press ENTER.Selectthe block sizefromthe popup menu.The
block sizecan be setbetween 4KB to64KB (Figure9).
Figure9
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
[*]Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Stripe0
[*]Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS SATA 111.79 Stripe1
Create a RAID array with
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uAuto Setup For Performance
uArray Mode RAID 0 (Striping)
uSelect Disk Drives
uBlock Size 64K
uStart Create Process
4K
8K
16K
32K
64K

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 8-
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B.DeleteArray:
If you wanttodeletean existing array,selectDeleteArray inMainMenu and press ENTER.The channel
columnwill be activated.Selectthe memberofan arraythatistobe deleted and press ENTER.Awarning
message will showup,press Ytoconfirmorpress Ntocancel(Figure10).
Figure10
Deleting adisk arraywill destroyall the dataon the disk arrayexceptforRAID1array(s).When aRAID
1arrayisdeleted,the dataon the twoharddriveswill be reserved and the twoharddriveswill become
twonormaldrives.
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Delete a RAID array contain
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uCreate Array
uDelete Array
uCreate/Delete Spare
uSelect Boot Array
uSerial Number View
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
[*]Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS ARRAY 0 SATA 111.79 Stripe0
[*]Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS ARRAY 0 SATA 111.79 Stripe1
The selected array will be destoried.
Are you sure? Continue? Press Y/N
C.SelectBootArray:
You can selectadisk arrayasbootdeviceifyou wanttobootoperating systemfroman array.Boot
disk arraycannotbe selected ifthe operating systemdoesnotbootfromthe disk array.Highlightthe Select
BootArray iteminMainMenu;press ENTERand the channelcolumnwill be activated.Then highlight
the targetdisk arrayand press ENTER.Press ESCtogo back toMainMenu.If you wanttocancelthe
bootarraysetting,selectthe disk arraythathasan asterisk and press ENTER,itsbootsetting will be
canceled (Figure11).
Figure11
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Set/Clear bootable array
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uCreate Array
uDelete Array
uCreate/Delete Spare
uSelect Boot Array
uSerial Number View
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
[*]Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS ARRAY 0 SATA 111.79 Boot
[*]Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS ARRAY 0 SATA 111.79 Boot

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R))- 9-
D.SerialNumberView:
HighlightSerialNumberViewand press ENTER.Usethe ARROWkeys toselectadrive,and the
selected drive'sserialnumbercan be viewed inthe lastline.The serialnumberisassigned bythe disk
drivemanufacturer(Figure12).
Figure12
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
View the serial number of
hard disk, it is useful for
identifysamemodeldisks
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
uCreate Array
uDelete Array
uCreate/Delete Spare
uSelect Boot Array
uSerial Number View
Channel Drive Name Array Name Mode Size(GB) Status
Serial_Ch0 Master ST3120026AS ARRAY 0 SATA 111.79 Stripe0
Serial_Ch1 Master ST3120026AS ARRAY 0 SATA 111.79 Stripe1
Serial Number: 3JT354CP
E.ViewArray Status:
Press F1toshowthe arraystatuson the lowerscreen.If thereareno disk arrays then nothing will be
displayed on the screen (Figure13).
Figure13
VIA Tech. VT8237 SATA RAID BIOS Ver 2.31
Create a RAID array with
the hard disks attached to
VIA RAID controller
F1 :View Array/disk Status
h, i:Move to next item
Enter :Confirm the selection
ESC : Exit
Array Name Array Mode Block Size(GB) Size(GB)
ARRAY 0 Stripe 64K 223.58
uCreate Array
uDelete Array
uCreate/Delete Spare
uSelect Boot Array
uSerial Number View

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 10 -
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(4)MakingaSATADriverDisk
Toinstall Windows2000/XP ontoaSATAharddriveon the VT8237 controllersuccessfully,you need
toinstall required driverforthe SATAcontrollerduring OSinstallation.Withoutthe driver,the harddrive
maynotbe recognized during the Windowssetup process.
Firstofall,you need tocopythe driverforthe SATAcontrollerfromthe motherboarddriverCD toafloppy
disk.The instructionsbelowexplainhowtocopythe driver.
Step 1:Find an availablesystemand insertthe motherboarddriverCD intothe CD-ROMdrive.The
installation utilitywill appearautomatically.Quitthe installation utilityfirst.
Step 2:GotoMyComputerand right-click the CD-ROMdriveicon and selectOpen(Figure14).
Figure14
Step 3:Gotothe BootDrvfolderand lookforan executableprogramnamed MENU.exe(Figure15).
Figure15

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R))- 11 -
Figure17
Figure16
Step 5:
Insertan emptyfloppydisk.Press Ctoselectthe C)VIA8237 Series ATAitem.Then itwill takeabout
one minutetocopythe SATAdriverfromthe motherboarddriverCD tothe floppydisk.
Step 6:
Press 0toexitwhen the procedureiscomplete(Figure17).You havecopied the SATAdriversuccessfully.
Step 4:
Double-click MENU.exe.AnMS-DOSpromptscreen similartoFigure16 belowwill appear.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 12 -
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Figure18
Windows Setup
Press F6 if you need to install a 3rd party SCSI or RAID driver.
Figure19
Windows Setup
S=Specify Additional Device ENTER=Continue F3=Exit
Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices
installed in your system, or you have chosen to manually specify an adapter.
Currently, Setup will load support for the following mass storage devices(s)
<none>
* To specify additional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or special
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device support disk from a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not have any device support disks from a mass storage
device manufacturer, or do not want to specify additional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
(5)Installing SATAcontrollerdriverduring OSinstallation
Nowthatyou haveprepared the SATAdriverdisk and configured BIOSsettings,you arereadytoinstall
Windows2000/XP ontoyourSATAharddrivewiththe SATAdriver.The following isan exampleof
WindowsXP installation.
Step 1:Restartyoursystemtobootfromthe Windows2000/XP Setup disk and press F6assoon as
you see the "Press F6ifyou need toinstall a3rdpartySCSIorRAIDdriver"message (Figure18).After
pressing F6,therewill be afewmomentsofsomefilesbeing loaded beforeyou see the nextscreen.
Step 2:
When ascreen similartothatbelowappears,insertthe floppydisk containing the SATAdriverand press
S(Figure19).

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R))- 13 -
Figure20
"*"If you wanttocreateaRAIDarray,selectthe itemdepending on the operating systemthatyou want
toinstall.(WindowsXP,Windows2000 orWindowsNT4).If you do notwantcreateaRAIDarray,
selectVIAATA/ATAPIHostController(WindowsXP).
Windows Setup
ENTER=Select F3=Exit
You have chosen to configure a SCSI Adapter for use with Windows,
using a device support disk provided by an adapter manufacturer.
Select the SCSI Adapter you want from the following list, or press ESC
to return to the previous screen.
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller(Windows XP)
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller(Windows 2000)
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller(Windows NT4)
VIA ATA/ATAPI Host Controller(Windows XP)
Figure21
Windows Setup
S=Specify Additional Device Enter=Continue F3=Exit
Setup will load support for the following mass storage device(s):
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller(Windows XP)
* To specify additional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or special
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device support disk from a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not have any device support disks from a mass storage
device manufacturer, or do not want to specify additional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
Step 3:
If Setup correctlyrecognizesthe driverinthe floppydisk,acontrollermenu similartoFigure20 below
will appear.If you wanttoinstall WindowsXP,usethe ARROWkeys toselectVIASerialATARAID
Controller(WindowsXP)*and press ENTER.Then itwill begintoload the SATAdriverfromthe floppy
disk.
Step 4:
When the screen asshownbelowappears,press ENTERtocontinue the SATAdriverinstallation from
the floppydisk.The driverinstallation will be finished inaboutone minute.
If amessage appearssaying one orsomefile(s)cannotbe found,pleasecheck the floppydisk
orcopythe correctSATAdriveragainfromthe motherboarddriverCD.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(VT8237(R)) 14 -
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Afterthe SATAcontrollerdriverinstallation iscompleted,you shouldsee ascreen asbelow.It indicates
thatyou haveinstalled the SATAcontrollerdriversuccessfully.You can proceed withthe Windows
2000/XP installation.
Figure19
WindowsXP Professional Setup
Welcome to Setup.
This port of the Setup program prepares Microsoft(R)
Windows (R) XP to run on your computer.
To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To repair a Windows XP installation using
Recovery Console, press R.
To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
Enter= Continue R=Repair F3=Exit
(Note:Eachtimeyou add anewharddrivetoaRAIDarray,the RAIDdriverwill havetobe installed
underWindowsonceforthatharddrive.Afterthat, the driverwill nothavetobe installed.)