Page 4 - Table of Contents
- 4 - Table of Contents Item Checklist ................................................................................................................. 6Optional Accessories ...................................................................................................... 6GA-M55S-S3 Motherboar...
Page 8 - Block Diagram
- 8 - Block Diagram AMD Socket AM2 C P U CPUCLK+/-(200MHz) Hyper Transport Bus 2 PCI PCI Bus 4 PCI Express x1 PCI Express Bus nVIDIA ® nForce 550 3 IEEE1394a TSB43AB23 DDRII 800/667/533MHz DIMM Dual Channel Memory 4 SATA 3Gb/s 10 USB Ports Line-Out MIC CODEC Line-In SPDIF In SPDIF Out Side Speaker O...
Page 9 - Hardware Installation; English; Considerations Prior to Installation; Preparing Your Computer; Chapter 1 Hardware Installation
Hardware Installation - 9 - English 1-1 Considerations Prior to Installation Preparing Your Computer The motherboard contains numerous delicate electronic circuits and components which canbecome damaged as a result of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Thus, prior to installation, pleasefollow the instr...
Page 10 - Feature Summary
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 10 - English 1-2 Feature Summary C P U Socket AM2 for AMD Athlon TM 64 FX / Athlon TM 64 X2 Dual-Core / Athlon TM 64 / Sempron TM processor Front Side Bus 2000MHz Chipset nVIDIA ® nForce 550 LAN Marvell 88E1116 phy (10/100/1000Mbit) Audio Onboard Realtek ALC883 COD...
Page 12 - Installation of the CPU and CPU Cooler; otherwise overheating and permanent damage of the CPU may occur.; Socket Lever
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 12 - English 1-3 Installation of the CPU and CPU Cooler 1-3-1 Installation of the CPU Fig.1Position lever at a 90 degree angle. Please use extra care when installing the CPU. The CPU will not fit if positioned incorrectly.Rather than applying force, please change the positio...
Page 14 - is switched off to prevent hardware damage.; Installation of Memory
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 14 - English Before installing the memory modules, please comply with the following conditions:1. Please make sure that the memory used is supported by the motherboard. It is recommended that memory of similar capacity, specifications and brand be used. 2. Before installing ...
Page 15 - Dual Channel Memory Configuration
Hardware Installation - 15 - English Dual Channel Memory Configuration The GA-M55S-S3 supports the Dual Channel Technology. After operating theDual Channel Technology, the bandwidth of Memory Bus will double. Due to CPU limitation, if you wish to operate the Dual Channel Technology, follow the guide...
Page 16 - Installation of Expansion Cards; Installing a PCI Express x16 expansion card:
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 16 - English 1-5 Installation of Expansion Cards You can install your expansion card by following the steps outlined below:1. Read the related expansion card's instruction document before install the expansion card into the computer. 2. Remove your computer's chassis cover, ...
Page 17 - I/O Back Panel Introduction; Parallel Port; Connects to serial-based mouse or data processing devices.; USB port
Hardware Installation - 17 - English 1-6 I/O Back Panel Introduction PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Connector To install a PS/2 port keyboard and mouse, plug the mouse to the upper port (green) and thekeyboard to the lower port (purple). Parallel Port The parallel port allows connection of a printer, ...
Page 18 - Connectors Introduction; Line In; The default MIC In jack. Microphone must be connected to MIC In jack.
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 18 - English 1-7 Connectors Introduction Line In The default Line In jack. Devices like CD-ROM, walkman etc. can be connected to Line In jack. Line Out (Front Speaker Out) The default Line Out (Front Speaker Out) jack. Stereo speakers, earphone or front surroundspeakers can ...
Page 29 - CONTROL KEYS; Chapter 2 BIOS Setup
BIOS Setup - 29 - English BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) includes a CMOS SETUP utility which allows user to configurerequired settings or to activate certain system features.The CMOS SETUP saves the configuration in the CMOS SRAM of the motherboard.When the power is turned off, the battery on ...
Page 30 - BIOS Setting Recovery; F11 : Save CMOS to BIOS
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 30 - English CMOS Setup Utility-Copyright (C) 1984-2006 Award Software Standard CMOS FeaturesAdvanced BIOS FeaturesIntegrated PeripheralsPower Management SetupPnP/PCI ConfigurationsPC Health StatusMB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.) Load Fail-Safe DefaultsLoad Optimized DefaultsS...
Page 32 - Standard CMOS Features; Date
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 32 - English 2-1 Standard CMOS Features Date The date format is <week>, <month>, <day>, <year>. Week The week, from Sun to Sat, determined by the BIOS and is display only Month The month, Jan. Through Dec. Day The day, from 1 to 31 (or the maximum all...
Page 33 - Halt on
BIOS Setup - 33 - English Access Mode Use this to set the access mode for the hard drive. The two options are:Large/Auto(default:Auto) Capacity Capacity of currently installed hard drive. Hard drive information should be labeled on the outside drive casing. Enter the appropriate optionbased on this ...
Page 34 - Advanced BIOS Features; Hard Disk Boot Priority
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 34 - English 2-2 Advanced BIOS Features Hard Disk Boot Priority Select boot sequence for onboard(or add-on cards) SCSI, RAID, etc.Use < > or < > to select a device, then press<+> to move it up, or <-> to move it down the list.Press <ESC> to exit...
Page 35 - Password Check
BIOS Setup - 35 - English Password Check System The system can not boot and can not access to Setup page will be denied if thecorrect password is not entered at the prompt. Setup The system will boot, but access to Setup will be denied if the correct passwordis not entered at the prompt. (Default va...
Page 36 - Integrated Peripherals; NV SATA RAID function
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 36 - English 2-3 Integrated Peripherals CMOS Setup Utility-Copyright (C) 1984-2006 Award Software Integrated Peripherals Serial-ATA RAID Config [Press Enter] On-Chip IDE Channel0 [Enabled] On-Chip MAC Lan [Auto] NV Serial-ATA Controller [All Enabled] IDE Prefetch Moed [Enabl...
Page 37 - NV SATA 2 Secondary RAID
BIOS Setup - 37 - English NV SATA 2 Secondary RAID Enabled Enable RAID function for the second channel of the second SATA controller. (Default value) Disabled Disable the RAID function of this channel. It will operate in ATA mode. On-Chip IDE Channel0 Enabled Enable onboard first channel IDE port. (...
Page 38 - Onboard LAN Boot ROM
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 38 - English Onboard 1394 Enabled Enable onboard IEEE1394 function. (Default value) Disabled Disable onboard IEEE1394 function. Onboard LAN Boot ROM This function decide whether to invoke the boot ROM of the onboard LAN chip. Enabled Enable this function. Disabled Disable th...
Page 39 - ECP Mode Use DMA; Parallel Port Mode; USB Keyboard Support
BIOS Setup - 39 - English ECP Mode Use DMA This item will become available when Parallel Port Mode set to ECP or ECP+EPP . 3 Set ECP Mode Use DMA to 3. (Default value) 1 Set ECP Mode Use DMA to 1. On-Chip USB V1.1+V2.0 Enable USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 controllers. (Default value) V1.1 Enable only USB 1.1 ...
Page 40 - Power Management Setup; ACPI Suspend Type
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 40 - English 2-4 Power Management Setup ACPI Suspend Type S1(POS) Set ACPI suspend type to S1/POS(Power On Suspend). (Default value) S3(STR) Set ACPI suspend type to S3/STR(Suspend To RAM). Soft-Off by Power button Instant-Off Press power button then Power off instantly. (De...
Page 41 - Power On By Mouse
BIOS Setup - 41 - English Power On By Mouse Disabled Disabled this function. (Default value) Double-Click Double click on PS/2 mouse left button to power on the system. Power On By Keyboard Disabled Disabled this function. (Default value) Password Enter from 1 to 5 characters to set the Keyboard Pow...
Page 42 - PCI 2 IRQ Assignment; Auto; Auto
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 42 - English 2-5 PnP/PCI Configurations PCI 2 IRQ Assignment Auto Auto assign IRQ to PCI 2. (Default value) 3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,14,15 Set IRQ 3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,14,15 to PCI 2. PCI 1 IRQ Assignment Auto Auto assign IRQ to PCI 1. (Default value) 3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,14,15 Set IR...
Page 43 - PC Health Status; Reset Case Open Status; Case Opened; Current CPU Temperature
BIOS Setup - 43 - English 2-6 PC Health Status Reset Case Open Status Disabled Don't reset case open status. (Default value) Enabled Clear case open status at next boot. Case Opened If the case is closed, Case Opened will show "No." If the case is opened, Case Opened will show "Yes."...
Page 44 - CPU Smart FAN Control
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 44 - English CPU Smart FAN Control (Note) Disabled Disable this function. Enabled When this function is enabled, CPU fan will run at different speed depending onCPU temperature. Users can adjust the fan speed with Easy Tune based ontheir requirements. (Default value) CPU Sma...
Page 46 - Set the voltage settings for the HT-Link between CPU and chipset.; CPU Voltage Control; Display your CPU Vcore Voltage.
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 46 - English CPU HT-Link Voltage Set the voltage settings for the HT-Link between CPU and chipset. Normal Set CPU HT-Link voltage to Normal. (Default value) +0.025V ~ +0.375V Set CPU HT-Link voltage from +0.025V to +0.375V. CPU Voltage Control Please note that by overclockin...
Page 47 - BIOS Setup; Load Fail-Safe Defaults
BIOS Setup - 47 - English 2-8 Load Fail-Safe Defaults CMOS Setup Utility-Copyright (C) 1984-2006 Award Software Fail-Safe defaults contain the most appropriate values of the system parameters that allow minimumsystem performance. CMOS Setup Utility-Copyright (C) 1984-2006 Award Software Standard CMO...
Page 49 - -12 Exit Without Saving
BIOS Setup - 49 - English 2-11 Save & Exit Setup Type "Y" will quit the Setup Utility and save the user setup value to RTC CMOS.Type "N" will return to Setup Utility. 2-12 Exit Without Saving Type "Y" will quit the Setup Utility without saving to RTC CMOS.Type "N"...
Page 51 - Drivers Installation; Chapter 3 Drivers Installation; Install Chipset Drivers
Drivers Installation - 51 - English Pictures below are shown in Windows XP.Insert the driver CD-title that came with your motherboard into your CD-ROM drive, the driverCD-title will auto start and show the installation guide. If not, please double click the CD-ROMdevice icon in "My computer"...
Page 52 - Software Applications
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 52 - English 3-2 Software Applications This page displays all the tools that Gigabyte developed and some free software, you can choose anyoneyou want and press "install" to install them. 3-3 Driver CD Information This page lists the contents of software and drivers i...
Page 53 - Hardware Information; This page lists all device you have for this motherboard.; Contact Us; Please see the last page for details.
Drivers Installation - 53 - English 3-4 Hardware Information This page lists all device you have for this motherboard. 3-5 Contact Us Please see the last page for details.
Page 55 - Chapter 4 Appendix; Unique Software Utilities; User Interface Overview
Appendix - 55 - English Chapter 4 Appendix 4-1 Unique Software Utilities (Not all model support these Unique Software Utilities, please check your MB features.) 4-1-1 EasyTune 5 Introduction EasyTune 5 presents the most convenient Windows based system performance enhancement andmanageability utility...
Page 56 - How to use the Xpress Recovery2; Advanced BIOS Feature; enter Xpress Recovery2 by pressing the key in the future.
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 56 - English 4-1-2 Xpress Recovery2 Introduction Xpress Recovery2 is designed to provide quick backup and restora-tion of hard disk data. Supporting Microsoft operating systems includingWindows XP/2000/NT/98/Me and DOS, and file systems includingFAT16, FAT32, and NTFS, Xpres...
Page 57 - The Main Screen of Xpress Recovery2
Appendix - 57 - English 1. RESTORE: Restore the backed-up data to your hard disk.(This button will not appear if there is no backupfile.) 2. BACKUP: Back up data from hard disk. 3. REMOVE: Remove previously-created backup filesto release disk space.(This button will not appear if there is no backupf...
Page 58 - Utility; Del; Utility on Dual BIOS Motherboards.
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 58 - English 4-1-3 Flash BIOS Method Introduction Method 1 : Q-Flash TM Utility Q-Flash TM is a BIOS flash utility embedded in Flash ROM. With this utility, users only have to stay in the BIOS menu when they want to updateBIOS. Q-Flash TM allows users to flash BIOS without a...
Page 59 - Appendix; button on your keyboard and then; in the boot screen to enter BIOS menu.; Exploring the Q-Flash; / Dual BIOS utility screen
Appendix - 59 - English Entering the Q-Flash TM utility: CMOS Setup Utility-Copyright (C) 1984-2004 Award Software Standard CMOS FeaturesAdvanced BIOS FeaturesIntegrated PeripheralsPower Management SetupPnP/PCI ConfigurationsPC Health StatusMB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.) Select LanguageLoad Fail-Saf...
Page 60 - Move to the BIOS file you want to flash and press; After pressing; Enter
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 60 - English Dual BIOS Utility Boot From......................................... Main Bios Main ROM Type/Size.............................SST 49LF003A 512K Backup ROM Type/Size.........................SST 49LF003A 512K Wide Range Protection Disable Boot From Main Bios Auto ...
Page 61 - Please do not take out the floppy disk when it begins flashing BIOS.
Appendix - 61 - English 3. Press Y button on your keyboard after you are sure to update BIOS. Then it will begin to update BIOS. The progress of updating BIOS will be displayed. Dual BIOS Utility Boot From......................................... Main Bios Main ROM Type/Size............................
Page 63 - utility screen; Move to the BIOS file you want to flash and press Enter.
Appendix - 63 - English Exploring the Q-Flash TM utility screen The Q-FlashBIOS utility screen consists of the following key components. Task menu for Q-Flash utility: Contains the names of three tasks. Blocking a task and pressing Enter key on your keyboard to enableexecution of the task. Action ba...
Page 64 - Press Y button on your keyboard after you are sure to update BIOS.; Part One
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 64 - English 3. Press Y button on your keyboard after you are sure to update BIOS. Then it will begin to update BIOS. The progress of updating BIOS will be shown at the same time. Q-Flash Utility V1.30 Flash Type/Size.................................SST 49LF003A 256K Keep DM...
Page 66 - III. In method I, if the BIOS file you need cannot be found in @BIOS; server, please go onto
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 66 - English III. Save BIOSIn the very beginning, there is "Save Current BIOS" icon shown in dialog box. It means to save thecurrent BIOS version. IV. Check out supported motherboard and Flash ROM:In the very beginning, there is "About this program" icon show...
Page 67 - Before you begin
Appendix - 67 - English (Note) Skip this step if you do not want to create RAID array on the SATA controller. To configure SATA hard drive(s), follow the steps below: (1) Install SATA hard drive(s) in your system.(2) Configure SATA controller mode and boot sequence in BIOS Setup.(3) Configure RAID s...
Page 69 - First Boot Device; under the; Advanced BIOS; menu to; CDROM; Figure 3
Appendix - 69 - English Step 2:To boot from Windows installation CD-ROM, set First Boot Device under the Advanced BIOS Features menu to CDROM (Figure 3). Step 3:Save and exit BIOS Setup. Figure 3 CMOS Setup Utility-Copyright (C) 1984-2006 Award Software Advanced BIOS Features Hard Disk Boot Priority...
Page 70 - key to enter the RAID BIOS
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 70 - English (3) Configuring RAID set in RAID BIOS Enter the RAID BIOS setup utility to configure a RAID array. Skip this step and proceed to Section 4 ifyou do not want to create RAID. Step 1:After the POST memory test begins and before the operating system boot begins, loo...
Page 71 - Figure 7
Appendix - 71 - English Step 6:Press F7 after selecting the target hard disks. A message which says "Clear disk data?" will appear(Figure 7). If you are sure to clear the data in the selected hard drives, press Y. (If the hard drivescontain previously created RAID array, you need to press Y ...
Page 72 - Figure 9; Boot; section will show; Yes
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 72 - English To read more information about the RAID array, press ENTER to enter the Array Detail screen (Figure9), where you should see detailed information about RAID mode, disk block size, disk model name,and disk capacity, etc. Figure 9 Figure 8 After that, the Array Lis...
Page 73 - c d b o o t d r v; BootDrv; command prompt window will open similar to that in Figure 11.
Appendix - 73 - English (4) Making a SATA Driver Disk To install operating system onto a serial ATA hard disk successfully, you need to install the SATAcontroller driver during OS installation. Without the driver, the hard disk may not be recognized duringthe Windows setup process. First of all, cop...
Page 74 - (5) Installing SATA controller driver during OS installation; as soon as
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 74 - English Figure 13 Figure 14 (5) Installing SATA controller driver during OS installation Now that you have prepared the SATA driver disk and configured BIOS settings, you are ready to installWindows 2000/XP onto your SATA hard drive with the SATA driver. The following i...
Page 75 - If you want to create RAID, select both
Appendix - 75 - English Step 3:If Setup correctly recognizes the driver in the floppy disk, a controller menu similar to Figure 15 belowwill appear. Use the ARROW keys to select NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER* (Figure 15) and press ENTER. Later, when a screen similar to Figure 16 appears, you must press S...
Page 77 - (6) Configuring a bootable RAID array with Microsoft Windows 2000; menu assure the SATA port connecting the SATA hard disk (the one; Enabled
Appendix - 77 - English (6) Configuring a bootable RAID array with Microsoft Windows 2000 Problem: Users cannot install Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 (or previous versions) to a bootable RAID volume.There are two solutions to resolve this issue. Solutions 1: Use the NVRAID tool (nForce Driver Ver...
Page 78 - Clear Disk Data
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 78 - English Step 3:After system restarts, press F10 to enter the NVIDIA RAID setup utility. Select Striping in the RAID Modefiled (Figure 21). Move to the Free Disks section with the TAB key. Select the desired disk and use theRIGHT ARROW key to add it to Array Disks menu. ...
Page 80 - Introduction; H D A u d i o; Stereo Speakers Connection and Settings:
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 80 - English 4-1-5 2- / 4- / 6- / 8- Channel Audio Function Introduction STEP 1 :After installation of the audio driver, you should findan Audio Manager icon in your system tray (youcan also find the icon in Control Panel). Double-click the icon to open the Audio Control Pan...
Page 81 - Headphone; or; Line Out; depending on; OK; nel audio setup is completed.; Channel Audio Setup; CH Speaker
Appendix - 81 - English STEP 3:After a speaker or headphone is plugged into therear Line Out jack, a small window will pop up andask you what type of equipment is connected.Choose Headphone or Line Out depending on the device connected and click OK . The 2-chan- nel audio setup is completed. 4 Chann...
Page 82 - Channel Audio Setup; CH Speaker; . T h e 4 - c h a n n e l a u d i o s e t u p i s
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 82 - English 6 Channel Audio Setup STEP 1 :After installation of the audio driver, you should findan Audio Manager icon in your system tray (youcan also find the icon in Control Panel). Double-click the icon to open the Audio Control Panel. STEP 2:In the Audio Control Panel,...
Page 83 - CH Speaker; . T h e 8 - c h a n n e l a u d i o s e t u p i s; Channel Audio Setup
Appendix - 83 - English STEP 2:In the Audio Control Panel, click the Audio I/O tab. In the upper left list, click 8CH Speaker . STEP 3:After plugging in 8-channel speakers to the rearspeaker jacks, a small window will pop up andask you what type of equipment is connected.Choose a device depending on...
Page 84 - Sound Effect Configuration:; At the; Sound Effect; menu, users can adjust sound; LOG; icon and then select the; Disable front panel jack detection; This action completes the AC'97 Audio configuration.
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 84 - English Sound Effect Configuration: At the Sound Effect menu, users can adjust sound option settings as desired. AC'97 Audio Configuration: To enable the front panel audio connector to sup-port AC97 Audio mode, go to the Audio ControlPanel and click the Audio I/O tab. I...
Page 85 - Troubleshooting; AWARD BIOS Beep Codes
Appendix - 85 - English 4-2 Troubleshooting Below is a collection of general asked questions. To check general asked questions based on a specificmotherboard model, please log on to GIGABYTE's website. Question 1: I cannot see some options that were included in previous BIOS after updating BIOS. Why...
Page 88 - yy; GIGABYTE Global Service System
GA-M55S-S3 Motherboard - 88 - English y yy y y Germany G.B.T. TECHNOLOGY TRADING GMBHWEB address : http://www.gigabyte.de y yy y y U.K. G.B.T. TECH. CO., LTD.WEB address : http://www.giga-byte.co.uk y yy y y The Netherlands GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY B.V.WEB address : http://www.giga-byte.nl y yy y y F r ...
