USER GUIDE

MS - 8833
nVIDIA GeForce2 MX-400™

Graphics Accelerator

Version 1.0
July 2001
G52-MA00419
I
FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interfer-
ence when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and,
if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of
this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference,
in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his
own expense.

Notice 1
The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party re-
sponsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.

Notice 2
Shielded interface cables and A.C. power cord, if any, must be used in
order to comply with the emission limits.

VOIR LA NOTICE D’INSTALLATION AVANT DE RACCORDER

AU RESEAU.

MICRO-STAR MS-8833

Tested to Comply
with FCC Standard

FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE

II
Copyright Notice

The material in this document is the intellectual property of MICRO-

STAR INTERNATIONAL. We take every care in the preparation of this
document, but no guarantee is given as to the correctness of its contents.
Our products are under continual improvement and we reserve the right
to make changes without notice.

Trademarks

All trademarks used in this manual are the property of their respective
owners.
VGA is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Revision History

Revision Revision History Date

V 1.0 First Release Jul. 2001

III
Important Safety Precautions

Always read and follow these basic safety precautions carefully when
handling any piece of electronic component.

1. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference.

2. Keep this equipment away from humidity.
3. Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up.
4. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects
the equipment from overheating.
5. Make sure the voltage of the power source and adjust properly
110/220V before connecting the equipment to the power inlet.
6. Place the power cord such a way that people can not step on it.
Do not place anything over the power cord.
7. Always Unplug the Power Cord before inserting any add-on card
or module.
8. All cautions and warnings on the equipment should be noted.
9. Never pour any liquid into the opening that could damage or
cause electrical shock.
10. If any of the following situations arises, get the equipment checked
by a service personnel:
The power cord or plug is damaged
Liquid has penetrated into the equipment
The equipment has been exposed to moisture
The equipment has not work well or you can not get it work
according to User’s Manual
The equipment has dropped and damaged
If the equipment has obvious sign of breakage
11. DO NOT LEAVE THIS EQUIPMENT IN AN ENVIRONMENT
UNCONDITIONED, STORAGE TEMPERATURE ABOVE 600 C
(1400F), IT MAY DAMAGE THE EQUIPMENT.

IV
 Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Overview ................................................................................................ 1
Features .................................................................................................. 2
System Requirements ........................................................................... 3
Display Modes ...................................................................................... 3
Package Contents .................................................................................. 4

Chapter 2 Hardware Installation

Card Layout ........................................................................................... 5
Connectors ............................................................................................. 6
Jumpers .................................................................................................. 8
Card Installation ................................................................................. 10

Chapter 3 Software Installation

Drivers for Windows 98/ME ............................................................ 13
Drivers for Windows 2000/NT ........................................................ 14
Install nVIDIA Capture Driver .......................................................... 16
Install Optional Software ................................................................... 17
Drivers Update .................................................................................... 17
Browse the CD ..................................................................................... 18
Display Adjustment ........................................................................... 19

Chapter 4 Troubleshooting
General Help ....................................................................................... 31
Display Problem ................................................................................. 32

Appendix A MSI Live Update Series

Installing MSI Live Update Series ................................................... A-1
Using MSI Live Update Series ......................................................... A-2
SafeBIOS™ ....................................................................................... A-12

V
Overview
Congratulations on purchasing MS-8833 GeForce2 MX-400,
a high performance graphics accelerator that enables you to expe-
rience the realistic and exciting 3D world.

I NTRODUCTION
Based on nVIDIA GeForce2 MX-400™ GPU, MS-8833 uses the
first shading GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) with the new nVIDIA
Shading Rasterizer and a High Definition Video Processor
(HDVP). Incorporating a radical new per-pixel shading
architecture, GeForce2 MX™ is the real-time, per-pixel shading
processor, raising image quality to never-before-seen heights for
interactive content.

MS-8833 GeForce2 MX-400 delivers the industry fastest Direct3D

and OpenGL acceleration, and continues nVIDIA’s tradition of
providing leadership, single-chip, integrated VGA, 2D, 3D and
high definition digital video performance, enabling a range of
applications from 3D games to HDTV, DVD, digital content
creation, internet browsing and general productivity.

1
Features
Chip List
nVIDIA GeForce2 MX-400™ : 2D & 3D accelerator processor

General Features
Optimized for Direct3D acceleration with complete support for
Microsoft DirectX 5.0, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0
256-bit 2D and 3D graphics accelerator
AGP 4x fast writes
Support 32MB SDRAM
128-bit, 200MHz memory interface
350MHz RAMDAC
nVIDIA Shading Rasteriser
4 Texels per Clock
Integrated second-generation transform and lighting engine
32-bit color with 32-bit Z/stencil
Cube Environment mapping
DirectX and S3TC texture compression
700M texel fill rate
20M triangles/sec setup
2.8 GB/sec memory bandwidth
Dual display architecture

Special Features
Video-Out function (S-Video and Composite connectors)
Video-In connector (S-Video connector) for image capture function
MSI SafeBIOSTM (Twin-BIOS-in-one-chip) Technology
MSI Live VGA BIOSTM/Live VGA DriverTM support

Full Software Support

Windows® 98/ME Display Drivers
Windows® 2000, Windows® NT 4.0 Display Drivers
OpenGL ICD for Windows® 2000, Windows® NT 4.0, and
Windows® 98/ME

2
 High Quality Video Playback
DVD and HDTV ready motion compensation for MPEG-2
decoding up to 1920x1080i ATSC format

System Requirements
To install MS-8833 GeForce2 MX-400, your system needs to meet the
following requirements:

Computer Intel Pentium® II/III/4 processor, Intel

Celeron processor, or compatible system
Expansion Slot AGP slot
Monitor VGA support, minimum 640x480
resolution
Operating system Windows® 98/ME, Windows® NT 4.0,
Windows® 2000
CD-ROM Double Speed or Higher

Display Modes
Resolution Color Vertical Refresh (Hz)
640x480 8bit, 16bit, 32bit 60, 70, 72, 75, 85, 100, 120, 140, 144, 150, 170, 200, 240
800x600 8bit, 16bit, 32bit 60, 70, 72, 75, 85, 100, 120, 140, 144, 150, 170, 200, 240
1024x768 8bit, 16bit, 32bit 60, 70, 72, 75, 85, 100, 120, 140, 144, 150, 170
1280x1024 8bit, 16bit, 32bit 60, 70, 72, 75, 85, 100, 120, 140, 144, 150
1600x1200 8bit, 16bit, 32bit 60, 70, 72, 75, 85, 100
1920x1200 8bit, 16bit, 32bit 60, 70, 72, 75, 85
2048x1536 8bit, 16bit 60, 70, 72, 75

Note: The Display Modes listed above are for your reference; the
actual settings may be different on your system because of using different
monitor.

3
Package Contents
Unpack the package and inspect all the items carefully. If any item
contained is damaged or missing, please contact your local dealer as
soon as possible. Also, keep the box and packing materials in case
you need to ship the unit in the future.

Your MS-8833 GeForce2 MX-400 card package should contain the

following items:

User’s Manual Software Pack CDs

MS-8833 GeForce2
S-Video Cable RCA Cable MX-400 Card
(composite video connector)

4
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Card Layout

6
11 5

10 3

1 2
9 4

7
8
12

MS-8833 GeForce2 MX-400

1. nVIDIA GeForce2 MX-400™ GPU

2. 32MB SDRAM
3. SAA7108E Video Chipset
4. VGA Flash BIOS (SafeBIOS)
5. J1 (Twin-BIOS setting)
6. J2 (TV-Mode setting)
7. Fan Connector
8. VGA Connector
9. Video-Out (S-Video connector)
10. Video-Out (Composite connector)
11. Video-In (S-Video connector)
12. AGP Interface

5
Connectors
VGA Connector (DB 15 Pin)
MS-8833 provides a standard VGA connector, which allows you to
connect a CRT monitor. Simply plug your monitor cable into the
VGA connector on your MS-8833 card, and make sure that the other
end of the cable is properly connected to your monitor (refer to your
monitor manual for more information).

MS-8833

VGA connector
CRT monitor

VGA Connector Pin Definition

5 1 Analog Video Display Connector (DB15-S)
Pin Signal Description
1 Red
15 11 2 Green
3 Blue
4 Not used
5 Ground
6 Ground
7 Ground
8 Ground
9 5V
10 Ground
11 Not used
12 SDA
13 Horizontal Sync
14 Vertical Sync
15 SCL

6
Video-Out (S-Video/Composite Connector)
MS-8833 provides a S-Video connector and a composite video
connector for video-out function, which allow you to connect the TV
or video input device. Simply plug one end of the S-Video/RCA
cable into the S-Video/composite connector on the card, and the other
end to the video input connector on your TV or video device. Most
TVs and video devices support composite connector, and some
support the both connectors; you should choose the proper connection
for your devices. (Please refer to the TVs and video devices’ manuals for
more information.)

Video-In (S-Video Connector)

MS-8833 provides a S-Video connector for video-in function, which
allows you to connect the video output devices, such as the video
camera and video recorder. Simply plug one end of the S-Video cable
into the S-Video connector on the card, and the other end to the video
outnput connector on your video devices.
Video recorder

Video input

or MS-8833
Video camera

Video output

S-Video Connector Pin Definition

Chrominance Luminance
Ground Ground
TV or video device using
S-Video/Composite connector

7
Jumpers
J1 (Twin BIOS setting)
MS-8833 provides a MSI special feature that called “SafeBIOSTM”.
Using this revolutionary technology, the BIOS chip is separated (by
software) into two parts to save the two BIOS data; this allows you to
eliminate the risk of updating the BIOS. This jumper is to set the
feature’s status.

short pin 1-2: safe mode

short pin 2-3: work mode

(default)

Note: For more information on the MSI SafeBIOS, please refer to

Appendix A: MSI Live Update Series.

8
J2 (TV mode setting)
When a TV is connected, and the computer is booting up but before
entering the operating system, you can use this jumper to set the
correct TV format to avoid the abnormal displays on TV. Please note
that this jumper is without function under the OS environment; you
should set the correct TV format in the Display Properties window.

short pin 1-2: NTSC short pin 2-3: PAL

(default)

9
Card Installation
To install MS-8833 GeForce2 MX-400 card to your computer, please
follow the steps below:

Installation on new system

1. Remove the computer case.

2. Locate the AGP slot on your mainboard.

Warning: Inserting your MS-8833 card into a wrong type of slot
(e.g. PCI slot) will damage your card (refer to your mainboard
manual for more information).
Bracket screw
3. Put the card directly over
the AGP slot and press
one end of the card into
the slot first. Slightly but
firmly press the other end MS-8833
until it is fully seated in
the slot.
Mainboard
4. Secure the card with a
bracket screw.

5. Install all other cards

and devices and connect
all the cables, and then
replace the case.

6. Connect the monitor. Now, you are ready to install the

software on your computer.

10
Installation on system with existing VGA card
To replace the existing VGA card with MS-8833, please follow the
steps below:

1. If your operating environment is Windows NT system,

switch your display driver to standard VGA first (refer to
Windows NT documentation for more information). If you are
using Windows 98/ME/2000, skip this step.

2. Turn off the computer and unplug all the cables and power
cords.

3. Remove the computer case.

4. Remove the existing VGA card. Locate the AGP slot on your
mainboard.
Warning: Inserting your MS-8833 card into a wrong type of slot
(e.g. PCI slot) will damage your card (refer to your mainboard manual
for more information).

5. Put the card directly over the AGP slot and press one end of
the card into the slot first. Slightly but firmly press the other
end until it is fully seated in the slot.

6. Secure the card with a bracket screw.

7. Replace the case.

8. Connect the monitor (see previous section).

9. Restart the computer. Now, you are ready to install the

driver for MS-8833 card.

11
12
 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
This chapter describes how to install MSI VGA card’s software
for Windows 98/ME/2000 or NT, including the driver and useful
utilities.

Drivers for Windows 98/ME

To install the driver for MS-8833 card to your computer running

Windows 98/ME, please follow the steps below:
1. Turn on the computer.

2. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive. The

“Autorun” will launch the setup program, and shows the
setup screen as below:

Tip: If, on your computer, the “Autorun” program does not

execute automatically, please 1) enable the CD-ROM drive’s
auto-detect function from Control Panel; or 2) find and run
the setup.exe manually from the CD-ROM.

Note: The figures in this section are based on the tested platform
and for reference only; the actual displays and information (such as
settings, driver’s version, etc.) on your system may be different.

13
 3. Click the “nVIDIA VGA Drivers” button on the setup program.
You can easily complete the dirver installation through the
on-screen instructions.

4. After finishing the installation, restart the computer as

instruction.

Drivers for Windows 2000/NT

Note: For Windows® NT 4.0 users, “Service Pack 3” or later version

must be installed before installing the driver.

To install the driver for MS-8833 card to your computer running

Windows 2000/NT, please follow the steps below:
1. Turn on the computer.

2. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive. The

“Autorun” will launch the setup program, and shows the
setup screen as below:

14
 Tip: If, on your computer, the “Autorun” program does not execute
automatically, please 1) enable the CD-ROM drive’s
auto-detect function from Control Panel; or 2) find and run
the setup.exe manually from the CD-ROM.

3. Click the “nVIDIA VGA Drivers” button on the setup program.

You can easily complete the dirver installation through the
on-screen instructions.

Note: Under Windows 2000, it will pop up the “Digital Signa-

ture” message (as shown below) during the installation. Press Yes to continue
installation.

4. After finishing the installation, restart the computer as

instruction.

15
Install nVIDIA Capture Driver
MS-8833 provides a video-in connector that allows you to connect
the external video devices for images capture function. With this
driver installed, you can capture the images on your computer through
the video input port on the card.
1. Turn on the computer.

2. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive, and enter
the setup program.

3. Click the “nVIDIA Capture Drivers” button on the setup

program. You can easily complete the dirver installation
through the on-screen instructions.

4. After finishing the installation, restart the computer as

instruction.

16
Install Optional Software
After restarting the computer, you can install the optional software
from the CD-ROM provided, such as Microsoft DirectX 8.0, Adobe Ac-
robat Reader, and MSI 3D Turbo 2001. Simply click the button you
select and follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation.
1. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive, and enter
the setup program.

2. Choose the Drivers tab on the setup screen.

3. Click the software’s button that you want to install, then follow
the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Surf the Web

Since our products are under continual improvement, and there may
be the latest version of driver and BIOS for the products you have
purchased, please visit our website on the World Wide Web to get
the latest news. Also, we collect lots of useful website on the World
Wide Web for you. Simply click the button you select and go to these
websites.
1. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive, and enter
the setup program.

2. Choose the WebSite tab on the setup screen.

3. Click the corresponding button to launch your browser and

access the website.

Note: To surf these websites or, you have to make connection to the
Internet first.

17
More Information
To browse the contents of the CD-ROM provided, simply click the
“Browse CD” button under each tabs; and, you can use the Manual
tab to learn more on your MSI products.
1. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive, and enter
the setup program.

2. Click the “About CD” button to learn more about the CD-ROM.

3. Choose the Manual tab on the setup screen.

4. Click the corresponding button to get the more information.

18
Display Adjustment
After the completed the driver installation, the setup program adds
many specific options into Windows Display Properties. You can
configure the specific display properties of MS-8833 GeForce2
MX-400 to obtain optimized performance.

To launch the display properties window, click in the task

bar, choose [Settings] → [Control Panel], and double-click the
[Display] icon. Also, you may simply right-click on the blank Win-
dows desktop area and choose the “Properties” item in the pop-up
menu. The “Display Properties” window will show on your screen
as below:

Note: The figures in this section are for reference only; the actual
information on display properties screens may be different on different op-
erating systems.

19
In this section, we list the most important information on how to
configure these specific options of MS-8833.

Display Settings
Launch the “Display Properties” window as the instructoins above,
and click the Settings tab, you will see a figure as shown in page 19.
This screen shows the information of display adapter, colors, the
range of display area, and the refresh rate.

MSI Information
This screen shows the detail information of your MS-8833 card,
includes the model name, display mode, version of driver and BIOS,
memory size, AGP mode, and so on.

20
MSI Clock
This screen shows the settings of MS-8833 card’s core clock and
memory clock, and it provides you the overclocking function. Simply
use the mouse to adjust the slide bar to the value you want, then click
on “Apply” button.

WARNING: Overclocking may cause the display to be abnormal.

It is recommended that to use the Default settings for most stable
performance.

21
GeForce2 MX
This screen shows the detail information of GeForce2 MX, includes
the bus type, BIOS version, memory size, and so on.

Click here

Click the “Additional Properties” button, you may access further

settings on Direct3D and OpenGL.

22
Direct3D Settings
This screen allows you to adjust the Performance and Compatibility
options, Mipmapping, and PCI Texture Memory Size for your 3D
games.

Performance and Compatibil-

ity Options
This option contains many
items that allow you to set the
options influencing the per-
formance and compatibility in
your 3D games.

Mipmapping
This option allows you to set
the mipmapping levels, decide
to get higher application
performance or have better
image effects.
Click here
PCI Texture Memory Size
This option allows you to adjust the size of the PCI texture memory.
For some applications using Direct3D technology, set higher value
in this field may significantly increase the performance. However,
this option does not work on the display adapter using AGP bus.

Click the “More Direct3D” button to access additional settings of

Direct3D.

Texel Alignment
This option allows you to change the addressing scheme of hard-
ware texture for texel. Use the mouse to adjust the slide bar to the
value you want, which will change the texel origin between the
upper-left corner and the center position.

23
OpenGL Settings
This screen allows you to adjust the Performance and Compatibility
options for your OpenGL application.

Performance and Compatibil-

ity Options
This option contains many
items that allow you to set the
options influencing the per-
formance and compatibility in
your OpenGL application.

Default Color Depth for

Textures
This option allows you to
choose the default color depth
for texture.

Buffer Flipping Mode

When using OpenGL application under full-screen mode, turn on
page flipping function may significantly increase the performance.

Vertical Sync
This option allows you to choose the type of vertical sync.

Full Scene Antialiasing Method

This option allows you to choose the method of full scene antialiasing.

24
 TwinView
If your MSI VGA card is equipped with a S-Video connector, you can
use a second output device (e.g. a TV or a computer monitor) as part
of your operating desktop --- extending your desktop to the second
device or copying your desktop on the second device.

Extending the Desktop

When the second video output device (TV or monitor) is connected:
1. Open the Display Properties windows.

Right-Click
here

Check here

2. Under the Settings tab, right-click on the icon of the second

device in the main screen, and choose “Enabled” item in the
pop-up menu.

3. The option “Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor”

will be checked as default.

4. Click “Apply” button to enable the function, or “OK” to

accept and exit the setup screen.

25
 Note: When the extending function is enabled, you can move
your mouse, place the icons and show program windows on the second
device. However, some certain programs do not support this function.
If your program stops working or intermittently when using more than
one monitor, please disable the function.

Copying the Desktop

When the second video output device (TV or monitor) is connected:
1. Open the Display Properties windows.

2. Under the Settings tab, click the “Advanced” button, and then
choose the TwinView tab.

3. Choose the “Clone” radio button, and click “Apply” button to

enable the function, or “OK” to accept and exit the setup screen.

Choose this

26
TV Mode Support: NTSC, NTSC-EIA (Japan), and PAL
The default setting for TV-out function is PAL (for Europe region). If
you want to use this function in different area, please adjust the proper
settings (e.g. NTSC for Taiwan and USA region). Otherwise, the
display in TV may be abnormal.

1. Click the “Output Device” button (see the figure in page 26),
and choose the “Output Device” item in the pop-up box.

2. Under the Output Device tab, select the “TV” radio button
and select a proper output format within the following field.

Choose this

27
Color Correction
This option allows you to adjust the proper valuesof Digital Vibrance,
Brightness, Contrast, and Gamma through the software.

1. Click the “Output Device” button (see the figure in page 26),
and choose the “Color Correction” item in the pop-up box.

2. Under the Color Correction tab, control the slide bar to the
proper value in the relatived fields.

28
Screen Adjustment
This option allows you to adjust the proper position of display image
through the software.

1. Click the “Output Device” button (see the figure in page 26),
and choose the “Screen Adjustment” item in the pop-up box.

2. Click on the , , , buttons to set the proper

position of the image.

29
30
This chapter provides you the general methods to solve the
possible problems that happened on your system. Before you
consult our authorized dealer for further service, try these helpful
hints to solve your problems in advance.

TROUBLESHOOTING
If you cannot find the effective solutions, or you still need help
after this chapter, please contact your local dealer or visit our
website for technical support and service.

General Help
Q: Where can I find more information about my VGA card?
Please visit our website at: http://www.msi.com.tw

Q: How do I know my VGA driver’s version? How to update it?

To get the information of your VGA card’s driver, simply
click , choose Settings → Control Panel → Display
to open the Display Properties window, in which contains
the detail information you want. (Please refer to Chapter 3
Software Installation for more instructions.)
If it is needed to update your VGA card’s driver, please
download the correct, latest driver for your VGA card from
our website. Usually, the driver file is an executive file
(.exe), simply double-click on the file and follow the on-screen
instructions to complete the updating procedure.

31
Display Problem
Q: My monitor displays nothing after the system booting up.
Your VGA card may not be installed correctly. Please check the
installation procedure as described in Chapter 2 Hardware
Installation.
Make sure that your monitor are connected to the VGA card
properly, and the power is turned on.

Q: The image is poor quality; the screen image is off-center; or the

image’s shape become deformed.
Your VGA card’s driver may not be installed correctly. Please
re-install the driver and restart the computer (see instructions in
Chapter 3 Software Installation).
The Display Properties in your system may not be set roperly.
Click , choose Settings → Control Panel → Display to
set the optimized values.
Try to adjust your monitor’s control settings (e.g. brightness,
contrast, and so on). Please refer to your monitor manual for
more information.

Q: How do I change the resolution settings on my computer?

Click , choose Settings → Control Panel → Display to

open the Display Properties window. Under “Settings” tab,
move the slider bar to the right or left to set the proper resolution
setting, and click on the drop-down menu to select different
color setting (16-bit high color is recommended for most
applications). When these changes are done, click “OK” to apply
the new settings. The screen will go black for awhile and then
come back with the new size. You will be asked to confirm the
changes, click “Yes” in the new Display Properties dialogue
box .

32
Q: How do I know if my VGA card is running under AGP 4x
mode? If not, how could I use AGP 4x mode?
Make sure that your mainboard supports AGP 4x mode. Refer
to your mainboard documentation for relative information.
Check the BIOS setting for the AGP mode (if any, please see your
mainboard documentation).
Install the proper driver for your VGA card. If the driver is
installed correctly, go to and choose Settings → Control
Panel → Display to set the values. For example, when you
installed the dedicated driver for your MSI VGA card, which is
provided in the CD-ROM packaged with your VGA card, you
will see the “MSI Information” tab in the Display Properties
window. Choose it and check the “4x” box in the “AGP
Information” field to enable this function (see instructions in
Chapter 3 Software Installation).

Q: My monitor displays become abnormal after the system running

for minutes (blank screen, color blocks, rolling or overlapping
screen image).
Check the memory clock and core clock under Display
Properties. If the values are set too high (exceeding the
recommended spec.), please try the default values.
Keep your monitor away from magnetic objects, such as speakers
without antimagnetic design or your mobile phone. The magnet
and electromagnetic wave will influence and damage your
monitor.
If the problem happens continuously, please contact your local
dealer for further service.

33
Q: The DVD video playback is poor quality (skipping frames, color
blocks, etc.), why?
Change the refresh rate, color and resolution settings to proper
values.
Enable the DMA mode for your DVD drive. However, not all
DVD drives support this function, please see your DVD drive’s
documentation for more infromation.

Q: Some certain DVD video cannot play on my system, why?

Make sure that the DVD video is inserted into your DVD drive
correctly.
The DVD video has region limitation in its specification. For
Taiwan region, you should choose the DVD video of Region 3.
Please contact the vendor to get a copy of DVD video that
compatible with the region code of your DVD drive.

Q: My VGA card has a video output connector, but I saw nothing on

my TV?
This function is disabled by default. Please enable it by selecting
the “Clone” radio button from the TwinView tab under Display
Properties.
Check the connection between the video device and your
computer carefully.

34
MSITM Live Update Series is a useful utility for you to upgrade
your MSI mainboard and VGA card. Using this utility, you can
conveniently download and update the BIOS and the drivers
automatically on-line, but not have to spend much time in
searching the whole website to find the BIOS or drivers you want.

Installing MSI Live Update Series

To use this feature, you have to install the software program first;

APPENDIX
you can: 1) from the CD-ROM provided in the package; 2) from the
MSI website.

Install From the CD-ROM

1. Insert the CD-ROM provided into the CD-ROM drive, and
enter the setup program.

2. Choose the Utility tab on the setup screen.

3. Click the “MSI Live Update Series” button. Then, follow

the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Install From the MSI Website

1. Make connection to Internet, and go to MSI’s website at:
www.msi.com.tw

2. Click the “Live Update Series” button from the top of the
homepage to enter the setup page.

3. Choose and click the download/install button from

FTP 1 or FTP 2. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to
complete the installation.

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Using MSI Live Update Series
After the installation completed, you can launch the utility by
1) double-click the “MSI Live Update Series” icon from the desktop;
or, 2) go to and choose the “MSI Live Update Series” item.
The setup screen should appear as below, in which contains four
parts: Live BIOS, Live Driver, Live VGA BIOS, and Live VGA Driver.

Tip: The Live BIOS and Live Driver options are used for MSI
mainboard, and the Live VGA BIOS and Live VGA Driver options
are used for your MSI VGA card.

Live VGA Driver Update

1. To run MSI Live VGA Driver, click the <Live VGA Driver>
item on the left column of the main page.

Click here

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2. This utility will check your platform and VGA card’s
information first, and shows these information as a list:

Click here

3. Click the graph button at the bottom to connect to MSI Live

Update Series Server. Then, it will automatically connect to
the Internet and compare the version of the driver in the
database.

4. If the driver’s version in the database is the same as the version

installed currently, it will detect the VGA drivers that your
system need and the driver provided by MSI online. The results
are displayed as below:

Supported driver not found

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 Supported driver found Click here

4. It may take several minutes to detect the required drivers. Please

wait while proceeding detection.

5. Click the button at the right side to download and update the
driver. All actions will proceed automatically.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update

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Select a folder to save the BIOS file

Downloading

Driver updating

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 Restart the computer

Note:
1. Always push <Yes> button when Internet Explorer asks the security
question.

2. Click <Yes> button when Internet Explorer shows the Security

Warning for installing and running the <InstallFromTheWeb
Client>.

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Live VGA BIOS Update (optional)
1. To run MSI Live VGA BIOS, click the <Live VGA BIOS> item
on the left column of the main page.
2. This utility will detect your system; if your VGA card does not
support the Live VGA BIOS function, the screen as below will
appear*:

* For more information on the MSI SafeBIOSTM, please see page

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3. If your VGA card supports the function, it will appear the
setup page that contains the warning massage about the risk
of BIOS update. Select <Yes> to continue or <No> to return to
the main page without anything changed.

Select No to keep
Select Yes to continue
everything unchanged

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4. If you select <Yes> to continue, it will check the information
and BIOS version of your VGA card, and shows these data
as a list:

Click here

5. Click the graph button at the bottom to connect to MSI Live

Update Series Server.

6. Then, MSI Live VGA BIOS will automatically connect to

Internet and search the supported BIOS on the database of
MSI. The results will be displayed as below:

Supported BIOS not found

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 Supported BIOS found Click here

7. If it found one (or several) supported BIOS for your VGA card,
click the button at the right side to download and start to
update the BIOS. All actions will proceed automatically.

Note: Your monitor may go BLANK during the software

EEPROM being erased, please wait for a while.

8. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update.

Select a folder to save the BIOS file

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 Downloading

Asking to continue

Restart the computer after

the BIOS updated

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 Note:
1. Always push <Yes> button when Internet Explorer asks the security
question.

2. Click <Yes> button when Internet Explorer shows the Security

Warning for installing and running the <InstallFromTheWeb
Client>.

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SafeBIOSTM

The diagram below describes the procedure in brief:

BIOS I

Return to BIOS I

Run the flash utility

BIOS II

Boot up with BIOS II

Successfully updated!

OOPS! Failed...

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Our products are under continual improvement, and there may be
the newer version of BIOS to solve the existing problems on displays
or installaton. When you use the flash utility* to update the BIOS on
the card, it is unavoidably with some danger to your devices because
of some unexpected factors (e.g. main power interruption during
updating). If, unfortunately, the updating procedure is failed and
the VGA card cannot work anymore --- this powerful technology can
solve your problems!

Once you are not able to update the BIOS successfully, and have to
use this function to save your VGA card, please follow the steps
below:

1. Turn off the power and remove the computer case.

2. Locate the jumpler J1 on the VGA card, and set it to short pin
1-2 to enter the BIOS II mode (safe mode) when booting up
system the next time.

3. Do not replace the case first and turn on the power.

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 4. With the BIOS II, you should be able to boot up the system
normally. After entering the OS, set the J1 back to short pin
2-3 to enter the BIOS I mode (work mode); now you can restore
the original BIOS or you can try to update the BIOS using the
flash utility* again.

Warning: It is very dangerous doing this procedure under such

status, please do not touch any other components in the computer.
Otherwise, both the components and the user may be in danger
of electrical shock or damage.

5. If the updating is still failed**, repeat the steps 3 to 4; if the

updating is successfully, the BIOS data is written to the chip
successfully.

6. Replace the case and restart the computer.

* NOTE: To update the BIOS, you must only use the special
flash utility (MSI Live Update Series) provided from MSI, which
can fully support the SafeBIOSTM technology. If the third
party’s utility is used during the updating, it will erase the
data in BIOS II.
** If you always encounter problems during updating the BIOS
and driver, it may be that the mainboard’s chipset driver not
installed. Please install the chipset driver from your mainboard
vendor first and try again.

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