New Build: Order of BIOS, Driver and Utility Installation?

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Avagadro1

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I just built my first computer, but have not yet updated/installed any firmware or software. The motherboard is an ASRock H170M Pro4. My question pertains to the ORDER of firmware/software installation.

I checked the ASRock website; the BIOS, INF, drivers and utilities on the ASRock installation disk are all old. I downloaded all the newest BIOS, INF, drivers and utilities to a flash drive. I also have a new Windows 10 thumb drive.

What is the correct order to install?

I thought the first item of business would be to install the updated BIOS through the thumb drive FLASH method, but that seems impossible as there will be no driver for the monitor. Nonetheless, I seem to recall from somewhere that even without any monitor driver, one can update the BIOS through the Flash method (?).

Aside from the BIOS update, should one first install all the software from the ASRock installation disk — but NOT Windows. But then how does one execute the install of executables for INF, drivers and utilities?

So, in general, what order or methodology is suggested?

Thank you.
 
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Darkbreeze
If you have other flash drives, I'd copy the BIOS files to a flash drive that does not have any other data on it.

Flash the bios, most likely from within the bios as there should be a utility in there that allows you to update firmware. Once done, after installing windows, copy all your driver files to a temporary folder on the desktop, create one, then you can run them from within that folder. You can extract each .zip file into it's own folder inside the temp folder if you wish, but most likely they will offer you the option to simply unzip to a temp location and run automatically.
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Monitors don't need drivers in pre-windows environments. You should be able to access the bios even if there is no storage drive (SSD, HDD) attached at all.

I'd update the BIOS first, then install Windows, then update drivers, then install any utilities you feel you need to use. I would not install any of the OEM utilities that come on disk or are available from the motherboard product page unless a specific utility contains features you absolutely feel you need or want to have. Things like Turbo LAN utilities, Turbo USB, etc. are all junk and cause more problems than they solve. Always use the drivers from the motherboard product page for things like chipset, LAN, USB, etc., but use drivers from the Nvidia or AMD website for GPU cards.
 
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Avagadro1

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Thank you. It's Flash BIOS first.

I read somewhere that the chipset firmware (INF) should be installed before Windows.

Could this be particularly important as I will be using the Intel video/graphics driver built into the chipset (not a separate graphics card)?

My problem, as suggested in the first post, is how to install the chipset INF if I do not first install the INF and other drivers (but not utilities) from the ASRock installation disk.

In other words, after BIOS update, should I run the ASRock installation disk (thereby installing the ASRock INF and drivers), then execute the updates that previously I downloaded onto a flash drive? Or (after the BIOS update) do I NOT run the ASRock installation disk at all, but manually install INF, then (per your suggestion) Windows, then the new drivers from the flash drive?

Thank you.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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How are you going to install any chipset drivers before windows is installed? You can't. The .inf files are files that contain the information necessary to explain to windows specific features and requirements of hardware, but windows has native drivers that pretty much cover most of what's out there, and almost all of the basics. Older operating systems like windows 7 may not have all the necessary drivers for current hardware, and that could be a problem, but usually when that's the case windows will prompt you for additional driver information during the installation.

Much of this is already handled by the EFI hardware tables contained in the BIOS. I wouldn't worry about it at all unless there is a clear problem during installation. Personally, I've rarely if ever come across this except in cases regarding some limited models of storage controllers.

There is nothing on the ASRock disk that can be installed prior to there being some kind of platform to install it on. Even if you installed it in a DOS or Linux environment first, windows would just wipe it out or ignore it. I'm actually fairly certain you couldn't even do it. Allowing windows to install and then providing the additional drivers during installation, IF windows asks for them, is how installation is handled. At least on the hundreds and hundreds of systems I've installed Windows on.
 
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Avagadro1

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_________________________________________________

Thank you. I was wondering about the INF installation just as you suggest, though part of my confusion appears to be that I thought that the INF chipset information was firmware, somehow embedded into the motherboard. Your explanation, however, indicates that INF is data inserted into the Operating System. That being so, and assuming I now understand, I summarize the matter as the following:

Whereas I had though that the correct order was:

(1) Flash BIOS, (2) Load the ASROCK installation disk information, (3) Install Windows (4) Update INF and Drivers;

The correct order should be:

(1) Flash BIOS, (2) Install Windows, (3) Load the ASROCK installation disk information, (4) Update INF and Drivers.

Have I got it?

Thank you.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Pretty much, except I'd ignore the ASRock installation disk. I never EVER use the disk that comes with the motherboard. The files on there are pretty much ALWAYS outdated, having been superceded by file revisions released to correct problems that may have existed with the drivers or utilities that originally accompanied the motherboard. Same goes for BIOS revisions. Always download and use the latest BIOS and drivers from the motherboard product page after installing windows. In some very rare cases, after the Windows installation, you may need to use your disk to install the network adapter drivers in order to gain access to the internet for the purpose of downloading the newer files, but usually Windows has at least minimal driver support for almost all chipset and network adapter chipset platforms so that's usually not necessary.

Also, here is the CORRECT method, and should be followed verbatim, for installing windows:

http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html
 
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Avagadro1

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___________________________________________________
Darkbreeze, you have been incredibly helpful, thank you. And I thank the other responders as well.
 
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Avagadro1

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May I ask a follow-up question ---

If one starts by loading the motherboard manufacturer's installation disk (to ensure the LAN/Internet-connection capability [and perhaps other drivers] will be up and running), and THEN updates INF and the drivers from the latest files on the motherboard manufacturer's website, will everything get updated properly, or should one NEVER use the motherboard manufacturer's installation disk?

Thank you.


 
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Darkbreeze

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Aside from GPU card drivers, it doesn't make a HUGE difference either way, however, the more VERSIONS of something that are installed, the more potential their is for unnecessary redundant registry entries, code bloat, different versions of the same file, additional installation files that get left behind, just less CLEAN overall. There is no sense in installing something old, just to replace it with something new, and have things get left behind from the initial installation.

The point of a clean install is to leave the system as minimal and clean as possible, to avoid future conflicts or file system errors, and the more applications, drivers, system files and registry entries you install, regardless of whether you supersede them with newer versions, the less that is possible. But it won't necessarily harm anything, it just really isn't necessary unless there is a problem with the driver for your network adapter not getting automatically installed by windows natively, which is unlikely, but does happen from time to time most especially on older operating systems when using newer hardware.
 
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Avagadro1

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____________________________________

Understood in terms of general concept, thank you. My confusion is that I cannot yet understand how one can load Windows, which I believe must be able to connect to the Internet in order to download all the necessary files, if the drivers for LAN and perhaps other motherboard components have not been installed first.

For example, it has been suggested that I install the chipset driver (INF) BEFORE loading Windows, so that Windows will install exactly what my chipset needs. On the other hand, I am told that the INF must install into Windows; therefore, it cannot possibly be installed prior to installing Windows!

In any event, I shall proceed to (i) install most recent flash BIOS, (ii) install Windows 10 from the USB, then (iii) update the INF, IME and drivers one at a time from the most recent files downloaded from the motherboard manufacturer's support page. All without using the motherboard installation disk . . . . if possible.

Thanks.

 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Windows already has every file it needs to install itself, including broad compatibility drivers that, while perhaps not as good as the hardware specific ones you will download from the motherboard product page, are plenty good enough to get you to that point. Windows machines have been installing themselves since long before there was an internet. Also long gone are the days when Windows needed you to tell IT what each driver for each hardware component is that should be used. It will install them itself. It already has them in it's compressed cabinet packages, except, like I said, in rare cases where the hardware is too new. Even then often an older driver that it has will give/offer basic compatibility that's good enough to get you online so you can download the hardware specific, and current, versions.

If you feel you need to install the drivers that come on the disk with your motherboard, by all means do so. I don't think it's necessary unless for some reason your network adapter refuses to be recognized which is improbable, but again, does occasionally happen if the hardware is newer than the OS version. That almost never happens these days.

Windows does not require an internet connection to be installed. So long as you already have Windows installation media, as in, a disk or usb image to install windows from, then you already have what you need to get windows installed. If you do not have those, you cannot install windows, and therefore could not install anything on the motherboard disk even if and no matter how much, you wanted to. There would be nothing to install them TO.

So, as I said, install the bios update if any is newer than what's already on there, then install windows, then run windows update including any necessary reboots until there are no further windows updates available, then proceed to find and install the latest drivers as available from the motherboard product page.
 
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Avagadro1

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______________________________________

Ok. Got it.

The last time I built a computer, years ago, of course the first thing I did after installing the hardware was to load the motherboard installation disk. When I subsequently loaded Windows 7, I believe the process automatically went to the Internet to find some things (no problem since the motherboard installation disk enabled the LAN).

I've never owned Windows 8 or 8.1, so I suppose I was not aware that Windows 10 (did not come on a CD but on a funky little USB stick) was so powerful that it contained everything I'll need for my new H-170 chipset motherboard. But now I get it: After the Windows install, I should have all the basic drivers I need to be up and running. Therefore, the chipset INF and all other drivers found on the motherboard's support page are installed AFTER Windows. Got it.

By the way, I already downloaded the new BIOS, INF and driver files from the motherboard's support page. I noted that each was downloaded in its own Zip file. Do you know if I should place these Zip files on the new Windows Desktop and leave them zipped for updating, or if I should instead extract the internal files and place them on the Desktop ready for updating? The reason I ask is that while the BIOS Zip folder contains only a a single file, the INF folder contains three files, and the Realtek Audio Zip folder and others contain numerous files. Fortunately I noted that each of the multiple-file folders contains an "executable". So my guess is that I should unzip each Zip folder and another folder, containing the active files, will appear on the Desktop from which I simply click on the executable. Does that strike you as the appropriate procedure? Thanks.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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If you have other flash drives, I'd copy the BIOS files to a flash drive that does not have any other data on it.

Flash the bios, most likely from within the bios as there should be a utility in there that allows you to update firmware. Once done, after installing windows, copy all your driver files to a temporary folder on the desktop, create one, then you can run them from within that folder. You can extract each .zip file into it's own folder inside the temp folder if you wish, but most likely they will offer you the option to simply unzip to a temp location and run automatically.
 
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