Installing drivers in new build ??

[Albireo13]

I have a A8N-E mobo system I am ready to turn on for the first time .... new, blank HDD ... clean, new install.

Is it best to install the mobo drivers from the included ASUS CD and forge ahead? Should I instead search the web sites for updated drivers and install those first?

I was thinking I'd start off using the CD drivers and worry about updating drivers later. Same with the BIOS ... same with the graphics card .... don't update it unless I run into an issue down the road.
What do you folks think?

Also, I downloaded the latest nVidia chipset driver .zip file, from the ASUS A8N-E website. The zipped file is full of a whole bunch of different Makedisk.exe files. Is this right? It doesn't seem to make sense to me.
I thought it would be one driver file.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[doolittle]

I usually go to nvidia.com and get the latest "platform nforce" --> "amd / intel X16" looks right for that board. the ones on the CD are definitly old.

 

[pat]

I usually go to nvidia.com and get the latest "platform nforce" --> "amd / intel X16" looks right for that board. the ones on the CD are definitly old.

No.. the x16 is for PCIe dual 16x video slots, like the A8n32-sli...

All he need is the plain nforce4 driver.

 

[gambit6259]

Personally I would download and install the latest drivers for all your devices.

 

[jap0nes]

i usually install drivers directly from nvidia, always worked for me

 

[chunkymonster]

I always go with dl'ing the latest from the web rather than the install CD's...I picked an ATI card from a computer show a few years ago and the drivers on it were two releases old...

I follow this sequence whenever I do a fresh install or new build and it's served me well, so I recommend...after installing windows, update the BIOS, then get all the windows updates 1st, install mobo chipset drivers 2nd, and then install the hardware drivers...

Good luck!

 

[Albireo13]

OK, thanks guys. I am now collecting the latest drivers directly from vendors ... eVGA graphics, nVidia nForce4, DVD drive, HDD.

BTW, last night I successfully POSTed and can enter BIOS Setup ... w/ no drives hooked up yet. Just mobo, cpu, ram, and graphics. A small step but, significant milestone.

Woooooohh -Hooohh !

 

[jap0nes]

well, you dont need drivers to post and enter bios, but congratulations anyway
and good luck

 

[Albireo13]

Agreed, and thanks.

What about other drivers like SATA and LAN drivers?
I'm now thinking that I should first install the drivers that came on the CD with the mobo, then go back and individually update the nvidia chipset, audio drivers, etc. This should ensure that I will start up with a stable
rig with working SATA and LAN drivers before worrying about being up to date.

Is this reasonable?

Rob

 

[jap0nes]

hmmmm you dont need sata drivers to boot to windows, unless you're using raid.
what i usually do is:

- install windows
- download network driver from linux, then install at windows. You can replace this step by installing from the cd
- download and install the latest network driver, replacing the one from cd.
- run windows update
- with the network working, i download video, chipset, audio, etc, etc from the chip manufacturer, not from the card maker, and install
- run windows update until there are no more updated... windows update is a stupid thing, coz it has updates for updates... so if you run an update you are not running the latest, because there will be an update for the last one you did... so i always run windows update repeatedly until there are no more.

as for the sata driver, you'll have to install if your chipset supports ncq and your hd too, otherwise i dont see any real need to do so. windows drivers will be good

 

[Albireo13]

I have XP Pro from a few years ago, and will install SP2.
Will this include useable LAN and SATA drivers?
I only am concerned about SATA since my main HDD is a SATA II
drive.

If XP is good, then that makes it all easier.

Rob

 

[jap0nes]

Lan, probably not, but you can install from cd. Sata II is compatible with sata, which is compatible with ata, which xp can read. As i said, you'll only need sata drivers if you're using raid or you want to enable NCQ, but for just running windows, its default drivers will do.

it's simple to check: if you can install windows the "normal" way, then it can read your drive

 

[pat]

Lan, probably not, but you can install from cd. Sata II is compatible with sata, which is compatible with ata, which xp can read. As i said, you'll only need sata drivers if you're using raid or you want to enable NCQ, but for just running windows, its default drivers will do.

it's simple to check: if you can install windows the "normal" way, then it can read your drive

The problem is not really the drive, but the controller. Windows don't really care about the kind of disk it has to install to. As long as it can natively speak to the controller, everything will be fine without driver.

nvidia controller that control the SATA interface is the same that control the PATA interface. So windows install will simply ask the BIOS to ask the controller to show him the drive available and the controller give him the info it needs. But, if one controler is set to RAID, then the main BIOS pass this one to the RAID BIOS, so it won't be seen like normal controller. That's why drivers are needed, for windows to talk to the controller.

Onboard third party solution almost always need drivers because the onboard is BIOS is not integrated to the main BIOS. And that, even if the controller is set as IDE or RAID. I didnt say SATA because as I said, windows don't care about the interface. As long as it can talk to the IDE controler, things will be ok.

SATA hdd are IDE hdd using the SATA interface to communicate with the IDE controller.. nothing more. SATA interface add feature and performance, but the controller is the main thing that windows need first.

Once installed, the OS uses drivers to directly talk to the controller and/or use the extended features.