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A7N8X-E Which nForce driver???
I have a new A7N8X-E system.
I just loaded XP, so far so good. Next, I need to get Ethernet working, XP Home OEM CD did not find and load ethernet drivers. I understand I need to load nForce drivers (a.k.a all-in-one, or chipset, or platform) Should I use the nForce drivers from the ASUS CDROM, which are exact same as on ASUS web site, these are the 3.xx series drivers, or......... Should I use the latest drivers from NVIDIA which are the 4.xx series drivers? I pasted both Readme.txt files below. Note there are more files in the one from NVIDA site. I really want to setup all hardware on the A7N8X-E card, but find it so confusing. Especially I am interested in the HDD drivers as I have one of the SATA drive (single drive, no RAID), so..... Does the nForce all-in-one platform driver set have the SATA driver???? Thanks Joe101 ********** Readme.txt from ASUS CD *********************************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver 3.62 (WHQL) Ethernet driver 3.46 (WHQL) GART driver 3.34 (WHQL) SMBus driver 3.38 (WHQL) IDE driver (In-the-box) 3.43 (WHQL) Installer 3.65 ************************************************** ******************* *************** Readme.txt from NVIDA web site ****************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Audio utility version 4.44 Win2K ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) WinXP ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) Ethernet NRM driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Network management tools version 4.42 GART driver version 4.36 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Memory controller driver version 3.38 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files SMBus driver version 4.04 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Installer version 4.46 Win2K IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files WinXP IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files ************************************************** ************************* |
#2
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I've been using the 4.xx series for a couple of weeks
"Joe101" not valid@email wrote in message ... I have a new A7N8X-E system. I just loaded XP, so far so good. Next, I need to get Ethernet working, XP Home OEM CD did not find and load ethernet drivers. I understand I need to load nForce drivers (a.k.a all-in-one, or chipset, or platform) Should I use the nForce drivers from the ASUS CDROM, which are exact same as on ASUS web site, these are the 3.xx series drivers, or......... Should I use the latest drivers from NVIDIA which are the 4.xx series drivers? I pasted both Readme.txt files below. Note there are more files in the one from NVIDA site. I really want to setup all hardware on the A7N8X-E card, but find it so confusing. Especially I am interested in the HDD drivers as I have one of the SATA drive (single drive, no RAID), so..... Does the nForce all-in-one platform driver set have the SATA driver???? Thanks Joe101 ********** Readme.txt from ASUS CD *********************************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver 3.62 (WHQL) Ethernet driver 3.46 (WHQL) GART driver 3.34 (WHQL) SMBus driver 3.38 (WHQL) IDE driver (In-the-box) 3.43 (WHQL) Installer 3.65 ************************************************** ******************* *************** Readme.txt from NVIDA web site ****************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Audio utility version 4.44 Win2K ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) WinXP ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) Ethernet NRM driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Network management tools version 4.42 GART driver version 4.36 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Memory controller driver version 3.38 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files SMBus driver version 4.04 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Installer version 4.46 Win2K IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files WinXP IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files ************************************************** ************************* |
#3
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In article , "Joe101" not
valid@email wrote: I have a new A7N8X-E system. I just loaded XP, so far so good. Next, I need to get Ethernet working, XP Home OEM CD did not find and load ethernet drivers. I understand I need to load nForce drivers (a.k.a all-in-one, or chipset, or platform) Should I use the nForce drivers from the ASUS CDROM, which are exact same as on ASUS web site, these are the 3.xx series drivers, or......... Should I use the latest drivers from NVIDIA which are the 4.xx series drivers? I pasted both Readme.txt files below. Note there are more files in the one from NVIDA site. I really want to setup all hardware on the A7N8X-E card, but find it so confusing. Especially I am interested in the HDD drivers as I have one of the SATA drive (single drive, no RAID), so..... Does the nForce all-in-one platform driver set have the SATA driver???? Thanks Joe101 ********** Readme.txt from ASUS CD *********************************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver 3.62 (WHQL) Ethernet driver 3.46 (WHQL) GART driver 3.34 (WHQL) SMBus driver 3.38 (WHQL) IDE driver (In-the-box) 3.43 (WHQL) Installer 3.65 ************************************************** ******************* *************** Readme.txt from NVIDA web site ****************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Audio utility version 4.44 Win2K ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) WinXP ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) Ethernet NRM driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Network management tools version 4.42 GART driver version 4.36 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Memory controller driver version 3.38 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files SMBus driver version 4.04 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Installer version 4.46 Win2K IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files WinXP IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files ************************************************** ************************* Ben's FAQ recommends Forceware 4.27, and that is what I used to set up my system. Other people's opinions may differ, but with respect to the IDE driver included in the all-in-one, I would not install it, and instead let Windows install the default Microsoft driver. You can check later, to see if the driver is the default one or not. The problem with IDE drivers that come with chipsets, is they are not as compatible with other software as they should be, so if you have any fancy burning software for example, there could be interactions. Some of these IDE drivers incorporate some nice cacheing features, and that can make the IDE interfaces "look" faster, but imagine what happens if the machine crashes while using such a driver (data lost in cache)... http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html The manual and the install CD itself have a nice list of the included driver software. I'm using the Marvell port, and it has worked OK for me, with no complaints. I haven't tried the other port yet (I think it shows up in Knoppix, but I haven't tried surfing with it yet). If you think about it, two Ethernet connectors implies a computer will need routing software, so if you find an Ethernet port isn't working, think about what network stack the OS is using, and whether the OS is prepared to entertain two connectors at the same time. (At least, that is where I'd start looking, if I had two Ethernet ports, and one of them didn't seem to work...) The SATA ports are controlled by the Silicon Image SIL3112, so I would not expect the Nvidia All-In-One to have a driver for it. Ben recommends downloading a driver from the Silicon Image site, and at one time, that was the only way to get an up to date driver. As I don't own any SATA drives, I haven't tried mine and don't know if my chip is working or not. If you are trying to install Windows on the SATA drive, I would expect you'll need to make one of those driver floppies, so you can install the necessary drivers early in the Windows install. This board can be more complicated to set up, if you start concentrating on the contents of the Nvidia driver, and trying to get certain versions of stuff - otherwise it is about the same amount of work as some other boards I've set up. Also, before you get too much software set up on the machine, I recommend running memtest86 from memtest.org . That will tell you whether the RAM has any major problems. I also recommend a few hours of Prime95 torture test (mersenne.org), as I discovered my bargain RAM was pattern sensitive. (I used a Knoppix Linux boot CD, to run a Linux version of Prime95, as that doesn't require loading software on a hard drive. Knoppix also has a copy of memtest86 built in, and it can be launched at boot time from the same CD. If you can get a basic Windows install to take, then you could run the Windows version of Prime95 from there.) Nforce2 seems to be picky about RAM, so you need to spend a bit more time proving CPU/RAM/board are 100%, before loading up all that software. For example, if overclocking, Prime95 can show you the real limit to clock speed, as sitting in the Windows desktop can give you a false sense of security. If Prime95 reports an error in 30 minutes of testing, it is time to dial the clock down a notch. I'm currently running a Mobile at 11x200 1.65V and Prime runs clean overnight. Some games are also good at stress testing the machine, but I don't own any decent games (just old stuff). HTH, Paul |
#4
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Hi;
By all means use the 4.46 from nVidia dated June 2004. They beat the h*ck out of the ones on the CD-Rom! Offer a speed test for IDE/ATA/ATAPI Controlers to confirm proper performance is achieved. "Paul" wrote in message ... In article , "Joe101" not valid@email wrote: I have a new A7N8X-E system. I just loaded XP, so far so good. Next, I need to get Ethernet working, XP Home OEM CD did not find and load ethernet drivers. I understand I need to load nForce drivers (a.k.a all-in-one, or chipset, or platform) Should I use the nForce drivers from the ASUS CDROM, which are exact same as on ASUS web site, these are the 3.xx series drivers, or......... Should I use the latest drivers from NVIDIA which are the 4.xx series drivers? I pasted both Readme.txt files below. Note there are more files in the one from NVIDA site. I really want to setup all hardware on the A7N8X-E card, but find it so confusing. Especially I am interested in the HDD drivers as I have one of the SATA drive (single drive, no RAID), so..... Does the nForce all-in-one platform driver set have the SATA driver???? Thanks Joe101 ********** Readme.txt from ASUS CD *********************************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver 3.62 (WHQL) Ethernet driver 3.46 (WHQL) GART driver 3.34 (WHQL) SMBus driver 3.38 (WHQL) IDE driver (In-the-box) 3.43 (WHQL) Installer 3.65 ************************************************** ******************* *************** Readme.txt from NVIDA web site ****************** This nForce Win2K/XP driver package contains the below components: Audio driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Audio utility version 4.44 Win2K ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) WinXP ethernet driver version 4.16 (WHQL) Ethernet NRM driver version 4.42 (WHQL) Network management tools version 4.42 GART driver version 4.36 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Memory controller driver version 3.38 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files SMBus driver version 4.04 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files Installer version 4.46 Win2K IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files WinXP IDE 2.6 driver version 4.46 (WHQL) with updated uninstaller files ************************************************** ************************* Ben's FAQ recommends Forceware 4.27, and that is what I used to set up my system. Other people's opinions may differ, but with respect to the IDE driver included in the all-in-one, I would not install it, and instead let Windows install the default Microsoft driver. You can check later, to see if the driver is the default one or not. The problem with IDE drivers that come with chipsets, is they are not as compatible with other software as they should be, so if you have any fancy burning software for example, there could be interactions. Some of these IDE drivers incorporate some nice cacheing features, and that can make the IDE interfaces "look" faster, but imagine what happens if the machine crashes while using such a driver (data lost in cache)... http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html The manual and the install CD itself have a nice list of the included driver software. I'm using the Marvell port, and it has worked OK for me, with no complaints. I haven't tried the other port yet (I think it shows up in Knoppix, but I haven't tried surfing with it yet). If you think about it, two Ethernet connectors implies a computer will need routing software, so if you find an Ethernet port isn't working, think about what network stack the OS is using, and whether the OS is prepared to entertain two connectors at the same time. (At least, that is where I'd start looking, if I had two Ethernet ports, and one of them didn't seem to work...) The SATA ports are controlled by the Silicon Image SIL3112, so I would not expect the Nvidia All-In-One to have a driver for it. Ben recommends downloading a driver from the Silicon Image site, and at one time, that was the only way to get an up to date driver. As I don't own any SATA drives, I haven't tried mine and don't know if my chip is working or not. If you are trying to install Windows on the SATA drive, I would expect you'll need to make one of those driver floppies, so you can install the necessary drivers early in the Windows install. This board can be more complicated to set up, if you start concentrating on the contents of the Nvidia driver, and trying to get certain versions of stuff - otherwise it is about the same amount of work as some other boards I've set up. Also, before you get too much software set up on the machine, I recommend running memtest86 from memtest.org . That will tell you whether the RAM has any major problems. I also recommend a few hours of Prime95 torture test (mersenne.org), as I discovered my bargain RAM was pattern sensitive. (I used a Knoppix Linux boot CD, to run a Linux version of Prime95, as that doesn't require loading software on a hard drive. Knoppix also has a copy of memtest86 built in, and it can be launched at boot time from the same CD. If you can get a basic Windows install to take, then you could run the Windows version of Prime95 from there.) Nforce2 seems to be picky about RAM, so you need to spend a bit more time proving CPU/RAM/board are 100%, before loading up all that software. For example, if overclocking, Prime95 can show you the real limit to clock speed, as sitting in the Windows desktop can give you a false sense of security. If Prime95 reports an error in 30 minutes of testing, it is time to dial the clock down a notch. I'm currently running a Mobile at 11x200 1.65V and Prime runs clean overnight. Some games are also good at stress testing the machine, but I don't own any decent games (just old stuff). HTH, Paul |
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