How to Build a Computer
with an
AMD Socket A Athlon or Duron Processor
Part 9 - Install Windows and Motherboard Drivers
Last updated: 6/3/2001
 In
this part we install the upgrade version of Windows 98 Me and motherboard-specific
drivers/software.
Do not install any expansion boards in addition to the
display adapter until after Windows and the motherboard drivers have been
installed.
Copying cab files and Installing from a
Hard Disk. Unless there are severe problems in prior installation
attempts, there is no need to copy the Windows cab files (cabinet or compressed
files containing the Windows files) from the CD to the hard disk and installing
from the hard disk. Unlike Windows 98 and 98 SE and like Windows
95 OSR2, the Windows Me Setup copies the cab files to the hard disk drive
(C:\windows\options\install) and installs Windows from there. Windows
will no longer be asking for the Windows CD when you are on the road with
your laptop while the CD remains behind in a desk drawer in your office
(most annoying).
126. Run Windows Setup. After
formatting the partitions, change drives to your CD-ROM drive and execute
Setup from the DOS prompt as follows:
A:\>E:
E:\>win9x\setup.exe (where E: is your CD-ROM
letter).
After setup runs scandisk you can simply Exit
scandisk. I wouldn't bother doing a surface scan at this point; it
would take a very long time.
Follow the Setup instructions. If you
are using the upgrade version of Windows 98 Me, Setup will ask you to insert
the CD or floppies from a previous version or Windows and will verify it/them.
You may choose to make the Startup floppy
when prompted. You can feed it a new floppy disk or use the one you
that came with Windows ME, if there is one.
Complete the Windows installation selecting
setup defaults and following setup instructions. I won't elaborate. The
process is simple, straight forward, and requires no cookbook instructions. Unless
something is defective, you should not encounter any Windows setup problems
with this motherboard and the other items in the bill of materials.
127. Install Motherboard-Specific
Drivers. Most motherboards come with a CD containing motherboard-specific
drivers and software. The drivers, etc. are usually out-of-date and
should not be installed if they are. Rather, it is advisable to download
the latest drivers for the motherboard and expansion boards (do not install
these yet) to be installed in your computer from the manufacturers' web
sites and install them at this point, starting with the motherboard drivers. This
step can usually be delayed until after you have installed the MODEM or
network adapter to connect to the Internet, but not always. For example,
if you are planning to access the Internet with a broadband connection
(cable MODEM, DSL, etc.) via the network adapter, you may have problems
getting the network adapter to work before installing the motherboard-specific
drivers.
In the case of the Abit KT7-RAID motherboard used in this
computer, the most up-to-date drivers for the VIA KT133 chipset on the motherboard
are located on VIA Technologies web site.
Files containing motherboard device drivers and software
are often compressed on a manufacturers' web sites and require a program
to uncompress them after downloading. I use PowerArchiver to
extract zipped, etc. files. It is totally free and without advertising. WinZip is
another popular program that works quite well.
Download and install the appropriate drivers for the motherboard. For
this motherboard download the Apollo
KT133 (VT8363 + VT82C686A/B) 4-in1 drivers. If you are
installing an older version of Windows 9X, Windows 2000, or Windows NT and
you want to use the motherboard's USB capabilities, you should also download
the USB
Filter Drive.
The 4-in-1 drivers are in a zipped file. I decompressed
the file with PowerArchiver by clicking it with the right mouse button in
the Windows Explorer and selecting Extract Here from the resulting menu. After
the files are extracted copy all of them (They are in a newly created folder.
Copy the files in the folder, not the folder. Do not copy the zipped
file that was downloaded), to a freshly formatted and virus-free floppy disk. Write-protect
the floppy to prevent it from catching a virus by looking at the back of
the floppy with the sliding door down and pushing the tab in the upper-right
corner up to expose the square hole under it. I labeled this floppy
with the version number and added it to my bench collection of floppies.
The USB Filter driver is a self extracting file. Download
it to a temporary folder, double-click it from the Windows Explorer to extract
the files, and copy the extracted files (not the compressed download file)
to a freshly formatted, virus-free floppy disk, and label and write protect
it.
Install the 4-in-1 drivers by inserting the floppy into
the floppy drive and from Windows click Start, select Run, enter A:setup,
and click OK. Follow in a like manner for the USB Filter driver after
the 4-in-1 drivers are installed and Windows has gone through its hardware
detection/rebooting gyrations.
If you are going to use the RAID disk drive interface and Highpoint's
HP370 controller on this motherboard, the latest drivers, software,
and installation details are available on Highpoint's
web site.
 Purchase
the pdf version of this article
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