How to Install the EpoX 8KHA+ Motherboard
Last updated: 12/6/2001

Setup the CMOS.

58.  Boot-up the Computer.  You may see a CMOS checksum error.  Ignore it.  Enter the CMOS Setup by pressing the Delete key when prompted.

59.  Select Load Optimized Defaults and press the Enter key.

60.  Check the CPU settings again.

61.  Enter the Standard CMOS Features and set the correct date and time and Esc to the Main Menu.

I also change the settings for drives not installed to "none" and leave the others set to "Auto." 

62.  Enter the Integrated Peripherals Setup and disable Onboard Serial Ports 1 and 2.  This computer does not use either serial port.  Disabling both ports frees-up IRQs for other devices.

63.  You may want to change the parallel port settings to conform to your printer.  The ECP/EPP setting works with most recent printers.

64.  If you are not going to use USB, disable that as well.  If you disable it, also disable Assign IRQ for USB in the PNP/PCI Configurations Menu.

65.  Enter the PNP/PCI Configuration and change PNP OS Installed to YES.

66.  Esc to the Maine Menu, and select Save & Exit the CMOS Setup and press the Enter key.  The remaining CMOS default values are ok for this computer.

67.  Build-up the rest of  the computer per How to Build a Computer with an AMD Socket A Athlon or Duron Processor.

68.  Install the USB cable and header supplied with the motherboard.  Plug the cable into the USB2 port on the back of the motherboard.  The red wires go towards the two pin 1's.  See the picture at the end of this article for one that has been installed.  I would not activate more USB controllers than needed for the USB devices to be plugged into the computer.  They use interrupts.

69.  Download and install the  4-in1 drivers from VIA's web site. However, in this case, after installing them and restarting Windows, If Windows asks for the location to the drivers after restarting, point it/browse to C:\windows\system.

70.  The drivers for the onboard 8233 Southbridge chip audio are/were located on the same page as the 4-in-1 drivers.  To install them on windows XP, click Start, Settings, Control Panel (Category View), Performance and Maintenance, System, Hardware, Device Manager, Other Devices, right-click Multimedia Audio Controller, Update Drive..., select Install form a list or specific location (Advanced), Next >, Search for the best driver in these locations, uncheck first box, check second box (Include this location in the search:, Browse, and go to where you have downloaded the driver (floppy disk, network drive, etc.), select the folder for the operating system and version you have installed (in this case, WINXP), OK, Next >.

71. If you want to install a plug-in soundboard there is no need to install the audio drivers.  Before installing the board, disable the onboard audio in the CMOS Setup, Integrated Peripherals, Onboard PCI Device, Enter, VIA-3058 AC97 Audio, Page Down to disable, ESC, ESC, Save & Exit Setup, Y.  If you have  Windows XP installed for example,  to get rid of any onboard soundboard driver ruminants click Start, Control Panel, Switch to Classic View (I wish they would stop changing things and adding step to get where I want to go!), Hardware, Device Manager, and verify that the Multimedia Audio control is no longer present.

The third computer we built with this motherboard is shown to the right.

Larry

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