Hi, I have been having problems setting up a new system from scratch, so I wanted to ask for advice on how to properly install drivers. Relevant components are the following: - GA-EP45-UD3P w/E8400 - MSI R4850 - SATA hard drive I turned off SATA AHCI because it's too much of a pain to load, so I'll just let it operate in IDE mode. So I can get through the WinXP clean install fine. I will use SP2 because SP3 right now is giving me problems. After I boot for the first time, how should I install the drivers. Gigabyte has drivers here - http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/... - and their CD also includes a utility to install things on their own (it'll install everything by itself). Is that the better route, or should I install things one by one manually? So the motherboard/audio drivers are one thing. Then there is the video card drivers, which I can get from ATI, and it also includes the HDMI audio drivers (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=xp/hdmiaudio-xp). There are two of them here, and I'm unsure how to install these in the correct order. Thanks, - Eli

Firstly,go into the bios & check that any setting is there about SATA HDD if there is setting so please first do it & then run WInXP setup normally if any problem so go on site. Thanks & regards Tushar Kaskhedikar

The only drivers you need to instal at the F6 prompt are SATA drivers so that setup can load to the harddrive. The other chipset , Audio etc can be loaded once windows is installed. If the SATA drivers are on the CD that came with the motherboard then when you hit F6 you may need to remove the XP instal disk, insert the driver CD to load the SATA driver then replace the instal disk for setup to continue. Does your new system have a floppy drive? If so, my preferred method would be to save the SATA driver to a floppy and point setup there at the F6 prompt. Goin' Fishin' (Some day)

I'm going to skip the SATA drivers - I don't have a floppy disc with me. Can WinXP load SATA drivers from a CD? I just wanted to know which order to install the drivers: 1. Intel chipset 2. LAN 3. Realtek audio drivers 4. Microsoft UAA driver 5. ATI video drivers 6. ATI HDMI audio drivers 7. Microsft UAA HDMI driver

Pesronally I also set Hard Drives to IDE Mode, and this is the way I like to undertake installs.... Install XP SP3 (SP3 is OK when slipstreamed with nLite into a non SP CD) Install Ethernet Drivers if XP has not been able to install. Microsoft Update, run twice and dowload everything under custom. Install any drivers, the latest version I can find on the WWW.

He says that he has a SATA hard drive. You cannot run SATA drive with an IEDE controller so he will have to install the SATA driver through the F6 method as Richard59 mentioned during the xp installation. He will have to reset the BIOS configuration to the SATA AHCI setting or the installation set-up will not be able to see the hard drive! Once the installation is complete...then install the 1)Intel chip set drivers 2)graphic drivers 3)and here I use a cd with some antispyware/malware program downloads before proceeding with any other drivers or installations. 4) LAN drivers 5)sound card drivers 6) go to windows updates and check for any updates from "custom" setting as this will give you the options of installing newer hardware drivers and other software drivers as well. *******note***** there is good reason to install the anti spy ware/virus/malware programs as all you need is to go on the web and you are susceptible to getting a virus/worm even going to windows update! Obama's Spread the Wealth I gave my waitress' tip to a homeless person. She has a better understanding!

And yes you can use the cd-rom to install the SATA drivers through the F^ prompt... As each installation of the SATA controller drivers is different read the manual as to how to set the drivers to the CD Obama's Spread the Wealth I gave my waitress' tip to a homeless person. She has a better understanding!