Personal statement (dated 09th August 2010):
As you probably know, I cannot test any NVIDIA nForce driver myself, because I don't have an appropriate PC anymore. Nevertheless I am willing to continue my work as long as
- you are demanding for it,
- I get enough feedback from nForce users and
- no other nForcersHQ Forum member is willing to overtake my task.
Meanwhile I got some PN's from users, who asked me for new nForce driverpacks, which are usable for Windows XP (32/64bit).
Since I got some positive reports from users who had tested my new XP driverpacks v8.0 successfully (big thanks!), I decided to offer them for everyone within this start post.
All users of these brandnew sets should keep in mind, that they have not yet been tested with all nForce chipsets and SATA configuarations (IDE/AHCI/RAID).
That is why I need your special feedback! Please don't forget to mention your nForce chipset, the OS, the used driver set name and the SATA configuration (IDE/AHCI/RAID).
As soon as I get a new information regarding the compatibility of any of my driverpacks ("works" or "doesn't work for me"), i will add it into this start post. So your report will be very helpful for many other users too.
Please remember:
- Although I have done my very best while creating these new sets, I cannot guarantee, that all components of my "Optimized XP Driverpacks" will work flawlessly with each special nForce chipset and hardware configuration.
- Don't bother me with questions like "Which is the best driverpack for me?". Please read the "Compatibility" informations of the sets and find out yourself, which is the best for your individual hardware configuration and usage preferences.
- As always: If you are using my driverpacks, you will do it at own risk.
Fernando
Preliminary notes
Many users with an nForce chipset mainboard, who are running or going to install Windows XP (32/64bit), are searching for actual nForce chipset drivers, which are suitable for their special chipset and will give them the best possible performance and stability of their system. NVIDIA itself doesn't offer them.
This was the reason why I started this thread.
For whom are these driverpacks suitable?
The installation of my driverpacks makes sense for owners of an nForce chipset mainboard, who ran into problems with NVIDIA's official packs (for example NF4 users) or who are searching for a driverpack combination, which gives them a better performance (owners of all NF4-7 series chipsets).
Important:
- Only my "Actual nForce Driverpacks" are optimized for the advanced AHCI features, which are supported by the newest nForce chipsets from MCP65 up. Users, who want to run their SATA hdd(s) os SSD's in full "AHCI Mode", but avoid to install any modified driver, may take NVIDIA's official driver sets.
- All my packages contain the untouched original NVIDIA drivers (that are the files with the extension ".SYS"). The customization of my "modded" driverpacks concerns just the associated text files (with the extension ".INF" and ".OEM") to make the original drivers compatible with other nForce chipsets and has no negative impact regarding the function of the drivers (= .SYS files).
- If you are running the installer of any nForce driverpack, you must not expect, that all nForce drivers of your OS will be updated by the drivers, which are within the set. Maybe the installer will give you just the option to install 1 or 2 of the set drivers. This is absolutely normal and may have one of the followng reasons:
- not all nForce chipsets will need all included drivers of the package (example: nForce4 chipsets don't have any device, which is supported by the SMU driver) or
- the installer believes, that the OS has already the "best" driver for the related device (not always the truth, you can verify it with a forced manual driver update from within the Device Manager by using the "Have Disk..." option)
- You won't find a NAM folder with NVIDIA's "Network Management Tools" within my packages, because they are useless for nearly everyone and may cause problems. Big advantage: The download is much quicker due to the small package size.
Here are my actual nForce chipset driverpacks for Windows XP (32/64bit):
Last update: 04/08/2012
Changelog:
- updated: "Actual nForce Driverpacks for XP 32/64bit" (now with NVIDIA HDAudio driver v1.3.12.0 WHQL)
- updated: "Special MCP65-67 nForce Driverpacks for XP 32/64bit" (now with NVIDIA HDAudio driver v1.3.12.0 WHQL)
- changed: "Special nForce LEGACY Remix Driverpack for XP 32bit" (now with an older installer v5.10)
- removed from all packages: optional IDE driver registry cleaner (not needed/not used)
A. "WHQL Driverpacks for Windows XP (32/64bit)":
- "NForce4 WHQL Driverpacks for XP 32/64bit"
for nForce4 AMD chipset users, who prefer or need WHQL certified drivers
(especially for/after a fresh OS installation onto an nForce4 RAID system)
Changelog:- removed: optional IDE driver registry cleaner (not needed/not used)
Here are the download links (with multilingual installer):
32bit package v9.0 for Windows XP:
>Download Link<
64bit package v9.0 for Windows XP x64:
>Download Link<
These are the components of the actual nForce4 WHQL driverpacks:- Code: Select all
Ethernet Driver (v67.89) WHQL
SATAIDE Driver (v6.99) WHQL
SATARAID Driver (v6.99) WHQL
RAIDTOOL Application (v6.95) "Sedona"
SMBus Driver (v4.57) WHQL with full nForce4 support
Realtek AC'97 Codec Audio Driver (v4.06) WHQL
Installer (v8.36)
Compatibility:- The included WHQL certified nForce IDE drivers v6.99 dated 05/15/2007 do support all nForce4 chipsets with an AMD CPU (nForce 4 AMD Ultra/SLI/SIx16). Users with an nForce4 Intel Edition chipset should use my "NForce LEGACY Remix Pack" (see below), which contains customized nForce IDE drivers v6.99.
- These driverpacks do support SATA1 and SATA2 hard disk drives. Nevertheless it is possible, that users with SATA 2 hdd's may get a better performance by using my "NForce Performance Pack".
- Contrary to NVIDIA's officially presented nForce chipset driver sets these packs are fully compatible with all nForce4 AMD RAID systems.
You will not be able to get Windows XP (32/64bit) installed onto your nForce4 RAID array by using these WHQL signed nForce IDE drivers, unless you integrate them according to my guide by using a tool like nLite (>LINK<). You have to integrate the SATARAID folder as TEXTMODE and additionally the SATA_IDE folder content as PnP driver.
Audio Driver:
Since nearly all nForce4 chipset mainboards have a Realtek AC'97 Codec Audio Chip, I have added the latest AC'97 Codec Audio driver, although it was not developed by NVIDIA. Maybe you have to install it manually from within the Device Manager.
______________________________________________________________
B. "Modded Driverpacks for Windows XP (32/64bit)":
- "Non-AHCI nForce Performance Packs for XP 32/64bit"
recommended for all users with a non-AHCI nForce system, best choice for nForce4 and MCP51/55/61
(probably the nForce driver combination with the best performance)
Changelog:- removed: optional IDE driver registry cleaner (not needed/not used)
Here are the download links to my actual modded "non-AHCI nForce Performance Packs" (with multilingual installer):
32bit package v9.0 for Windows XP:
>Download Link<
64bit package v9.0 for Windows XP x64:
>Download Link<
These are the components:- Code: Select all
Ethernet Driver (v73.35) customized by Fernando
SATAIDE Driver (v9.99.09) customized by Fernando
SATARAID Driver (v9.99.09) customized by Fernando
RAIDTOOL Application (v9.99.09) "Sedona"
SMBus Driver (v4.69) customized by Fernando, with nForce4 support
SMU Driver (v1.71) customized by Fernando
Installer (v8.36)
Compatibility:- My modded "non-AHCI nForce Performance Packs" with the customized nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 are fully supporting all NF4-7 series systems, unless they are running in "AHCI Mode". They are even compatible with the majority of nForce4 AMD or Intel Edition chipsets running in "RAID Mode".
- The nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 do not fully support the AHCI features. Users with any AHCI supporting mainboard (MCP65 and up), who want to run their NVIDIA nForce SATA Controllers in "AHCI Mode", should take the suitable set of my "Actual nForce Driverpacks". The included nForce IDE drivers v11.1.0.43 do offer all AHCI features.
Performance details:
The nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 of my "Performance Pack" are rock stable and will give your non-AHCI system the best possible performance, if they are combined with Ethernet drivers, which do not drop the speed.
This is what TwL wrote about the IDE drivers, you will find within this package:[/b]TwL wrote:General Notes:
v9.99.09-[Modded by Fernando]: These are probably the best drivers you can add to your system.
- "Actual nForce Driverpacks for XP 32/64bit"
designed for the nForce chipsets MCP72/73/77/79/7A/89
(newest nForce driver combination with full AHCI support)
Changelog:- updated: NVIDIA HDAudio driver (now v1.3.12.0 WHQL dated 01/17/1012)
- removed: optional IDE driver registry cleaner (not needed/not used)
Here are the download links to my "Actual nForce Driverpacks" (with multilingual installer):
32bit package v9.0 for Windows XP:
>Download Link<
64bit package v9.0 for Windows XP x64:
>Download Link<
These are the components:- Code: Select all
Ethernet Driver (v73.35) customized by Fernando
SATAIDE Driver (v11.1.0.43) customized by Fernando
SATARAID Driver (v11.1.0.43) customized by Fernando
RAIDTOOL Application (v11.1.0.43) "Sedona"
SMU Driver (v1.71) customized by Fernando
SMBus Driver (v4.69) customized by Fernando
Away Mode Driver (v6.0.6000.115) WHQL
HD Audio Driver (v1.3.12.0) WHQL
Installer (v8.36)
Compatibility:- The drivers of these actual Driverpacks are based on the inofficial 15.56 sets, which recently were published by Gigabyte/Asus and natively do support MCP51, MCP61, MCP73, MCP78 and MCP79 chipsets.
- Since I have added the HardwareID's of all missing NF4-7 chipset devices, they probably will support other nForce chipsets too.
Exception: These "Actual nForce Driverpacks" should not be used with nForce4 (CK804/MCP04) or nForce 560/520 (MCP65) chipset mainboards (thanks for the feedback of Hasami). Otherwise you may get a BSOD. This issue has nothing to do with my work, but with the structure of the new nForce IDE drivers, which obviously are not compatible with some nForce chipses.
It seems to be possible, that the nForce IDE drivers v11.1.0.43 are not compatible with nForce 630a (MCP67) chipsets either, but I didn't yet get any feedback from users with such hardware.
- The nForce IDE drivers v11.1.0.43 do fully support the AHCI features. Users, who own an AHCI supporting nForce system (MCP65 and up) and want to run their SATA hdd in AHCI mode, should do the following:
- Create a Windows XP (32/64bit) CD with integrated AHCI capable NVIDIA nForce SATA textmode driver by using a tool like nLite (for details look into part B of this guide).
- Enable the "AHCI Mode" of the NVIDIA nForce SATA Controllers within the BIOS.
- Install Windows XP (32/64bit) by booting off the just created CD. Don't hit F6 when prompted.
- Users with an AHCI supporting nForce chipset (from MCP65 up) will not be able to get any nForce IDE driver installed, unless they are running their SATA hdd(s) or SSD(s) in "AHCI" or "RAID" Mode. Otherwise they have to stick with the generic MS IDE driver named PCIIDE.SYS.
According to the feedback I got until now, the nForce IDE drivers v11.1.0.43 of these "Actual nForce Driverpacks" will give you the best possible stability and performance (maybe even better than with the v9.99.09 ones of my "NForce Performance Packs").
Since I didn't yet get any benchmark results from users, who had installed and compared both driverpacks, I cannot give any performance details.
Included HDAudio Driver:
The included HDAudio driver is from NVIDIA and designed for actual NVIDIA graphics cards. This driver does not work with Realtek HDAudio and AC'97 Codec audio chips. Users with such Audio chip should search at Realtek download pages for the actual HDAudio resp. AC'97 Codec Audio driver for Windows XP/XP x64. - "Special MCP65-67 nForce Driverpacks for XP 32/64bit"
designed just for nForce 560/520 (=MCP65) and nForce 630a (=MCP67) chipsets
(newest working nForce driver combination for MCP65/67 AHCI and RAID systems)
Changelog:- updated: NVIDIA HDAudio driver (now v1.3.12.0 WHQL dated 01/17/2012)
- removed: optional IDE driver registry cleaner (not needed/not used)
Here are the download links to these special XP Driverpacks for MCP65/67 chipsets:
32bit driverpack v9.0 for Windows XP:
>Download Link<
64bit driverpack v9.0 for Windows XP x64:
>Download Link<
These are the components:- Code: Select all
Ethernet Driver (v73.35) customized and corrected by Fernando
SATAIDE Driver (v10.3.0.46) WHQL
SATARAID Driver (v10.3.0.46) WHQL
RAIDTOOL Application (v10.3.0.46) "Sedona"
SMU Driver (v1.71) customized by Fernando
SMBus Driver (v4.69) WHQL
Away Mode Driver (v6.0.6000.115) WHQL
HD Audio Driver (v1.3.12.0) WHQL
Installer (v8.36)
Informations regarding these driverpacks:- Compatibiliy:
- Since NVIDIA's newest nForce SATA and RAID drivers v11.x.x.xx series do not support MCP65/67 chipsets at all, users with such system have problems to find the latest appropriate nForce driver set at NVIDIA's download pages.
- These 32/64bit sets do fully support MCP65/67 chipsets with on-board NVIDIA SATA Controllers, which have been set to AHCI or RAID mode within the BIOS.
- Users with another nForce chipset should not install one of these special MCP65/67 nForce chipset driverpacks.
- Note: Users with an MCP65 or MCP67 chipset will only be able to get any nForce SATA driver installed, if they have set the SATA Controllers to "AHCI" or "RAID" mode. This is not an ussue of my driverpacks. None of NVIDIA's nForce SATA drivers will support an AHCI capable nForce chipset, if the SATA Controllers are running in "IDE Mode". The only driver, which can be used in this case, is the generic in-box MS IDE driver named PCIIDE.SYS.
- Included HDAudio Driver:
The included HDAudio driver is from NVIDIA and designed for actual NVIDIA graphics cards. This driver does not work with Realtek HDAudio and AC'97 Codec audio chips. Users with such Audio chip should search at Realtek download pages for the actual HDAudio resp. AC'97 Codec Audio driver for Windows XP/XP x64.
- "Special nForce LEGACY Remix Driverpacks for XP 32bit/64bit"
designed for nForce2 (only 32bit), nForce3 and nForce4 chipsets
(even suitable with all "LEGACY mode" = PataRAID+SataRAID supporting nForce chipsets)
Changelog:- changed: installer of the 32bit driverpack (now v5.10)
- removed: optional nForce IDE driver registry (not needed/not used)
a) 32bit version
Here is the download link to my modded 32bit "NForce LEGACY Remix Driverpack" (with multilingual installer):
32bit LEGACY package v9.0a for Windows XP:
>Download Link<
These are the components:- Code: Select all
NVIDIA AC'97 Audio Driver (v4.66)
Audio Utility (v4.51)
Ethernet Driver (v65.65) customized by Fernando
PreNRM Ethernet Driver (v4.36) WHQL
GART Driver (v4.40)
LEGACY mode SATA/PATA and RAID Driver (v6.99) composed and customized by Fernando
RAIDTOOL Application (v6.95) "Sedona"
Memory Driver (v3.3.8) WHQL
SMBus Driver (v4.57) WHQL, with nForce4 support
Installer (v5.10)
Credits: The nForcersHQ Forum members and nForce2 users oleg and anr96 tested different nForce drivers resp. installers and helped me to find the optimal components of my 32bit LEGACY Remix Driverpack.
b) 64bit version
Here is the download link to my modded 64bit "NForce LEGACY Remix Driverpack" (with multilingual installer):
64bit package v9.0 for Windows XP x64:
>Download Link<
These are the components:- Code: Select all
NVIDIA AC'97 Audio Driver (v4.66)
Audio Utility (v4.51)
Ethernet Driver (v65.65) customized by Fernando
GART driver (v4.34)
LEGACY mode SATA/PATA and RAID Driver (v6.99) composed and customized by Fernando
RAIDTOOL Application (v6.95) "Sedona"
SMBus Driver (v4.57) WHQL, with nForce4 support
Installer (v8.36)
Informations regarding both "NForce LEGACY Remix Driverpacks" (32/64bit):- Compatibility
- Both nForce LEGACY driverpacks (32/64bit) can be used with the suitable 32/64bit version of Windows XP and - when being run in "XP Compatibility mode" - even with Vista and Win7.
- The LEGACY IDE drivers of my "nForce LEGACY Remix Packs" do support the following nForce chipsets and nVRAID configurations:
- nForce2 incl. PataRAID/SataRAID (only 32bit package version)
- nForce3 incl. PataRAID (only 32bit package version)
- nForce3 250 incl. PataRAID/SataRAID
- nForce 4 AMD Ultra/SLI/SLIx16 incl. PataRAID/SataRAID
- nForce 4 Intel Edition Ultra/SLI/SLIx16 incl. PataRAID/SataRAID
- nForce 430/410 (MCP51), recommended for PataRAID systems
- Users with a PataRAID array have to load (F6) or integrate the LEGACY driver subfolder.
- Ethernet driver details
Although it would have been no problem to add a customized version of a newer nForce Ethernet driver, I have put the modded Ethernet driver v65.65 into this Remix Pack, because TwL found out, that the actual nForce Ethernet drivers are not the best choice when used in combination with older nForce chipsets (look here). - nForce PATA (= IDE s/w) drivers
If you have any native IDE (=P-ATA) device and have checked the "IDE drivers" installation option of the installer, you will get a popup with the option to install the nForce P-ATA (=IDE s/w) driver instead of the generic MS IDE drivers. This is generally a good choice for NF2/3-4 chipset users, who are running IDE connected hard disk drives. Only disadvantage: Some CD/DVD drives do not like any nForce P-ATA driver.
If your IDE connected optical drives should not work properly after having installed the nForce P-ATA driver, you can easily remove it by doing the following:- Open the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" section of the Device Manager and search for a device named like "NVIDIA nForce Parallel ATA Controller" or similar, where your optical drive is connected.
- Right click onto the Controller and choose the "Update driver software"
- Let the Device Manager show the compatible Devices.
- Choose the listed "Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller" > "OK".
- After a reboot the nForce P-ATA driver will be replaced by the generic MS IDE drivers.
_____________________________________________________________
You may use all above presented packages at own risk.
Any feedback is much appreciated - wether you succeed with the driver installation or not.
Please add a short information about the OS, the used package and your nForce chipset.
Attention:
- Update of the Ethernet drivers:
- The Ethernet drivers, which are part of these inofficial nForce chipset driver packages, are running fine with nearly all nForce chipsets, if they are installed the correct way. The running Ethernet driver should not be just updated on top of the old one! You have to uninstall the previously loaded Ethernet drivers before you run the installer and decide to update the complete chipset driver package!
- After the installation of the new Ethernet drivers you should verify, that the hidden device ("View" > "show hidden devices") named "Bus Enumerator" has been updated too. Otherwise the Ethernet Controller will not work. Some nForce chipset mainboards need more than 1 reboot to get the Ethernet devices (Bus Enumerator and Network Controller) completely and properly installed.
- Update of the nForce SataRAID drivers:
It is always risky to replace previously installed nForce SataRAID drivers by other ones, but you can minimize the risks. After having run the installer of the suitable nForce chipset driver package with checked "Storage Driver" or "MediaShield" update, you should NOT REBOOT unless you have verified, that all NVIDIA related Storage and RAID devices have been successfully updated.
This is what you should do:- Open the "Device Manager", select "View" and check the "Show hidden devices" option.
- Open the "SCSI and RAID Controllers" section and look for the actual driver version (right click > "Properties" > "Driver") of ALL listed "NVIDIA RAID Controllers" and ALL listed RAID Devices (with the name of your RAIDed hdd's). If needed, do a manual driver update by loading the SATARAID driver folder content and using the "Have Disk..." option.
- Search for devices named "NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller" (within the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" or "SCSI and RAID Controllers" section) and look for their actual driver version. If needed, do a manual driver update by loading the SATA_IDE driver folder content and using the "Have Disk..." option.
- NOW YOU CAN REBOOT.
- Driver update via Windows Update:
It is highly recommended to disable the automatic Windows Update option, because otherwise you risk, that you get nForce drivers installed, which are broken or worse than those you had previously installed yourself. If Windows Update is offering any new nForce chipset driver, you should only accept it, if you are sure, that the update is useful and safe.
Additional informations:
- You won't be able to get any nForce IDE driver (not even the S-ATA one) installed by running the installer of any pack unless you have checked the "MediaShield" or "Storage Driver" option (the exact name depends on the installer version)!
- Tip:
You can easily integrate the complete package into a Windows XP-CD by using nLite and choosing the "integrate multiple drivers" option. You will be asked, if you want to use the nForce SATARAID drivers (required for RAID systems) or the SATA_IDE drivers (required for AHCI systems) as TEXTMODE or PNP drivers. - The new nForce SataRaid drivers require an up-to-date mainboard and nVRaid BIOS (MediaShield ROM) version.
- Don't be astonished or even afraid, if you get a "safely remove hardware" icon within the systray after having installed any of the new nForce IDE drivers. This is not a bug, but a feature of the new generation of nForce S-ATA drivers with AHCI support.
Have fun!
Fernando
