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Intel Chipset and Driver Support |
About these pages.
In response to all the emails and newsgroup postings I end up responding to regarding AGP conflicts, bus mastering IDE drivers and support for various Intel chipsets, I've decided to post all the information on GWeb. Most of the information on this page comes directly from Intel, specifically the excellent Troubleshooting Common System Configuration Issues document they've published. Check out the following links for each of the GWeb Intel pages.
| Identifying Intel | - how to identify your Intel chipset and/or processor. |
| INF Installation Utility | - what it's for, addressing the AGP memory conflict, and downloads. |
| Pentium 4 | - some specific software and information for Pentium 4 owners and upgrades. |
| Bus Master IDE Drivers | - what they're for, removing the drivers under '95 and '98, and downloads. |
| Troubleshooting document | - download. |
An Important Note on ACPI BIOS and Windows 98
I'm posting this note for anyone who intends to upgrade a Windows 98 PC from a PIII system (e.g. the ABit BF6) to a P4 ACPI system (e.g. the ABit BW7). If I'd known this before I performed the upgrade, I would have saved myself a day of agony. This little snippet comes from the ABit BW7 manual, hidden away in Appendix G, and it's a gem:
| "To get Windows 98 to enable the ACPI BIOS function, you have to type the parameter after the setup command, for example, setup /p j. This command will let Windows 98 automatically install the necessary elements for the ACPI BIOS. If you have already installed Windows 98 without using this command, you have to re-install Windows 98 and use the setup /p j command. Otherwise, your Windows 98 ACPI function may not work." |
"May not work", indeed. "Will not recognise bloody anything properly" would be a more accurate description of my experience. After I read this, I ran setup from my Win98SE CD using the /p j parameter on top of my existing installation, used the latest INF Update, and everything was absolutely fine. (Re-installing Windows 98SE this way maintained my existing Windows and program settings.) You have been warned.
By the way, that's a lower-case J after the /p, not a lower-case I.
The Intel Application Accelerator
If you're running a Pentium III or 4, you should also be running Intel's Application Accelerator. It dramatically improves the performance of your I/O subsystem (essentially, your hard drive), and replaces Intel's original Ultra ATA Driver. You'll also get faster boot times and support for 137GB and larger hard drives. Most of the serious acceleration comes into play with a Pentium 4, but Intel state that the Application Accelerator will improve a Pentium III-based system, too.
Check out the Info link below for everything you might want to know (there's a compatibility issues document available).
Note that you'll need the latest INF Update installed for the Application Accelerator to recognise your system correctly, and that it only supports Windows 98 and later.
