Computer Assembly - How To Assemble A PC
Install the Motherboard Chipset Drivers
The MSI K8N Neo Platinum uses the motherboard chipset drivers known as the nForce Unified Driver Package. While a number of motherboards use this package, many do not. It's very important to install the motherboard chipset drivers since otherwise computer performance is dramatically reduced. Here are links to where you can find the drivers for the most popular motherboard chipsets.
The MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard comes with a NForce Platform Drivers & Utilities CD as shown below.
This Drivers & Utilities CD includes the motherboard chipset drivers and audio drivers. These should be fine, but they will naturally be somewhat out of date. Here is the startup menu presented by the CD. If you're using the CD then first select "NVIDIA nForce3 System Driver" and complete the installation steps. They are documented in chapter 6 of the MSI K8N Neo Platinum Quick User's Guide so there's no point in my repeating them. And besides, they are very similar to the steps I provide in the next section on this page if you're using the latest drivers downloaded from NVIDIA. But if you're using the CD then next select "Realtek AC97 Audio Driver" and complete the installation steps. These, too, are described in chapter 6 and are very similar to the steps I provide for the latest drivers downloaded from Realtek.
If you used the NForce Platform Drivers & Utilities CD that came with the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard to install the motherboard chipset drivers and the audio drivers then skip to the bottom of this page to the section Now That The Drivers Are Installed.
Installing Download Drivers
I recommend downloading the latest version of the motherboard chipset drivers. The MSI K8N Neo Platinum nForce Unified Driver Package is a huge download, about 27MB (megabytes) for the version I retrieved, version 5.10 dated September 17, 2004.
Here is how I did the install. The latest drivers suitable for the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard can be retrieved from NVIDIA since they make the corresponding motherboard chipset, the nForce3. Here is how I navigated to find them, which may look different today, but it should still give you the idea.
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Go to www.nvidia.com.
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On the "Download Drivers" pull-down menu, click on "Download Drivers".
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Which brings up the NVIDIA software download page.
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First, select "Platform / nForce Drivers"...
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...then select "nForce 1/2/3"...
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...and finally select the operating system, "Windows XP" for me.
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Click on the "Go" button to bring up the download page.
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Select a download site and save the file to the hard drive.
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The motherboard chipset drivers in the downloaded file can now be installed. Navigate to the location of the downloaded file.
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Double-click on the download file.
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Accept the license agreement and click the "Next" button.
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I left the default location for the save files unchanged and clicked the "Next" button.
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The files inside the download file are extracted and saved.
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The install welcome screen appears. Click the "Next" button.
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Click the "Yes" button to accept the license agreement.
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The features selection window appears.
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De-select "NVIDIA IDE Driver" and "NVIDIA Audio Driver" and click the "Next" button.
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The selected drivers are installed.
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Click on the "No" button so as to not install the firewall and network manager.
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Leave "Yes, I want to restart my computer now" selected and click the "Finish" button.
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A little explanation about the above steps. The NVIDIA IDE Driver (or it may be called the NVIDIA Storage Driver) was not installed because it is problematical. It should not be installed for any motherboard. Ever. It may cause problems during the install or sometime after the computer is in use. It may cause random fatal blue-screen-of-death errors with no obvious clue that the root cause of the problem is the driver. Or it may work out ok. But it's not worth the risk. The performance gain it gives over the native IDE drivers is negligible. The NVIDIA Audio Driver was not installed because the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard uses the Realtek ALC850 sound chipset, which is not the sound chipset expected by the nForce Unified Driver. The NVIDIA Firewall and ForceWare Network Access Manager was not installed because it is not needed, can make intentional network access more troublesome, and ZoneAlarm made by Zone Labs will be installed for this purpose later. In fact, the MSI K8N Neo Platinum Quick User's Guide itself recommends not installing this software.
After the computer restarts, the motherboard chipset drivers for the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard are installed. Checking under the Device Manager, it now looks like this. The device conflict shown for Multimedia Audio Controller will resolve when the proper audio driver is installed. The device conflict shown for Video Controller (VGA Compatible) will resolve when the video card driver is installed. In the image below, I've also expanded the Device Manager entry for Sound so you can see what it looks like before the audio driver is installed.
Since the audio driver in the nForce Unified Driver Package could not be used, the proper driver needs to be retrieved. The MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard uses the Realtek ALC850 audio chipset. The latest Realtek audio driver can be retrieved from Realtek. Here is how I navigated to find them. The version I retrieved is version A3.75 dated August 9, 2005. It is nearly 17MB in size.
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Go to www.realtek.com.tw and click on "Downloads".
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The downloads page appears.
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Roll the mouse over "Computer Peripheral & Multimedia PCs"...
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...and click on "AC97 Audio CODECs" in the submenu that appears.
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Click on "Software Downloads (Drivers and Utilities)".
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Select a download site and save the file to the hard drive.
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The Realtek audio driver for the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard can now be installed. Navigate to the location of the downloaded file.
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Double-click on the download file.
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The files inside the download file are extracted and saved.
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The welcome screen appears. Click the "Next" button.
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The driver is installed.
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Leave "Yes, I want to restart my computer now" selected and click the "Finish" button.
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Now That The Drivers Are Installed
Now, for the first time as the computer shutsdown and again when the computer restarts and reaches the desktop, you will hear your new computer. Windows XP will play the shutdown and startup fanfares. They've been playing it all along, but it couldn't be heard until now because there were no sound drivers. You'll hear it assuming, of course, you have the speakers connected and turned on.
If you don't hear the fanfares, or only hear the fanfare on shutdown but not on startup, then hang on a sec until after we check the Device Manager for device conflicts.
After the computer restarts, checking the Device Manager once again it shows the appropriate device conflicts has been cleared up. Only the device conflict for Video Controller (VGA Compatible) remains, which will resolve when the video card driver is installed. Excellent! Notice also, that under Sound an entry now appears for Realtek AC'97 Audio.
If the device conflicts are cleared up like this and you heard the fanfares on both shutdown and startup then that's a good sign that all is well with the audio. In fact, I noticed that when I used the NForce Platform Drivers & Utilities CD that came with the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard, this is what happened. But for some reason, when I did the install using the downloaded files I got these same results except that the fanfare did not play on startup. How odd it played on shutdown but not on startup. Everything appeared fine - including no audio device conflicts, but the sound was gone. Here are the steps that sorted this out. Again, if you're hearing the startup fanfare then you should be ok.
Look in the bottom right of the desktop.
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Click once on this icon, which is for the Realtek Control Panel.
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The Realtek Control Panel appears. Look, it's even skinned with MSI since it's an MSI motherboard.
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Click on "Speaker Configuration".
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The speaker configuration information appears.
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Select the appropriate speaker configuration, "2CH Speaker" for me. The change takes place immediately.
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Click on the "X" to finish with the window.
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Common Problems
Since I'm using sound capability built into the motherboard, I now have both the hardware and software drivers for the sound installed and should be hearing sounds produced by the computer. Assuming your computer building is similar, if you have the speakers connected and powered on, but you're not getting any sound or you're having other sound problems such as cutting out, sounding scratchy or sounding faint then this How To Trouble-Shoot Sound Related Issues from Microsoft Technical Support may help.
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© 2001-2008, Rob Williams, all rights reserved.
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If you used the NForce Platform Drivers & Utilities CD that came with the MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard to install the motherboard chipset drivers and the audio drivers then skip to the bottom of this page to the section Now That The Drivers Are Installed.
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