Different drivers: "XP", XP 64", & "XP-64"?

[Stan Hilliard]

I can't figure out what drivers apply to my ABIT KU8 socket 754
motherboard, with AMD Athlon 64 processor, Windows XP pro SP3, and
utilizing the motherboard's RAID 0. The XP Pro is a 32 bit version.

Q1 What is the difference between "XP", "XP 64" and "XP-64"?

At the top of ABIT's download page for the ABIT KU8 drivers I can
choose between "XP", "XP 64", and "XP-64":

http://driverscollection.com/?H=KU8&By=ABIT&SS=Windows XP

Here are some examples of different drivers. It is not clear to me
which apply to my computer:

AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Driver
..... XP: 2006/09/20 v1.3.2.53
..... XP 64: N/A
..... XP-64: 2006/09/20 v1.3.2.53

ULi Chipset driver:
..... XP: 2005/01/06 v 2.096
..... XP 64: 2005/09/26 v 2.095
..... XP-64: 2005/01/06 v 2.096

IC Plus Family IC+ 10/100 Lan Driver
..... XP: 2005/5/26 v5.4.50202
..... XP 64: 2005/9/26 v4.6.50526 (called "IC + LAN (10/100) Driver")
..... XP-64: N/A

Uliraid Disk Driver
..... XP: n/a
..... XP 64: 2005/09/26 v Nil
..... XP-64: n/a

ALSO:
Q2 How can I determine what version of the chipset driver is currently
installed? (I can't find it in "device manager")

ALSO:
Q3 Is the following driver installer of value to me instead of those
individual drivers?

Uli_Integrated220.zip V2.20
http://www.nvidia.com/page/uli_drivers.html

From the readme file:
"Function: AGP, AUDIO, FIR, IDE, IEEE1394, IRQ MINIPORT, LAN, MEMORY
STICK, SATA, SD, USB"

"This driver will detect the OS version and show the items of drivers
you need to install.
<snip>
Users don't need to decide what driver should be installed before
executing this integrated driver, i.e. it will automatically decide
what drivers need to be installed in the process of installation."

ALSO:
Q4 Is it reasonable to expect all driver installer files to
automatically handle the disabling of the drivers that they replace?

Information will be appreciated,
Stan Hilliard

 

[Twayne]

In

I can't figure out what drivers apply to my ABIT KU8 socket 754
motherboard, with AMD Athlon 64 processor, Windows XP pro SP3, and
utilizing the motherboard's RAID 0. The XP Pro is a 32 bit version.

Q1 What is the difference between "XP", "XP 64" and "XP-64"?

XP simply means all of the XP variants.
The "64", regardless of how it's stated makes no difference and simply
clarifies that it's a 64 bit OS. It's simply a case of not being consistant
in the way the author writes them out. Honestly, the site looks shabbily
written to me. The author does seem to try to differentiate them somehow but
does it very poorly if you look at where the links take you.

Personally, I think I'd find a different resource for this bit of research.
It looks like they tried, mostly without success, to just regurgitate
something someone else had written. If they can't be bothered to quantify
their terminology, they're going to be too "bothered" to do other things,
too.

At the top of ABIT's download page for the ABIT KU8 drivers I can
choose between "XP", "XP 64", and "XP-64":

http://driverscollection.com/?H=KU8&By=ABIT&SS=Windows XP


Here are some examples of different drivers. It is not clear to me
which apply to my computer:

AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Driver
.... XP: 2006/09/20 v1.3.2.53
.... XP 64: N/A
.... XP-64: 2006/09/20 v1.3.2.53

ULi Chipset driver:
.... XP: 2005/01/06 v 2.096
.... XP 64: 2005/09/26 v 2.095
.... XP-64: 2005/01/06 v 2.096

IC Plus Family IC+ 10/100 Lan Driver
.... XP: 2005/5/26 v5.4.50202
.... XP 64: 2005/9/26 v4.6.50526 (called "IC + LAN (10/100) Driver")
.... XP-64: N/A

Uliraid Disk Driver
.... XP: n/a
.... XP 64: 2005/09/26 v Nil
.... XP-64: n/a

ALSO:
Q2 How can I determine what version of the chipset driver is currently
installed? (I can't find it in "device manager")

System Information might have it; Start; all programs; accessories; system
tools; system information.
If not, there is a much better non-native to XP program called SIW that
will read it out for you. You can read about it and download it free at:
http://www.gtopala.com/
Very handy IMO!

ALSO:
Q3 Is the following driver installer of value to me instead of those
individual drivers?

Uli_Integrated220.zip V2.20
http://www.nvidia.com/page/uli_drivers.html

I'm afraid you'll have to work that one out yourself. Not enough info.

From the readme file:
"Function: AGP, AUDIO, FIR, IDE, IEEE1394, IRQ MINIPORT, LAN, MEMORY
STICK, SATA, SD, USB"

"This driver will detect the OS version and show the items of drivers
you need to install.
<snip>
Users don't need to decide what driver should be installed before
executing this integrated driver, i.e. it will automatically decide
what drivers need to be installed in the process of installation."

Actually, the ONLY place one should get drivers for anything is directly
from the manufacturer of the item. e.g. nvidia.com for nVidia video cards,
etc. etc. etc.. Whatever your'e talking about using here, which I sure
can't tell, isn't a good idea if all the drivers are coming from that one,
single-point source. Using that kind of program can often create more
problems than it helps. BE CERTAIN you back up your operating system before
using whatever this software program is! In the extreme it might be the
only way to get your computer back to where it was before you started. If
you don't have imaging software or the like, XP's native Backup program will
work quite well for your purposes here.
Beware ANY program that doesn't use VSS (Shadow Copy Services) to back up
files that are in use, or the backup will not be funtional.

ALSO:
Q4 Is it reasonable to expect all driver installer files to
automatically handle the disabling of the drivers that they replace?

Normally I'd say "sure", but ... based on the strange comments and questions
you've asked, and your being so vague with any real system information, I'll
have to say that you need to check the documentation to see what it does.
Normally any driver that gets installed simply replaces the one that was
there; but I don't know what you've got there nor have any idea how it
works.

Information will be appreciated,
Stan Hilliard

Gee, looking back on my post, it seems to be rather negative; sorry about
that, but with the small amount of information you provided on your system
and what you're trying to accomplish in the end, it's pretty hard to say
much positive.

So I'll end on this note:
Normally drivers don't need to be updated unless there are problems with
the current ones of the new ones provide some added functionality you know
you want.
And then, the ONLY place to source drivers from is the place that
designed/wrote the drivers for their products. Otherwise you can end up
with anything from a mess to outdated drivers because they don't keep them
up to date.
SIW can tell you a LOT about your system, but the most accurate
information and components list is going to come from the company that sold
the computer. Sometimes you might even have to open the box to see what the
chipset numbers are. It's just a matter of learning what you need and how
to get it.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I can't figure out what drivers apply to my ABIT KU8 socket 754
motherboard, with AMD Athlon 64 processor, Windows XP pro SP3, and
utilizing the motherboard's RAID 0. The XP Pro is a 32 bit version.

Q1 What is the difference between "XP", "XP 64" and "XP-64"?

The term "XP" is just a catch-all term for all versions of XP. But
almost certainly what they mean by it on the site you mention is
32-bit XP. But that's a very poor, confusing way to state it. If they
mean 32-bit, they should say 32-bit, and not make you guess as to what
they mean.

"XP 64" and XP-64" are just two ways of writing the same thing. They
are like the words "color" and "colour."

If you are running 32-bit Windows XP, the fact that your CPU is 64-bit
is irrelevant. You need 32-bit drivers.

 

[Stan Hilliard]

In

XP simply means all of the XP variants.
The "64", regardless of how it's stated makes no difference and simply
clarifies that it's a 64 bit OS. It's simply a case of not being consistant
in the way the author writes them out. Honestly, the site looks shabbily
written to me. The author does seem to try to differentiate them somehow but
does it very poorly if you look at where the links take you.

Personally, I think I'd find a different resource for this bit of research.
It looks like they tried, mostly without success, to just regurgitate
something someone else had written. If they can't be bothered to quantify
their terminology, they're going to be too "bothered" to do other things,
too.

Since it is a ULi chipset and NVIDIA acquired ULi, I have downloaded
from NVIDIA: http://www.nvidia.com/page/uli_drivers.html
and installed file Uli_Integrated220.zip (V2.20). I will post results
lower down.

System Information might have it; Start; all programs; accessories; system
tools; system information.
If not, there is a much better non-native to XP program called SIW that
will read it out for you. You can read about it and download it free at:
http://www.gtopala.com/
Very handy IMO!

Thanks for that. SIW is a delight. I got the stand alone version.

I'm afraid you'll have to work that one out yourself. Not enough info.

That integrated driver file installed these drivers:
ULi PCI to USB 2.0 controller driver
ULi USB 2.0 controller driver
(The default was no. I changed it to yes and the PC froze I rebooted
and did not select it this time. I don't know if it installed. But I
did have to run [new hardware] with its default.)
ULi M5289 SATA controller driver
ULi AC'97 Audio controller driver

SOLVED:
The PC shuts now without restarting when connected by USB to a Brother
8860DN multi function printer. This for the first time in 1 1/2 years.

NOT SOLVED:
DLL files still won't register in the installation of Blackberry
desktop manager.

NOT TESTED YET:
1) PC would freeze at random times during backup with Acronis Backup.
2) PC would crash during download of torrent video files using
Miro.exe.
3) The driver installer said to install graphics drivers later. I have
not done that yet, but the GeForce FX 5500 graphics card seems to be
operating correctly so far.
4) The windows XP-Pro CD could not find any hard drives on the PC when
I tried to repair XP. (This after windows updates were failing) MS
sent me a CD to replace my original OEM CD, but that didn't fix the
HDD problem.

NEW:
At startup, Firefox loads automatically, which it did not do before
and I don't want.
At startup, an annoying messagebox always appears now saying to click
ALIRAID Manager on the task bar. (That item is new to the task bar. I
can't find where to shut it off.)

Actually, the ONLY place one should get drivers for anything is directly
from the manufacturer of the item. e.g. nvidia.com for nVidia video cards,
etc. etc. etc.. Whatever your'e talking about using here, which I sure
can't tell, isn't a good idea if all the drivers are coming from that one,
single-point source. Using that kind of program can often create more
problems than it helps. BE CERTAIN you back up your operating system before
using whatever this software program is! In the extreme it might be the
only way to get your computer back to where it was before you started. If
you don't have imaging software or the like, XP's native Backup program will
work quite well for your purposes here.
Beware ANY program that doesn't use VSS (Shadow Copy Services) to back up
files that are in use, or the backup will not be funtional.


Normally I'd say "sure", but ... based on the strange comments and questions
you've asked, and your being so vague with any real system information, I'll
have to say that you need to check the documentation to see what it does.
Normally any driver that gets installed simply replaces the one that was
there; but I don't know what you've got there nor have any idea how it
works.

Gee, looking back on my post, it seems to be rather negative; sorry about
that, but with the small amount of information you provided on your system
and what you're trying to accomplish in the end, it's pretty hard to say
much positive.

So I'll end on this note:
Normally drivers don't need to be updated unless there are problems with
the current ones of the new ones provide some added functionality you know
you want.
And then, the ONLY place to source drivers from is the place that
designed/wrote the drivers for their products. Otherwise you can end up
with anything from a mess to outdated drivers because they don't keep them
up to date.
SIW can tell you a LOT about your system, but the most accurate
information and components list is going to come from the company that sold
the computer.
Sometimes you might even have to open the box to see what the
chipset numbers are. It's just a matter of learning what you need and how
to get it.
HTH,
Twayne`

Thanks again Twayne.