Hello, dear readers.
New system (or motherboard) boards have two functional modules. The first one is a microcircuit south bridge, which interacts with various interfaces. The second is the northern one, which serves the memory and processor. For correct collaboration these two components use special software. To always get the most out of your hardware, you need to constantly install newer versions of the program. This will allow you to work with the desired applications at the proper speed. But how to update the chipset driver motherboard? After all, this is in fact the most important part of the device.
The first thing you need to find out for yourself is whether you need to update? If you have installed equipment that is not old, it is advisable to do this. Of course, it’s impossible to say that without modification you will lose significant performance. But overall, performance should increase. At the same time, errors that could be associated with this component will also disappear. So the advantages are obvious.
But in the case when you are using equipment that is not at all new, problems may arise with the update. So you will even have to roll back the system. Therefore, it is better to first assess your capabilities. It's also a good idea to go online first to see what people are saying. For this purpose in search engine you need to write the model of your motherboard with the phrase “ driver update" And the first results will be messages from forums where people share their experiences.
Find out the chipset version using built-in capabilities( )
To find out the version of the motherboard with the Intel chipset, you need to make several steps:
However, this option is also suitable for AMD chipset. So try it.
Sometimes it happens that the corresponding line does not contain the information we need.
Another option can be safely called visual inspection the board itself. To do this, it will be enough to simply open your system unit.
Using additional software( )
One more no less in an effective way The way to update chipset drivers is to use programs third party developer to clarify the model.
Although today there are a lot of similar developments, many experts agree that it is best to use CPU-Z for this. This utility easily determines the type and model of the chipset. To do this you need to make several movements:
This method is suitable when you are about to change " firewood"on a laptop. After all, unwinding it to find out the model will be problematic.
To update the driver, go to the developer’s website and find the appropriate software. Download and run the file. Using the prompts, we install the software. This may take up to ten minutes. After the process is completed, reboot.
Your hardware should now work without any errors. In addition, the speed of data processing will significantly increase.
Installing drivers for a computer (PC) is divided into two (or three) stages:
- Installing drivers for the motherboard
- Installing drivers for the video card (optional)
- Installing all other drivers (optional)
Optional since you may not have discrete video card, and for the built-in one you will put everything in the section ... for the motherboard.
1. Installing drivers for the motherboard
Can be divided into the following stages:
- Find out the motherboard model
- Find the model on the manufacturer's website
- Install the driver for the chipset
- Install everything else
1.1. Find out the motherboard model
The model is written on the motherboard itself and on its box. If the box has not been preserved, then the ideal and 100% way to find out is to open the system unit and see what is written on it. If this is not an option (for example, your computer is under warranty and there are seals), then you can try the HWMonitor or CPU-Z utility. Download, unpack and run for .
1.2. Find the model on the manufacturer's website
For example, you have an ASUS Z170-PRO motherboard. Open the browser. We write to search bar“ASUS” (Google and Yandex understand in any layout). Go to the website www.asus.com.
At the top in the squeak field we write our model.
When you have found a page about your motherboard, you need to: go to the “Support” section, switch to the “Drivers and Utilities” tab, select your operating system from the list. .
If your system is not in the drop-down list, then see.
1.3. Install the driver for the chipset
3. Install all other drivers (optional)
For other devices we do the same. We find the device manufacturer (on the box or on the device itself), download drivers for your system from the official website or from this site and install them.
How to automatically install drivers on your computer
There are two utilities and DriverUpdaterPro. The first is free (don't forget to go to expert mode to choose what to install and what not). The second one is paid - you don’t need to configure anything there.
For more information about installing drivers for your computer, see the video below.
A motherboard driver is a program that is responsible for the correct operation of the entire system. Late driver updates can lead to serious problems with the “internals” of the computer and system crashes. Therefore, updating them is very important.
Let's look at the easiest way to update through the device manager. To get to the coveted section, click “Start”, then “Control Panel”. In the new window, click on “Hardware and Sound”. At the top, under “Devices and Printers,” click on “Device Manager.” There is a blue and yellow shield near it, so you will find it right away. So, the first stage is over, we are in the “Device Manager”.
- quantity random access memory on your computer;
- processor characteristics;
- system capacity;
- Windows information;
- characteristics of the video card (does not show integrated video cards).
Don't forget about the original goal - go to Device Manager. You will find the button of the same name on the left top corner, next to it is a blue and yellow shield. Click and find yourself in Device Manager.
In fact, updating your motherboard driver is not difficult. Just be careful in your actions and before doing anything, read the update instructions again. If you are not confident in your abilities, ask a knowledgeable friend or colleague to help you with this task.
Hello guys, let's talk about such a thing as Chipset Driver. I'll tell you what it is, I think you'll understand everything. So guys, I’m telling you right away what this is important driver, it cannot be deleted. Well, okay, but why is he? But here everything is not so simple, I’ll even say honestly, I don’t really understand why it is, but I know one thing, this driver is necessary for the chipset. What is a chipset? A chipset is a set of logic; it is a chip that is soldered on the motherboard.
The chipset is available on any board, no matter if it is a board for AMD or Intel. But what’s important is that if you have Windows 7 or Windows 10, then you shouldn’t think about drivers for the chipset, Windows takes care of all this work. She herself looks at the standard driver or the old one, and if anything happens, she takes it herself and updates it. But there are some very cool motherboards, where you may need to manually install the same very cool driver for the chipset. Usually drivers for the chipset are on the disk that came with the motherboard, and of course you can download it from the official website
Here I have Asus board Gryphon Z87, the last one, well, that is, Z87, this is the chipset. And I didn’t install the drivers for the chipset manually; Windows installed it there itself. But then I went to the Asus website, there on the page of my motherboard and I see that there is a driver for the chipset there.. And I don’t even know whether to install it or not.. I just doubt that there will be a difference... Although on the other hand, why? Is it on the website then? Hmm... And on the third hand, I’ve been using my computer for three years now and there are no jokes with it, everything works fine...
I remember I installed drivers for the chipset on Windows XP, then they seemed to need to be installed, well, Windows XP is just not as smart as modern Windows, and during installation there was the same window as here:
By the way, here is the same window, but everything happens in modern Windows:
If you don’t install drivers on Windows XP, you may get into trouble in the form of an unidentified device:
This window is the device manager
Let's say it again, what is a chipset? This is a chip that contains the operating logic of all devices that are on the board. This means processor, RAM, USB ports, all sorts of other ports, connectors for storage devices... In short, a lot of things. And this is all controlled by the chipset. Yes, it would be logical to say that drivers are worth installing. But it is also illogical to think that Windows 10 does not have normal built-in drivers, because very few people install drivers on the chipset; millions of computers work with Windows 10 without chipset drivers. And Microsoft took this into account and created definitely not a buggy driver for the chipset, this is my opinion, but I think that this is actually the case
So that's how it goes. I generally don’t install drivers for almost anything, I just thought about it, I was surprised, I don’t install drivers at all. I only install it on the sound card, but it’s completely separate. Windows installs the driver itself on the built-in video core in the processor, installs it on the chipset itself, and even installs it on the built-in sound, I just used it before. So things like that, modern Windows already does a lot on its own
VIA chipsets: myths and reality
The need for an article examining the practical features of assembling and configuring x86 systems based on VIA Technologies chipsets became obvious quite a long time ago, but this issue became especially acute last year, when their prevalence increased sharply. However, we didn’t want to release incomplete material, so we spent quite a long time, one might say, bit by bit, collecting the required information, setting out to publish it exactly in the form that, it seems to us, will be most in demand by our readers: as a comprehensive practical “guide” as possible to action" containing at the same time the necessary amount of the most important technical information.
To make it easier to understand general principles, on the basis of which VIA chipsets are created, we divided the technical part of the article into two large sections devoted separately to chips, usually called north and south bridges. Perhaps at first such a division will not seem very convenient to some, but after reading the entire article, readers will be able to make sure that this approach is the most correct when applied to VIA Technologies chipsets.
Southern Bridges
If we are to write in detail about VIA Technologies products, then first of all we need to clarify the issue with the south bridges once and for all. Currently, boards based on the above VIA chipsets actually use three south bridges: VT82C596B (Mobile South Bridge), VT82C686A (Super South) and VT82C686B.
596B is the oldest south bridge. One USB controller (2 ports, respectively), does not have hardware monitoring and an AC"97/MC"97 interface. The built-in IDE controller complies with the Ultra ATA/66 specification. It got its name (Mobile South) due to the fact that VIA positioned it as a solution for laptop computers, and therefore when developing a chip Special attention attention was paid to reducing energy consumption.
686A/B. Until recently, VIA VT82C686A was the most multifunctional south bridge: a two-channel USB controller (four USB port), Ultra ATA/66 IDE, AC"97/MC"97 interface, system monitoring. Its modification VT82C686B differs only in the built-in IDE controller (Ultra ATA/100).
As can be seen from the characteristics, the most “ascetic” is certainly 596B. However, if we approach it from the other side, then if it had system monitoring, it could be called exhaustively sufficient from the point of view of the average user. Indeed: the vast majority do not use AC"97 Audio and the AMR slot; it is still difficult to imagine more than two USB devices on one computer, and Ultra ATA/100 support is still not practical advantage. What are we talking about? Yes, just to the fact that in fact, even the oldest south bridge from VIA fully meets the requirements of 90% of users.
For the remaining 10%, the peculiarity is that all VIA Technologies chipsets are defined only by the north bridge, but any south bridge can be “equipped” with any north bridge. No one is stopping you from making a board on the most modern VIA KT133A, but using an old 596B - and everything will work great! And exactly excellent - that is, within the limits of its capabilities, the 596B will do everything that is required of it normally, without errors or failures. Naturally, self-respecting companies do not allow outright “blunders”, but those beloved by our people for low prices Chinese “craftsmen” can, and easily.
Northern bridges
The north bridges of even completely different VIA chipsets are very similar to each other. As a rule, the transition from one chipset to another (more modern) is accompanied by the introduction of two or three (less often - one) changes to the list of supported functions and... an equally insignificant alteration of some components of the chips themselves. To illustrate the validity of such reasoning, we will refer to a curious “phenomenon” associated with the values of the Vendor ID/Device ID codes for a number of VIA Technologies northbridge microcircuits.
First, let's explain what these codes are. Vendor ID is the manufacturer’s code, and it is this code that all chips that it produces must, upon a certain formalized request, be reported to the “interested” program (at the start stage, this is the BIOS). Further, on its own initiative, the manufacturer assigns each of its chips its Device ID - a “device identifier”, which makes it possible to determine which particular chip from this vendor “responded” to the request. One of the most common examples of using chip identification using the Vendor ID/Device ID pair can be seen in the process of installing new devices in Windows OS. Everyone probably remembers this process: first a window appears with a message that “a new device has been detected,” after which Windows either recognizes it itself or does not find information about it in its internal base data and asks for a floppy disk or CD-ROM with drivers and INF files. It is for the Vendor ID/Device ID pair, which in the form of specific digital values is described in INF files by the OS and determines the device type and its name in “text” form (it is located there, in the INF file).
The surprise is that all northbridges of the VIA Apollo Pro, Pro Plus, Pro133 and Pro133A chipsets have both of these codes... the same. That is, formally they are all the same microcircuit. True, there is also a code - Revision (revision, or, so to speak, the “version number” of the chip). It is by the meaning of this code (and only by it) that one can distinguish north bridge, for example, VIA Apollo Pro from the VIA Apollo Pro133A northbridge. However, the fact that these chips differ only in their “version” illustrates a feature of all VIA chipsets, which we have already discussed above - “good” is really the same chip, just subjected to various modifications and improvements over time.
Taking all of the above as a given, we can build a certain virtual row VIA north bridges, focusing not on the “external” names of chipsets and bridges, but on their “internal” qualities, and simply functionality. It should be noted that in this case we are entering an uncharted path of assumptions, since official information Naturally, the manufacturer is not clear on their validity. However, big practical experience working with VIA chipsets, it seems to us, gives the right to use this “virtual model range", albeit not as the ultimate truth, but in the form of a working hypothesis.
Apollo Pro133
The first VIA chipset (and therefore the first northbridge) to officially support FSB 133 MHz for Intel platforms(Slot 1/Socket 370). Like all VIA chipsets, it is asynchronous, i.e. the memory can be clocked at a frequency of equal frequency FSB, more or less. Processors supported Intel Pentium II/III and Celeron, AGP slot (2X), up to six PCI Master devices (including those built into the south bridge).
Apollo Pro133A, Apollo KX133/KT133/KT133A
Apollo Pro133A differs from Apollo Pro133 by supporting AGP 4X. It can also be assumed that it was on the basis of its core that Apollo KX133 was designed (for AMD Athlon processors of the Slot A form factor), and then Apollo KT133 ( AMD processors Athlon/Duron, Socket A form factor). Actually, it is in working with different types CPU and are all the differences between Apollo Pro133A and Apollo KX133/KT133. True, the latter did not support FSB 133 MHz, but this was due (one might assume) not to a fundamental impossibility, but to the fact that at the time of their development there were simply no CPUs from AMD that required such a bus frequency. However, with the release of new versions of Athlon, this “gap” was eliminated with the release of Apollo KT133A, which is now almost completely identical in characteristics to Apollo Pro133A (with the exception of the processor bus: AGTL+ for Pro133A and EV-6 133 (266) MHz for KT133A).
Apollo PLE133 (PM601) and ProSavage PM133/KM133
In fact, this is the northbridge from Apollo Pro133A (PLE133, PM133) or KT133 (KM133) with an integrated graphics core. In case of PM133/KM133 it is used graphics core from S3 (a combination of the 3D component of Savage4 and 2D from Savage2000), in the case of PLE133 the graphics core is taken from the Trident Blade3D chip. Also, PLE133 was “relieved” of the need to support an interface for an external AGP video card, which further simplified (and therefore reduced the cost) of the chipset and boards based on it.
Workshop
What are "chipset drivers" and why are they needed?
First, as always, about the main thing. Drivers are needed by the OS for proper operation with any chipset. A common (and no less huge) misconception is that Intel chipsets, unlike all others, do not need drivers. They need it, and how! Just drivers for Intel chipsets (by at least, for many of them) are already included in the Windows 98 driver database, thanks to which this OS is able to determine the appropriate functional elements Intel chips itself and install support drivers for them immediately, during the installation process. Therefore, the thesis “it’s clear that something is wrong with these VIA chipsets, since they require special drivers"should be considered absolutely erroneous. By the way, in Windows Me (Millennium) information about most VIA chipsets, as well as the corresponding drivers, is already present - the results of an official agreement on this matter between VIA Technologies and Microsoft.
However, Windows 98/98 SE/2000 users still need to install the VIA 4-in-1 Drivers Pack or each of the included drivers individually. Therefore, we will dwell in more detail on what these drivers are, what they serve and why their installation is necessary for the normal operation of the system.
VIA INF Driver
Actually, this is not a driver at all. This is a set of INF files that describe the devices located in the VIA south bridges (in particular, the ACPI controller). These INF files are copied to the database when the "driver" is installed Windows devices(usually the C:\WINDOWS\INF directory), as a result of which, at the next reboot, the OS can already determine (using the Vendor ID/Device ID pair described above) the presence of the corresponding devices in the system, and also obtain the correct and comprehensive “instructions” on how to communicate with them (I/O port addresses, etc.). The main function of VIA INF Driver, as is clear from the above, is one - “let the system know” that certain devices there are and you can work with them.
IRQ Routing Miniport Driver
IRQ routing, i.e. distributing interrupt requests between devices - most important function, characteristic of any supporting Plug-and-Play specification operating system. If routing is incorrect, many devices simply will not perform their functions correctly and may even cause errors in the system when trying to use them. Standard router installed when Windows installations 98/98 SE, designed only for the IRQ distribution mechanism supported Intel chipsets, for VIA chipsets it is somewhat different. The VIA IRQ Routing Driver is used precisely so that the system can correctly “distribute” interrupt vectors to all devices installed in the computer that require them. We think it is completely unnecessary to explain further how necessary its installation is for the proper functioning of the entire OS.
A little subtlety: Before installing the IRQ Routing Driver, VIA recommends enabling BIOS work USB controller built into the chipset (both channels if it is dual-channel) and IRQ allocation for USB controller. After installing the driver and then rebooting the settings, you can return them to their normal state (if they differ from those indicated above).
IDE BusMaster Driver
This driver is essentially split into two independent parts, each of which is independent driver, while both parts are identical in functionality and interchangeable. The VIA 4-in-1 Drivers Pack includes only one version - VSD (Vendor Support Driver), if used separate package VIA IDE BusMaster Driver, then the user is given the opportunity to choose from two options - the above-mentioned VSD and the “full-fledged” Miniport Driver (VXD). VSD is a driver that works in conjunction with universal driver Windows for all IDE BusMaster controllers, while the Miniport Driver completely replaces standard driver Windows.
VIA's own position on this matter is approximately the following: "The VSD driver provides better compatibility with all IDE/EIDE/ATAPI devices, while the Miniport Driver has slightly higher performance, but (potentially) in some cases may be incompatible with some specific drive models." Accordingly, the 4-in-1 Drivers Pack, as a solution “for everyone,” contains only a VSD option, while more “risky” users are given the opportunity to install Miniport Driver from a separate distribution. In general, both drivers serve the same purpose - to allow the correct use of high-speed data transfer modes (Ultra ATA/66/100) supported by the IDE controller built into the south bridge.
VIA GART (Graphics Address Relocation Table) Driver (VIA AGP Driver)
Many people call this driver the “AGP driver,” but this wording is somewhat incorrect, because the AGP bus itself, and even some AGP video cards can function quite painlessly without installing this driver. GART Driver provides the ability to use only one of the capabilities of the AGP bus, namely, it allows the AGP video card to use part of the system RAM as an extension of its own memory, organizing a buffer there for storing textures (the so-called DiME mode - Dynamic in Memory Execution).
Those video chips that can operate in DiME mode do so using a GART driver. However, the fact that a video card is inserted into an AGP slot does not at all indicate that it uses DiME. For example, without exception, all video cards on 3dfx chips do not support DiME (this is due to the architecture of the chips themselves), so the GART driver gives them absolutely nothing, they simply “do not feel” its presence in the system. If the video card tries to use GART, and it is not installed in the system, as a rule, a “dead” freeze follows the first time you try to launch an application that uses a 3D accelerator (while work in GUI applications can proceed quite normally ).
Problems
Here we will dwell in more detail on the real-life problems of motherboards based on VIA chipsets, which in some cases may turn out to be insoluble, at least standard means. The fact that such problems exist (by the way, in many chipsets, and not only those produced by VIA Technologies) is a proven fact. However, due to the fact that they are quite specific and their effect extends to a clearly defined range of situations, it is completely unnecessary to be afraid of these problems. Rather, you just need to know about them, and also (in some cases) be able to put into practice “non-standard” but proven ways to solve them.
Boards based on VIA chipsets and video cards based on NVIDIA chips
For some combinations specific models motherboards based on the VIA Apollo Pro133/133A chipset and video cards based on NVidia TNT2 and GeForce series chips, in fact, there is a fact of hardware incompatibility, which is expressed in the system freezing, as a rule, when running programs that use the Direct3D API. In the worst case, it is possible that the problem is truly unsolvable, i.e., configure this particular combination to normal work fails by any means. From a hardware point of view, the issue of “guilt” remains not fully clarified (there are, in fact, four “candidates”: motherboard, chipset, video card, video chip). Moreover, on the one hand, motherboards based on Apollo Pro133/133A that are free from this defect exist, and on the other hand, this kind of “dislike” is demonstrated only by graphics chips NVidia also leads to certain thoughts. Therefore, there can only be one piece of advice - either avoid this combination, or, when assembling a finished system, find out the presence/absence of this phenomenon “in fact,” i.e., by testing for quite a long time on some Direct3D application.
Southbridge IDE controller VIA and Ultra ATA/33 CD-ROM (CD-RW, DVD)
It has been noticed that some ATAPI CD-ROM (CD-RW, DVD) drives that support the Ultra ATA/33 mode do not work correctly when connected to the VIA BusMaster IDE controller, which is part of the VIA southbridges, via a standard 40-wire cable. The problem is a violation of data integrity when reading disks or incorrect recognition of the disk format upon first access. There are two ways to solve it. The simplest one is to ban c using BIOS or diagnostic utility from the VIA IDE BusMaster Drivers kit using Ultra ATA for such a drive. The second method can be used in cases where there is no desire to artificially limit the performance of the drive - then it is necessary to connect it using an 80-core Ultra ATA/66 cable (despite the fact that the device will operate in Ultra ATA/33 mode!).
Disabling the secondary IDE channel via BIOS
If the secondary VIA channel of the IDE controller was disabled through the BIOS, the Windows 98 device manager may "lose" both IDE channels (show them as disabled), and also identify the USB controller as a disabled device with a "Code 12" status. The reaction of Windows 98 SE to disabling the secondary channel using the BIOS is also inadequate, but slightly different: IDE controller is recognized as a malfunctioning device and causes resource contention when an interrupt is requested. Windows users 98 SE can cope with this problem by downloading a "patch" from Microsoft, located at www.entry.kiev.ua/Support/245682US8.exe, while Windows 98 users are recommended to either update the OS to Windows 98 SE (and then apply the above method ), or use the functions of the Windows device manager, rather than the BIOS, to disable the secondary IDE channel.
Southbridge audio subsystem VIA 686A/B, game port
On some boards using VIA VT82C686A(B) south bridges, the following problem may occur: after removing the built-in chipset from the device manager sound card(AC"97 Audio) joystick for the game port remains on the list existing devices. This happens because the game port driver (vjoyd.vxd) really cannot detect the absence or presence of a device in the system, therefore, once installed, it continues to run every time the system starts. The solution to the problem is simple: you just need to remove the device manually.
Features of system monitoring of south bridges 686A/B
Due to the fact that the temperature reading sensor lines are invariant, on some motherboards the sensors are not used in the usual order (sensor # 1 is for reading CPU temperature, sensor # 2 - for reading temperature system unit), but vice versa. The VIA Hardware Monitoring System program does not provide for setting the temperature correspondence to the signal line numbers, therefore, in this case, the temperature of the system unit will be displayed as the CPU temperature, and vice versa. In order to correct this error, you should update the VIA Hardware Monitoring System software to version 2.02, and then edit it in any text editor HMHARD.DAT file located in the installed software directory. For direct connection temperature sensor file should contain the following lines:
CPU_TEMP_PIN = 1
SYSTEM_TEMP_PIN = 2
To enable inverse switching, the numbers of the CPU and system unit temperature sensors should be swapped:
CPU_TEMP_PIN = 2
SYSTEM_TEMP_PIN = 1
"Wake up" from a USB keyboard
Some systems based on motherboards that use VIA south bridges (remember that these can be not only boards built entirely on VIA chipsets, but also, for example, boards based on AMD-750/760) may refuse to exit "sleep" mode upon request from a USB keyboard, even in the case when USB Keyboard wake-up is stated in the documentation as implemented function. This is due to the fact that not all USB keyboards support ACPI, so in reality this problem has nothing to do with VIA chipsets at all. You should also know that servicing wake-up requests from USB devices appeared in VIA chipsets only starting from the VIA VT82C686A southbridge revision CF; all earlier products simply do not support this function.
Driver support for VIA chipsets under Windows 2000
When operating systems based on VIA chipsets running Windows 2000, failures may occur due to incorrect work AGP, when such a system exits Suspend mode. This occurs due to the incorrect installation order of chipset support drivers, namely when installing the GART driver for VIA chipsets before the VIA INF Driver. This problem may also be caused by the installation earlier versions VIA 4-in-1 Drivers Pack, lower than 4.03. Unfortunately, the only thing that can help in this case is complete reinstallation system followed by correct installation of chipset support drivers.
Afterword
As we wrote above, the main goal of this article is to explain to our readers what really causes the wary attitude of some users towards VIA products, and, if possible, to dispel the myths that have arisen about unreliability and/or large quantities errors in its chipsets. VIA Technologies in a short time was able to turn from an “ugly duckling” into one of the leading suppliers of chipsets for the production of motherboards, so the fact that these boards will have to deal with is a fait accompli. And if so, then you shouldn’t bury your head in the sand or make excuses by citing the above-mentioned “myths”; you should simply objectively study the products of this company and know how to handle them correctly so as not to create unnecessary problems for yourself or users.
- Official page for VIA chipset support drivers: www.via.com.tw/drivers/index.htm
- Latest versions (including unofficial beta releases):
