Maximum PC

I read in the July Issue (pg 37) that the most stable order after reformatting is OS, Sp1, Mobo chipset, DirectX, Video. It sounds good but I have more drivers than that which I need to install, and am not sure what order to do them in. (I've been getting a bit unstable lately so I'm upping my PSU, putting in some new thermal paste and reformatting). Heres my specs:
Shuttle SN45G (FN45 mobo, onboard sound & nic, nForce2)
2x256 DDR @ 400mhz
PX-708A
WD-120GB w/ 8mb cache
4x AGP GeForce 3

So the drivers I have are:
Mainboard Drivers from shuttle (I think its like sound, nic, etc)
USB2 Drivers From Shuttle
nForce2 Chipset Drivers from nVidia
Latest GeForce Drivers from nVidia
Then I have WinXP/SP1/DirectX/& Critical Updates to install.

I think I'm mainly confused when it comes to the Mainboard drivers, which the article doesn't mention, since I have both nForce2 Drivers and mainboard drivers. Any help?

Thanks

use this order:

1) Install XP
2) Install SP1
3) Motherboard Drivers
4) DirectX
5) Video drivers


after that the order really doesn't matter. you can do pretty much whatever you want.

Does MotherBoard Drivers mean Mainboard Drivers or nForce drivers or both, and which first?

yes motherboard drivers, nforce drivers same thing. overall that is the chipset drivers their talking about.

ehhh, I wouldnt worry about it too much.

I never install in the same order and I rarely have problems. I just go in order of what I need...ie, ethernet controller drivers go first so that I can get online and download windows updates, video card drivers, firewall, etc etc etc...

Theres really no right or wrong order to do it (IN MOST CASES). Its basically just a matter of which you need in order to get the others installed.

My last computer gave me problems with the video after a fresh install of the OS. The vid drivers were the first thing i installed after the OS, then everything else. I reinstalled the drivers and they worked fine. Weather that was the problem or just coincidence, i now install video last. I also remember reading something like that in the mag, just didnt think about it till it happened.

the nForce drivers are your motherboard drivers. if you have a motherboard based on, say a KT600 chipset, then your motherboard drivers would be the VIA 4-in-1 drivers.

i think the only thing that really matter is to get the DirectX in before the video drivers, since some video card drivers req DirectX first.

Runnermike,

Just install the motherboard chipset drivers, don't install Nvidia's drivers on top of them or things won't work right. Conflicts.

Nasty