After reinstalling the operating system, especially in cases when Windows XP is installed, and the computer is new, it will not work to find drivers for the latest hardware in an outdated OS. And even the latest release of Windows, with the third service pack, will not save the situation. Practice shows that the most difficulties users face when they need to install a driver for the motherboard. The difficulties here are understandable, 99% of modern PCs are equipped with a built-in network card based on chipsets that were not there when WinXP was released. And it’s good if you have at hand a disk on which the driver for the motherboard lies, well, and if it is not there, then just climb into the network.
Accordingly, a freshly installed operating system without network drivers cannot be connected to the Internet, and the circle closes. To download the driver on the motherboard, you need a network, to get to the network you need a network card driver for the motherboard.
The best and easiest solution in such cases is a trip with a flash drive to any computer connected to the World Wide Web, followed by downloading the necessary drivers. The only catch that can wait for not very experienced users is the question: what drivers do you need to download for your computer? That is, you must first identify the motherboard, and only then run for the "wood" for it.
The easiest way (if you do not want to open the case) is to do this using the Everest program, which should be in the D: \ Install folder, on a USB flash drive or, in extreme cases, on a DVD drive for every self-respecting PC user. Using it, figuring out the motherboard model is simple, go to the "System Board" section and there you will see text in the second line, something like Asus P5K. If there is nothing in this line, look at the first line (system board ID), it should definitely contain information with which you can determine what the charge is on your computer. So, for example, the line - 64-1201-000001-00101111-101408, driven into Google search, will give you the result - Asus P5K.
By the way, on the same page of Everest, only at the very bottom, you can find links where you can easily download drivers to the motherboard of your computer. True, occasionally, they lead to outdated addresses, but there's nothing to be done.
If you are lucky and the network card on your motherboard after reinstallation works fine, but sound, or other necessary devices, for example, is not detected, then programs that are designed to install drivers that are missing in the system will help you. It is not difficult for them to find drivers for the motherboard, on the video card or some exotic BlueTooth adapter.
The first candidate for your attention, I consider the utility DriverPack Solution. It is very popular, because, firstly, it is free, and, secondly, it can install drivers automatically. What does this mean for the user? This means that by starting DriverPack Solution, you simply wait for your computer to be scanned for problematic and outdated drivers, and then you will be asked to allow the program to download and install missing drivers and new ones instead of expired ones.
The second most popular is the Driver Genius program. It is also free and has a rich arsenal of driver features. For example, she knows how to make backup copies of the set that is currently installed on the computer, which is important when the OS reinstallation is planned in advance, and you don’t want to crawl along dusty shelves in search of a disk from one or another device. Naturally, in addition to this, DG is able to identify the drivers that are missing in the system and install them, and it does this quickly enough.
The third in our mini-review is the Device Doctor utility. What is characteristic is also free. Its functionality is not much different from the similar capabilities of the first program, except for a simple and very convenient, thoughtful interface.
Well, here we come to the end of this article, I wish you always have at hand all the necessary drivers for the motherboard. And if you do not want to get into trouble, copy all the installation disks of your computer to the CDA. Then in case of any failure you will be fully equipped.