Ok, computer (mostly) assembled, next step?

[Dentari]

After a bit of difficulty, I finally have all the pieces installed in the case.

(MSI K7 Master, 1.33 GHz AMD T-Bird, GeForce3, Santa Cruz sound card, Soho Network card, IBM Deskstar 60GXP 60 meg, floppy, DVDrom).

First question, since I have the sound card already, I assume I want to set the jumpers to disable on-board audio?

Also, there seems to be a 4 slot square sectioned plug with a label of J4 in the center of the mb, and it looks like one of the cables from the power supply would fit in the plug, but I don't see anything in the MB manual describing it (it's not the powersupply plug). Anyone know what it's for?

So next step is to set up some BIOS settings I assume, then boot off a system disk and then install Windows 98SE (does it matter if the boot disk is made with 95? I wouldn't expect it to.), followed by installing the VIA 4-in-1 drivers (minus the AGP), and then the AMD AGP miniport?

Will the windows install format my harddrive? Or should I partition and format it first somehow? Do I need to have any special drivers on the boot disk to recognize the DVDRom?

Thanks...getting close to having the system up and running (I hope).

 

[erub]

the only problem w/ a 95 bootdisk is that they dont come with cdrom drivers AFAIK. You used to have to setup the drivers manually in DOS, it was a pain. 98 added generic cdrom support for dos mode.

 

[SPAnDAU]

That looks like a sweet system, kinda makes my duron 933 look weak.

1) Disable the onboard audio as you don't need it.
2) I'm not sure what that power connector is for, but I don't think you need it.
3) Just make sure that your BIOS is set to run your CPU at 1.33. Also set the boot sequence to boot from the CD. It's usually best to tweak the BIOS after windows is installed.
4) The win98SE CD is bootable, so you don't need the floppy. You need to fdisk and format the drive as the windows 98 installation will not do it.


Good luck

 

[Desmoquattro]

Wow...a GeForce 3...drool...yeah just like what he said...you don't need a bootdisk...just set your bios to boot off the cd drive with win98se and then after you're done just set the bios back to wherever you wanna boot from later on.

 

[Dentari]

Ah, the cd is bootable? Didn't know that, thanks!

 

[Electric Amish]

You don't need a boot disk to get to the BIOS.

Also, I would recommend (now that you've got everthing installed ) taking everything out except for the video card, ram, processor, and drives. Install the other cards (sound, network, etc) ONE AT A TIME AFTER Windows is installed. This may save you lots of conflicts and other problems.

amish

 

[Lalakai]

best place to disable the on-board sound, is in CMOS. Each mb handles it different so look at the manual (there were 3 places in my CMOS).

for the boot disk, you should be able to copy some generic cdrom drivers and don't forget to include a mouse driver. Try and keep the boot disk as "skinny" as possible; it helps to avoid upsetting W. I've had best luck putting my own boot disks together after copying on the the correct command.com for the OS I was installing. Remember, you have to set up the drivers in both the autoexec.bat and config.sys files.

if this doesn't work, someone can probably mail you the files and you can just copy 'em for your own boot disk

good luck and remember GIGO.

ps - lots of patience and some mild personality alternating chemicals will ease the pain too.

edit = spelling and some clarification

 

[StarRover]

It is definitely much easier to install the OS when there is just the mobo,cpu,ram and video card.This way you can catch a conflict quicker if it arises.

 

[Dentari]

Ah, so I should take out the sound card and network card before installing and getting the system running. Thanks, good advice.

And yeah, I'm taking my time. Keeps frustration levels down.

 

[StarRover]

You should with Via chipsets make sure you first install the motherboard drivers,AGP,etc. before installing any device drivers.

Dentari: You should also enable profile and PM(people can contact you)

 

[Jaimin]

Definitely do what Amish said, it will save so much time and will make everything smoother. Also don't forget to install the VIA 4 in 1's as the first thing you do after windows is setup.

 

[Dentari]

Ok, turned on PM.

Hmm, according to the MSI K7 Manual, that plug on the motherboard is listed as an "AGP power supply". Kind of odd, is the AGP card powered seperately from the MB?
Should I plug in the ps to that plug or not? There is nothing else in the manual about it.

 

[Electric Amish]

That sounds really different....

I might try it, if it was my board, but you might want to see if anyone else here has any experience.

amish