@ all Windows XP (32/64bit) users with an nForce 4/5/6/7 series chipset mainboard:

Actual information:

Since 12th September 2008 NVIDIA is offering new nForce driverpacks v15.23/15.24 for all NF4-7 chipsets. The included drivers seem to be better than those of the 15.17/15.18 driverpacks, which were released in June and had to be pulled by NVIDIA 2 weeks later, but these new sets still don't seem to be the big shot:
  • some Intel related nForce chipsets are not supported by them (despite NVIDIA's announcements),
  • the included nForce IDE drivers v10.3.0.42 don't have a good performance and seem to be incompatible with some nForce4 RAID systems and
  • the included nForce Ethernet driver v67.89 obviously doesn't work fine with all nForce chipsets.

The installation of these driverpacks may be useful for nForce users, who ran into problems with NVIDIA's official packs (for example NF4 RAID users) or who are searching for a driverpack combination, which gives them a better performance (owners of all NF4 to NF7 chipsets).

Last update: 09/15/2008
Changelog:
- updated: SMBus and SMU drivers (except NF4-5 non-AHCI Driverpacks)
- updated: HDAudio driver
- replaced: 32bit version of the "NF4-7 Performance Pack"
- enhanced compatibility: "NF4-7 Performance Packs"
Please remember:
Since I am not at home for some weeks, I will not be able to give you any support.


Preliminary notes
Many users with an nForce chipset mainboard, who are running or going to install Windows XP (32/64bit), are searching for actual nForce chipset drivers, which are suitable for their special chipset and will give them the best possible performance and stability of their system. NVIDIA itself doesn't offer them.

This was the reason why this thread is needed.

These sets are the best nForce driver mixtures for each nForce chipset series.

Here are the actual nForce chipset driver packages for Windows XP and Windows XP x64:

A. "Special WHQL Driver Packs":

1. "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driver Packs for XP (32/64bit)"
(rock stable combination of WHQL certified XP 32/64bit non-AHCI nForce drivers for NF4-5 chipsets)

Changelog:
- updated HDAudio driver
- removed SMU driver

All actual nForce S-ATA drivers named NVGTS.SYS (32bit) and NVGTS64.SYS (64bit) were developed to be used with nForce S-ATA Controllers, which do support the new S-ATA feature AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface). Since all NF4 4 and some NF5 chipsets do not support AHCI at all, I have bundled these special 32/64bit packages, which contain the latest "non-AHCI" nForce IDE drivers.They are designed for NF4-5 users, who are not able or don't want to use any AHCI capable nForce IDE drivers.

Here are the download links (with multilingual installer):

32bit package v4.1 for Windows XP:
Main download link (eSnips)
Mirror 1 (MediaFire)
Mirror 2 (RapidShare)

64bit package v4.1 for Windows XP x64:
Main download link (eSnips)
Mirror 1 (MediaFire)
Mirror 2 (RapidShare)

These are the components of the XP non-AHCI driverpacks:
Code:
 
Ethernet Driver (v67.80) WHQL 
SataRAID Driver (v6.99) WHQL 
SataIDE Driver (v6.99) WHQL 
RAIDTOOL Application (v6.95) 
SMBus Driver (v4.64) WHQL 
HD Audio Driver (v1.00.0.33) WHQL 
Optional IDE Driver Registry Cleaner
Installer (v5.93)

Notice:
  • The included WHQL certified nForce IDE drivers v6.99 dated 05/15/2007 do support all CK804 (nForce 4 AMD Ultra/SLI/SIx16), MCP51 (nForce 430/410) and MCP 55 (nForce 590/570/550) chipsets.
  • These driverpacks are a good choice for NF4-5 systems with SATA 1 hdd's, whereas users with SATA 2 hdd's may get a better performance by using one of my "NF4-7 Performance Packs".
  • Contrary to NVIDIA's recently presented nForce chipset driver packs v15.23/15.24 these packs are fully supporting all nForce4 AMD RAID systems.
  • Users with an nForce4 Intel Edition (MCP04) or nForce 430/405/400 (MCP61=AM2 socket)) mainboard, who want to use the non-AHCI IDE drivers v6.99, have to take a modified version of them, because NVIDIA forgot to put the needed HardwareID's into the original INF files.

    These are the steps how to use these customized nForce IDE drivers v6.99 by running the installer:
    • Download and unzip the suitable 32/64bit version of a small package containing just the SATA_IDE and SATARAID folders with the modded nForce IDE drivers 6.99:
      modded nForce IDE v6.99 for Windows XP (32bit)
      modded nForce IDE v6.99 for Windows XP x64
    • Replace the "SATA_IDE" and "SATARAID" driver subfolders of my 32/64bit "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driver Pack" by the folders of the suitable 32/64bit version containig the customized IDE drivers.[/b]
    Notice: If you use the modded INF files, the IDE drivers have lost their WHQL stamp, but this doesn't have any negative effect on their stability or performance.

2. "Special WHQL Performance Packs for XP (32/64bit)"
(usable with MCP51, MCP55, nForce 680i and NF7 chipsets)

Changelog:
- updated SMBus "drivers"
- updated SMU driver
- updated HDAudio driver

Here are the download links to the special "WHQL Performance Packs" (with multilingual installer):

32bit driverpack v4.1 for Windows (32bit):
Main download link (eSnips)
Mirror 1 (MediaFire)
Mirror 2 (RapidShare)

64bit driverpack v4.1 for Windows XP x64:
Main download link (eSnips)
Mirror 1 (MediaFire)
Mirror 2 (RapidShare)

These are the components:
Code:
 
Ethernet Driver (v67.80) WHQL 
SataRAID Driver (v9.99.09) WHQL 
SataIDE Driver (v9.99.09) WHQL 
RAIDTOOL Application (v9.99.09) "Sedona" 
SMBus Driver (v4.69) WHQL 
SMU Driver (v1.61) WHQL 
HD Audio Driver (v1.00.0.33) WHQL 
Optional IDE Driver Registry Cleaner 
Installer (v5.93))

Informations:
  • Compatibility:
    My "WHQL Performance Packs" are fully supporting nForce 430/410 (MCP51=socket 754/939), nForce 590/570/550 (MCP55), nForce 680i and NF7 series chipsets. Users with other chipsets, who want to enhance their performance, have to take one of the "Modded XP Performance Packs" (see below).
  • Performance details:
    The nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 of my "Performance Packs" are as rock stable as the 10.3.0.42 ones, but have a better performance. Users will get the best results, if these IDE drivers are combined with Ethernet drivers, which do not drop the speed. The brandnew Ethernet drivers v67.80 obviously are the best choice as partner of the 9.99.09 IDE drivers

__________________________________________________________

B. "Modded XP Driverpacks":

"NF4-7 Performance Packs for XP (32/64bit)"
(with the currently best/fastest nForce IDE drivers, compatible with all NF4-7 chipsets)

Changelog:
- replaced 32bit version
- added MCP79 support
- updated SMBus "drivers"
- updated SMU driver
- updated HDAudio driver

Here are the download links to my modded XP Performance Packs (with multilingual installer):

32bit package v4.1 for Windows XP:
Main download link (eSnips)
Mirror 1 (MediaFire)
Mirror 2 (RapidShare)

64bit package v4.1 for Windows XP x64:
Main download link (eSnips)
Mirror 1 (MediaFire)
Mirror 2 (RapidShare)

These are the components:
Code:
 
Ethernet Driver (v67.80) WHQL 
SataIDE Driver (v9.99.09) customized by Fernando 
RAID Driver (v9.99.09) customized by Fernando 
RAIDTOOL (v9.99.09) "Sedona" 
SMBus (v4.69) WHQL 
SMU (v1.61) WHQL 
Audio Driver (v1.00.0.33) WHQL 
optional IDE driver registry cleaner (made by TwL) 
Installer (v5.93)
Information:
  • Compatibility:
    The "Modded Performance Packs" with the customized nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 are supporting all nForce chipsets from NF4 up. Contrary to the officially offered nForce IDE drivers v10.3.0.21 they probably do support nForce4 RAID systems too.
  • Performance details:
    The nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 of my "Performance Pack" are as rock stable as the 10.3.0.21 ones, but have a better performance, if they are combined with Ethernet drivers, which do not drop the speed. The brandnew Ethernet drivers v67.80 obviously are the best choice as partner of the 9.99.09 IDE drivers
    This is what TwL wrote about the IDE drivers, you will find within this package:
    v9.99.09: These are probably the best drivers you can add to your system.



General notes:
  • Regarding the update of the nForce Ethernet and IDE drivers please read the following informations (chapter "Attention").
  • Important:
    The included drivers, which have been modified by customizing the associated INF file, automaticly have lost their WHQL stamp. As a consequence you probably have to enforce the manual driver update by choosing the options "Browse my computer ....", "Let me pick ...." and "Have Disk". Otherwise the OS will give a message, that it has already installed the best driver software.
_____________________________________________________________

You may use all above presented packages at own risk.

Attention:


Update of the Ethernet drivers:
  1. The Ethernet drivers, which are part of these inofficial nForce chipset driver packages, are running fine with nearly all nForce chipsets, if they are installed the correct way. The running Ethernet drivers should not be just updated! You have to uninstall the previously loaded Ethernet drivers before you run the installer and decide to update the complete chipset driver package!
  2. After the installation of the new Ethernet drivers you should verify, that the hidden device ("View" > "show hidden devices") named "Bus Enumerator" has been updated too. Otherwise the Ethernet Controller will not work. Some nForce chipset mainboards need more than 1 reboot to get the Ethernet devices (Bus Enumerator and Network Controller) completely and properly installed.
Update of the nForce IDE drivers:
  1. Although the nForce IDE drivers of the packages do support all related nForce chipsets, you should keep in mind, that some of them belong to a new generation of nForce S-ATA drivers with advanced AHCI features. Before you are going to install them, you should do a backup of all important files or - even better - of the whole OS partition. The safest way to get these new nForce IDE drivers installed is to do it from scratch.
  2. It is always risky to replace previously installed nForce IDE drivers by other ones, especially with nForce RAID systems, but you can minimize the risks. After having run the installer of the suitable nForce chipset driver package with checked "Storage Driver" or "MediaShield" update, you should NOT REBOOT unless you have checked, that all NVIDIA related Storage and RAID devices have been successfully updated.

    This is what you should do:
    1. Open the "Device Manager", select "View" and check the "Show hidden devices" option.
    2. Open the "SCSI and RAID Controllers" section and look for the actual driver version (right click > "Properties" > "Driver") of ALL listed "NVIDIA RAID Controllers" and ALL listed RAID Devices (with the name of your RAIDed hdd's). If needed, do a manual driver update by loading the SATARAID driver folder content and using the "Have Disk..." option.
    3. Search for devices named "NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller" (within the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" or "SCSI and RAID Controllers" section) and look for their actual driver version. If needed, do a manual driver update by loading the SATA_IDE driver folder content and using the "Have Disk..." option.
    4. NOW YOU CAN REBOOT.
  3. Use of the optional registry cleaner:
    Since NVIDIA has renamed their nForce IDE drivers and due to the fact, that only nForce IDE drivers with exactly the same name will be overwritten by a driver update, it is possible, that previously installed nForce IDE drivers will remain within the system. These "old" drivers can drop the performance and even let the system crash.
    That is why all my nForce chipset driver packs now contain an "optional.reg" file, which is able to erase all registry entries regarding previously installed nForce IDE drivers. You will find this REG file and a text file how to use it within a new folder named "optional after IDE driver update".
  4. Driver update via Windows Update:
    It is highly recommended to disable the automatic Windows Update option, because otherwise you risk, that you get nForce drivers installed, which are broken or worse than those you had previously installed yourself. If Windows Update is offering any new nForce chipset driver, you should only accept it, if you are sure, that the update is useful and safe.


Additional information:
  1. You won't be able to get any nForce IDE driver (not even the S-ATA one) installed by running the installer of any pack unless you have checked the "MediaShield" or "Storage Driver" option!
  2. When you have run the installer of any of the packages, you should verify after the reboot, if all nForce chipset drivers really have been updated. It is a known issue of nearly all NVIDIA's nForce chipset driver installers, that they will not automaticly update all previously installed nForce drivers. So you should compare the driver versions and - where necessary - do the driver update manually within the device manager.
  3. The new nForce SataRaid drivers require an up-to-date mainboard and nVRaid BIOS (MediaShield ROM) version.
  4. You won't find a NAM folder with NVIDIA's "Network Management Tools" within my packages, because they are useless (mostly broken). Big advantage: The download is much quicker due to the small package size.
  5. Don't be astonished or even afraid, if you get a "safely remove hardware" icon within the systray after having installed any of the new nForce IDE drivers. This is not a bug, but a feature of the new generation of nForce S-ATA drivers with AHCI support.