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Old May 21st 14, 10:49 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware
Paul
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Default "Haswell" and Windows XP

Mike Rumble wrote:
Can I get some opinions on this mother board (NF9J-Q87) from JetWay?

http://www.jetwaycomputer.com/NF9J.html

If you scroll down the page to where the drivers are, you'll see there are
drivers for Windows XP.

I called the company, but got someone who did not seem very educated about
their product.

Do you think this "Haswell" ready motherboard can run XP with a 4th
Generation processor, or are the XP drivers only there for the older
processors when used on this motherboard?
There are drivers available for everything on the board. I just can't figure
out if they are saying you can install the latest processor and still run
Windows XP.

Thanks all.


Drivers are typically for the chipset.

The processor itself, uses "standard looking" logic blocks,
for which the OS will already have a default driver. For
example, something like "pci.sys" might pick up a few of
those entries.

If your Haswell has a built-in GPU, then that might require
a video driver. The responsibility there is split, with
signal buffering in the chipset (HDMI connector driven by
the PCH). But the 16 EU GPU might need a video driver, so
all the features, DVXA for video decoder or the like,
are exposed.

Intel HD 4000/5000 Graphics, DirectX 11.1

Now, that promise means nothing to WinXP, as WinXP stops
at DirectX 9c. An OS more modern than WinXP, might support
DirectX 11, with a backward compatibility module for running
DirectX 9 stuff. No similar methodology exists for programs
designed for DirectX 11 only, that you might attempt to run
on WinXP.

If you used a separate video card, and the video card supported
WinXP, then that's another way to solve that problem. Just ignore
the GPU in the processor, and don't use the HDMI connector
on the back of the motherboard. Problem solved. You could
move the video card from your existing WinXP computer, assuming it
is a PCI Express card, and be all set. If your machine had
only AGP, then that card can't be reused.

The chipset on that board is Q87. And Q87 means the chipset
has "remoting" capability for the IT department. That tells
me the motherboard is intended for corporate users. You would
want to go into the BIOS, and turn that part off if possible.
Or even get a BIOS with a "null" code module for the
processor inside the chipset.

*******

Now, all of that being said, the driver list looks nice.
You will need to look inside each driver file, to determine
if they are lying to you. For example, I could put a Windows 8
driver file in the WinXP list, to make you think there was
an actual WinXP driver. I would download all the driver
files, and inspect them (look at the INF files) and
see if the drivers are consistent with a WinXP install.

VGA XP_32_bit.zip / xp_64_bit.zip

That one is rather small, so I can take a look.

http://www.jetwaytw.com/driver/intel8_xp32.zip
23.4MB

If I look at igxp32.inf, this is what I see:

;
; Driver information
;
[Manufacturer]
%Intel% = IntelGfx, NTx86.5.1, NTx86.6.0, NTx86.6.2

[IntelGfx.NTx86.6.0]
; no install on Vista/Win7

[IntelGfx.NTx86.6.2]
; no install on Win8

[IntelGfx.NTx86.5.1] --- start of the WinXP section
%iIVBGD0% = iIVBD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0162
%iIVBGM0% = iIVBM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0166
%iIVBGD0SRV% = iIVBD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_016A
%iIVBGD0GT1% = iIVBD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0152
%iIVBGM0GT1% = iIVBM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0156
%iIVBGD0SRVGT1% = iIVBD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_015A
; HSW A0/A1 --- Various Haswell entries
%iHSWGTLD% = iHSWGD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0C02
%iHSWGTLM% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0C06
%iHSWGTMD% = iHSWGD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0C12
%iHSWGTMM% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0C16
%iHSWGTHD% = iHSWGD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0C22
%iHSWGTHM% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0C26
; HSW
%iHSWGT1D% = iHSWGD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0402
%iHSWGT1M% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0406
%iHSWGT2D% = iHSWGD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0412
%iHSWGT2M% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0416
;HSW ULT
%iHSWGT1UT% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0A06
%iHSWGT2UT% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0A16
%iHSWGT3UT% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0A26
;HSW CRW
%iHSWGT1CW% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0D06
%iHSWGT2CW% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0D16
%iHSWGT3CW% = iHSWGM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0D26

I have no way to guess how comprehensive that list
is, and whether any Haswell chips aren't covered,
such as a chip freshly minted in 2014. The length
of the list looks promising though.

At least a cursory examination, doesn't suggest
an inappropriate attempt. It looks legit. If I was
spending the money, I'd check all of them. Note
that the above INF is dated Sept.2013, to give some
idea when it was created for that specific package.

*******

The iAMT 9.0 intel_me9.zip package, would have
something to do with the "remote control" option
on the Q87. Q-series chipset have the function,
whereas other chipsets without a Q, the block is
in there but permanently turned off. To work, an
Intel-branded NIC is used. That's why the hardware
lists this in bold letters, to tell you it's a
complete AMT implementation.

1 x Intel i217LM PHY Gigabit LAN (iAMT 9.0)

That would be your AMT port. You can wake the computer
from sleep or hibernate, if you work in the IT department,
and patch the machine using that port. Even if the
computer is *crashed* and sitting in a BSOD, AMT
can regain control. A microprocessor inside the
PCH, makes it happen. Your computer has two
processors, the one you paid for (Haswell) and
the one you didn't pay for (AMT Management Engine).
A code block in the BIOS flash chip, programs the AMT.
The AMT processor is likely running, for as long as
+5VSB power is available (standby power).

You would want to read at least one "tinfoil hat"
article from the section at the end of this article...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_A...ent_Technology

This doesn't cover the Wifi era, but still gives
some idea what AMT can do. This article is a little
more straight forward, than some of the advertising
bumpf that Intel normally makes available. I presume
this was a PowerPoint slide set at a trade show.

http://pds4.egloos.com/pds/200706/04/57/ps_adts003.pdf

Paul
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