Installing ASUS Z170-AR w/o Optical Drive

[BrandonF]

The instructions for the Z170-AR state that "Install USB 3.0 driver before Windows 7 OS installation" I'm using a NZXT S340 case, so I don't have any optical drives. I know I can download everything I need off the internet, but ASUS doesn't make the process easy to understand. Do I only need to install the USB driver (Asmedia USB3.1/3.0 Driver V1.16.26.1 for Windows10 64bit.) or do I need to download the other 12 drivers (Audio, VGA, LAN...) off the website as well?

This is my first build and there isn't much info on the Z170-AR chipset, I apologize if this is a repetitive questions.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

You can't install USB drivers before the OS has been installed (applies to all Windows drivers).

If you read the readme file in the download package for Intel USB driver it says:
"The operating system must be installed prior to the installation of the driver"

Same applies to ASMedia drivers even though there readme file does not explicitly say so - - it's obvious from the install instructions that you must install from within Windows.

The drivers on the ASUS website will be the latest versions, those on the motherboard CD will be older versions.
It's advisable therefore to download all drivers rather than use those on the CD. Only use an older driver if newer one causes a problem you can't otherwise fix.

I usually use the driver CD just to get the network adapters working for internet access, then download other drivers from their website.