Is Windows XP SP2 right choice for ATI AIW 9600XT AGP card?
 

With an ATI AIW 9600XT AGP card, can I skip right to a clean install of Windows XP SP2 and then use the included ATI install disc?

I ask, because I've read several threads on this topic and want to make sure that the 9000-series ATI AIW cards didn't require any special rigmarole of installing XP SP1, and then XP SP2 (which seems to have been necessary on the earlier versions).

Also, by the 9000-series ATI AIW cards, I think I read in this forum that installer awesome enough that one can ignore all the discussions here about different ATI files needing to be installed in the right order (available here)?

You have a legit copy of XP SP2. Great. Put it in a drawer for legal reasons.

Instead install the community unofficial Integral Edition. That has modern patches and backports, and will generally work better. When build late 2010s systems, essential, as SP2 won't install whatsoever.

SP2 will still install on that Asrock board, but IDE only. With Integral, you can skip IDE entirely, use the SATA.

I followed the slipstream steps you linked to in another thread with instructions on how to add SATA Driver Packs to a copy of Windows XP installation disc, which adds an extra superpower to Windows XP and allows SATA HHDs work without needing to install anything from a floppy during the initial Windows XP install. If I did that successfully, am I good to go, especially if I don't ever connect that Windows XP computer to the Internet and use it as an appliance, as you have recommended?