Maybe a silly question...

I have a machine that I intend to replace the single-core CPU with a Core
Duo in the not too distant future. Running XP Pro. Will I have to
re-install? Or will XP just find the second core and reconfigure itself.

Thanks for any replies,

 

SP2 required.

If it doesn't detect the new CPU just go to Device Manger and change
the driver for Computer from "Uniprocessor" to "Multiprocessor".

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309283

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/.../en-us/devmgr_upgrade_to_multiprocessors.mspx

http://www.handaware.com/multiprocessor_XP.html

Haven't been there myself, let us know how you get on.

 

Thanks Nighthawk.

It'll be a wee while. I just yesterday bought an 'upgrade kit' consisting of
an Asus P5PE-VM motherboard, a gig of RAM and a Conroe Celeron single core
1.6GHz (Processor model 420, "800MHz FSB" and 512k of L2).

<http://www.qmb.co.nz/pk.aspx?290&c=Package> (and upgrade the RAM option to
1GB, it only has two slots and a max of 2GB for the board)

Interestingly I had to update the BIOS on that board before it would
properly recognise the CPU it was sold with. Previous to that it stopped on
boot-up and required an F1 push to continue.

It's a fairly simple mATX board that takes DDR only, had an AGP slot and is
core duo capable. I intend to get an E4500 as finances allow. Sadly it's not
overclockable in the slightest. :-( However, it allowed be to enter the
modern age without having to discard my AGP card and existing 1 gig DDR RAM
module and pay for replacements.

The Conroe Celeron is only a stop-gap until I get the E4500. However,
imagine my surprise when, after I've transplanted the HDD, AGP, 1gig module
etc from my Barton (XP2500+ OD'ed to XP3200+ speed on a 200MHz FSB) to find
that the little Celeron, with a total thermal design of 35W, not only feels
nippier than my old warrior, the Barton, (The Barton had 2gig as well but in
the form of 1 + 512 + 512) but actually benches around 5% faster!

Oh, and from what I can find out, at the same clock speed, DDR is actually
faster than DDR2 due to far lower latency. Both this 420 and the soon-to-be
E4500 run the RAM at 200Mhz, same as the Barton did. The advantage of DD2 is
that it can run a lot faster but pays for that with high latency so this
CPU/RAM combo is actually the optimal one.

<short rant>

If Intel hadn't let the marketers run the company and decided that MHz was
king, resulting in that evolutionary dead-end, the Pentium 4, we'd have had
these great CPUs years ago. The core duos and the Conroes are all evolved
from the Pentium M (Centrino) that was a result of the Intel Israel team's
brief several years ago to come up with an efficient processor for laptops.
Guess where they started? With the discontinued P3 Tualatin! Intel had to
kill it quick back when they released the P4 as the 1.3 P3 Tualatin-S was
faster than the first three speeds of P4 that were released. (1.4, 1.6 and
1.8). However, the Tui didn't have those magical MHz numbers that the
marketers love(ed) so much. (They were .13 fab then, not .65.) AMD was
winning the "war". AMD saw the light pretty quickly and pulled out of the
MHz race, instead using the controversial "XPxxxx+" designation. Intel
blindly ran helter-skelter down their cul-de-sac that ended in the PrescHot
room heater/climate changer.

<end rant>

I'm pleased that I gave the whole P4, long pipe-line, Netburst thing a total
miss and went to AMD for a few years. (My Intel experience stopped at Socket
370 and has just started again yesterday at 775). Now it seems the time is
right to choose Intel again. At least for me, at that price. I see E4500
core duos around for just over $200. That will really make my new machine
fly, 2.2GHz, 2MB of L2 and two cores for less than I paid for my old XP1800+
T'bred (1.53GHz) over five years ago. Just a shame that I can't set one to
run at 266MHz (1066) with this mobo as, apparently, they more often than not
(around 95% of samples is what I heard) manage that just fine with no
over-volting required. Still, it'll be a quantum-leap from my Barton even at
200MHz FSB.

(Apparently there's a "pin trick" that will force the mobo to think it's a
1066 FSB CPU but I haven't found reliable enough instructions yet. An
option, maybe in a year or two, if the CPU *ever* becomes a bottleneck for
me.)

Cheers, (I've saved your post and links for later perusal)

 

Don't expect it to work. When I upgraded from my Barton to the Core2Duo the
comp did not boot, never mind what I tried, I had to boot from the XP-CD and
reinstall. Well, it was major major, mobo, cpu, ram. Then I had to reactivate
which I had to do over the phone cause the new (re)install would not even let
me log on to activate (couldn't access the firewall) but insisted I'd do it
without logging in which is preposterous cause it couldn't find its way through
my firewall without help. The joys of XXXXXXXXX

And Nighthawk is quite wrong about SP2, cause my SP1 detected the core2duo just
fine and it's firing on all cylinders.

cheers, -Peter

 

YMMV

I think you can look in the OS and it will tell you what kernel it has,
uni-processor or smp...but XP might be smp by default.

While it is easy to upgrade to a SMP kernel in Linux, MS is usually way
harder....From win2k experience going to 2 CPUs (p3 1000s) meant only
one was seen so a re-install was best but it still booted happily with
one...on the other hand Ive had NT4 refuse to boot.

I just did a similar thing but found that XP didnt understand sata so I
needed a floppy for the F6 routine, and none of my machines have had
floppies in 3 years! So if you are doing a swapout make sure you have
the driver on a floppy made first and of course HAVE a floppy drive....I
had to search through my attic for one....like DUH.

So I ended up re-installing....

What I can do is go see what happens with a virtualised XP
desktop...when I go from 1 to 2 CPus....or even 4....

bbl

regards

Thing

 

Ahh. OK.

Something about this new mobo has been pissing me off. My old faithful,
Norton Ghost '03 not only won't do back-ups of the boot partition (a habit
of mine after a new reinstall) but it hangs and won't go back to Windows. I
have to reinstall. I think it could be the F6/SATA thing. However, I've
studied the contents of the mobo driver CD and can't find how to, or indeed
if I can, make a floppy with the SATA drivers.

This nachine's current name is "Quin" as XP's been installed five times in
three days now.

Be inneresting to know. I guess I'm going to find out in a few weeks when I
sell my old unlocked Barton etc. on Trademe to finance the purchase of an
E4500 CPU. (Although, I must say, I'm amazed by the performance of this
Conroe-core Celeron 1.6GHz (420) I currently have in the mobo. It's faster
than my Barton OC'ed to 2.1GHz).

Cheers,

 

I'm hoping that it'll be different in my case as I'm *only* changing the
CPU. All other hardware will remain the same. I got a deal. A Conroe-core
Celeron came with the mobo and some RAM. The mobo supports Core Duo so I'll
be making the switch once I've sold the "old" machine.

Thanks for the info Peter, first-hand is always good.

Hope you're well mate,

 

according to the author of this article:
http://www.handaware.com/multiprocessor_XP.html SP2 patch is
essential. Perhaps yours had the necessary patches through normal
updates? Or perhaps your OS was installed with the CPU already
inplace. It seems to be different when changing from single core to
dual core with an existing installaion.

 

Hi 'fit,

i was in the situation of replacing a sock 478 with a hyperthreading
cpu, which I know isn't dual core as such but made XP throw a wobbly
all the same.
At install time XP checks and installs 2 files depending on if you
have 1 or 2 cores. I was able to boot from other means and swap the 2
files for single CPU for those 2 for multi from the install CD and it
went OK after that.

Sorry cant remember the names but you;ll soon see them at the top of
the BSOD

Cheers,
Chris

 

Hey Chris,

Ok, thanks for that.

:-( I hate those BSODs. I guess when that happens I'll hit Google.

Cheers,

 

You're right there, I did have to re-install after the upgrade so that CPU-in-
place condition was met, indeed.

-P.

 

Hmmm, I *think* I got Ghost '03 to work with the "ghost -NOIDE" switch.

 

Somewhere on the interweb "Cima" typed:

Yeah, "think" just ain't gonna do it for me. <g>

Twice I've had to do full re-installs now because Ghost messed up the MBR
etc. on my boot disc, then failed to boot. I tried installing the disc in
another PC and cleaning the Ghost stuff off but no luck. I'm not about to
try again, especially as I've got even more stuff installed now.

I use Ghost so that I *won't* have to re-install in case of problems, not
for it to be the problem that requires the reinstall.

Shame, I liked the feeliing of having the boot drive all backed up to a
ghost image, both on another HDD in the machine and also to DVD-R.

You have me tempted to try it.... Nah, after doing five installs in three
days I'll just do without boot drive backups I think. I think I'd go
insane(r) if I had to do it again.

Cheers,

 

You could, perhaps, consider using Acronis True Image in place of Ghost.
It has always worked for me and has got me out of the scheiss a number of
times in similar circumstances.

 

I understand Acronis runs its own Linux kernel. May be worth pointing that
out, in case the OP is a Dimdows fanboy with an allergy to Linux...

 

Somewhere on the interweb "Nicolaas Hawkins" typed:

Thanks for the advice Nicolaas, I've always stuck with Ghost because it
worked and I'm familiar with it. (It's the only Norton product I *would*
use.) However, now that it *doesn't* work I suppose I should look for
something else. Either a later version of Ghost or, as you recommend,
Acronis. We all need something to get us out of the scheiss now and then.


Cheers,

 

If it gets the job done, who gives a rat's arse whether it haz a Linux
kernel or a Brazil Nut kernel? We're talking results here.

 

Oh, yes. To carry the German a tad farther, it could be said that one is
immmer in the scheiße ... only the Tiefe changes.

 

Somewhere on the interweb "Nicolaas Hawkins" typed:

Yeah, the depth's acceptable at the moment, nostrils are clear. Just.

BTW, love your sigs. A 'random' selector and a source file I take it?

Cheers,

 

Bilden Sie nicht Wellen! :x]

Thanks.

Yes, random selector that I over-ride when I think it appropriate, and a
source file provided by me, compiled over 15-odd years from many sources.
I still add to it now and then. Currently it contains 181 taglines. I
could have had many, many thousands of taglines in that time, but I'm a
fussy old bugger.

--
Nicolaas.


.... We are worthy of only as much respect as we are prepared to give
others.