Question

AMD Athlon 64 upgrade to Athlon 64 X2, Reinstall Windows?

Asked by: plastictears

I currently have a AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor and I am upgrading to a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor on a ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

Do I need to reinstall Windows XP Professional SP2 after upgrading the processor? After researching I found conflicting answers. Some say Windows should recognize the new processor without a problem and others say that if you install a processor with a different core (in this case switching from a San Diego core to a Toledo core) that you will run into many problems. I have also read that sometimes Windows XP fails to operate in dual-processor mode after upgrading. It still treats the X2 as a single core processor. In the same forum it was suggested the only way to get Windows to operate in dual-processor mode is to reinstall Windows XP.

Thanks for your time!
Happy holidays!
Bryan

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Asked On
2005-12-22 at 00:44:44ID21672878
Tags

x2

,

amd

,

64

,

athlon

,

windows

Topic

Computer CPU Processors

Participating Experts
1
Points
50
Comments
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    Answers

     

    by: CallandorPosted on 2005-12-22 at 05:39:49ID: 15533732

    No, you won't need to reinstall WinXP.  You will need to update the HAL by going into device manager and updating the driver for the processor from uniprocessor to multiprocessor (it should be on your WinXP CD).  Once you do this, task manager will show two processors.

    You will also need to apply the WinXP Athlon64 X2 patch (AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor Driver for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Version (exe) 1.2.2.2): http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html

    Before you do any of this, check if your motherboard BIOS needs updating in order to recognize the X2 cpu.  Asus may have a new BIOS image on their website to address this.  I have an MSI K8N Neo2 that originally had an Athlon64 3000+ Winchester, and I dropped an Athlon64 X2 3800+ Manchester in its place, so I know what is involved.

     

    by: plastictearsPosted on 2005-12-22 at 09:42:26ID: 15535701

    Under the "Computer" tab in Device Manager it does not show HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer.) It only has ACPI Uniprocessor PC.

    Screenshot - http://www.frommfamily.com/misc/devicemanager.gif

    When I do the updgrade do I first install the processor, boot into Windows, and try to update the driver for ACPI Uniprocessor? Or will the HAL device appear in Device Manager?

    Also do I install the Athlon64 X2 patch before or after I install the new CPU to the motherboard?

    I have the most current BIOS installed from ASUS.

    Thank you for your quick response!
    Take care,
    Bryan

     

    by: CallandorPosted on 2005-12-22 at 11:01:35ID: 15536413

    Sorry, I meant to say change the driver for the processor to multiprocessor (which is part of the HAL).  Since you have the latest BIOS, install the processor, update the driver for the processor, and then install the Athlon64 X2 patch.

     

    by: plastictearsPosted on 2005-12-22 at 20:08:56ID: 15539896

    Got it. I just wanted to make sure I did the steps in the proper order. The processor is set to arrive on next Wednesday. I will post back here with my results.

    Thanks again!
    Bryan

     

    by: plastictearsPosted on 2005-12-28 at 16:59:40ID: 15567552

    I have successfully installed my AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor on a ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard. Windows automatically detected the processor and set itself to ACPI Multiprocessor PC. All I had to do is restart Windows when prompted.

    After restarting I installed the driver found at http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html . I am not sure if this was necessary but I figured it couldn't hurt.

    When opening the Performance tab under Windows Task Manager it has 2 processor performance graphs as it should.

    I can already see the performance boost! Thanks everyone for the tips, and good luck to anyone who stumbles across this thread.

    Bryan

     

    by: CallandorPosted on 2006-01-09 at 10:26:57ID: 15652385

    Don't forget to close this question.  Here's how: http://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hs5

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