proph3t said:
Hey I have a PC with CPU i am not sure of it is a Asus CUV4X with
128MB of RAM. Upon Boot it usually shuts down after the initial BIOS
boot process. When i get it to restart (big hassle) it goes directly
to bios with the error the CPU setting was invalid I have tried all
three available settings (minus manual) 333/550/766. And have the same
problem with all three. What next step shouldi proceed too take out
the chip and ID? or would it be one of the presets for sure?
All help appreciated
http://dlcdnas.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock370/pz133/cuv4x/cuv4x-102.pdf
What could be happening, is the processor is overheating, because
the setting is too high, and the processor switches off the
system via THERMTRIP.
Remove the heatsink. Read the part number or other details off
the top. You can look up the processor here. You can use the SLxxx
part number in the search box.
http://processorfinder.intel.com
You could use jumper settings, rather than going jumper
free. That would require changing the JEN jumper (so the
motherboard knows the DIP switches are being used). The
multiplier switches likely don't do anything (because
most of those processors will be locked). You can set the
multiplier, according to the details of the processor,
but it shouldn't really interfere with anything if it
was wrong for example.
There are also some jumpers for frequency, and the canonical
choices are 66/33, 100/33, 133/33, where the second number
is the PCI bus frequency. The first number feeds the CPU.
So if you had a 550MHz processor, it might be 5.5 x 100, so
you'd use 100/33 and the multiplier switches to 5.5.
The purpose of using the jumpers, is to take control
of your destiny. And basically verify the thing is
tripping out on an overheat.
If it still trips out in the same way, then you might
suspect the power supply has gone bad, and you're hitting
a power peak at the instant it shuts off. If installing
a substitute supply, it may require a supply with -5V on
the output. So check the current supply, to see if there is a
pin 18 wire and pin present. Modern 20 pin supplies have
removed pin 18 ("-5V"). If the pin was missing, and the
system had been running fine, you'd know -5V was not needed.
Otherwise, you might not know for sure whether it needs it or
not. Computers were supposed to stop using -5V years ago,
but that doesn't mean that there aren't designers who
broke the rules. It would have been a touch of class, if
motherboards not using -5V, had pin 18 missing on the
motherboard side of the equation.
( Pin 18 uses a white colored wire, if present. See page 27.
This old spec, is from when supplies still had -5V. )
http://web.archive.org/web/20030424...org/developer/specs/atx/ATX_ATX12V_PS_1_1.pdf
When you fit the heatsink back on the processor, you'll need
some fresh thermal interface material. For example, you
could apply some AS Ceramique to aid heat conduction.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100009&Tpk=ceramique
There is also a cleaner you can get, or someone else suggested
something like Goo Gone. Try not to get paste on surfaces
other than the ones that will be conducting the heat. On
the processors with the small contact area, it is more
important to apply a thin layer of paste, to maximize the
heat transfer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100010
We haven't discusses the CPU Vcore yet. The BIOS can apparently
override the default voltage. The processorfinder.intel.com
web page may or may not show you the proper Vcore. If the BIOS
has a "Default" setting, you could try that, then the next time
the BIOS starts, look in the Hardware Monitor BIOS page and
read out the measured value. That will tell you roughly what
is going on. For example, if the default (signaled by the VID
pins on the bottom of the processor, feeding the Vcore regulator
chip) is 1.65V, then you might see 1.71V at idle in the hardware
monitor. Asus regulators usually overvolt 50-60mV above the
specified value at idle. When the processor is running a 100%
computing load, the voltage should drop in response.
As an example of a situation to avoid, a Tualatin processor (likely
comes after the CUV4X shipped) is installed, its default is 1.5V.
If you run one of those at 1.8V, it dies after three weeks to
one month. Other processor families may have a different degree
of tolerance to a too-high value.
It could be as well, that the CMOS battery is bad. (It is an
old motherboard, after all.) You can measure that, without disassembling
anything. Using a multimeter set to the volts ranges, connect the
black lead to a screw on the back of the computer (use an alligator
clip on one of the I/O connector screws). That is so you don't
accidentally short something inside the computer. Then, using the
red lead, plugged into the "volt holes" on the meter, you can touch
the top surface of the CR2032 coin cell. It has a big (+) on it.
You should get 3.0V if the battery is good. Replace the battery if it is
2.4V or lower. The battery is only used, when the supply is
completely off (switched off at the back). it holds the
BIOS settings, and allows the RTC to keep proper clock time.
It fades fairly quickly, so once it drops below 3.0V, is
likely won't last much longer.
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/c/cr2032_01b/cr2032_01b__fg_.jpg
The CMOS battery might last 10 years, if the power supply was
never switched off at the back, at night. It would last about
3 years, if the computer is switched off at the back, or is
switched off at a power strip. That would give you some idea
how often it would need to be replaced. But measuring it is
easy, as you can do that without removing the battery from
its socket.
Paul
