I have a new system with an Intel D 830 dual core processor.
Unfortunately when the machine was first sent to me the motherboard was
faulty, so I had to return it. However before returning it I was able to get
windows XP Pro installed and working, and upgrade the BIOS to recognize the
dual core. Not surprisingly, having done this windows recognized that it was
on a dual core machine and installed the ACPI multiprocessor HAL.

Now of course when the machine went back to replace the mobo, they didn't
flash the new BIOS, so I was back to a single processor machine. However
after flashing the BIOS myself, windows didn't ask to reboot or anything - I
guess because it already had the HAL installed.

I checked in the task manager, and indeed it was showing 2 cores.

I tried running a game, which locked the machine up totally in the initial
security process - not entirely surprising I suppose, since it was installed
when it thought it was one processor. So, I rebooted - and checked in task
manager again, to find that I was back to one core.

So, anybody out there know a way I can force XP to recognize that I have two
cores ? I checked the device manager, it still shows that I have the
multiprocessor HAL in place.

Or is it possible that my processor is actually broken, and the second core
doesn't work ? Is there any way I can test this when Windows doesn't even
recognize that I have two cores to test ?

If your install was on a faulty motherboard the first thing I would
recommend is to perform a repair installation. This will load the correct
HAL,and eliminate any possible problems caused by the faulty board.

How to do a repair install on Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm


--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone- www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Robert Dibley" <Robert (E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:B2A33E09-7496-4A43-A9FD-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have a new system with an Intel D 830 dual core processor.
> Unfortunately when the machine was first sent to me the motherboard was
> faulty, so I had to return it. However before returning it I was able to
> get
> windows XP Pro installed and working, and upgrade the BIOS to recognize
> the
> dual core. Not surprisingly, having done this windows recognized that it
> was
> on a dual core machine and installed the ACPI multiprocessor HAL.
>
> Now of course when the machine went back to replace the mobo, they didn't
> flash the new BIOS, so I was back to a single processor machine. However
> after flashing the BIOS myself, windows didn't ask to reboot or anything -
> I
> guess because it already had the HAL installed.
>
> I checked in the task manager, and indeed it was showing 2 cores.
>
> I tried running a game, which locked the machine up totally in the initial
> security process - not entirely surprising I suppose, since it was
> installed
> when it thought it was one processor. So, I rebooted - and checked in
> task
> manager again, to find that I was back to one core.
>
> So, anybody out there know a way I can force XP to recognize that I have
> two
> cores ? I checked the device manager, it still shows that I have the
> multiprocessor HAL in place.
>
> Or is it possible that my processor is actually broken, and the second
> core
> doesn't work ? Is there any way I can test this when Windows doesn't even
> recognize that I have two cores to test ?
>

Thanks - I'll give that a try.
By the way, it came back to recognizing the dual core after I reflashed the
BIOS, so I suspect that the security from the game I tried running (which was
StarForce protection) may have in some way confused things.
Anyway, after getting dual core recognition back, the machine still locks up
and crashes, so I guess a repair install would be a good idea anyway !

"Larry Samuels" wrote:

> If your install was on a faulty motherboard the first thing I would
> recommend is to perform a repair installation. This will load the correct
> HAL,and eliminate any possible problems caused by the faulty board.
>
> How to do a repair install on Windows XP
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Forget the repair if you can. Backup, format and reinstall clean from
scratch, and if you can
install XP that has SP2 slipstreamed inside.

Kenny www.computerboom.com


--
--
HOPE -- Desire and expectation rolled into one.
Ambrose Bierce1842-1914
"Robert Dibley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:3BB6A057-884B-4DCC-9504-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thanks - I'll give that a try.
> By the way, it came back to recognizing the dual core after I reflashed
> the
> BIOS, so I suspect that the security from the game I tried running (which
> was
> StarForce protection) may have in some way confused things.
> Anyway, after getting dual core recognition back, the machine still locks
> up
> and crashes, so I guess a repair install would be a good idea anyway !
>
> "Larry Samuels" wrote:
>
>> If your install was on a faulty motherboard the first thing I would
>> recommend is to perform a repair installation. This will load the correct
>> HAL,and eliminate any possible problems caused by the faulty board.
>>
>> How to do a repair install on Windows XP
>> http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>