Athlon XP Upgrade Problem

[jmuse1]

Greetings. I'm having a problem attempting to ugrade an Athlon XP
system (old timey, I know). The current setup is an Athlon XP 1800+
with an FIC AU13 motherboard and 333mhz ram, which has been working
fine for years.

I've tried to upgrade with an Athlon XP 2800 and several 3200's, and
each time I get the same result - the fans spin, and the drive lights
come on, but the system power light doesn't come on, there's no video,
and no BIOS beeps. If I swap back to the 1800, it works fine.
The AU13 is supposed to take processors up to the 3200+ with a 400mhz
bus - I updated to the most recent bios, but no change.

Possibilities:
1.) Most of the CPU's were "as is," so my initial assumption is that
they're all dead.

2.) There could be a power issue. The current PSU is only a low-end
model with 300 or 350-watts, but it's run the 1800+, a Geforce 6600,
and the drives without any issue. As a test, I tried stripping it down
to nothing but the motherboard and 2800/3200 cpu, but it still had the
same results.

3.) Dozens of other options that I haven't even considered. The fact
that it won't even fully power-up may rule out some of the usual
suspects, but that could just be naivete on my part.

If anyone has any experience with this symptom, or suggestions on what
I might try, I'd greatly appreciate them.

Thanks a lot,
Josh

 

[Bob M]

Greetings. I'm having a problem attempting to ugrade an Athlon XP
system (old timey, I know). The current setup is an Athlon XP 1800+
with an FIC AU13 motherboard and 333mhz ram, which has been working
fine for years.

I've tried to upgrade with an Athlon XP 2800 and several 3200's, and
each time I get the same result - the fans spin, and the drive lights
come on, but the system power light doesn't come on, there's no video,
and no BIOS beeps. If I swap back to the 1800, it works fine.
The AU13 is supposed to take processors up to the 3200+ with a 400mhz
bus - I updated to the most recent bios, but no change.

Possibilities:
1.) Most of the CPU's were "as is," so my initial assumption is that
they're all dead.

2.) There could be a power issue. The current PSU is only a low-end
model with 300 or 350-watts, but it's run the 1800+, a Geforce 6600,
and the drives without any issue. As a test, I tried stripping it down
to nothing but the motherboard and 2800/3200 cpu, but it still had the
same results.

3.) Dozens of other options that I haven't even considered. The fact
that it won't even fully power-up may rule out some of the usual
suspects, but that could just be naivete on my part.

If anyone has any experience with this symptom, or suggestions on what
I might try, I'd greatly appreciate them.

Thanks a lot,
Josh

If I'm not mistaken if you are trying to run a CPU that runs with a
400mhz bus you need PC3200 memory. Sounds like you only have PC2700 memory.

Bob

 

[RIAA]

If I'm not mistaken if you are trying to run a CPU that runs with a
400mhz bus you need PC3200 memory. Sounds like you only have PC2700
memory.

Bob

The max cpu fsb for this board is 333mhz.
Therefore the memory bus speed will only be 166mhz. PC2700 memory should
work fine.
A 400 mhz fsb processor will not.

 

[Kiwi1971]

Greetings. I'm having a problem attempting to ugrade an Athlon XP
system (old timey, I know). The current setup is an Athlon XP 1800+
with an FIC AU13 motherboard and 333mhz ram, which has been working
fine for years.

I've tried to upgrade with an Athlon XP 2800 and several 3200's, and
each time I get the same result - the fans spin, and the drive lights
come on, but the system power light doesn't come on, there's no video,
and no BIOS beeps. If I swap back to the 1800, it works fine.
The AU13 is supposed to take processors up to the 3200+ with a 400mhz
bus - I updated to the most recent bios, but no change.

Possibilities:
1.) Most of the CPU's were "as is," so my initial assumption is that
they're all dead.

2.) There could be a power issue. The current PSU is only a low-end
model with 300 or 350-watts, but it's run the 1800+, a Geforce 6600,
and the drives without any issue. As a test, I tried stripping it down
to nothing but the motherboard and 2800/3200 cpu, but it still had the
same results.

3.) Dozens of other options that I haven't even considered. The fact
that it won't even fully power-up may rule out some of the usual
suspects, but that could just be naivete on my part.

If anyone has any experience with this symptom, or suggestions on what
I might try, I'd greatly appreciate them.

Thanks a lot,
Josh

I take it that the board definitely will take the CPU you are trying
to install?

DLS

 

[yaugin]

Possibilities:
1.) Most of the CPU's were "as is," so my initial assumption is that
they're all dead.

If you have not tested them with success previously, it is 90% that
the CPUs are indeed DOA.

 

[jmuse1]

If you have not tested them with success previously, it is 90% that
the CPUs are indeed DOA.

Thanks for everyone's input and quick responses. After Yaugin's
suggestion, I went back to verify compatibility. A later revision of
the FIC AU13 will work at 400mhz bus, but I have the original version.
So no luck there.

Though that does bring up the question, what generally happens when
you try to use a processor that is faster than the motherboard can
work at? Does it A) not power-up, B) not post, C) run at a lower bus
and clock speed, or D) any of the above depending on the cpu and
motherboard? I've never tried it before.

Back to the Athlon XP 2800. The ram is pc2700, the board will take a
333mhz bus, but I'm still having no luck. I continue to lean towards a
dead CPU, with an outside possibility that the 300-350 watt PSU is not
adequate for the 2800.

Thanks for the help,
Josh

 

[jaster]

Thanks for everyone's input and quick responses. After Yaugin's
suggestion, I went back to verify compatibility. A later revision of the
FIC AU13 will work at 400mhz bus, but I have the original version. So no
luck there.

Though that does bring up the question, what generally happens when you
try to use a processor that is faster than the motherboard can work at?
Does it A) not power-up, B) not post, C) run at a lower bus and clock
speed, or D) any of the above depending on the cpu and motherboard? I've
never tried it before.

Back to the Athlon XP 2800. The ram is pc2700, the board will take a
333mhz bus, but I'm still having no luck. I continue to lean towards a
dead CPU, with an outside possibility that the 300-350 watt PSU is not
adequate for the 2800.

Thanks for the help,
Josh

Chances are the cpu aren't dead but the m/b doesn't support processors
above the XP 2800. Check your manual. Maybe if you reset the CMOS after
you switched processors it may work.

 

[RIAA]

Thanks for everyone's input and quick responses. After Yaugin's
suggestion, I went back to verify compatibility. A later revision of
the FIC AU13 will work at 400mhz bus, but I have the original version.
So no luck there.

Though that does bring up the question, what generally happens when
you try to use a processor that is faster than the motherboard can
work at? Does it A) not power-up, B) not post, C) run at a lower bus
and clock speed, or D) any of the above depending on the cpu and
motherboard? I've never tried it before.

Back to the Athlon XP 2800. The ram is pc2700, the board will take a
333mhz bus, but I'm still having no luck. I continue to lean towards a
dead CPU, with an outside possibility that the 300-350 watt PSU is not
adequate for the 2800.

Thanks for the help,
Josh

I have found with AMD cpu's that sometimes the processor will just run at a
lower speed and other times they just act dead. Looks like it depends on the
particular configuration of cpu and mobo. (core voltages having a lot to do
with it also.)

 

[yaugin]

Though that does bring up the question, what generally happens when
you try to use a processor that is faster than the motherboard can
work at? Does it A) not power-up, B) not post, C) run at a lower bus
and clock speed, or D) any of the above depending on the cpu and
motherboard? I've never tried it before.

Generally it should run at a lower bus speed, whatever the mb is set
at -- the cpu multiplier (clock) is fixed. However, with older boards
there is always a possibility that it just can't use newer cpus due to
differences in voltage or unrecognized characteristics. Foremost, you
should rely on the manual to tell you which chips or generation of
chips are supported. Failing that, this is a handy chart that will
give you details about each chip:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Athlon_XP_microprocessors

Back to the Athlon XP 2800. The ram is pc2700, the board will take a
333mhz bus, but I'm still having no luck. I continue to lean towards a
dead CPU, with an outside possibility that the 300-350 watt PSU is not
adequate for the 2800.

300 watts is plenty if you are just running the board. The only reason
you would need e.g. a 500W supply is after you add the GPU and hard
drives. If you haven't done so already, disconnect all peripherals
including addon cards from the motherboard -- just have the board,
cpu, and ram.

Mainly, the reason why I suspect dead cpus is because you bought them
as-is. Especially if this was over ebay. The majority of these
auctions are scams. Honest sellers should have no problem stating that
it is A) working, and B) willing to discuss returns if DOA. There's
very few reasons for a good-faith seller to sell "as-is", usually an
honest seller will only reserve this phrase for parts that are
advertised as dead.