Processor Speed does not allow XP to boot.

[Baqar Rizvi]

I have an Athlon XP 2700+ CPU in my ECS motherboard.
The motherboards default settings were to have the CPU
run at 1500 MHZ. Inside windows it Reads my processor
speed as 1300 MHZ. I decided to clock up my processor to
the standard speed of 2.7, but could only clock up to 2.1
before the computer would refuse to start, as resulting
from a motherboard issue (I think). Clocking up to 2.1
allows me to start my PC properly, however Windows XP
then tells me that There is a Dll/Karnal error. Bringing
down the CPU speed to 1.5 Allows windows to boot normally.

Note: (1) I installed Windows XP at the 1500 MhZ CPU
Speed.
(2) The Proccessor is meant to be ran at 2700 Mhz.
(3) My copy of Windows was fully updated as of
8/8/04 (Including Drivers)

 

[Mark Salloway]

Hi Baqar
On the Athlon XP line of CPU's the number indicated is an AMD performance
rating against a 1 GHz Athlon rather than the actual operating clock speed.
The XP 2700 is indended to operate at 2170 MHz, likewise the Athlon XP 1500
operates at 1300 MHz. Are you using PC2700/DDR333 memory in this machine?
Are you using a heat sink on the processor capable of handling an XP2700?

 

[Baqar Rizvi]

To Mark -
I have 512 Megabytes of PC 2100 DDR ram. As for my CPU
fan & Heat Sink they are made by AMD and were bundled
with my processor when I purchased it. I see no reason
why they would issue an improper heat sink for its paired
processor.
2100 MHZ does seem to be as far as I can go, but I still
can't explain why Windows gives me the error at startup.
When I clock back down (like said before) Windows
operates Fine.

- Baqar

 

[Mark Salloway]

Hi Baqar
The memory could be an issue, the XP2700 is a chip which uses a 333 MHz (166
MHz DDR) bus for communication with the motherboard, on most machines the
system bus and memory clock will be the same. PC2100 ram is rated for use up
to 266Mhz (133 MHz DDR) only, so running it over specification could cause
some issues such as random crashing, or a black screen when you power on.
Some motherboards have options to set the memory timing at an asynchronous
speed to the processor bus, so it may be worth checking in any documentation
for the motherboard you have to see if such an options exists on your board
(This would have a minor performance impact though). Otherwise you may need
some PC2700 ram or stay at the lower fully working speed. Usually the fans
AMD supply do an adequate job of cooling the chip.

Mark

 

[Baqar Rizvi]

What I don't understand is that the ram would effect the
computer from starting up at all wouldn't it? The
computer starts up and "does it's thing." However when it
comes time to boot Windows from the Hard-Drive, it says
there is an error. I don't think that the RAM type would
be responsible for windows not starting properly.

Note-
I cannot boot in any mode, safe or normal.

 

[D.Currie]

What I don't understand is that the ram would effect the
computer from starting up at all wouldn't it? The
computer starts up and "does it's thing." However when it
comes time to boot Windows from the Hard-Drive, it says
there is an error. I don't think that the RAM type would
be responsible for windows not starting properly.

Note-
I cannot boot in any mode, safe or normal.

Memory errors can appear at any point in the process.