G
Guest
Hello everyone
Before I continue, let me state what hardware I have:
P4 Prescott @ 3.0 GHz, Chaintech Apogee 9PJL mobo, 1.5 GB Ram (2*256
3200/400 and 2*512 3200/400 Dual Channel paired at the same size), 80 GB SATA
WD, Asus Radeon 9600XT/TVD.
I have been testing SP2 in the last few days. SP2 failed to install on my
Prescott P4 system. I tried installing:
a) Directly from the exe on a clean install winXP with SP1 licencing CD
b) Slipstreamed CD based on the above
In both cases the computer freezes at the winXP logo screen (in case b) it
freezes after the restart that follows the copying of system files and just
before the beginning of the set up). It fails to boot in Safe Mode too and it
freezes right after the agp440.sys.
Now, I tried to do the following:
1) Used different memory DIMMs (all from Transcend though)
2) Used 4 different graphics cards including a PCI card (S3 Virge/DX, nVidia
Vanda taken from a compaq Evo PC that SP2 installed succesfully, Ati 9200,
Ati 9600XT)
I tried the above after phoning MS Hellas and asking for help. Nothing
changed. The same problem existed. The BIOS setting were the default
settings. Now, first thing I did was to deactivate L1\L2 Cache. Don't ask me
why, I was just too suspicious with that. The computer passed the logo screen
in both cases. In case a), it boots directly to windows but takes ages, in
case b) it continues with the setup but takes ages again.
Now, I tried installing SP2 on several other PCs. It installed in all
including the one I am posting now. They had several different hardware items
including PIII CPUs, P4 Willamette, P4 Northwood, IDE HDs, SATA HDs, Radeon
Cards, nVidia cards, different memory SIMMs and so on. The only problem
arranged when trying to install it on a Prescott CPU with the 865P/PE
chipset. The CPU L1\L2 Cache issue makes me think that this is a Prescott
related issue (in combination to a specific Intel chip?).
What I would like to ask, is that people who have Prescotts should report
whether they have problems with SP2. If they have, they should try disabling
CPU L1\L2 Cache in BIOS and see if their PC boots (needs patience). If the PC
gets pass the logo screen, make sure to REPORT this to MS. I did that
yesterday and I hope a fix will be released soon. The mobo manufacturer
replied that this is a MS-related problem and that I should contact MS. I
would also like to ask any MVPs to consider this as an 'interesting' issue
and report it to MS (c'mon people, you have the power, don't ya ?
).
Thanks for reading.
Nikos Andreou
Software Engineer
Before I continue, let me state what hardware I have:
P4 Prescott @ 3.0 GHz, Chaintech Apogee 9PJL mobo, 1.5 GB Ram (2*256
3200/400 and 2*512 3200/400 Dual Channel paired at the same size), 80 GB SATA
WD, Asus Radeon 9600XT/TVD.
I have been testing SP2 in the last few days. SP2 failed to install on my
Prescott P4 system. I tried installing:
a) Directly from the exe on a clean install winXP with SP1 licencing CD
b) Slipstreamed CD based on the above
In both cases the computer freezes at the winXP logo screen (in case b) it
freezes after the restart that follows the copying of system files and just
before the beginning of the set up). It fails to boot in Safe Mode too and it
freezes right after the agp440.sys.
Now, I tried to do the following:
1) Used different memory DIMMs (all from Transcend though)
2) Used 4 different graphics cards including a PCI card (S3 Virge/DX, nVidia
Vanda taken from a compaq Evo PC that SP2 installed succesfully, Ati 9200,
Ati 9600XT)
I tried the above after phoning MS Hellas and asking for help. Nothing
changed. The same problem existed. The BIOS setting were the default
settings. Now, first thing I did was to deactivate L1\L2 Cache. Don't ask me
why, I was just too suspicious with that. The computer passed the logo screen
in both cases. In case a), it boots directly to windows but takes ages, in
case b) it continues with the setup but takes ages again.
Now, I tried installing SP2 on several other PCs. It installed in all
including the one I am posting now. They had several different hardware items
including PIII CPUs, P4 Willamette, P4 Northwood, IDE HDs, SATA HDs, Radeon
Cards, nVidia cards, different memory SIMMs and so on. The only problem
arranged when trying to install it on a Prescott CPU with the 865P/PE
chipset. The CPU L1\L2 Cache issue makes me think that this is a Prescott
related issue (in combination to a specific Intel chip?).
What I would like to ask, is that people who have Prescotts should report
whether they have problems with SP2. If they have, they should try disabling
CPU L1\L2 Cache in BIOS and see if their PC boots (needs patience). If the PC
gets pass the logo screen, make sure to REPORT this to MS. I did that
yesterday and I hope a fix will be released soon. The mobo manufacturer
replied that this is a MS-related problem and that I should contact MS. I
would also like to ask any MVPs to consider this as an 'interesting' issue
and report it to MS (c'mon people, you have the power, don't ya ?

Thanks for reading.
Nikos Andreou
Software Engineer