Athlon 64 X2 - Windows only recognises one core. Help!

[deathwalker666]

Hi hope someone can help me with this as Im really stressing...

I just bought an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ and Windows XP will only recognise one core. Ive updated my motherboard BIOS to the latest version, installed the X2 drivers for the new CPU and I also even reinstalled Windows XP using the 'repair' feature. The only thing left to do is to do a total format of my operating system and then installing it fresh. This seems a bit extreme though, and before I have to do this, Im hoping someone can offer me an alternative solution.

This is what CPU-Z shows, notice that the code name, package and technology fields are blank CPU-Z

Also, when checking my device manager I noticed that although there is only one CPU listed there, my Computer is still listed as an ACPI uniprocessor PC (Which is correct right?). Heres how it looks:
Device Manager

Oh, and task manager only shows 1 CPU window.

Motherboard is an Asus A8N-Sli Deluxe.

If anyone can give me some idea as to what the problem might be, then please let me know! I'd be very grateful.

Many thanks.

 

[deathwalker666]

Hi, thanks for the quick responses.

I manually set it to multiprocessor but with no luck. Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[deathwalker666]

Hmmm, the uninstall option isnt selectable for the ACPI multiproccessor. Im getting rather scared now that one of the cores may indeed be dead

Im going to do a clean install of XP anyway, as this is the only thing left I can think of, and as Ive got a new HD to install, it isnt that much of problem.

Ill let you know how it goes. If that doesnt fix it then I think Ill just eat the processor and go buy a conroe.....

 

[deathwalker666]

This is messed up....

I formatted the HD, reinstalled windowsXP, updated my BIOS, Installed all the latest drivers and still no luck! Device manager still states that its a uniprocessor PC, and when I do change it to a multiprocessor PC it appears to make no difference, task manager still only shows one graph

I know this might sound like a stupid question, but if Windows does not detect the second core, does that mean Im not getting any of its processing power? Or does it still function normally, but Windows simply doesnt recognise it?

If the second core is dead, I have no idea what to do. As I bought it second hand, Im not sure if Ill get a refund.

 

[deathwalker666]

Cheers for the help and suggestions all, but still no luck.

When you enter the BIOS is the processor recognised as a dual core Athlon?

The processor is recognised as a dual core athlon yeah, but it only lists one processor there, and Im pretty sure there should be two listed. If it isnt even recognising two cores in the BIOS, then thats very worrying

Ill try changing between unicore and multicore a few more times. If still no luck, do you think its safe to say one of the cores is screwed?

 

[deathwalker666]

You could run some benchmark that benifits a lot from dual cores and compare it to results from various sites.

Oooh ok cool, Ill give it a try. So theres a chance that both cores are working even though Windows isnt detecting both?

 

[deathwalker666]

most strange, i have the same motherboard as you & other than updating the bios to the most current stable beforehand i only had to take out the 3500+ and drop in the X2, and it was insta-dual-core/multiprocessor without any changes done to XP by myself.

D'oh, then I guess its a bodged processor. Are you using the 1016 BIOS? Heh, you even had the same processor I upgraded from.

 

[deathwalker666]

Ok, I just ran 3D Mark 06 and recieved a CPU score of 799. Im pretty certain that a dual core CPU should be getting a much higher score than that right?

 

[deathwalker666]

What does the latest version of CPU-Z(1.38) say?
But if the bios only sees one core, your fighting a losing battle.
Plan C, what is actually written on the top of the CPU? Full code.

Haha mate...The thought struck me yesterday that the damn thing might not even be a dual core, but yeah, I did check the code and it definately matches up to the 4400+ x2 model.

Here is a screenshot from the latest version of CPUZ. Very worrying is the fact that the 'code name', 'package' and 'technology' fields are all blank. CPUZ Results

But yeah, the reason I was worried about getting a refund was because it was purchased from a well known auction site, and Im unsure of their policies if the seller refuses to give a refund.

It does seem to be a losing battle though, Im going to try it on my mates 939 board tommorow and see what happens on that. But yeah, thanks for all the great help, and if anyone has anymore suggestions, Ill give it a try.

 

[deathwalker666]

Update BIOS
Fresh install of Windows.

That should work. Perhaps if you've installed Windows then flashed BIOS Windows hasen't reset the CPU device and detected the new core.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was using the latest (Reliable) BIOS for a while even before I got the CPU, and then I did indeed perform a fresh install of Windows, with no luck.

I just recieved an e-mail from the seller saying he will not replace it, so Ive opened a dispute with the afforementioned website.....

 

[deathwalker666]

Ok, Ive done a bit of research, and it does seem that if one of the cores was dead, the CPU would not boot at all, so all I can think of now is that theres a problem with my motherboard.... Should it display two processors in the BIOS also?

 

[deathwalker666]

Which version of windows are you using, as home doesnt support Dual core processors... Well from what I can remember.

Thanks for the suggestion. I dont know whether thats correct or not but anyhow, Im using XP pro, so it shouldnt really matter. Also, that still wouldnt explain why my BIOS isnt recognising the two processors either.

Zomb, Ill try reseating the CPU when I get home from work. When you say reset the BIOS, do you mean removing the battery on the mobo? Also, Im going to try it on my mates 939 board tonight, so Ill keep you posted with the results!

 

[deathwalker666]

I mean move the jumper to the clear position for a few seconds then move it back again.

Oh ok, thats an interesting point. Ive never performed this before, do I do this while the PC is off? And do I need to turn it on at all once the jumper has been moved to the clear position? Cheers mate

 

[deathwalker666]

Cheers zomb mate. Ill give that a try. Does clearing the BIOS just revert it back to its original settings, and Windows will still boot as normal right?

Would you still recommend updating the BIOS to the newest version, after clearing it?

Thanks again.

 

[deathwalker666]

Cheers again. However, I followed the instructions in my mobo manual (turned off power, took out battery, changed the jumper to pins 2 and 3, left for 20 seconds, then moved jumper back and replace battery) but it doesnt seem to have actually erased the BIOS, AsusUpdate still says that I have the most recent BIOS there. Very strange.

I wish I knew what my BIOS screen should look like. It says theres an Athlon64X2 in there, but should it mention anything about there being two cores?

 

[deathwalker666]

You would still need to update the BIOS in order to make your motherboard recognise the dual core. I had to flash my BIOS (ASUS A8N Sli-Deluxe) to rev. 15 to have it covered.

Heh. This just gets weirder. When I flash the BIOS to this revision, it doesnt even recognise the processor as a dual core, just a regular athlon 64 4400+ whereas with the 14 and 16 revisions, at least it was saying Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+

EDIT: Ok, Ive changed back to the 16 revision and its once again displaying Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+. How can I know in the BIOS whether its picking up one or two cores? Should there be a separate voltage and temperature displayed for each core? As Im only getting one.

I dont think theres any point in me worrying about HAL and windows problems until everything is showing correctly in the BIOS.

 

[deathwalker666]

Hi guys.

Paul - My mobo is an Asus A8n-Sli Deluxe and my BIOS also says the cpu is a X2. However, at the moment BIOS is only showing 1024 cache. Ill be going to my friends place later this evening, so I will try it on his PC. Until then, I am going to try the combination of chipset/BIOS revisions that you suggested and see if I get any luck.

Asus Probe gives an ID for my CPU.

 

[deathwalker666]

Hmmm, tried it in my friends PC, who has the same mobo as me....Exact same thing happens.

BIOS only shows 1024kb of cache instead of 1024X2, so BIOS is definately not detecting both cores. I had one last attempt, got a brand new formatted hard drive, updated my BIOS to the latest reliable version (Tried all versions since dual core support was added now), installed Windows, installed the chipset and AMD drivers and Windows still reported the processor as a uniprocessor instead of a multiprocessor. I carried out the HAL fix and changed it to a multiprocessor, and still no luck; Only one CPU usage graph, and only one processor in device manager.

Ive tried everything now, so I think Ill give up, leave it 6 months or a year, and then just build a totally new PC. I guess it must be something with my motherboard. Ive been told many times that if the CPU was borked the PC wouldnt boot at all, so I guess it could be nothing else.

But anyway, the help given has been great, so I really appreciate it.