How can I get a Barton 2500+ working with a KG7-Lite mobo ?

When I drop the Barton onto the Socket A socket, the computer won't
POST. I have ensured that Pin 1 is in the correct spot, and that the
CPU is well seated (easy to do with a ZIF socket). The screen won't
turn on, so I can't get into the BIOS. I have read that I have to set
the multiplier at the default of 11 for the Barton, yet I can't do
that if it won't even POST. I could put my old Thunderbird 1.4 in,
set the BIOS, save it, power off, and then swap in the Barton. But
there must be an easier way to do this. I have seen many posts of
people trying out various different multipliers and FSBs, but how are
they doing it? I assume they aren't swapping CPUs constantly. The
heatsink/fan combo on my CPU is a pain to remove. In my case, it
backs onto the PSU so I have to remove the optical drives and unscrew
the PSU, then shove it over far enough so that I can leverage off the
heatsink. I can't imagine other people who had this "won't POST"
problem (there are a lot of them I found out by googling) were all
dilligently switching out their heatsink/fan/CPU combos every time
just to keep trying different BIOS settings.

Any ideas? My Barton is from the 340 batch. I have read that it may
be multiplier locked, but I am not sure. The consensus seems to be
any pre-339 Bartons are unlocked, some 340, and everything over 340.
So unfortunately, I fall in the middle. My RAM is PC2100, rated for
266. I only plan on running the FSB at 133 anyway, so the RAM won't
be a problem. If I can get the Barton working at an 11 multiplier, I
will be happy. It's only a 63 MHz improvement over the Thunderbird
running at 1.4, but I will acquire SSE instructions needed for today's
games. Also, the Barton runs a lot cooler than than T-bird, so I
should be able to play with overclocking once I get the initial setup
working.

Thanks,
DD.

Sorry, make that "everything over 340 is locked".

Dare978Devil wrote:
|
| When I drop the Barton onto the Socket A socket, the computer
| won't POST. I have ensured that Pin 1 is in the correct spot, and
| that the CPU is well seated (easy to do with a ZIF socket). The
| screen won't turn on, so I can't get into the BIOS. I have read
| that I have to set the multiplier at the default of 11 for the Barton,
| yet I can't do that if it won't even POST. I could put my old
| Thunderbird 1.4 in, set the BIOS, save it, power off, and then swap
| in the Barton. But there must be an easier way to do this. I have
| seen many posts of people trying out various different multipliers
| and FSBs, but how are they doing it? I assume they aren't swapping
| CPUs constantly. The heatsink/fan combo on my CPU is a pain to
| remove. In my case, it backs onto the PSU so I have to remove the
| optical drives and unscrew the PSU, then shove it over far enough
| so that I can leverage off the heatsink. I can't imagine other people
| who had this "won't POST" problem (there are a lot of them I found
| out by googling) were all dilligently switching out their heatsink/fan/CPU
| combos every time just to keep trying different BIOS settings.
|
| Any ideas? My Barton is from the 340 batch. I have read that it
| may be multiplier locked, but I am not sure. The consensus seems
| to be any pre-339 Bartons are unlocked, some 340, and everything
| over 340 [is locked]. So unfortunately, I fall in the middle. My RAM
| is PC2100, rated for 266. I only plan on running the FSB at 133
| anyway, so the RAM won't be a problem. If I can get the Barton
| working at an 11 multiplier, I will be happy. It's only a 63 MHz improve-
| ment over the Thunderbird running at 1.4, but I will acquire SSE
| instructions needed for today's games. Also, the Barton runs a lot
| cooler than than T-bird, so I should be able to play with overclocking
| once I get the initial setup working.
|
| Thanks,
| DD.
|

Hi DD -

From "Thermal and Electrical Specification of 7th Generation AMD
Processors":
http://www.amd.com/gb-uk/assets/cont...on_Rev_ENG.pdf

Barton 2500+ Core Voltage is 1.65v

T-bird 1400 Core Voltage is 1.75v

The default Vcore Voltage in the BIOS for your KG7 is 1.75v

Perhaps if you went into your BIOS and set the Vcore down to 1.65v in
Softmenu III with the old processor in (as well as "User Define" your FSB
and multiplier) then save and exit. Swap out the CPU and see if you can get
it to POST.

Personally I'd do this one on the bench (out of the case). On a
non-conductive surface, connect up PSU, CPU, HSF, RAM, video card, monitor
and keyboard. No drives (so you don't risk corrupting your installed OS by
fiddling around).

Start the board with the old processor (by momentarily shorting the pins
where the power switch connects with a small blade screwdriver) mounted. In
Softmenu III, manually set the Vcore, FSB and Multiplier. Save and exit and
reboot (may not POST with the old CPU due to the low Vcore .. but at least
your certain that the BIOS has saved). Shut the board off with the PSU
switch and swap out the CPU, taking care to fully clean the HSF and apply a
new coat of thermal paste. Start the board again with the new PSU and see
if it POSTs. If it does, go into the setup menu .. making NO changes ..
just check your voltages, FSB, multiplier and temps. If all is okie-dokie
shut off the PSU switch and rebuild into the case.

Hopefully your CPU isn't locked and this works.

Good luck.

Jef

On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:51:35 -0800, Dare978Devil wrote:

> When I drop the Barton onto the Socket A socket, the computer won't POST.

Clear cmos. Try reset after failed boot. Boot holding Insert Key down (see
3-5 of manual).

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Ah crap, I wish I had seen your post prior to my latest attempt. I
can see from that page in the manual you mention that what I tried
wouldn't have worked anyway. It says that you can't power off after
making BIOS changes otherwise they are not taken into affect, so what
I just did was a waste of time. I'll try the Insert key tomorrow to
see if that has any effect. Here is what I tried today :

Booted into the BIOS screen using the T-bird. Set the following :
FSB at 133
Multiplier at 11x
divider at 4:4:1

vCore at 1.65v (Jef, thanks for that)
I/O at 3.50 v
DDR VCC at 2.52 v

Then I saved the BIOS changes, waited for the screen to go completely
black and shut off the PC. Put the Barton in, attached the HSF, and
started it up. No POST. Nothing, fans come on, no beep, nothing on
the screen, no error message.

I pulled the CMOS jumper and set the BIOS back to default, put the T-
Bird back in, reset it up with what the T-Bird requires (1.75v, 133
FSB, 10.5x, 2.52v RAM), and am typing on that computer right now.

Thanks,
DD.

On Jan 29, 4:11 pm, Wes Newell <w.new...@TAKEOUTverizon.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:51:35 -0800, Dare978Devil wrote:
> > When I drop theBartononto the Socket A socket, the computer won't POST.Clear cmos. Try reset after failed boot. Boot holding Insert Key down (see
> 3-5 of manual).
>
> --
> Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder?http://mythtv.orghttp://mysettopbox....yth.htmlUsenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
> My serverhttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
> HD Tivo S3 comparedhttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 20:53:07 -0800, Dare978Devil wrote:

> Ah crap, I wish I had seen your post prior to my latest attempt. I can
> see from that page in the manual you mention that what I tried wouldn't
> have worked anyway. It says that you can't power off after making BIOS
> changes otherwise they are not taken into affect, so what I just did was a
> waste of time. I'll try the Insert key tomorrow to see if that has any
> effect. Here is what I tried today :
>
> Booted into the BIOS screen using the T-bird. Set the following : FSB at
> 133
> Multiplier at 11x
> divider at 4:4:1
>
That should be 4:2:1 for 33MHz PCI bus, 66MHZ AGP bus, an 133MHz memory
bus.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

Tried holding Insert down, no go. I started it up 4 straight times,
hitting Insert either just after I turned it on or holding it down
when it was off and turning it on. No beep, no POST, no BIOS
onscreen. I then reset the CMOS jumper and tried again. Still no
go. Again, I did it 4 straight times just to be sure. I don't think
this mobo can handle a Barton. The only thing I can think of which
may explain why some other people had success was that they had an
unlocked Barton? Maybe since it was unlocked, it wasn't demanding a
166 FSB, 1.65v, or an 11x multiplier right off the bat, something I
was perfectly prepared to set up for it if it let me into the damn
BIOS. I have found many posts from other people who gave up, couldn't
get a 2500+ to POST with a KG7, so I am guessing that this will only
work with a lucky few for an unknown reason.

I put the T-bird back together, and it is working again. I am getting
mighty good at pulling off the HSF and putting it back on again. I am
actually surprised I haven't broken anything yet given the number of
times I have tried different things to get this to work.

Any other suggestions? Or should I just call it a day and try to find
a Barton mobo?

Thanks,
DD.

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:29:52 -0800, Dare978Devil wrote:

> Any other suggestions? Or should I just call it a day and try to find a
> Barton mobo?

Personally, I'd sell all my socket A MB/CPU's etc. on ebay and get
something newer. And that exactly what I did a couple of years ago. Today
you can get a new MB/CPU combo for about $80 that'll run circles around
any of the socket A stuff.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

Yeah, the thought has crossed my mind. The whole idea of the Barton
purchase was to get another year out of my system. Everything runs
fine on it. I am not much of a gamer, but I do enjoy playing games
like NHL07 online. That is my problem, apparently NHL07 requires SSE
instructions but the T-bird doesn't have them. So I bought a Barton
2500+ on eBay for 25 bucks, hoping it would work with the KG7. It
fits, but that is as far as it goes, it won't POST.

Eventually, I will get a dual-core system, but not until the price
comes down. After researching on the net, it looks like I will get
the most life out of a mobo with the 680i chipset, but they are
currently 400 bucks. I have never spent that much on a mobo before.
Then couple that with a E6600 (with 4 MB L2 cache) dual-core for
another 400. PC6400 (or PC8000) RAM will set you back another 200 for
2 GB, so you are already up to 1000 bucks without a vid card. I would
only be happy with an 8800 or equivalent, but they are 500 bones.
With the SLI on the 680i rig, eventually I could get the identical
card off eBay when they are way cheaper, and extend the life of my
system even further.

All of that means either 1500 bucks for an upgrade now, or I can try
to string along my Socket A until prices start to get reasonable.

DD.