VA-503+/AMD K6-2 500 problem

I am attempting to change the processor on my VA-503+ to an AMD K6-2
500. After downloading the manual from the FIC website, I followed the
instructions and changed the jumpers accordingly. When I turn on the
machine, the alarm goes off immediately. I couldn't find any hints in
the manual as to why this happens. I read examples of people having
success with this processor/mainboard combination. What am I doing
wrong? Any direction you can supply would be appreciated. I can supply
any additional info if necessary.

Thanks,

Neil

Any idea which version of the VA-503+ you have? My understanding is
that the 1.1 version had problems with the K6-2 500 that were corrected
with the 1.2 version. Something to do with the frequency or power
requirements of the CPU, if I recall correctly. Also, which version of
the BIOS do you have? Does the computer boot OK if you set the jumpers
to a lower speed, like 400 (4 x 100)?

http://www.fic.com.tw/support/mother...px?model_id=19

--Alex



Neil wrote:
> I am attempting to change the processor on my VA-503+ to an AMD K6-2
> 500. After downloading the manual from the FIC website, I followed the
> instructions and changed the jumpers accordingly. When I turn on the
> machine, the alarm goes off immediately. I couldn't find any hints in
> the manual as to why this happens. I read examples of people having
> success with this processor/mainboard combination. What am I doing
> wrong? Any direction you can supply would be appreciated. I can supply
> any additional info if necessary.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Neil

And another item to consider, is the current memory stick a 72 pin
pc66 or 168 pin pc100 stick? Jumpers are affected by this issue.

--
Best regards,
Kyle
"Alex Zorrilla" <> wrote in message
news:...
| Any idea which version of the VA-503+ you have? My understanding is
| that the 1.1 version had problems with the K6-2 500 that were
corrected
| with the 1.2 version. Something to do with the frequency or power
| requirements of the CPU, if I recall correctly. Also, which version
of
| the BIOS do you have? Does the computer boot OK if you set the
jumpers
| to a lower speed, like 400 (4 x 100)?
|
| http://www.fic.com.tw/support/mother...px?model_id=19
|
| --Alex
|
|
|
| Neil wrote:
| > I am attempting to change the processor on my VA-503+ to an AMD
K6-2
| > 500. After downloading the manual from the FIC website, I
followed the
| > instructions and changed the jumpers accordingly. When I turn on
the
| > machine, the alarm goes off immediately. I couldn't find any
hints in
| > the manual as to why this happens. I read examples of people
having
| > success with this processor/mainboard combination. What am I
doing
| > wrong? Any direction you can supply would be appreciated. I can
supply
| > any additional info if necessary.
| >
| > Thanks,
| >
| > Neil

I have the 1.2A version of the VA-503+. I also have version 115JE37 of
the BIOS. According to the link from Alex, the K6-2/500 is verified
only with the JE438 version of the BIOS. Do I need to/Can I upgrade to
this version of the BIOS?

I currently have the jumpers at 4x100 and the alarm still comes on and
the machine does not boot. Is the alarm coming on because of a heat
problem or a misconfiguration of jumpers?

Neither the memory nor the memory jumpers have been touched since I've
tried this CPU.

Thanks for any additional help,

Neil


Alex Zorrilla wrote:
> Any idea which version of the VA-503+ you have? My understanding is
> that the 1.1 version had problems with the K6-2 500 that were corrected
> with the 1.2 version. Something to do with the frequency or power
> requirements of the CPU, if I recall correctly. Also, which version of
> the BIOS do you have? Does the computer boot OK if you set the jumpers
> to a lower speed, like 400 (4 x 100)?
>
> http://www.fic.com.tw/support/mother...px?model_id=19
>
> --Alex
>
>
>
> Neil wrote:
>
>> I am attempting to change the processor on my VA-503+ to an AMD K6-2
>> 500. After downloading the manual from the FIC website, I followed the
>> instructions and changed the jumpers accordingly. When I turn on the
>> machine, the alarm goes off immediately. I couldn't find any hints in
>> the manual as to why this happens. I read examples of people having
>> success with this processor/mainboard combination. What am I doing
>> wrong? Any direction you can supply would be appreciated. I can supply
>> any additional info if necessary.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Neil

What CPU did you have before? What type of RAM?

Try running the CPU with a 66 MHz FSB instead of 100 MHz FSB. For
example, at 4x66 (266 MHz) or 5x66 (333 MHz). If it is a problem with
your RAM not being able to keep up, this should get around that problem
for now.

If your computer can now boot, go ahead and update the BIOS. If it
still does not boot, put the the old CPU back in, change the jumpers,
and update the BIOS with that.

If the old CPU was a Cyrix CPU, there is a Cyrix-only jumper and BIOS
setting that could be causing the problem. See page 11 of the manual.
This jumper is labeled "SRAM" on the motherboard. It is located near
the L2 cache modules on the motherboard. If you are looking at the
motherboard with the CPU at the botton edge (and a little to the left),
the cache modules are to the right of the CPU, and the jumper is to the
right of those. For an AMD CPU, it should be set to 1-2. There is a
related setting in the BIOS, Chipset Options --> Linear Burst, which
should be set to Disabled for AMD and Intel CPUs. If you set the SRAM
jumper to 1-2, this option may not appear.

As for the RAM... are you using SIMMs or DIMMs? If you are using DIMMs,
do the modules have any labels, like PC66 or PC100? If you are not
sure, and you do manage to get the computer to boot, do this. Download
the CPU-Z utility from http://www.cpuid.org/cpuz.php . Run it and take
a look at the SPD tab. SPD is kind of like plug-and-play information on
memory modules.

Let me know what you find out.

--Alex




Neil wrote:
> I have the 1.2A version of the VA-503+. I also have version 115JE37 of
> the BIOS. According to the link from Alex, the K6-2/500 is verified
> only with the JE438 version of the BIOS. Do I need to/Can I upgrade to
> this version of the BIOS?
>
> I currently have the jumpers at 4x100 and the alarm still comes on and
> the machine does not boot. Is the alarm coming on because of a heat
> problem or a misconfiguration of jumpers?
>
> Neither the memory nor the memory jumpers have been touched since I've
> tried this CPU.
>
> Thanks for any additional help,
>
> Neil
>
>
> Alex Zorrilla wrote:
>
>> Any idea which version of the VA-503+ you have? My understanding is
>> that the 1.1 version had problems with the K6-2 500 that were
>> corrected with the 1.2 version. Something to do with the frequency or
>> power requirements of the CPU, if I recall correctly. Also, which
>> version of the BIOS do you have? Does the computer boot OK if you set
>> the jumpers to a lower speed, like 400 (4 x 100)?
>>
>> http://www.fic.com.tw/support/mother...px?model_id=19
>>
>> --Alex
>>
>>
>>
>> Neil wrote:
>>
>>> I am attempting to change the processor on my VA-503+ to an AMD K6-2
>>> 500. After downloading the manual from the FIC website, I followed the
>>> instructions and changed the jumpers accordingly. When I turn on the
>>> machine, the alarm goes off immediately. I couldn't find any hints in
>>> the manual as to why this happens. I read examples of people having
>>> success with this processor/mainboard combination. What am I doing
>>> wrong? Any direction you can supply would be appreciated. I can supply
>>> any additional info if necessary.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Neil

I ran the CPU at 5x66 and was able to boot. After upgrading the BIOS, I
moved back to 100 MHz FSB and the machine is booting and recognizing the
CPU as a K6-2 500 (exactly what I was trying to accomplish).

Incidentally, the memory stick is a 64MB PC 100 Dimm.

Thanks for all the help.

-Neil

Alex Zorrilla wrote:
> What CPU did you have before? What type of RAM?
>
> Try running the CPU with a 66 MHz FSB instead of 100 MHz FSB. For
> example, at 4x66 (266 MHz) or 5x66 (333 MHz). If it is a problem with
> your RAM not being able to keep up, this should get around that problem
> for now.
>
> If your computer can now boot, go ahead and update the BIOS. If it
> still does not boot, put the the old CPU back in, change the jumpers,
> and update the BIOS with that.
>
> If the old CPU was a Cyrix CPU, there is a Cyrix-only jumper and BIOS
> setting that could be causing the problem. See page 11 of the manual.
> This jumper is labeled "SRAM" on the motherboard. It is located near
> the L2 cache modules on the motherboard. If you are looking at the
> motherboard with the CPU at the botton edge (and a little to the left),
> the cache modules are to the right of the CPU, and the jumper is to the
> right of those. For an AMD CPU, it should be set to 1-2. There is a
> related setting in the BIOS, Chipset Options --> Linear Burst, which
> should be set to Disabled for AMD and Intel CPUs. If you set the SRAM
> jumper to 1-2, this option may not appear.
>
> As for the RAM... are you using SIMMs or DIMMs? If you are using DIMMs,
> do the modules have any labels, like PC66 or PC100? If you are not
> sure, and you do manage to get the computer to boot, do this. Download
> the CPU-Z utility from http://www.cpuid.org/cpuz.php . Run it and take
> a look at the SPD tab. SPD is kind of like plug-and-play information on
> memory modules.
>
> Let me know what you find out.
>
> --Alex
>
>
>
>
> Neil wrote:
>
>> I have the 1.2A version of the VA-503+. I also have version 115JE37
>> of the BIOS. According to the link from Alex, the K6-2/500 is
>> verified only with the JE438 version of the BIOS. Do I need to/Can I
>> upgrade to this version of the BIOS?
>>
>> I currently have the jumpers at 4x100 and the alarm still comes on and
>> the machine does not boot. Is the alarm coming on because of a heat
>> problem or a misconfiguration of jumpers?
>>
>> Neither the memory nor the memory jumpers have been touched since I've
>> tried this CPU.
>>
>> Thanks for any additional help,
>>
>> Neil
>>
>>
>> Alex Zorrilla wrote:
>>
>>> Any idea which version of the VA-503+ you have? My understanding is
>>> that the 1.1 version had problems with the K6-2 500 that were
>>> corrected with the 1.2 version. Something to do with the frequency
>>> or power requirements of the CPU, if I recall correctly. Also, which
>>> version of the BIOS do you have? Does the computer boot OK if you
>>> set the jumpers to a lower speed, like 400 (4 x 100)?
>>>
>>> http://www.fic.com.tw/support/mother...px?model_id=19
>>>
>>> --Alex
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Neil wrote:
>>>
>>>> I am attempting to change the processor on my VA-503+ to an AMD K6-2
>>>> 500. After downloading the manual from the FIC website, I followed the
>>>> instructions and changed the jumpers accordingly. When I turn on the
>>>> machine, the alarm goes off immediately. I couldn't find any hints in
>>>> the manual as to why this happens. I read examples of people having
>>>> success with this processor/mainboard combination. What am I doing
>>>> wrong? Any direction you can supply would be appreciated. I can
>>>> supply
>>>> any additional info if necessary.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Neil

I have an old EFA mobo with a k6-2/500 that I bought "way back when",
only to find out later that it did not support a K6-3. I then switched to
my VA-503+, which is great, but now I am wondering if maybe my old EFA
might support a K6-2+ cpu.

Is that a possibility, or does the similarity beiween k6-2 and k6-2+
end with the names?

Bill

It all depends on the BIOS of the motherboard. I have a couple of old
MVP3 boards with an Award BIOS that do not recognize the k6+ CPUs, but
the boards will boot with the "+" CPUs if the multiplier is set to a
specific setting, seems to me its 2.5x or 3.0x. Then, I use software
tools I have written (k6speed for windows) to increase the multiplier
once win2k is up and running. For win9x/me, I have written a special
purpose config.sys driver that will change the multiplier and turn on
"write allocation" on bootup.

The primary obstacle is getting the system to boot with the
unrecognized CPU. Also, make certain you can setup the Vcore for 2.0
volts before trying out the "+" CPU.

Here is where you can d/l the k6speed tools:
http://www.k6plus.com/modules.php?op...379237f13dbbc1
--
Best regards,
Kyle
"occupant" <no-> wrote in message
news:84boe.3015$...
| I have an old EFA mobo with a k6-2/500 that I bought "way back
when",
| only to find out later that it did not support a K6-3. I then
switched to
| my VA-503+, which is great, but now I am wondering if maybe my old
EFA
| might support a K6-2+ cpu.
|
| Is that a possibility, or does the similarity beiween k6-2 and k6-2+
| end with the names?
|
| Bill

Kyle wrote:
> It all depends on the BIOS of the motherboard. I have a couple of old
> MVP3 boards with an Award BIOS that do not recognize the k6+ CPUs, but
> the boards will boot with the "+" CPUs if the multiplier is set to a
> specific setting, seems to me its 2.5x or 3.0x. Then, I use software
> tools I have written (k6speed for windows) to increase the multiplier
> once win2k is up and running. For win9x/me, I have written a special
> purpose config.sys driver that will change the multiplier and turn on
> "write allocation" on bootup.
>
> The primary obstacle is getting the system to boot with the
> unrecognized CPU. Also, make certain you can setup the Vcore for 2.0
> volts before trying out the "+" CPU.
>

Aha. That was it. Now I remember. I just rechecked the doc that came
with the mobo and it
only gives jumper settings for 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 2.9, 3.2, and 3.3 volts,
but if I
interpolate the missing values I see this:

volt. DCBA <-- switches
2.0 0 0 0 0
2.1 0 0 0 1
2.2 0 0 1 0 *
2.3 0 0 1 1
2.4 0 1 0 0
2.5 0 1 0 1 *
2.6 0 1 1 0
2.7 0 1 1 1
2.8 1 0 0 0 *
2.9 1 0 0 1 *
3.0 1 0 1 0
3.1 1 0 1 1
3.2 1 1 0 0 *
3.3 1 1 0 1 *

Worth a try?

> Here is where you can d/l the k6speed tools:
> http://www.k6plus.com/modules.php?op...379237f13dbbc1

Thanks! That stirs up another question I have ... something about
some feature of
my K6-3/400 that is not enabled ... L2 cache? ... hmm, can't recall it
at the moment ...

Let me give your tools a try, maybe that will jog my memory.

Bill

"occupant" <no-> wrote in message
news:dy8pe.3333$...
| Kyle wrote:
| > It all depends on the BIOS of the motherboard. I have a couple of
old
| > MVP3 boards with an Award BIOS that do not recognize the k6+ CPUs,
but
| > the boards will boot with the "+" CPUs if the multiplier is set to
a
| > specific setting, seems to me its 2.5x or 3.0x. Then, I use
software
| > tools I have written (k6speed for windows) to increase the
multiplier
| > once win2k is up and running. For win9x/me, I have written a
special
| > purpose config.sys driver that will change the multiplier and turn
on
| > "write allocation" on bootup.
| >
| > The primary obstacle is getting the system to boot with the
| > unrecognized CPU. Also, make certain you can setup the Vcore for
2.0
| > volts before trying out the "+" CPU.
| >
|
| Aha. That was it. Now I remember. I just rechecked the doc that
came
| with the mobo and it
| only gives jumper settings for 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 2.9, 3.2, and 3.3
volts,
| but if I
| interpolate the missing values I see this:
|
| volt. DCBA <-- switches
| 2.0 0 0 0 0
| 2.1 0 0 0 1
| 2.2 0 0 1 0 *
| 2.3 0 0 1 1
| 2.4 0 1 0 0
| 2.5 0 1 0 1 *
| 2.6 0 1 1 0
| 2.7 0 1 1 1
| 2.8 1 0 0 0 *
| 2.9 1 0 0 1 *
| 3.0 1 0 1 0
| 3.1 1 0 1 1
| 3.2 1 1 0 0 *
| 3.3 1 1 0 1 *
|
| Worth a try?


In my experience, many times to get the 2.0v Vcore one removes all the
jumpers from the jumper block area that controls Vcore. This was a
fairly common setup with socket 7 designs. It also appears to
correspond with your setup and similar switches. Pull the CPU out of
the socket, find the nearby voltage regulator that produces the Vcore
and probe the voltage at the regulator while changing jumpers/switches
and confirm your suspicions. A "+" cpu will run at 2.2v, but will run
rather warm. The spec on them is up to 2.2v Vcore.

Looks like switch D adds in 0.8v, switch C adds in 0.4v, switch B adds
0.2v, and switch A adds 0.1v to the base voltage of 2.0v. This is a
very typical design. FWIW, I had to setup one of my mobos for 2.1v,
something odd about the regulator circuit, would not work well setup
for 2.0v. So if 2.0v won't work, try 2.1v.

|
| > Here is where you can d/l the k6speed tools:
| >
http://www.k6plus.com/modules.php?op...379237f13dbbc1
|
| Thanks! That stirs up another question I have ... something
about
| some feature of
| my K6-3/400 that is not enabled ... L2 cache? ... hmm, can't recall
it
| at the moment ...

"Write allocation" is the feature that may not be enabled. The
onboard L2 cache is default enabled with the k6 series CPUs. There
are many tools to enable write allocation, including my software tools
linked above.

|
| Let me give your tools a try, maybe that will jog my memory.
|
| Bill

Good luck!
--
Best regards,
Kyle