Unstable system after upgrade to dual-processor

[ecjking]

I just upgraded my W2K Pro system from single- to dual-processor. It's an Epox KP6-BS mb, now with 2 perfectly identical PIII 550Mhz cpus, and 256MB of RAM. I have the latest version of the BIOS, which recognizes the dual cpus at boot, and I followed the correct procedure of using Device Manager to switch from the single- to the dual-processor ACPI HAL.

However, I'm now suffering regular freezes, not limited to any specific software -- in fact, it has been known to freeze soon after first loading the GUI, before the log-in dialog has been displayed! Typically, the display freezes first, and if I continue to provide input eg, holding down a key, moving the mouse, or if streaming audio is playing, eventually the PC speaker starts to emit a continuous low tone. Nothing at all gets written to the Events logs, Ctrl-Alt-Del has no effect, there's no BSOD, and the only solution seems to be to hit the power button.

I assume there's some hardware issue -- but any advice on how to diagnose and hopefully solve it would be appreciated.

Ed

 

[tlcscousin]

Reinstall W2K.
Microsoft recommends a reinstall of the OS when an upgrade to dual processors has been done.You could do a repair and see if it does the job.

 

[butchrecon]

shovel204 is correct. Try a repair of Win2K first. If that does not work then reinstall. James Collins
Systems Support Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[ecjking]

Interesting... I was following the guidance in KB article Q234558 which suggests that in W2K you can simply switch to the correct SMP HAL without needing a repair or clean install.

But given my problems, your advice is clearly sensible! First up, I'll try repair.

Thanks

Ed