WindowsXP and Duron 750

A

apHytHiaTe

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Jul 9, 2004
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A client of mine is using a computer which contains a Duron 751mhz processor running WinXP Pro. It suffers from frequent lock ups and general sluggishness. Is this the fault of the processor? It has a 5200 vidcard and 576M of ram. If so, then i can easily slap in a new 2500 or so and a $50 motherboard and call it a day, right? It seems to be very likely to go to 100% proc usage and stays above 50% for most of the time.

And I'm getting an error message on WinXP Service Pack 1 Setup

winxp said:
The Product Key used to install Windows is invalid. Please contact your system admin or retailer....
Click to expand...

guess it needs a new prod key for windows?
 
There's almost no chance the processor is at fault, unless that "751MHz" is because of an overclock.

Software settings / drivers / spyware are a far more likely explanation. I'd look at those before touching the guts in any fashion.

As for the product key... yeah, that's what it looks like. Where'd he get XP?
 
The previous owner told me he didn't install winxp pro on it, it was already there. But thats ok. Do i really need service pack 1? User doesn't use IE, and probably not outlook express, so i bet the user can get away with that.

About the proc, my client had an "old computer that was updated." By the stock intel heatsink, i would say it is a p4. so i'll prolly frankenstein together a computer that works alot better, using memory from both, the 5200, and the p4 and the extra mobo.

What settings might it be? I can fix spyware. Should i just download driver from windowsupdate if it lets me? Could not having sp1 be the reason for lock-ups?
 
There's no good reason not to have SP1 and every available hotfix installed. Lots of flaws are part of the Windows core, not just IE and OE. Honestly, the only reason I can come up with for the error message is that he's got an install using the FCKGW key or the like....

Anyway, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try upgrading the comp if you've got the parts sitting around. I'm not convinced it'll fix the SP problem, but the resulting reconfiguration might help the lockups and a faster proc never killed anyone.
 
Ok well that sux, looks like i need a prod key for winxp. I bet sp1 and a spyscan would make it a beast. I found out the processor is a 1.7 williamette celly, and there is another 512 stick of pc133, so this thing is gonna have no excuse to be poky, with more than a gig of ram.

Where do i get a product key? Do I have to get a new copy of XP? Hrmm... would an update install work, cuz that's cheaper.

Also, since I am swapping a motherboard, i should probably wait till after to do any windows activation or whatnot, right, as that would be extremely dumb to do before i swap 'em.

Miscellaneous question: I was playing around with the bios and found a cpu PnP option, and it says that the multi is set at 8 and that bus is 100mhz, and its running at 800 mhz. I've changed the multi to 17 and 19, but it just goes back. CPU-Z always reads it as 1.7, 100 fsb and 400 bus, which makes sense. Its and ECS board and the bios is amibios.
 
Since it sounds like a dubiously legal copy of XP to begin with, I would say you ought to just get a new copy.

BIOS multi setting is irrelevant since Intel chips are all locked.
 
I agree on the locked CPU. Seems kinda stupid to put the option of changing the multi on a p4 board...
 
k

guess i aught to not do anything to it until i break the news to client :eek:

lol i am writing it crappy engrish and im not japanese.

Ok, well the customer isn't gonna be home tomorrow, so I'm guessing I should hold off on any progress.

And the multiplier did allow me to change it tho. It just didnt do anything. I knew they were locked, just not how far back that went. It is one of the very first p4's (williamette) celeron. I'm pretty sure that it is a s423.

Edit: ya kroz mekes me scratch my head too.
 
apHytHiaTe said:
I knew they were locked, just not how far back that went.
Click to expand...
Dawn of time. Certainly every Pentium, save engineering samples.
 
lomn75 said:
Dawn of time. Certainly every Pentium, save engineering samples.
Click to expand...
nope...they started locking at the PII 300's and even a select few PII 266's...everything before then are unlocked.
 
Ok so I have to go buy a new copy of winXP? wow that sux. But why do i really need the SP1. I think i remember people saying winxp was a pain in the beggining, so i guess not haveing SP1 is part of the problem?
 
apHytHiaTe said:
Ok so I have to go buy a new copy of winXP? wow that sux. But why do i really need the SP1. I think i remember people saying winxp was a pain in the beggining, so i guess not haveing SP1 is part of the problem?
Click to expand...

There has got to be a problem with your install ... could be a driver problem ... you are better off starting from scratch, and reinstall everything ... SP1 includes a lot fixes to the XP OS ... not just security ...

I have an install on a PIII 450 w/ 512 of RAM ... working great, I just disabled all the eyecandies ...
 
I don't believe that the person has the windows CD. Sooo this makes it a little more complicated.
 
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