I've got a question about how "configurable" my CPU is (I don't know shinola about CPUs).  After going through 3 Intel motherboards and two operating systems (XP Home & Vista Premium 32bit) I am still, as always, getting random BSODs.  My build is:
 
ECS 945P-A (1.1) LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300
MASSCOOL 8WA741 92mm Ball CPU Cooler
ePOWER ZU-550W ATX12V Version 2.0 / EPS12V 550W Power Supply
Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory
Patriot 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PSD21G8002
EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
An extra old ide hard drive
U.S. Robotics USR5417 PCI Wireless MAXg Adapter
 
[I also posted questions about this on the drivers forum...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] mmendation
Prior to reading so many articles about sound drivers I had run memtest, changed timings, voltages, changed video card drivers (from nVidia site, EVGA site, and those provided by Vista), sound drivers (from most recent back to Vista-provided), removed onboard sound altogether, etc.    I've run hard drive tests with no errors.  I realize that I'm mixing memory brands, but have found no errors pointing specifically to memory.  I've also tried removing one stick and still get the same problem] ]
 
The stop errors (when they show up) have varied, but the latest two I'm getting in Vista are 0x00001024 and 0x00000101 (not sure about that first number -- think that's right) -- both mention the same problem "A Clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor within the allocated time interval."  
 
I am very hesitant to take Microsoft's word for this problem and assume it's actually the CPU that's the cause -- I've had too many hardware errors that have been false.  On the other hand, I have not yet replaced the CPU but have swapped out motherboards, RAM, and have booted from different hard drives.  
 
Unless someone out there has another suggestion (which I would welcome), my question is this -- can I disable the secondary processor of my CPU and possibly avoid this problem?  If I can, would it be very noticeable?  (My young kids use this machine to play games like Sims and my sister occasionally plays WoW).  
 
My next step is to flash the bios.  I've avoided this so far because I was sure I was missing something obvious in the Vista setup, but maybe it will help...
 
Thanks for your help.  mcaren

you buy low end parts you get issues: get an asus mobo and good psu
 
if you done the normal pc dance - which is:
 
swap memory sticks
incerase power to memory
check hsf
 
uplug all hardware
 
could be driver issue
 
did you get a good install with vista - no logon error - put vista in and boot and repair
 
 
its your memory you got good American memory mixed with the jamican memory from Kingston jamaica which no doubt spliffed the patriot and he shot the jamaican with the m16 - pull each stick and check in slot 3