Problems Unlocking Athlon XP 1700+ Palomino :(

[jaimegmr]

Here's my PC setup:

Soyo K7V Dragon Plus
Athlon XP 1700+ (Palomino core)
256MB PC2100 Mushkin Basic memory
425W PSU
60GB ATA/100 WesternDigital HardDrive
Windows XP Pro

I just unlocked the processor using crazy glue to fill in the gaps and then rear-window defogger repair paint to connect the L1 bridges.

I tried under-clocking to 133x10.5, but it goes to 133x10.
It works fine at 133x11.
I tried to over-clock to 133x11.5, but goes to 133x11.
I tried to overclock to 133x12, during bootup I get an error message telling me that some kernel file or something is missing or cant be found.

I even cleaned the paint from the bridges and unlocked it again, but still the same problem.

What could it be? The BIOS? Did I unlock it incorrectly?
What the heck happened?

This is my first time unlocking my CPU and its a nightmare, (well not really because I didnt fry it or something.)

Please help me unlock my Athlon XP 1700+ Palomino CPU correctly.

Thanks in advance.

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[Grub]

I would suggest downloading the newest bios from soyo. I have a system setup similar to yours:
1700 Palomino
40 GB WD HD
256 Corsair XMS PC2400
Antec Trueblue 480 watt PS
Soyo Dragon MOBO
Volcano 7 heatsink

When I unlocked mine I got some strange results from the multiplier as well. Some of the multipliers (particularly the ones after 12.5) were not as high as they said they were. For example at 150 fsb x13 only gave me 1875 mhz. BTW what kind of PS are you using?

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[jaimegmr]

I havent tried the newest BIOS, but I tried the kvxa2ba5 BIOS and the multipliers only went up to 12.0X instead of 14.0X. Why? I read somewhere that kvxa2ba6, the new BIOS, also has a max of 12.0X. is this true? If that is the case, why did they lower the multipliers.
Since I want the higher multipliers, I put the kvxa2ba3 BIOS. That is what I am using now.

I tried 137x11.5 or something similar and increased the voltage by +0.075, but it didnt seem stable. I find that either the BIOS is very buggy, or I unlocked my CPU incorrectly.
Sometimes when I set a multiplier and restart nothing happens until I turn off the PSU and then turn it back on. Other times it loads to windows and then reboots.
Why? is it so difficult. I though it would be easy after unlocking the CPU, which was very challenging.
Anybody have any suggestions so that I can overclock more than just a few dozen MHz?

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[slvr_phoenix]

Try easing up on the memory timings? It doesn't sound like that'd be a problem to me, but who knows...

Of course, it could just be the motherboard. Maybe it's simply not happy with fast processors? (Why else would they have restricted your multiplier selection like that?)

Also what brand is your power supply?


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[jaimegmr]

the memory timings are at default becausede I have cheap mem. I dont know wht the manufacturer of the PSU is but it is 425Wats and came with my "Venus" case that I got at fry's electronics.

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[slvr_phoenix]

Well, my first guess is that it's the motherboard. My second guess is that it's the power supply. Good luck.


PC Repair-Vol 1:Getting To Know Your PC.
PC Repair-Vol 2:Troubleshooting Your PC.
PC Repair-Vol 3:Having Trouble Troubleshooting Your PC?
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[jaimegmr]

I unlocked the processor again and it seems that I did it right because it does set it at the correct multiplier, but if I set it to 12.0X or 13.0X no matter what voltage, I get boot up errors.

I conclude that it is a hardware limitation and not wrong unlocking. Right now I have it at 140x11 so its at 1540MHZ. I ran the 3DMark 2001SE tests and it did not reboot so it seems stable. I also tried 134x11.5 and ran a few megahertz higher and also ran stable. Do you think I can get a few more megahertz out of it? or is 1540 prbably the max for a palomino 1700+ aircooled with a THermaltake Volcano 6Cu+?

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