View Full Version : problem with slot a upgrade
i recently upgraded my 500mhz slot a athlon to a 950. when i try to run windows xp it locks up. I have tried loading into dos, and i can play dos games with the 950, but i cannot get into windows in any mode (safe, safe w/ net, normal)nothing. I REALLY doubt that it is a compatability issue. i have a biostar m7mka. one guy told me it might be xp thinking that it is a pirated version because it is an integral part of the motherboard (and not often updated?) i dont really want to reformat, but if it is all i can do, it is all i can do. any help would be GRRRRRRRRRREat
thanks
dont know what the problem is but that "one guy" is not right, thats for SURE...
just takeing a guess here but would that be a tbird 950 or k7? i think they made slot a 950 tbirds but not many if thats what u have it could be your problem
I do know for a fact that it is not a tbird (checked the code on processor) I have tried several different things. i tried running betrayal at krondor in dos using a startup disk, and it worked until i got into a fight then a couple seconds later it always froze up. i then played sim city with no problems. I would almost guarantee heat is no issue with this. i have tried resetting my CMOS via the mb jumper. maybe i got a bunk processor.:(
oh yah and i also tried booting into xp from the CD and after it loaded all the drivers it froze when it said starting windows
juliendogg
09-01-02, 09:22 AM
i'm thinking you may be mistaken about having a "classic" athlon there. it's rather hard to tell from the markings on the chip, but what will tell you, if you watch the boot process, the t-bird has 256k cache, while the classic had 512. these chips (athlon "classic") are very very hard to find, especially higher than a 750. now i could be wrong, but i'd be surprised if i was.
on the top of the chip is a serial number and it reads amd-k7950mnr53b a
According to all the websites i have read if after the "amd" it reads "k7" it is a classic, if it reads "a" it is a t-bird. but you are right about this processor being hard to find.
juliendogg
09-01-02, 12:55 PM
using the latest bios version? i can't think of any thing that would change from a 500 to a 950, i do know however, when the board was released the highest k7 made was a 650, i bought that exact combo from a local shop. spring of '99 i guess? was a great board, very stable. but i'm thinking maybe it needed a bios upgrade to go above 700. i got myself a 750 slot a and ended up ditching that board for a gigabyte becasue the biostar wouldn't boot the 750. it also was a classic.
i don't know what else besides search for an updated bios, if that doesn't work. maybe a format and reinstall of most recent mobo drivers could do the trick. good luck to ya!
i do have the most recent bios (from biostar 12-23-99) and i still cannot get anything. I emailed them a while back and they said that the fastest processor that this board could handle was a 950. maybe they thought it was a different board. i also have been thinking about upgrading to an abit ka7. what is the best slot a board? thanks
The Abit KA7 was the best of teh Slot A boards..it was one of the few VIA based boards (KX133) that would take even tbirds........And very stable..
The other option is a Soyo K7VIA which is hard to find but it would run ALL Classic Athlons and tbirds up to 700mhz...
Then again the Abit KA7 may be hard to find as well...good luck.
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