FCPGA-Multiplier unlocking

[Redphex]

Hoi .. yet again the old topic ;)

Yesterday I came across a posting (http://www.uebertakten.de/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Intel&action=display&num=512) in the german www.uebertakten.de bulletinboard.

There, a guy claims to have successfully unlocked his P3 by having some SMD-Resistors on the Back removed.
He said, that his CPU was damaged during transportation - and that he could adjust his Multiplier from x3 to x6.5 - When he removed others as well, his CPU was completely unlocked.

According to him - by removing the SMDs marked red in this image (http://overclockers.at/pics/p3.jpg) the CPU should be unlocked.

I'd have tried this mod myself, but unfortunately I don't have any spare-P3s :D
Would be interesting, if someone brave enough could try it.

comments appreciated ;)


greetz

Phex

[Miknow]

Hmmm... I would try it if I could read german. But I have a pentium 500e laying around somewhere but if they had a english translation and was convinced I would take a shot at it

[KILLorBE]

I wouldn't try that, if you take a good look at the pic you'll see these SMD resistors are NOT removed.

[Redphex]

yeah. they're not removed cuz the pic shows MY locked p3 and not HIS unlocked ;)

some [H]ard info can be found
here (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=97953&pagenumber=1)

still readin' on it

[lightning]

if the P3 really can be unlocked, then it would be a damn good new!! really urge to get know whether it true or not!!

[badgers]

with the resistors gone, how did he change the multiplier?

[Redphex]

well guess ... mainboards still have BIOS-Settings or Jumpers for changing the Multiplier.

the removal of the resistors (or whatever those things are) just removes the lock

[Supafly]

hyere, i got it translated by av's babelfish, the grammar sucks because it just translates the word and not the grammar

first post:

on a Intel p3 14 bridges are with a 800EB are all connected exactly as with 700 and with 733 also on the lower surface are (I had more not to to look at)
but with that 866 which I am missing now 6 bridges thereby can I have the multiplicator between 3 and 6.5 select
I think if I still bridge remove which I then to unedlich untwist can
mom I attempt times a diagram of proz. to write

thus:
-- -
I = I
I = I
- --

" istgleich " the s are connected all and would delete which I a bischen abseitz wrote are also connected
fat is connected
Supplement:
after mine mod
--
I = I
I = I
--

and finally Mutliplikator freely!!!!!!!
only unfortunately it Kaput gone because radiator boxes slipped

second post:

it functioned marvelously
these bridges are contacts with different ohms strengthen I believe over it define Intel the multiplicator

[Supafly]

just go here Babelfish (http://world.altavista.com/) and put this for website translation "http://www.uebertakten.de/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Intel&action=display&num=512"

[outhouse]

Lets keep this post up top maybe we can get some results maybe one of the senior members that has a spare chip can give this a shot and then with allot of luck if it works they can give us a road map to unlocked happines :)

[Mr B]

Somehow, I don't think this will work. HOWEVER, it might..........

I do know this much, the person who discovers the secret to unlocking the P///'s, will be the most unbelievably popular person alive!

I'd love to find out if my P/// could handle 6.5 or even 7x. At 159 FSB, that's a nice chunk of MHz.

There's gotta be someone at intel that knows HOW, using methods available to anyone (or close to anyone), whether it's as simple as trace cutting on the top, or removing resistors as was mentioned, or whatever.

Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to find a way.......

Mr B

[dude]

Well someone has to test this out. I cannot I do not have the resources.

(Fingers Crossed)"please be real"

[alan]

If you fellow O/Cers wanna take up a collection to replace it...i'll try it on my girlfriend's 800 eb.?

[OpenFriday]

ive got an 800EB but its in use and ive got no backup computer yet. As this chip is still worth a fair chunk of money i cant donate it for reaserch as of yet. Im sure someone has a spare FCPGA laying around? This post tickled me in the right was as i'd love to see if my chip can handle 6.5 or7x150fsb.

[*spazzed*]

Maybe there are some insiders unlocking chips.......and keeping those unlocked chips secret anyway

[logos]

i will translate the german after dinner or tommorrow morning at the latest, although the bablefish did quite well actually...

[Mr B]

If one had access to a pair of chips, an intel "Confidential", and a regular retail/OEM model, wouldn't it be possible to analyze the two, side by side, to try to determine the differences between the two? Seems to me this would be the place to start from, provided, of course, one had access to a pair of similar chips.

Maybe??

Mr B

*BTW...I don't have a "Confidential" chip, but if someone has one they'd like me to "look at" (hehe).........oh, nevermind....*

[Daniel ~]

Mr B (Apr 21, 2001 10:42 p.m.):
If one had access to a pair of chips, an intel "Confidential", and a regular retail/OEM model, wouldn't it be possible to analyze the two, side by side, to try to determine the differences between the two? Seems to me this would be the place to start from, provided, of course, one had access to a pair of similar chips.

Maybe??

Mr B

*BTW...I don't have a "Confidential" chip, but if someone has one they'd like me to "look at" (hehe).........oh, nevermind....*

If anything could be exploited on the surface of a chip, it would have been long ago. Don't get your hopes up. How long did it take to crack the AMD lock? Same people have been looking at Intel for years. Not saying it will never happen, just that it will never happen at the user level, or it would have.

Please feel free to laugh at me tomorrow":O}

[outhouse]

Whats the cheapest coppermine going to cost ? that will still represent the majority of chips that we have, Once someone gets proper translation i'm willing to give it a shot, maybe finding a used chip if someone is going to upgrade.

[DocClock aka MadClocker]

Not 370, but I do have a couple of katmai cpu's, one 450, and a 500...you all gave me an idea, and I will investigate the differences between the two, I too think as Daniel does..if they were to be exploited, they would have done so...but durons are a lot cheaper than intel's..uh less expencive I mean, and it's almost worth the gamble to try an AMD.
But I will do my best and even take a few pic's so I can blow them up for a good looksee. I will let y'all know what my findings are...and I'm going to do that right now

[dimmreaper]

I'm way too skeptical to risk my spare P3 500E. But if anyone decides not to puss out let me know how it goes.

[Metaxas]

I've got a 600 Katami...but my dad would beat me. ;D

[Treker]

I find this very very very unlikely, I was told the locking was done inside the chip itself during manufactureing, I doubt any visiual observation between a unlocked and locked chip would reveal anything.

...

However I hope I am wrong, I have a p3700 chip, brand new sitting here.. would love to see how it could handle 7.5x140..

I also read that the chips where programed with 12volt current???

Not sure what that means exactly, perhaps someone could set some light on this..

Good luck all.

-Trek

[Redphex]

I'm goin' for a try today at my company.

If it works ---> First personally unlocked CPU *g*
if not ----> One dead CPU, but fortunately not mine *evilgrin*

[Slake]

Someone will be risking a lot to do exploratory surgery" on their chip. Maybe a little incentive would entice would be chip surgeons to do the required operations. Maybe a web site where people could sign a pledge to mail a $5 check to reward the person who either figures out and demonstrates how to unlock the FCPGA or jumps ship from INTEL and reveals the secret. Some Intel guy who retired could partner with a second person (to protect his pension) who would share the money for being the front man.

[Redphex]

dammed ;)

those SMD's are tough. Unfortunately I slipped why trying some heavy screwdriver action and ripped some pins off.
so much for that one ... rest in pieces *g*

[Treker]

Redphex (Apr 22, 2001 09:09 a.m.):
dammed ;)

those SMD's are tough. Unfortunately I slipped why trying some heavy screwdriver action and ripped some pins off.
so much for that one ... rest in pieces *g*


Hmmm, got some photos, so the rest of us can see what your dead cpu looks like?

I trust you going to try again? :)
more carefull this time?

-Trek

[SickBoy]

This would be such a huge thing..... I mean, look at the number of posts in the "AMD CPU" section. You know why that is? Duron's and TBirds are super easy to unlock and overclock. I can't believe someone isn't willing to step up and take the plunge for the good of the group... If I had an Intel system, I'd do it in 2 seconds. This would be the biggest boon ever for P3 overclocking.

SickBoy

[badgers]

let me get this straight. the resistors in red need to be removed?
Or is there something else to it?
I really tried to read the translated post but I did not get it.

Can you unsolder the resistors?

[Redphex]

according to the eXodus guy who came up with this resistor-thing, the resistors marked red that have to be removed in order to remove the lock.

If the red marked SMDs inthis Picture (http://overclockers.at/pics/p3.jpg) are removed, the Multiplier supposedly is unlocked for x3-x6.5 - These were missing on his CPU due the damage during shipping.

Then he removed two other SMDs - pic (http://overclockers.at/pics/p32.jpg) - unlocking every Multiplier-setting.

Again for everyone who's brave enought to try it - be warned, those SMDs are tough to get rid of ;-]



By now - even if it did really work - I wouldn't go for the mod for the sake of my CPUs ...

[Phil]

but not every cpu has the same resister setup, and I think that if it were that simple some body else would have come up with it after all this time, I would guess that there is an programmable id chip on the core that is programmed with the chip type (celeron/p3) voltage and mulitplyer rather than something in hardware as it is easier for intel to change chips due to supply and demand

[ExtremeOC]

you guys will do on-die CPU cooling, but not try this?
geez, you intel guys arent as ballsy as i thought......

i'd like to see if this is true, but no-one seems to want to try.

Come on, someone give this a SHOT!!!
if you're wrong, you'll be honored!
if you're right......
you'll make history


I also heard you could clear the multiplyer circitry by Over Voltaging the pins that directly control it, that are connected to those resistors..... If it pops the resistors due to the Overvoltaging, then this is it!!

someone TRY!!!!!think of all the Tbirds and Durons that die from cracked cores.
I hate to tell u, but cracking a 1.33g Tbird, or burning it costs more then a P3 700..... or a 500..... or ANYTHING

[outhouse]

come on guys dont give up! did George Washington give up when he crossed the Mississippi did Orville and Wilbur Write give up when there bike fell over did Lincoln give up when he invented the light bulb? We Americans were born with creativity running through are viens it may be a long shot but allot of great things are not easy. I guess i'm just a little greedy for more power :) but come on fight fight fight!

[lightning]

YEAH!!! go for it!! try, try, try!!! i dream that for long time and now hope my dream will come true!! :)

[dimmreaper]

I'm still very skeptical. I think someone would have done this 6 months ago if it were possible.

I firmly believe that the multiplier is programmed on to on-die PROM (programmable read only memory, it can only be programmed once within the factory, never erased, never reprogrammed).

[engjohn]

If everybody sent Daniel a single dollar via paypal, he would have enough cash to buy a few and try the trick, and it would only cost us a dollar...

I would pay a dollar for that!!

[FrAg bAiT]

Come on! Someone gotta have a spare PIII somewere! I would use my C700 but its a Celeron and I cant afford a replacemnet for it. =(

[ExtremeOC]

okay, about the PROM, different parts can be change due to an overvoltage....
thats y some german guy actully could change his CPU, he fried those resistors (i heard this somewhere, but it wsa ofically "snuffed out", but it was TRUE!)

if you send too much voltage thru the PROM, it'll change the data bits inside... if those resistors control internal clock multiplyer PROM, it can modify due to the marvels of Electrons and physics. I cna look into it some more, but i'm not a pentium guy. Listen, alot of us AMD guys have cracked out BRAND NEW 1.2 266FSB Tbird right outta the box, and that's the cost of a replacemnt P3 right therer, easy......

i'd do it, but that's just 'cause i'm a ballsy guy....

come ON, you guys solder wires onto your CPUs to make the voltage cahnge, y not remove resistors??

[Door Knob]

Mr B (Apr 21, 2001 10:42 p.m.):
If one had access to a pair of chips, an intel "Confidential", and a regular retail/OEM model, wouldn't it be possible to analyze the two, side by side, to try to determine the differences between the two? Seems to me this would be the place to start from, provided, of course, one had access to a pair of similar chips.

Maybe??

Mr B

*BTW...I don't have a "Confidential" chip, but if someone has one they'd like me to "look at" (hehe).........oh, nevermind....*

A while ago there was a post in here where someone recieved a unlocked 700E from Intel, the trade off was that they couldn't sell it and it was considered to be just a loaner. I'll try and hunt down that post as that member maybe able to shed some light on this subject if there are any phisical differences in the chip (I'm guessing there is not).

[Pinky]

I guess it's my turn...

I'd be curious, but it wouldn't make my day. I don't solder (it requires practice and I hate practice, I'm even less of a fan of patience), and don't even like to crack open my machine unless I got a new component to add... anyway, I'm not some lame-o -- but I'm not delusional to the point of blind-obsession either. I can recognize a gimmick from 3 counties away. This has farce written over, through it, behind, and beneath it.

This makes for a great story, Iike The Bible, but the story in no way validates itself. We will need more evidence before making a giant leap of faith into throwing working components away for sake of hackneyed scientific methodology.

I do have to say that many of the greatest discoveries were made by accident... if this is one of those instances, only time will tell (and someone else's technology in the trash can -- it won't be mine!!).

[LutaWicasa]

Every few months you see this type of thread on one forum or another. The longest one I saw was I think 4 pages and spanned at least a month and a half. It's pretty amazing how you can take otherwise inteligent people and just whip them to a froth. I will be keeping tabs on this thread, but strictly for entertainment purposes. :)

[sifu quoc]

hmmm.... about frying the resistor... try this.... take a fan and cut the wires.... now you have 12v to put anywhere you want.... how about if someone puts those wires acros the resistors??? wouldnt that beat desoldering it???

[Dumbass BP6'er]

I can just imagine a bunch of poor fools trying to desolder (rip off?) resistors from their one and only CPU, then not being able to post their negative results because they've trashed the heart of their only computer.

Good luck to those who try it, I'm sure you'll need lots. ;-)

jon

[outhouse]

Dumbass BP6'er (Apr 23, 2001 09:05 p.m.):
I can just imagine a bunch of poor fools trying to desolder (rip off?) resistors from their one and only CPU, then not being able to post their negative results because they've trashed the heart of their only computer.

Good luck to those who try it, I'm sure you'll need lots. ;-)

jon

THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLD THE WRIGHT BROTHERS BEFORE THEY FLEW :)
this story very well could be a hoax from the get go BUT with some study and research and allot of the intelligence ive found here at OC.com someone may crack this. what ever happened to the proper translation of the original article? i think before anyone else fries a chip more research should be done by some of our qualified senior members and i know there working on this and I thank them.
john

[outhouse]

Dumbass BP6'er (Apr 23, 2001 09:05 p.m.):
I can just imagine a bunch of poor fools trying to desolder (rip off?) resistors from their one and only CPU, then not being able to post their negative results because they've trashed the heart of their only computer.

Good luck to those who try it, I'm sure you'll need lots. ;-)

jon

THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLD THE WRIGHT BROTHERS BEFORE THEY FLEW :)
this story very well could be a hoax from the get go BUT with some study and research and allot of the intelligence ive found here at OC.com someone may crack this. what ever happened to the proper translation of the original article? i think before anyone else fries a chip more research should be done by some of our qualified senior members and i know there working on this and I thank them.
john

[LutaWicasa]

Hehehehe.........Go Wilbur!! Yay Orville!!

[Dumbass BP6'er]

The wright brothers didn't become the first to fly by ripping canvas off the wings of their plane.

I'm not saying that multiplier unlocking isn't possible (who knows, maybe someone'll figure out how to override the chip's PROM some day), I'm just saying that removing resistors is not a likely solution to the problem.

jon

[ExtremeOC]

i'll buy a damned P3 and try it for myself!!
you intel guys must be women, because you lack BALLS (no offense to women, just going for a hype here)

i'll buy a damn P3 and a crappy mobo, and give it a friggin try, casue none of you will.

Also, i <b><u><i>do</u><i><b> SMD soldering... if ne1 near manitoba canada has a pair, lemme know, i'll whip out my trusty 10 dollar soldering iron... i could resolder things onto a slotket with no room for the tip, i can do it on the front of a chip. (no screwdriver needed)

[Spode]

I think that this would have happpened a while ago.

For the remarker, there is a LOT OF money in it. You really think one of those lot wouldn't have sat down and tried it? Clutching at straws sort thing?

I saw a post a while back showing the bottom of a chip over an tomshardware which was unlocked. He said "take these pins off and your chip in unlocked". Of course, if you did, yo uwould kill your chip. There is something special about the engineering samples.

My old CBO celeron had not all the resistors on the bottom, but my CCO does. I don't think it has anything to do with multiplier.s But at the end of the day, does it make THAT much difference???

Overclocking by FSB is quite fine. Sure, it;'s nice to put the multipler low and up the FSB, but the performance increase is not THAT major.

[Tweakmeister]

I'd be happy to do it......
The thing is I'd like to see everything before dropping $100.
Checking around, I'm debating getting an 866 like he said, or just getting an el cheapo 500 or something like that.....

[SteveI]

I'm REEEEEEALLY skeptical. But hey, if the bunch here can't make it happen, it probably won't.

My 2cents:

Hypothesis: The location of the resistors is the real deciding factor on the "native" multiplier.

Then before anyone whips out the soldering iron or any other tool, let's prove it first. Among all the P3 owners, what can be seen and compared across the spectrum of multipliers. If we can identify each, we have something. Other wise, it's like Wil and Orville jumping off a cliff with a contraption because someone told them it would work.

Let's gather data before we take leaps of faith. I am not familiar with P3's. How hard is it to get a view of the resistors in question?

SteveI

[alan]

i told ya that I'd rip apart my Girlfriend's 800 EB cC0... but i am not a rich man. Need $$ in case it doesn't work. (Besides...She's gonna kick me outta the big-bed if i mess her 'puter up!)

[Will Maltby]

ok, I'm a bit of a newbie here, but I've an idea.

Couldn't we all compare the layout of the resistors of our varying P3's and see if there are differences ?
If so we may be able to work out a pattern for the layout.

ok, he's a pic of my FC-PGA P3 gig;

http://willmaltby.3drealm.tzo.com/cpu/p3_gig.gif

here's a blank one for others to edit with their different speed cpu's

http://willmaltby.3drealm.tzo.com/cpu/p3_blank.gif


of course; if the resistor layout is the same for all P3 then forget I said anything...

:)

[dimmreaper]

My P3 cA2 500E FCPGA has all the resistors in place. I'll pop my cB0 700E out tommarrow and have a look see.

But I still think that this is hog wash.

[Katabatik]

First off I just want to comment on the post(s) about intel groupies not having balls. If AMD fans didn't have a walk through saying step by step how to do it and that it would work in the end I doubt that their would be too many willing to fry any speed processor if it was their only one. Anyhoo, I'm getting a new PIII 850 soon and will compare it to the 500E I've got now and might give it a try if you guys give me enough peer pressure lol.

[Tweakmeister]

Precisely.....I'll do it once I sit down and see everything!
Email your pictures to the person here:
http://siliconjesters.dhs.org/articles/azalin/

[DocClock aka MadClocker]

I looked very closely at my pair of slot one Katmai's and saw no difference in the two, but if anybody knows of a link to an article that tells how to unlock slot ones, I will give it a try, as my PIII 450 is sitting idle without a home. The 500 I have is now sold, so thet one is out of the question. I also have a celeron 300a I would be willing to mod... if anybody has seen anything on it, please post a link, as I'm still a pretty good hand at soldering. I would like to become famous for "unlocking" a PIII, after all it would look really good on a resume'
"So you are the famous Mad Clocker" sounds good to me

[vv4r3z 4bu5e]

I dont know if anyone knows of this but people thought that the H-card and now the Hu-card of direct tv couldnt be hacked etc...and now look. Its been done. Millions of dollars of security hacked like nothing. So who knows what can be done.

[Spacepiston]

I find it interesting..

But, perhaps this german guys chip was modified in some other form, when it was damaged. Perhaps the resistors were part of it, but something else gave that he didnt know about.

As for DirectTV:

I cant help but laugh at those who buy hacked systems, since DireccTV is working on a new system, that will put an end to such things in the next 6 - 9 months.

[hammer4203]

Tell you what! If you have a slot1 p3 then the multi lock can be overcome. But if you have no electronics background then it is a waste of time to explain. It is dif for every p3 slot I have tried. I have yet to figure out how the freq across a certain area of the board will change the multiplier. The p3 600e got toasted cause the freq that I set my liitle oscilator at set the multi at 10x. Post to the ram check and locked. But this could have been due to a lack of proper equipment on my part. I just used a soldering iron and some solder...I used nothing to dissapate the heat being transfered to the chip!! But the problem is this I can get a p3 500e to a multi of 8x and bamm....post at 800 and runs fine. Tried to push for 133fsb and no luck. The time to study is what is needed and another p3 slot1. If my hunch is right then you can use the freq that Intel has the chip set for to get what ever multi you want....but only one at a time. I need to get another and try again. But study it a little more this time.

[*spazzed*]

good luck......keep us posted on any positive (or negative) results that result in some thing good (or not so good):)

[Lynx]

If the multiplyer is set by prom then there must be pins/connectiors which set it in the first place. Contrary to popular belief PROM is not a do once then it cannot be changed process. Instead it is just set and then is stored until it is changed. So all you need to do is find the pins/connector and over volt the PROM to change the multiplyer.

[outhouse]

GET ON IT! I dont mean to sound like a smart as_ you would be put on a pedistal here if you could figure that one out goodluck

[hammer4203]

Intel has set the lock all that has to be done is find the freq that it oscilates at and either add or subtract from it. That is the little device attached on the board of the PII. Change it and you change the multiplier.

[LutaWicasa]

You guys are funny.

[drowned]

bump

[most deaf]

amd does not support overclocking and intel discorages overclocking, so they will try hard to stop people

[Quazza]

I wondering if they (Intel) have seen this Post and if they are cringing cause you guys are close or laughing..
Gee it would be nice to meet a disgruntled intel staff member and find out..

-------------------------------------------------
Remember the Truth is out there..

[ZmajEly]

Hi guy's,

Reading this forum, i've find some confusions.

There is NO resistor packs under the CPU from Intel, but capacitors,
you can simply shortcut them and run some test, without any problems.
After that, just remove the shortcuts and problem is solved.

Success,
Elvis

[MAV]

ZmajEly (Jun 05, 2001 09:56 a.m.):
Hi guy's,

Reading this forum, i've find some confusions.

There is NO resistor packs under the CPU from Intel, but capacitors,
you can simply shortcut them and run some test, without any problems.
After that, just remove the shortcuts and problem is solved.

Success,
Elvis

I would assume that you've tried this and had success ??
regards

[Celemine1Gig]

It's true It's true It's true. If you remove these resistors you'lll have an unlocked Pentium III processor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have prove for this statement! I have a picture of an unlocked engineering sample P3 and it doesn't have these resistors either!!!!!! Look at this I got the picture from Kevin Hamill who writes articles for www.fullon3d.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it, it's true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sendatooli]

celemine1gig, according to your picture the unlocked p3 has 4 EXTRA bridges. furthermore these are not resisters,transisters, or capictors. they are in fact just wire trace bridges. if indeed im looking at the right thing here?

you can do it!,
sendatooli.

[Celemine1Gig]

where did you see 4 extra ones??????????

[Endeavor]

if this is true, this could save the dieing P3 Market

[Placid]

Celemine1Gig (Jun 07, 2001 06:00 p.m.):
where did you see 4 extra ones??????????

The photo on the right has 4 small rectangle objects in the center section and the photo on the left has 6.

[Carmine_Paterno]

Ok.....This is quite interesting.....I have a Slot 1 P3 450, and the little yellow thing (I've no i dea what it is called) One side is unattached, but the other is. I never even thought about it unlocking the chip, but according to one member, on PII's is unlocks them. In fact, I superglued it back. I am going to take it off as soon as i get off doing my project. When it was off before, it worked fine, i never tried changing the multiplier tho. We'll see i guess.

I really hope we find out what to do. Unfortunately, if we had an idea how to do this on a cD0 chip, it would be even better, since they should overclock much better that the cC0's. Does anyone have a picture of a cD0 to compare to a cC0? Well, off to mess around with my P3 450 Katmai.

[Mr B]

Placid (Jun 07, 2001 06:36 p.m.):
Celemine1Gig (Jun 07, 2001 06:00 p.m.):
where did you see 4 extra ones??????????

The photo on the right has 4 small rectangle objects in the center section and the photo on the left has 6.

I see two extras, myself...=)

If this does indeed work, we stand on the brink of a new chapter in overclocking intel products.

Has anyone done similar reasearch with the slot 1 Coppermine P///'s??

Mr B

[sifu quoc]

very interesting.... so we can try short thingy's then??? by bridging them together???

what about the 4 extra rectangles....

there seems to be an extra circle on the bottom too...

i'm not sure if the cirlce thingy lines up...

there are only 2 circles on the unlocked pIII, but 3 circles on the locked one....

just pointing out what i see...

[outhouse]

sifu quoc (Jun 07, 2001 08:06 p.m.):
very interesting.... so we can try short thingy's then??? by bridging them together???

what about the 4 extra rectangles....

there seems to be an extra circle on the bottom too...

i'm not sure if the cirlce thingy lines up...

there are only 2 circles on the unlocked pIII, but 3 circles on the locked one....

just pointing out what i see...

Just the opposite we want to remove them so that no current passes through, if you shorted them you might be on a quick path to a dead CPU and at this point removing them might kill a CPU as well we dont know because the one guy that tried said he bent CPU pins and broke one off. would be great to get this working and then give the AMD boys a run for there money :)

[*spazzed*]

The differences that i see
1. There are 2 "rectangles" missing
2. Has an extra "circle" thing

[sendatooli]

wait,wait! isnt the one on the left the unlocked one? if it is, it has 4 bridge traces that are not present on the locked one. so what you have to do is ADD 4 bridges not remove 4! if that is even what unlocks it.

so who has 300 million dolars to open a fab facility to unlock all our cpus?

really, the bridge couplers are not even exposed on the locked one. so there is nothing to even connect as on an amd chip.

i dont think intel spent millions of dolars on security so some "garage scientist" can unlock it with a soldering iron.

i dont mean to shoot down your guys hot air ballon! keep trying i'd love to see someone figure this out. really though, i think this is a shot in the dark.
just dont try surgery on your primary cpu, you will thank me for this advice later!


o.k., im done complaining,
sendatooli.

[MAV]

Well i just got a new 1gig PIII and looking at the pics above, the 1 gig has got a few of the traces missing / not installed.....and been a 133 fsb proc, i would guess that some of the traces also determine the fsb on the locked proc as well...don't know, i was just comparing the PIII 1 gig to my old PIII 800E, the 800E had quite few more of those tracer thingy's on it...
regards

[Celemine1Gig]

I only wanted to point out, that both chips in the picture are unlocked, these are two test-samples kevin hamill (www.fullon3D.com) received from Intel for testing. I think the fact, that both chips are unlocked, but look different shows, that unlocking technique depends on the chips stepping e.g. cB0- or cC0-Stepping or now cD0-Stepping. I think I'll contact Kevin to ask him about the steppings of the two different unlocked Pentium III 700 chips.

[Celemine1Gig]

Hi guys,

just contacted Kevin, now we'll see!

[el]

It looks promising but I don't think it will work! I have a P3-600 so if it works I will be happy I just don't think that will unlock them.

[e_storm]

My bad... forgot to read page 2.. hehe.

[ZmajEly]

ZmajEly has been testing....

IT DOESN'T WORK......I have been testing with P3 550 (100 FSB)Cu en P3 733 (133 FSB)... it's not working..... DON'T even think about trying, MY P3's working OKAY with or without those bridges (capacitors), UNLOCKING is FALSE.

For more discussions... mail to: zmajely@nerdswithguns.nl

It's a pity.....

[The Stickie]

I don't know wheter it is important or not, but I once bought a c700 for my girlfriend, and had it next to my PIII666 and it stuck me that on the celeron there where less of these little blocks....

I thought it where cache chips or something like that back then... (makes sense: c's have less cache than pIII's)
(but I'm not that good in thinking ;) :D )

I also seem to remember the loccking of Pentiums happens in the EPROM. But I don't think that's the only thing in there... so I wuldn't try to blow it like some of you suggest...

[Phil]

the L2 cache is on die, i.e. underneath that blue anodised nickel square. those things underneath are either resistors or capacitors (my dad pointed out how similar looking things on the motherboard had c** next to them which usually signifies capacitor) the eprom thing is just an idea, no one knows how intel locks their chips but it seems logical to assume it is on some form of rom.

[ken257]

I don't think this is going to happen and do we really need it anyway? With boards like the Asus CUSL2-C which run at very high fsb's and with PC166 and even PC180 now available I have always been able to max out the cpu's anyway. AMD does have multiplier control and it is more important there because not many mobos can achieve as high of an fsb but for Intel I think it is not to bad the way it is.

[engjohn]

ken257 (Jun 11, 2001 06:25 p.m.):
I don't think this is going to happen and do we really need it anyway? With boards like the Asus CUSL2-C which run at very high fsb's and with PC166 and even PC180 now available I have always been able to max out the cpu's anyway. AMD does have multiplier control and it is more important there because not many mobos can achieve as high of an fsb but for Intel I think it is not to bad the way it is.

Yes but if you have a 800 p/// that will run at 1066 @ 133fsb (maxed out at 1066) it would be nice to run it at 1066 @ 7*152fsb or 6*163fsb with the higher fsb = more memory bandwidth...

[Celemine1Gig]

ZmajEly (Jun 11, 2001 03:12 a.m.):
ZmajEly has been testing....

IT DOESN'T WORK......I have been testing with P3 550 (100 FSB)Cu en P3 733 (133 FSB)... it's not working..... DON'T even think about trying, MY P3's working OKAY with or without those bridges (capacitors), UNLOCKING is FALSE.

For more discussions... mail to: zmajely@nerdswithguns.nl

It's a pity.....


You ***,

I'm sure you tried to remove the capacitors like described above! But you did it with a cB0-stepping chip. With cB0 it can't work, the technicque seems to work only with cC0-stepping chips!!!!!!!!! Got it cC0!!!!!!!!!!! Look at that picture that shows two unlocked P3 700, one cC0 and one cB0-stepping. Look closely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tinker]

i took 2 c2's that i had and looked at the underside of them. one is a c2-566 and the other is a c2-700 both chips had the identicle markings and resistors or capacitors on them, but i did notice that there were no markings on the res/cap. my 2 cents. WHAT IM AFTER is on a motherboard that automatically sets the bus speed by the type of processor; how do you overcome this?
another 2 cents.
surely the same locking methods are used on c2's as on the p3's.

[elohssa]

I don't know if this will help any but the link to the PIII FCPGA datasheet is
http://developer.intel.com/design/pentiumiii/datashts/245264.htm

The file is in pdf format. It is only 569kb to download.

[H@rdc0re]

My 800EB has the same markings as the one on the left.

Is this normal??

or are the 600E/800EB chips meant to be cBo not cCo ???

I would like to know if I can unlock my multiplier by doing what has been suggested , im not scared to try it , a new CPU is only $200 NZ dollars to buy ($84 us)

so let me know if I can do it on my 800EB and I will try it.

[Phil]

tinker (Jun 12, 2001 10:36 p.m.):
i took 2 c2's that i had and looked at the underside of them. one is a c2-566 and the other is a c2-700 both chips had the identicle markings and resistors or capacitors on them, but i did notice that there were no markings on the res/cap. my 2 cents. WHAT IM AFTER is on a motherboard that automatically sets the bus speed by the type of processor; how do you overcome this?
another 2 cents.
surely the same locking methods are used on c2's as on the p3's.

The pin you are after is bsel (there are 2 one for 100mhz/66mhz and the other for 133/100) I've just checked the datasheet and it is pin AJ33 which is up in the top right corner, 3rd pin down 4th from the right hand side when you hold the cpu with the pins facing you and have the section with pins missing in the top left corner. Disconecting this or insulationg would make the board detect the chip as a 100mhz fsb chip

[Celemine1Gig]

H@rdc0re (Jun 14, 2001 08:43 p.m.):
My 800EB has the same markings as the one on the left.

Is this normal??

or are the 600E/800EB chips meant to be cBo not cCo ???

I would like to know if I can unlock my multiplier by doing what has been suggested , im not scared to try it , a new CPU is only $200 NZ dollars to buy ($84 us)

so let me know if I can do it on my 800EB and I will try it.

You can look at the black label on the chip and if it says 1,65V core voltage, then it's a cB0-chip. If it says 1,7V, then it's definetly a cC0-chip!!!!!! Look at your PIII and you'll know!

[Kevin_H]

Hey everyone - nice to see some good work going on over here. I am Kevin Hamill, the guys who belongs to those processors. I want to point out that they are not actually 700's. They are marked as 933Mhz chips, but since they are unlocked it makes no difference. At default multiplier and FSB they do 933, and that's how they're marked, so I call them 933's.

The one on the left is a cC0 the one on the right is a cB0.

Good luck,

[Shadow ÒÓ]

Well! Welcome to the forums Kevin_H!!

[outhouse]

i'm not sure it even really matters what the unlocked CPUs bridge placement is as we are not trying to unlock them, and they are made different inside and out, we have had one guy who tried bless his sole now if he would have done it with the rite CPU we may have got somewhere. good news is he removed the bridges and did not fry his CPU so there is still hope.

SO WHO'S NEXT?

remember its still gambling just because it did not fry his CPU does not mean it wont fry yours.

[outhouse]

Kevin_H

let me be the first person in the forum to say

HOW MUCH $ YOU WANT FOR THAT BAD BOY?

:):):) i know you cant get rid of them but it never hurts to ask :)

[engjohn]

Like outhouse said, maybe he cannot get rid of them, but maybe I could rent one indefinitely...

:):):)

[pestul]

Read 2830 times... wow. Talk about a topic close to the hearts of Intel users.

I'd love to unlock my Katmai 450, but I still find it hard to believe. I mean, there must be maniacs out there that have been working night/day on chips. I simply cannot believe that it would just pop out like this.

Of course I want it too. :)

[Phil]

I think intel needs to get smart as far as overclocking is involved. I mentioned in another thread that there are basically 2 types of overclocker. 1 is the type who buys a 700mhz cpu because he can get it up to 1ghz and it costs less than a 1ghz cpu. The other is the sort who buys a 1ghz cpu and does lots of tweaking to get every last mhz out of it because they want the challnege.
Intel has stupidly positioned them selfs in the the first catorgory of overclocker where the most money is being lost as people are buying slower chips to get more performance. A good example is that most intel overclockers will go for either the 700mhz p3 or 600mhz celeron instead of the faster ones because they only have the bus speed to play with. Amd one the other hand thanks to the ease of unlocking has gotten their foot in the door of the 2nd type of overclocker. These don't just buy the 700mhz tbird because they can overclock it to 1ghz. They buy the 1ghz or 1.33ghz and overclock it as high as they can. The differance in price between amd chips pretty much eliminates the need for the forst type of overclocking with amd chips as you may as well just go the extra expense on the fastest chip, even then the fastest chip can be run even faster.
I have never heard of remarked amd processors, now either this is because there isn't the market, or because they do it so well you can't tell with amd or just because there isn't enough money to be made turning a 1ghz tbirds into a 1.33ghz one.

[chaos]

Miknow (Apr 21, 2001 10:42 a.m.):
Hmmm... I would try it if I could read german. But I have a pentium 500e laying around somewhere but if they had a english translation and was convinced I would take a shot at it

WILL SOMEBODY JUST DO THIS PLEASE!!!BUNCH A PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT IT AND NO ACTION!!!!!

[Phil]

Thast because it probabally just doesn't work. As soon as I get a spare coppermine I'll prove it. Any way I bet some people have tryed it and had broken cpu's and not been able to get back on to tell people it doesn't work :D

[Kingslayer]

For those of you that down-trod Intel and their business decisions, go buy an AMD.

I have always, and will always run Intel. Should they succomb to the dark side and help overclockers? No. They are protecting their investment. If you look back in the past two years, there is another field that AMD has surpassed Intel......remarked CPU's!

Intel isn't saying "the hell with overclockers", they are protecting their investments and their yeilds. Do we OC'ers have to pay for that with chips that are locked? Yes.

But like I said, if you don't like it, go buy a Thunderbird.

Me, I prefer the challenge. With an AMD everything is handed to you.

[Pinky]

Been a month+ since I ready this post -- WoW (now I know why)

Is that,.. really, THE Kevin_H???!!!

Whatever, I could login as a new member with any id and say I'm Bill F@%^ Gates, it doesn't mean I am.

Don't fall for any of this, we will probably never see an unlocked Intel chip. If it bothers you that much, as it has been said time and time again, buy AMD.

[Phil]

Kingslayer (Jun 20, 2001 09:05 a.m.):
But like I said, if you don't like it, go buy a Thunderbird.

Me, I prefer the challenge. With an AMD everything is handed to you.

I think I will :D

As for amd having everything handed to you and you prefering a challnege, whats the challnge in setting from 66 to 100mhz fsb or 100 to 133mhz fsb? With AMD heat is more critical so ingenuity pays off big time.

[Kingslayer]

Where is the challenge in the Intels?

#1. Trying to figure out how to unlock it. It's possible, it can be done. And us Intel users can say that WE figured it out, it didn't get handed to us from AMD. And don't even try telling me that it didn't come from AMD......

#2. FSB? The challenge there is getting everything in your machine to run stable at FSB above 133Mhz. You AMD users can set your multiplier and keep your FSB's low. We can't...yet I still run a 165Mhz FSB.

#3. And don't give me that jabber about heat. With the heatsinks out today if you smoke a chip it's because you did something stupid. HSF's have come far and most top of the line HSF's will cool any CPU to a reasonable temp.

Theres no ingenuity in there either. You want to see ingenuity? Come look at my machine. When was the last time you saw a Network Card with a heatsink on it so it will run stable above a 41 Mhz PCI bus speed if necessary. Because we can't change multipliers, we have to up the FSB which in turn ups the PCI bus, we have to make our cards stable.

THATS INGENUITY.

[Pinky]

Kingslayer (Jun 20, 2001 01:53 p.m.):
When was the last time you saw a Network Card with a heatsink on it so it will run stable above a 41 Mhz PCI bus speed if necessary. Because we can't change multipliers, we have to up the FSB which in turn ups the PCI bus, we have to make our cards stable.

THATS INGENUITY.

In upstate New York we call that Wintertime, when we have little else to do but start electrical fires...

I don't know that your argument holds water, since tweaking is to have your machine do things faster, not merely the fact of making it faster for no purpose. I overclock mine for better gaming performance and faster audio processing... there's little Ingenuity in necessity... now learning Cakewalk 9, Soundforge 4.5, and Acid 2.0 in 2 weeks to produce a 60 minute album from your living room with radio Shack mixer/microphone takes Ingenuity... using a hacksaw to cut up a heatsink and gluing it to a PC Card is... well, you get my point.

[Phil]

Kingslayer (Jun 20, 2001 01:53 p.m.):
Where is the challenge in the Intels?

#1. Trying to figure out how to unlock it. It's possible, it can be done. And us Intel users can say that WE figured it out, it didn't get handed to us from AMD. And don't even try telling me that it didn't come from AMD......

#2. FSB? The challenge there is getting everything in your machine to run stable at FSB above 133Mhz. You AMD users can set your multiplier and keep your FSB's low. We can't...yet I still run a 165Mhz FSB.

#3. And don't give me that jabber about heat. With the heatsinks out today if you smoke a chip it's because you did something stupid. HSF's have come far and most top of the line HSF's will cool any CPU to a reasonable temp.

Theres no ingenuity in there either. You want to see ingenuity? Come look at my machine. When was the last time you saw a Network Card with a heatsink on it so it will run stable above a 41 Mhz PCI bus speed if necessary. Because we can't change multipliers, we have to up the FSB which in turn ups the PCI bus, we have to make our cards stable.

THATS INGENUITY.

1. There is no practical way of doing it. This would be a big business for the remarker who would gladly waste a few hundred dollars at trying to found a way as there would be a lot of money in it for them.

2. That challenge is still there with amd, at least if you can't get a high fsb then you have the multiplyer to fall back on, there are no celeron 700 situations with amd chips, amd boards have problems running at high fsb's due to the ddr bus so usually you have to use better northbridge cooling and up the vio voltage as well to get it too work.

3. Intel cpu's are so easy to keep cool as they throw out so little heat. You can get a way with putting too much heat transfer compound on and bad case cooling, with amd's you have to get it right as every oC counts for mhz where as an intel chip is far more likely to reach the peek of the silicon than to be too warm.


'You want to see ingenuity? Come look at my machine. When was the last time you saw a Network Card with a heatsink on it so it will run stable above a 41 Mhz PCI bus speed if necessary.'

I have suggested this to a fair few users my self. The fsb is just as much an overclocking tool with amd chips but at least it doesn't hold you back. I've overclocked intel and am and the intel I overclocked was not a challenge and didn't have room for tweaking. I just upped the fsb until it became unstable, set the highest safe voltage, tryed upping the fsb some more but it wouldn't go, put some case fans and artic silver on and it went done. With Amd you can spend a while tweaking with the multiplyer and fsb and other memory options and get your setup just right.

[Kingslayer]

I think in my situation my arguement hold alot of water. I use my NIC for more than just broadband access. My machine is used for transfering files, large files, to other machines on my network, and via FTP. I work alot with graphics and of course I game. So NIC stability at high PCI bus speeds is essential. I think it's essential for any overclocker. Take a NIC up to 40 Mhz, transfer a file, and set your finger on the chipset.......You'll be suprised.

I have two 800's at 990. That a multiplier of 6 with a FSB of 165. Thats pushing the PCI bus. Most cards can't take more than 40-41 Mhz. But if this was a...oh...lets say a 800 Duron, I could just throttle the multiplier up and lower the FSB and keep my PCI bus about 30-35 Mhz. Well in the safe range.

AMD'ers might have to tweak alittle more to reach their maximum stable speed, but us Intel'ers have to watch the system as a whole. Not just the CPU. This leads to ingenuity like NIC heatsinks, sound card heatsinks, and for those poor guys still running PCI video cards, vid card cooling is necessary.

[Phil]

But you sound like you don't think amd oc'ers use the fsb, they do as they can fine tune to a few mhz of what the chip is capable of.

[toutin]

pathetic off topic duel...
don't start another AMD vs Intel in this "intense" suspense thread.
I have an AMD but I'd be very glad if intel cpus could be unlocked.

[Phil]

He started it!

[TheXrGuy]

I would love to try something like this. I have 3 PIIIs, 2 stuffed away in a box somewhere,

unfortunatly I can't see the pic, the website seems to be down. I really hate that, just when your dieing to have a look, the site is down

[Kingslayer]

Yeah we have strayed off topic.

But then again the original topic is going no where. There's too many people that say "Would someone please do this mod and see if it works?" But they are too afraid to do it themselves.

Yep, I've tried it. It doesn't work. I've tried removing pins, Doesn't work. Tried shorting certain pins. No go. Tried shorting connections where the resistors/capacitors used to be. So far the only thing that I have accomplished is creating a really neat 800Mhz keychain.

And this topic won't go anywhere until someone else gets the nuts to try something new on thier chip. I've tanked one for the sake of science already. Who's next up to bat?

[KILLorBE]

A few months ago I read an article about unlocking a PIII (It was written by a scientist or an Intel insider) but that was way over my head, all I could make up from what he was saying: IT CAN'T BE DONE BY YOU OR ME (unless you have the right equipment, but that would cost you lots of money I'm talking about 100.000's of dollars).
I've seen one good answer so far (it has to do with frequency), well at least that is what the scientist/Intel insider was saying.
All I know it CAN be done with a SLOT1 PII (They have done it in Germany), but I doubt it can be done with an FCPGA.
A little explanation would be appropriate: A EPROM can be programmed, A CPU (FCPGA) can be programmed as well (They have a built-in EPROM in which the multiplier is set (or something like that)) but there's no EPROM programmer YOU and ME can afford that has a 370 socket.
I hope this makes some sense.

BTW: Nice keychain you have Kingslayer ^_^ (Sorry it didn't work, but I've learned to do some research before trying and not jump into things PPL are saying just because they wanna see if it works).

Maybe i should have posted this a long time ago, but i've been searching for that article........no result yet.

[SP]

KILLorBE (Jun 21, 2001 10:40 a.m.):
A few months ago I read an article about unlocking a PIII (It was written by a scientist or an Intel insider) but that was way over my head, all I could make up from what he was saying: IT CAN'T BE DONE BY YOU OR ME (unless you have the right equipment, but that would cost you lots of money I'm talking about 100.000's of dollars).
I've seen one good answer so far (it has to do with frequency), well at least that is what the scientist/Intel insider was saying.
All I know it CAN be done with a SLOT1 PII (They have done it in Germany), but I doubt it can be done with an FCPGA.
A little explanation would be appropriate: A EPROM can be programmed, A CPU (FCPGA) can be programmed as well (They have a built-in EPROM in which the multiplier is set (or something like that)) but there's no EPROM programmer YOU and ME can afford that has a 370 socket.
I hope this makes some sense.

BTW: Nice keychain you have Kingslayer ^_^ (Sorry it didn't work, but I've learned to do some research before trying and not jump into things PPL are saying just because they wanna see if it works).

Maybe i should have posted this a long time ago, but i've been searching for that article........no result yet.


It can't be done! It can't be done because the multiplier is set by burning connections into inside the chip. I believe this is done with a laser. So, once the connections are burnt there's no connecting them back.

As for the PII you saw that was unlocked that's easy to explain. First of all, early PIIs weren't even locked to begin with. I have an old PII-233 that isn't and many other people have PIIs that weren't it was later on that they started locking the multipliers. They did it because unscupulous vendors were remarking CPUs and selling them to unsuspecting customers as faster CPUs. Anyway, when they did start locking the multipliers was about the time the 100Mhz FSB deschutes core PIIs started coming out. At that time the multiplier was locked, not inside the chip, but on the little printed circuit
board that a slot1 chip is located on. This is why it was possible to unlock those. However, by the time the PIII (Katmai) came along they were locking the multipliers inside the chip itself by burning circuit in to. Once those connections are burnt in to there is no connecting them back together. So, once the multiplier is locked this way, it's forever locked for the life of that particular chip.

It's interesting that you bring up Eproms. Eproms are eraseable programmable read only memory. That is they can be progrmmed then later on erased and programmed again. However, there are also what is known as Proms. Proms are Progrmmmable read only memory. That is they can be programmed, but only once, and after that they cannot be erased or reprogrammed. The way they work is kinda like blowing fuses inside the chip and burning connections in to. If you've ever seen a blown fuse then I'm sure you can understand that they cannot by any electrical means be put back together. This is kinda like the way they lock the multipliers except that instead of using a current to blown the fuse they use a precise laser to burn it into. They use the same technique to disable the addition a cache in a celeron II.

Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you they can unlock a locked PIII! They're either lying, badly mistaken, or trying to perpetrate somekind of fraud. It's true there are chips called engineering samples that do not have the multiplier locked to begin with. These aren't really meant to be released to the general public and are for testing purposes only. That's why they are left unocked. These will be marked "Intel Confidential" and the people these are given to are not suppose to release them to the general public, but ocassionally a few get through. Anyway, don't ever send any money or your CPU to someone making such claims and promising to unlock your locked CPU. If you do you'll never see your money or CPU again!

[Endeavor]

please dont flame me

since no one has taken the side to defend intel i think ill take a crack at it
the chips are locked for a reason. if u could buy a PIII 450 and make it a PIII800 and only pay for the PIII450? do you think there would be a loss in sales margin, oh yes there would, but by locking thier chips, intel has said: you can adjust the FSB/PCI ratio, but doing so will limit ur ability to overclock AND the farther from 33 you get, the greater the risk of you loosing all your data on your HD, so for intel, this really is benifical. granted intel is loosing ground in the chip market but it looks like they are starting to gear towards the server side market and generally with servers, u dont want to overclock since they are running 24/7 and sometimes under 100% load full time. so what im saying is, maybe we should let intel have thier cake and eat it too when it comes to unlocking the CPU Multiplier,

please dont flame me, i didnt want to make this post but i feel it was necessary to prove a point/counter point

[Kingslayer]

I won't flame you. But I will throw you this....

AMD was NOTHING until they started to support overclocking. I think Intel's sales would sky-rocket if they made their chips unlocked. If Intel took the stance of AMD, lowered their priced and unlocked their chips they would come very, very close to putting AMD out of business.

[Pinky]

Endeavor (Jun 22, 2001 03:45 a.m.):
please dont flame me

I'll try. Nope, couldn't do it, sorry :)

[Phil]

I and many other have been suggesting that intel use an prom of some kind probabally an eprom so that they can easily change a cpu info to meat supply and demand easily enough. It makes sense as it would be a simple and very effective means of doing so. The p2's probabally used a differant method (2 actually as some were only limited and some were locked) and in fact you could unlock some p2's by doing the b21 bsel trick, I had a p233 whic after doing the b21 trick on left the multiplyer unlocked.

[JaY_III]

wont this thread die already, its been kicking around for months
(yes i know that i am now part of the problem, sorry)

[Celemine1Gig]

Hi guys,

I just didn't want to wait longer, so I ordered a new cC0-stepping Pentium III 667 processor for about 75$. And of course I'll try to unlock it!!!! I'll have someone do the soldering job for me. So wait and see what will happen!

That's it for now.

[dbnotes]

To bad this thread does not stay on topic, then it might actually get done.

However I can see ways intel could program them on demand and have it work only once. I do not believe you cut traces or anything like that.

I would bet it is a once only prom.

[most deaf]

SP (Jun 22, 2001 03:32 a.m.):

It can't be done! It can't be done because the multiplier is set by burning connections into inside the chip. I believe this is done with a laser. So, once the connections are burnt there's no connecting them back.

As for the PII you saw that was unlocked that's easy to explain. First of all, early PIIs weren't even locked to begin with. I have an old PII-233 that isn't and many other people have PIIs that weren't it was later on that they started locking the multipliers. They did it because unscupulous vendors were remarking CPUs and selling them to unsuspecting customers as faster CPUs. Anyway, when they did start locking the multipliers was about the time the 100Mhz FSB deschutes core PIIs started coming out. At that time the multiplier was locked, not inside the chip, but on the little printed circuit
board that a slot1 chip is located on. This is why it was possible to unlock those. However, by the time the PIII (Katmai) came along they were locking the multipliers inside the chip itself by burning circuit in to. Once those connections are burnt in to there is no connecting them back together. So, once the multiplier is locked this way, it's forever locked for the life of that particular chip.

It's interesting that you bring up Eproms. Eproms are eraseable programmable read only memory. That is they can be progrmmed then later on erased and programmed again. However, there are also what is known as Proms. Proms are Progrmmmable read only memory. That is they can be programmed, but only once, and after that they cannot be erased or reprogrammed. The way they work is kinda like blowing fuses inside the chip and burning connections in to. If you've ever seen a blown fuse then I'm sure you can understand that they cannot by any electrical means be put back together. This is kinda like the way they lock the multipliers except that instead of using a current to blown the fuse they use a precise laser to burn it into. They use the same technique to disable the addition a cache in a celeron II.

Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you they can unlock a locked PIII! They're either lying, badly mistaken, or trying to perpetrate somekind of fraud. It's true there are chips called engineering samples that do not have the multiplier locked to begin with. These aren't really meant to be released to the general public and are for testing purposes only. That's why they are left unocked. These will be marked "Intel Confidential" and the people these are given to are not suppose to release them to the general public, but ocassionally a few get through. Anyway, don't ever send any money or your CPU to someone making such claims and promising to unlock your locked CPU. If you do you'll never see your money or CPU again!
i dont agree, with a small enouth drill you can dirll into the cpu and rejoin the connections. all we need to know is where they are

[Jon]

Someone please kill this thread, haha.

[most deaf]

Jon (Jul 06, 2001 12:10 p.m.):
Someone please kill this thread, haha.

NO, this represents lots of reserch and could end up in the unlocking of intel cpus

[most deaf]

just had a thought, what is used to tell the multiplyer to the motherboard, the legs. so find the right legs and break them off, forcing the mobo to let the user select it

[Pinky]

Bad cow.

"...And that's all I got to say about that." -- Forrest Gump, who even had enough smarts to know when to stop :)

[menk]

very interesting this old discussion.......
i know only p3 engineering sample unlocked..........
like this..........
http://www.anfitea.com/menk/tycho_file/tycho.2.jpg