Hi folks, I've bought a new CPU, put it in (I don't think I've physically damaged the hardware), and Linux won't boot anymore.

The boot sequence, as I remember, is,
information on the graphics card,
information on the CPU,
information on RAM,
some more information,
PCI Device Listing (last entry: Display Controller).
That's all - the computer won't do anything further from that.

I put back the old CPU and everythings working.
First question: What's wrong??

Old CPU: AMD Athlon 900 MHz.
New CPU: AMD Athlon 1100 MHz.
That both is what my PC tells me when booting.

To be exact, the new CPU is an "CPU AMD Athlon K7 XP 3200+ Tray Barton FSB400", and I'm a little disappointed it only shows up as 1100 MHz. I'd expected something between 3200 MHz and its "internal clock frequency" of ~2200 MHz (that's what its product description tells).
Second question: Is this really 1100 MHz only?

Thanks in advance!

My XP 3200+ was mis-recognized as a 1.1 Ghz, but testing it it actually RAN at the published clock speed of 2.2.

As to your particular question, do you have a stock kernel or have you compiled your own? If you compiled your own, you might have to recompile to have it work with the new hardware. (You might have to fall back to a stock kernel to do this on your new, faster CPU however).

Thanks.
That's relieving me but on the other hand, maybe the old CPU is mis-recognized, too, and there is no such huge difference between both (worth €140,-)? - Anyways, I'll see when it works.
I'm not sure. Currently, 2.6.15-19-386 is running. Before some system upgrade, there was 2.6.15-18-386, which I recompiled (in order to run VMWare). So, parts of the kernel might still be extra-compiled for my current hardware?

Check your system settings in BIOS. My AMD Athlon 2500+ was similarly recognized (initially) as a much slower/weaker chip. By stepping up the FSB frequency from 100Mz to 233Mz (or something like that, I don't recall exactly and I could be way off) the problem was solved. Good luck with it

Thanks. - I put in the new CPU, entered BIOS setup, and set the CPU frequency to 145 MHz (which doesn't sound right BTW...).

Notes: My BIOS allows CPU frequencies from 100 to 145 MHz. When I changed it to that max value, the DRAM frequency automatically changed to 145 MHz, too.
After google'ing, I'd found some sites mentioning 200 MHz for my new CPU. (That's not what my BIOS is supporting...)
My BIOS' label is "ASUS A7V ACPI BIOS Revision 1004C".

Next to changing the BIOS settings, I rebooted (of course). I rebooted several times but at all times the screen stayed black. So I tried to change settings several (20?) times (booting with the monitor being off, and turning it on after the computer had started, doing the opposite, etc.). Nevertheless, I didn't manage to get something to the screen, and it stayed black.

So I put in the old CPU again (the BIOS settings, I'd checked that, had automatically been put back to their default values of 100 MHz both for the CPU and RAM after changing that piece of hardware), and the system did boot again, finally...

I really don't know how to proceed. Thanks

In BIOS, is there an option to change a "multiplier" or perhaps "voltage"? (These terms are used in reference to overclocking the CPU - of course, you aren't actually overclocking, but because your CPU is apparently underclocked, the steps to adjust it would be similar) If so, try increasing the multiplier by one (and only one) increment, then rebooting to see if it makes a difference.

Lastly, what is the exact make/model of your mobo, and can it physically support a CPU with a 400Mz FSB? The point is that perhaps your CPU is capable of running at a faster speed, but your mobo can only support a much slower FSB speed. If so, and as you probably know, the speed will only be as fast as the slowest component.

Edit: Do not take the "if bumping it up by one is good, then bumping it all the way up to the max is better" approach -- doing so could damaage your chip. Also, I'm assuming you understand and are comfortable with adjusting your BIOS settings. If not, then I strongly recommend that you simply leave things as is -- don't make any changes -- and to instead do some research on these kinds of BIOS changes. In other words, this is the kind of change that you should only make if you understand its effects.

As I remember, there's been such an option as "voltage". - Honestly, I'm just glad my PC had booted at all after those last adventures... I don't remember a "multiplier" setting, though. - You mean, I just should increase some "voltage" or "multiplier" settings, put that new CPU in, and reboot?
Fortunately, there's a manual right here. It's "ASUS A7V, JumperFree PC133/VC133, 200MHz FSB AGP Pro/4X, 200MHz FSB AGP Pro/4X, Socket A Motherboard".

Thanks indeed. You guess, I need to figure this out somehow, at any rate.

Aha, well, if your mobo can only support a 200Mz FSB, and your CPU uses a 400Mz FSB, then your effective speed will be limited to 200Mz, if it works at all. If this is your mobo, then as you can see, it just isn't equipped to handle a 400Mz FSB, and unfortunately this sort of incompatibility isn't something that can be resolved by adjusting a couple of configuration settings. That looks like a relatively old mobo, but your CPU is pretty new, and realistically, in order to get full performance out of that CPU, I think you'll need to replace the mobo. Things to check:

1. Make sure the mobo CPU socket matches the CPU socket type
2. Make sure the CPU FSB speed is compatible with the mobo's FSB speed
3. Make sure the RAM speed is compatible with the mobo's RAM speed
4. Make sure the video card slot (PCI, AGP, PCIe) is compatible with your video card
5. Make sure the mobo has adequate expansion slots for your needs

Generally speaking, although the socket type of the mobo can obviously accept the CPU, that alone does not necessarily mean they're compatible. Good luck with it, but sadly I don't think there are too many other options.

Thanks, J.W. - sigh

Although,
You could update the bios to the latest with the old cpu in place.

Most bios releases include code to recognise and support newer cpu's. Check the motherboard manufacters site for recent bios releases. The readme file will tell you if cpu support was added recently.

Or buy a new motherboard to go with the new cpu

I had 2 mins so i googled it myself check this out

Bios for A7V 133
1009 Final
released 30.4.2002

1. Support 48-bit HDD.
2. Add support to new Thoroughbred CPU. And support up to XP 2200+ (PCB VER. must be 1.05 . or above)

Bios for A7V 266
1011 Final released 26.8.2002

1. Support AMD AthlonXP 2600+

Bad news is if you've the 133 board the fastest proc you can get is a 2200. If you've a 266 board the fastest proc you can get is a 2600. I recommnend a new motherboard.

Thanks for checking.
Yes, that's what I have. Actually, 2.2 GHz would suffice for me as my current processor, with 900 MHz, almost feels fast enough.

BTW, are the FSB frequency (the new CPU's is 400 MHz) and the ram ?frequency? = PC (yesterday, I too bought a block of RAM - which BTW doesn't fit, too - it's PC-333) related?

- I could by a MBP ASRock K7-Upgrade-600 VIA KT600 (PC3200 DDR) motherboard (which has an upgradable CPU socket), plus had to by a 1024 MB piece of RAM. In sum that is €120.-, and I guess that motherboard ain't a real modern one...
Also, would it work with my existing graphics card (NV11 [GeForce2 MX/MX 400], AGP-V7100 Pro)?

Alternatively, I could change back the new CPU and RAM eventually (they costed ~€180.-), and get a CPU AMD Duron 1.8GHz Tray (which has a 133 MHz FSB) plus an additional 512 MB piece of PC-133 SDRAM (together worth ~€100.-).
I'm not expecting the computer store people to be especially keen on taking their goods back but eventually they'd do that if they'd gain the difference (€80).

BTW,
I wasn't ignoring that when suggesting the 1800 MHz CPU. It's just, that computer shop only has a limited number of socket A CPU models in stock.

I think you've the 133 board from the bios string you post earlier.

If you've 133 you get pc133 ram, and run the FSB at 100 or 133.

If you had the 266 version ddr would fit and your Front side bus is 100 or 133, your ram runs at double the front side. DDR = Double data rate

So when the side bus is 133 but the ram internally doubles the clock (send on peaks and falls of voltage, instead of just the peaks) you end up with

(133(fsb) X 2(DDR) = 266Mhz DDR ram aka PC2100

For a 100 fsb you end up with

(100(fsb) X 2(DDR) = 200Mhz DDR ram aka PC1600

Most old athlon and durons run a 100 FSB but all the ram to run at 133. So the duron and Ram sound like a good choice

Just do google search to check the 1.6 duron will work in that board. Try pcper.com as the amd hardware junkies there love posting there motherboard/proc/memory in there signatures.

I would look, but I got to work now

Dont buy that motherboard
MBP ASRock K7-Upgrade-600 VIA KT600 (PC3200 DDR)

Its a needs an adapter to upgrade to socket 754 (as in athlon 64), I doubt you can by the adapter, but you can put your gfx card in there if you do get it, and keep the old proc. Socket 754 is due to be killed of very soon anyway.

If your gonig to buy from that site this looks best

MBP MSI K7N2 Delta2-LSR nForce2 400Ultra

It supports your new and old proc, you will need to keep the new ram (DDR only) and it supports agp graphics cards (like your current one). And you can still get some very good up to date graphics cards for AGP.

Thanks for the great support Karlos. It's highly appreciated.
Can I mix PC-333 and PC-800 RAM?