Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

[Wizard]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

A failing HD will absolutely corrupt anything and is NOT to be trusted, and time for DATA recovery NOW.

Hot CPU will cause corruptions when it is on the edge of overheating this also affects internal chipsets and cause problems.

In the nutshell, notebook have to be retired NOW. Boot into safe mode and save the data that you made (documents, bookmarks etc) Reinstall OS on your main computer and live with it for now till you get good quality notebook without nvidia chipset or nvidia video. AMD or Intel based chipset with AMD video chipset in a notebook is real good one and have to be brand name like Asus, Dell, any good brand (chime in with known good ones).

Cheers, Wizard

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

Everything is backed up, and the laptop is my main computer. I never even used it as a portable computer, so I am looking for a desktop computer to replace it and the Compaq. I have another laptop that doesn't have as many problems.

[Agent24]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

Surely all you need is a new hard drive for your laptop?

You should be able to get it fairly cheap, maybe even free (try your local freecycle group)

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

Look at my earlier posts. This laptop has so many problems that it would be cheaper to buy a new computer than to repair it. It was made in 2002, and it was the bottom of the line when it was new.

[Wizard]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

Iti,

"I have another laptop that doesn't have as many problems."

Still doesn't feel good about that myself personally. What is the problems with this one? Might able to help us to suggest fixes to help with remaining notebook.

Cheers, Wizard

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

The plastic case keeps cracking and chunks keep breaking off.

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I finally got Virtualbox working, but I don't have a Windows 98 CD. The Compaq system recovery CD would not install and just gave me a message saying that it can only be installed on a Compaq PC.

I want to get this computer running so I can use it until I get a real Windows 98 CD. Today I noticed that the cache memory chip has a dark spot on it, but the chip doesn't get very warm. The clock generator chip is a W148H and doesn't get warm at all.

I have posted three images of the board. The first is an identical board that does not work. Next, there is a picture of the cache memory chip. Finally, there is a picture of the clock generator circuit.

I would like to get this board working. Reinstalling Windows did not help.

[Wizard]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

That generator clock IC of this maker logo mark is a problem I had with many different boards that used it. Runs hot (some warmer some hot) than should be and signal and voltage quality fades away.

Better to find a good socket 7 (dual voltage, switching regulators) based on HX chipset someday.

Cheers, Wizard

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I was thinking that was the problem. The computer keeps getting slower every time I use it, and it was doing this before I tried to upgrade the CPU. The extra clock speed of the K6-2 must have stressed the clock generator and caused it to produce a bad clock signal. I can't find any information about the chip, and I don't have the skills to swap the chip with the other board. That chip might be bad on the old board as well.

None of the chips on the board are very warm. The clock generator is only slightly above room temperature.

I would like to know how Compaq managed to run the SiS 5598 chipset on an 83MHz FSB.
There are way too many design flaws on this board, just like everything Compaq makes. I had to modify the board to get sound to come from the built-in amplifier at a reasonable volume. I had to turn all the volume controls in Windows all the way up and put my ear against the speaker to hear anything. Now the amp might be the only properly working portion of the motherboard. If they couldn't get a simple audio amp right, what did they mess up on the rest of the board?

I just need Windows 98 to run old software and support my old Zip drive in case I need to open files from a Zip disk. My second laptop (not the one with the bad hard drive) has Windows 98 on it and has a parallel port, so the Zip drive will work fine on it. It is not fast enough to run some of my games, but if I get a Windows 98 CD I can run those games in VirtualBox on a new computer.

[Agent24]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

If they couldn't get a simple audio amp right, what did they mess up on the rest of the board?

Probably not a design issue, probably just broken like the clock generator.


If you need a new board, you can probably get one on eBay for $1 or for free: just ask someone nicely or check your local freecycle group... in fact you can probably get something even better like a P4 or Atlhon XP for free if you look around.

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

The amp wasn't broken. The board designer left out two resistors and had direct connections instead. After cutting the traces and putting resistors across the cuts, the amp worked properly.

I won't need this computer when I buy a new one that is capable of running VirtualBox properly and find a Windows 98 CD.

[Wizard]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

This SiS on yours chipset were specificed to run up to 83MHz. True on one of ASUS boards with this chipset and were good boards and sold by large numbers but not great on performance-wise but it is enough for public.

If was 386 or 486 Asus boards with 461 or 471 SiS chipsets they were lightning fast. I had a generic board with 460 SiS that was no trouble that took 486 and used a AMD 486DX 40, overclocked to direct 50MHz and STB Tseng ET4000w/p VLB card. Great machine for Doom gaming.

Cheers, Wizard

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I decreased the RAM to 128MB and the POS is faster! I didn't think the performance drop would be big enough to notice. It will probably be slow again the next time I use it, but it is running better today. It can almost keep up with my old Gateway Solo 2500 laptop with a 333MHz PII and the worst video chip I have ever seen.

[pfrcom]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

Now to convince you to download disk diagnostics from the manufacturer of the HDD that's in it, and run their drive verification tool as well

[Agent24]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I'd recommend HDAT2, it runs on all drives and is better than most manufacturer's tools for testing (doesn't ignore SMART errors and actually tells you things, unlike Seatools which will pass a drive as OK even if it has 400 reallocated sectors, because the threshold is 500 for example)

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I should try a diagnostic tool. I would also like a SMART monitor that can run under Windows. This computer has a Seagate hard drive.
I'm downloading HDAT2 now.

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I can't get the computer to boot from an HDAT2 disk. I just get a "Non-system disk or disk error" message.

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

I got HDAT2 to load by booting from a Windows 98 boot disk, replacing the disk with the HDAT2 disk, and then loading HDAT2. What should I look for?

[lti]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

The only test I could find looked for bad sectors and there were none. I have attached the SMART log. The read and seek error rates seem unusually high. Also, there are zero reallocated sectors, but that attribute is listed as "pre-failure."

[Agent24]

Re: Computer is slower after upgrading CPU

It's listed as Pre-failure because it means that the attribute is linked to predicting failures. (high numbers of reallocated sectors means the drive is failing)

Some are linked to old-age, like 'power on hours' etc

Seagates always show apparently high numbers for seek and raw read error rates in raw data, this isn't necessarily a cause for concern.


If you want something that can check SMART within Windows, I suggest Speedfan. It also has an online tool for analyzing your SMART logs, which can probably interpret them better than I can, especially the error rate values.

All up though, at least going by SMART, your drive seems pretty good...

Is DMA enabled for your HDD in Windows and BIOS?