Switching CPU's?

estrides

estrides

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Okay, I originally had a AMD AThlon XP 2200+(1.8ghz) in my HP desktop. I ended up never using the computer and it just sat there. Then I bought anew Emachines with a AMD Athlon XP 2800+(2.2ghz) Which I used until yesterday. I dont want the emachines anymore but I want to take the processor out of it and put it into my HP.


Do I need anything specail to do it, or will it just....work?

Thanks,
Estrides
 
It should just work if the pin numbers are the same. Some people say reformatting Windows is a necessity, but it's not.
 
Okay I switched them and turned on the PC but when I right click on My Computer and then click PRoperties, it says "Unknown CPU type." It also doesnt show the right speed.

But the CPU does start up and everything works. If the information is just showing up wrong but it actually works, I really dont care if there isnt an answer.
 
Make sure that your motherboard supports the cpu you put in there. It might only support the Athlon XP series up to 2500+ or something. You might need to upgrade your BIOS.
 
estrides said:
Okay, I originally had a AMD AThlon XP 2200+(1.8ghz) in my HP desktop. I ended up never using the computer and it just sat there. Then I bought anew Emachines with a AMD Athlon XP 2800+(2.2ghz) Which I used until yesterday. I dont want the emachines anymore but I want to take the processor out of it and put it into my HP.


Do I need anything specail to do it, or will it just....work?

Thanks,
Estrides
Click to expand...

Good idea in saving the CPU. Never know when it'll come in handy. As for saving them (taking them out of your mobo) thats a very easy thing to do. Also pay attention to what The Brick said. You can find out that info in your mobo's manual or online.

1)Turn off your PC & unplug the power cord from your tower & all other cords & connections.

2)Be sure that you ground yourself before you touch anything inside your PC. Static electricity can fry your PC in an instant. Touch anything thats metal, like the legs of your chair.

3)Remove your towers cover

4)First unplug the CPU fans power cord from the motherboard & remove your CPU's FAN. It might be held on with small screws in each corner or it might be a clip on type. Some fans come as a part of the heatsink & therefor cannot be removed. check to see if this is that kind. Be VERY careful. Next remove the heatsink from the top of your CPU. This will most likely be held on with 2 clips on each side of the heatsink or one going down through the middle as is the case with older AMD setups. Some heatsinks are held on with a bracket thats screwed into your mobo. Some heatsink & fans come "Glued to your CPU so look first & DO NOT force anything. I know you know this, but I still have to say it.

5)Once you have BOTH your heatsink & Fan removed, get a clean paper towel, piece of toilet paper or even a Q-tip & remove any & all thermal grease thats on top of your CPU. Be sure that you get it all. You can use the Q-tip to get along the edges. NO LIQUID. The thermal grease might be white or silver/grey in color.

6)After you have it cleaned. Then on the side of where the CPU is mounted, there should be a small chrome or plastic lever. Pop the lever up & this will release your CPU from your motherboard. Now gently remove the CPU & place it off to the side. The pins on the back side of your CPU are VERY EASY TO BEND & YOU MUST NOT DO THAT!!!

Make sure that you have a safe place to store the CPU until the next time you use it.

I Hope the above helps. I know it's basic but again, I don't know your level of tech-know-how. If need be, I can go more into detail if needed.

-MRG
 
Okay, so I did everything adn it's in. How do I change my BIOS.

I'm not a genius with tech stuff, but I do have some knowledge. Yet, Ive never modified a BIOS.
 
First check the manual of the mainboard (or the site of the manufacturer) if the cpu is supported.
 
estrides said:
Okay, so I did everything adn it's in. How do I change my BIOS.

I'm not a genius with tech stuff, but I do have some knowledge. Yet, Ive never modified a BIOS.
Click to expand...

Damn, I just saw that I didn't read your original post fully. I somehow missed the part where you were going to re-install it into your other mobo. I had more steps to follow, but it looks like you did just fine. As for changing your Bios, you don't need to do anything right now unless you want to overclock or underclock. If you havn't so far made any changes, then there is no need to go into the Bios, providing the PC with the new CPU started up ok.

1)Install the new CPU & once your sure it's in place (You'll know) then gently pull back down that lever on the side of where you placed the CPU. This will lock it in place. Once you have done this apply the thermal grease that came with your CPU. It should be in a small tube. Dab a bit onto the CPU & be sure you cover the entire surface of the new CPU with a very, very thin layer. You do not need to gob it on, but have a good covering. In the event there is not a tube of the thermal grease, check under the heatsink that came with your CPU. Sometimes it is already applied. (Unless you removed the heatsink from another PC. In which case you'll need to clean the heatsink off of old thermal paste) If there is NO thermal grease at all, STOP & go buy some. You HAVE to have the thermal grease. Don't apply it & your CPU's warranty will be void, not to mention your CPU having a very high chance of frying within minutes of startup. In the event you need to buy some, it's very cheap. Like $1.50 a tube. (The really good stuff like Artic Silver & Artic Copper cost more but are alot better overall to transfer heat.)

2)Once you have the thermal grease on, gently place the NEW heatsink over the CPU & secure it down. Reverse the steps you took to take it off. Snug it down, but do NOT over tighten the screws/retainer clips (if there are any) After it is secured, install the CPU fan & plug it into your motherboard. Forget to plug in the fan & your CPU will fry in about 2 seconds flat, if it's an AMD CPU & i'm NOT KIDDING. So pay attention. I fried my first AMD CPU years back because I rushed & forgot to install the power for the fan.

3)Keep the tower cover off & reattach the power cable & other cords to the back of your tower. Soon as your PC boots up, allow it to boot to Windows. WATCH EVERY SCREEN!!! Newer mobo's automatically detect a new CPU & auto configures it. Your PC should either display Athlon XP XXXX or Pentium 4 CPU Detected, (Each mobo will have a different message. Some mobo's will actually "Talk" to you & can tell you whats wrong. My brother inlaw just got a new P4 mobo that "Told" him his new 3.06ghz CPU was bad.) it'll tell you the speed. Like "AMD Athlon XP @ x.xxghz" or Pentium 4 @ x.xxghz Watch what it says & then go from there. If it does NOT auto detect, then you'll have to go into your Bios & manualy set your jumpers. If we have to go into the bios & change your settings, that could take some time. If you have questions, please post here.

Hope this helps.

-MRG
 
YEah it just says Unknown CPU. How do I change my BIOS?
 
estrides said:
YEah it just says Unknown CPU. How do I change my BIOS?
Click to expand...

Does your PC fully boot up to windows?

If so, then everything is fine. Some mobo's will give you that "Unknown CPU" message, but it's still fully functional. To have your mobo correctly list the CPU, you'll want to update the mobo's Bios. To do this, you'll want to go to the manufacturers website and download the software to flash the Bios. This is a very easy step with some mobo's & with others it's a total pain in the ass.

Give me the exact model number of the HP PC you have and i'll look into it for you and find if there is a new Bios available.

I'll be back in 15 mins. Need to take my daughter to school.

-MRG
 
Ok, provided you gave me the correct info, (Just covering my own ass because if you didn't & you flash the Bios with the wrong Bios, that will be bad.)

Here is the direct link to the Bios page for the FIC AM35 mobo.
http://www.fic.com.tw/support/motherboard/bios.aspx?model_id=44

Bios Update Procedure
http://www.fic.com.tw/support/motherboard/doc/procedure.aspx

Now, it would appear that there are only 2 Bios updates for your mobo. From what I could find, neither list a change to correctly lable a CPU. Your mobo might support the CPU you put in it, but when it was originally manufactured, the Bios was programmed to only notice certin AMD CPU's. Say from the 1400+ up to the 2200+. While i'm not 100% sure this is the case, it is a possibility.

Either way ,it won't hurt to update your Bios. Follow every step exactly as it is described. Now if everything else works ok & all that is missing is the CPU's name being correctly displayed, you might just want to not even worry about flashing the Bios. It's your call.

Also, did you apply the thermal paste to the new CPU like I mentioned & clean off the old paste from the Heatsink? You can't forget that step. Do not reuse any thermal paste because you don't have any.

-MRG
 
well if its okay I wont update my BIOS. since two people including you have already told me that updating my BIOS might not do anything.

Is it still running at 2.25ghz? even though it says like 1.66ghz? or is the motherboard limiting the CPU?
 
estrides said:
well if its okay I wont update my BIOS. since two people including you have already told me that updating my BIOS might not do anything.

Is it still running at 2.25ghz? even though it says like 1.66ghz? or is the motherboard limiting the CPU?
Click to expand...

If it says it is running at 1.66GHz, then thats the speed it's running at. You'll need to go into the Bios to change the CPU's settings/Jumpers so that it'll run at it's original 2.2GHz. The mobo very well could be limiting the CPU because it does not support past a certin speed as well as it can't read the CPU model # & so it won't auto set the Bios for you & so it's defaulting to a speed less than the new CPU runs at.

To change the settings, is easy, simply get out the manual for the mobo and it'll tell you the setting/jumpers you need to look out for. Each mobo is different, so I can't tell you off the top of my head which settings to change. Do you have the manual?

Link to download manual & CPU Compatability Listing.
http://www.fic.com.tw/support/motherboard/document.aspx?model_id=44

From reading the Compatability chart, I read that the fastest CPU your mobo can detect is the AthlonXP 2100+. You'll need to change the CPU setting in the Bios. As far as the mobo will be concerned, you'll be "Overclocking" your CPU, even though it is infact clocked at a Stock speed higher than what your mobo detects.

I'm reading your mobo's manual now.. i'll post the page to read once I find it.

-MRG

Update:

1)Ok, on Page 1-7 Chapter 1 Overview, it lists key commands to enter in custom clock speeds. To change the clock speed (Overclock the CPU back up to the 2.2GHz setting) Press "Crtl+C" soon as the PC starts to post. (Boot)
2)On Page 2-3, is covers how to clear the CMOS. Do this if you make a change on #1 and your PC won't boot or freezes. Clearing the CMOS will set all the settings on your mobo back to the factory default. (NOT the CPU's default, so clearing the CMOS won't magically make the CPU run @ 2.2GHz. You need to edit #1 for that to happen.)
3)On page 2-6, it tells you how to change the FSB. Depending on your system, you may or may not need to do this. Keep in mind, that the Speed of your RAM, can also hold you back. So even though your other PC ran at 2.2GHz and the RAM worked fine, it was set to the correct jumper. Changeing the settings in the Bios, might make your RAM run faster than it can support and so your PC won't boot. You *might* not be able to overclock the CPU back up to 2.2GHz.
4)On Page 3-1 is goes into detail about what each section in the Bios covers. Read this section fully.
5)On page 3-22 you have access to the CPU Clock settigns.

Read the manual and perform each step one at a time. RETEST/REBOOT your PC after EVERY small change. IT might take awhile, but you'll soon get the hang of things.

Let us know how it goes.

-MRG
 
The manual states that your motherboard supports Athlon XP cpus up to 2100+.

edit: what MRG said
 
Every time you change hardware like CPU, you must reset CMOS after CPU installation; Turn-off PC, Switch CMOS jumper (Consult MB Manual for how to move jumper), turn-on PC, Turn-OFF PC, move back jumper and turn on PC.
Or turn-off PC and simply remove CMOS battery for few minutes, put back battery and turn-on PC.
New CPU must be the same socket as the old CPU, align the arrow (Pointer) on top of the CPU to the one on the socket, Sit CPU on top of socket, aligned with socket ping-holes, and gently push down CPU into socket, inserting CPU into socket with with your little pinkie finger (Almost zero force insertion mode) apply thermal, put HSF back on CPU.
If its necessary update BIOS.

Good Luck.
 
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