D5400XS aka "Skulltrail" and Dual Xeon E5450 - Windows 10 x64 Pro (NO Support)

[Zkywalker]

Ok, my question is: although this setup is quite old, it is still a monster PC and according to all research, indicators and specifications, the MB and CPU both supports:
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) capability,
These are needed to run Windows 10, I don't know why I still get the "CPU not Supported message"
Can any off you 'gurus' enlighten me or is it just dead to Windows Pro 10 x64?
The MB BIOS is upgraded to the newest available:
New Fixes/Features:
• Added support for EIST.
• Added support for VT Technology.
• Added support for Intel® VT for Directed I/O (VT-d).
(which I cant find on/off in the BIOS)
I get Conflicting info on the Intel Site with their CPU Identification Tool.
Is there a generic BIOS that I can flash the BIOS with that will allow the CPU features to be enabled?

PS: IS there anybody else running the same setup on Windows 10 X64, or am I the only one that can't afford a new PC?
MB = Intel D5400XS
CPU = 2x Xeon E5450

 

[JeffMD]

I see that you attempted a lot of things from another forum. How about using the media creation tool to do the update? You can even use the "save nothing" method to do the upgrade process but still get a clean install.

 

[daveybrat]

Maybe it's because the dual cpu's are confusing Windows 10. Have you tried removing a processor and trying to install 10 that way?

 

[Ketchup]

You can use a tool like Hardinfo,
http://sourceforge.net/projects/hardinfo.berlios/

And make sure your board acknowledges that your CPU is supporting PAE, NX, and SSE2.

And if you are trying to install the 64-bit version, you may also want to make sure CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF support is acknowledged.

Edit: you can also use CPU-Z, and make sure it shows SSE2, EM64T, and either VT-d or VT-x.

More info available here:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-will-your-pc-run-it/

 

[Steltek]

Probably a stupid question, but are the virtualization options for VT-d and VT-x available in the BIOS and turned on?

I vaguely recall messing with a couple of those boards years ago building some workstations for a company under a contract and had all kinds of issues getting virtualization activated.

The intial BIOSes didn't support VT, but later ones eventually did. And even when the BIOSes were updated to later revisions that did support VT, I found that when running the same BIOS and CPU, some boards would show the virtualization options in the BIOS setup, while others wouldn't. Intel support was absolutely no help resolving the problem. In the end I gave up, shipped the boards back, and went with something else because I simply didn't have the time or energy to do Intel's job for them.

In addition to ketchup's recommendation, you might also try running the Windows 8.1 upgrade advisor to see what it tells you. If the system will run 8.1, it should run 10.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, have you tried making a Win10 upgrade CD?

 

[Zkywalker]

Thanks for all the input. But as my post indicated the BOARD and CPU spec should be fine, but the BIOS is not allowing me to enable VT because the feature is missing, although it should be there. I have a Win10 Upgrade USB in hand, but is a bit reluctant, what if I stuff up a working PC? The spec sheets shows compliance but the CPU-Z & Intel Hardware Info utilities does not...
Trying to run "HardInfo" app suggested, but don't know how... no help file there.
How Do I add "screenshots" ?

 

[Ketchup]

I use http://postimage.org/ for sharing an image on the forums.

Unfortunately, the board can SHOULD all day long. I am seeing the same as you, that should should support vt-d.

Edit: see post 10.

 

[Zkywalker]

I use http://postimage.org/ for sharing an image on the forums.

Unfortunately, the board can SHOULD all day long. I am seeing the same as you, that should should support vt-d.

Edit: posted too quickly. The Xeon E5450 does NOT support vt-d. That is why your board isn't letting you enable this.
http://ark.intel.com/products/50321/Intel-Desktop-Board-D5400XS

PRODUCTS: D5400XS (Standard BIOS) Update from 1140:
New Fixes/Features:
• Added support for EIST.
• Added support for VT Technology.
• Added support for Intel® VT for Directed I/O (VT-d).

As per my first post... Dig deeper...

 

[Ketchup]

PRODUCTS: D5400XS (Standard BIOS) Update from 1140:
New Fixes/Features:
• Added support for EIST.
• Added support for VT Technology.
• Added support for Intel® VT for Directed I/O (VT-d).

As per my first post... Dig deeper...

Apologies, posted the wrong link. I blame Google, lol. Yes, I can see that both now support this feature (even though Intel hasn't updated their data.)

Personally, I would contact Intel, as VT-d should be able to be enabled, regardless of whether or not it fixes your Windows 10 issue.

 

[Zkywalker]

I tried contacting Intel, not interested to help, because the board is out of support, was told to get new hardware, ff...n cheek!! Does anyone know if there is a generic BIOS for this board or where I can find something like that?

 

[XavierMace]

I see other people with dual Xeon builds reporting having to disable the second CPU to get it to upgrade.

 

[redzo]

Zkywalker, the xeon eE5450 does not support vt-d!
http://ark.intel.com/products/33083/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5450-12M-Cache-3_00-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB
The Xeon E5450 only supports vt-x, and even worse, it is vt-x without EPT/SLAT.

Intel probably added vt-d support to the mainboard's BIOS, but it is also mandatory for the CPU. It the CPU does not support vt-d, it will not work no matter if the mainboard supports it.

You need to make sure that only vt-x is enabled. But that EPT/SLAT adittion to vt-x leaves a little question mark as your CPU does not implement it. I can't find anything related to if EPT/SLAT is mandatory for win10.
I know that they are a requirement only for the hyper-v win10 role/feature. You'll not be able to run/enable win10 hyper-v due to the lack of SLAT(Second Level Address Translation) CPU support.

 

[mattauckland]

Hello everyone!

I've just registered here just so I can answer Zkywalker's question, after spotting it in a Google search.

As a Skulltrail owner since 2008 (£5k to build mine...what was I thinking!), I can tell you that YES, Windows 10 64bit runs on the Intel Skulltrail rig.

So you can have peace of mind, my original spec was identical to the Intel demo model from back then, but currently my rig consists of:-

2 x Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 Processors
Intel Skulltrail DX5400XS
8GB FBDIMMs
Nvidia GTX 660 (Previous had 2 x GTX 280's in SLI, but they bit the dust over the years)
Seagate SHDD 1TB drive (hybrid SSD/HDD drive, replaced the WD VelociRaptors I had)
2 x Western Digital 1TB Greens
M-Audio Delta 44 (I work on radio among other things, so pro audio only for me!)
LG Blu-ray Rewriter
Cosmos S full tower case
OCZ 1.5Kw PSU (Yes that is right). 3rd since building the rig. They keep wearing out!
7 x 12cm Fans (way too many!) plus others.

I upgraded from Windows 7 Ultimate (I got a freebie of 7 because I beta tested it in the day), and ran fine.

BUT, and here's the one issue I had, the LAN driver works, but Windows kept saying there was no internet connection, even though I was surfin (old skool term) the internet.

I tried several drives, but no solution on that issue. So if you are going to upgrade, I would consider the possibility of installing a newer PCI or PCI-E LAN card to work around the problem.

Hope that helps!

 

[ArisVer]

I have an HP xw6600 which has one E5450 in it. I tested the RTM release of Windows 10 and it runned without problems.

And redzo is correct.

The Xeon E5450 only supports vt-x....

 

[Zkywalker]

Thanks to all for your gr8 input. So maybe I will try the install and see how it goes. I will report back. I have created a bootable USB and will try and upgrade from that... if it lets me. TA!

 

[Polarblair]

So how did it go? Don't want to necro an old post but as I find myself in the same situation, I'm curious to see if you're running into some of the same problems I am.
Did a fresh install of windows 10 Pro on a new SSD.

My Spec:

Skulltrail board
Dual Core 2 Extreme QX9775 (x2) cooling - Zalman CNPS9000 series heatsink fans
Asus GTX 970 strix
Samsung Evo 850 250GB SSD
2GB Corsair DDR2 667MHz (8GB total)

Initially tried installing 10 Home but it refused to utilize the second CPU (despite being visible in the BIOS and in device manager. Installing 10 Pro made it usable however I'm still seeing a substantial drop in performance. (All drivers were updated and installed from intel)

Firestrike results while running in Vista with processors overclocked to 4GHz were around the 8600 mark. On windows 10? More like 6500.

Noticed that when overclocked to 4GHz task manager indicated that only 4 or 5 of the 8 cores were ever being used. Clock back down to 3.6GHz - all cores back on line. Did my stress testing with both Prime 95 as well as kerkythea (render engine) to load the cores.

Now my knowledge is basic and I'm now at the point of trying anything. Some people were suggesting unparking cores, tried this method:

http://www.coderbag.com/programming-c/disable-cpu-core-parking-utility

But to no avail - upon reboot I was only showing a single core so only a quarter of ONE CPU being used.

Looking for any advice. 4GHz overclock was stable running vista and was being recognised and fully utilised. On windows 10 - massive throttling. Should also note that no excess heat was being generated at any point. CPU fans happily spinning up when required but no more than usual (this was my render engine so used to letting it run for days even weeks at full load)

Really would like to breathe some life into this old system. Have a friend who may be upgrading his card soon so there will be another 970gtx going spare for some SLI action

Sorry for the essay - also up for upgrading other components like RAM and cooling - open to suggestions. Thanks for reading.

 

[MongGrel]

I remember looking at Skulltrails long ago and drooling, the Classified SR2 dual CPU kinda took that slot I think and they are really long in the tooth I would think.

Someone grabbed a SR2 out from me on a sale once elsewhere, and I really haven't bothered looking much these days.

Skulltrails are just old these days I guess, but you know that.

 

[mattauckland]

Dang, that's an old thread.

Well I popped and SSD in it, replaced the M-Audio Delta 44 with a PCI-Express sound card, and chucked in a really cheap LAN card and yeah, had no problems.

Windows 10 runs fine, it was just the LAN adaptor causing issues.

I have actually since given it to my younger brother and built a new i5 Skylake system, matter of fact the moment Skylake came out I did that. But if I'm honest, I kinda miss the Skulltrail. It just had more brute CPU power.

I mean chuck a 1070 in that sucker, and it'll keep up with the best of them.

But there we go, my younger brother got a dam good machine for nothing. I'm just that nice I guess.

Well I hope that answers your question.

 

[Polarblair]

Dang, that's an old thread.

Well I popped and SSD in it, replaced the M-Audio Delta 44 with a PCI-Express sound card, and chucked in a really cheap LAN card and yeah, had no problems.

Windows 10 runs fine, it was just the LAN adaptor causing issues.

I have actually since given it to my younger brother and built a new i5 Skylake system, matter of fact the moment Skylake came out I did that. But if I'm honest, I kinda miss the Skulltrail. It just had more brute CPU power.

I mean chuck a 1070 in that sucker, and it'll keep up with the best of them.

But there we go, my younger brother got a dam good machine for nothing. I'm just that nice I guess.

Well I hope that answers your question.

Did you ever play around with overclocking? Its just seems strange that windows 10 is not making full use of both CPUs.
Have since tried runnig Aida64 as some people were reporting Prime95 stability issues in windows 10.

Aida 64 would happily run with the system overclocked to 3.6GHz but would only run the test with a 4.0GHz overclock when only the CPU box was checked. As soon as I ran the test with CPU and FPU, the test stopped with a hardware failure warning. In both instances, the fan CPU fans didnt even spin up ( I have just completely cleaned both heatsinks with alcohol and re-done thermal paste)

Must be my settings - if I can I would love to try to push this thing past 4GHz as my temps were sitting stable at around 60 degrees (or so Aida64 says anyway)

Have a FLIR unit I will be using to check for hotspots tonight if anyone is interested in seeing the images from that

 

[mattauckland]

I have previously overclocked to 4Ghz per core, and that was stable, if not a little on the warm side.

But, I ran my rig stock by the time Windows 10 was installed, and I know that all 8 cores where running under Windows 10 as with Windows 7 previously.

So it seems unusual that it would fail at 3.6Ghz. But, that being said I know Windows 10 is just a little buggy, and as an I.T Consultant I've had numerous reports of strange Windows 10 behaviour.

Which is why I don't run it myself, I stuck with Windows 7, even on my new Skylake rig.

 

[xbrun]

I know this might be a long shot to get windows 10 working on the d5400xs but i recently came in to possession of SKULLTRAIL and i was wondering if lga 771 processor can be fut in to 775 socket with minor modifications could the opposite be done with lets say a qx9770 the lga 775 version of the qx 9775, this processor less rare and less expensive than the qx9775, i wonder if it could also trick the bios in to thinking its a qx775 and unlock the bios options to run windows 10.

My Specs
Board 5400xs
CPU: 2 xeon e5420
PSU: Thermaltake 850 smart-m PSU
GPU: Ge force GT530 (my rx470 is having a 2020 temper tantrum)

 

[red-ray]

I know this might be a long shot to get windows 10 working on the d5400xs

I too just got a D5400XS and Windows 10 worked with no real issues on my system with has 2 x Intel Xeon X5460 (Harpertown) 3.16GHz CPUs and the XS54010J.86A.1353.2009.0724.1139 07/24/2009 BIOS