Phenom II 555 BE core unlock enabled - windows fails to boot

[Krashnburn]

Hi
I am not sure if this is the place to post this. Please move topic if its not.

I have this Phenom II X2 555 BE plugged into an Asus M4A89GTD Pro. Running Windows 7 64bit.

Strange issue - I tried unlocking the cores however Windows failed to boot although BIOS shows the processor as a Phenom II X4 B55. Tried increasing the CPU Vcore voltage in small increments upto 1.325 (Bios showed it was running at ~1.28.) Nada - Windows was stubborn and refused to boot.

So I sulked that I had gotten one of those with 1 or 2 defective cores and hence reverted the settings to default except that Core unlock was left enabled but had locked all the additional cores. Even though the "defective" cores were locked, Windows failed to boot till I disabled Core unlocking.

So is this normal? Or is there something I am missing? Or is windows just toying with my head?

 

[busydude]

So is this normal? Or is there something I am missing? Or is windows just toying with my head?

Do you realize that a X2 555 is a dual core CPU...right?

 

[xd_1771]

The CPU can take much more than 1.325. I'd raise it until hitting around 1.45 before calling it quits. You may have also disabled (through the BIOS) the cores that weren't actually defective.
busydude: Be sure to google about unlocking AM3 Phenom II x2 and x3 processors, if you don't know what the OP means.

 

[Krashnburn]

Do you realize that a X2 555 is a dual core CPU...right?

... which can/may be unlocked to X3 or X4 depending on how lucky you get which depends on the batch number buddy. Hey for all you know, your just might unlock. Read it up its good fun... especially if it works.

The CPU can take much more than 1.325. I'd raise it until hitting around 1.45 before calling it quits. You may have also disabled (through the BIOS) the cores that were actually defective.
busydude: Be sure to google about unlocking AM3 Phenom II x2 and x3 processors, if you don't know what the OP means.

Thanks buddy. Will try pushing the voltage a bit more and see however since I am very new to this, I am sure you understand my paranoia
However the question thats racking my brains why would Windows fail to load even though only 2 good cores were active !!! Just because "Core unlock" was enabled?? That makes me feel there is something else to it.

 

[justinm]

When I unlocked my X3 710, I had it running at 1.4v @ 3.2GHz for the hell of it. Ran a little hot but nothing to serious.

 

[Krashnburn]

I am hoping this wouldn't turn into a temp / voltage related topic. Hoping someone would have a suggestion about why Windows failed to boot with Core Unlocking enabled. That kinda beats logic unless there is a specific reason.

@Justin: I have a CM N520 sitting atop my processor in push pull config and 2 exhaust fans at the rear end. So its not the temp that I am concerned about in all honesty unless I volt it high.

But yes these volt suggestions will help me eventually when I OC the sucker

 

[busydude]

busydude: Be sure to google about unlocking AM3 Phenom II x2 and x3 processors, if you don't know what the OP means.

Looks at my sig!!.. sigh

... which can/may be unlocked to X3 or X4 depending on how lucky you get which depends on the batch number buddy. Hey for all you know, your just might unlock. Read it up its good fun... especially if it works.

Been there, done that.

However the question thats racking my brains why would Windows fail to load even though only 2 good cores were active !!! Just because "Core unlock" was enabled??

That is because both your disabled cores are defective. If you enable core unlock, it will unlock those cores and if both are defective.. you get a crash.

 

[Krashnburn]

Do you realize that a X2 555 is a dual core CPU...right?

If you have been there and done that then this question was rhetoric.

I am not sure about your mobo BIOS options, mine allows me to choose which of the cores I want to unlock. Now if I leave Core unlock "Enabled" it fails to boot even if I lock 2 cores and leave 2 unlocked. Only boots if this option is disabled and FYI just because I leave it enabled does not mean it will try booting with all 4 cores pumping.

But this discussion leads me to believe - may be the 2 cores (3rd and 4th) I leave locked aren't really the defective cores. It could be a combination of 2nd and 3rd or 2nd and 4th. If that turns out right, then I can rest assured that the two locked cores are defective (I can unlock up to the 6th core theoretically from the options my BIOS offers)

Too tired to try this out. Will post results later. Thanks for all the help

 

[Krashnburn]

Well cudnt sleep over it already.

Disabled the 2nd core in the list. Enabled 3rd and booted to Windows - Success
Kept 2nd disabled, 3rd enabled and this time enabled 4th and booted - Success

So guess who the villain was. Will make this fella run some endurance tests later. Time to sleep now. Hopefully I can say "3 out of 4 aint bad at all" after I run the tests. Hope this info helps other users.

 

[richierich1212]

too bad you couldn't get all four.

 

[busydude]

If you have been there and done that then this question was rhetoric.

The way I understood the OP made me ask you that question. I thought you were disappointed that you could not unlock cores.... there is a reason AMD locks these cores.

Its good that you could unlock an extra core. Ciao.

 

[Krashnburn]

No buddy I was fully aware that its just a chance that I might be able to unlock. I also realise why some of the cores are locked and sold as X2s. Now we both know there are many ppl out there who got the quad unlock and a stable OC as well. What was getting to me was the no boot situation with the unlock option enabled without the extra cores being unlocked.

Well thanks again to all the suggestions nevertheless.

 

[Domino584]

If you have been there and done that then this question was rhetoric.

I am not sure about your mobo BIOS options, mine allows me to choose which of the cores I want to unlock. Now if I leave Core unlock "Enabled" it fails to boot even if I lock 2 cores and leave 2 unlocked. Only boots if this option is disabled and FYI just because I leave it enabled does not mean it will try booting with all 4 cores pumping.

But this discussion leads me to believe - may be the 2 cores (3rd and 4th) I leave locked aren't really the defective cores. It could be a combination of 2nd and 3rd or 2nd and 4th. If that turns out right, then I can rest assured that the two locked cores are defective (I can unlock up to the 6th core theoretically from the options my BIOS offers)

Too tired to try this out. Will post results later. Thanks for all the help

I am having the exact same problem. Exact same mobo and processor as well. But! I disable all but the first core and it still won't boot!

You disabled the second core and had the 3rd only enabled. I'll try that and see if I can boot. But like I said, I can't even run 1 core enabled with the core unlocker enabled. However, I can run 1 core enabled with core unlocker disabled.

What bios version you have?

edit:alright still doens't work.

 

[Krashnburn]

Tragic !!! Hey try this. First reset all BIOS settings by resetting CMOS. use the jumper. If you need help with that, let me know.
After that try enabling just the first core with Core unlocker enabled and try booting. This should work since it worked fine the last time.
Step 1: Post that try enabling 1st and 4th cores.
Step 2: If that boots, try 2 and 3 as well with 1 and 4 enabled.
Step 3: If step 1 fails, try enabling 1 and 3 or 1 and 2.

If Step 2 and Step 3 fail then may be you have 2 entirely dysfunctional cores. I have been advised to try pushing the voltage upto 1.4v easily however in my opinion this board can push that up by itself as long as vcore is set to auto. Hence if it doesnt work - blah, we are just short of luck.
The contradicting advise which also sounds logical is - pushing the vcore up on a procy with dysfunctional cores could heat up the working cores if cooling is not good. So watch out for that if you plan to bump the voltages.

PS: I am at work and hence dont have the BIOS version at hand. If you can post yours I might be able to say if it vaguely matches with mine or not.

 

[Domino584]

Tragic !!! Hey try this. First reset all BIOS settings by resetting CMOS. use the jumper. If you need help with that, let me know.
After that try enabling just the first core with Core unlocker enabled and try booting. This should work since it worked fine the last time.
Step 1: Post that try enabling 1st and 4th cores.
Step 2: If that boots, try 2 and 3 as well with 1 and 4 enabled.
Step 3: If step 1 fails, try enabling 1 and 3 or 1 and 2.

If Step 2 and Step 3 fail then may be you have 2 entirely dysfunctional cores. I have been advised to try pushing the voltage upto 1.4v easily however in my opinion this board can push that up by itself as long as vcore is set to auto. Hence if it doesnt work - blah, we are just short of luck.
The contradicting advise which also sounds logical is - pushing the vcore up on a procy with dysfunctional cores could heat up the working cores if cooling is not good. So watch out for that if you plan to bump the voltages.

PS: I am at work and hence dont have the BIOS version at hand. If you can post yours I might be able to say if it vaguely matches with mine or not.

hehe, ya, tried that! Still no luck! :'(

It is like the 1st core is unstable and cores 2-3-4 are!/!?!?!? When i disable all 3 cores it doesn't boot. When asus core unlocker is disabled i can run it with 2 or 1 cores?!

i ahve teh latest. tried on 1456 and 1606.

 

[Krashnburn]

When core unlock is disabled are you able to run it with 1 and 2 enabled exclusively (as a single core procy) !??

And I think my bios is 1606.

 

[Dekasa]

If it lets you disable/enable each core individually, try to start up with just one at a time, starting with core 1, if it works core 1 is probably good. Do the same for cores 2-4, keeping track of which ones worked and which didn't. Once you know all of them that work (should be 2+) enable those, and see if it works. If it didn't work with 3 enabled, try to boot with just 2, and alternate which one is off until it works. If you can't get it, just reset your CMOS and it should automatically figure out which 2 are the good ones and just stick with your dual.

 

[Krashnburn]

The problem is that we arent sure how the BIOS picks the good cores when Core unlocker is disabled. If its disabled it lists up to 5 cores to unlock under Core Selection. Ofcourse only 3 more can be unlocked theoretically on this processor.

The cores are listed as [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. Now the catch is we dont know (again!!) if the cores are listed the same way they are chosen initially before unlocking them.

For Eg:
The following would be ideal
Core unlock disabled:- cores active 2 (cores marked with * are working ones)
[1*] [2*]
[3] [4]

Manually select cores enabled:
Cores displayed:
[2]

It would be a catch if the following happened
Core unlock disabled:- cores active 2 (cores marked with * are working ones)
[1] [2*]
[3*] [4]

Manually select cores enabled:
Cores displayed:
[2] or may be [3]
- this situation depends completely on whether it considers the first working core as 1 or phyical core as 1.

Confusing?? I hope not. I can't attach pics yet I think, else would have given a graphic illurtration.

 

[Dekasa]

But there's almost no way it re-arranges which core is which (ie the core is shows as core 2 is ALWAYS the same core), if you went through my method, it should almost certainly figure out which ones work.

 

[Krashnburn]

yep thats true two counts. In fact i used that method to eliminate my processor's defective cores. The only problem is if the first core is faulty but the board picks the 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th or 2nd and 4th cores to run in Non core unlocked mode. In this case there is no way to disable this first defective core which never shows up.

 

[Gunnygzuz]

Had this problem as well, simple fix.

ENABLE Core Unlocker, but set it to manual.

My 2nd core is defective, won't work.. But I have 4.42GHz Triple Core running on cores 1, 3 and 4, with DDR3 1600 7-8-7-21, 1T, Bank Cycle: 21.. With the 2nd Core I couldn't boot at all even on lowest settings, but since I disabled it I've got a serious air OC going.

So it's probably got nothing to do with voltages at all, just manually select the cores to activate and deactivate. Likely it's core 2 (aka 1 in BIOS)

--Only just realized this is a dead topic.. Oh well.

 

[Krashnburn]

^ Hey I had almost completely forgotten about this thread.

Update is that I managed to run 3 cores OC'd to 3.6Ghz steady. one core, like you mentioned seems defective. Now HOW IN HELL did you manage to get to 4.42G on air? what heatsink are you using?

What would be a safe limit for a Hyper 212+? I was using a CM 520N cooler which is long gone. Could you post your temperatures / CPU-Z shot / HW monitor shot or something that would be of help?

 

[chetansha]

Hi Guys
I am facing a similar problem, I have this Asus Board m4a89gtdpro and AMD 960T zosma core CPU, The bios would unlock all the CPU ( manual and auto too), but will not boot into windows, nor will it allow me to install a fresh copy of windows.
PC starts up fine, then it hangs at the windows image ( 4 colored thing).
On this very board I installed a 840T, which i could unlock cores 1 2 3 4 and 6. the 5th core would not go on at all.
Any ideas what to do next

 

[soccerballtux]

The CPU can take much more than 1.325. I'd raise it until hitting around 1.45 before calling it quits. You may have also disabled (through the BIOS) the cores that weren't actually defective.
busydude: Be sure to google about unlocking AM3 Phenom II x2 and x3 processors, if you don't know what the OP means.

I've never seen this work. Has anyone? people always recommend cranking the vcore but in all the unlock attempts it's never helped anyone. That I've seen.

 

[soccerballtux]

... which can/may be unlocked to X3 or X4 depending on how lucky you get which depends on the batch number buddy. Hey for all you know, your just might unlock. Read it up its good fun... especially if it works.



Thanks buddy. Will try pushing the voltage a bit more and see however since I am very new to this, I am sure you understand my paranoia
However the question thats racking my brains why would Windows fail to load even though only 2 good cores were active !!! Just because "Core unlock" was enabled?? That makes me feel there is something else to it.

this indeed is odd. I don't understand why it would act like this.