Weird Science on Duron 600

[skylark]

Ok.
my setup is like this:

duron 600 (bought off anand member, says it can go up to 980)
msi k7t pro2a (latest bios, b16)
micron 256mb pc133 cas3

maxtor 13gig ata33 (but using the ata100 cable)
using integrated onboard sound ac97

So the story is, im really getting perturbed about the OC on the duron. I cant get any consistency. I was able to oc to 800+ once. i tried pushing it higher than (cant remember exactly) 102x8.0. it failed at 8.5 at default clock (100).

I tried going lower this time than 800mhz.. it aint working. I can barely get it to work at 700mhz. it seems almost everytime i tried tinkering to the boost the cpu speed up, it locks up at "bios decompressing to RAM" phase - i dont see anything on my monitor - just a big blank screen.

its like this:

set to 700, reboot
fails.
set to 600, reboot
works.
set to 700, reboot
fails.
reboot, no settings changed
700 setting, it boots??!! (WTF??!!)
reboot.
set to 707, reboot
fails.
reboot, no settings changed
707 boots??!! (WTF?!)

* note: on reboots, i have to turn the power switch off of the PSU. B4 i had to switch the CMOS jumper first, now i dont bother cuz its faster. but the funny thing is, it boots at 600, when i go to cmos setup, the settings are still at previous failed boot up??!!

anyways.. Then I tried higher multipliers than 8.5.. it works but boots lower than 600mhz??!!

jeez.. this is just too much hassle, i should have stuck with an intel setup.. this is ridiculous.. unless some other component is affecting its OC ability..

does anyone have cllue what im talking about?

right now.. its:
707mhz
reinstall my previous bios backup (b14)
memory bench is: 435/513

frustrated.

UPDATE: gets weider and weirder. tried 101x8, 1.85 vcore, vio 3.45, and enabled spread spectrum modulation. after a few failed attempts, it WORKS!! will wonders ever cease..

*shaking my head

 

[chexi]

Don't blame the Duron. It's the MSI board. Try this... it worked for me. Up the multiplier from stock (say to 7x), save to CMOS, and then when it is rebooting, pull the power cord out. Wait a few seconds, and put the power back in. If it reboots automatically let it start. If the multiplier still isn't correct, then pull the power cord one more time right after you see the mhz reading. Now put the cord back in and it should be at the proper speed (700 in this example). If it didn't reboot automatically, just hit the power button and otherwise follow the same steps. Worked for me, and I tried a lot of other crap before this that didn't.

Special thanks to Bigfranconi for posting this fix.

One note, when you hit your limit, it may not post when trying to go any higher and you may have to reset the cmos jumper.

 

[gtd2000]

Are the bridges pencilled?