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Ferrari 3200 AMD powernow technology suddenly got disabled

post #1 of 26
7/7/04 at 12:58pm
Thread Starter 
HI all, i was using the desktop power scheme for the past few days as i was running on ac power
howevre, i just put the battery back in today to drain the battery for the heck of it and change the scheme back to laptop but the CPU seems to remain running stable at 1.8GHz as i found out the battery has been draining very quickly, upon startup my batt shows only 2 hrs of batt left and its time seem to drop very fast afterwards showing 1hr and 43 mins after 3 minutes. I quickly realized something is wrong so i check the properties of my computer and it says it is running at 1.8GHz
anyone know how/what i need to do to get around it?
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post #2 of 26
7/7/04 at 1:13pm
Do you have anything in the background running that could pegging the CPU usage to 100%?
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post #3 of 26
7/7/04 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
no, it was just start up and i only run firefox behind it
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post #4 of 26
7/7/04 at 1:24pm
Thread Starter 
i just installed the powernow software and it confirmed that i am running full power using laptop scheme however i change it to desktop scheme and it seems to be using less power under the monitor of powernow software

i guess xp is screwed up somehow confusing up with the 2 schemes nevertheless it still bothers me that it changes how it works when i am on battery

any idea of how to solve around it?
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post #5 of 26
7/7/04 at 2:23pm
I dunno. That's strange. Maybe it's a bug in the software or XP. Have you searched online for Powernow issues and bugs?
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post #6 of 26
7/7/04 at 3:07pm
Thread Starter 
hm i havne't search online
but the profile seem to be working as it should be when i plug in the ac
only when the batt is being used as power, then the profile got screwed up
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post #7 of 26
7/7/04 at 3:30pm
Go task manager (ctrl + alt + delete) and see what's using the processor...
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post #8 of 26
7/8/04 at 12:30am
Thread Starter 
there is no specific program that is using the processor but rather the screw up of profiles while using battery
if i switch to desktop profile while using battery, the cpu has powernow enabled instead of using the laptop profile
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post #9 of 26
7/8/04 at 6:45am
Make sure that you've installed the latest AMD Athlon 64 Processor Driver for Windows XP that you can download from here:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont.../Cpudriver.ZIP
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...5E9706,00.html
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post #10 of 26
7/8/04 at 9:17am
Do you Ferrari users always take out the battery when working on AC? Is it really that bad to work on AC while you haven't taken out the battery? What could happen? I hope someone could give me a clear answer. Tnx in advance.
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post #11 of 26
7/8/04 at 3:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by snorre
Make sure that you've installed the latest AMD Athlon 64 Processor Driver for Windows XP that you can download from here:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont.../Cpudriver.ZIP
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...5E9706,00.html
i do have the latest driver and i am pretty sure it was working correctly before but i don't know what has been done for the screw up to take place

as for the battery, i always take out the batt when i am on ac except when i need to charge the batt
It is just my own preference
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post #12 of 26
7/10/04 at 4:27am

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 330512

Ripped from Microsofts webpage


SYMPTOMS

The processor performance state may not be restored to the maximum state if the CPU runs at 100 percent. This problem occurs if the computer is 100 percent busy when the power policy changes.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the power policy changes because of an AC/DC transition while the computer is using the "Max Battery" power scheme. When the computer is running at 100 percent CPU usage, the computer never enters the idle loop in which the speed of the CPU is dynamically adjusted based on demand and current policy values. The fix is to set the timer so that Windows changes the speed of the CPU when the timer expires.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...EN-US;CNTACTMS
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post #13 of 26
7/10/04 at 4:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DigiShaman
Ripped from Microsofts webpage


SYMPTOMS

The processor performance state may not be restored to the maximum state if the CPU runs at 100 percent. This problem occurs if the computer is 100 percent busy when the power policy changes.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the power policy changes because of an AC/DC transition while the computer is using the "Max Battery" power scheme. When the computer is running at 100 percent CPU usage, the computer never enters the idle loop in which the speed of the CPU is dynamically adjusted based on demand and current policy values. The fix is to set the timer so that Windows changes the speed of the CPU when the timer expires.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...EN-US;CNTACTMS
hm thanks for the info...appreciate it but it requires me to pay for support???? instead of downloading the fix? no thanks to microsoft.....maybe i'll just stick with the screw up profile

no one else have the same problem?

edit: i called acer support centre, they asked me to bring it to the service centre, maybe i will do so next week and post an update about it next week

digishman, do you think format and reinstall the HD would work?
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post #14 of 26
7/10/04 at 4:49am
Ya, I'm sure it's a software issue. What originally lead me to the info was found in the ReadMe.txt file included with the AMD utility. I'll cut-n-paste it for you... also, I think my veriable CPU clock is stuck as well. I had Set@Home running in the background which always pushes it to 100% Damn...oh well. I think the utility is working fine. It's just annoying it's not reported correctly by WinXP.

Perhaps this issue will be fixed in SP2 when it's released. That, or AMD will release an updated CPU driver to address the issue.



****************************************************************
KNOWN LIMITATIONS:
****************************************************************
1) The processor performance state may not be restored to the maximum state
if the CPU runs at 100 percent. This problem occurs if the computer is
100 percent busywhen the power policy changes.

For more information and support options, please refer to the following website:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=330512

2) "System Properties" reports wrong processor speed.

For more information, please refer to the following website:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;303602

3) The Processor speed may be reported incorrectly in Windows XP.

For more information, please refer to the following website:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;316965
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post #15 of 26
7/10/04 at 5:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DigiShaman
Ya, I'm sure it's a software issue. What originally lead me to the info was found in the ReadMe.txt file included with the AMD utility. I'll cut-n-paste it for you... also, I think my veriable CPU clock is stuck as well. I had Set@Home running in the background which always pushes it to 100% Damn...oh well. I think the utility is working fine. It's just annoying it's not reported correctly by WinXP.

Perhaps this issue will be fixed in SP2 when it's released. That, or AMD will release an updated CPU driver to address the issue.



****************************************************************
KNOWN LIMITATIONS:
****************************************************************
1) The processor performance state may not be restored to the maximum state
if the CPU runs at 100 percent. This problem occurs if the computer is
100 percent busywhen the power policy changes.

For more information and support options, please refer to the following website:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=330512

2) "System Properties" reports wrong processor speed.

For more information, please refer to the following website:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;303602

3) The Processor speed may be reported incorrectly in Windows XP.

For more information, please refer to the following website:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;316965
so you have the exact same problem? it must be a software related issue, but you don't think re-install would work eh? if that's the case i might just wait for the fix too or leave it as it is if re-install won't work.
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post #16 of 26
7/10/04 at 5:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyc280
so you have the exact same problem? it must be a software related issue, but you don't think re-install would work eh? if that's the case i might just wait for the fix too or leave it as it is if re-install won't work.
Even if you formatted and reinstalled windows, the problem may happen again at any moment. So ya, you will fix the problem with a format/reinstall, but how long will stay unbugged? I dunno, it's your choice now that you know what can cause the issue. But mess up once, and it will get bugged.

Edit: By the way, I'm sure it's just a registry setting that gets messed up. I wish I knew what registry setting to toggle to fix the issue. Hmmm
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post #17 of 26
9/8/04 at 4:38pm
first of all, sorry for my bad english, (it is not my mother language)
but this seems to be the only place where people have the nearly same problems like me.
My NB is a acer 1501, and since I installed SP2 Powernow works in the wrong way

When I use the laptop plugged shema the processor is between 800Mhz and 1800Mhz,
but when i unplug the laptop it stays at 1800Mhz.

I controlled this with powernow dashbord, also wcpuid give me this information.

Is this a known problem? Is there a solution?

Thanks
Frank
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post #18 of 26
9/8/04 at 5:57pm
See these threads for a possible solution to your problem:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread...533#post421533
http://notebookforums.com/showthread...339#post426339
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post #19 of 26
9/10/04 at 11:10am
This doesn't change anything!
The NB has the same behaviour as before.

Power Plugged in: Powernow is running
Power not Pluggend in: Processor&Voltage stays on maximum.

Exactly in the inversely way. Sounds strange but is true.

Frank
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post #20 of 26
9/10/04 at 11:32am
Try reinstalling the latest chipset and processor drivers as that might help. If not you'll have to wait untill Microsoft releases a fix, or uninstall SP2 untill they do.
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