CPU at XXX

CPU at XXX (XXX= a reported speed)

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CPU at XXX

Explanation: The system is reporting the speed of the processor. On early motherboards, and even some recent vintage such as the Iwill kk266 and DVD266 series, this is derived from a setting in the BIOS. Other motherboards interrogate the processor to determine its speed.

Diagnosis: The system is behaving normally, as long as it continues to boot and doesn’t halt when this message is displayed. A caution here though! If the speed indicated is not the known processor speed, in all probability a BIOS setting needs to be made.

Recommendation: No action is required as this is an informational message only. If the speed of the processor being reported is incorrect based on what the speed is supposed to be, then continue below.

*At boot time, the system is reporting the wrong processor speed

Extended Diagnosis: The BIOS usually reports the current speed of the processor, but remember that this speed is controlled either by how the motherboard is set up or how the motherboards BIOS interrogates the processor. If there is some question about the speed of the processor, first determine whether the speed indicated is being effected by a BOIS setup setting. If your motherboard automatically determines the processors speed, often by interrogating the processor parameters or stepping, then the problem might be with the processor. Caution: There are processors on the market that have been remarked by unscrupulous dealers.

Interrogating the Processor:  Many Web sites will advise you that there is no way to “interrogate” the processor and determine its “correct” speed. This is false, at least as far as Intel processors are concerned. Visit our Technical Support Center and use the menu to the left to locate and expand the Intel Technical Data section and then click on the Technical Issues and Updates section. Scroll down to Updates and Enhancements and you will find an interrogating utility for use in Windows as well as MS-DOS.

Recommendation:

• If you’re using an older system and you have just upgraded the processor, and you are referring an LED indicator on the front of the PC that indicates the processor speed, this has nothing to do with the actual processor speed. The LED indicated speed is set through jumpers at the rear of the readout.
• If you’re using a new system, contact your system vendor or manufacturer immediately. There could be shipping damage or they may have installed the wrong processor.
• If this problem is occurring on a new system that you have just built or upgraded, then double check that the motherboard and BIOS are setup correctly; verify motherboard jumper settings and most important, verify that any BIOS settings have been correctly made. Many new BIOS’s have soft BIOS settings, which means that in addition to specific settings in the BIOS setup pages, there may be settings that can or need to be changed from within the operating system environment.
• If the reported speed of the processor is off slightly, such as a Pentium III 866 being reported at 867 for example, this is probably just a quirk, so don’t be overly concerned. If the reported speed is greater than 5%, then some investigation is prudent.
• Lastly, if you have upgrade to a new processor, but on an existing motherboard, your motherboards BIOS may require an upgrade, especially if you are using a newer chip that may not have been on the market when your motherboard was designed.

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