I recently did an upgrade to my home computer. I used an inexpensive transition board, the MSI KT@-Combo L so I could use my PC133 RAM for now. I also installed a 2500+ Barton and an Asus V7100 Pro64 video card.

I'm having a couple of problems.

1. The proccessor is only recognized as a 1900+. Is this because the Processor is 333mhz and the board is 266? Does SDRAM rather than DDR make any difference. The board is jumpered to 133mhz and that's what's recognized in the BIOS.

2. w2k is unstable and is having a lot of odd problems, the most consistent one is an error message that reads "sychost.exe has generated errors and program will be shut down by Windows" or something similar to that. I saw a post on another board (MSI Forum) which said that w2k does not always like ACPI and that should be disabled and w2k reinstalled from scratch. Anyone know anything about this? I'm pretty sure the PS is not the problem although I have ordered a new one anyway to be sure. Temps are good at around 37-38C in BIOS.

sychost.exe -- is that a typo?

Have you installed the Service Packs for 2k?

Especially SP3?

And yes, if you are only running at 266 then you will underclock your CPU...which could account for your sub 40 C temps.

Not a typo but maybe I'm misremembering the exact spelling, it's very close though. I have installed SP4, no change.

I also tried choosing the "high performance" setting in BIOS and the speed jumped tremendously but instability was unchanged, neither better nor worse.

1900+ = 1600 MHz = 133 MHz x 12 multiplier.

The default settings for a Barton 2500+ are 166 x 11 multiplier = 1.83 MHz. Your Bios has the ability to adjust both the FSB frequency (which you probably need to keep at 133 MHz for your memory), and the multiplier which has apparently been set at 12.

Leave your FSB at 133 MHz. To get the full speed out of your Barton, I would set the multiplier at 14 (normal clock) or even 16 (overclock) if your temps will allow.

Maybe the new PSU will solve your stability problems.

Is the jumper on your board to select 133 vs 166 FSB or to select SDR (133MHz) vs DDR (266 MHz) memory.

Thanks Gwallen, that's a lot of info. Jumper choice is neither of those. It selects between 100 FSB and 133 FSB.

I may try the multiplier if I can get it to change but honestly I'm pretty satisfied with the speed with the high performance settings and I don't mind the low temps at all.

The main thing is the stability. I'm going to try the PS, it's on it's way from Newegg but if the old one puts out what it says it does it should be plenty. I really think it's something else. Anybody seen any tricks for getting w2k to work properly with ACPI other than the normal Windows updates? MKB did have some articles on w2k and svchost.exe and ACPI having some incompatibilities but none specific to my situation.

sychost.exe has generated errors

svchost.exe maybe? That's a legitimate Windows file, and could be you mistook the V for a Y...

I saw a post on another board (MSI Forum) which said that w2k does not always like ACPI and that should be disabled and w2k reinstalled from scratch

I remember seeing that before, but it's been a while and I can't remember where. But I'm almost positive Windows 2000 sometimes doesn't like ACPI, and the only cure it seems was to turn it off and reinstall.

With stability problems I would leave the CPU alone until that is cured, or change the CPU speed just before reinstalling, if that becomes necessary. Then again the instability could also be related to the CPU not running at the recommended bus speed and multiplier, but I've never heard of underclocking causing instability. And with stability issues already, don't even think about overclocking it. You have enough problems as it is.

I doubt if the power supply is the cause, although it can't be ruled out, power supplies can cause some really weird problems. If you're content with the performance for now, leave the CPU alone until you get the rest figured out, once you get the stability issue solved then you can afford to play with the CPU a bit and not cause even worse instability.

I think ACPI is the main place to look.

Here's a Microsoft article on ACPI and Win2000. I don't understand it too well, but maybe someone else will. Reference is made to system instability:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q216/5/73.ASP&NoWebContent=1

I've found references to sychost.exe in web searches. One mentioned infection of that file by IRCtrojan:

http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?postid=784478

And here's a reference for the cure for a problem that sounds alot like yours:

http://www.helpdeskguys.com/news.htm

Have you been on-line at all...and then the problem crops up??

Everything I've been reading has to do with the MS Blaster worm and the svchost.exe and generating errors stuff with Windows 2k...

Do you have problems with copy/paste??

On the hardware side of things...

The mobo you're using has the KT266A chipset. That would explain your CPU problems. The KT266A was released just as the first Palomino AthlonXP's were coming out. The Barton core is two cores and a full micron process beyond what that chipset was designed to handle. So yeah, it's going to give you problems.

I would start with a BIOS update and hope that stabalizes things a bit more. Also, check your voltage settings. The Barton core uses much less voltage than the Palomino or Thunderbird cores. Even if you've got your Barton's FSB underclocked, it could still overheat or even die from overvoltage. Especially with a higher multiplier than was intended.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of those potential problems. I was having problems before I went online and I have not yet set up email so I assumed it was not a virus like blaster. Now I think it might be. Only problem is I can't install Norton 2003 to check until I get a higher IE version and I can't stay online long enough to download IE 6 from Windows updates.

I did a clean install on a new hard drive and did not go online at all. I also installed only the drivers on the CD's with the motherbaord and video card. It seems to run very smooth and fast with no instability but now I have another problem. The onboard LAN has disappeared. I was going to use that to download updates on broadband behind our hardware firewall.

Now that the onboard LAN is not working so I'm going to have to RMA the board anyway. I was trying for an intermediate, inexpensive upgrade where I could get more speed and room for expansion without having to by new memory also. Doesn't look like it worked out too well. This was an expensive board. I may just order a better DDR board with memory and sell this one once I RMA it. What a PIA.

What's the word on the Asus A7N8X Deluxe board lately?

For $5-10 you can get a better LAN card than the onboard LAN. That's not much more than it would cost to RMA the board, and you would have it fixed right away.

The onboard LAN problem might just be a driver problem. Make sure it hasn't been disabled in bios.

Thanks, I'll look into that although the potential for damaging the processor is worrying me. It would cost about $200 to get a good new dual channel board and DDR memory which takes it well out of the realm of "cheap upgrade". I just went with the 2500+ Barton because it was only a little more and would be a good one for a while when I eventually went to a better board and memory. I didn't realize the potential for problems with this board. I do like the fact it seems to be running fairly cool. On high performance settings it runs about 45C and seems pretty fast to me even compared to my 2.4 P4 with dual DDR PC3200 and 800mhz FSB. Stock heatsink and thermal pad that came with the procesor.

The LAN was disabled in BIOS. Apparently the "high performance" setting shuts down anything not currently connected. It shut down USB also because I didn't have a device connected at the time. It seems to be running well, alhough not as fast with all the stuff that's running now. I was able to hook up to our high speed internet at the office throught the LAN and get all the Windows and Norton Updates in about 50 minutes instead of several days. I have something else strage going on now but in a good direction. See post about the new "magic modem".