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Q&A: Dual CPUs
Q: I have dual 600 Coppermines and Windows 2000. My friend put my system together and has never dealt with dual CPUs before. Only one seems to be enabled. How can I be sure and, if not, enable the second CPU?
A: First, you need to be sure that both CPUs are recognized by the BIOS. Does the system mention two processors at bootup time (on the black screen)? Does Windows 2000 mention two in its System Properties > Environment (Number of processors)? If not, you probably installed Windows 2000 when you only had one CPU, then installed a second processor. This does not work, for reasons described below.
There are two ways to resolve the issue. One is to reinstall the OS. The other is to replace the Kernel and the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) with the ones designed for two CPUs. Microsoft's Knowledgebase has details on how to do this fairly complicated procedure. Here is an excerpt from one of several articles on the topic:
The kernel file Ntoskrnl.exe is for single-processor systems and Ntkrnlmp.exe is for multiprocessor systems. However, these file names correspond to the files on the installation media; after Windows 2000 has been installed, the file is renamed to Ntoskrnl.exe, regardless of the source file used. The HAL file also uses the name Hal.dll after installation, but there are several possible HAL files on the installation media.
To resolve this error, restart the computer using either the product CD or the four Setup disks. At the Welcome screen, press F10 to start the Recovery Console. Use the Copy command to copy either the correct HAL or kernel file from the original CD into the appropriate folder on the hard disk. The Copy command detects whether the file to be copied is in the Microsoft compressed file format. If so, it automatically expands the file copied on the target drive. For more information about the Recovery Console, see "System Recovery" in this book.
The Microsoft Knowledge Base offers instructions describing how to change to a specific HAL during setup.
Q:
Can I convert an Athlon XP into an Athlon MP?
A: Yes. HardwareZone.com has posted an article describing how to restore SMP capabilities to Athlon XP processors where it has been disabled. Apparently, the technique works on AMD Durons based on the Morgan core, too.
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