Netserver E 800 CPU Upgrade problems

[Mark C. Walton]

I have 3 Netserver E 800 - 2 are model 2460A 866MHz and one model 2587A 1GHz. I have been trying unsuccessfully to add a second, new CPU to all of these servers.

I have flashed all three servers with the latest BIOS from the HP site.

If I leave in the original CPU, the second CPU is never initialized (i.e., neither the POST nor the BIOS show a second CPU). I have also tried each CPU in both sockets, with and without the terminator in the other socket. If I try to boot the server with only a new CPU, it will not even POST.

The CPUs appear to be identical to the originals, even the steppings are the same.

I have the same symptoms on all three servers, with three different CPUs. I have tried clearing the CMOS repeatedly.

I have also verified that the CPUs are not bad by trying them in an HP desktop (one of the Vectra models, don't remember model # offhand), and they all worked fine.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

- Mark

[Lou_20]

Hi Mark, One suggestion: Excluding the new cpu's entirely. Have you attempted taking one of the pre-existing cpu's from one of the servers and plugged it in another server, again with an old cpu. If you do try this and it's successful, I would then suggest taking 2 newly aquired cpu's and placing them in one of the servers as well.

-Lou

[amhakassa]

Hi Mark,
Does the cache on the new CPU's the same as the one you already have?

AMha Kassa

[Mark C. Walton]

Hi Lou -

Thanks for the help.

I did try putting the two original 866MHz CPUs from the two Netservers into one, and it works correctly, in fact, I am running one of them that way now. But my other 866MHz server is now "CPU-less". It won't work with either of the new 866MHz, or both at the same time, nor with the new 1GHz.

The Vectra that I used for testing the CPUs was a 933MHz, and I tried that also in the Netserver, but that didn't work either.

I'm not sure now if I tried the two original CPUs in the other Netserver(s), I tried so many combinations. I'd have to down it off-hours, anyway.

I am really confused, I don't understand how HP could have done something to the CPUs, or programmed something into the BIOS, so that only original CPUs would work. I don't know how that would be possible. As I said, they are identical steppings, and even the country of manufacture is the same. I thought of trying to reflash back to an older BIOS, but they don't seem to be available on the HP site.

[Mark C. Walton]

AMha, the speed, cache size and FSB speed are all identical, as well as the steppings and country of origin, which is what is so puzzling.