must reset cmos every time to boot XP

[Duayne]

I just put in a new AXP 2500+ cpu and now every time I start my computer i have to reset the CMOS for it to boot up. If i don't, the fans spin but the speaker doesnt beep and the monitor usually doesn't get a signal.

when i reset it, it boots up okay (although i have to press F1 to continue) and all is fine until i shut it down again.

i have a home-built system with Soyo XT400 Dragon Lite mobo, 1 gig of DDR PC2100 ram, and a 450 watt power supply.

any suggestions?
thanks,
DD

[ktkendall]

Most likely scenario is that you need a new cmos battery.

[Tin]

is your CMOS jumper bridging the right pins?

[Duayne]

thanks for the suggestions so far ...
i tried a battery from another mobo that was good and it did not help.

Tin -- my CMOS jumper is set on pins 1-2. when i reset it i put the jumper on 2-3 for a few seconds and then put it back on 1-2 before i boot.

[pam123]

The proper fsb for the 2500+ is 166 requiring 2700 ram.
Since your bios has to be reset everytime are you overclocking that 2100 ram ?
When the computer boots and the bios informs you of the fsb and the cpu speed what do you see ?

[Duayne]

hi pam,
nice to see you also have the 2500+
first time i heard that it REQUIRES pc2700 ram.
no, i've never o'clocked anything, much less my ram. should i try that, or just buy some new pc2700? (i would hate to toss out almost $200 of old ram)
as for bios info ... mine is set on auto detect and i can't make changes, because on reboot, it reverts back to auto each time. i think it is setting the fsb correctly to 166 however, as Control Panel/Systems shows my proc as "Atholon 1.10 Ghz"
i wonder if i need to flash/update the Award Bios?

[pam123]

The 2500+ has a 333 fsb (166x2 for ddr ), which means that it needs 2700 ram.
The proper speed for the 2500+ is 1.83 , so looking at 1.01 tells you that you're underclocking with that ram.
The reason you're having constant trouble at boot up is because the board is reading your attempt at 166 as an overclock it can't hold.
In other words, go shopping, soon.
You can sell your ram to someone with a 266 fsb processor.
Whatever you do do not get 3200 ram, that Soyo doesn't support it.

edit : unless you set the fsb to 166 it will not be auto-detected at that.
It's more than likely that the board is trying to make sense out of the discrepency between what should be there and what is.

[Duayne]

Pam, thank you for your patience and your practical advice!
It's all beginning to make sense now.
And I'm grateful you said don't bother to go for 3200 ram, which I would have been tempted to do while shopping for new memory anyway!
I had thought of myself as "fairly" savvy, after having built three systems from scratch, but once again this just goes to show that there's always more to learn.
Arigato, baby.
DD

[pam123]

When you get the new ram installed pull out the manual for your Soyo.
Some boards have a jumper to set for the fsb so check your manual to see if you need to change one.
With the jumper set, if that's necessary, go into the bios at boot up.
You want the Advanced Chipset Features and what you're looking for is the CPU External Frequency, the fsb, you want to set it to 166 MHz if it isn't.
Save and exit and your processor should now be at the correct 1.83.