Laptop Question

Galahad/FLT · 20 July 2002, 16:23

Ok, another PC related nonsense question:

I have an Extensa Laptop, originally 75Mhz, the board will only jumper up to 90Mhz.... I have chucked in a Pentium 166Mhz in there.....

It works, but obviously it wont go at 166Mhz..... some of you PC boffins must know how to.... how can I get the damed thing to just open to 166Mhz anyway.... I dont care about frying the board...... do I have to replace the bios? what do I have to do?

cv643d · 21 July 2002, 12:29

I dont think it supports higher speeds. My small Digital p133 only supports CPU up to 166 mhz. Tried a 200 mhz cpu in ther but maxed out at 166 mhz.

Galahad/FLT · 21 July 2002, 20:27

some conflicting stuff here.... I have been told if I stick an Overdrive Processor in there, it will work, and others are surprised it won't jumper to a higher speed....

Skit!, Knull...... I will never get it sorted

th4t1guy · 21 July 2002, 22:17

Maybe you could try hacking the hardware to up the voltage, although that'll probably just fry everything, so make sure the room is ventilated.

jmmijo · 21 July 2002, 22:34

You have to keep this in mind when dealing with older Pentium equipment, both with Laptops and Desktops

The BIOS can be programmed to lock out the faster bus speeds and multipliers that the faster CPU's need in order to run at their rated speeds. Of course there's no way to know if an updated BIOS will resolve this or not until you actually update it and see

Another thing manufacturers did was to use jumper blocks, Galahad seems to know about these however, there should be two sets of jumpers. One determines the bud speed, 33 MHz, 66 Mhz, 100 Mhz, 133MHz, etc.... and the other will determine the multiplier, x2, x2.5, x3, x3.5, etc...

Make sure that the bus speed is set for 66MHz as this is the most common for the older Pentium CPU's, this would make the multiplier be x2.5 for a 166MHz CPU

No then Intel was the first to use mulitplier locks on their faster CPU's, I think starting with the P2, but could have had this done on the P200/233 as well.

Not much too it really, the problem is that most laptops don't have jumper blocks, they may have pads instead, ala, the Amiga

also note that an Overdrive was only rated to work on a desktop machine, not a laptop. The overdrive provided for it's own voltage regulator, multiplier and bus speed, this is why there is a small circuit board under the CPU socket

Good luck with the overclocking

Galahad/FLT · 22 July 2002, 19:20

It originally came with a Pentium 75Mhz (wow!).

Next to the Pentium (to the right) are three jumper connectors, one for 50Mhz, 75Mhz and 90Mhz.

In the centre of the board are also two more jumper connectors which do affect the Mhz, but so far, no matter what combination I try, I just cannot seem to get it to read more than 90Mhz.

I spoke to a guy at a computer fair on Sunday and he told me he would be surprised that it wouldn't jumper more than 90Mhz, he reckoned the difference wouldn't fry the board.

He said if that failed (and another vendor said it also) that an Overdrive processor 'should' do the trick, although they are hard to come by (I have just bought one from Ebay for £10, 120Mhz).

So with that information, does this ring any bells for anyone?

th4t1guy · 22 July 2002, 20:42

According to the CPU FAQ overdrive processors are just normal processors with a heatsink and voltage adapter built in.

Most likely, I'd say the problem is that your bios is not capable of recognizing anything greater than 90mhz. I had this same problem with one of my systems, but it was resolved when I flashed it with an updated bios.

cv643d · 22 July 2002, 21:28

I hope the overdrive will fit in your Notebook, otherwise it will be very knully indeed

Galahad/FLT · 25 July 2002, 18:24

Well, I got the 120Mhz Overdrive into the Laptop.....

The laptop reports its running at 133Mhz.......

The laptop works fine (after I had to swap the fan for a smaller one so the keyboard could be closed properly!)....

The laptop doesn't appear to run any faster at all!

VCD's, SNES9X all run exactly as they did....... crap!

This is why I hate PC's!

jmmijo · 25 July 2002, 21:25

I've found that anything below about 200~300MHz is best for a DOS and/or *nix box

Another thing that could be hampering the speed is the amount of RAM on the laptop. Perhaps 64MB + is really required. Also it could be the BIOS again, some tweaks are in order but a lot of laptops don't have any adjustable BIOS settings

th4t1guy · 26 July 2002, 00:12

Quote:

I've found that anything below about 200~300MHz is best for a DOS and/or *nix box

I have an old p133 packard bell, and I've tried installing just about every OS on it. QNX, Win98 and Win2000 run the best, but any distro of Loonix is slower than anything I've ever seen. Even the non-graphical versions.

jmmijo · 26 July 2002, 00:28

Did CP/M ever get ported to x86 or not? Seems to me this OS would have run quite well on a P100 as I had this running quite nicely on my C128

th4t1guy · 26 July 2002, 00:44

I imagine you could "port" it with an emulator.

Puzzle · 26 July 2002, 02:41

Yes, there is a version of CP/M called CP/M-86. There is not much software written for it, and it cannot run software from Z80 or M68K-based CP/M-versions.

If you want to run CP/M-software on PC's, take a look at Sybex' 22Nice. It's an emulator that allows you to run most generic CP/M-programs (ie. programs that do not utilize special hardware - in other words, no sound or bitmap-graphics) on DOS-machines. It works under Windows as well.

jmmijo · 26 July 2002, 08:21

Hmm, thanks for the info Puzzle

20 July 2002, 16:23	#1
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	Laptop Question Ok, another PC related nonsense question: I have an Extensa Laptop, originally 75Mhz, the board will only jumper up to 90Mhz.... I have chucked in a Pentium 166Mhz in there..... It works, but obviously it wont go at 166Mhz..... some of you PC boffins must know how to.... how can I get the damed thing to just open to 166Mhz anyway.... I dont care about frying the board...... do I have to replace the bios? what do I have to do?

21 July 2002, 20:27	#3
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	Hmmmmm..... some conflicting stuff here.... I have been told if I stick an Overdrive Processor in there, it will work, and others are surprised it won't jumper to a higher speed.... Skit!, Knull...... I will never get it sorted

22 July 2002, 19:20	#6
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	Ok, heres what I know.... It originally came with a Pentium 75Mhz (wow!). Next to the Pentium (to the right) are three jumper connectors, one for 50Mhz, 75Mhz and 90Mhz. In the centre of the board are also two more jumper connectors which do affect the Mhz, but so far, no matter what combination I try, I just cannot seem to get it to read more than 90Mhz. I spoke to a guy at a computer fair on Sunday and he told me he would be surprised that it wouldn't jumper more than 90Mhz, he reckoned the difference wouldn't fry the board. He said if that failed (and another vendor said it also) that an Overdrive processor 'should' do the trick, although they are hard to come by (I have just bought one from Ebay for £10, 120Mhz). So with that information, does this ring any bells for anyone?

25 July 2002, 18:24	#9
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	Knull!!! Well, I got the 120Mhz Overdrive into the Laptop..... The laptop reports its running at 133Mhz....... The laptop works fine (after I had to swap the fan for a smaller one so the keyboard could be closed properly!).... The laptop doesn't appear to run any faster at all! VCD's, SNES9X all run exactly as they did....... crap! This is why I hate PC's!

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21 July 2002, 12:29	#2
cv643d Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Sweden Posts: 762	I dont think it supports higher speeds. My small Digital p133 only supports CPU up to 166 mhz. Tried a 200 mhz cpu in ther but maxed out at 166 mhz.

21 July 2002, 22:17	#4
th4t1guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO, USA Posts: 683	Maybe you could try hacking the hardware to up the voltage, although that'll probably just fry everything, so make sure the room is ventilated.

21 July 2002, 22:34	#5
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,395	You have to keep this in mind when dealing with older Pentium equipment, both with Laptops and Desktops The BIOS can be programmed to lock out the faster bus speeds and multipliers that the faster CPU's need in order to run at their rated speeds. Of course there's no way to know if an updated BIOS will resolve this or not until you actually update it and see Another thing manufacturers did was to use jumper blocks, Galahad seems to know about these however, there should be two sets of jumpers. One determines the bud speed, 33 MHz, 66 Mhz, 100 Mhz, 133MHz, etc.... and the other will determine the multiplier, x2, x2.5, x3, x3.5, etc... Make sure that the bus speed is set for 66MHz as this is the most common for the older Pentium CPU's, this would make the multiplier be x2.5 for a 166MHz CPU No then Intel was the first to use mulitplier locks on their faster CPU's, I think starting with the P2, but could have had this done on the P200/233 as well. Not much too it really, the problem is that most laptops don't have jumper blocks, they may have pads instead, ala, the Amiga also note that an Overdrive was only rated to work on a desktop machine, not a laptop. The overdrive provided for it's own voltage regulator, multiplier and bus speed, this is why there is a small circuit board under the CPU socket Good luck with the overclocking

22 July 2002, 20:42	#7
th4t1guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO, USA Posts: 683	According to the CPU FAQ overdrive processors are just normal processors with a heatsink and voltage adapter built in. Most likely, I'd say the problem is that your bios is not capable of recognizing anything greater than 90mhz. I had this same problem with one of my systems, but it was resolved when I flashed it with an updated bios.

22 July 2002, 21:28	#8
cv643d Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Sweden Posts: 762	I hope the overdrive will fit in your Notebook, otherwise it will be very knully indeed

25 July 2002, 21:25	#10
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,395	I've found that anything below about 200~300MHz is best for a DOS and/or *nix box Another thing that could be hampering the speed is the amount of RAM on the laptop. Perhaps 64MB + is really required. Also it could be the BIOS again, some tweaks are in order but a lot of laptops don't have any adjustable BIOS settings

26 July 2002, 00:28	#12
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,395	Did CP/M ever get ported to x86 or not? Seems to me this OS would have run quite well on a P100 as I had this running quite nicely on my C128

26 July 2002, 00:44	#13
th4t1guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO, USA Posts: 683	I imagine you could "port" it with an emulator.

26 July 2002, 02:41	#14
Puzzle Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: Somewhere Posts: 99	Yes, there is a version of CP/M called CP/M-86. There is not much software written for it, and it cannot run software from Z80 or M68K-based CP/M-versions. If you want to run CP/M-software on PC's, take a look at Sybex' 22Nice. It's an emulator that allows you to run most generic CP/M-programs (ie. programs that do not utilize special hardware - in other words, no sound or bitmap-graphics) on DOS-machines. It works under Windows as well.

26 July 2002, 08:21	#15
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,395	Hmm, thanks for the info Puzzle

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