AMD Turion 64x2 Dual-#0 not working

hello forum.

dv6400.
this morning I realized the #0 of the dual core is not working.
I seen it on the WIndows Sidebar, on one of the gauges which shows the cpu. I checked it with some other software and it showed the same. only #1 is working.
I did not have any heat problems. I am using a bigger cooling pad. the temperatur was never higher then 125 and then the fan started and it went down quickly to 115,110, 100. normal temp was about 96 to 102.
I don't play any games or anything which would put the cpu under heavy load for longer time. I did an update this morning, the temp was at 118 during that time. all normal I think.
Could this be a software problem from the system itself or did that core really go out? I got this laptop in June this year.

Anybody ever heard of such problem? Is there a solution or do I have to send it in?

thanks

 

Does it appear to work in the task manager?

 

I tried that, but no, did not work either. Shows only one core. I tried the Resource Monitor, well, there it shows one blue line going up to the 100% Max Frequncy and it stays there (one straight line on top). the other core is showing correct.
I checked Core Temp which also shows only one core.
Checked with RMClock, same, only core 0 is there.
I opened several programs to see how the cpu handels it. there was a slow-down opening ms word, ppoint, etc.. shows there really is just one cpu active.
Guess I learned something new -> one core can go bad but it's still working (limping on one leg).

 

since you bought it not long ago, I'm assuming you still have warranty. Time to make use of it methinks.

 

Yes, still on warranty. I just hate to call and tell them to pick it up and..... so on and then wait... ? weeeks.
guess I'll have to.

 

you could try chat support instead of calling. They are usually much nicer.

 

I haven't had any problems before talking to them on the phone. They are usually helpful, sometimes not too knowledgable. but that's understandable because sometimes they'll hear new problems which they have not heard before. like mine now, I think.
I have 3 other dv6000's so I had my share. But this one, with one core going bad, that's new to me.
oh well, I'll see what they'll tell me when I call.

Thanks anyway for the support.
henry

 

Open up device manager and under the Processors menu, how many processors do you see? If its just one(or even if it shows two right click on the name of the processor and select uninstall. Let the system uninstall and reboot the system. This should allow windows to re-identify the cpu. Alternatively it could also be an issue with the hal.dll file in which case open msconfig(type msconfig in the search box) -->boot-->Advanced options. deselct the Number of processors box and check mark the detect HAL and hit OK and reboot.

BTW, it would be a good idea to back up your files just in case. If all else fails then reinstall the OS. I would try these before contacting support or determining if its a hardware issue.

 

But what could the problem be?

 

Hi.

have you had a look on the Amd website, they might have a util to test the CPU, or at least show core loads

have a look on the link below for a util.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_14098,00.html

Regards

John.

 

Another option: use one of the live Linux distributions (boots from CD/DVD/USB flash drive) and type "cat /proc/cpuinfo" when you get to the shell. It should list two CPUs, one after the other, processor 0 and processor 1. That would eliminate Windows as a source of problems.

If the notebook really did keep running after a core failure I'm seriously impressed.

 

Problem Solved.

Miner, I did what you suggested and it worked !
There was 2 cpu's showing in the system. I uninstalled the second one, rebooted and then checked Core Temp which showed 2 cores working again.
Really, so simple if one has the knowledge.
Didn't know about 'Hal' either.

I want to thank you very much, you saved me a lot of wasted time and whatever else comes along with such a problem.

Tinderbox:
Thank you also for your advice.
I used CPU Info just to see what that would show.
Everything was 'good'.

A short part of the PC Wizard report:

Processor : AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-60

Frequency Control
Core #1 : 799.82 MHz
Core #2 : 800.09 MHz

Core 1 Activity : 3%
Core 2 Activity : 4%

Core 1 Temperature : 92°F
Core 2 Temperature : 95°F

Bios version : F.2F

Again, thank you all for the great support.
henry

 

brianstretch, yes, I was amazed just the same when I saw only one core was working. I thought that can't be right. But apparently it worked because the second core wasn't really bad, it just wasn't recognized from windows. Uninstalling the one in the system and rebooting brought it back. I don't know what happened that it reset itself that way. I didn't do anything abnormal, it just happened.
Thanks for the suggestion about Linux. I'll try that anyway, just to see how that works.