Panic! Sony TZ becomes single core after install?

I must have done something really wrong.
After resinstalling Vista Business to get a clean install, it seems my Sony / Vista was installed as a single core CPU.

When running the Intel Processor Identification Utility (as well as other utilities):
http://www.intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/sb/CS-014921.htm

I get a report that the second core is disabled:


Does someone know what's going on?

Edit:
Scroll to my last post to see how the issue was resolved!

 

check you latop some bios will let you disable one core

also did msconfig will let you disable on core

 

Did you install the Intel Chipset Driver dude?

 

* Sony BIOS for TZ doesn't have any setting that has to do with Dual Core
* Intel Chipset WAS installed. I installed the 8.3.1.1009 right off of intel's site.

I will check with msconfig.

 

get into the device manager.

You will see an option 'computer'

expand it. you will see ACPI Uniprocessor PC.

Click on Update Driver. Browse through the drivers and select ACPI Multiprocessor PC. Click OK. Restart. You will get BSOD. Restart again. You will be fine.

Next step -> Ditch Vista.

 

I dont think it'll work on Vista. If it's working, the Vista wants to activate it again (hardware change...)
It worked on XP...

 

None of the things suggested here worked for me.

I've tried following another post in another forum I found:
http://computershopper.com/forums/showthread.php?t=934

Code:

I first updated my BIOS (always a good idea)
I went into Hardware Manager and uninstalled the previous processor(s)
Rebooted
Vista found new processors, installed automatically, then required reboot
Rebooted
Went to start>run>msconfig
Boot Tab
Advanced Button
I had set my startup number of processors to 2 (upgraded to quad core, only 2 showed in vista)
Unchecked the number of processors checkbox
Marked the Detect HAL
Click Apply and Reboot

All 4 cores showed now. Hope this helps!

But this didn't help as well...

 

It may have something to do with this
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNTZ198N&upd_id=3257&os_id=29

Download the patch for your version of TZ

 

or your tz has gone south. Mañana

 

is there any benefits to using single core instead of dual core?

 

err..how do i tell if my tz is using dual core?

 

Start Task Manager (run taskmgr) or alt-ctrl-del/Task Manager and go to Performance. If you see 2 graphs under "CPU Usage History", you are on dual core.

 

thanks, i see two graphs

 

same here.

 

Hi Guys & Gals,
Unfortunately none of your advice was helpful.

However the good news is that I was able to resolve this issue.
I eventually got around to installing Linux on my Laptop (which I always do).
As I was sure this was another Vista issue, I was sure that Linux will set things right...

Unfortunately after booting Linux I saw that Linux too was seeing only one core!

At this point I was sure that it was either a BIOS setting or as someone else put it on this thread, the TZ had gone south...

As much as I tried I couldn't find a BIOS setting that referes to Dual Core / Single Core or anything like that...
But then I realized that the computer WAS Dual core when I got it from Sony, so that led me to try and Press "F9 - Load Defaults".
I did that, save the configuration, rebooted and voila... Vista + Linux recognized both cores...

So thanks for all of the help, but sony really messed up this time.

Perhaps there is a secret key combo that leads to a more "expert" BIOS screen where these things can actualyl be seen?

I'll be glad to hear from a Sony expert...

 

that buggy bios... hiding the second core

 

unfortunately sony always hides the advanced options from end-users in all their notebooks. they'll definitely have them in another version for debug purposes.

thankfully the return to defaults works.