Downgrading from HT processor to non-HT
Long story cut short ... :help:
I had a spare P4 HT processor, so I tried it in an old XP PC that had a non-HT Celeron-D in it. Unfortunately, it was a disaster. PC ran very slow. Put the old processor back in.
Mostly it runs OK, but about once a day it runs so slow that a ten minute Primegrid task takes 7 hours. Rebooting brings it back to normal for another day.
I *think* that the problem is the HAL was replaced with the multiprocessor one. And there's no 'downgrade' path :(
I've replaced the RAM, the PSU, the processor cooling fan etc (I had spares luckily!) but nothing fixes it. Oh, there are no useful restore points for some reason :scratch:
The obvious thing is to reinstall XP or install Ubuntu. But the CD drive doesn't work, it has no kbd/monitor/mouse (VNC only) and as this was a $30 throwaway PC I'm not going to spend any money on it ;)
Oh, I'm OK with upgrading hardware. Done loads of processor and memory upgrades without problems, regularly fix my clunky Dells (PSUs and fans) etc so I don't think it's a hardware problem.
Ideas anyone?
Al.