Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

I have an x-class with intel PIII FCPGA 1GHz working well, the only
thing is on booting the error Message:

0031: Unsupported processor stepping - no microcode update loaded

Because I want use the system working as a server it is a hard doing to
press F1 for complainig this message while doing an remote reboot. So i
want to lose this message without buying such an exorbitant expensive
original HP CPU.

Any suggestions?

Here are the specified Information about the workstation:

HP X-Class A1280
BIOS: ID.W2.02US

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

First, try a BIOS upgrade if one is available.

Is the 1GHz CPU original? Probably not. What speed was the original CPU? The
problem here may go beyond processor stepping. Make sure that the motherboard
can support the operating voltage required by the 1GHz CPU. Intel began
shipping lower voltage CPUs somewhere around 1GHz... Ben Myers

On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 11:16:41 +0100, Carsten Bliessen <bliessen@gmx.de> wrote:

>I have an x-class with intel PIII FCPGA 1GHz working well, the only
>thing is on booting the error Message:
>
>0031: Unsupported processor stepping - no microcode update loaded
>
>Because I want use the system working as a server it is a hard doing to
>press F1 for complainig this message while doing an remote reboot. So i
>want to lose this message without buying such an exorbitant expensive
>original HP CPU.
>
>Any suggestions?
>
>Here are the specified Information about the workstation:
>
>HP X-Class A1280
>BIOS: ID.W2.02US

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hi,

unfortunately there is no offical newer BIOS version :-(

No original Part. I have tried an PIII from an Lc2000 wich works fine,
but this FCPGA CPU was never supported by HP.

The CPU Specification meets the HP requirenments totally! And everything
working very well only on reboot the question for pressing F1 ... :-(

Until now I´ve found a similar Problem but the Auther has now more HP
Hardware for supporting :-( if there is anybody who is interesting in:

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service [...] dId=340126
http://thockar.dyndns.org/bios/index.html



Ben Myers wrote:
> First, try a BIOS upgrade if one is available.
>
> Is the 1GHz CPU original? Probably not. What speed was the original CPU? The
> problem here may go beyond processor stepping. Make sure that the motherboard
> can support the operating voltage required by the 1GHz CPU. Intel began
> shipping lower voltage CPUs somewhere around 1GHz... Ben Myers
>
> On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 11:16:41 +0100, Carsten Bliessen <bliessen@gmx.de> wrote:
>
>
>>I have an x-class with intel PIII FCPGA 1GHz working well, the only
>>thing is on booting the error Message:
>>
>>0031: Unsupported processor stepping - no microcode update loaded
>>
>>Because I want use the system working as a server it is a hard doing to
>>press F1 for complainig this message while doing an remote reboot. So i
>>want to lose this message without buying such an exorbitant expensive
>>original HP CPU.
>>
>>Any suggestions?
>>
>>Here are the specified Information about the workstation:
>>
>>HP X-Class A1280
>>BIOS: ID.W2.02US
>
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Now and then, one comes across a very picky BIOS which will only accept certain
CPU steppings. HP did this and also used some quasi-proprietary memory in its
servers, adding a bit of logic to identify it as HP memory. Generic non-HP
memory would work just fine after the BIOS displayed a message saying that
memory was not HP. Some of the other companies with a history of proprietary
offerings have played similar games with disk drives, CD-ROM drives, memory, and
CPUs. The whole idea is to get you to pay a lot of money for ever-so-slightly
customized parts.

I have encountered some IBM systems in the past which would complain about the
CPU stepping, but if one reflashed the BIOS with the same BIOS version(!), the
BIOS would no longer complain. You might try flashing the BIOS with even the
same version.

Otherwise, your choices would seem to be to live with a CPU that works or to
experiment with as many CPUs as you can find until you find one that the BIOS
accepts without error... Ben Myers



On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 19:11:12 +0100, Carsten Bliessen <bliessen@gmx.de> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>unfortunately there is no offical newer BIOS version :-(
>
>No original Part. I have tried an PIII from an Lc2000 wich works fine,
>but this FCPGA CPU was never supported by HP.
>
>The CPU Specification meets the HP requirenments totally! And everything
>working very well only on reboot the question for pressing F1 ... :-(
>
>Until now I´ve found a similar Problem but the Auther has now more HP
>Hardware for supporting :-( if there is anybody who is interesting in:
>
>http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?admit=716493758+1104084648743+28353475&threadId=340126
>http://thockar.dyndns.org/bios/index.html
>
>
>
>Ben Myers wrote:
>> First, try a BIOS upgrade if one is available.
>>
>> Is the 1GHz CPU original? Probably not. What speed was the original CPU? The
>> problem here may go beyond processor stepping. Make sure that the motherboard
>> can support the operating voltage required by the 1GHz CPU. Intel began
>> shipping lower voltage CPUs somewhere around 1GHz... Ben Myers
>>
>> On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 11:16:41 +0100, Carsten Bliessen <bliessen@gmx.de> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have an x-class with intel PIII FCPGA 1GHz working well, the only
>>>thing is on booting the error Message:
>>>
>>>0031: Unsupported processor stepping - no microcode update loaded
>>>
>>>Because I want use the system working as a server it is a hard doing to
>>>press F1 for complainig this message while doing an remote reboot. So i
>>>want to lose this message without buying such an exorbitant expensive
>>>original HP CPU.
>>>
>>>Any suggestions?
>>>
>>>Here are the specified Information about the workstation:
>>>
>>>HP X-Class A1280
>>>BIOS: ID.W2.02US
>>
>>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Carsten Bliessen wrote:

> I have an x-class with intel PIII FCPGA 1GHz working well, the only
> thing is on booting the error Message:
>
> 0031: Unsupported processor stepping - no microcode update loaded
>
> Because I want use the system working as a server it is a hard doing
> to press F1 for complainig this message while doing an remote reboot.
> So i want to lose this message without buying such an exorbitant
> expensive original HP CPU.
>
> Any suggestions?

Well, You don't need a "HP CPU", the A1280 works with generic Slot1
processors (HP has no "special versions" of Pentium3 processors either)...

The problem is that the BIOS doesn't know the CPU and also doesn't have
microcode for Your processor. It might just be a cosmetical problem (a
stupid error message when booting), but the microcode which gets loaded into
the processor at boot time is very important for the processor working
correctly and without performance bottlenecks...

Since You won't find a BIOS that supports FCPGA processors for the A1280 I
strongly suggest You try to find a suitable Slot1 CPU...

Benjamin

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:

> I have encountered some IBM systems in the past which would complain
> about the CPU stepping, but if one reflashed the BIOS with the same
> BIOS version(!), the BIOS would no longer complain.

That's also the case with several Fujitsu Siemens PCs. The reason is that on
these systems the BIOS and the microcode are separate files, and the flasher
only loads the microcode appropriate for the installed CPU. If You change
processors You have to reflash to get the right microcode on the system...

> You might try
> flashing the BIOS with even the same version.

Unfortunately, if my memory serves me right this won't work. HP, like most
PC manufacturers, had BIOSes which contained all supported microcodes in one
file. So You don't need to reflash after a CPU upgrade...

Benjamin

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

With some IBM boxes, reflashing the BIOS with an installed CPU (supposedly
unsupported microcode and stepping) makes the BIOS complaint go away. Go
figure. Apparently the microcode is embedded within the flash BIOS module
somewhere.

I happen to like top-posting. It allows me to immediately read what the last
poster had to say, and I don't have to scroll down thru the entire thread to get
to the last response. Top- and bottom-posting are matters of preference, not
religious or historical UNIX dogma... Ben Myers

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 19:56:20 +0100, "Benjamin Gawert" <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote:

>ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>
>> I have encountered some IBM systems in the past which would complain
>> about the CPU stepping, but if one reflashed the BIOS with the same
>> BIOS version(!), the BIOS would no longer complain.
>
>That's also the case with several Fujitsu Siemens PCs. The reason is that on
>these systems the BIOS and the microcode are separate files, and the flasher
>only loads the microcode appropriate for the installed CPU. If You change
>processors You have to reflash to get the right microcode on the system...
>
>> You might try
>> flashing the BIOS with even the same version.
>
>Unfortunately, if my memory serves me right this won't work. HP, like most
>PC manufacturers, had BIOSes which contained all supported microcodes in one
>file. So You don't need to reflash after a CPU upgrade...
>
>Benjamin
>
>--
>A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
>Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
>A: Top-posting.
>Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hi Benjamin,

> Well, You don't need a "HP CPU", the A1280 works with generic Slot1
> processors (HP has no "special versions" of Pentium3 processors either)...
I know - as I have said a PIII FCPGA CPU is used. :-)

> The problem is that the BIOS doesn't know the CPU and also doesn't have
> microcode for Your processor. It might just be a cosmetical problem (a
Could you explain - so that a stupid guy like me could understand ;-) -
what the hell this microcode is doing? I mean anything other but to
identify that the Processor is or is not from hp.

> stupid error message when booting), but the microcode which gets loaded
I wish that error message to hell, everytime I reboot the system my wife
get´s an heart attack because the speaker is so unbeliveable loud! ;-)

> into the processor at boot time is very important for the processor
> working correctly and without performance bottlenecks...
??? Until now I thought the intel Processors are all very static things
and nothing is uploaded to them. The only concepts where code is loaded
to an CPU I know is transmeta and such similar Processor familys. In my
opinion the BIOS has the task to make the system optimal work with the CPU?

> Since You won't find a BIOS that supports FCPGA processors for the A1280
> I strongly suggest You try to find a suitable Slot1 CPU...
Apart from the "press F1 Key" Problem after reboot (and the huge medical
Bill for my wife ;-)) there is no real Problem. The System works really
fast and no other Problems are seen, I used it for a long time for a
gaming machine until I´ve bought a PIV System.

Greetings

Carsten Bliessen

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hi,

good Idea but doesn´t help. I have flashed the BIOS again - with the
actual CPU - but it doesn´t help. :-(

It is a little bit frustrating, it is a nice and powerfull System and
such a little Problem could peeve you so.

I´m glad of using unix so I have not boot so much times ;-)

Greetings
Carsten Bliessen

Ben Myers wrote:
> With some IBM boxes, reflashing the BIOS with an installed CPU (supposedly
> unsupported microcode and stepping) makes the BIOS complaint go away. Go
> figure. Apparently the microcode is embedded within the flash BIOS module
> somewhere.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

In the most simple terms, microcode is primarily Intel's way of correcting
errata in the chip design. The microcode is special code, not at all i86
assembly language, that gets loaded into the CPU, either by a flash BIOS update
or a specialized program. The HP BIOS apparently checks both the processor
stepping and microcode to make sure that both are supported by the particular
model. This means that HP engineers and test lab rats have spent the extra time
running extra qualification tests on the given combination of computer
equipment.

With servers and somewhat specialized workstations (like X-Class), the
manufacturers make sure that certain combinations of processor, microcode, and
other hardware work well together. Doing so is part of the justification for
charging a premium price for the computer. When a server is supposed to operate
24/7 or maybe a workstation is supposed to do the same in some hospital lab
environment, buyers are willing to pay a premium for high reliability. The
specific combinations of stepping, microcode, maybe RAID controller firmware
level, and hard disk firmware revision level are SUPPOSED to make for a highly
reliable system. Do they actually contribute to higher reliability? I wonder
sometimes... Ben Myers

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 22:30:14 +0100, Carsten Bliessen <bliessen@gmx.de> wrote:

>Hi Benjamin,
>
>> Well, You don't need a "HP CPU", the A1280 works with generic Slot1
>> processors (HP has no "special versions" of Pentium3 processors either)...
>I know - as I have said a PIII FCPGA CPU is used. :-)
>
>> The problem is that the BIOS doesn't know the CPU and also doesn't have
>> microcode for Your processor. It might just be a cosmetical problem (a
>Could you explain - so that a stupid guy like me could understand ;-) -
>what the hell this microcode is doing? I mean anything other but to
>identify that the Processor is or is not from hp.
>
>> stupid error message when booting), but the microcode which gets loaded
>I wish that error message to hell, everytime I reboot the system my wife
>get´s an heart attack because the speaker is so unbeliveable loud! ;-)
>
>> into the processor at boot time is very important for the processor
>> working correctly and without performance bottlenecks...
>??? Until now I thought the intel Processors are all very static things
>and nothing is uploaded to them. The only concepts where code is loaded
>to an CPU I know is transmeta and such similar Processor familys. In my
>opinion the BIOS has the task to make the system optimal work with the CPU?
>
>> Since You won't find a BIOS that supports FCPGA processors for the A1280
>> I strongly suggest You try to find a suitable Slot1 CPU...
>Apart from the "press F1 Key" Problem after reboot (and the huge medical
>Bill for my wife ;-)) there is no real Problem. The System works really
>fast and no other Problems are seen, I used it for a long time for a
>gaming machine until I´ve bought a PIV System.
>
>Greetings
>
>Carsten Bliessen

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Carsten Bliessen wrote:

> Could you explain - so that a stupid guy like me could understand ;-)
> - what the hell this microcode is doing? I mean anything other but to
> identify that the Processor is or is not from hp.

As I said, HP doesn't make P3 CPUs, the only thing that's "special" on the
CPUs HP used is the sticker with the partno. The BIOS doesn't check if the
CPU is from HP but if the CPU is _supported_, and in case of the A1280 this
is only the case for slot1 processors...

Very simplified spoken, the microcode is the operating system of the CPU.
You can find a better (and longer!) explanation here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcode

All somehwat newer x86 processors beginning with the Pentium Pro have
loadable microcode.

> I wish that error message to hell, everytime I reboot the system my
> wife get´s an heart attack because the speaker is so unbeliveable
> loud! ;-)

Than just use a CPU that the BIOS supports. Shouldn't be a problem to get a
suitable Slot1 CPU today for cheap...

> ??? Until now I thought the intel Processors are all very static
> things and nothing is uploaded to them.

This is true for all x86 intel CPUs before the Pentium Pro...

> The only concepts where code
> is loaded to an CPU I know is transmeta and such similar Processor
> familys.

Loadable microcode isn't really new. Transmeta only mad a step to use the
idea of loadable microcode in a much deeper extend...

> In
> my opinion the BIOS has the task to make the system optimal work with
> the CPU?

The BIOS has to initialize the hardware including the CPU, loads the
microcode into the processor(s), gives ressources to the hardware (or more
common in modern PCs: sets the hardware to await ACPI configuration) and
initiates the bootstrap routine.

> Apart from the "press F1 Key" Problem after reboot (and the huge
> medical Bill for my wife ;-)) there is no real Problem. The System
> works really fast and no other Problems are seen, I used it for a
> long time for a gaming machine until I´ve bought a PIV System.

As I said, it might work, or better: it might look to work ok, but often
enough that's not the case. But chances are good You won't ever experience
problem for things like gaming...

Nevertheless, I really recommend getting a slot1 cpu as it's the only way to
quiet the error beep (besides cutting wires to the speaker)...

Benjamin

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:

> With some IBM boxes, reflashing the BIOS with an installed CPU
> (supposedly unsupported microcode and stepping) makes the BIOS
> complaint go away.

Sure, like on several FSC computers. The reason is that the BIOS supports
more CPUs and contains microcode for more processors than what are listed as
supported by the manufacturer...

What's supported by the BIOS isn't necessarily limited to what's supported
by the manufacturer...

> Go figure. Apparently the microcode is embedded
> within the flash BIOS module somewhere.

It's contained in microcode files. If You're patient enough You can
replace/modify these microcode files and make an IBM computer to support
processors that it didn't like before (i.e. Tualatin Processors)...

> I happen to like top-posting. It allows me to immediately read what
> the last poster had to say, and I don't have to scroll down thru the
> entire thread to get to the last response. Top- and bottom-posting
> are matters of preference, not religious or historical UNIX dogma...

I find top posting very annoying, especially if Your answer refers to
something...

Benjamin

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hi

thanks a lot for your information!

> Very simplified spoken, the microcode is the operating system of the
> CPU. You can find a better (and longer!) explanation here:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcode

I dind´t like that much - if anybody else is interested in that topic,
my favorite is:
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/re [...] /32683.htm

nevertheless have a much thanks again, Benjamin!

> Than just use a CPU that the BIOS supports. Shouldn't be a problem to
> get a suitable Slot1 CPU today for cheap...

I hold that for a rumor ;-) - for the money you spend for a SLOT CPU you
will get a new PIV Prozessor. And the user (un-)friendly Board design of
HP is a barrier, too. So I need original CPU with the special heat sink :-(

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hi

>> Go figure. Apparently the microcode is embedded
>> within the flash BIOS module somewhere.
> It's contained in microcode files. If You're patient enough You can
> replace/modify these microcode files and make an IBM computer to support
> processors that it didn't like before (i.e. Tualatin Processors)...

like on
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/re [...] /32683.htm
described there is an microcode update tool from intel. If I had this
tool and the considering microcode update, wouldn´t it possible to lose
this Error??

What´s your opinion?