cpu problems

[David A. Bandel]

On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Robert Hemus <ol.bob at charter.net> wrote:
> Gents, and the honorable, vivacious young lady who frequently visits
> these parts,
>
> While I was installing SuSE 11.0 I saw an option, Firmware Test, so
> after I was done and monkeying around I decided to run it.  Voila! I had
> a problem.
> Test results:  3 fail, 4 warn, 12 pass, 19 total.
> F--  The memory map has a memory hole between 15Mb & 16 Mb
>
> F--  DMI information check.  No SMBIOS nor DMI entry point found.
>
> F--  HPET Configuration test failed to locate HPET base.
>
> Are these failures reparable with BIOS settings or some other cheap
> procedure?  Do I continue to live with them or am I out big bucks for a
> processor?

The above are usually BIOS settings, although if your MB doesn't have
DMI, then it doesn't have DMI (and no SMBIOS which I believe is used
only for DMI -- but I may be mistaken on this).

The 15-16Mb "hole" is configurable in BIOS -- usually says something
about this hole and mentions OS2.

HPET is usually turned off by default.  Again, this is a BIOS setting.
 Look for HPET or High Precision Timer.

You won't need to shell out big bucks for a processor unless you just
want to, most of these are motherboard (BIOS/CMOS) settings.  But if
you're going to shell out big bucks for a processor, make sure you get
the best MB you can for it -- it's as important or more important than
the CPU.  At any rate, they should be a good match -- like a graphics
card and monitor.

Ciao,

David A. Bandel
-- 
Focus on the dream, not the competition.
            - Nemesis Air Racing Team motto