I changed some bios settings. I cant remember what I set the clock speed to but the computer would not post afterwards. I tried clearing cmos, did not work. Next I put the processor on another motherboard hoping that it still worked. When I booted, I heard a loud steady beeping noise. I took the processor out and put the old one back in, now that motherboard doesn't work either. The cpu that caused the problems visibly looks find. Both motherboards are compatible with the cpu (AMD Athlon XP 2600, motherboards are KT4AV MSIs). Is it possible that the cpu could be bad from a bad bios setting? Could it have overheated in a few seconds before posting and not show any visible signs?

You could have burned out the processor w/o it showing any visible signs. From my knowledge, it is rare that a processor burns out from the BIOS settings; the system may not boot until the settings are changed but the processor? What BIOS settings did you change first of all? What motherboard are you using? (New and Old) Were you trying to overclock? Sempron 2400+ OCed to 2.15GHZ Abit NF7-S2 1 GB PC3200 Ram Thermaltake T2-M4 HSF rmackie@microtailors.com www.microtailors.com

Well, I may have set the clock speed accidentally to 280mhz trying to clock it at the 166mhz it was supposed to be clocked at. There were some weird presets that I never dealt with before so I am not exactly sure what I did. It was set at 100mhz by default. Both motherboards are MSI KT4AV. Any ways. I have tried 4 combinations with the two processors and two mobos and none will work now. The original KT4AV with a 1.4 ghz AMD T-tbird wont even work now. That is why I think I fried the processor and then fried the other mb when I installed the 2600+ cpu. Two different power supplies were also used.

Well, I may have set the clock speed accidentally to 280mhz trying to clock it at the 166mhz it was supposed to be clocked at. There were some weird presets that I never dealt with before so I am not exactly sure what I did. It was set at 100mhz by default. Both motherboards are MSI KT4AV. Any ways. I have tried 4 combinations with the two processors and two mobos and none will work now. The original KT4AV with a 1.4 ghz AMD T-tbird wont even work now. That is why I think I fried the processor and then fried the other mb when I installed the 2600+ cpu. Two different power supplies were also used.

Are you sure that the power supplies work properly? Usually the BIOS has an option to automatically power off if the temperature exceeds a certain limit. Do you know if this setting was on? Regardless of what you set the clock speed to, The CPU wouldn't have burned out.. The VCore beyond....say...1.85V is a cause for a burnout with the XP and Athlon processors but even that happends with gradual heat buildup that is not dissipated properly. Hmm....so you said two different power supplies were used. Are you sure that they both work perfectly? When you installed the CPUs did you connect them properly and apply the heatsink and thermal paste properly? (thin film of thermal paste and the heatsink...spread until it becomes slightly transparent.) The beeping noise that you heard can be explained in your mobo manual (post beeps) It can tell you the meaning of the beep count and length. That can help you narrow down the problem source. If you can, try to install the CPU in another motherboard. (very carefully!) Also, I should have asked this question sooner...but what do you mean when you say that the PC won't post? No beeps? Do your drives spin? Let me know what happens. Sempron 2400+ OCed to 2.2GHZ Abit NF7-S2 1 GB PC3200 Ram Thermaltake T2-M4 HSF rmackie@microtailors.com www.microtailors.com

The beep codes did not match any of the AMIBIOS beep codes that I saw. But after the long steady beep on my motherboard when I installed the 2600+ cpu, it did not work, even when I reinstalled my old 1.4 t-bird cpu. The 1.4 tbird/msi mobo/300w ps set up is something I have had for 3 years. This new computer I am building for a friend worked twice. I installed windows xp pro, then changed the bios settings to get it up to full speed. After the bios change it did not work. I tried the cpu on my motherboard and got the one beep code and then that motherboard no longer worked even when I put back the old cpu. Both had thermal paste on them. I also tried the 1.4 in the new mobo, no beep codes, no POST. When I say it wont post, I mean no beep codes, no image on the monitor, after about a minute I can open the dvd drive, and the hdd light comes on and stays on. I got the one beep code (if that is what it was, like I said it did not match anything I have seen before) right before my motherboard stopped working. Also, it is worth mentioning that my cpu has the MSI D-bracket deal on it and I get 4 red lights, according to the manual that indicates a processor problem.