What means Tbirds dont support ACPI technology

[gustavo]

I run an analizer program that detected my 1Ghz
series C Tbird does not support ACPI technology
and i thougth maybe this is the reason why my
PC sometimes refuses to get awakened when I move
the mouse and press keys after it being inactive
(not hibernating). I have APM disabled in the BIOS
and ACPI S1 enabled.

Is that Tbird does not support ACPI or is has nothing
to do with it ??

Thanks Gustavo.-

[brad]

AMD document 23792.pdf says ACPI and APM are both supported. VIA docs say their chipsets comply with the APM/ACPI specs also. I don't know what is causing the program you mentioned to say it doesn't have ACPI but there is no doubt it is wrong because ACPI is present and does work.

As for the freezing problem, that could be a BIOS setup error, BIOS bug, a driver bug, even a windows bug. There is just no way to tell until something comes along that fixes it.

You should know that ACPI, although a good idea, is still somewhat problematic. Bugs are still encountered on Intel based boards, just not as often as on non-intel boards. I ALWAYS disable ACPI/APM in the BIOS for that reason. I don't need windows doing something stupid like failing to wake up or flush the HD cache before spinning them down and going to sleep. <g>

Brad

[gustavo]

Thanks Brad, I cannot disable ACPI in the BIOS because windows 2000 wont start, it reads what is set at instalation and installs itself according to what it read at that moment, if I disable ACPI (I tried) it keeps rebooting all the time, to disable ACPI I would need to reinstall windows 2000 and is not the time to do it but I´l take your advice and will disable all energy saving features at the control panel, I trust you.

As to APIC do you know what is its purpose ? The diagnostic program says my CPU does not support it either.

Thanks Gustavo.-

[brad]

APIC stands for "advanced programable interrupt controller" and the Athlon t-bird does in fact have it as well as ACPI.

APIC is one element of ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface). It directly controls the CPU's power state but it also ties in with the BIOS, motherboard, and chipset to create and support the complete ACPI subsystem.

The "interrupt controller" that most people recognise and refer to as the device that manages/handles interrupts for common motherboard functions like plug-n-play cards etc is part of the motherboard chipset, the KT266 in this case.

What program is telling you that your system doesn't have or doesn't support ACPI and APIC? I'm curious because this is twice that it is incorrect. I hope it isn't Sandra because it reports ACPI and APIC correctly on my mobo.

Brad

[gustavo]

Brad: that was not Sandra but Sandra reports as follows:

- Sisoft Sandra Professional Version 1.11.8.53
- Module "CPU & BIOS information"
- System BIOS:
Supports ACPI: yes
- Processor 1
Features:
Local APIC Built-in: No
ACPI Technology: No

Is that my CPU is defective ??
Gustavo.-

[brad]

No, there is nothing wrong with your cpu. It isn't supposed to be able to pass its own initialization self test if APIC isn't working because that is an internal function. Any remaining problems are probably elsewhere in the ACPI subsystem, ie a chipset design flaw, a BIOS bug, or some other area I don't know anything about.

I also don't know why your 2 programs are reporting what they are but I suspect they are incorrect because of the documentation evidense I have given you. Wether or not it is important to you is your decision of course but I wouldn't worry about it because I hear and read about ACPI related problems all the time and the universal fix is usually to disable it.

The only exception I would make would be if ACPI must be enabled to install an O/S. It isn't for win-2k but I don't know about win-xp. I watch out for these kind of hardware issues as best as I can, but I can't catch everything.

Brad

[Shadow]

Originally posted by brad
APIC stands for "advanced programable interrupt controller" and the Athlon t-bird does in fact have it as well as ACPI.


Actually, the APIC is part of the chipset, not the CPU.

APIC is one element of ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface). It directly controls the CPU's power state but it also ties in with the BIOS, motherboard, and chipset to create and support the complete ACPI subsystem.


APIC is not an element of ACPI. APIC is an component of SMP (Symmetric Multi Processing) chipsets, and predates the ACPI standard. You will find APICs on AMD 760MP chipsets, Intel GX, ServerWorks LE/HE etc, but not on 810, 815, LX and so forth. APIC equipped chipsets can also be ACPI compliant.

Ian

[brad]

Thanks for the correction and additional info. I appreciate it and am sure Gustavo does as well. I was trying to briefly tie together the things that as I understand them work together to comprise the power management subsystem on the motherboard. I said the main interrupt controller is in the chipset, has been for ages, but I should have spent enough time in the AMD docs to understand what is comming and going from the CPU's APIC pins. By all means, help explain this stuff in more detail if you can and wish to. It will be appreciated.

Brad

[gustavo]

Thanks Shadow, Brad is right, I also appreciate your contribution,
as I would from anybody willing to share his/her knowledge on forums like this as Brad has done for a long while now.

Gustavo.-

[Shadow]

No problem. Was there anything in particular you wished to know more about?

[gustavo]

Yes, I would want to know many things Shadow. But for the moment I just want to thank you.

Gustavo.-