You Cannot Use AMD PowerNow! Technology Power Management Features (813383)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you install Microsoft Windows XP on a computer with an AMD Mobile Athlon XP-M 2000+ or later processor, you may not be able to use the AMD PowerNow! Technology power management features. As a result, you may experience decreased battery life, decreased performance, and warmer operating temperatures.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the generic Processor.sys driver is loaded instead of the Amdk7.sys driver. The CPUID has been changed on AMD Athlon XP-M 2000+ and later processors. For the Amdk7.sys driver to start correctly on these processors, the driver's .inf file must be modified to include the CPUID for the AMD K7 Model 10 processors. The Amdk7.sys driver provides support for AMD PowerNow! Technology on AMD Mobile Athlon processors.

RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The global version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 
   Date         Time   Version        Size    File name
   -----------------------------------------------------
   17-Dec-2002  18:16  5.1.2600.1152  32,512  Amdk7.sys

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

MORE INFORMATION

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

For additional information about AMD Power Now! Technology and Windows XP, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

318891 AMD PowerNow! Technology Support for Windows XP

306458 AMD PowerNow! Functionality May Require a Driver for AMD Mobile Athlon 4 and Duron Processors with Windows XP

815624 How to Enable AMD PowerNow! Functionality for a New Installation of Windows XP

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/10/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbWinXPsp2fix kbQFE kbWinXPpreSP2fix kbfix kbbug KB813383 kbAudEndUser
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.