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SP6 CPU suddenly stuck at 400MHz

Anonymous
2024-06-20T20:21:32+00:00

I have been happily running my SP6 for many years but it suddenly became very sluggish. I tried various updates and a Win 11 repair but no success, so thought, oh well, time for a clean install. 5 clean installs and much frustration later, I read something somewhere that made me look at the CPU speed and it is only 400Mhz. This is with a clean install on a reformatted partition, followed by all Windows updates and with no other software installed.

Some more searching suggested booting in Safe Mode to see whether the CPU speed returned to normal. I did this and it shows as 1.8GHz but as soon as I reboot back in normal mode it is back at 400MHz.

How do I get things back to normal?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-06-21T07:38:38+00:00

    Thanks for your thoughts, which are really helpful.

    The SP6 has been running fine from a clean install of Win11 for 2 or 3 years (it was re-built when I bought my SP8) with default power management settings and the 5 or 6 clean installs I have tried since this issue arose were all with default settings. I tried fiddling with power management after penning my question here but without success. I think I can probably rules this out as the cause - famous last words...

    Overheating was my initial concern but why now? The SP is my "old" that sits on its docking station and that I use only when I want a big screen for whatever reason, otherwise I use my newer SP8. So, while it could and does get warm/hot like any SP, it is frequently used from cold, so I would have hoped that if something triggered the slow-down, things would have been back to normal a week or so later when it was next used. Also, since penning my question, I have looked at internal temperatures and they are about 35 degrees.

    That sort of leaves CPU throttling in the BIOS. I cannot see how to disable it in the SP BIOS, which seem to have precious-few options but after penning this post, discovered Throttlestop. I have installed that and disabled BD PROCHOT. That "solves" the problem and the CPU speed, and performance, return immediately to normal but I cannot hardwire that into the BIOS.

    Clearly some sensor has failed or malfunctioned, such that BD PROCHOT is "protecting" the system for me when there is apparently no need but I am not sure where I can go from here other than running Throttlestop every time I start the SP (and keeping an eye on temperatures while using it?)

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-06-21T00:29:11+00:00

    Hi pinnks, hope you're doing well. I'm Ian, and I'm happy to help you today.

    This could be due to various reasons such as overheating, power management settings, or a specific hardware issue. Have you tried checking the power management settings and ensuring that the cooling system is functioning properly?

    You can also try to disable CPU throttling in BIOS

    If the issue persists, it might be worth seeking technical support to diagnose and address the problem.

    This is a user-to-user support forum, and I am a fellow user.

    I hope this helps, but please let me know if you need anything else.

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