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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Engel who wrote (37565)	9/28/1998 6:50:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572604

AMD fixes obscure Win95 on K6-2 flaw at >=350 MHz. Patch developed by MSFT By Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, CNET News.com September 28, 1998, 1:35 p.m. PT A relatively obscure, but annoying, bug has been discovered in the fastest versions of the K6-2 processor from Advanced Micro Devices, but the company and Microsoft have taken steps to eradicate it. The flaw occurs when Windows 95 is run on K6-2 processors running at 350 MHz, according to AMD. Essentially, when a user attempts to boot up, the computer replies that a "Windows Protection" error has occurred and that the computer must be rebooted. Typically, the flaw does not repeat itself on the reboot. The flaw only manifests itself intermittently and comes as a result of a mismatch between processor frequency and the software timing loop. The bug is not an inherent flaw to the processor. "Basically, the speed of the processor was too fast," said a spokesperson at AMD. The flaw does not appear on computers running Windows 98 or Windows NT, the spokesperson added. Major domestic computer vendors are bundling their AMD systems with Windows 98. Computers affected by the flaw are generally from overseas vendors or regional dealers. The flaw can also affect consumers who build their own systems. The 350-MHz K6-2 was released in late August. Regional vendors often give consumers a choice of Microsoft operating systems, according to computer dealers. Taiwanese vendors are also continuing to offer Windows 95 on a variety of systems. A patch for the bug developed by Microsoft was posted late last week. To get the patch, users are told to contact Microsoft's support lines and request the "hotfix for Windows 95." The call is free but customers will be charged $35 for the support, according to an update on AMD's Web site. More on fixing the flaw can be found at a bulletin on AMD's Web site. AMD has known about the flaw since the release of the 350-MHz K6-2, and has been working on a patch since then. Typically, AMD does not post information on processor flaws until a fix is found, said sources. Later this year, 380 MHz and 400 MHz versions of the AMD chip are due.