Hi my name is Ryon,

About 4 years ago i bought an hp pavilion a530n desktop from HP and the thing ran great untill sp2 came out. Apearantly there is a problem with the processor and bios setup they were using that triggers a fail save causing my proc speed to drop from 1.8GHz to 800MHz. For the longest time i didnt worry about it and just stayed away from sp2 after my frist encounter with it, but now im still having problems without sp2 installed so im thinking my initial assumption was incorrect. Here's the kicker...when i restart the machine the bios says its running at 2000MHz and when i get into windows it runs at 800MHz. Well im tired of whipping the machine back to factory condition everytime this comes up and would like to find a solid solution. I looked at the hp site and there is no thread in the tech forum on it and they want to charge me for support services since my warranty is dead. And well thats why im here. I've tried going into task manager and killing all the processes one by one, and checking the the speed by right clicking and selecting properties on the my computer window. The results seem to be totally random. It kicks on and off from 800MHz to 2kMHz. I am currently running SP1 and the machine is very near factory condition and im 99% its not virus related becuase ive had the problem for 4 years and its unlikely im catching the same thing everytime. So far i've only gone to my email sites, bank site, paypal, ebay, and did some shopping for watches and ar-15 accessories. None of the sites seem like they would of compromised my security. If you can help great.

sincerely,

Ryon

Seems to me like the cpu may be underclocking itself for whatever reason. What's your cpu usage in task manager?

Hi ryon.

You shouldn't jump to the conclusion that "HP shafted you". XP is probably configured to underclock the CPU when it detects that it is idle (most of the time). To disable automatic underclocking :
Click on the Desktop > select Properties > click Screensaver > click the Power button > click the Power scheme dropdown list > select Always On

This will keep the CPU running at the max rate whether you need it or not, and you do not need this. Home/Office Desk(top) is an optimal setting for desktop systems. Laptops really should have the Portable/Laptop scheme to save as much power as possible for the times when the power cord is unplugged.