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Hello, I've got Acer Aspire 5100, which, as in specifications, had once dual-cored processor. But now, one of the cores has mysteriously disappeared, and I'm not sure why (the processor now reports itself as AMD Turion MK-36. Also the Task Manager displays only one 'CPU Usage' graph (it showed two).

My wifi just stopped working (I dont bother, i've bought external and that malfunctioning took out), so there can be one reason for both of these problems.

Is there any way how to get my core back? The notebook with only one core is junk. Thanks. (OS Vista)

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even BIOS thinks that my CPU has changed :( – Yossarian Nov 26 at 23:34
As shf301 said, perhaps someone switched your laptop... that is really unlikely, but it could happen. Have you played any practical jokes on anyone lately? I would check with them first ;) – marcusw Jan 31 at 15:40

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Are sure that your NB contains a MK-36... It's a single core CPU- so no wonder why only one core is reported.
Did you do a BIOS update?
If you are paranoid you should check, whether it's really your NB...

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I'm sure it contains other CPU. That's why I'm so surprised.. – Yossarian Nov 27 at 14:22
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Are you really sure? CPU's don't just spontaneously change themselves to dual core models. Like JumpingPA said it's more likely that you somehow switched laptops with someone else than the CPU changing. It looks like ACER has a look up by serial number so you see ACER shipped it with: secure3.tx.acer.com/FindSystem/…. Other than that you'll have to disassemble the laptop to see which CPU is actually in it. – shf301 Nov 27 at 17:11
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A fairly standard answer from me: download and boot a Knoppix CD. If Knoppix sees both CPUs you know it's a software problem with Vista. If not, it's a hardware problem and probably unfixable. I agree with shf301 that the only reasonable explanation is that you switched laptops with someone else without realizing it.

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Perfect fix, love it :) – marcusw Jan 31 at 15:38

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