Can I flash BIOS?

Hi All,

I want to buy a mobo to accommodate a Celeron D 320 (533, 2.4g) I
have, but the BIOS support on this particular mobo (asus P4P800-E
Deluxe) may have to be updated to do so. If I install the CPU and
find that the BIOS needs to be updated will it boot to a point where I
can do that? Or will the computer simply not operate?

Thanks for anything,

Dennis

Dennis wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I want to buy a mobo to accommodate a Celeron D 320 (533, 2.4g) I
> have, but the BIOS support on this particular mobo (asus P4P800-E
> Deluxe) may have to be updated to do so. If I install the CPU and
> find that the BIOS needs to be updated will it boot to a point where I
> can do that? Or will the computer simply not operate?
>
> Thanks for anything,
>
> Dennis
>

BIOS 1003 is listed here. What are the odds that the BIOS is that old ?

http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppor...=en-us&cache=1

There are no guarantees with BIOS compatibility. Sometimes a board will
refuse to POST, if the processor is not recognized. So you do have a
valid concern. Is there any chance you can ask the person providing
the motherboard, as to what BIOS is installed ?

Paul

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 23:38:32 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.com> wrote:

>Dennis wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I want to buy a mobo to accommodate a Celeron D 320 (533, 2.4g) I
>> have, but the BIOS support on this particular mobo (asus P4P800-E
>> Deluxe) may have to be updated to do so. If I install the CPU and
>> find that the BIOS needs to be updated will it boot to a point where I
>> can do that? Or will the computer simply not operate?
>>
>> Thanks for anything,
>>
>> Dennis
>>
>
>BIOS 1003 is listed here. What are the odds that the BIOS is that old ?
>
>http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppor...=en-us&cache=1
>
>There are no guarantees with BIOS compatibility. Sometimes a board will
>refuse to POST, if the processor is not recognized. So you do have a
>valid concern. Is there any chance you can ask the person providing
>the motherboard, as to what BIOS is installed ?
>
> Paul

Thanks, Paul, for the voice of experience. Yeh, 1003 a very early
BIOS version. Is it possible the BIOS version number is stamped on
the BIOS chip? The owner has apparently never used the board, has no
way to boot it. I sent him an Ebay email about it and await a
response. Would the motherboard version designation, if there's been
more than one version, clue me in as to the age of the BIOS?

In message <469c3aa1.29334140@newsgroups.comcast.net>
mcnameed@comcast.net (Dennis) wrote:

>Thanks, Paul, for the voice of experience. Yeh, 1003 a very early
>BIOS version. Is it possible the BIOS version number is stamped on
>the BIOS chip? The owner has apparently never used the board, has no
>way to boot it. I sent him an Ebay email about it and await a
>response. Would the motherboard version designation, if there's been
>more than one version, clue me in as to the age of the BIOS?

Does it happen to be in the original box? At least a few in my
collection have manufacture dates (which would at least tell you
"impossible" vs "maybe" vs "likely") and/or BIOS numbers.

--
If quitters never win, and winners never quit,
what fool came up with, "Quit while you're ahead"?

Dennis wrote:
> On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 23:38:32 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.com> wrote:
>
>> Dennis wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> I want to buy a mobo to accommodate a Celeron D 320 (533, 2.4g) I
>>> have, but the BIOS support on this particular mobo (asus P4P800-E
>>> Deluxe) may have to be updated to do so. If I install the CPU and
>>> find that the BIOS needs to be updated will it boot to a point where I
>>> can do that? Or will the computer simply not operate?
>>>
>>> Thanks for anything,
>>>
>>> Dennis
>>>
>> BIOS 1003 is listed here. What are the odds that the BIOS is that old ?
>>
>> http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppor...=en-us&cache=1
>>
>> There are no guarantees with BIOS compatibility. Sometimes a board will
>> refuse to POST, if the processor is not recognized. So you do have a
>> valid concern. Is there any chance you can ask the person providing
>> the motherboard, as to what BIOS is installed ?
>>
>> Paul
>
> Thanks, Paul, for the voice of experience. Yeh, 1003 a very early
> BIOS version. Is it possible the BIOS version number is stamped on
> the BIOS chip? The owner has apparently never used the board, has no
> way to boot it. I sent him an Ebay email about it and await a
> response. Would the motherboard version designation, if there's been
> more than one version, clue me in as to the age of the BIOS?
>

I have a motherboard from the same era, and the BIOS release was on a
sticker applied to the BIOS chip. If the current owner has good eyesight,
it shouldn't be a problem to find it. See the yellow stick in the lower left
corner of this picture, for an example. (The sticker doesn't have to be
yellow, but it sure is easy to see here. The chip it is on, looks like it
is a socketed 32 pin PLCC flash chip.)

http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/mainb...800e/board.jpg

You can buy replacement flash chips, at sites like badflash.com . They
will program it to your specifications. That is how people get themselves
out of a jam, when a BIOS flash goes bad. Sites like that charge
somewhere in the vicinity of $25. If worse comes to worse, you can always
spend the $25 and get to use your new board.

Paul