does D865PERL BIOS needs updating?

[sdeyoreo]

My D865PERL came with BIOS version P07. Intel site says must be
greater than P06, though they're up to P12. Do I really need to
upgrade?

 

[DaveW]

ONLY upgrade if you're having specific BIOS problems.

 

[Wayne Morgan]

Upgrading the BIOS can cause problems; however, I guess I've been lucky and
never run across one. I've flashed several boards. Read the version info in
the ReadMe file to see what the changes are in the newer versions. I am
running the D865PERL and flashed it to 12 when I built the computer. It is
running fine. Some things to keep you out of trouble:

1) If flashing from a floppy disk, do a FULL format on the floppy disk
before you put the flash files on it to make sure the disk is good and that
the format isn't weak.

2) Make sure you won't get a power bump while flashing.

Intel has a safety feature, they have a BIOS recovery disk you can download
should something go wrong. Use of this disk would require moving the jumper
on the motherboard. The instructions should be on Intel's website, hopefully
in the readme for the recovery disk.

Whenever I put a new computer together, the first thing I do once I have it
running is flash the BIOS to the newest version then install the operating
system. If the flash fails at this point, then its a bad board and it goes
back to the vendor.

 

[sdeyoreo]

Thanks for the info. One question: How go I do a full format on a
floppy?

 

[kony]

My D865PERL came with BIOS version P07. Intel site says must be
greater than P06, though they're up to P12. Do I really need to
upgrade?

You tell us... Do you need to upgrade? upgrade if you need to, if
there is a specific problem addresed by a later BIOS update.

 

[sdeyoreo]

Seems to fix a problem with 3rd party video cards with 256M memory. My
system isn't running yet, still building it.

 

[Wayne Morgan]

In windows explorer or my computer, right click the floppy and choose
Format. Don't check the quick format box. There can be nothing using the
disk for you to format it. That includes other explorer windows and your
antivirus software. Sometimes the antivirus software will interfere for a
few seconds until it finishes scanning the newly installed disk.

From a Dos prompt type

Format a:
Enter

that's a colon after the 'a'. If the floppy is the b: drive, change 'a' to
'b'.

 

[sdeyoreo]

Thanks, I found it myself. Funny hhow we sometimes answer our own
questions!

 

[sdeyoreo]

Can I upgrade the BIOS if I have no hard drives & OS yet? I only have
the floppy driveinstalled.

 

[Wayne Morgan]

Yes, as long as you have another computer to create the floppy disk. There
are 2 downloads for the BIOS update. One will run from within Windows, the
other from a boot floppy.

This is the link to the Dos based (boot floppy) flash utility.

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/Detail_Desc.asp?agr=N&Inst=Yes&ProductID=949&DwnldID=6668

 

[sdeyoreo]

Thanks alot. I think I'm all set now. I really appriciate your help.
I've never flashed a BIOS and want to make sure I do it right. Thanks
again.