Vostro 430 i5 to i7 upgrade

I am trying to upgrade my Vostro 430 from an i5 to i7 CPU. The motherboard is a 054KM3. Both chips use the same socket and from what I have researched it should simply be a straight swap. Having made the swap I run the pre-system diagnostic checks and the i7 is recognized and all the tests run without errors even the long test. However when I boot W7 it won't start. It just keeps restarting the bios routine. I believe the chipset driver is the same for the i5 and i7, but I cannot even reinstall  the chipset driver with the i7 installed as the system won't start. The system will not start either in Safe Mode. If I install the original W7  installation disc Windows reports a problem it cannot resolve. A fresh install onto a clean hard drive fails when it comes to booting the new OS. The i5 chip replaced, the system boots normally. I suspect the i7 chip maybe faulty but the counter argument to that is it passes all the pre system tests. Any help would be appreciated.

Bazza206

 Prior to installing the processor, did you check that BIOS Version 2.4.0 was installed, when updated support for processors was added?

Bev.

Yes. My BIOS is at version 2.4.0

Bev, Yes I did check. My BIOS is version 2.4.0.

Bazza206

What is the number of the i7 processor that's installed?

The Vostro 430 supports the following 1st generation of i7 processors:

Intel Core i7 (880, 870, 860)

Bev.

The CPU is an i7 860 so compatibility should not be an issue. I checked this against specs for a Vostro 430 with an i7 CPU.  This lists as a 1st generation i7 CPU by Intel. Everything says it should work, which is why I concluded the chip must have a problem that affects the running of Windows. I checked seating and checked the chip for bad pins. No problems were apparent. The chip is used so I think I got a bad one.

Bazza206

Yep, you are right, the processor is compatible and should work.

Bev.