GX1 BIOS flash 'system halt' error

Question

I flashed BIOS from A07 to A10 (latest from Dell Download for my service tag 8MPA8).    I now get message: 'Alert! Processor type mismatch. This system does not supprot this processor type.  System Halted.'  I've now read elsewhere on the Internet that A07 is the highest rev which supports my GX1, and I should go back to A07.    Where do I find A07 (can't find it on Dell website) and how do I flash BIOS with system halted (doesn't appear to read a floppy). Release notes with A10 do not mention that older processors will not be supported (only that 'halt system for unsupported CPU installed' was added for A09).

peterfelgate_ce40d3 · Answer

Classic problem, classic response which you would find if you search these forums. ONLY solution is to get a processor compatible with A10 (i.e. no higher than 500MHz - I keep a 266 PII or 350 handy for this), put that in, flash back to A07, then put the faster processor back; you can't recover uisng the faster processor. A08 and upwards have an inhibit toi stop you putting faster processors in....BIOS is at ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios....

PS easiest way to proceed is to download the A07 bios file to a PC, wipe the A10 bios file from the existing boot floppy, then copy the A07 file across; you might have to do a ctrl-c when booting from the floppy to get the command prompt, depending on how you created the floppy.

Message Edited by peterfelgate on 02-08-2006 02:07 AM

speedstep · Answer

The bios disk for A10 is here

ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios/BGX1_A10.exe

You download and make a diskette.

Then Run the A07 bios file after removing the A10 bios GX1_A10.EXE

ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios/GX1_A07.exe

Dell Computer Corporation Self-Extracting Diskette Set

You will need 1 formatted diskette(s) to continue.

Press Enter to continue or Ctrl-C to exit.

Diskette 1 - Put a formatted, blank diskette into drive A: and press Enter.

┌────── Diskette Image Description ──────┐
Dell Flash BIOS
OptiPlex GX1, OptiPlex NX1, OptiPlex ...

vA10 - diskette 1 of 1
Dell Computer Corporation - www.dell.com
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
1.44M diskette image (Disk eXPress type 2)

Diskette in drive A: is about to be overwritten
with new information. Do you wish to continue? (y/N): y

1.44M diskette found in drive A:

100% Written

32-bit CRC stored: 47798E24
32-bit CRC computed: 47798E24

End of the diskette set. Press Enter.

Dell Computer Corporation
Copyright (C) 2000, All Rights reserved.

BIOS Release Notes:

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A10
Release Date: 08-01-2001

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A09 to create A10.

1. New NIC.ROM to fix booting across Cisco routers. Version .99n.02
2. Updated the copyright to 2001.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A09
Release Date: 06-22-2000

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A08 to create A09.

1. Added space-saver chassis to smbios type 3 enclosure information structure.

2. Updated SMBIOS Type 01 structure to include system service tag.

3. The INT19 handler will now call an option ROM's INT18 handler if all boot
devices fail.

4. Updated copyright messages to the year 2000.

5. Added new TOKENs (93h/94h) for PXE_NEXT_BOOT enable/disable.

6. Added TOKENs for ACPI ON/OFF.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A08
Release Date: 01-06-2000

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A07 to create A08.

1. Adjust ACPI support to work better with Windows 2000 and Windows 98.

2. Fix 7-digit service tag support to allow more valid service tags.

3. Add SMBIOS structure for system board information, correct other structures.

4. Change bottom right SETUP info window to indicate CPU version and stepping.

5. Update to latest intel CPU microcode patches.

6. Update POST code for supported CPU's.

7. Halt system if unsupported CPU installed.

8. Get rid of possible delay in POST on system board without a NIC.

9. Allow F12 as POST Boot-from-Network key, as well as F3.

10. Fix possible hang going into SETUP if parts of CMOS are corrupted.

11. Adjust INT 13 extensions to NOT state LBA support on a user-defined drive.

12. Remove force of 1.44mb mode on a diskette if more than 15 sectors defined.

13. Adjust User Password prompting code.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A07
Release Date: 07-30-99

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A06 to create A07.

1. Fix 'day of month' code in setup to not allow invalid dates.

2. Add new Microcode updates for all supported processors.

3. Fixed WuOL handling on abnormal conditions.

4. Add ACPI/WuOL changes for win98 & win2k.

5. Add support for 7-digit service tag.

6. FIX 32-bit PCI_SET_HW_INT call.

7. Add Bootable ZIP ATAPI drive support (new setup field to enable as floppy).

8. Add support for 4meg flash BIOS parts on the motherboard.

9. Added beep on "ALT-F" command in setup.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A06
Release Date: 04-28-99

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A04 to create A06.

1. Update Pentium III Microcode to patch level 5.

2. Support up to 550 Mhz Pentium III.

3. Fix possible owner tag corruption on fast CPU's.

4. Fixed problem with incorrectly detecing nic presence if eeprom corrupted.

5. Added support for new chassis type.

6. ACPI DELL OEMID string now all caps ("DELL").

7. Added bootable LS-120 support.

8. Fix possible PNP errors with non-compliant European ISA PnP modems.

9. Only call ISA option ROM if it's still in the memory space.

10. Updated 3COM NIC ROM to 0.99j.03.

11. Add CPU Serial number enable/disable for Pentium III in setup.

12. Fix possible mis-detection of 433Mhz CPU when 450Mhz CPU is installed.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A04
Release Date: 01-27-99

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A03 to create A04.

1. Added support for Pentium III (SMBIOS, SETUP, Microcode updates).

2. Disable CPU 'Processor Number' feature in Pentium III.

3. Change copyright to 1999.

4. Fixed possible Teac CDROM non-boot problem.

5. Updated SMBIOS to properly report system bus speed.

6. Update SETUP for different CPU cache sizes.

7. Update TIME and DATE fields in SETUP continuously, not just TIME.

8. Locked TIME and BOOT SEQUENCE if setup password enabled.

9. Updated L2 cache initialization code to intel's latest.

10. Fixed boot problem with Adaptec 1542CP adapter in PnP mode.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A03
Release Date: 10-27-98

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A02 to create A03.

1. Add 3COM code to properly setup NIC for power-down and restart.

2. Support NT 5.0 wakeup from scheduled event from "Hibernate", as well
as wakeup set in BIOS SETUP.

3. Fix incorrect AUTO-POWER-ON wakeup possibility on certain dates.

4. Remove incorrect flags setting in Remote BIOS Update code causing invalid
failure warnings.

5. Correct PCI routing table entry for VGA (agp bus)

6. Update Pentium II microcode patches to current levels.

7. Add support for 500Mhz Pentium II.

8. Correct chassis intrusion detection and reporting.

9. Fix NT NMI causing blank screen, instead of NT error screen.

10. Add new PXE .99j code. Fixes bad reads of boot images, and 'no connection'.

11. Support more video memory vendors.

12. Support more models of Pentium II processors.

13. Better support ACPI under NT5
(change order of UUID string, cache descriptors).

14. Fix SMBIOS to properly enable/disable on-board NIC.

15. Memory Failure message not displayed correctly in POST.

16. Do not clear Dimm Out of Rev error bits in CMOS.

17. Fixed keyboard hang with scanner wand that attached to the ps/2 port.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1, GX1p
Version: A02
Release Date: 7-27-98

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A01 to create A02.

1. The BIOS will identify and support a Pentium II CPU speed of 500MHz.

2. The BIOS now identifies to the ACPI operating system that the system is
capable of resuming from an S4 sleep state via the RTC alarm mechanism.

3. When the BIOS determines that the user has disabled ACPI through the
system Setup program, The interface by which ACPI is identified from the
ACPI operating system is completely removed.

4. CD-ROM and DVD reader's media sense is now given time to complete before
the system BIOS attempts to boot from the device.

5. Fixed BBS pnp call to report the "IPL-ATTEMPT-DEVICE-FAILED" bit correctly
for selectable boot.

6. Fixed ATAPI DMA enable not being configured properly in the Bus mastering.
capabilities register,

7. Corrected fan/thermal failure detection when ACPI power management
is enabled.

8. Reordered the DevNode list.

9. PNP BIOS now claims a full 2Meg for the High BIOS region.

10. Added support for new Intel Deschutes B0 stepping CPUs.

11. Added 250mS delay to PCI reset giving hard drives a longer time
to complete their cache dumping on a warm boot.

12. Added setup support for drives larger than 8GB.

13. BIOS support for ACPI can now be enabled and disabled via
a setup option.

14. ATI .086 video BIOS code drop.
* Added Rage Pro A33 detection to the BIOS to turn off
CMD_FIFO_EXTSENSE in register CUSTOM_MACRO_CNTL. This bit will be
set to zero on the A33 revision to provide optimal sense timing.
On the A22, this bit will remain set.

* Fixed a BIOS bug in the save and restore function (optional) that
failed to restore I2C_CNTL_0[16:31] properly. The error may cause
large capacity hard disks with multiple partition to fail because
the restore code trashed the hard disk code by mistake.

* Changed the burst length setting (EXT_MEM_CNTL 0_2B[24:25]) in the
SGRAM BIOS from 2 to 1 to prevent generating illegal cycles during
Burst Write operations.

15. Changed wait condition for power down and reset during SMM some
chipset are hanging on the CLI/HLT combo. We now incorporate an
endless loop instead.

16. Added description of reserved memory hole in extended memory
reporting mechanisms. (ACPI,PNP,E820)

17. Enhanced ACPIs system board resources. IRQ 9 and power management
IO space are now reported as ACPI resources.

18. Changed the supported DMA channels for the PNP floppy interface from
0-2 to 1-3.

19. Fixed granularity differences between 0xE820 & 0xE801 for ACPI
Data region.

20. Added sanity check to floppy and Parallel port PNP set config.

21. Changed default IRQ map for system DEVNODES. We were reporting
to IRQ lines that were not supported.

22. Added support for card bus bridge in PCI power management support.

23. Fixed Thermal trigger polarity causing unknown SMI events during
POST.

24. Added restore of wake-on-RTC in power loss recovery code.

25. Enable Wake-On-Lan under Win98 S5 power state

26. Fixed bug in SMM resume code path possibly corrupting the PCI
config index register.

27. The BIOS now supports video controllers with PCI/PNP header
connections.

28. Added patch to support some OEM vendor's options that mask off
IRQ 1 during initialization and do not reenable it on exit.

29. Added new Option to Chassis intrusion field in setup. User
can now have chassis intrusion enabled but not notify at POST
time.

30. Setup password functionality has been changed to protect every
field in setup.

Systems: OptiPlex GX1, NX1
Version: A01
Release Date: 5-11-98

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A00 to create A01.

1. During POST the user can press the F3 key to override the system boot
order and boot directly to a DHCP network server.

2. The BIOS now correctly returns the Max structure size for the SMBIOS
interface.

3. The BIOS now correctly reports onboard temperature probe data in
thousandths of degrees instead of hundredths. And negative numbers
are truncated to zero.

4. The BIOS now supports Intel's Celeron family of CPUs.

5. The BIOS can now reprogram the onboard NIC's EEPROM if it gets
corrupted.

6. The BIOS's CPU microcode update now supports the 651 CPU id.

7. The BIOS now reports the correct DMA channels 1-3 for the onboard
parallel port in system PNP device nodes. Was reporting DMA
channels 0-2.

8. Changed the Parallel port INIT line delay from 400uS to 1000uS
to better support some slower printers that need a longer reset.

9. The BIOS now skips the memory test during a warm boot.

10. Fixed a problem with the Auto-power down in WindowsNT not reseting
the RTC Auto-power on feature.

11. The System password has been moved up earlier in POST to prevent
unauthorized access to option ROMs that support user input.

12. Fixed a problem with the SMM code not saving and restoring the
PCI Config index register correctly on System management interrupts.

13. The BIOS will now arm the Wake-On-Lan feature of the on-board NIC
if the user has it enabled in setup. This is a fail safe feature
for remote systems in case the driver cannot get it done.

14. The BIOS now takes advantage of hardware for monitoring power
loss, instead of CMOS.

15. The Remote BIOS update feature is now capable of continuing it's
search of the update image even if a bad image is encountered.

16. The BIOS's PCI configuration at POST now supports the card bus
bridge during the extended capabilities search.

The following changes have been made to Video BIOS:

1. Changed the VESA mode attribute information for 132 column
text modes, 109h and 10ah, to indicate "Relocatable Window"
is supported.

2. A wait state cycle has been added between back-to-back video memory
read/write cycles to prevent the read data from being corrupted by
write on some marginal video memory chips.

3. Bits 14 15 of the mode number passed into the VBE function 1 are
now cleared for compatibility.

4. Fixed the BIOS built-in VESA graphics modes CRT table timing
  discrepancy problem for the following modes:
mode 101h 640x480x8bpp   @85hz
mode 110h 640x480x15bpp   @85hz
mode 111h 640x480x16bpp   @85hz
mode 112h 640x480x32bpp   @85hz
mode 107h 1280x1024x8bpp @43hz, @85hz
mode 119h 1280x1024x15bpp @43hz, @60hz, @85hz
mode 11Ah 1280x1024x16bpp @43hz, @60hz, @85hz
mode 11Bh 1280x1024x32bpp @60hz

5. Fixed a problem in the VBE protected mode function 7 code where the
starting address was incorrectly set.

6. Fixed the wrong mode attributes returned for modes 109h and 10ah.
These should be text mode, graphics modes attributes were returned
instead.

7. The definition of the number of images calculation was changed to
follow the Scitech VBE convention. The VESA spec does not state
clearly how the calculation should be done.

8. Fixed a bug in the VGA mode 6 scrolling function that hangs the
system if the number of rows to scroll is larger than the scrolling
window.

Jonesgb · Answer

peterfelgate, SpeedStep.    I really appreciate your help with this and getting me pointed in the right direction.  I found some more details on the forum and was able to flash my BIOS back to A07.  (higher rev BIOS for slower processors only? go figure. And not even a hint of a warning on the Dell download site).    For the floppy I copied the A07 to replace the A10 then changed the autoexec.bat to run the A07.  Worked perfectly although it took a few tries to get the NVRAM reset properly.   Believe it or not, but I did actually read the release notes before flashing to A10.  I had no idea the 600Mhz process was 'unsupported' (after all, it did work).  Only after reading messages on the board did I come to realize that 'unsupported' meant speeds over 500Mhz.   System appears to be working again.  I couldn't have done without your help. I really though the system was toast.    Again, many thanks, Greg

joesmaname · Answer

I know this issue is resolved but just for the record I have BIOS A10 running on a GX1 and am running a PIII 550. It's the last processor specifically mentioned as having support added for it in A06

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GX1 BIOS flash "system halt" error

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