Correct BIOS update for added CPU in Z800

[Tyran-nosaurus_]

Hi,

I am about to upgrade my Z800 from one processor to two. I've been on the Forum and learned a lot of the details about this.

1) I'm going from an E5506 CPU to two W5580s. I am adding  the 1100W power supply and the HP liquid cooling system. The machine is a v.1 with a boot block date of 1/30/09. The current BIOS is v. 1.06.

2) I have access to versions 3.57, 3.60, and 3.61 of the BIOS. I know that the BIOS I have now will not support 2 processors.

3) I know that I will need to update to an "intermediate" BIOS before updating to the most recent.

4) I am also upgrading to Win 7 Professional.

5) My plan is to put all the new stuff in the box, including a new PCIe SSD and graphix card, then boot up and install Win 7.

5) Question #1: Where would I find the required intermediate version of BIOS?

6) Question #2: When do I update the intermediate BIOS? This may sound like a a fabulously stupid question. But wait . . .

I know (from Forum postings) that the thing isn't even gonna run with the two processors, so I cannot update the BIOS after installing Win 7.

My inexperienced brain is telling me to update before adding the new hardware. AM I MISSING SOMETHING???

Please be aware that the last time I built a computer, it was running DOS.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Walter

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

you may be able to update directly from 1.06 to 3.61 it will not cause any issues if it fails to update

after updating simply check the shown revision apon power up,.. if it changes to 3.61 your good. if not then a intermediate

bios update is required, HP was/is  not known for allways mentioning this fact on the bios details and i don't recall if the z800 is the same as the z820 was in this reguard

once the bios is updated, reset to Bios defaults  and power down,

remove power cord and press power button for 5 sec till pwr light on front goes off.

install the second cpu and cooler. Reboot and check if the second cpu is seen, if so install windows 7