Is my new CPU a doa?

[vesseblah]

I haven't had a single HP BIOS in about 15 years of retail, talking PCs here, that had only those restrictions, yes they'd be limited but not to the degree you're referring, this however is in the EU, i don't know if it's the same in the US, but highly doubtfull.

The CPU thing, possibly, but BIOS updates are always allowed, it depends on the manufacturer if they want to be dicks and make them public or not, in this case HP always does.

Yes, processor restriction, but not BIOS access restriction.

Seems like you missed the point.

Big OEM manufacturers ship a BIOS that is locked to a limited selection of processors and there's nothing you can do about it. Those computers do not have totally open BIOS like generic boards from Asus, MSI, Gigabyte etc and you cant change processor speed or memory timings or anything really besides the time and boot order. Even if there is a BIOS patch for some computer, those do not add support to new processors. Ever. It's part of the planned obsolence which sells stuff.

[Evildeffy]

Seems like you missed the point.

Big OEM manufacturers ship a BIOS that is locked to a limited selection of processors and there's nothing you can do about it. Those computers do not have totally open BIOS like generic boards from Asus, MSI, Gigabyte etc and you cant change processor speed or memory timings or anything really besides the time and boot order. Even if there is a BIOS patch for some computer, those do not add support to new processors. Ever. It's part of the planned obsolence which sells stuff.

Yes and i am saying to you that you're only limiting the BIOS options to what you stated, which is something i've only seen happening on Laptops and not PCs.

Regardless, it is irrelevant as the OP stated it was locked so he couldn't get into the BIOS in the first place, not actually the options thereof, and thus unable to update, i have just proven that incorrect.

I provided him with a link to the BIOS update which he can try, i did however state that the OEM (like HP) can indeed purposely restrict the CPUs, you even quoted that in your post, however more often then you think the OEMs do give a BIOS update to add CPU support (microcode updates), hell they even do so on Laptops.

But this would yet again be the case of the OEM in question, HP, Acer, Dell (the big ones) all allow it as i've on more then one occasion have done so on both laptops and PCs.

Again, regardless of all this, we'll have to wait and see if the BIOS update helped or not.

[ednerr]

I have a new mobo on the way so I can test out the sysprep. I just want to thank everybody for helping me out! It has been a tremendous help. And to simca, there is an activation key code on a sticker on the side of the computer case, can i just use that instead of giving windows a call?

---------- Post added 2011-12-24 at 08:09 AM ----------

Yes and i am saying to you that you're only limiting the BIOS options to what you stated, which is something i've only seen happening on Laptops and not PCs.

Regardless, it is irrelevant as the OP stated it was locked so he couldn't get into the BIOS in the first place, not actually the options thereof, and thus unable to update, i have just proven that incorrect.

I provided him with a link to the BIOS update which he can try, i did however state that the OEM (like HP) can indeed purposely restrict the CPUs, you even quoted that in your post, however more often then you think the OEMs do give a BIOS update to add CPU support (microcode updates), hell they even do so on Laptops.

But this would yet again be the case of the OEM in question, HP, Acer, Dell (the big ones) all allow it as i've on more then one occasion have done so on both laptops and PCs.

Again, regardless of all this, we'll have to wait and see if the BIOS update helped or not.

The BIOS update did go through and everything still works fine but the new CPU is still not registering. Says it is still not supported. I really appreciate your help, it has helped me understand a bit more i did not know about PC's. Just decided to order a new mobo which hopefuly will fix everything.

[Milkshake86]

A reinstall from a backup will net no change in what you have without doing the reinstall. A fresh install of the OS would update chipset and various other drivers that would change from one motherboard to the other. I say 'probably' because in most situations taking a hd from one mobo to another will BSOD on startup, I did however change a mobo on a XP recently and had no problems starting up albeit a little slow on the first startup when it recognized the different hardware..

If you could even boot past bios you might get a bsod, in this case none of the mobo drivers would be present. Now there are some ways to swap mobo/cpu and keep old os and such. It is not the fastest thing and reloading win 7 or w/e your using it likely alot quicker.

[Simca]

And to simca, there is an activation key code on a sticker on the side of the computer case, can i just use that instead of giving windows a call?

Typically no, you may have to enter that code but would still have to verify via phone.

[Evildeffy]

Typically no, you may have to enter that code but would still have to verify via phone.

That code will HAVE to be entered, and chances are it will activate (done it myself numerous times), only on a rare occasion would it require a phonecall to Microsoft, in which case the code STILL has to be entered, then you'll get the activation line which is automated, fill in some numbers and you're done.

The OEM key provided WILL work.