Bad CPU or outdated BIOS?

[Trailhog250]

Hello all, I'm having some trouble with my new i5-3570K I just got.

The trouble being: it's not working. Another problem is I can't even figure out what kind of Motherboard I have. It came out of a Gateway DX 4860 Desktop, it has Acer printed on the Mobo itself, and I believe it's an American Megatrends BIOS.

My current CPU is an i3-2100, I wanted to upgrade to an i5 for better gaming and I did find out they both use the 1155 socket. So my theory was it should work on my Mobo. I was wrong.

So I installed my new CPU, started the computer and when it tried to POST it beeped 4 times. I identified that as a CPU error according to the chart I looked at. After some more research, it appears an outdated BIOS may be my problem. I identified my BIOS version being: P01-A2. I checked the Gateway website for a BIOS update and sure enough the newest version was: P03-A3. (http://support.gateway.com/us/en/product/default.aspx?tab=1&modelId=3696)

I have been unsuccessful in updating/flashing the BIOS having no experience doing so. When I try to run the update according to the instructions provided by Gateway it simply does not work.

I have plans to order a new Mobo in the near future, but in the meantime is there no way of getting this setup to work? Have I been handed a bad CPU (ordered from Newegg) or is my BIOS version so outdated it cannot identify the i5?

Thanks for reading, and I hope this is in the right place. I wasn't sure if it belonged in the CPU or Mobo section. But seeing as it directly involves the CPU, I decided on this one.

My specs as of now:
Thermaltake 600watt ps
Nvidia GTX 660
12 GB DDR3 RAM
i3-2100 CPU
Windows 7 64-bit

 

[blacknemesist]

Yes,it most probably is a bios problem as the i5 cpu compability may have come in a later bios upgrade.

Try downloading the zip file and copy the file at rom/ to a usb stick.
Restart the computer with the usb stick plugged in.
If nothing happens then restart the pc and go into the bios.Look for something such as "flash bios" and run that.it should detect the bios on your usb stick and install everything for you.

Make sure you choose the right bios.

 

[Trailhog250]

Thanks for the reply, but as I stated I am not familiar with flashing the BIOS. I am sure the bios listed on the website is indeed correct. I just don't quite know where to start, I have the bios downloaded and I have a usb stick.

Inside the download are these files/folders:
DOS/
-AFUDOS.exe
-BIOS_DOS.bat
ROM/
P03-A3.rom
WIN/
AFUWIN.exe
AFUWINx64.exe
amifldrv32.sys
amifldrv64.sys
BIOS_WIN.bat

According to the readme I am supposed to be able to simply run BIOS_WIN.bat from Windows and it will do everything. This however does not work, so how can I manually do it from the bios on a usb stick? What files should I copy onto it and what procedure should I use?

 

[Trailhog250]

As an afterthought, maybe I should post in the 'Motherboards' section instead since I need help flashing the BIOS.

 

[Trailhog250]

Best answer selected by Trailhog250.