what are the differences between...

You could help by telling us which machine!

 

Download the Bios Diskette Image and read the RELEASE.TXT file to find out.

http://support.dell.com/support/systemsinfo/documentation.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Hundreds of models of Dell have those version numbers for the Bios.

that link seems useless, what am i supposed to be looking for???

Which card are you trying to use?

On one of the other Optiplex sections someone ran into a problem with a GF6200 not working, but a GF4200 worked fine for this person.

that was me... we also were able to get a ati expert@play98 16mb card to work.

epert 98 card is an 8 Meg Rage proII AGP. Keep in mind that the 6200 is not a REAL AGP card. It has a bridge to PCI that the GX150 may not like due to signal voltages being too small. As I said the Bios update disk has the Release notes.



Dell Computer Corporation
Copyright (C) 2001, All Rights reserved.

BIOS Release Notes


Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A11
Release Date: 11-01-04

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A10 to create A11:

1. Update NIC hotkey processing.


Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A10
Release Date: 7-29-02

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

1. Added support for newer Celeron processors.
2. Added support for additional models in the GX150 Series.
3. Added ability to enable/disable F2 and F12 messages during POST.
4. Boot devices that are disabled (unchecked in the Setup) no longer
appear in the boot menu.
5. Updated copyright strings to 2002.
6. Updated vendor IDs for CNET and Davicom.
7. Keypad Enter key can now be used to select an item in the boot menu.
8. Modified printer port functionality to increase ECP compatibility.
9. Updated selectable boot code to gracefully handle corrupted data.
10.Fixed 'Unknown device' shown in Setup when a bad hard drive is detected.



Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A09
Release Date: 11-07-01

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

1. Add support for newer Celeron processors.
2. Program Subsystem ID and Vendor ID when IOAPIC setting in Setup
is Enabled to avoid OS re-detecting installed devices as "new" devices.


NOTE: If the "IOAPIC support" setting in BIOS Setup is toggled, an installed
Windows OS may "Re-detect" installed devices as "new" devices. If this
happens, the devices may lose their current settings, or may require
a re-installation of the drivers from the original source disks.

Resetting it back to it's original state should restore the OS settings.

Systems orignally shipped with Windows XP already ship with the IOAPIC
setting enabled, so no "re-detection" will occur unless the CMOS becomes
corrupt or is reset to factory defaults.

Not all GX150 systems have the IOAPIC selection. GX150s without the
IOAPIC selection will not have this issue.

A09 BIOS can be installed by all users.


Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A08
Release Date: 10-05-01

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

1. Update Selectable boot code.
2. Fix PNP errors when installing dual Barco Cards.
3. Change the F12 = Network Boot to F12 = Boot Menu.
4. Restart fan-monitoring when returning from a S3 state.
5. Program Subsystem ID and Vendor ID for all onboard devices.


NOTE: This A08 BIOS is intended for users currently running Windows XP only.
It is NOT required for any users wishing to upgrade to Windows XP,
only for users that received their systems from DELL with Windows
XP already installed.

If a system is currently running any other version of Windows and
upgrades to this BIOS, it can cause a 'Re-Detect' of many system
devices and adapters installed in PCI slots. This may cause the
drivers currently installed for these devices to lose their current
settings, or to require a re-installation of the drivers from their
original media.

Because of this, DELL recommends that you do NOT upgrade your system
to A08 BIOS unless you are planning on installing Windows XP, AND will
do so by re-formatting the hard disk and performing a "fresh install".





Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A07
Release Date: 08-29-01

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

1. Added confirmation beeps for all CTRL-ALT sequences during POST.
2. Display "F12 = Network Boot" on POST screen.
3. Alter ACPI S3 handling to better support WindowsXP.
4. Adjust minimum speed threshold for system fan detection.
5. Fix various USB issues.
6. Prevent BIOS from writing to user memory during flash updates.
7. Fix issue with ISA card not properly configured when an AGP card is
in the system.
8. Correct I/O selections in Setup when LPT mode was set to EPP.
9. Add more robust handling of Selectable Boot and System Event Log.
10. Fix possible Plug & Play config error for PCI devices behind bridges.
11. Fix possible system shutdown during a reboot.




Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A06
Release Date: 07-26-01

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A05 to create A06:

1. Fixed possible blue screen error during S3 Standby/resume.




Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A05
Release Date: 06-06-01

The following changes have been made to BIOS rev A04 to create A05:

2. Fixed issue can not turn off the onboard Network Interface Controller.




Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A04
Release Date: 06-05-01

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

1. Added capability to select Suspend Mode in SETUP.
2. Added capability to disable PCI slots in SETUP.
3. Added capability to disable AGP slot in SETUP.
4. Added APIC interrupt support for ACPI OSes that can take full advantage of
hardware interrupt handling.
5. Corrected nested Suspend-to-RAM and Hibernate behavior.
6. Fixed various sleep/wake-up issues with USB keyboard and USB mouse.
7. Correction to better support factory install process for WinME.
8. NEW FEATURE: Enhanced Selectable Boot
Desc: Our implementation has changed in three ways:
1. A device may disappear (ex. removable HD) but will not be
removed from the list.
2. Similar devices (class codes are the same) can replace each other.
3. Added devices are added to the end of the attempt list.
The new code should be able to handle any combination of cards and
onboard devices that a customer could possibly use. The boot and
controller sequences should never go to a default sequence when
adding or removing devices. The object is to preserve the sequence
the customer has set in Setup.
9. Fixed working buffer size allocation for Windows NT.
10. Updated the SMBIOS table fields for Maximum CPU speed.
11. Added 48-bit LBA support for large IDE drives.
12. Added support for new Pentium III processors.




Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A03
Release Date: 03-30-01

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

1. Updated Microcode for Pentium III processor ID 683, updates level 14.




Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A02
Release Date: 02-21-01

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

1. Properly display the CPU information in Setup and SMBIOS.
2. Clear PnP configuration data when NIC MBA toggles.
3. Fixed benchmark issue with AGP card installed in the system.
4. Fixed various sleep/wake-up issues in ACPI.
5. Added support for re-initializing BIS in Setup.
6. Allow Ctrl-Alt-Del during option ROM initialization.
7. Changed Copyright date to 2001.
8. Fixed SMBIOS support for system_check call.
9. Added support for new processors.
10. Added USB controller disable option in Setup.




Systems: OptiPlex GX150
Version: A01
Release Date: 12-12-00

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

1. Added STM 4MGb firmware hub support.
2. Fixed GMCH memory bus driver strength for 100MHz DIMMS.
3. Updated Cmos_Defaults XBIOS call.
4. Added dynamic setting of memory delays based on DIMM CAS latency.
5. Fixed issues involving mixed USB and PS/2 peripherals.
6. Added code to recalculate SRCOMP during S3 resume.
7. FWH Baseline Release.

Message Edited by SpeedStep on 03-04-2006 11:04 PM