Intel owns up to motherboard bug

Claims BX2 problem now fixed

Intel has confirmed that a bug in some motherboards it manufactures can cause machines to hang but claimed that the problem is now fixed. Certain SE 440 BX2 motherboards, dubbed Seattle 2, have a power glitch that scrambles BIOS settings and can damage the Flash BIOS. The bug has no effect on the processor, according to a representative. He said: "We identified the problem in October and have created a utility for distributors and dealers which will let them identify if a particular motherboard has a problem. "When we launched the BX, the motherboard was called Seattle and Seattle 2 was launched in October with a power modification to support Katmai." The fix for the problem involves adding two decoupling capacitors to the motherboard, he said. End users who encountered the problem should return faulty machines to their retailer or dealer, he said. In practice, the "very few" faulty motherboards are easily identifiable because the machine hangs very quickly, he said. Because Intel had identified the problem early on, relatively few motherboards suffer from the condition, he added. ®