BIOS and temperature questions

[Yamaneko]

I have an nForce2 A7N8X-X mobo using A7N8X-Deluxe BIOS (don't ask). How safe is it to update to the A7N8X-X BIOS from a different BIOS set? AsusUpdate (the Windows flash utility) doesn't want to flash my BIOS with the A7N8X-X BIOS because they don't match the A7N8X-Deluxe BIOS. I'll try outside of Windows from either a boot disk or from the POST environment, but I want to make sure it'll work and I don't end up with a corrupted motherboard chip.

My second question is about temps. Whenever I start up my computer from a cold boot, and go into the BIOS to check the temps, I find that they're unusually high especially for a cold boot. The motherboard temps are around 50C and the CPU temps are around 60C. I'm guessing this is a bad reading on the BIOS part. Can this bad reading cause Windows to crash to the desktop or give BSOD while I'm doing system intensive operations. I have the side panel of my machine open and all the fans are working. I've tried underclocking my video card, but I'm still getting the same problem.

[Samuraid]

If you have the A7N8X-Deluxe BIOS, couldn't you simply flash to another, newer Deluxe BIOS instead of trying to move to the A7N8X-X BIOS?
It seems strange that the board would have the wrong BIOS image installed. I have no idea if it would work or not.

As for temperatures, 50-60 C is a reasonable operating range for 2200-2800+ Athlon XPs; however, that does seem a bit high for right after a cold boot. I don't think the temperature sensor causes windows itself to react, but it may cause the motherboard to prematurely shut down. Check the BIOS settings and there may be a way you can raise the shutdown temperature.

On a side not, make sure the heatsink on the CPU is free of dust as well. My brother's computer was overheating recently because of heatsink dust, even though all 5 of his fans were working well.

[Yamaneko]

My old A7N8X-Deluxe was replaced with a A7N8X-X. But yeah, isn't the BIOS itself hardcoded onto the chip? I don't know why the old BIOS image from my A7N8X-Deluxe would still be on the A7N8X-X mobo. I wonder if I reset the jumper if the mobo would load the default BIOS.

I'll check the heatsink. Oh, and I have an Athlon XP 3000+ @ 2.17GHz.

[Samuraid]

Yeah, the BIOS is completely stored in hardware and is flashed onto a chip when the motherboard is manufactured. The only time that changes is if you run a BIOS update program that flashes the chip with a new BIOS image.

That said, it seems strange that an X-X board would be running an X-Deluxe BIOS...
You may want to check the Asus KB and support forum to see if anyone else has had similar BIOS version issues:
http://support.asus.com/default.aspx