Yessir-- a UPS is the ideal situation-- for this "just in case"
but there are ways to fix it even if you shoul be so unlucky as to lose power during a flash.

ever seen this?

PC BIOS reprogramming, replacement, recovery

Your input is most kind,
I have yet to do the flash, but reseached it well and been on the Intel website for the download (P15 version) and have it on a floppy. When the day comes to do this I should be ok. I will do it early on a Sat morning. The Japanese folks are sleeping soundly then and I do not have to worry about power.
Not only the cpu goes
the video card
audio card
battery for Bios
and add more ram to 1 gig
I will get some compressed air and clean it out.
I am doing my best to research and even going over in my mine of what I how I will do things. If there is some improvement thats fine.
The power supply is only 300W and is most likely a cheapy. Depending on how it goes with the video card, that will get a 500W Emermax. I then can use the audio card and powersupply on my future build. I am trying to do this without my wife knowing so if you read about me in the papers, you'll know she found out.
Keep you posted

Thanks for the link ih8bills, i havent seen that yet, it would definitely come in handy. Ive used a little utility by Asus, called Aflash. It will let you copy your existing bios and save it in case things go snafu, and reinstall it, or install the upgrade. There is a section in Asus manuals that covers this pretty thouroughly. I dont know if it will work on other motherboards or not though, ive only used it on asus.

BadFlash would come in handy if it ever got really hosed

They've been around a while ...too.

Many make such a big deal out of this-- yes there is SOME RISK. However-- that said-- I have flashed a dozen-plus bios files in my time and never had a problem. As long as you are very careful/use NEW media (floppy)/ double-check your version/ and make the flash when there aren't likely to be a power-problem/or distractions for you....

it only takes about a minute-- what are the odds that the power will fail in your area for one minute's time ?? Millions-to-one ? If you have access to a UPS-- by all means use it-- but don't panic over this. Just don't do it when violent thunderstorms are forecast/ or during gale-force winds.

understood, thanks
DB