Pentium 4 ships with 'wrong' code

Intel's run of bad luck has continued after the chip giant admitted that its much-publicised Pentium 4 shipped to manufacturers with the wrong piece of software code.

Intel's run of bad luck has continued after the chip giant admitted that its much-publicised Pentium 4 shipped to manufacturers with the wrong piece of software code.

A UK representative for Intel admitted there was a glitch in the Bios software, which acts as a system traffic guard. The chip giant detected the problem when it tested motherboards to see if they fitted with the chip. Intel has since corrected the error.

"A small piece of software that should have been included in the Bios was left out. There was a piece of the Bios software code that was not the most recent version. We realised this while we were testing the motherboards in the labs and contacted our original equipment manufacturers straight away," he said.

No units were shipped to users and the spokesman said that the problem was corrected as soon as it had been detected. "It didn't cost Intel anything, and anyone can download a patch if they need it. Users who have bought the Pentium 4 will have the correct software upgrade," he said.

Vendors including IBM, Dell and Compaq rushed to reveal their respective PCs equipped with the Pentium 4 within hours of Intel announcing its shipment.

The glitch is an embarrassment to Intel, which has been plagued with similar setbacks in the past. The company was forced to stop shipments of the Pentium III, following reports of technical difficulties and system crashes.

Intel cancelled its entire line of Timna processors because of technical problems. It also recalled up to one million PCs because of flaws in its 820 chipset.