A systems administrator is scheduled to swap the existing 95 W 8-core Intel Xeon in a 2U virtualization host for a recently released 165 W 24-core model that uses the same LGA socket. A heat-sink kit rated for 225 W has already been ordered so thermal limits will be met. To reduce the risk that the server will fail to POST after the CPU is fitted, which action should the administrator perform before powering the system down for the hardware change?
Apply the latest BIOS/UEFI update that includes microcode support for the new processor before shutting the server down.
Disable Hyper-Threading in the current firmware configuration so core counts match the outgoing CPU.
Lower the DDR memory speed to the minimum value supported by the platform prior to the change.
Move the CMOS-reset jumper to clear NVRAM and force firmware defaults on the next power-on.
Newer processors often require updated microcode and power-management tables that reside in the system's BIOS/UEFI image. If the firmware predates the processor's release, the board may not recognize the silicon and will halt during POST with a processor-incompatibility message. Flashing the motherboard to the latest vendor-approved BIOS/UEFI revision adds the needed microcode, allowing the new CPU to initialize correctly. Clearing CMOS, under-clocking memory, or disabling Hyper-Threading do not add microcode support and therefore will not prevent an incompatibility boot failure.
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