"Steve" wrote in message
...
Dell recommends updating to the latest BIOS before installing SP2.
But I sure hate to mess with the BIOS unless there's a very good
reason.

That's old think. Always flash the latest BIOS but carefully.

Is this really necessary, if everything appears to be working
ok?

It's necessary for SP2 if you have a Prescott CPU on a 865 or 875 chipset
mobo.