New BIOS for 15R2/17R3 v1.4.4

Try @HunterZ0 method in this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-17-r3-or-possibly-other-bgas-as-well.813803/

 

yeah i thought it would help performance :I

 

@Vasudev @VICKYGAMEBOY New nVIDIA driver (v. 391.25) from dell: http://www.dell.com/support/home/no/no/nobsdt1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=JK6P4
Fixes
- Update to address Spectre Variant 1 (CVE-2017-5753).
Enhancements
- Enhance system performance

Just installed it on my AW17R3 with no issue.

 

im already on latest 397.31 from geforce.. this alienware driver its pretty old.. and doesnt have the new game fixes and bug fixes for w10 april update. generic drivers had spectre issues fixed as well.. but if they fixed optimus bugs sure ill give a try once i get my laptop..

 

As vicky said, I always upgrade to new version if @j95 flags off new modded drivers ready for main/daily usage.
@VICKYGAMEBOY Try newest Intel drivers 4985 or 6025 that fixes nvi optimus issues.
I OC'ed my display to 75Hz upon Juan's advice.

 

good. well i dont have my laptop with me now.. its been with dell for almost a week.. replacing board + heatsink.. i broke my LCD display as well. so lets see if they replace.. they denied for new laptop tho.. and also for battery.. new policies after GST kinda crappy.. once i get it ill try new intel drivers. im not gonna spend a single penny on this alienware again..

 

Hi, I own a alienware 15 R2 and did the "upgrade" 1.4.4, i had to rollback to the previous bios because the laptop was not very useable because of the knowns issues... Now everythings work great exept that the laptop canno't shutdown on its own. Moreover the intel engine management is not anymore in my device manager, so i tried to upgrade the firmware manualy but i can't install any driver for the intel engine management, MEI info doesn't even want to launch (communication issue with management engine), any one has a clue?

 

New intel graphic driver (23.20.16.4973): http://www.dell.com/support/home/no/no/nobsdt1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=J5PT2

Fixes
- DRM issue fixed

Enhancements
- Not Applicable

Now issues here so fare. Like the new control panel with the game feature.

 

Try 4985 and above intel driver that fixes nvidia optimus stuttering.

 

Thanks for the heads up. But I will wait for dell to give out a new intel driver that fixes this issue.
Got the warning that a custom graphic driver is installed and that this driver from intel.com could possibly lead to problems.
I

 

Just install generic Intel driver which is bit for bit similar if you keep aside the repacked contents.

 

How? Intel installer for 24.20 drivers (latest from dell is 23.20) refuses to install based on "the driver not being tested by the computer manufacturer".

Anyway, I encountered the following problems after upgrading my AW15 R2 from 1.3.12 to 1.4.4:

* Flicker (temporary black screen) during video playback via 980M (the optimus issue)
* External USB keyboard(s) stopped working correctly (no response, sometimes repeated keystrokes) with Lenovo USB-C hub - amazingly enough, the flicker issue stopped after I connected the external keyboard directly to the AW15, so there is probably some issue with keyboard support via Thunderbolt, because G403 mouse works fine
* 1.3.12 BIOS installer quits based on "bios 1.4.4 being protected" - so there seems to be no way to roll back

On the upside, the small problem with any change to keyboard repeat rate via control panel causing a short freeze is gone, so maybe.. just maybe they fixed the slow keyboard repeat bug bug (too early to tell).

 

OK, as a further warning: the laptop fails to resume from sleep (it restarts instead) after the 1.4.4 BIOS update.

After a while, I identified the RC: the sleep only fails (the laptop shuts down instead) with a certain USB dongle device plugged in - it was fine with 1.3.12.

USB keyboard continue to behave somewhat erratically (e.g. can't use them at logon) even when plugged in directly to the laptop. There is something wrong around USB area in this BIOS.

Hope Dell patch this soon...

 

So it turns out that DELL have for the second time pulled BIOS v.1.4.4 from the drivers and download site. The latest now is v.1.3.12. But that will not help to resolve any problem since rollback is not possible.

For me personally, BIOS 1.4.4 works as expected without any problems. So I can afford to wait for an update and see if that is stable.
More boring is it for those with quite serious problems.

 

You're right, if only I waited another day, I would have avoided the hassle. Anyway, I guess it suggests they are at least aware of the issues.

On the upside the low key repeat rate bug is yet to re-occur, which is really GREAT, almost justifies the hassle of dealing with the USB issues - well done fixing that one (if only after 2.5 years).

 

You can do BIOS rollback using Dell BIOS recovery steps mentioned in this post *OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R3 Owner's Lounge

 

Thank you, good to know. TBH I will stick with 1.4.4 for now given that so far the low keyboard repeat rate bug has not occurred even once, and I managed to work around the USB-related problems. But yeah, Dell def has some rough edges to smooth out on that one.

 

Yeah, pretty sure the slow key repeat bug is gone in 1.4.4. Kudos to Dell (if after 2.5 years) - it was an infuriating issue.

 

Glad to hear that.
For me BIOS 1.4.4 has been stable and *knock on wood* problem free. In fact one of the better and most secure bios since I first flashed from 1.2.8. So it works as Dell intended, for me at least. But some users experience quite serious problems like long boot time and that it is not possible to shut down the computer without a hard shutdown. So maybe Dell have an updated bios around the corner since they pulled 1.4.4. I will however wait to update until I se some feedback ...

 

@VICKYGAMEBOY Thanks to Daz the BIOS ucode is updated from C2 to C6. I'm testing the ucode and initial performance reviews are disappointing. The performance is worse now like people at Ubuntu said. We might as well disable the OS protection to get the performance back as opposed to working on retpo kernels on linux with minimal slowdowns.

 

@Vasudev @Papusan @judal57 https://www.dell.com/support/articl...-on-dell-pcs-and-thin-client-products?lang=en

tomorrow new bios for 15r3/17r4, and 2months for older systems, nice one dell.

 

I'm already on latest ucode C6.

 

@Papusan @Mr. Fox There is BIOS update for older AW 18 in October.

 

i was expecting something better from dell, they have to update the maxwell vbios as well.. lots of firmware needs to be updated, so thats the latest code C6.. pm me the link..

 

Question would be is it worth the hassle? LoL

 

that one mr.frank should answer..

 

Maxwell vBIOS firmware update for what reason? Its working fine on Premamod.
Wait, I'll give you the link in PM.
Beware the performance hit is worse than V2. Skylake is more like haswell now.

 

waah in that case i have to skip the code.. damn already after the flaw it was performing bad.. now another roadblock on performance.. shintell.. CEO resigns.. Just send me.. ill keep it anyways.. and one more thing.. are u on latest nvidia driver.. the latest one with the gfe is causing the 135mhz throttle randomly.. ateast for me. if i uninstall GFE its normal.. i need to finish FarCry 5.. btw im getting grizzly kryo from aliexpress and a nvme heatsink, if u need let me know.. also im getting B156HANO4.2 120hz panel..

 

Already sent you a new BIOS in PM.
You'll love the stuttering with Spectre protection. Daily usage the stuttering is NIL, but on gaming and benching it sucks.
@0lok wanna be GP?

 

LOL dont want to be a GP.. hahaha..

YES nvidia GFE is causing me low performance as well.. T_T

 

Even VICKY won't be GP since his warranty was canceled by Dell.

 

aww that hurts.. yes right now i cant be the one, since i need these machine for daily office work

 

So if I understand this correctly. Will the new bios for 15r2/17r3 have the updated ucode C6 that reduces the performance? If so, I might not update from 1.4.4 when it comes. Regardless I will wait and see some feedback on the released bios.

 

No GP available. If it has updated GOP,RAID driver etc... then I might be tempted to upgrade otherwise I'm happy with 1.3.12 with C6 microcode.

 

I think the same. Then I guess we just have to wait and see the release notes ...

 

Ok, ******** - the slow key repeat rate is still there in 1.4.4.

 

That's a bummer.... Then maybe, just maybe this will also be fixed in the 8/18 release? A greater chance for that is if you post this problem on https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Laptops/bd-p/Alienware-laptops or message AW on facebook.
How exactly is bug affecting your typing/daily work? I dont have it so therefore I aks.

 

Thanks a lot, good link.

The key repeat rate issue in a nutshell: occasionally the keyboard repeat rate sets itself to a much lower value, particularly after the laptop comes out of sleep. Need go to the control panel (which claims it's set to max), set to a lower value, then back to max. It's documented in the thread below (time flies!):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/aw15-r2-very-slow-key-repeat-rate-win-10.786184/

Another issue I just hit, which I believe I have never seen before, is that the laptop froze completely (rather than bluescreen) when on battery and a low battery level (not sure what else could have caused it, unless there is an issue with the latest Nvidia drivers). If this keeps repeating will have to though the command-line rollback procedure.

 

Thanks for the description. I can see how that is annoying.
I had a similar freezing issue related to the Nvidia 980m graphic card, The computer freezed when a external monitor was attached to the HDMI port (witch is driven by the Nvidia card). If you haven't updated the Intel graphic driver yet, it may solve the problem.

Intel driver: https://www.dell.com/support/home/no/no/nobsdt1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=J5PT2

Nvidia driver: https://www.dell.com/support/home/no/no/nobsdt1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=JK6P4

 

Thanks, the laptop was running on battery without an external monitor.
Yeah, I've got the latest Intel driver, and latest Nvidia drivers too (obviously ahead of Dell approved one). In theory the latter could be causing an issue, although I also ran that driver for a while on 1.3.12 and didn't hit any freezes (in fact it never happened before on any driver). That said, the particular Nvidia driver (398.11) is a bit problematic in one other area, i.e. it's a bit incompatible with my external monitor: enabling HDR messes up luminance and colour saturation once the monitor comes out of sleep.

 

About March 2018 my Alienware 13R2 system did an automatic update to my BIOS through rthe Dell Support Assist tool. I had set the tool to do automatic updates, as that way I could keep my sytem protected as the tool was advertised. But once the BIOS update 1.4.4.uploaded to my laptop, I shut it down and then everything was differant. Poor performance, I had to manually turn off my laptop by holding the power button down until shutoff, sleep and hybernate left my computer in a frozen state with what was left on display until I did force power down with power button, bootup time started out very long with inititally at 120- 130 seconds to several minutes. I decided to turn off my automatic updates throught the Dell tool, and then my laptop proceeded to get worse, The boot up time took abt ten minutes and I noticed as well that the Trusted Platform Module 2.0 driver was generating an error (error code -2145124330) causing a Protection Definition Fail. I lived with this through early summer as I was used to the lag in the performance, reading online forums with others having the same issues

I called Dell support and was advised it was an OS issue. I was advised to reach out to Microsoft to get assistance. My first contact with Microsoft phone support was not smooth, this was 6/10/18-- throught the experience I was put on hold and offered tier two call backs, and this happened for several months. I finally was offered appt for August 12 at the Microsoft store at MOA in Bloomington MN. They had my laptop for several weeks, They attempted to reinstall Windows 10 several times, they were unsuccessful, the resolution from Windows eventually was they were unble to boot into a Windows 10 flash drive and do clean install of Windows 10 at help desk, deemed the issue was hardware related, BIOS issue.

In process I did talk to a Dell Support Rep-- I advised I was very upset that this update that was crippling to my laptop, that it was placed as a recommended driver update (not a optional update). My warrenty was only one year warrenty and had expired and this agent advised that I should have called the Dell tech support team before downloading it to my laptop, to make sure it was okay to download. I asked him why it had been placed in recommended updates and not optional updates, he started it was my fault that my laptop was bricked and that he could put me in contact wioth support that could repair my motherboard and advise me of the cost to do this. I was roaring mad, he generated a case number and I let him go.

I am reaching out ot the forum for anyone who has had similar experiences, please drop me an email. Id liek to hear your story and your resoltuion. I currently am paying for my 2000.00 brick from Dell and htis is quite frustrating. Looking forward to hearing from all my Dell Community on their exepriences.

 

You should try a BIOS recovery and reset BIOS to defaults and see if it helps. Also, if you're using windows defender see core isolation is disabled as in the screenie: