Acer Laptop with Phoenix BIOS: BIOS MOD Request

What did you change in BIOS Setup Menu? I already put necessary reminder/warning note. Anyone want the modified BIOS image have to accept the risk. If not, they should prevent themselves from using it. I think the reminder/warning note is more than enough to remind people about the risk. The warning note can be easily interpreted:-
1) Do not proceed if your notebook unable to use CRISIS disk
2) Do not proceed if you're uncomfortable to open the notebook casing (to reset CMOS)

I was hoping you to take a picture when opening the notebook casing. Even though the CMOS/RTC battery is soldered to motherboard, usually there is a cable connected the battery with motherboard. Can you confirmed it is not on your notebook?

 

Please compare the original BIOS image for Extensa 5630G with Extensa 5630Z. If I'm not mistaken it use identical BIOS version, HMA136.ROM & HMA136.WPH.

The modified BIOS image for Extensa 5630G did brick MZWiZard's notebook (failed during BIOS flash). Please visit post #88 & read the rest of the posts. The download link is disabled. The modified BIOS image was successfully build though.

If you want me to re-build another modified BIOS image for Extensa 5630Z, please let me know. Please specify what do you want, Virtualization menu, modified DSDT, etc. If you already tried OSX & already have working DSDT, please give it to me. This will speed up the process. If not I will have to patch the DSDT for you. Also I need to know your computer specification. Please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk.

 

Guys,

Other BIOS mod still in progress. It will available soon (before or early next week).

The tutorial doc is still in progress, about 80% done. As I promise, it will available soon. I'm busy with a lot of things, so it will take sometime to finish. I hope it will done by next week.

Frequency Ratio menu has been known to caused the computer unbootable. But it is easy to fix, reset the CMOS. To do so, you will need open the notebook casing & disconnect the CMOS/RTC battery. Frequency Ratio only useful if the CPU have unlocked multiplier. Not many CPU have unlocked multiplier, so, it is best to not change the Frequency Ratio value. I will not unlock this menu in the future unless requested.

kizwan

 

Kizwan, well the idea of asking you for the modded bios came exactly because I have a qx9300 CPU (unlocked) and no way of messing with the multipliers. The unlocked menus did not show what I wanted to see. I only had multiplier 6x, 7x, 8x and 9x, did not have halfs and other values and fsb I only had fixed values 667 800 1066 and 1333. Toshiba did not prepare the bios for overclocking unfortunately. Opening this laptop requires knowledge and also on this motherboard the CMOS battery is soldered. I strongly recomend removing the bios file, really, you win nothing useful and it will create bricked laptops I thank you for your time spent on this but Lol did not go one bit how I imagine it

Ps: I changed multiplier value, bricked, reset CMOS, retried other value and it bricked again.

 

This is why I need people to have specific request. Your notebook unbootable when changing the Frequency Ratio value, right? What about the Advanced Path? I heard it significantly improve memory performance on nvidia platform. My mod is depend on the original BIOS. If the requested feature is not supported, I can't do anything.

Most of the modified BIOS images I build have unlocked menu which can make the computer unbootable. For this I already put a reminder/note about it. The worst case scenario is the owner need to reset CMOS back to default. To do this, they will require to open the notebook casing. I have operate different brand of notebook computer, e.g. Acer, Dell, BenQ. The CMOS/RTC battery on all of them is not soldered to the motherboard. I found Toshiba approached is unexpected. This is the risk people need to accept if they intend to use modified BIOS image. Since this is special case (battery soldered to motherboard), so I already disabled the download link.

When modifying the BIOS image for your Toshiba, I found the hidden menu scattered. So it is difficult for me to choose which ones to unlocked since the empty space is limited. This is the list some of it:-

Code:

(strings)
320F: Loc of text "Frequency Ratio"
03EA: Loc of text 0F 32

(templat0)
0BA7: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text EA 03 EC 03
--> 00000BA7 00 50 EA 03 EC 03 E9 3A 6D 3A 79 3A 62 3A 46 02
--> 00000BB7 BC 03 BE 03 D4 03 DC 03 DE 03 E0 03 E2 03 E4 03
--> 00000BC7 E6 03 E8 03 C0 03 C2 03 C4 03 C6 03 C8 03 CA 03
--> 00000BD7 CC 03 CE 03 D0 03 D2 03 D6 03 D8 03 DA 03 00 00
--> 00000BE7 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 Pick field
50 Length
EA 03 - Offset in strings
EC 03 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
327F: Loc of text "FSB BSEL Override:"
03F8: Loc of text 7F 32

(templat0)
18CD: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text F8 03 FA 03
--> 000018CD 00 20 F8 03 FA 03 1A 62 25 62 30 62 3B 62 6A 05
--> 000018DD 54 02 EE 03 F2 03 F6 03 F4 03 F0 03 00 00 00 00
00 Pick field
20 Length
F8 03 - Offset in strings
FA 03 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
4914: Loc of text "MCP79 Core Voltage:"
05B6: Loc of text 14 49

(templat0)
14F5: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text B6 05 B8 05
--> 000014F5 00 30 B6 05 B8 05 77 59 82 59 74 58 8D 59 EF 04
--> 00001505 B0 05 AA 05 A4 05 9E 05 98 05 92 05 8C 05 86 05
--> 00001515 54 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 Pick field
30 Length
B6 05 - Offset in strings
B8 05 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
496B: Loc of text "ADSTB for Adv Path:"
05BA: Loc of text 6B 49

(templat0)
1561: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text BA 05 BC 05
--> 00001561 00 20 BA 05 BC 05 88 5A 94 5A 9F 5A AA 5A FB 04
--> 00001571 54 02 3E 06 40 06 42 06 44 06 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 Pick field
20 Length
BA 05 - Offset in strings
BC 05 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
499D: Loc of text "BUDGET for Adv Path"
05BE: Loc of text 9D 49

(templat0)
1551: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text BE 05 C0 05
--> 00001551 23 10 BE 05 C0 05 71 5A 7D 5A 32 5A 06 F8 04 01
23 Free form Hex
10 Length
BE 05 - Offset in strings
C0 05 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
4A44: Loc of text "Advancd Path:"
05C2: Loc of text 44 4A

(templat0)
1539: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text C2 05 C4 05
--> 00001539 00 18 C2 05 C4 05 06 5A 11 5A 1C 5A 27 5A F5 04
--> 00001549 54 02 24 06 20 06 00 00
00 Pick field
18 Length
C2 05 - Offset in strings
C4 05 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
4B08: Loc of text "MEM Predictor:"
05D0: Loc of text 08 4B

(templat0)
1591: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text D0 05 D2 05
--> 00001591 00 14 D0 05 D2 05 14 5B 1F 5B 2A 5B 35 5B 01 05
--> 000015A1 20 06 24 06
00 Pick field
14 Length
D0 05 - Offset in strings
D2 05 - Offset in strings
TOKEN ID 0501
20 06 - Offset in strings
24 06 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
682F: Loc of text "Leveling Vcore:"
0802: Loc of text 2F 68

(templat0)
077B: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text 02 08 04 08
--> 0000077B 00 30 02 08 04 08 32 23 3D 23 48 23 53 23 60 00
--> 0000078B 54 02 B4 05 AE 05 A8 05 A2 05 9C 05 96 05 90 05
--> 0000079B 8A 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 Pick field
30 Length
02 08 - Offset in strings
04 08 - Offset in strings

----------------------------------------------------------------

(strings)
2E58: Loc of text "WI Vcore Control:"
0378: Loc of text 58 2E

(templat0)
161D: MENU Loc - contains locations & values text 78 03 7A 03
--> 0000161D 00 30 78 03 7A 03 A3 5D AE 5D 9A 5C B9 5D 16 05
--> 0000162D 20 06 54 02 B0 05 AA 05 A4 05 9E 05 98 05 92 05
--> 0000163D 8C 05 86 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 Pick field
30 Length
78 03 - Offset in strings
7A 03 - Offset in strings

 

Thanks Kizwan I am anxious for TM8210 with 4Gb of ram just for Intel VT.

 

Hi! This is my first post in this forum!
I have a request: Can anyone re-build the Acer Aspire 5920G Modded BIOS ( Here is the BIOS ) and, if possible, unhide the Enable/Disable EIST feature, change the Splash Screen to this ( Imageshack - scn100.png - Uploaded by dewadugong ) and if it is available, update Video BIOS of the GeForce 8600M GT 512MB DDR2!

Thanks at everyone!

 

According to my search, your notebook have graphic card in MXM II form factor (upgradeable). VBIOS is not "integrated" in system BIOS. I already confirmed it by looking in BIOS image. The VBIOS can be updated independently. Also, there is no EIST control in the BIOS. Meaning you will unable to control EIST via BIOS menu. This leave only splash screen. Do you still want me to proceed with the mod?

 

OK. Proceed with the mod! ;-)
But I have two another request and two questions:
Can you adjust the Model name in the BIOS? Because when I install Vista with the original recovery DVD and modded BIOS, in the System Information section I found: Model: Aspire 5920G ŷŷŷŷŷŷŷŷŷŷ
I don't know why is showing that special character!
Here is a photo: http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4166/catturaam.png
Can you unhide/enable ALL the features that are in that BIOS?

Two questions:
Why with modded BIOS, after reinstalling Vista with the original recovery DVD from Acer, It says that it's not activated? With the Original 1.3813 BIOS it was activated! I think that this problem is caused by Model Name not showing correctly.
Where can I find updates (if any) for my GeForce 8600M GT's VBIOS?

Thank you very very very much!
And excuse me if my english is not perfect ;-) I'm italian!

 

Sorry, you need to have specific request.

The BIOS image you gave to me already modified with SLIC 2.1. The original BIOS image came with SLIC 2.0. I'm not sure why it happen. Perhaps it failed to detect the computer brand (Acer) properly.

I don't know. Maybe over here.

The BIOS image already modified by Bob12x, right? I don't want to modify other people work. I much prefer to start from original BIOS image.

 

OK! Start with the original 1.3813 BIOS... Modify the Splash Screen, Add the Intel VT option, update the Broadcom PXE...and what are the other things that can be enabled in that BIOS?
BTW I found an update for my GeForce 8600M GT's VBIOS. Mine is version 60.84.62.00.29. The updated version is 60.84.62.00.39.
A scary thing for me: and if then the graphics card won't work anymore?

EDIT: The updated VBIOS is totally incompatible with my 8600M GT. I verified it with Nibitor. I have a question: What is SLIC 2.1? Is it really necessary for Windows 7? If so, then update it! ;-)

 

I managed to run OSX Snow Leopard on my Extensa 5630Z.

I used Snow Leopard Universal v3.6 Build 10.6.2 DVD, installed smoothly. Dualbooting with Win 7

Only that sleep mode isn't working, installed with Sleep Enabler kext, still a no go, I just need a modified DSDT, might get it working.

 

I will post the modified BIOS image when it ready. For the mean time, please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk.

 

I will help you on this. You're familiar with Chameleon DSDT override right? Now, I need to know the BIOS version you're currently using. I'm going to extract the DSDT table from the BIOS image.

 

I'm using BIOS v1.36

 

Hey kizwan,
I found out how the 266mhz overclock is archived after messing around with the PLL and it's data sheet. The overclock is done through changing some registers in the PLL.
Byte 0 bits 7 to 5 report the status of these registers called FS_C, FS_B, FS_A. They are read only of course. For 200mhz, we them reporting as 0-1-0. For 266mhz, it's 0-0-0. If we can change the appropriate data in the BIOS, then maybe, we can have 333mhz by setting 1-0-0.
Edit: This is using the SLG8SP513v PLL.

 

Thanks for the information but it is too advanced for me. The difficult part is to find the correct register/address (the one which control the Bus Speed). For example enabling VT, we know that we need to find MSR control which is "mov ecx,0x3a". When we know where the MSR control is, it will be easy for us to find the correct register & toggle the bit from 0 to 1 (to enable the VT feature).

I already look into M11x BIOS but I'm afraid there are no option to overclock the Bus Speed from 266MHz to 333Mhz. The closest thing is Frequency Ratio which supposedly allow you to change internal CPU frequency multiplier. But, since this option have known issue (can render computer unbootable), I'm not going to unlocked it. I'm afraid the final modified BIOS image will only contains unlocked menus which is not related to overclock at all.

 

@DavyGT
Try SetFSB or have a look at your SMbus with R&W Everything

 

Hi,

i've an Acer 5920G Notebook. Can you mod the Bios with SLIC 2.1 and unlock all options in the setup, please ?

Sorry for my bad english.


Best reguards
acid

 

The PLL chip in M11x is not supported by SetFSB.

 

Sorry, you need to have specific request.

 

Hey kizwan! When will be my BIOS ready? Are you updating it with SLIC 2.1?

 

Hey,

I#ve an Acer Aspire 5920G. Can you mod the 3811.zip bios from Acer Europe - Service & Support, FTP server ?

I want to have changed all options from hide to unhide and add SLIC 2.1


acid

 

Please wait! I'm busy with my work. It will be ready soon.

 

You need to have specific request, for example VT, speedstep, etc. I can't unhide all because of space limitation.

 

@kizwan

ok, i will try it again ^^. Unhide VT, Speedstep, Fan, FSB and Overclocking options, if available and activate the second sata port. Put in SLIC 2.1, please


acid

 

That better. For the mean time, please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk.

 

Kizwan, can you enable/unhide the Speedstep, Fan, Overclocking, FSB options also for me? Thanks!

I also gave you a point in your reputation, yesterday!

 

Thanks! That was nice of you. Don't get me wrong but I much prefer you rep+ me after you have tried the modified BIOS image. I hope you understand the risk. I hope you already know how to recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk.

Actually I didn't realize both of you ask mod for the same computer. I'm busy lately & this cause slight delay.

 

@Kizwan - M11x, can you please specify what you mean by the below statement? (CPU frequency multiplier) Has this already been attempted on a m11x? Remember these are ulv, run very cool and should have loads of room for overhead. Thanks for your time and effort!

I already look into M11x BIOS but I'm afraid there are no option to overclock the Bus Speed from 266MHz to 333Mhz. The closest thing is Frequency Ratio which supposedly allow you to change internal CPU frequency multiplier. But, since this option have known issue (can render computer unbootable), I'm not going to unlocked it. I'm afraid the final modified BIOS image will only contains unlocked menus which is not related to overclock at all.

 

May I request a bios mod for the 7741G? I can not open the 4MB WPH file in PBE 2.2.1.3 with an error about the rom length.

 

Let me know when you have a chance for the Acer Travelmate 8210 Kizwan. I am going to get a USB floppy drive to be safe.

thanks and don't work too hard!

 

Hi guys,

As I promised, the simple tutorial on how to unhide/unlock hidden menu in Phoenix BIOS Setup Menu is now available. Please go to at first post & download the PDF file. For further reading/information please visit the old thread. I already put a link to rbjack's thread at mydigitallife forum over there. The PDF file is focusing only on how to do the job & by reading rbjack's thread you will understand it further.

 

Frequency Ratio (internal CPU frequency multiplier) has been tried on a couple of computer, So far, all of them failed to boot after changing it to any value.

There is a lot of information we can gather by looking in the BIOS ROM file. The tutorial (PDF) available at the first post only touch a small portion of it. I didn't have all the knowledge yet but theoretically, it is possible to hardcoded in BIOS ROM file for overclocking the BUS Speed from 266MHz to 333MHz. When we know how to find where the control is, we can do a lot of things.

 

Hi guys,

I'm hoping that who already have tried the CRISIS disk, will post here in detail about:-
1) The recovery procedure. Including which hotkey works for their notebook, e.g. Fn+Esc, Fn+B, Win+B, etc.
2) Type of media for CRISIS disk, e.g. floppy disk, USB flash drive, etc
3) Other information regarding CRISIS disk. Which option selected when creating the CRISIS disk, e.g. Compress The Bin File, etc.

This information will help a lot of people.

 

Can you increase the voltage for the CPU in overclock mode? This is for those who can't overclock because their CPU needs more voltage. Also, is there a VBIOS in there somewhere?

I'm sure I can program the PLL, I've got the SLG and sometimes, it crashes when i change something related to TME..

I'll try that out.

 

Nice guide.

 

Thanks. I wrote it carefully. So, everything should be there.

 

Hello! I'm from Brazil and have an Acer 5738G-6536.

My chipset is PM45 and accepts the quad-core CPU, but the Acer support said to me that the support for quad-core depends on the BIOS to. My notebook can use a quad-core CPU without modifications?

Second, my memory is DDR2-800, but it's limited to 667. How can I change this value by BIOS? Can you modify?

May you create a BIOS.bat to upgrade the BIOS? I think that is more quickly that flash it by DOS.

You can insert the Virtualization Technology too

Thank you and sorry for my English

 

I'm afraid I can't increase the voltage. Have you tried RMClock? Maybe you can maintain the voltage with RMClock. Yes, there is a VBIOS inside the BIOS image. Please be careful with VBIOS update, especially on notebook. This is because, even the new BIOS seems for identical graphic card, usually the connections (LVDS, Analog, HDMI, etc) can be different. Unless the new BIOS is released by the manufacturer or the connections are identical, do not update VBIOS.

 

This is the modified BIOS image for Acer TM8210. It is based on BIOS ver 3522.
Acer TM8210 BIOS 3522 VT MOD.rar

Please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk before flashing BIOS with this modified BIOS image. I will not responsible for any problem. Good luck.

 

Compatible models:-

####################################################
UPDATE (26 August 2011): Modified BIOS image for Aspire 5738G. It's based on BIOS v1.34. Use at your own risk!
Aspire 5738G BIOS_1.34 EIST MOD.rar
( MD5: B007740DAE5B2A6101B5BD4467555FFF)

Changes:-

• Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) unlocked - for enabling dual-IDA mode using ThrottleStop
• Unlocked hidden sub-menus/options

####################################################

####################################################
UPDATE (9 January 2011): Modified BIOS image (R3) for Acer Aspire 5738G (based on BIOS v1.28) with EIST Unlocked - for enabling dual-IDA using ThrottleStop.
- Aspire 5738G BIOSv1.28 EIST MOD R3.rar

UPDATE (5 December 2010): Modified BIOS image for Acer Aspire 5738G (based on BIOS v1.19) is available at post #1073.

This is the modified BIOS image for Acer Aspire 5738G. It is based on BIOS ver 1.28.
Aspire 5738G BIOSv1.28 MOD R2.rar

Please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk before flashing BIOS with this modified BIOS image. I will not responsible for any problem. Good luck.

 

The TM8210 flash ok 100% and the VT menu is there. I try to enable it and power off, remove battery and boot up again to see if VT is still enabled and it is but in windows using Virtual box or vmware it says VT not enabled in BIOS. HELP!

 

Kizwan, when will my Aspire 5920G Modded BIOS ready?
I'm waiting it!

 

This is the modified BIOS image for Acer Aspire 5920G. It is based on BIOS ver 3813 with SLIC 2.1.
####################################################
UPDATE (27 July 2011):
Changes:-

• Based on R2
• Add "SATA RAID" and "ASPM Support" options
• Change BIOS release date to 07/20/2011
• Use at your own risk!

Aspire 5920G BIOS 3813 MOD R3.rar
( MD5: B3BFDC9BA1AA42EA96B0DD8C2D8ED349)
####################################################

####################################################
UPDATE (14 June 2011):

• Based on BIOS "EIST MOD_FIXED"
• More unlocked options
• This modified BIOS have original BIOS splash screen. Not the new splash screen. i.e. no changes on the BIOS splash screen.
• Use at your own risk!

Aspire 5920G BIOS_3813 MOD R2.rar
( MD5: 0286A98E11C75A2ABD11D4B9F32C5BCE)

####################################################

Aspire 5920G BIOS_3813 VT MOD.rar
UPDATE (24 Dec 2010): Aspire 5920G BIOS_3813 EIST MOD_FIXED.rar ( EIST unlocked - for implementing dual-IDA using ThrottleStop. Use at your own risk.)
- New splash screen:-

- updated PXE Broadcom NetXtreme Ethernet Boot Agent (v9.4.5 --> v10.0.9) (taken from Bob12x's BIOS ver 3833 for Acer Aspire 5920G)
- Virtualization menu:-

Please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk before flashing BIOS with this modified BIOS image. I will not responsible for any problem. Good luck.

 

Thanks! But where are the Fan, FSB, Overclocking and Speedstep options?

 

Because it is not supported by original BIOS. Fan mod request is not supported. Fan on notebook is controlled automatically either by BIOS (very complex - changes will be hardcoded) or on hardware level (thermal sensors). Because of it complexity, I will not doing it. This will be the last time I respond about Fan mod.

 

When you said "remove battery" which battery is it? If it is CMOS/RTC battery, it will reset the CMOS back to default. Should be enough just enabled it, save & exit, shutdown & turn ON again. No need to removed the battery. Please check back in BIOS, does the "VT Feature" still enabled?

 

Hey Kizwan
Just wondering if you could mod studio 1558 bios to enable/disable switchable graphics??

 

I did not remove cmos battery. It stay enabled and still no vt support in VMware or Virtual box.