Acer Laptop with Phoenix BIOS: BIOS MOD Request

Thanks! I try to contact seller and ask for a change or a refund.
I hope to resolve soon.
If there are some news i'll write here.

 

No I'm afraid. Can you open every modules (especially all .ROM file) with HEX editor? Look at the beginning of the content, if you can see word like "ATI", it is likely VBIOS file.

I'm right now working on another BIOS which is completely not compatible with PBE. I will need to blind-mod it & use Phoenix SLIC Mod tool to rebuild the modified BIOS image. There are a lot of hidden menu but scattered. There are limited space I can use, so, not many I can unlocked. Shame because it look like there are a couple of hidden overclock menu.

 

Aspire 8942G BIOS is not compatible with PBE. The only solution is by blind-mod it & rebuild the modified BIOS image using Phoenix SLIC Mod tool. blind-mod means that I can't simulate the BIOS Setup Menu since it is not compatible with PBE.

This is modified BIOS image for Aspire 8942G. It is based on BIOS v3109. In this modified BIOS image, I have unlocked several sub-menu such as "CPU Control Sub-Menu".
Old BIOS image: Aspire 8942G BIOS_3109 Blind-MOD.rar ( Unlocked BIOS menu not visible)
UPDATE R2: Aspire 8942G BIOS_3109 Blind-MOD R2.rar
UPDATE R3: Aspire 8942G BIOS_3109 Blind-MOD R3.rar (with overclocking menu)
###################################################################
UPDATE R4: Aspire 8942G 3109 Microcode MOD-TEST R4.rar
- OP request at post #1490.
- This modified BIOS image confirmed works by searcher? at post #1506.
- Use it at your own risk
- Updated CPU Microcode Update for CPUID 020652
- Added CPU Microcode Update for CPUID 020655
- Removed CPU Microcode Update for CPUID 020651
- Only proceed flashing BIOS with this modified BIOS image if your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk. I will not responsible for any problem.
###################################################################
There are several overclock menu I found in the BIOS, such as:-

If you tried this modified BIOS image, please let me know whether you can see this overclock menu or not. If possible, take a picture of BIOS Setup Menu screen & post it here.

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.

 

Hi Sayko, please refer to my previous post. The Aspire 8942G BIOS have similar issue like yours which is not compatible with PBE. I have to blind-mod it. Your BIOS is little bit difficult since the hidden menu is scattered. There are limited space we can use to unlocked hidden menu. So, you'll need to specify which do you want.

 

Re - Samsung R580 i5 bios mod
Thanks for a quick response, appreciate your help.
The linked laptop has i3 processor, while my laptop has I5 430m cpu and GT310M GPU. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think all I5 processors have intel graphics built in. It is confusing though as this laptop is being offered with different processor and GPU options. But with 2 hour battery life on a 6-cell battery many owners must be looking for a way to extend that time with underclocking and/or graphics card switching
I've been looking for Samsung R580 bios on Samsung website but there is nothing on their support download site for this model (or even similar r580 sub-models).
I've browsed other driver sites, but not sure if any of them are reputable for me to provide a link. I did load BIOS and can see that it's Phoenix. Does anyone else on this forum have this laptop or perhaps a link to reputable download site?

Edit - or is there a tool for downloading the bios firmware off my system?

 

Yes, all i5 processor have Intel HD Graphics built-in it but it is up to the manufacturer whether to implement it or not. From the specification, it doesn't have Intel HD Graphics, just GT 310M GPU. Samsung doesn't implement it on your notebook (on hardware level). For dual-graphics to work, it require extra components on the motherboard to get it to work. Modding BIOS will not going to get the Intel HD Graphics to work. I have to admit that Intel & notebook manufacturers create a confusion on this matter. But in my opinion it shouldn't be confusing though. You can spot it in the computer specification whether it have dual-gpu or not.

Usually, manufacturer put default drivers & BIOS in drivers CD. Have you look in there? Anyway, it doesn't matter since your request is not supported by your notebook.

 

Thanks a lot for your work.
Let me build a CRISIS disk and test it - I didn't use one before.
Then I will surely test your modified bios and report back.

Regards

 

Hi kizwan,

I'd like to have a menu for overclocking. That would be nice. And if even possible, enabling the i3 gpu.

Thanx in advance

 

I already take a look. No overclocking menu found in BIOS. If your computer doesn't come with dual-gpu or switchable graphic cards, there is no way you can enable the i3 GPU. The necessary component to use i3 GPU is not implemented on your computer.

 

Ok,

thank you very much. Do you have any idea which items are unhideable?

 

I'm not sure. There are several technology of switchable-graphics. Usually it involved using component(s) called multiplexers in the system board.

 

Hey there!

could someone please mod this bios (version 1.19) for the acer aspire 5820tg?

http://global-download.acer.com/GDF...=Aspire 5820TG&OS=721&LC=de&BC=Acer&SC=EMEA_8

THX!!!!

 

What do you want actually? The best way to unlocked hidden menu/options in TimelineX notebook is like over here, at post #721.

 

hi,

i tried searching this thread but couldnt find anything useful.

however, i was wondering if you could tell me where i can possible find a "crisis disk" for my 7740-5691 its just the standard 7740 with the i3-330 configuration model.

what happened is i think i flashed the wrong bios on it, a 1.16 version, and now it wont boot.

i tried downloading several of the crisis disks that i found in this thread and replaced my bios.wph with the 1.15 one i found on the acer website but thats not working, so i am pretty much lost as to what to do now.

any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

 

As far as I know, CRISIS disk can be use on all Phoenix BIOS powered notebook. You just need to replace the BIOS file with yours. The procedure should be the same for all Acer notebooks. Please refer to the BIOS recovery procedure I wrote at the first post. If you're using USB flash drive for CRISIS disk but unsuccessful to recover corrupted BIOS, you may need to use floppy disk with USB floppy drive. Please refer to the first post for more information.

 

Hi again kizwan ,
tried CRISIS disk with Aspire 8942G. It doesn't seem to work.
Press Fn+Esc, take in power cord, press power button, wait to see light on removable stick blinking,released Fn+Esc, waited 10 minutes , nothing. Just power button blinking.
Tried with compressed and uncompressed bios file , same result.
I'm kind of scared to try your modified bios without recovery posibility.
Maybe you can suggest other combination of keys ?
Thanks

 

Take a look at the service manual for your model to find the right keys for the crisis recovery disk.

 

It's Fn+Esc on all of them but I double checked it in the service manual to be sure.

 

Fn + ESC is the correct keys for 8942G. I found this in Aspire 8942 & 8942G service manual:-

I want to add that on Vista & Win 7, run WINCRIS.EXE with "Run as administrator". I already put Aspire 8942G original BIOS file in it (BIOS.WPH). Create the CRISIS disk. One more thing, don't press any key after you released the Fn + ESC key. It may disturb the recovery process. It is up to you now because I don't have similar notebook to test for you. Good luck.

 

Ok, I checked service manual. Here is what it says:

Steps for BIOS Recovery using a USB crisis disk:
A USB crisis disk can be used to recover system BIOS in
the event of the BIOS being
corrupted. To create the
crisis disk use the following steps:
1.
Plug in a USB flash disk. Back up any information on the disk, as this process will format your USB flash
disk.
2.
Launch the
wincris.exe
program to create a USB Crisis Disk. Click
Start
to initiate the process.
3.
Select the
Quick Format
option to format the disk and click
Start
. Follow the instructions on the screen to
create the disk.
4.
Copy the
KAYF0X64.fd
BIOS file into the USB flash disk root directory.
NOTE:
Do not place any other *.fd file in the USB flash disk root directory.
To use the Crisis USB key, do the following:
1.
Plug the USB flash disk into a USB port.
2.
Press
Fn + ESC
button then plug in AC power.
The Power button flashes orange once.
3.
Press
Power
button to initiate system CRISIS mode.

Now the question is wich .fd file ?
if i try rename bios.wph to bios.fd, nothing happens.
For some reason, I think, format of CRISIS disk is not accepted. I see led on usb stick flashing then stops.
The power led,not the big power button , on laptop,sometimes flash once orange,sometimes not.
Also service manual suggest to have battery connected.
Any ideas ?

 

I already respond to your earlier post. Please refer to my post (back one page). Both of us post at the same time.

 

I was wondering is there any other source to find BIOS files other than ACER? I tried loading both, and it seems like its working, as the USB flashes for about 30 seconds, but maybe its the wrong file.....I cant be sure as I dont have a copy of my stock BIOS.WPH, nor do i remember what the stock version was.

thanks again!

 

You can't find BIOS file for your Aspire 7740 in Acer Support website? How long did you wait actually (BIOS recovery process)? Did you disturb the process by pressing any key? This is CRISIS package I created for Aspire 7740 & 7740G (both use identical BIOS file) with BIOS v1.16 already included. I don't know if it will work for your notebook but at least it have newer version of phlash16.exe.
AS7740G CRISDISK - BIOS 1.16.rar
Good luck.

 

Yeah, I noticed your replay too late.
Tried already folowing your instructions. So far, after two attemps, nothing.
Will try to see what about the orange blink on power led wich I didn;t see lately>
Keep you posted.
Thanks again for interest !

 

thank you very much for this link, i tried this one as well just now and still no luck....

yes i had downloaded both versions of the BIOS at the acer website, and tried both the 1.16 and the 1.15 but no luck, so I was wondering if there might have been somewhere else i could download the original (possibly older?) BIOS that came with my system.

I follow the steps as you had listed on the first page, once the light starts blinking on the usb drive, i let go of the fn+esc and it blinks for about 1minute, and then i wait maybe 5-10more minutes before i force shut it down by holding the power button. nothing really happens after the usb drive stops blinking, it just sits there.

is it possible that this is unrecoverable damage? this all started when i ran the acer 1.16 bios flash program inside windows, and it rebooted and then that was it. after that i tried the recovery process several times with different BIOS files and nothing....

 

Probably. I examine the BIOS.BAT file in the original 1.16 package & I found this:-

Code:

phlash16 /c /s /x /bbl /mode=3 %UMAROM%

The /bbl switch is for flashing the Boot Block. This is not recommended. The BIOS Recovery Boot Block is a special block of BIOS which is used to boot up the system with minimum BIOS initialization. I don't know why Acer use this switch on 7740. I believe even if you update BIOS on 7740 in windows using EXE file in Winflash folder, I bet it also flashed the Boot Block.

However, I don't think Boot Block is corrupt since you did report seeing the USB drive blinking for a while. I have no idea why it doesn't work for you. Have you tried all USB ports?

 

oh yeah i was wondering waht that /bbl meant, i was looking at that bat file last night too....

yes i tried it in all usb ports, same result.

if it doesnt restart in after 10mins, its safe to say it did not work right? i have not tried to wait for more than that...

u think its time to throw in the towel and send it to ACER? hahah

 

10 minutes already too long but you won't loose anything if you let it run longer. If you want, just let it run a bit longer.

Yeah, better send it.

 

I already take look & I found it is Insyde BIOS. Sorry, It is not supported here.

 

Sorry, but crisis disk not working.
Noticed that with BIOS.WPH led on stick blinks longer time ; with .fd, just a couple of seconds.
No luck with orange led either.
Will try to find tomorrow another usb stick to try again. Mine is seen by bios as USB HDD. Don;t know if it makes a difference.

 

Weird behavior with my Aspire 9420.
I flashed it with "BIOS_Aspire9420_VT_R" and "BIOS_Aspire9420_VT_R2".
A new entry appeared in the bios screen which allows me to enable/disable virtualization. Nonetheless, it's still "locked on" for securable :-(
Any help?
thanks

 

First of all, don't trust securable. Sometime the detection is not accurate at all. Second of all, when enabling or disabling Virtualization in BIOS, you need to do a power cycle to make the setting take effect. This means, after saving BIOS setting, turned your notebook off & turned it back ON again. Install VMware workstation or VirtualBox or any VM software, then install 64-bit OS on it. If Virtualization is turned ON, you should be able to install 64-bit OS on VM software. Since I have Aspire 9420 with Intel Core 2 Duo T5600, I can assure you the Virtualization menu does work. There are several Aspire 9420 series notebook have different processor. You'll need to check it at Intel website to know whether it does support Virtualization or not.

 

you were right!
I just trusted securable :-(
Soon after patched the bios I tried running virtualbox with vt-x enabled and got an error (vt-x disbled by bios).
After a few reboots...everything's working! (even though securable still says "locked on").

thanks kizwan!

 

@symoon, glad to hear it finally working for you. BTW, welcome to notebookreview forum.

 

@ kizwan

Good news and bad news.
I got CRISIS recovery procedure to work - maybe I was just lucky. Bios was flashed with crisis disk using file BIOS.WPH . I deed usual procedure, stick connected in single right USB port after disc drive. By mistake I pressed right touchpad button after realising Fn+Esc. Anyway, it started - power led stopped blinking, stayed on, and fan was louder. Then restart itself. All OK.
It was time to try your modified bios. I flashed succesfully, but then nothing changed in bios menu.
You mind taking another look at modified bios ?
I can not thank you enough !

 

Forgot to mention - I used phlash16.exe from your provided crisis disk.

 

That is strange. Can you take a picture of the BIOS setup menu, especially the main section? I will need to check back the modified BIOS. With the picture it will help a lot.

 

Hello Kizwan! Could you help me? I tried to flash the bios of my Acer Aspire 5738g and downloaded the "Aspire 5738G BIOSv1.28 MOD R2" because I would like to enable VT. Unfortunately, I get this error message: " Unsupported 16bit application" when I try to run the Start.Bat file. What shall I do? I use Windows 7 ultimate X64. Thx in advance!

 

sorry for crapy picture

 

You need to run it in DOS mode. Use bootable DOS USB flash drive.

 

No problem. I will check the modified BIOS again. With the picture you gave to me, I will be able trace it. I'll update about this later.

 

Can you please enable this file for download? I want to test it on my own risk
ssorgatem_Gateway LT31xx VT_AHCI MOD.rar

 

Thank you for your interest. Can you wait for me to try re-build the BIOS image? I just want to make sure I didn't do any mistake when I re-build it last time. I'm sure you know about known issues with this modified BIOS image. I will enabled the download link later. Stay tuned.

 

Can you check also about Virtualization in this bios ? Last night I installed a server based on Windows Server 2003 x64 - all this in VMWare. I checked option to use VT-x.Host operating system is Win 7 Home premium x64. Installation didn't give me any warning, like my processor does not support VT-x. But as I know, VT-x is disabled in Core I5 mobile .
Securable says Virtualization is enabled but that I should check it runing in a x32 operating system.
So, I'm very confused about this and I really want to know, since I am going to work a lot in VMWare.
Thanks

 

You already tried it but still don't believe it. As I said before, securable detection is not accurate & misleading. Why you said VT-x is disabled in Core i5 mobile processor? Please provide me the source. You can look yourself at Intel website. If you can install 64-bit OS on VMware, that means Virtualization does enabled.

 

Sorry, you are right - it is VT-d wich is not available in I5. I made a confusion.
Intel® Core? i5-430M Processor (3M Cache, 2.26 GHz) with SPEC Code(s) SLBPM, SLBPN

 

Please go to post #191 to download the modified BIOS image for Gateway LT31xx. BTW, please let me know the result.

 

@seaman, I will take a look to Aspire 8942G BIOS image as soon as possible.

 

Hello everybody (and sorry for my English) , I need help with my Acer 5820TG. I updated my BIOS to 1.19 but it didn't help me with graphic problem on Ubuntu. 2 days later, after installing OpenSUSE, my laptop has stopped booting. It just freezes at the Acer logo and I can't get to BIOS. F2 does not work. So I'm looking for crysis disk as my last chance before service repair.

 

I believe why you can't recover your BIOS is because you're using phlash16.exe which is not compatible with your notebook. The procedure is correct actually. What you need to do is search for phlash16.exe on the internet & try one by one. Based on the discussion with several people, they finally able to recover corrupted BIOS with correct phlash16.exe. I don't know which version of phlash16.exe compatible with your notebook. So, you have to trial & error.

EDIT: Try using Phlash16.exe v1.6.9.5. Put it in CRISIS disk/package.