Acer MXM BIOS Mods and discussion (was: x920G vs. 9600M GT)

Ok, then try blackened87 method on page 73, post #723. You dont need to flash vbios.

"you need to download the driver with the modified inf files in order to do so.
go to laptopvideo2go.com and download 259.47 version of the driver
you also need to download the latest nvidia drivers go to nvidia.com to do so.after download run the latest drivers just so they can decompress on your hard drive. the usually go to c:\nvidia...the installer will then exit with a prompt that you don't have a compatible graphics card...
run the instalation of the modified driver and restart the laptop-mind you that you need to do this step with the internal screen!!!
after bootup your screen will be all messed up!don't panic! in my case the picture was double and purple!!!-also stay with the internal screen(when i tried the same thing with the external screen it didn't work...
the screen is all messed up but you can still navigate through it with a little effort...
go to device manager and find your graphics card-now from there do a step by step driver update by foot.find the latest nvidia driver you have prepared earlier and locate the required inf file.select your card from the list and update.
click allow on the prompt's by windows....and would you look at that your screen turns normal without restart required
and everithing works just fine!"

If this method works, then remember to check gpu temp with GPU-Z, because first I installed latest nvidia driver (i had to mod inf file to install) from nvidia.com, everything was fine, but my 9600m gt works only at full clocks (500 MHz) and it gets very hot. Its not good if your card idles at full clocks and no fan

 

lol its nice to see people quoting me

and the cooling policy of the 9920 is indeed all messed up...
but with everithing i have done still working with no problems idle temp are normal and i also run a massive overclock so i almost get the performance of the 9700m gt.

the method works fine just do it step by step.

 

LOL This forum is awsome , and the step-by-step really works, i was not able to navigate with the ed colours and got BSOD still, but i went to safe-mode and did the update from there, afterwards there where some driver crashes, and rebooted several times and now everything runs smooth, i also think it is mandatory to go to the bios and set max fan speed to lowest temp, seemed to help me a lot
And also select the inf file called NVAC, think this is a short therm for ACER!!

 

Dear sir !would you please to help me with acer Aspire 4920G , have some card but no luck . ati hd 3470 , nvidia 9300m gs , Hp FX 770m , Only hd 3470 have output to external monitor .Please help me to mod bios for aspire 4920g .

 

Right now, I'm busy with other things (university mainly), but once that is over, 4920G is on my list.

 

Ok just wanted to say thanks so much for this bios update. It cured the problem of my 9600m gt not displaying anything at all on my 6920, not even in windows. Now it runs great and works like it should! Much appreciated .netroller 3d!!!

 

@ NetRolller 3D
Hi, I found a problem with the modded 8920 SBIOS.

It's fine with the 9600M GT GDDR3 (512MB)
However I tried the 9600M GS DDR2 (512MB) in the 8920. SADLY IT'S NOT WORKING. The laptop boots, but there is no internal or external display.
Obviously I panicked. Anyway I put a 9500M GS in the 8920 to check it was ok, and it's fine. The 9600M GT (GDDR3) is back in, and that's fine too.
The 9600M GS DDR2 (in question) is fine because it's running happy, re-fitted in a 5920.

I'm wondering if this glitch is what happened to stephenl9, back at pages 65-66. His symptoms were different in that, his 8920 hung at post with 9600M GT 1GB DDR2.

@ Obiwantiti,
Hello again. I thought you were all sorted because you uploaded a set of screeshots showing your 9600M GT running at full clocks. Plus I assumed you had sorted your driver issue, as otherwise you'd still be running 'standard vga adapter'. I read your posts, but not sure what you asked me. I know it's a while ago, but if there is something particular, do ask.

 

Heyall,
I'm new in this forum but not new to fixing and tearing apart Notebooks.
I bought recently an Acer 5920G for 90 bucks with a default 8600GT. I had another working one, so I replaced it and updated the BIOS with the latest one from Acer's website (3813) with WinPhlash.
After that I put in an ATI 4650 that I had bought cheap on another forum. It works flawless in every situation.
Anyway, I've had the luck to get a cheap Quadro FX 770m.
My question is now:
Will it work without having to install Netroller 3D's modified SBIOS?
And btw, could you update your download links?
I couldn't download the mod SBIOS for the 5920G.
Thx for the info.
Cheers

 

hello all,

I'm a french guy who is trying to repair a 9920g.....
I baked the old vga card 8600m gt a few times, but it is dead now.

As a replacement, I bought a 9600m GT 512Mo DDR3 with G96-630-C1 chip.

I read this topic several times before beginning to repair it and I've tried to follow all the steps of the procedure, but I still have a problem :
1 - I downloaded the matching SBIOS and VBIOS
2- I created a bootable usd drive using the phoenix tool
3- I removed the old vga card, the battery and the hard drive
4- I flashed the old bios with the new one
(I inserted usb drive, turned on and pressed Fn + B, the led of the usb key was flashing and then the computer turned off itself
5- I resinstalled the hard drive and the new vga card
6- I plugged an external display
7- I turned the computer on, but unfortunately, nothing appeared on the external display....
I know that windows boots because I heared the boot music

where is the mistake (perhaps the flashing procedure)?
do you have any idea?

please advice

 

anyone here have a spare bracket for an MxM 3a card so i can fit the heatsink to it.

Tried replacing my 9600mgt 1gb ddr2 with 9700m gt ddr3 but old bracket is way to small.

So now i need tyhe part number or somewhere to get a new mxm bracket for it in the UK or someone with it who can post to the UK.

Or someone who wants to trade a 9600m gt ddr3 for it.

 

@discovery45: You have a dead card. The external display should work even without patching.

 

so it's a bad news....
The seller certified me that the card was working (he said that he tested it on 5730G).
Unfortunately, I think that the mainboard has a problem.
The card I currently have is actually the second card he sent me. With the first card, the external display was not working too but as it was not the card I wanted (it was a 9600m gt with 1Go DDR2), I thought that it was the cause.

do you think that the mainboard could be faulty, even if windows boots?

could you please explain me clearly how (which tool, keystroke, etc.to blind flash the SBIOS with a USB key?

 

Sorry for the amateur question, but I need help flashing my bios with your MXM modded version. I downloaded your .fd file for my 7720g. Then I went to acer and got the official bios for the same version (1.45). I expected to get a winflash utility and an .fd file, but instead ended up with only a single exe (ICL50145.exe). It doesn't appear to use any external .fd file or allow me to choose one.. it just wants to go ahead and flash it. So I cancelled that.

Next i found an acer utility called winphlash. That seems to be a bit old, and will not install on my vista system. (why I click the setup.exe nothing happens at all)

EDIT: Ok, winphlash suddenly decided to install once i closed my browser after posting this thread.. heh. However, it requires bios images with a .WPH, .RO2, .ROM, or .WP2 extension.

Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? If i have to flash the bios via CD or USB, that's fine... but i would prefer to do it from windows if possible.

Thanks for all your time and help here on the forums!!
-Scott

 

Win Phlash is for Phoenix BIOSes only. Yours is an Insyde BIOS - get InsydeFlash to update it.

 

Netroller, thanks! I had trouble finding InsydeFlash from any reputable source (like Acer?), so i ended up downloading it from RapidShare. I ran the utility with your updated bios file but the processes (any my computer) froze at about 85-90% completed. I waited a long time hoping it would snap out of it, but it never happened.

So, i downloaded the official 1.45 bios update from the Acer euro site. I renamed your bios file to match the official one and burned it, along with the fla exe and batch file included in the official download, to a CD. I then used the Fn+Esc method described in a different thread.

Result: great success! No more MXM beep warning on boot, and according to other threads this update should fix the audio problem that has plagued this notebook since i bought it several years ago. Thank you sooo much for your time and efforts here!!

 

Actually, all you need to burn to the CD is ICL50HW.FD, no need for DOS boot or Fla$h1t.exe.

 

@.NetRolller 3D, what do you think about my problem?

 

@discovery54: Don't bother blind-flashing. At this point, this is definitely NOT a BIOS issue. It's either a dead MXM card, a broken motherboard, or a faulty charger (too much ripple/noise in the charging voltage can make the MXM card malfunction).

 

Hi
Please, could someone download this file:
Aspire 6920G (Phoenix, with unlocked menus): request download ticket | ifile.it
and upload to another server?

 

so the only solution is to test with another vga card.
I may have the opportunity to test the laptop with a 9600m gt coming from a msi laptop. I assume that this card is compatible with the 9920g. any idea?

Regarding to idea of a fulty charger, the card should work when the laptop is on battery, shouldn't it?

do you see another way to identify my problem?

 

Yes, the easiest way to diagnose charger issues is to test with a fully-charged, working battery and no charger. If this makes things work - charger issue.

 

I've just tested with the battery but there is still nothing on the external display.

it means either a dead mxm card or a faulty motherboard.

Should I use CV120_MXM_V3_BETA or CV120_MXM_V2?

do you think that 9600m gt is still the best choice?
A working g96-630-c1 with 512Mo DDR3 looks rare ^^

 

V2 should be enough; V3 was an attempt to fix some further incompatibilities (unsuccessfully).

However, even with an unmodded BIOS, the external display should work.

 

Hi, I've tested ATI HD 3650 on my Acer Aspire 5920G, but i can see something until the POST.
When Windows is loading my screen become black, I suppose that I should change the VBIOS, if so which VBIOS is needed?

 

Netroller, everything is still working fine but I feel like the GPU temp must be way too high. When gaming I can feel the heat radiating through the keyboard. I want to check the GPU temp but can't figure out how. I tried GPU-Z by TechPowerUp but don't see a temperature reading anywhere. I also tried RealTemp by TechPowerUp but for some reason it has the GPU temperature option grayed out for me. Then I tried a gadget called GPUObserver but it always displays 0 degrees. Finally I tried MSI Afterburner and again see no temperature reading, and no option for it in the monitoring options tab. Does my card not have a temperature sensor or something?

9600m GT in Acer 7720G
Driver version 257.21 (8.17.12.5721)

Thanks for your time and help,
-Scott

 

Hi NetRoller 3D

Some people in France seems to sold your FREE work

Puce Bios débridée et modifiée Acer 9920 9920g Informatique Pas-de-Calais - leboncoin.fr

 

@Jack_Straw: I guess your driver is too old.

Also, is this an ES card?

@DoZe: And it's not just plagiarism - they are also scamming buyers. The 9300M GS VBIOS does NOT work without the modded SBIOS.

 

Netroller, I'm not sure what ES stands for.. but you looked at the card on Ebay in my first post and mentioned that it is ES.

Even without a temp reading i have to say i think the thing is running way too hot. The fan and heat sinks are clean... am i going to have to mod the heat sink somehow? I don't overclock or anything... i just installed the card, updated the bios to your 1.45 MXM version, and used the driver version that was recommended in another thread. Any advice you can offer would be appreciated... thanks!

 

If it is indeed an ES card (recognizable by either no chip ID on the GPU die, or the chip ID containing the letters "ES" or "QS"), then temp sensors may simply be missing from the chip - this is normal.

V257.21 is a very old driver; in fact, it's too old to enable hardware acceleration in most browsers! Get something newer - at least 275.xx series.

As for the actual card temperatures - remove the cooler, and check if the thermal paste has spread out propery on the die. If it has not, but instead clumped together, then you'll need a copper shim.

 

Hi,

I have a Acer 7720 and replaced my 8400GS card with a 9600M GT but get the black screen everybody is talking about. Everything else works fine windows boots etc.

Now from what i read I have to update my bios with the "black edition'' however no matter how many times i try i can't download it from ifile. Everytime it says: ''the server this file is on is currenty busy, try again later or purchase a premium account and get download priority''

I also can't upgrade to premium account because for some reason after the payment goes through nothing changes in my account. Neither has the payment been corretly paid from my paypal account.

Could someone send the file in a PM or send me a linkt that does work.

Thanks

 

Ok, thanks... I chose that really old driver on the basis that other drivers didn't seem to be working for folks with my particular combination (7720g+9600m), per THIS THREAD. I will certainly give it a try, thanks!

As far as the copper shim goes... would an old penny work?

EDIT: It is indeed an ES card, it says so when i boot the computer.

Thanks again for your time and help! -Scott

 

I attempted to install a v275 driver but couldn't get it to work. Laptopvideo2go reports "file not found" for most of the custom INI files in the v275.xx section. The newest version I could download was 275.50 and the oldest was 275.33. I couldn't get either of them to install. The installer itself just reports "failed" without giving any sort of details. The driver does appear in the add/remove programs though. So, on a whim i decided to try installing the driver by using the device manager and browsing to it. That also failed, but at least gave me a small bit of detail. It said:

"Cannot creat a stable subkey under a volatile parent key."

I uninstalled all previous drivers before trying to install the v275 driver, with full reboots in between each process. There is an update ("NVIDIA Update 1.1.34) listed in the Control Panel programs list that I can't seem to remove. Selecting that and clicking "uninstall" does nothing... no error message, it just doesn't do anything. I don't know that it is hurting anything, but I like to provide as many clues as possible. Any ideas?

 

I said at least 275.xx - it is safe to try newer versions; 275.xx is simply the oldest series that is still supported by Nvidia.

 

Hi all,

Still rolling with my 9500m gs, disguised as a 8600m gt... and still having my 9600m gt in case of!

I also still trying to make the temperatures go lower, and in order to do so, I will try the copper shim trick : Do you have any feedback about the efficiency of this?

@Netrolller :

- Just to be sure : you haven't made a specific vBios for 9500ms to work on the 9920g, right? I'm nearly sure it is not the case (what I'm using is the 8600m gt bios from my old card) but it doesn't hurt to ask one last time....

- Do you think you can solve things about 9600m gt Vbios matters? I gave up the idea to recompile nouveau drivers in ubuntu, so I'm going to sell my 9600m gt, so i would like to be also sure there should not have new improvements about this case (such as a new Vbios that override the mxm problem...)

Thank you for your answer, and I hope that your exams preparations are not too hard! Fingers crossed for you!

Nice day to everyone!

 

@ genjilok,
The HD3650 should works in the 5920 without any modification to any BIOS. Either the ati card is faulty or I guess you maybe haven't put a shim between the heatsink and the core.

@zenlok,
Doesn't it imply on page one that no vBIOS update is needed for the 9600M GT on the 7720?

@ .NetRolller 3D,
Yep like I say, the DDR2 C1 version 9600M GS doesn't run on the 8920 modded SBIOS. (We know the 9600M GS A1 GDDR3 revision worked perfectly on the 8920 Acer issue SBIOS. I don't know what the C1 version does on the Acer issue though.)

 

found out my card was dead that's why I got no picture. Off to find a new one.

 

Hi quick question, might be dump but
lets say, i have a gt240m mxm 2
would it be possible to switch the chip from
N10P-GS-A2 (gt240m)
to a
N11P-GE1-A3 (gt330m)
or even a faster one
would the card work or would it just simply not work at all
im not thinking of doing it, i just saw a lot of videos showing how to remove the chip and put in a new one

 

@raserdk: Not sure about your chip replacement, but there is an actual GT 330M card out there, from Toshiba. It needs the VBIOS ROM solder mod, though.

The highest you can go with chip replacement is probably GT 335M, or maybe GTS 360M - assuming you can find a suitable VBIOS, that is.

@u6b36ef: A1 vs. C1 doesn't matter compatibility-wise - I always recommend C1 due to its better longevity. However, there is no known DDR2 VBIOS for either the 9600M GS or the 9600M GT that correctly parses the MXM structure. The best thing we have is the 9650M GT VBIOS from Asus, but it's a pretty steep overclock for a 9600M GS, and compatibility so far has been hit-and-miss for cross-flashes.

 

@ .NetRolller 3D,
Hmm, well the 9600M GT C1 works with the Acer unmodded 6920, I'm fairly sure, as Lizzardos had it going. In the first pages Lizzardos said the C1 he had ran at higher o'clocks than he could push his new A1. (I'm assuming that meant the C1 was running in the 6920.)

9600M GS doesn't run with the 8920 modded, as I found, (no image). Anyway the thing for me to do is maybe try the 9600M GS on the Acer issue SBIOS. sometime when I'm swapping cards about.
For sure the A1 9600M GS runs on the 8920 Acer SBIOS, showing the SBIOS screen, (no mod needed). Gazzacbr has it (page 7), and in signature.

I thought somehow something odd might be happening. Anyway, any more findings about about 9600M GS DDR2 (i.e. C1), I'll post them.

 

I'm pretty sure A1 vs. C1 doesn't matter - DDR2 vs. DDR3 does.

 

I don't know, but in 9600M's, the C1 revision is the DDR2's whether GS or GT, and the A1 are the GDDR3's. Correction: it has been shown C1 revisions of 9600M GT appear in GDDR3 512MB version. (They do seem quite rare though.)

There is another difference too, but I can't be conclusive just yet. I think overall the C1's are smaller chips.
Since I have the C1 in 9600M GS, and A1 in 9600M GT, I discovered the size difference. My idea is that either:
1. It's down to the fact the 9600M GS is smaller because it clocks lower and is volted just slightly lower, so is a different chip.
2. Or the A1 revision is larger, to accomodate the higher data transfer rate with the RAM, (and 70MHz higher clock).

As you see I'd need either an A1 GS, or a C1 GT to know for sure. Either way, for now, my A1 GT (core,) I think is no thicker, but is about 2mmx2mm wider (lxb).

However, I guess you'd be the one to know whether it makes any difference to how they run ref. BIOS's.

 

Hi guys!
I just signed up and I've read all your posts (well I'm lying I've read most of them but not all ) form the first to the last page.
.NetRolller 3D I have to say this is great work mate!
Also blackened87 you've inspired me with that cooling stuff.
We need a donation button in your signature or something.
Now I have a question for .NetRolller 3D and blackened87.
I have an Acer 9920 computer with a working motherboard but unfortunately I do not have the original video card.
What should I do next?
From what I found on this forum it seems that I have to go Nvidia all the way.
If I buy a 9600M GT will I be able to overwrite the computer bios with the modded one without getting the error that says the original video card is not installed?
If it's not possible then can it be done with a regular 8600M GT installed or you need the original one in place?
Also if it doesn't work one way or another which cards are working without this modded bios and only by overwriting the vbios of the newly installed card with the vbios of an 8600M GT card?
And also is it necessary that the new cards installed have to be from another Acer laptop or the source providing them doesn't really matter?
Thank you very much guys for all your help!

 

@u6b36ef: A1 was manufactured on a 65nm product line, while C1 is a 55nm shrink version. Also, the chip package had to be redesigned to avoid Bumpgate.

BTW, here is a 9600M GT DDR3, rev. C1: NEW Nvidia Geforce 9600M GT DDR3 512MB MXM II VGA Card 9600MGT for ACER | eBay

So, "C1" basically means "55nm die shrink".

@aikidokaboy: The 9920G doesn't use whitelisting, so you won't get an error about the original video card anyway - however, without the BIOS mod, the internal display won't function, due to a bug in the BIOS. You will also need to use a modded VBIOS to correctly handle the 9920G's unusual display panel (the 9920G uses a panel designed for LCD TVs, rather than laptops).

You do not need a 8600M GT at all - all you will need is an external display to use during the flash.

 

.NetRolller 3D thank you very much for your answer mate!
I think I will try the 9600M GT but I wonder if the source of the new video card matters or not.
I mean does it matter if it comes from an Asus for example?

 

Asus cards are not recommended - for example, almost all Asus cards I know are DDR2, which is not supported in the 9920G.

Others (e.g. MSI) should be fine, though.

 

Should I look for DDR3 cards?
What if I find a DDR2 card from another Acer?
Will that work?
Thanks mate!

 

There is currently no working VBIOS for DDR2 cards. Not even Acer ones.
(They are much slower anyway, so I don't see a point in buying them.)

 

@.NetRolller 3D,

1. Sorry there, I think I have to correct you, believing all 9600M's were manufactured in 65mm lithography. I read it wasn't until the 9650M GT, that the 55nm tech size was introduced, and the GT120M and 130M followed suit. Then GT230M/240M's moved up to 40nm. (Plus anyway, all I have read so far is that bumpgate was with only, and 'died' out with G84/M.)

3. Difinitively, I think my C1 9600M GS is 65nm, as is my A1 9600M GT.
*This is the link to my pic of my 9600M GS screenshot, (as it was back on page 63 in this thread).
9600M GS screen shot (in GPU-Z).gif
*CPUID CPU-Z (graphics tab) display C1 as 65nm tech.
*Notebookcheck info, (though their info can occaisionally be sketchy).
*Speccy reads it as 66nm, (haha), but also sees it as an A2.

It makes sense that my guess is the A1 chip is larger to accommodate faster ram interface, partnered with GDDR3. Bandwidth comes at a price.

 

GPU-Z lists it wrongly. C1 is definitely a die shrink. Also, I seem to remember a NBR user once having a C1 DDR3 card.

Nvidia will never release chips with different capabilities but the same chip ID, differing only in revision. All "G96-630" chips can do both DDR2 and GDDR3, regadless of revision.

Also, notice how all A1 chips (except FX 770M ones) tend to have 2007-2008 date codes, while C1 is 2009 or later (rarely 2008, and never 2007).

And yes, early G96s were affected by Bumpgate. Anything manufactured after mid-2008 is safe, though.

BTW, here is another GDDR3 C1: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Nvidia-Gefor...205?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a06a0d1d5
(The first picture reads A1; the rest all show C1. The description explicitly mentions that it's C1.)

IIRC my avatar is also a C1 DDR3 card.

 

blackened87 can you please let me know the revision of your 9600M GT and also can you please confirm it's a DDR3 one?
And also can you please explain in detail what do you mean by "run the installation of the modified driver"?
Thank you mate!