A07 bios released for m17x r3

I live 11 months of the year in a country where Dell's warranty is not supported, it is only when I return the UK 2x a year that I can get support, and I doubt very much this is a hardware issue, this is a W7 Dell bios network card driver compatability issue, I also believe all R3's with my config have this problem but you will never see it because most people connect to one wifi AP then if moving shutdown reset adapter and reconnect to another AP, I live in a building with 4x wifi networks that I installed and maintain in an appartment building it's a pain in the a55 having to reset my network card every time I switch networks.

 

Has anyone w/ 6970m actually had a good experience with this new bios? Do I need to put myself through the stress of this new bios when A04 seems ok. Yes it would be good to regain FN brightness control but if that's all it brings then I wonder if it's worth it?

I know updates and all that are good but sometimes they bring new problems. I kinda wish Amd for example would slow down in the driver releases. I only installed 11.6 a short while ago but already 11.8 is floating about and you kind of feel compelled to keep updating despite your system being fine! Same feeling with the bios updates.

 

I installed the new A07 bios and have no problems and yes the FN issue is gone. However, I was in the same soup as you, worried about the other issues that may come up. Either you have to take the risk and go for it or if you are happy with your system, ignore further updates and enjoy your system (specially when you do not have any issues with it).

 

Still can't wake from sleep with this BIOS:


*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa800bbd3010, fffff8800f852cc0, ffffffffc00000b5, a}

*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+170cc0 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

5: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa800bbd3010, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff8800f852cc0, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: ffffffffc00000b5, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 000000000000000a, Optional internal context dependent data.

Debugging Details:
------------------


FAULTING_IP:
nvlddmkm+170cc0
fffff880`0f852cc0 4883ec28 sub rsp,28h

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0x116

PROCESS_NAME: System

CURRENT_IRQL: 0

STACK_TEXT:
fffff880`04859888 fffff880`0432d000 : 00000000`00000116 fffffa80`0bbd3010 fffff880`0f852cc0 ffffffff`c00000b5 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`04859890 fffff880`0432cddb : fffff880`0f852cc0 fffffa80`0bbd3010 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0ae95410 : dxgkrnl!TdrBugcheckOnTimeout+0xec
fffff880`048598d0 fffff880`0420ff07 : fffffa80`0bbd3010 00000000`c00000b5 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0ae95410 : dxgkrnl!TdrIsRecoveryRequired+0x273
fffff880`04859900 fffff880`04239bd4 : fffffa80`00000000 00000000`00380213 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000002 : dxgmms1!VidSchiReportHwHang+0x40b
fffff880`048599e0 fffff880`042382bb : 00000000`00000102 00000000`00000000 00000000`00380213 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiCheckHwProgress+0xd0
fffff880`04859a10 fffff880`0420b2c6 : ffffffff`ff676980 fffffa80`0ae95410 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWaitForSchedulerEvents+0x1fb
fffff880`04859ab0 fffff880`04237e7a : 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0b8bc010 00000000`00000080 fffffa80`0ae95410 : dxgmms1!VidSchiScheduleCommandToRun+0x1da
fffff880`04859bc0 fffff800`0312732e : 00000000`0106de3c fffffa80`0b0beb60 fffffa80`06cff400 fffffa80`0b0beb60 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWorkerThread+0xba
fffff880`04859c00 fffff800`02e7c666 : fffff800`02ffde80 fffffa80`0b0beb60 fffff800`0300bcc0 fffff880`01263384 : nt!PspSystemThreadStartup+0x5a
fffff880`04859c40 00000000`00000000 : fffff880`0485a000 fffff880`04854000 fffff880`04859610 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiStartSystemThread+0x16


STACK_COMMAND: .bugcheck ; kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
nvlddmkm+170cc0
fffff880`0f852cc0 4883ec28 sub rsp,28h

SYMBOL_NAME: nvlddmkm+170cc0

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: nvlddmkm

IMAGE_NAME: nvlddmkm.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 4e2acea5

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: X64_0x116_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys

BUCKET_ID: X64_0x116_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

 

Took the plunge. Seems ok. Thank god for that! Also put in catalyst 11.7. No real difference, maybe gained 50 PTs in 3d Mark 06

 

Let me just say that this is the EASIEST bios flash .exe Dell has ever provided... and I'm also one of the guys who suffered from waking up from sleep(dark screen/power shutdown)... I'll let you guys know if this A07 fixes the issue...

Will update my sig as soon as I'm allowed.

 

Updated to A07 and wifi didn't work at all...Card was detected but it wouldn't see anything, also my external keyboard wouldn't detect. Had to unplug/replug (coincidence?) had to remove wifi from device manager and another device said unknown device, but without the (!) bang next to it. Removed them both and re-added them. Now it seems to work. Weird.

 

Well the instability has remained with the rollback to A04 even though I didnt have it before I stepped up. Fortunately I may have found another fix for it.

I unchecked the powerplay checkbox in my 11.7 CCC and immediately the flickering stopped. This machine is always plugged in so having powerplay enabled isnt excessively useful for me anyways.

 

My new M17xR3 with the AMD 6990 GPU just arrived with bios A06 and it was dog slow. My SSD WEI score dropped to 6.5 and the boot times were much slower. It paused at that Windows logo for much , much longer. My May 2011 R3 was much faster booting whether with my Samsung SSD or a 500GB Seagate XT Hybrid. The May R3 with Bios A04 was faster all around.

Updating the BIOS to A07 returned the system to its snappy self, however, the WEI score on the SSD stayed at 6.5. Even, so boot times are back to normal and shutdowns are near instantaneous again.

No issues updating the bios. Leaving the May R3 at A04.

Cheers,

 

Sigh well apparently I didnt know disabling powerplay downclocked the graphics...

 

so are you still having the wakeup/sleep issue?

 

im having a wakeup/sleep issue. seems to happen at about 5 am in the morning.

 

I kinda of had that....It was weird.

 

Well I discovered that if I had the display set to 120hz then I would get the bluescreen/reboot every time. If I set it to 60hz then it would wake every time. No sure if it was HW related but I sent it back to Dell. Awaiting a replacement.

 

Yes, I still get this issue everytime I put the lid down. I mean I cant even put it down for like two minutes before seeing the black screen.There is no other way round this but do a force shutdown. I cant even download anything with my lid down. These days I lease it open for the whole night.

I've already tried the BIOS fix as mentioned earlier. Any other suggestions guys?

 

maybe try the newly released A08 bios?

 

Just a heads-up to you guys who are intending to try out the latest A08 BIOS.I have just tried it & sad to say,it does not solve the sleep/restart issue,black screen freeze up persists.I have reflashed it back to A04 & will be sticking with it since it is the most stable for me.Catalyst 11.7 works well with it,other than FN+brightness issue,everything else is fine.Have encountered so many forced-reboots & black screens that I am having 2nd thoughts about updating BIOS for the time being...