BIOS A04 for M17xR1 now available from Dell

Not necessarily, you have to try it and check.

 

I've been using A04 for about 4-5 days now I think. I flashed from the stock bios which I believe was A01. I would like to post my experience with it.

I've been noticing a lot of problems lately, wondering what it could be that's causing all of these problems. My computer ran fine before (for about 8 months) but I just decided it was time to update everything. I've updated my video card drivers, sound card drivers, firmware etc etc so I haven't been able to pinpoint what it is that's causing all the issues I've been having although I'm starting to think it may be the bios.

Here are a few examples.

1.) My cdrom drive isn't working (I haven't used it in quite a long time so who knows if it's a specific issue with the bios). I basically put the CD in the drive, hear it "begin" to read, hear 3 clicks and then nothing. I can eject the disc and the drive is visible in the device manager.

2.) Games seem to have odd lag spikes. I had them before (in WoW, but that's to be expected) only slightly but now it seems to happen more often.

3.) Certain websites have problems loading and sometimes do not load at all. For the most part I would say that they are flash intensive websites but I'm not positive about that. However I know for a fact that flash video cannot be watched in full screen without disabling hardware acceleration.

4.) When I first loaded into Windows after installing A04 I had a message saying that it was running on battery which I only received once. I unplugged my computer, restarted it and plugged it back in. Haven't seen the message since however in the tray I see the battery saying "Fully charged". The Power Options says "High Performance".

5.) Finally, I thought I would just flash to A03 after reading most of this thread but WinPhlash64 won't work. I load the program fine but when I click Start it just sits there with "hourglass/spinning blue circle" pointer, little HD activity and program no longer responds. When I click Advanced Settings the same thing happens, although one time I had an error saying something like "this program is 64bit only". I'd flash with a CD but I already told you all about that not working.

Thanks in advance! Would really like to sort this out.

 

Have you tried installing A02 first and then A03?

 

Should probably re-flash A04 using the one which was uploaded to the support site on 6/4 (2 days ago).

Just a thought...

 

I justtried A04 (6/4/2010) version. I get the adapter warning
Do I need to get dell to send me a new adapter or does this happen to all of them?

 

I dont believe the adapter is 'faulty' or anything along those lines (just my guess). Either:

1. go back to A03

2. wait for a response from our Dell engineer (Chris)

3. see if disabling adapter warnings prevents the warning from popping up

4. call Dell support

 

Thanks BatBoy
I have gone back to A03.
I will just wait for an update or info from Chris.

 

I don't believe that either BatBoy, but we will find out Monday or Tuesday

 

Forgot to mention, i have yet to encounter the power adapter warning message - either with the first A04 or the 6/4 release. Not saying it isn't an issue - sporadic.

 

there are a few bugs in the BIOS, including the adapter not plugged in warning when supposedly disabled in the BIOS, makes me wonder if they tried to fix it and created another issue.

 

Oops.. just wanted to say you confused me with your backwards days a page back.. 4/6 here is April 6th.

 

Can you guys that are having AC Adapter warning messages please re-flash to A04 with the ISO (06/04/10) version and see if this fixes your problem? Looks like there is one report that it doesn't which concerns me, as engineering believes that this version should correct the problem.

Please let me know.

Thanks!
Brian
Alienware Quality

 

Hi Brian

do you know if they are aware / looking at the problem in the BIOS when you disable the adaptor warning but still get one even if the AC adaptor is plugged in ?

Thanks

Dave

 

Problem is still there, reflashed using new A04 from boot CD, and just got the warning at boot time. Entered BIOS and enabled hybrid graphics again. At reboot no warning but when Win7 starts a popup appears that the system is working on battery power because of 'incompatible power supply'.
Also, maybe off topic here, but since nvidia graphics driver 257.15, the fans of the discrete graphic cards (fn F7 to work on integrated graphics) behave strange in that they seem to 'crank' up each 10 seconds or so and then stop again (with the distinct M17x fan 'crackle').

 

Not seeing any of this fan behavior you mentioned and I am running the 257.15 driver.

I tried the following after flashing to A04 using the re-released version -

Shut down the laptop
remove AC
remove battery
plug in AC and power up without the battery

No warning messages.

 

So your error message is in Windows, not at POST? I think everyone else is experiencing the not a supported adapter error at POST, no?

Anyone else seeing error messages while in the OS?

Can you try pulling the battery out of your system, disconnecting AC, holding down the power button for 10 seconds, then reinserting battery and AC and rebooting and see if anything changes?

Thanks.

 

Yes, definitely.

 

going to try the newer A04 now

 

Flash went OK, and will see if the bugs are still there, including the adaptor warning.

DPC issues have not changed lol

 

Reporting. Had Power Supply low wattage report issues. Had to go back to A03.

 

I can't go back to A03. WinPhlash fails on "Flash". I'm afraid to reboot my computer now for fear that it may not be bootable. I'll try the ISO thing, but I have no blank CDs at the moment.

 

If you run out of CDs you can use DVDs as well

 

I'm in another country. Not yet easy for me to get around as a foreigner. I'll try to get CDs/DVDs tonight or tomorrow.

I did re-unpack the A04 BIOS I downloaded before. But this time instead of just running the flash after it unpacked, I went into the folder and ran the A04W64.exe file, which automatically does the flashing rather than waiting for you to click on widgets.

So far I've booted twice without the warning. The first boot was the automatic reboot. The second one was a test, in which I unplugged the power supply and then plugged it back in before rebooting. I'll report back in a day or three as to whether or not the problem has somehow really gone away.

 

can A04 replaced by A03 without any problems? will A04 be overwritten completely or is it like replacing a GPU driver where some files might not be replaced 100%?

 

It will completely overwrite it. This procedure is entirely different from drivers installation, don't worry about it.

 

Thought I would try the 2nd version of A04 on my system as although I had no issues as reported with the original, I wanted to be sure I was not going to get issues down the line - granted, that assumes Dell actually fixed it, but at least I'm on the latest.

No issues again, so far, but will post should I do so. However, I did take a screen shot of the update and I'm curious as to what Dell have actually done to fix the PSU issue. According to this, the BIOS is dated April:

 

For me, my battery sometimes can't charge with that last A04 BIOS: Windows 7 says it is on power supply but that the charge is pending... I had the same issue with the "first" version of that A04 BIOS.

 

The ISO is a re-pack of the previous A04. Same BIOS - different format. Engineering believed that there might be some sort of flash corruption problem with the previous version.

 

Still has the adaptor not connected - Running on Battery error when the Adaptor warning is disabled in BIOS.

 

Myself and my coworker have been on the phone with Dellienware for days getting A/C adapters replaced (2), motherboards replaced (3), video card ??, all trying to figure out the A04 issue with the 193 waat message. Its only when the laptop is shutdown and power is removed, reapply power and boot and boom, theres the message. Thes are both gtx 280 machines, at least until they tried to swap my card to fix issues and sent a 260.

 

Reinstalled A04 and two problems have cropped up. Not sure if it was coincidence or what.

1st. A/C Adapter is plugged in but a mouse over of the icon in the SyS Tray shows it plugged in but NOT charging. battery at 69%.

2nd. Even remotely overclocked it will no longer boot into Windows. I get the a drive needs to be checked error and it hangs there. It does nothing.

 

turbo,

try this:

1. Restart system and enter BIOS - Load Default Settings (last menu), save changes and exit BIOS.
2. Shut down the system
3. Disconnect AC
4. Remove Battery
5. Depress and hold the power button for a 20 count
6. Insert battery
7. Re-connect AC
8. Power up and see if the battery will charge.
9. Reboot system and enter BIOS - apply your overclock, save changes and exit. See if you still encounter the error message.

Also, can you post your system specs? Interesting to compare configs - including Power Supply. I have the Delta PSU (Dell P/N 0J211H).

 

Curious - is anyone else still encountering the PSU issue as reported by Scook in this post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6227443-post56.html

 

Not as often as some have reported, but yes. It seems to be a once a week or so thing.

 

Thanks Elkay. Interesting this BIOS is so intermittent with the PSU warning. Are you also seeing the issue of Windows reporting the PSU is connected however the battery is not charging?


Elkay, could you see if you encounter this message under stock clocks? I wonder if OCing the CPU is in some way messing with the BIOS and causing this PSU problem. We basically have the same system - the only difference is I have the CPU running @ stock and have never encountered the 193W warning or the OS reporting no charger messages.

 

If you let it boot into Windows without powering down and getting the warning to go away on boot, it always shows the battery as not charging. Once I see that warning, I have to power down, unplug the adapter to "reset" it, then plug it back in and go back into the BIOS and turn integrated back off. I should have an R2 here by the end of the month so I'm not even worried about it anymore.

 

These are the steps I have had luck with, hope they help you until A true fix is found. I get the adapter warning everytime I remove power and start back up later, going from work to home or vise versa.

For power adapter warning at boot:
1. Press F2 to get in Bios. you will see the watts are 193.
2. Unplug and replug the A/C adapter from the laptop. You will see the watts go to 240.
3. press F10 and boot to windows.
4. Turn off integrated graphics as low power has reenabled it for you.

If you show the battery plugged in but not charging in Windows:
1. Turn off laptop.
2. Unplug A/C adapter and Remove battery.
3. Hold power button for 30 seconds.
4. Reinsert battery and plug in A/C adapter.
5. Boot machine.
6. Press F2 to get in Bios. you will see the watts are 193.
7. Unplug and replug the A/C adapter from the laptop. You will see the watts go to 240.
8. Turn off integrated graphics as low power has reenabled it for you.
9. press F10 and boot to windows.

I dont know if this affects non-sli systems.

 

Elkay -
No worries - figured you would be a good resource in trying to pin this one down for the rest who are encountering this issue. Enjoy the R2!

Get Found - Overclocking at all? Just want to rule it out.

Perhaps Engineering needs to capture my system since I have none of these issues (that is a joke erawneila - you can't have my system).

 

No overclocking, completely stock. I have a replacement coming. My coworker has received the we dont know whats wrong but will put you on a waiting list response. I had a couple things go awry with the mobo and video card replacements is why im getting a new system.

 

Understood - thanks for the follow-up post.

 

Both systems we are having trouble with here happen everytime the system is unplugged for a minute or longer, like going home. Any specific thing you do when you notice it?

 

All Stock clock settings here Batboy!!! Cheers.
I too experience the AC adapter warning messages.

 

interesting - well, that probably rules out OC.

Specs reborn?

Thanks for the reply back.

 

I've managed to re-flash A03. My adapter problem seems to have gone away. BIOS is reporting my adapter as a 240W adapter, and I've had no problems after powering down, unplugging for several minutes, and powering back up. I tried this by unplugging the cord from the back of the computer on one pass, and by only unplugging the power to the adapter on the second pass. This was more than enough to incite the A04 power adapter problem.

I'll stick with A03 now until A04 is fixed or until A05 has been released to fix A04.

 

Another thought. What are the chances that a bad batch of PROMs were released with the M17x systems, and that the A04 BIOS is using a defective part of the PROM not used by previous revisions?

 

The PROM is not the issue. It is their BIOS

 

Then I'm puzzled that Dell would release such a thing. Shouldn't something so obvious be caught by Q/A?

Also, how can the fact that some people have no problems with the A04 BIOS be explained?

 

You are assuming that we are not their QA......the trend in the past has indicated that we are their volunteer beta testers who go uncompensated

most likely a cost saving measure

 

I'm a lazy one-man Q/A team for some data visualizations software, and I do a better job than Dell seems to do. So, you may be on to something.

 

We have to wonder if they even game on these before shipping them out