Latest Drivers Checklist for the M17x-R2 with HD5870 (September 2010) incl. VBIOS Flash Guide

uninstall the driver, the install the Intel Driver;

Drivers and Downloads

 

Hi guys, I am new to forums

after searching most the weekend in regards to the problems i have had with my M17X r2 i found these forums and plan to do what it says in this thread, if dell dont come through with their tech first.

I want to do a fresh install of windows but I am not very confident with computers. when i get to the screen where it says where do I want to install windows do i need to format all three partitions, part 1 is OEM (reserved) part 2 is a recovery system and part 3 is my primary. In the past i just formatted part 3.

many thanks in advance

 

You can delete and format and partition your HDD like you are comfortable with it. You won't need the recovery partition anymore, and the OEM partition will be created a new one. I always delete all partitions, so i can split them or just create one.

 

Well formulated and coordinated thread and guide Grimfan, thanks a bunch!

 

Hey Thenzfarmer, if you see this or someone else, may i ask you what you guys have additionally installed for your SSD's for drivers for optimal performance?

 

mr.grim when i fresh clean install my window, i check in the device manager, there are 2 device that not installed, at other device, base system device CI bus 8, device 0, function 1 and 2, is there something to do that i miss?

 

sorry double post

 

I think it might be the media card reader. After you follow Grims list, run Windows update, that should find the last two.

 

Hey Grim, sure, glad I can help, this SSD issue popped up earlier this year and I found an awesome tweak guide on the OCZ Forum (great customer support from OCZ and great community as well).

Guide * Windows 7 Ultimate Tweaks & Utilities *

These are the basic tweaks for any SSD owner really speaking but they are very useful to me.

Also, this amazing little application that does all the tweaking for you (although not official).

Guide SSD Tweak Utility

And finally, the two applications that can be used to speed up OCZ drives.

How to set up Windows on a VERTEX - OCZ Forum Wiki

Hope this helps you out!

Edit: How did you come up with that? "More issues = More work | More work = Less issues ---> More issues = Less issues!" lol

 

I know on OCZ's website it says to use the Microsoft Chipset driver, but I read somewhere that the Intel driver works better now for Intel chipset AHCI mode, anyone confirm this? I think maybe OCZ needs to update that list.

 

Ah you need to tell me the Hardware-ID from the unknow devices (found under Details) that the drivers are missing, then we can determine what they are.

 

When I try to run the VBIOS update (after updating to new graphics drivers and unpacking it out of the zip file) it just quits at 22%. No error. No process. Nothing. Just quits. Every time.

EDIT: NVM. I fixed this. Force extracted the idiot executable.

 

Hello guys, I ve got a problem with my m17x. I reinstalled windows and then tried to install drives from disk but there only got video card drive for 4870 ati radeon, in mine it has 5870 ati crossfire. I downloaded the drives from this website and the screen went to black screen. In device manager it says that i have standard video card but no model there. And the screen resolution went to 1600x1200. I dont know what happen please can you help me?

 

So yours is R2 version. Please follow instructions on the first page of this thread carefully. Grim has put all the links needed to update latest drivers. Everything should workout fine.
By the way this thread should be sticky so that future updates also come in here.
And Grim, my system is working very well. Thank you.

 

Yup, you wont find 5870 drivers on the resource disk....you will have to get them from drivers/downloads on Dell support...make sure you choose the 5870 ones - if your on standard VGA drivers at the mo, you should be fine just to d/l the .exe from dell and install the 8.763 drivers and then flash the vbios viad stick or cdr depending on which you prefer.

I had the same dilemma - no 5870 drivers on the shipped driver disc but it all worked out nice n easy...just get the right video driver from dell for you 5870 card/s and you will be good to go after installing them over vga drivers...then do the vbios and you will be set....

Follow Grim's guide...it is top notch and failsafe...

Hope it works out!

 

Hey OP,

Nice guide. One thing to note, however is that their USB boot software won't accept USB keys greater than 2GB. I actually had to use the blank DVD (first time in ages ) for that when I flashed VBIOS, which, btw, took forever to burn.

Finally the flickering is gone. Yay!

 

Can I do the Vbios flash on modded 10.9?

 

Yeh you should be able to chiefs. I suspect 10.10 mobility to be out though by the time you get your replacement system.

Basically Brian said last time that we need anything above 10.7 AMD drivers. Otherwise you will BSOD upon next reboot. So far I have tried the 10.9 modded and 10.10b modded drivers and restarting is not a problem at all.

So you should be good to go.

Cheers.

 

Which have you found to yield the best results in like BFBC2?

 

The dell new drivers and vbios combo worked great. Trying the 10.9 also were good. No real improvement. So those 2 are good. My FPS ranges from 40 - 100 using those 2 drivers. All settings maxed out except for AA and MSAA. They were set to 1X.

Since you asked I will test Kompany 2 out with the 10.10b mods now as well.

I only play the single player campaign though so no multi player. I've finished the campaign 2wice now.

I'm mostly playing FIFA 11 and MOH Tier 1 these days.

Cheers.

 

Hello steviejones

I downloaded the vbios for ati radeon 5870 but when i followed by instruction to record or to install it to flash usb it said me that :'This VBIOS update is intended only for the following video card: ATI radeon HD 5870 The update cannot be performed on this system'. This happened when i did not install the drive for hd5870 video card. Do you know how to check the model of video card/s? And do you know how solve these problems, big thanks for you guys your time and attention.

 

Firstly, I assume you DO have 5870 card/s?

If so, have you uninstalled your drivers and tried to flash the vbios whilst you are using standard vga drivers? - the order should be install 8.763 where applicable and then vbios.

If you download gpu-z (just google it) this program will tell you the cards you have and drivers you are using.

I would take a look at Grims instructions and what your gpu-z screenshot should look like when you are done...

 

Say I ordered an m17x off the Alienware website today. Would it come shipped with the majority of these or is it worth while to check if they are all updated to the latest versions?

 

Hey there chiefs.

Its definitely worth while to check out dells support driver website for any new updates chiefs. For your updates you could start with the system bios A09 since you mentioned you had A08 last time. After that you could go down the list of windows 7 64bit drivers and tick them off.

I remember seeing in your GPU-z pic that you took me last time that you already had the up to date video GPU drivers from dell installed however you were just lacking the Vbios update.

So normally you would install the intel Chipset driver and then everything else and you could save the GPU video driver for last and then do the vbios at the end. Also best not to unplug your system until you have the new vbios update installed as it will BSOD on you the next time you restart your machine.

By the way did you get the Alien respawn recovery OS to work? Reinstalled yourself back to factory settings?

Cheers.

 

Yup, it worked well. The thing is running faster than ever with these updates ^_^

 

Ah awesome chiefs. Glad to hear you have your system up and Firing on all cylinders now OLES!!!!

Now you can go crush some NOOBs lol.
Enjoy.

Cheers.

 

Hello, maybe most of you don't know me as i have been a M15x forum member mostly... but as i got a replacement system (and free upgrade to M17x-r2), i have a couple of questions . I'm a M15x veteran as i've taken it apart, done mods n all that, but since i just got the M17x 2 days ago, i'm a M17x noob .

Would someone like to answer the following for me ? + rep for sure!

1. What exactly should i expect the new vbios to improve? what problems were there beforehand?
2. what does the A09 bios do? solve?

I just want to be aware of the past issues that were resolved, as i'm just jumping on the M17x bandwagon now! Thanks!

I know these have all been answered, but its overwhelming to catch up on all issues/solutions in just a couple of days and reading through everything is impossible this late in the game. So if someone can sum it up for me it'll be very greatly appreciated.

Can't wait to go home in a couple of hours so i can FINALLY tinker with it and install drivers n such, as i've been so busy with work i haven't even gotten the chance to do so yet! I did manage to update to 10.10 though... but anyone else notice the ATI hdmi audio driver gone after a clean driver install? any ideas how to get it back? I'm sure ill find it after a little search but if anyone has the link it'll be awesome and would save me some time! Thanks!

 

Welcome to M17x community. the quickest and easiest answer is, update both.

A09 basically fixes everything before A08 (which fixes the touchpad most notably) and brings back the A07 extreme multiplier across turbo boost table.

the latest vBIOS on the other hand, allows sleep/hibernation on power and battery without any bluescreens and MOST importantly, gives the reference ATI mobility driver the ability to detect and install reference drivers without having to depend on dell driver release, which could take forever.

 

Thanks!

 

you're welcome. there are a lot of people in M17x community who are very helpful, so you wont be alone. and enjoy your M17x.

 

yes indeed there are! Such as yourself ... I am liking the M17x very much so far, but still not sure if i will keep it or resort back to the M15x.... both have their pros/cons

 

Oles chiefs welcome to the CLAN oles!!!

Yep Bios A09 is tops and it also improved the touchpad polling rate. It was pretty low and shocking before the A08 and now A09 system bios updates.

The vbios is great stuffs. It not only fixed our issues with the mentioned above it also has allowed us to now use and update using AMD monthly reference drivers without having to use the workaround method. So thats a very welcome change. + all the features and stuff are still working.

With the HDMI ATi sound chiefs. I don't think I uninstalled it. I usually just run driver sweeper and clean ATi display driver in safe mode before I install any newer driver update. With your sound if you right click the sound icon and then click play back devices. Then right click and show the disabled or disconnected devices that should bring up the HDMI Audio tool. Usually if you can't get the sound working plug in the HDMI cable 1st then restart your notebook and it should work after that. It does a disappearing act like that sometimes LOL. Its there buy hidden.

How you liking your new system so far oles?

Cheers.

 

no worries there. i would keep M17x if i were u. the pros outweight cons.

pros
1. RGB LED LCD vs WLED LCD
2. 2 HDD vs 1 HDD
3. No/ far less throttling vs you know best
4. 2xCF 5870 vs 1 5850
5. very nice aluminum finish vs mag alloy finish
6. 1920x1200 vs 1080

cons
1. heavier and a tad larger than M15x, but they are both large and heavy anyway
2. possibly louder at full load
3. cant think of anymore..

 

Yup thats very true chiefs. After going down the 17inch road myself I don't see myself ever going for a smaller screen anymore. However I don't really travel much with the notebook so its a different scenario for me. I guess if the size is a little bit to much..... ehehe but then oh the specs performance and overall build quality ehehehhehe

Give it some more time perhaps and see how you feel.

Cheers.

 

Thank you all so much for your help and feedback . I'm on the way home now from work (I know txting while driving is horrible ain't it lolll) and when I get home I will finally update all my drivers n bioses! I will spend about a week before I decide which one to keep... But some things I can add to the cons list of the M17x are:

Fan noise. I have 1x5870 right now and damn I can barely hear the game I'm playing with the volume cranked (with the onboard speakers) when the fans are going full pin! Ok ok it's not that much of an issue cuz I usually have my logitech z5500 hooked up, but damn... Much louder than my M15x. Imagine with all 3 fans going

Cooling. I have a Dell 5870 in my M15x, and I must say, it stays about 5-6*C cooler than my M17x! I read about the retention mods... And I repasted the M15x with ocz freeze and the M17x is still on stock paste... So I guess with a little tweaking/mods this will be less of an issue. I just was expecting better cooling at stock considering how fast n loud those friggin fans are! lol

And finally... I haven't tweaked the color profiles for the rgb led screen yet but the blacks do seem faded and not so black at all... Colors are mesmerizing though!!!!

And to top it all off, I'm very mobile with my M15x, as I bring it around a couple time a week. So the decision will be a hard one for me... Although there's no doubt that performance wise, and expandability wise, the M17x is the Better option... I'm just not sure what I value more yet... Portability/battery life... Or performance... The m15x hit the sweetspot for me, and is why I initially went with it. gonna be tough

 

Yep chiefs the fans do get pretty darn loud ey eheheheh. Yeh if you do a repaste job and thermal pad replacement then the temps will drop quite a bit and the max fan noise won't be as loud either.

Theres a couple of great threads for you to have a look at with the pastes and results of lower temps and cooling success most of us have had.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/523915-pics-cooling-mods-done-tx-4-clip-mod.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...s-best-thermal-paste-pads-use-our-beasts.html

theres quite a few pics and stuff showing the sensor tabs of HWiNFO + GPU-z. RPM fan speed and temps all at idle and max load temps. Have a look through them and you will get a good idea of what you can expect.

Even if you just do the repaste it will significantly help your temps and lower max fan noise.

Cheers.

 

Sounds like you've kinda made a decision already and want the M15x. You should get what fits you best. If the fan noise and bulk is bothersome to you, then grab another M15x. As for the black levels, it can be tweaked a bit with color profiles but the main reason it's not as deep as the WLED on M15x is because the brightness is quite a bit higher. So there's a trade off made for brighter panels. You should put each laptop side by side and take a photo of them with a black background.

 

Well not quite! In that post i was just listing the things i don't like! the list of things i like i quite longer ! LOL... but anyways... i won't annoy any of you with my long process of deciding which to keep. But thanks for all your help and support

EDIT: Ohh damnn... Didnt know the Dell vbios doesn't support other drivers other than Dells... and i'm now stuck with a black screen because i upgraded to 10.10 yesterday ! lol.. Gotta go through the long process of uninstalling 10.10... installing Dells Driver.... flashing the new vbios....and upgrading back to 10.10... got my work cut out for me LOL.

 

Hey guys, sorry but I have not yet grasped whether the Vbios is different to the Beta one that came out two months ago :/
I get flickering in every single game I play(Stalker, Fallout 3, L4D2, BFBC2...) and I have the beta v-bios + 10.10 catalyst and the 7.782 drivers for the 5870s when crossfire is enabled.
Thanks.

 

Have you tried toggling vsync off or on, whichever is opposite what you're running? I thought I read that about flickering with crossfire enabled.

 

Yup try turning on Vsync in the games that you are experiencing flickering. Also try turning on triple buffering.
If your still having issues try setting the Catalyst AI to standard instead of advanced. Or vice versa depending if you already have it on advanced or standard to begin with.

The beta vbios is the same as the newer WHQL one. You can try flashing again if you feel like it. I did LOL.

Cheers.

 

Hey guys,

Has anyone else had any problems with downloading anything from the Dell support ftp site? I always seem to timeout when trying to download anything. If anybody has the following items, would you mind sending them to me?

M17x-R2 BIOS - A09 (BIOS Flash)

AMD Mobility Radeon HD5870 - 8.763-100810a-104118C-Dell, A01 (Display Driver)

AMD Mobility Radeon HD5870 - 13B96101.104, A01 (VBIOS Flash, see additional Info)

Thanks,
Dan

 

Thanks
With v-sync on I get flickering and with it disabled I get tearing lol, there is a tradeoff.
Good on you guys, I'll give the AI a go as well as well as triple buffering.

Cheers.

 

Hey theres chiefs,

Try clearing your internet cache or doing a clean with CC cleaner. Then try IE and firefox or Google chrome to download the drivers and software. Also hit use the browser to dl the files if that option message appears. If you still can't dl the stuff give us a buzz and I'll send you the stuff somehow.

Cheers.

 

Hey, thanks for the suggestion, but I've already tried downloading using both IE and Firefox with cleared caches - on two computers. I even tried Dell's idiotic download manager. If you guys haven't had any trouble downloading things in the last few days, I have a feeling that my problems may have something to do with my university's internet security. Sorry, but this is a new one for me - this is my first "mainstream" company computer and my first ATI video card and I'm quite disappointed by the driver support.

Thanks for the help,
Dan

 

Hey there cheifs.

Here you go.

Hotfile.com: One click file hosting: A09 System Bios.exe

Hotfile.com: One click file hosting: vBios 5870.exe

The GPU driver is still uploading. Pending.....will be up soon oles.
http://hotfile.com/dl/78247215/6e76896/R281215.exe.html

Cheers.

 

Hey, thanks.

Dan

 

No worries chiefs.

There all done now. Ready to go. Hope they work for you.

Cheers.

 

Hey chief lol... do you really have 2 M17x's???? a R1 and a R2??

 

Heya chiefs. Yeh ahuhs. R1 and R2.

I mainly use the R2 nowadays though.

Hows things on your end? All fixed up updated ready to take on the world oles?

Cheers.