M17x R1/R2 - Dell 8.763 Driver (4870/5870 GPUs) + 5870 VBIOS Discussion (non-beta)

I have been through numerous threads and can't find a way to flash the VBIOS. I have an M17xR2 with a single 5870 in stock configuration with the 8.692.2 drivers and the 012.019.000.006.036284 VBIOS, all running in Win7Ultx64.

I downloaded the 8.763-100810a-104118C-Dell A01 video drivers and the 13B96101.104 A01 VBIOS from Dell. Dell instructed to install the video driver first, which I did, and GPU-Z verified I was updated to the 8.763 version.

Next, I ran the downloaded installer for the VBIOS (with Admin priviladges) and recieved a pop-up that stated:

This VBIOS update is intended only for the following video card:
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870
The update cannot be performed on this sytem.​

I'm stuck. When downloading the VBIOS driver from Dell's site, the information there states that the download includes a VBIOS installer that allows you to add the VBIOS files to a bootable ISO file or USB key, but nowhere in the process was that step ever offered.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks,
Doug

 

Hi Doug, Welcome!

Download
HP USB Boot Tool
Win98 Boot Files

Create USB Boot Drive (Will erase everything on the drive)
- Open the HP USB Boot Tool Utility
- Insert your USB thumb drive.
- Select File system as "FAT32"
- Tick "Quick Format"
- Tick "Create a DOS startup disk..."
- Select "using DOS system files located at:"
- Browse to and select the directory you extracted the Win98 files.
- Start the format process.

Copy VBIOS Update to USB Drive
- You can extract the downloaded vbios update file, "R281544.exe" file using WinRAR. You will get a file called "Setup.exe".
- Extract "Setup.exe" using WinRAR again.
- In the extracted folder there is another folder called "IMAGE"
- Copy all files from the IMAGE folder to your bootable flash drive. If you are prompted to overwrite command.com select "No".
- Boot your pc and press F12 to select boot device. Select USB.
- Follow prompts. Wait till its completed. Shouldn't take long at all.

Done!!!

EDIT: On another note I've found a link on techinferno for the original vbios if anyone wants to revert. Original VBIOS

 

Nospheratu,

That did the trick... thanks!!!

Doug

 

dumb question, but is there a preferred upgrade from this? I have sleep problems with my drivers.

 

Thumbs up for cool thread.

 

I can't install non-dell video drivers.
now I have the newest catalyst form AMD (11.10) but dell display drivers 8.763.
Have no idea how to install the newest display drivers. When I try there is still 8.763.
vbis is 012.020.000..27.037640 (according to gpuz)

EDIT

It has helped
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/mobil...0-display-drivers-notebooks-31-10-2011-a.html

 

Just logged in to say thx to Batboy and the team, because i've been having this problem for awhile and at the time there were no solutions, so it put me off for few months. Now its all fixed up and im enjoying it.

but this ATi 8.763 driver does not come with x-fire enable option, would it be ok for me to change to a newer driver? or would it be unstable and give me BSOD again.

EDIT - Also a silly question, how do you flash the other card? i did it once but does that mean i flash both cards?

 

You can use the latest AMD Reference Driver. How I went about installing on the R2 (both 4870 and 5870 CF configs) -

1. Disable Windows Automatic Driver Install (you can re-enable it after if you like - personally, I have it disabled):
Reference this LINK for steps. Once done, proceed to step 2.

2. Remove your current display driver via the Device Manager. Find the Display Adapter and select Uninstall Device. There will be a checkbox to remove software - do it.

3. Reboot your system and once at the desktop, run the installer for the current AMD Reference Driver or whichever you choose to use. Use the 'Indvidual Install' and not the AMD Catalyst Install package.

ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

Going this route, I had no issues with installing the current Reference Driver.

 

Hello all , first many thanks for all info...
Now I want to try this last which is described - BatBoy
I can understand because I watched my System Info says that my card support DirectX 10.1 However, I am using Win 7 - Direct X 11 this causes a problem?
And I can not understand why the icons look so bad - look pic - mx17 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Is it that I did not install the drivers properly?

 

Hello there,
I have a question that maybe one of you can answer me... I did format and did all the clean install steps. I have the dell's video driver and vbios installed. Everything else, drivers, is installed in the order given by the Clean Install thread. My question is, it says there's a newer driver and catalyst version, as I see the dell driver and catalyst is out-dated, should I install the new drivers from AMD? Or I'll be fine with the ones from dell? If I should update, how do I do it?
I read some pages of this thread but my English is not very good, and I apologies if my question doesn't make sense...
Thank you in advance

 

HELP HELP HELP!

I did a fresh install (didnt have spawn dvd so i used this forums thread) and used all the Default Dell driver BUT....
Everything works splendid......except for my Dual 1GB ATI/AMD GDDR3 Mobility Radeon HD 4870(x2).

Specs:
Alienware M17X R2, I7 620M, Mobility Radeon HD 4870x2,8GB 1333 (dell supplied), 2x WDC250BEKT in RAID-0.

No matter what i try the won't come out of idle mode so they won't clock up.
i tried different fresh Windows 7x64 installations with various driver but all have the same problem.

I can't find anything on the internet regarding this issue, this is the only forum with people that know allot about the M17x's so i really hope someone can help

please help!

p.s.
Hi all

So i fixed it with this link from the start of the forum

Any other way of install or de-install keeps de Device ID's as they where given by the Original Dell drivers (DEV_9440 which have to be DEV_9441)

Sorry to took up wasted space in the forum

This forum rocks!!!!

 

Hi guys, was wondering if anyone could help me out here. I have an m17x R1 with two 4870m's originally. I have just replaced my 4870m's with a single 5870m, to see whether its stable before I install the second 5870m card. The card runs fine, but the fan speed does not automatically adjust as it should. It stays at 30%, whether the load is 100% at 110°C or whether its idling at 43°C. I ran 3dMark in order to test whether the fan scales, but it does not, its speed remains the exact same, regardless of duration or GPU load. I am no stranger to overclocking CPU's and benchmarking at the limits, and I know exactly what each of the 3 fans should sound like at any given load, during CPU or GPU tests.

I have also stripped down this laptop many times in the past, but this upgrading to a new GPU (that wasn't available at launch date with official support) is new territory to me.

I thought I would ask here, as this is where I learnt that it was possible, from many peoples success stories. I would love to be able to get it to work, as with the Dual 4870m cards and the QX9300 my machine was flawless.

I have searched the threads here, and come across a couple of people complaining about the issue, however, I am yet to see the question successfully answered in any of them.

So, as of now, we are tackling the concept of an M17x R1 with a Single 5870M (that runs), but the fan does not scale as it should. From what I have read everyone reports that this Vbios is correct (correct me if it isn't).

What I've done so far:
*Let windows install driver, then install 14.9 Catalyst from AMD's website.
-Fan didn't work.
*Uninstall Catalyst 14.9 and remove those drivers and all corresponding folders, reboot, cancel windows auto detect driver install, and manually install Catalyst 14.9 straight. Fan Still didn't work.
*Re-seat the card.
-No Change


Vbios = 012.020.000.027.037640 (113-B96101-104)
Driver= The official Catalyst 14.9 drivers from AMD's website.

Here's the GPUZ info page:


GPUZ Sensors @ Idle: (can go as low as 42°c)


GPU Sensors @ General Browsing (clock raises, therefore temperature rises:


Finally, GPUZ Sensors running FurMark briefly (~10 Seconds).


I would love to have this running as smoothly as the 4870's were.

Please help!

edit: Just reseated the card, and installed the secondary 5870m too. on first bootup all fans spun up to max as they should at startup. However, they still don't scale in windows.

Also, the second GPU is ldling fulltime, no matter what task I run, and Crossfire is not available in Catalyst 14.9.

Vbios and every other detail on the stats page of GPUz are identical to the primary cards screen shot above.

 

You should use hwinfos ( monitoring software ) for fan speed regulation i think, it's the same for m17x R2 and 7970m/680m.

 

I would try that, but most people that had this set-up working, reported it to be plug and play, that could be a good idea for the meantime though.

I also need help to get the crossfire working.


edit:
I would like to add that after spending some more time to try and diagnose exactly whats affected, I can report that it is not just the GPU fans that are not scaling. The CPU's fan also does not scale high and low as it should, in fact, it is stuck at idle just like the GPU fans are, regardless of load or temperature. Also, CPU doesn't clock up and down dependent on load as it should in balanced mode, it is staying at max clock rate.

I have tried benchmarks, and overclocking the CPU, temperatures go up, fans do not scale.

Also I have tried putting the 4870m cards back in, just to check if any other hardware has been damaged or has stopped working while putting the 5870m's in, resulting in this situation. All 3 fans work flawlessly with the 4870's just as they did before, as does the CPU clock, clocking up and down as it should (again in balanced mode).

Current state: 5870's back in, and fan issue still present.
Installed HWinfo64, tried all possible GPU fan settings, only the CPU fan can be controlled, no matter which sensor I try and select. Im running out of things I can do, so please help, people?

(p.s Could a mod here please make this a new thread if its necessary? I don't think its getting the exposure necessary, Thanks)

 

Anyone that's dealt with this before?

 

It's the same issue i had with 2x 260M in M17x R2. But i think your problem should be solveable.

Should be a BIOS / vBIOS issue, i can see that GPU-z doesn't say CF is available.

Seeing that you have newest VBIOS, what BIOS version are you using?
Update to A07 if you didn't already.

You should follow this guide:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-17-m17x/610357-m17x-r1-5870-crossfire-running.html

Edit: those temps don't seem right either, make sure the heatsink is making proper contact with GPU die, and that there is enough themal paste between the two.

Just noticed it's the 666'th post of the thread xD

 

Thanks for the super quick response.

I have updated from bios version A06 to A07, without any affect on the fan control. So the main board bios is the latest now.
Also, regarding crossfire, I have managed to get it to a stage where it ask me where it asks me to enable crossfire by using the original Dell driver. However it then tells me crossfire is not available because the crossfire cable may not be connected properly (which I have checked and reattached correctly).
Of course the crossfire stage comes second. Even with just a single card in the lapop I cannot get the fans to work correctly. That is my issue, I know how to get to the crossfire stage now. If only I could get a single card to work and scale the fans correctly, I could move on to the next stage! I believe it must be VBios, but from everything I've read people are stating that this is the correct VBios.

Also, see my idle temps images above, 43 degrees C max while idling with heating on, so thermal connections are good.

 

I've had exact same issue with 2 5870M's (It ended up being faulty CF cable). It wouldn't enable CF saying the cards were not connected properly.
Are you able to test that the cable is indeed 100% functional?

Can you Install HWInfo64 and take a SS of the thermal sensors and fan speeds?

You could try my modified vBios, maybe it would fix your problem.

 

Is the modded vbios able to install the latest 14.9 catalyst drivers over it?

Again I would like to state that the crossfire could indeed be at fault. But the goal right now is to get a single 5870 card running with the fans scaling correctly..before changing the variables.

I really appreciate the help, and I will upload the HWinfo64 screenshot as requested soon as I get home.

I'd like to add that the fans are fine if I switch back to 4870's

 

Yes, I'm using 14.4, but any version should work.

Ok, we'll leave CF for later then.

The GPU-Z and other monitoring programs Always report 30% fan speed on M17x afaik, (Its because the card isn't controlling fan speed, the motherboard is.)

Ok, we'll see what HWinfo64 says....

Yeah, it's because the 4870 are meant for M17x, while 5870 wasnt.

Did you modify any setting in BIOS?
Disable Hybrid Graphics, Disable Onboard Graphics, ...

 

Well, I guess a modded vbios is an option then. I was just hoping someone could report that this vbios is the correct one though, and that the issue was something else that I had possibly overlooked. (The cards that I purchased are reported to have been working successfully, one as a primary, and the other as a secondary, in an M17x R2, so my hope was that they would already have the correct VBios's to work as they should with each other.)

I wouldn't mind if GPUz was reporting fan speed at 30% all the time, while fans actually scale up and down in speed as they should. My concern comes from the fans not stepping up as they should, as this could lead to a dead card eventually. Of course GPU's are for gaming, and I couldn't even think about gaming with these at the moment, so for stress testing, just to see if the fans responds after making any changes, I am using Windows Index, as it goes far enough for the test, but not too far, and can easily be aborted while I monitor the temps.

On the other hand, I am very impressed with the gpu's ability to handle heat. Here's a shot of HWinfo to show the temps, after idling on my desktop, and browsing the web. (note that at the moment, browsing the web makes the cards temps go up to around 48 Degrees):

 

As far as i know the one you are already using should be working.

It's weird that there are No GPU1, GPU2 fans listed under the EC sensor group....

You didn't answer my previous question, what are your settings in bios, Hybrid graphics Enabled/Disabled, Integrated graphics Enabled/Disabled?

 

I forgot to add that to the last message! My bad.
Hybrid Graphics and Integrated Graphics both come up as Disabled.

When I do the FN+F7 GFX Switch, it enables binary GFX to use the 5870's, and enables Integrated in order to use integrated Nvidia 9400M G GPU, as it should.

 

Hmm, try to play a bit with those two setting then.
Akimitsui has got 2x5870M to work in his R1 with native fan control, if everything else fails, i'd suggest you contact him.

 

I can only access the Integrated Graphics setting and toggle it on and off. The Hybrid Setting cannot be accessed with ATI GPU's.
Thanks for the contact, I will drop him a message!

If nothing else works, then I guess I will have to try the flashing route! Hopefully I can get hold of someone who has a working M17x R1 + 5870's and flash the same Vbios as them. I never expected of all things, that the fans would become an issue

 

Oh ok, didn't know that, (R2 doesnt have either of the settings xD).
He's a really helpfull fella, if it's an issue with BIOS settings/version or vBios i'm sure you should be able to solve it ...

I know he's using my modded vBios, but his fans were working before he even flashed it.

Do your fans get stuck @ 2000RPM when you enter Windows or at the BIOS screen?

If you have a spare drive or some way to do a fresh install i'd suggest that next, clean system shouldnt have issues.

And maybe it has something to do with the card itself (Older/newer revision)... Did you try using the "slave" card in master slot?

 

My fans attempt to spin up while booting as they should, but then its like they stop mid-spin-up, as if something stops their natural bios controlled operation. Very strange. I have the same issue with one card or two. I know it could just be a bad primary card, but seeing that everything other than the fans functions 100% on a single card, I cant quite work out what the problem is (and I'm guessing the secondary card cannot be at fault, as the issue exists with just the primary alone). The only thing I can attempt as a trial and error process is to re-flash the card with the original dell R2 Vbios myself (even though it already has it), seeing as people that have the R1, had to manually flash it using Ati flash (on an R1), after which point the cards should be functioning correctly.

The only problem is I'm not 100% on the flashing process, and seeing as your at the stage of modding VBios's, it would be great to get some step by step pointers from you that I can emulate!

I haven't tried switching the cards, as that would require me to take the heat sinks off and swap them, which I've never done. (do the slave and master card require different Vbios's? as both of mine have the exact same according to GPUz)

Update: I have successfully flashed the modded VBios on the primary card, for some reason I dont think it automatically flashed the second GPU as it was supposed to. I can confirm the flash by changing the clock to 720 by using MSI afterburner, but like I said, the second card clock does not change, so I'm guessing it hasn't been flashed. Was there something I was supposed to do after it had flashed the first card from the USB boot method? I thought it was auto for both cards?

The fan still doesn't scale! lol what an annoying little issue! Should have just flashed my 4870's with a modded bios!

 

You have to use atiflash -p 0 "yourbios" and then after succesfull flash use atiflash -p 1 "yourbios", that's the best way of doing it imo.

 

Woah, since this topic is not completely dead, as the last posts are still somewhere 2014, I need a hand. I got the same issue, fan control on a Alienware m17x R1, on which I just placed a Single Mobility Radeon 5870 card, as an upgrade from a 260m Nvidia SLI. Only the main fan works, if I start the other one on the motherboard with hwinfo, it starts up only to stop ever 50 ms, because, I imagine, it is overwritten by the program.

So, I do not really get how to go through the process. The first post is extremely confusing, listing a lot more information than I can comprehend. The video card is seen. I reinstalled windows, so my computer has no drivers at this very moment.

• What is my next step? What drivers do I install and what do I flash?
  
• The videocard was removed from an R2. I put it into my R1 instead of the Nvidia 260m SLI.
  
• Is there a guide I could not find on the forum?

Reason I updated: The problem with the nvidia is after millions of installs and attempts, with hybrid graphics disabled it still refused to boot up the video-cards, since probably one of them was faulty, and I was using the Nvidia 9400, which was horrible.