The First M17x R2 BIOS mod. Need suggestions for future mods.

M17x R2 A10 BIOS MOD VF1 RELEASED

CREDIT GOES TO THEWIZ AND TEAM AT BIOS-MODS for this.

And big thank you to "kizwan" a member at BIOS-MODS and on NBR whose help and knowledge made this a success

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Note from NBR Moderation Team -

As with all system level mods, NBR feels its prudent to include a warning message for users who may be new to system tweaking.

Flashing a non-Dell/AW BIOS can result in serious complications if flashed improperly or if the BIOS coding is faulty.

This will kill your warranty - know what you are doing and be sure you are willing to risk losing warranty support if something should go wrong. If you brick your system, you have only yourself to blame.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



Attached is the 1st release of the A10 BIOS from Dell which has been edited by TheWiz and Kizwan

M17x-R2_A10_V1F BIOS DOWNLOAD LINK

Instructions for flashing:
1. Unzip "M17x-R2_A10_V1F" folder
2. Open M17x-R2_A10_V1F once unzipped.
3. Open WinPhlash64 Application
4. Under "Specify new BIOS file:" be sure to select M17x-R2_A10_V1F.ROM if it is not already selected.
5. Click the "Flash BIOS" button



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CRISIS Recovery Instructions:

To Create a Crisis Recovery USB you must use a Windows XP system only
Note: Running XP through compatability mode in Win 7 will not work.

XP mode in windows 7 will work
1. Insert USB Drive, any capacity will do.
2. Open "CRISDISK" folder
3. Open "WINCRIS" application
4. It should detect the USB Drive
5. Click "Start" Button
WINCRIS should create the USB recovery drive
6. For Crisis recover, be sure to Power drain system.
A. Remove Battery
B. Depress power button for 10-15 sec.
7. Insert USB drive into eSata port.
8. Hold FN+B while plugging in power cord in system
9. Continue to hold FN+B and depress system power button.
10. Continue holding FN+B until USB drive begins to flash.
11. System may remain blank as it enters recovery mode
12. System should complete recovery in 5-10 min. If system has not powered down in 15 min, power down by pressing the power button.

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Included are the following features, with screen shots to show the BIOS menues.

Advanced Option Menu

Spoiler

Platform Thermal Config

Spoiler

Thermal Config 1

Spoiler

]

Thermal Config 2

Spoiler

Thermal Config 3

Spoiler

IGD-LCD

Spoiler

IGD-LCD 2

Spoiler

Memory Submenu

Spoiler

PCI-E Menu

Spoiler

Sata Control Menu

Spoiler

Performance options

Spoiler

Intelligent Power Sharing

Spoiler

Intel Power Sharing Enabled

Spoiler

IPS Platform Policy

Spoiler

CPU Temp Limit

Spoiler

MCH Power Limit

Spoiler

Processor Power Limit

Spoiler

Core Power Limit

Spoiler

Run Time Interface

Spoiler

Core Power Limit

Spoiler

Run Time Interface

Spoiler

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BELOW ARE SHOTS OF A NON XM CPU.BEING OVERCLOCKED THROUGH THE BIOS.

BIOS i5 540M CPU

Spoiler

BIOS OC Menu unlocked

Spoiler

CPU-Z Verification

Spoiler

Because Dell appears to have stripped values higher than 5% from the BIOS, adding higher values is on the to do list. Also on the to do list are adding memory freq options, which are currently in the works, and should be added shortly in the next release.

NOTE: TheWiz and Kizwan are aware of the increased demand for added GPU support. Keep in mind that this is only the first release, and those features are being looked into.

Prior to flashing it is recommended that you create a recovery USB drive just in case. DR650SE has successfully flashed the test BIOS 10-15 times and has not had a a single error in doing so, so the flash is safe. None the less, proceed with caution as you would with any other BIOS flash.

Many thanks to those who have helped in this project, TheWiz and Kizwan for the BIOS modding, goodstone and DR650SE for testing.

Any questions or comments, or even suggestions concerning this BIOS should be addressed in this thread to consolidate the discussion. Please, test, enjoy, and give feedback! Thanks!!

 

Memory tweaking (i.e. Intel XMP), fan control and more graphics card support (i.e. GTX 460M to GTX 485M) would be nice. BTW, was this modded from the guys at bios-mods.com?

 

yes,

Credit goes to THE WIZ and team at bios-mods for cracking this.

I WILL REPEAT DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WARRENTY CAN AND PROBERLY WILL BE LOST IF YOU CANNOT RECOVER FROM BAD FLASH.

 

Maybe an additional bit of CPU voltage. Also, what is QPI Freq? Never read much about it.

 

Wow this is cool! Great job to those guys! Incredible...

Perhaps multiplier manipulation for xm CPUs + Vcore adjustments (as DR650SE suggested), RAM freq increases etc.

 

Yea, let us know, and I'll definately test out the new bios with the i5 520M, i5 540M, i7 Q720M, i7 920XM and i7 940XM. I'd also be willing to put forth a donation.

 

Same here!

 

Its supposed to be the bandwidth between the CPU and the chipset since the FSB for i7 systems is in the CPU. The only benefit I've heard it has is for increasing the amount of bandwidth for information if you have multiple CPUs and/or GPUs. As a matter of fact, a lower QPI should make a FSB/BCLK (base clock) overclock more stable.

 

im definitely game for testing. Is there a way to add the ability for the fans to be used with the GTX460m? i have a card we can test as well. i have a 2nd MB so if i brick it i can replace it.

 

Man...I am out of town a few days and can't test all the stuff he did for my R1 yet

Mad props to TheWiz though! If you are happy with his work please make a paypal donation to him.

 

OMG Very nice, ADD Support for GTX 470 1.5GB in SLI will be fantastique if they can do that .

Goodstone: Do you think it something that can be possible ?

Sorry for my bad english in advance .

 

Even if support was added, that would stress the Power supply pretty well (and possibly the motherboard power circuitry)

 

Tell me if I do a error, but with a 240W psu we have enough juice no ?

I7 920XM 55W (80W for overclocking marge)
GTX 470 in SLI 75W+75W

Very fast this do 205W/230W with overcloking, if we don't overclock I think this can be ok no ? The psu can take littile more normaly 265W in peak ?

 

You are just leaving out the rest of the laptop...motherboard, ram, screen, hard drives

And the 75W per gpu limit goes up in smoke once they are overclocked as well. And the CPU can easily get upto 100W with TS

 

Scook, you're shattering my dreams here...

 

At least the bottleneck will now be the PSU and not the bios

 

I have spoken to Thewiz at bios-mods.

He has a confirmed thread for working bios mod.

As i said i took a very big risk in doing this. I have looked at the thread for CRISIS RECOVERY but cannot get it to work.

AXMAN seems to be the man to test these mods out as he has recovered on more than 1 occasion.

I need someone to pm me on exact procedure for crisis recovery including how the usb stick is partitioned and the what files are stored on to stick

The wiz has restricted the new set of download links to myself for the r2.

When confirmation of mod is working and stable will a download link will be available.

 

you want to discuss this, do so here. no off-site discussion links.

 

Sorry Batboy

 

No need to apologize... appreciate the understanding. More than welcome to discuss here and ask for input from the NBR AW Community but pushing links to an off-site forum to take up the conversation there is a bit much.

Also, obviously you are excited about being involved in this and thats great but its a bit tough for those here who do want to be involved to see

I'm sure you can understand. You might want to wait until this is available to all... just a thought.

 

Yes but at the same time we need to be happy some time whit what we have. With what I have write, GTX 470 in SLI and I7 920XM with little marge for overclock, can be possible. For all people that dose't have 920 or 940XM CPU they will be very happy I think if they can now upgrade they graphique card.

If we take the 205W calcul. I think it enough if we addition screen + HDD + motherdord and others things.


goodstone: Can you ask too him for the GTX 470 in SLI please ?

 

Batboy,

I can publish the newest mod if it is o.k. If Batboy gives the o.k i will link mod to first page.


As i have this running on my machine i think that shouldnt be a problem should it.


Bios link added to first post

 

yep, I've discussed this with the NBR Moderation team and you can post it. I added a message earlier to post one with the standard warning for any of these community driven tweaks/mods.

Just the standard, use at your own risk...

 

This is great news here,didn't think it would be so early!
If there's also an option in the BIOS related to the chip in the charger that it can be changed,then PSUs we can find/make and give the juice these babies need.
I would love to take a look into this if they are willing to share the tools.

 

**Subscribing** to this thread IMMEDIATELY!!!!! WOOO awesome.... has anyone tried this?

 

Hi guys,

I just wanted to let you know that there will be a version one release very soon with 7 new menus and roughly 30-50 new options for you to utilize. I am aware this forum is very strict about links and such, so please go my site directly if you which to follow the latest progress. Or check it with goodstone I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for this project.

Thanks,
TheWiz
BIOS-Mods Administrator

 

OMG Jesus is on this thread now . TheWiz, I have only one thing that interested me and for sure many others, do you think to be able to add the microcode in bios for the GTX 470 for work in SLI mode too ? If yes Merry Chrismas will be soon for me .

 

This is sweet!

Hopefully memory timings will be able to be changed (XMP).

 

I know this might sound silly, but are you guys able to change the bootup image with this kind of modding?

I'm thinking something more minimalist, like this:

http://i.imgur.com/G4kta.jpg

Currently, this is the image they use:

http://i.imgur.com/TstYC.jpg

Only it looks crappy, because it is a bios screen. I think the flat image, which only uses 2 colors, would look great.

 

Hi guys,

Unfortunately because of the poor construction of the BIOS, PBE will not work with the M17x series BIOSes, so I may or may not be able to replace the image because I cannot change any checksums atm. without there being compilation problems (Good rule of thumb for a successful BIOS)

All the options unlocked version will be tested today and then released at the Alienware threads I have started where you will be able to see all the new features added. Unfortunately, the Phoenix Secure Core that this BIOS is using doesn't seem to have XMP (although it does have a memory submenu), which is a small caveat.

I hadn't originally intended on adding GPU support because it isn 't as straightforward as adding all of these options, but I will consult my team on this.

Watch the thread for the complete version 1 mod

TheWiz

 

Does this works on i7 720qm?

PS : keep the good works going~ good job!

 

Wow this is all very exciting... Newer GPU support would be fantastic!
Can someone provide info on bios recovery before I test
Plus I will donate Wiz

 

Can someone pm me the website? I can't find it

 

TheWHIZ has joined this forum and is posting. No need to find other website.

Latest info will be posted as i recieve news or THEWHIZ will post.

Just got given the next mod. Unfortunatly no joy with this one.

Current working mod is on first post.PLEASE READ DISCLAIMER BEFORE FLASHING. Would be nice to get some benchmarking if anyone is game for it.

Ant

 

Cheers cleverpseudonym. Nearly bricked mine. thats why i wanted to restrict the downloads to the bios mods.

Managed to revert back to a07.

I will pm you when new mod is up for testing.

Ant

 

Hi guys,

I will bring news updates on this thread for you but the actual download and screenshots will be at BIOS-Mods so I can manage the revisions properly. In order to find the thread that will ahve all this info, please do a Google search.

Search: "Alienware M17x-R2 A10 BIOS Unlocked OC Options"

Just gave goodstone the latest BIOS and we did run into a few speedbumps. The good thing is that we learned as long as he follows my procedure its pretty hard to brick. (Please don't quote me, this is only while working with goodstone )

I should have the full version ready tommorow. This will contain many new options, so I advise flashing the initial mod and reccommend waiting until the real deal comes hopefully soon

Thanks,
TheWiz

 

@ TheWiz

If you need any specific testing, let me know. I have a slew of CPU's (i5 520M, i5 540M, i7 Q720M, i7 920XM, and i7 940XM) and cant test them. I won't be back home for a few days, but will be game for testing then. I think one of the biggest things others would like to see, or at least myself, is to unlock the performance options like vCore for CPU's that are not extreme. I know for some of my benching, I can OC the CPUs via SetFSB, but being able to OC the CPU in tandem with voltage adjustment, would be greatly beneficial. Thanks again for your work and I'll be checking out the site. +Rep


EDIT: Just thought I'd add something else in. I also have an i3 330M, and an i5 450M. Currently they are not recognized by the bios, but if you were able to add in BIOS support for those two CPUs, that would be awesome. Bought them new and they are just laying around, but I'd love to be able to bench them.

 

Maybe the OP should include a link to instructions on how to make a good crisis recovery disk

Better safe than sorry

 

Hi ^^
could you take alook at this topic ?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/466123-m17x-r1-features-we-want-future-bioss.html

the modded bios can be used on both system ? R1 and R2 ? are you working on both of them? is there any different ...sry for being persistent
I think R1 has much more issues than R2 .. throttling is one of them!
R1 needed some attention too.

 

He has already done alot of work for the R1 at my request. I need to test it then can update the NBR community. (sorry for the delay - out of town )

 

I know this might sound silly, but are you guys able to change the bootup image with this kind of modding?

I'm thinking something more minimalist, like this:

http://i.imgur.com/G4kta.jpg

Currently, this is the image they use:

http://i.imgur.com/TstYC.jpg

Only it looks crappy, because it is a bios screen. I think the flat image, which only uses 2 colors, would look great.

 

^^ take a look at post #31 he already answered..

 

Just an update.


i had 1 test bios yesterday but failed. Bios menu broke when tabbed down.

I am currently working on crisis recovery and will let you know when confirmed.

Also will make an image of crisis recovery so others can use.

no other news

 

Hi guys,

The R1 release is pretty much ready for prime time, with the CPU Throttle option now being added to the BIOS as well as other options with VCore etc.
I will address that thread seperatly.

As goodstone mentioned, the menu locked up on us yesterday because of some poor math on my part. I am confirming with another moderator where the menu links need to be established, you should see the version 1 release very soon with the 30-50 options (haven't actually counted yet) unlocked to use. We have determined from testing that any menu modifications can't prevent your mobo from P.O.S.T.ing because the image is not being rebuilt with PBE, but I will have a thread up with full CRISIS recovery information for safety's sake.
Goodstone, expect a test ROM very soon

Thanks,
TheWiz

 

Interesting stuff .Great work goodstone/The Wiz .

 

Nice work indeed and + Rep

 

First of all, Amazing work, will follow this with argus eyes

@ goodstone : your M17x Lid is wicked

 

Some good news,


I have successfully created a Bios crisis recovery usb stick.

I have tested this more than once and restored to previous bios version

First post will be updated with procedure shortly


Ant

 

Download package will be ready tonight guys, just sent the final to Ant.

 

i want to know what language they write BIOS code in