[Release] Alienware 18 BIOS A12 Unlocked

Yes you have replace the whole board which looks to be 700 to 1000 here in Canada but clevo boards look about 500 here so technically ur just paying for the added on cpu.... I like to personally test thing myself before making an opinion... I have had a dual Xeon 2670 setup used for gaming which everyone said would be junk for games and not work and it ran better than a 6700k overclocked a 3.5GHz... People said laptops suck and say thicker laptops are garbage I have one now and can say that's false... So I like to base my own opinion as everyone is different hence why I don't read reviews in products If I want them I just buy them.

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Have you used an MSI Laptop with the BGA CPU? Or just basing an opinion of all BGA CPUs?

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And EUROCOM x9 sky, that I think it's the same team

 

It's the same system the clevo P870... Everyone just rebrands it as there own system sager is like P9877 or something again same system... But wasn't the Generation 1 Sky X9 a single GPU?

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X9 series from Eurocom same as (Clevo P870 series).

 

Yes dual gpu 980m. To be more correct, I was referring al X9C, with sli 1080 desktop

ok

 

The new system is a beast 780W PSU SLI 1080s max 64GB Ram 4 or 5 drives... 8700k just a complete beast

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UFffF, a true beast

 

hi raidriar
thanks for your help about providing the unlocked a12 bios
but please can you give me a link for the hacker pythonic who unlocked it for you because I want him to mode my personal backup

thanks in advance

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it looks like we have the same machines. 4930mx, 32 gb ram, gtx 780SLI, Bios A12, Samsung Msata drive 512 and Samsung 840 SSD in Raid 0 , also WD data drive.

Did you upgrade to the custom a12 bios? is everything working for you? what does it allow you to do so that your able to overclock your system and keep it stable>? any help would be appreciated..

 

how do i backup my own bios ? thanks

 

new bios update A13
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-18-new-bios-a13.814726/

 

Not going to deal with this BIOS as it reduces performance significantly thanks to meldown/spectre patch.

 

Same results with only the microcode patch as well? Or have Dell screwed up the performance even more than needed?

 

i don't know, did not test because if it does update the microcode, there may not be a way to downgrade.....so no experiment for me. Also my Alienware 18 is long dead and parted out.....junk computer.

 

I already upgraded stock bios a12 to a13 on aw18/4930mx during installing new system with drivers from dell website, cause I wasn't aware of such meltdown/spectre possible performance loss... poor fool, why it happened while everything worked well on a12
Why dellsh*t doesn't inform on his bios download page that it can be perf losses after flashing? It's a liitle bit cheating from their side.
But let's hope perf loss won't be so visible if it really occurs... but it's not my main problem... I'd like to change my 980ms sli to 1070m and read that it is necessary to change to SG mode... afik it's impossible in aw18 stock bios (I didn't have time to check a13 settings thoroughly but suppose that).
So if it wouldn't be chance to downgrade to a12 which can be 100% unblocked, I will be probably the first person in the world who asks sb like pythonic to unblock bios a13... anyone knows if it can be unblocked easily like a12?

 

The huge performance loss for older than Skylake chips with meltdown/spectre fix is well documented on the web.

 

Hi All, just a heads up; You can always roll back from the A13 bios to the A12 bios by simply running the A12 bios installer. I had noticed my AW18 was noticeably slower after updating to the A13 bios, so I ran the A12 installer and it rolled back fine. PC is now performing as per norm.

 

I updated an AW18 from A12 to A13 and Cinebench stayed the same (~800) @ 4Ghz, but that wasn't the unlocked variant. When I come across another AW18 build out, Ill give the unlocked version a run if it allows undervolting via BIOS since C states set really sets it up for a sweet, sweet OSX86 box.

 

I don’t remember if I patched the package c state lock in this bios but I can do it later, so that you stop having to patch the kernel and appleintelcpupoweanagement.kext

 

This is epic news, I really want an 18 just to be able to do this.

 

I tried this and it worked perfectly with my machine without any issue whatsoever. I think I have the same specs machine as his .
Alienware 18 (2013)
I7-4930mx
780m sli
32gb ram (1600mhz)
1 TB Samsung raid 0
786 GB western digital data drive
Rest is all standard stuff that comes with it

Can someone with the same specs who unlocked it please post what they set their bios settings to , to get a nice ovwrclock with all the correct settings.

Right now my chip is running at 4ghz with the stock settings , stock bios and I just changed the multiplier so I’m obviously using to high of voltage with it set to automatic. But using hwinfo for fan control I have no problems .

When I installed the unlocked bios I was completely lost as to what to change and what settings to try. I know every chip is different but if we have the same setup I know my chip handles overclocking better then most.

I know it’s a pain but anyone who could take the time to post their bios settings it would greatly appreciated .

Thanks in advance.

 

not sure if you have seen any of my posts , but i was able to easily download and install the unlocked bios but when i went into it i was competely lost as what i should change. I think i have the same system as Pythonic', but dont know him to contact him. I looked at your machines in your sig and we have different ones as well so i guess you posting your bios changes wouldn't work for me. If you do understand what needs to be changed for a nice overclock could you post or Pm me.
Again my machine is the alienware 18 (2013) ,
i7-4930MX, 2 780m's in sli w/custom firmware
32gb ram, 1tb samsung SSD's in raid 0. i use hwinfo for my fan control and i have been able to bench with all cores at 4.2ghz using the level 3 stock overclock and only changing the core multipliers. it wasn't 100% stable so i just turned off overclocking compltely right now. Would you be familiar with what i should change in the unlocked bios to overclock the 4930MX? Atleast if i knew exactly what options need changing and what values to start at I can then fine tune it myself once its up and runnning.

 

I don't have the alienware 18 any longer, dell used ****ty components on it and I had DC power regulator mosfets explode 3 times, so I scrapped the computer. M18x R2 forever. Alienware 18 can go rot in a landfill for all I care

 

Ok. sorry to hear that. actually when my laptop was about a week old i brought it into work (i worked the midnight tour as a police officer). Around 3am when everything died down I started it up at dispatch and showed the guys battleifeld 4 which looked amazing running at max settings. after about 2 minutes the laptop caught on fire. not just smoking but completely on fire. Had to use teh fire extinguisher on it. keyboard was melted etc. it was crazy. Dell replaced it with a new laptop but i never trusted the thing again. if that happened at home my house could have burned down. the only thing i got out of it was a free mouse and a 512GB samsung SSD drive.

Did you burn out your mosfets after installing the custom bios? or no had nothing to do with it?

i forgot to ask what specs did your alinware 18 have before you got rid of it because now i have your service tag stuck in my bios. i think you said youo have a 4930mx with two 780m's. Are the stock settings the same for the 4930 and 4940?

if you set the starting temps low enough in hwinfo they will go 100% right from the start of windows. I have mine running like that and it works fine

 

Have fun. I'd personally sell it and get something else. Alienware 18 is a **** platform to work with between 330W hard clamp limit + NVRAM if you screw up an overclock. Pass.

 

Is it possible to run AMD primary and nvidia as the secondary GPU for example with PhysX with this BIOS?

 

Hey Guys. I worked the whole day to get my AW18 working again, but.... ^^

Here are my steps i made:
1. I made a stresstest and my laptop shut down with a blackscreen and i wanted to get my Nvidia Cards back. I tried all with FN+F5, reinstalled windows, tried disabling Intel HD etc. etc. I had no chance to getting them back to Windows + BIOS.
2. My next solution was to check all my cables and positioning from all cards etc. But all was / is okay. SO if all is okay and i cant get it to work, i had just 1 possible solution, that was this unlocked BIOS for enabling GPU Settings.
3. I made all the steps. All was working and i restarted..... Bang. 1 Beep. After several attemps i cant get it to work again. I tried Mr. Fox workaround (CMOS out, all RAM out, Battery off) but it is not working. If i made this i get 5 beeps again. But if i turn it on again i still get my 1 Beep....

I already read that its not possible to flash it by USB or sth (tried it but found no .fd file ^^)

Could anyone of you guys PLEASE help me? Please.!

System: AW18 - A12 (unlocked BIOS )
4910MQ, 980M SLI

EDIT2: I have my old 4700MQ around if its needed!

EDIT3: I tried again @Mr. Fox Steps but my system wont restart after the first wave of beeps. Should i put the RAM in when its turning off?(Lights go out)

 

Did you drain the system power by holding the power for at least 30 seconds? (with battery out of course)

 

Yes. removed RAM, CMOS unplugged, and Battery out. After that i drain the system for 30 Secs. Then i start the machine and then it will beep 2 times a while. When it stops i put 1 RAM into it. Then it wont restart this loop again. If i press the Power button it beeps 5 times the whole time. Any idea?

EDIT: I tried it to drain it with the CMOS battery inside, but the beep-loop wont restart again... If i start the machine with the one RAM inside i just get 1 beep for 3-4 times, then 3 times very fast 2 beeps and then nothing more... System is running but not doing anything.

EDIT2: Okay turned the Laptop off and on again. I just put 1 more RAM into it and i get 1 beep then 30 Seconds another one and thats it... nothing more and Laptop is running

 

IIRC 1 beep is a bad flash or corrupted sBIOS / potential board failure

Not sure if anyone had tried using a programmer to reflash the sBIOS from another machine on this laptop though, but unless there is an emergency backflash procedure built in like the Alienware 17 I think that might be your only option.

I have no direct experience with your laptop though, just what I was able to surmise looking around the net.

 

Thank you for your fast response. Yeah i dont know what to do to yet. i could try to replace CPU (with 4700mq) and put out both 980m. Then try to do the same process again. Could that be an Option?
I got no Error or something else while flashing. I think it was Success or Finished at the end and after that i restarted. All was working fine except my discrete Graphic Cards.

I hope it is a easy solution because i dont know what to do without my "little brother".. :/


EDIT_FINAL: I got it... One of my GPUs is dead. It was the one in SLOT1. So i dont know why but with this dead GPU, it was not able to repeat the 2-beep Loop i think. i made a new Thread and will tell my Instructions how i got it to work. Thanks guys.

 

boys i try to update the bios form A12 to A12 Unlocked but i got this error :
Error 28: Protected Range Registers are currently set by BIOS, preventing flash access.
Please contact the target system BIOS vendor for an option to disable Protected Range Registers.

Now it ,works :

c:\>fptw64 -f bios.bin -bios

Intel (R) Flash Programming Tool. Version: 10.0.30.1054
Copyright (c) 2007 - 2014, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

Platform: Intel(R) HM87 Express Chipset
Reading HSFSTS register... Flash Descriptor: Valid

--- Flash Devices Found ---
W25Q64BV ID:0xEF4017 Size: 8192KB (65536Kb)

PDR Region does not exist.
GBE Region does not exist.

- Reading Flash [0x800000] 4096KB of 4096KB - 100% complete.
- Erasing Flash Block [0x5F2000] - 100% complete.
- Programming Flash [0x5F2000] 1984KB of 1984KB - 100% complete.
- Erasing Flash Block [0x6CE000] - 100% complete.
- Programming Flash [0x6CE000] 4KB of 4KB - 100% complete.
- Erasing Flash Block [0x6E5000] - 100% complete.
- Programming Flash [0x6E5000] 88KB of 88KB - 100% complete.
- Erasing Flash Block [0x6FC000] - 100% complete.
- Programming Flash [0x6FC000] 4KB of 4KB - 100% complete.
- Verifying Flash [0x800000] 4096KB of 4096KB - 100% complete.
RESULT: The data is identical.

FPT Operation Passed

 

I have exactly the same computer as you. would you be able to let me know what settings you are running before I flash my BIOS? thanks.

 

Did this and got a soft brick, removed ram, left one stick, got it all working fine, put rest of ram in, rebuilt laptop, turn it on and 4 beeps (ram error) how could that be possible it only goes in one way and they are all 8gb sticks. Urrg gotta take the whole thing apart again

 

Now the bloody thing won’t turn on, doesn’t make the power up noise, silence, no lights, no nothing. Should of left this alone :/

 

Just wanted to update you all, I stripped my AW18 to bare bones, removed the CMOS and the RAM. Put sticks in one by one and CMOS last, laptop eventually booted up and is working fine now with unlocked BIOS.

On the upside I cleaned out the dust from the inside of the exhausts and I now know how to completely strip and reassemble the AW18. Feeew!

 

It works for me thanks for sharing.

 

can i flash the unlocked a12 bios into my m18r4? i bought it in 2014

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Congratulate! i want to do the same thing.

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Congratulate! i want to do the same thing.

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It’s on page 1

 

Should the laptop reboot after 2 beep?
my m18 bocome brick yesterday,but it shutdown after 2 beep. when i use the method of hotswap ram.
could you help me? thanks

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method:

1. remove main battery

2. remove ALL RAM, ram from bottom and ram from under keyboard. you must use only ONE stick of ram.

3. Remove all the ram, hook in power adapter, power on computer, allow computer to beep (2 beep pause 2 beep pause) until computer shuts off. BEFORE COMPUTER CYCLES POWER AGAIN, SWAP IN ONE STICK OF RAM!!!!

4. Soft brick resolves, can power off and reinstall all ram.

if fail, you have either poor execution of method (try again) or bad motherboard/BIOS

 

I disconnected the AC power and the battery, took off four RAMs, pulled out the CMOS battery cord, and then pressed the boot button. At the end of the 18 times of 2 beep , I inserted one RAM, and then the computer shut down. I waited a long time, it wouldn't automatically reboot, and then I pressed the boot button again, and it'd go into the black screen with the power lights on, or 4 beep repeatedly until it shutdown. I got this last night. Where was the error? Thank you very much.

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Insert ram after shut down, not before. It is very small time frame between shut down and reboot, that small time is when you must insert ram

 

Is reboot automatic or manual?

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reboot automatic after finish series of 2 beeps, this is how inserting the ram can trick and clear NVRAM

 

if i did not insert any RAM after series of 2 beeps, then should my laptop reboot automatic?or shutdown

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automatic, if no insert ram, 2 beep series, shut down, auto reboot, resume 2 beep series.

 

My God, my laptop has been shutdown and will not reboot automatically.No matter whether I insert a RAM or not.

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You may have some other kind of problem then.