M11xR1 A04 BIOS/OSD Update Discussion Thread

You can download it here .

The latest OSD is available here.

I'm pleased about the addition of OSD sound volume.

 

No fan stuck fix? No graphic switch fix?

Classic Dell incompetence, surprising? No.

BTW, what's EMI? And do you know whether it has to do something with BSOD's on OCing?

 

No graphic switch fix?

What is wrong here?

 

EMI is electromagnetic interference. Any benefit to us? Probably not. The VGA clone mode I can only assume is if you have the laptop connected to an external display, that it won't duplicate the display on the laptop LCD during DOS applications.

The only decent fix here is the OSD volume control. Apart from that, it's not much of a BIOS I'm afraid. Also interested to hear your thoughts on the switching of graphics, as I can't think of any issues I have with that. I would love to have a more configurable BIOS though in regards to vCore, RAM:FSB ratio etc. but I doubt that will ever happen now with R2 on our doorstep.

 

EMI = Electromagnetic interference. Can't say if its responsible for causing BSOD, but it could cause WiFi interference. I'll try it and see how it goes.

 

Lovin this update. Controlling the volume is so much more responsive now. Also, graphics switching issues? I has none.

 

Volume switching works great now, although I'm curious if you can customize the volume increase/decrease amount--right now it always increases/decreases 10% with FN and volume up/down.

 

So far, no improvement on fan speed. Kinda annoying really. Any way to switch back to A01?

 

the fn+f2 just works while booting or is a bug? cuz tru windows just show battery status, cant disable the battery

 

This feature was never supported on the 11x. Although the user manual indicates this is possible, it is not. The manual was a typo.

 

Cant believe the fan "stuck" issue STILL isnt fixed after now 2 bios updates, are dell just ignoring this issue now?

 

some users says that A01 fix it .. i dunno if worth a rollback

 

It doesn't I've had the issue since R01 bios...

 

ROFL. And before you couldn't control the volume?

You must be the only person in the world then who doesn't have to restart or put the computer to sleep to complete the turning off of nVidia GPU. It's related to fan stuck issue, but not quite the same.

For 7 gazillion and first time.... nVidia graphics doesn't turn off properly when you switch back to integrated graphics. That causes the fan to go on and off quite more often then usual. (Unless computer is rebooted or put to sleep then awaken...)

For 8 gazillion and second time.... fan often get's stuck just on and doesn't turn off. (Unless computer is rebooted or put to sleep then awaken...)

 

The graphics switching bug is the only one that really annoys me, would like to see that fixed. The problem I'm referring to and I assume others in this thread, is when you switch back to intel after nvidia, it doesn't actually disable the nvidia gpu until a restart or putting the laptop to sleep.

 

I was wondering what my problem was! I actually never tested out the battery after this problem appeared so thanks for pointing it out. Apparently this problem all started when I used my HDMI out, and basically right now I can switch from intergrated to discrete without closing any programs that are running in the background (kind of a non-functiong optimus as someone pointed out). Can someone please direct me to a thread that discusses this problem? Im not exactly sure what could be wrong and I really want to get this problem fixed. Thank you and much appreciated!

 

I wish they would release a bios that would not undervolt the CPU when OCing it. Honestly if I have it OC'd I don't care about power consumption! I think if they left the voltage alone some of us wouldn't get random BSODs. Anyone know a way to give a little juice back to the CPU thru a third party program? I can't get RMCLOCK to work on this computer but can on my M1530 (had to undervolt due to heating issues). Thanks.

 

Before the update I guess the volume controls adjusted the volume in smaller increments. As for switching issues, I thought you meant actual switching of gpu's. Not fan related issues with gpu switching.

 

The volume used to increase/decrease by 2%, now it's 10%. no one answered my question, but I'd like to adjust it to about 5% if possible.

 

It actually does turn off. It doesn't turn off right away. Wait about 15-20 minutes after switching and it will turn off. For me at least. I'm using A01

 

How about the BSOD while OC'ing still isn't fixed i asume?
If they aren't fixing it now it will never get fixed. Time to call dell i guess!

 

How do you know it switches off? Did you check in 'devices'?

 

Yes, or use gpu-z or install old hybrid driver and there you can set manually when nvidia should go to sleep when you switched to intel.

 

Please explain... where have you seen that option?

 

http://imagebin.ca/img/zdMb-gF8.png

Available only on 188 hybrid driver. On beta one there is no such option and timer is locked on 15min.

 

Nice wallpaper. Do you know where I can get it?

 

To date there isn't a fix for this. I tried the new ThrottleStop and that doesn't work since it's not an extreme CPU. BSOD is a result of the CPU undervolting during overclock.

The new throttlestop program is nice. If you have an extreme CPU in a computer with a locked BIOS (no bios overclock) the program will allow you to overvolt and overclock. I tried it on the M11x and it's a no-go. I tried it in my Inspiron 1720 and it's a no go since the T9500 isn't an extreme CPU. I know somone with an X9000 that tried it in the 1720 and got the 2.8GHz X9000 up to 3.6 GHz. But unless Dell decides to make serious changed to the BIOS. the BSOD overclock issue will be there. Needs more juice. Sounds easy enough. If it allowed for throttlestop to work that would be a nice bonus.

 

eh I'll stick to using 3RVX for my OSD for volume. You can edit increase/dec percentage.. plus I got the Mac noise hahaha

 

pls explain this undervolting to me.. is this the same as the cpu throttling down? i was under the impression that in overclock mode the cpu is locked to 1.6 and therefore consumes more power in standby mode. this is the reason why i do not enable OC. i want to squeeze as much battery life as possible.

 

Are you having the same problem?? I've tried contacting some people from Dell on this forum but I still havent heard from them... Really want to know if Im not the only one with this problem because Im really looking to see if there would be a fix. I dont mind waiting but if there isnt going to be a fix coming i guess its better if i fix it now. Thanks for the hlep guys!

 

OK I didn't know there's a 15 min timer... why lol.

The problem is that during these 15mins the fan goes on and off and locks itself on "on" in one of those runs. So in any case I have to do sleep/wake.

It's not a bug, it's a "feature".

 

Same here. Switching back to integrated after gaming and the fan will get stuck on. More often then not, I have to sleep it twice. It was the same way with bios a01 with the video drivers that came stock. I am now on the beta vid drivers and a03.

I am surprised other folks in this thread have not noticed this. The fan will just stay on and eventually only be blowing out cool air until you sleep it.

 

Yep, sometimes I have to sleep it twice too.

 

i think you can avoid the problem by letting the 335 cool down after gaming and then switch to the 4500. its worked for me.

 

so far a04 tested ok...played mw2 did not find any abnormal behaviour..will further test it.

 

I like the OSD, but when I play games at fullscreen like BFBC2 or MW2, whenI change the volume it needs to access windows screen to show the OSD and then I always need to ALT+TAB to go back to the game.

I definitely know down the road these actions are going to cause a glitch from switch from Fullscreen game and back to windows back and forth.

Is there anyway to shut off the OSD for volume now?

 

Interesting - I didn't notice this in Left 4 Dead 2 but will check again. If I can reproduce, I'll see if I can figure a way to work around. This shouldn't happen. beo - when you change the volume, does it kick you back to the desktop automatically?

 

Dude, I think you hit it. This also explains why my M11x refuses to go to sleep after a heavy duty gaming session.

 

Now that doesn't sound right at all - after any type of use, if you sleep the system it should enter sleep immediately. Can you describe the behavior after a 'heavy duty gaming session' and attempting to place it into sleep mode?

 

Sure - with my lid closed, the "Alien" accent lighting stays on, and the fan keeps running at full blast. I waited a few minutes and opened the lid, with the fan still blasting away and the lighting still on, but the screen was totally dark. When I hit keys on the keyboard I got "stuck keyboard" noises out of Windows so the OS wasn't frozen, but having lost video to the screen I had little choice but to hold the power button down until it shut off.

I just got the laptop on Wednesday and this has happened twice already. I wonder if I let the gpu/cpu cool down a bit so the fans weren't blasting away, if it would go into sleep mode normally? I am at work right now, but I'll check it out this weekend.

 

Be sure you have A04 (or A03) flashed, running the current GPU driver from Dell.

the behavior you describe does not sound right at all. When you close the lid to enter sleep mode, give it a couple of seconds - shouldn't take more than 5-10 IMO.

 

I did flash the BIOS to A04. The nVidia driver date is 12/28/09 so they are a bit crunchy, but the only recent driver on Dell's website is marked "beta" and I've read about people having issues with their HDMI port after updating to that one.

Thanks a lot for your help, by the way. This is a really awesome forum.

 

Keep an eye on it then Rich. If the behavior persists, contact tech support ASAP. FWIW, I am running the Dell 'Beta' NV display driver and have no issues - then again, not using HDMI often enough to really determine if there is an issue with it.

 

I have my settings such that when not on battery the lid can be closed and processor continues. BUT my alien head light goes out and doesn't stay on.
I can then connect to an external monitor and keyboard.
When finished I can open the lid and the system is back and alien head on the lid lights up again.

I'm using Beta nVidia drivers and I'm not having any problems with HDMI. (That I'm aware of).
I'm still on BIOS A01

So sorry... I've got nothing.

 

cpu truespeed and cpuz are both showing a slightly reduced clockspeed on my overclocked m11x now...

Truespeed now shows 1729 instead of 1733. It's not a problem - just weird. Anyone else see this?

/Edit: Since installing A04 obviously...

 

Who said there was a fan fix? What graphic switch fix are you talking about?

 

How are you determining this?

 

Do a search for my official verbiage on the BSOD while overclocking. There is no BIOS "fix" coming for this... I don't know where that rumor came from, but it isn't true.

Sorry!