L502X modded bioses download (GPU voltages and more!)

Thanks, Will give it a whirl and see how i get on. Its just annoying the specs of the laptop are way above minimum requirements for the game but sometime it goes a little bit laggy and then the laptop will freeze and i have to shut it down by holding the power button. Or sometime it goes to a blank screen and says something about grapic drivers(hasn't done that since i've downloaded the latest ones)

I think i have 6gb in mine, Can't that affect the proformance by having 4gb and a 2gb? I'm sure i read somewhere should be equal amounts of ram so 4gb x 4gb if you know what i mean. I think i'm going on about the speeds lol can't remember haha

Thanks again
Chris

 

that may be related a crash, if you are using the gt540m try the recomended bios 0.83v/0.85v

it fix many crashes and keep cooler temps.

well, you have less ram than me, but I dont think that is the cause.

I know in older computers ram had to be the same on all slots to take advantage of dual channel memory, but I think it is not required with the DDR3

however yeah, it will be better with 16 gb ram, anyway you only will notice improvement if you usually use a lot of apps at the same time, or if your ram speed is slow, like mine wich is just 1333 mhz, I OCed it to 1400 but well, still slow compared with the 1600 or 1866 mhz ram


anyway, those freezing looks like a crash.

appart from the tweaks I sugested give a try to that BIOS if you use a gt540m you also may need to underclock if crashes persist.

 

Thanks again!

That's what i might of been gettting mixed up with! Think i'll buy some ram within the next couple of weeks just for the sake of making sure and it will speed the game up aswel (hopefully) Just flashed the BIOS with the 83v/85v Used the one with the A11 Bios. Will see how i get on.

Thanks again for your help

 

pleased to help

oh, and also consider to upgreade to the latest modded A12 BIOS, it have more interesting stuff inside, hehe

 

Was going to ask about that...Take it that is the "advanced version" ??

Thanks again.

 

yup, the advanced version does not only tweak the voltages, it add toons of unlocked options and updated stuff.

worth of a try , I think

 

Hi there! First off I'd like to thank everyone, especially capitankasar for maintaining this awesome thread. =)

Basically, I have a XPS 15 L502x, gt540m. I've been having the "nvidia kernel mode driver has stopped responding and has recovered" error for almost 2 years now. I used to be able to fix it by simply underclocking my GPU using ntune and Nvidia Control Panel.

However, recently, the crashes started happening again and I noticed that my GPU kept on resetting to stock GPU settings automatically in the middle of gaming, causing it to crash and show the ""nvidia kernel mode driver has stopped responding and has recovered" error again. I'm not sure why i keeps resetting, if it did not reset, I don't think I'll have any crashes. (edit: I also used MSI Afterburner, same resetting problem)

I tried to use the version 6, 0.83/0.85 BIOS that was provided here. It was stable for one day, although I still had to underclock it to 522mhz as usual. But now, it's resetting automatically again and I'm not sure what to do anymore. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks guys! =)

 

hey alip_imp and welmcome to the forums.

well, undervolting the GPU usually add a lot of stability to the gt540m as stated by many users.

however, sometimes it isnt enough alone and need to be combined with underclocking.

what drivers and what do you use to underclock the GPU?

I use MSI afterburner and no issues (I overclock the GPU in my case, but it will be the same for underclocking)

 

Thanks capitankasar!

Right now I'm using the Geforce 332,21 WHQL Driver, should I update it to the latest one? I'm using just the normal Nvidia Control Panel with System Tools installed to underclock my GPU. I haven't tried underclocking the gpu with MSI Afterburner after using your modded BIOS though, should I?

My main problem is that I am underclocking and undervolting the GPU, but it seems to reset to factory default clock speeds during gaming, which then causes the crash and freezes. Is there anything I'm doing wrong? I'm using an A12 BIOS too

 

I'm using the recommended BIOS (0.83, 0.85) for GT540M, however, my laptop always freezes when running high graphic requirement programme/game (e.g. Dota 2), any solution? Or should i use the bios with higher voltage? I haven't tried that though.

P/s: Using the latest Nvidia driver 344.65WHQL

(Edit: okay underclocking the gpu (with MSI afterburner) avoided the crash, I was wondering could it be that the undervolted gpu is causing the crash? If so, how can I revert back to original voltage or even higher one?

The advanced bios selection doesnt have anything higher than 0.90V, I'm fine in windows by underclocking it, however when I booted into my linux OS, I would definitely crash 100% of the time while nvidia gpu is being used, Help much apprecitaed, thanks)

 

@alip_imp

yeah, the latest one should work without issues.

I installed 344.65WHQL today and I had a intensive gaming session playing alien isolation without any crash at 660 mhz overclocked gt525m

yes, try the MSI afterburner one, it should keep your settings during gamming, at least it does for me with the latest bios version and drivers.

@strictly

you can try the different voltages bios avalibles at the download section for your gt540m

anyway, usually 0.83v/0.85v is the one wich usually works better for most users, best temps and lower crashes is usually what most users get.

anyway , yes, sometimes underclocking is also required

try doing small underclocks, like reducing 10 mhz from the last crashing point until it stop crashing.

so you will avoid the crashes at the same time you keep the max posible performance.

 

Undervolting makes it crash on Linux, I can't even boot it pass desktop. How do I revert back to original?

 

@strictly

if you want revert back to the original bios just run the another script included at the package , also named flash_the_original_bios.bat

anyway, if you want to keep using the modded bios but you want the stock voltages, there are a modded BIOS with untouched/original voltages.

 

Alright! Thanks for the reply Cap! Will give it a shot..if it still doesn't work, might be time for a new laptop lol

 

One quick question, when you installed the new Nvidia Drivers, do you install everything? Because I read somewhere that not installing the 3D vision driver and the geforce experience may improve stability, but I'm not sure. Thanks!

 

when I updated to the latest nvidia version, I clicked on advanced installation, and installed everything, but made sure it keep my old settings because I did many tweaks on many games to keep the max posible FPS on all of them.

 

Ok! Many thanks! =)

 

Guys, i can't get my Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866 MHz (PC3 15000) Laptop Memory CMSX16GX3M2A1866C10 to work at 1866mhz. Stuck at 1600mhz. Any particular bios setting i should use (already tried "auto" and "1867"? I'm using the GT540m recommended modded bios. Thanks!

 

@feplazas

setting the manual setting at 1866 mhz at the memory unlocked menu should work, anyway..

what is your proccesor?

I think ram speed is also limited by proccesor, so even the ram, motherboard and BIOS support 1866 mhz, you also need compatible proccesor.

 

@feplazas
Your are not alone. I've read some things in german forums.
The higher RAM frequencies mainly depends on the CPU. The memory controller is inside the CPU. You can reach higher frequencies than 1333MHz very easy with SPD or XMP tables. The tables are read out at default in our XPS15 machines. Sandy Bridge CPUs support out of the box higher frequencies via SPD tables. If not mainly the BIOS is faulty. Nowadays the SPD tables in the RAM are well implemented.

There are 3 factors to reach this really high RAM frequency.
SPD or XMP table must be flashed onto your RAM. It usually is.
You need a compatible CPU, must be i5 or i7. i3 CPU does not go higher than 1333MHz with SPD or XMP RAM timing tables.
BIOS support for XMP/SPD tables.

To be honest, I didn't read about someone who got more than 1600MHz with 2x8GB stock modules working. They all used the expensive Kingston or Corsair Vengeance RAM from 1866MHz up to 2133MHz with 2x8GB modules. But 2x4GB 1866MHz modules from kingston and corsair always worked. I would say this 2x8GB >1600MHz incompability has either something to do with a faulty BIOS or crappy SPD/XMP RAM tables. Most say SPD tables are faulty. I'm not a BIOS freak, maybe capitankazaar has a clue. CPU, RAM-controller and RAM are theoretically compatible up to 2133MHz at our XPS15 sandy bridge machines.

Some guys say the SPD tables in CMSX8GX3M2A1866C10 modules are not well implemented. So there is a way to flash better SPD timings into the RAM modules. After that the 2x8GB worked with 1866MHz. Here is some more info about the tool: Thaiphoon Burner - Official Support Website
To flash new timings you need correct and compatible timings.
Here is a german threat about 1866 up to 2133MHz RAM with cougar point chipset (HM65 & HM67) and sandy bridge notebook machines: i7 2670QM: DDR3 1866 RAM wird nur als DDR3 1600 erkannt - Seite 2
Some flashed new SPD timings to get above 1600MHz.

That's all I know.

 

It's a i7-2820QM....

 

mmm, theorically acording to this intel site, your proccesor support up to 1600 mhz ram
it doesnt say anything about 1866mhz

ARK | Intel ® Core i7-2820QM Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)

relating what HumpaLumpa said, I was also looking today about SPD flashing, I am a noob relating flash Ram modules.

also Thaiphoon Burner is a paid app, I didnt found any other free option for ddr3 ram.

but yes, flashing ram modules looks like an interesting subject for me

there is some risk of bricking the ram modules anyway, but well, there was also a risk with the BIOS, so I cant complain

 

Sounds risky.....

 

There is no risk if you reprogram only one module. If your notebook fails to load with it just install the second SO-DIMM, e.g. DDR3-1333H or DDR3-1066F and the CPU memory controller will be configured in respect to its SPD settings. This lets you run Windows and restore SPD of the first SO-DIMM. Good luck!

 

@TURBODUDE!!!

yeah, that was was I read, I also read that if the machine does not boot, some people booted with a working ram, and when the computer was on, they inserted the bricked ram in order to reprogram it, that sounds weird for me, but well, like I said, I did not messed with the memory modules yet.

I just have two 1333 modules working at my laptop, and with the BCLK overclock, they are almost running at 1400 mhz, so I was wondering if moddiing them will make they even work faster, or they will just make my BCLK OC unstable.

anyway, isnt there any free alternative for Thaiphoon Burner?

I checked SPD tool, but it is way outdated.

 

Officially sandy bridge mobile dual cores support 1333MHz and quad cores support 1600MHz. We can read this for every CPU at the Intel spec website. Due to backward compatibiliy they are lowered. Technically sandy bridge should manage 2133MHz. Like the desktop CPUs, they can handle this... the higher models. The Thaiphoon Burner Flash-Tool website is very interesting what they say about sandy bridge.
Our XPS15 BIOS can also set SPD timing automatically at boot up. When some guys got 2x4GB modules with 1866MHz out of the box working then 1866MHz SPD readout and set up works.

@capitankasar
I don't believe that you'll get your 1333 modules nearly 1600MHz without increasing the RAM voltage and spent houndreds of hours for testing RAM timings. Maybe it's not possible to reach that. On ebay are lots of 1600MHz or better modules.

 

yeah, I suposed that the modules would not handle it at all, but I was thinking about lowering some ram settings in order to make them a little faster with the spd tool

anyway, about bricking a module, can it boot a bricked module (even not recognized at boot) and be flashed after? or it need to be inserted while machine is running and then flash it and reboot? like I said I read it somewhere, anyway, I dont really trust that fully

 

+1 I'd like to know that too....

 

dude thanks for that info.
I did the flash with recommended mode. It flashed fine.
The laptop freezing while playing on graphic card is still there, thing is new bios just delayed the freezing.
Its takes some more time now before the laptop freezes.
I didn't do the under clock, just the bios flash.
What should i do now? Underclock?
How i do it, can u give me underclock settings for my laptop?
I have no idea how to do it.
Plz reply asap ,

 

@w33

yeah, just combine the modded bios + a little of underclocking and it should keep running fine.


about how to underclock, just download msi afterburner.

install and open it, then if you have a gt540m you will probably have a 685 mhz or 675 mhz of core speed if I remember correctly.

try lowering the core speed by 5 or 10 mhz until it stop crashing.

for example, if it crashed on 675 mhz, try lower it to 670 mhz, if it crash on 670 mhz, put it on 665 mhz, and keep doing until it stop crashing.

then note it as your stable speed, and create a profile on the msi afterburner wich keep being allways there even after rebooting the system.


thats what I do for my 525m , my stable speed on my 525m is now 660 mhz

 

in easy words?

 

Thanks.
1 more thing, what should be the temperature of graphic card while playing game.
While playing dota 2 mine was around 75 C. Maximum 82.
Should i be concerned?

 

your temps are acceptable, dont worry

on mine after repasting and voltage tweaks my gt525m max temps are now 77º after a intensive gamming session.

mines are so low because I took appart the unit, and made some tweaks to the cooling system, also I am using a cooling pad.

 

Hi,
A few days ago my L502X started giving an error message on startup and whenever I plug in the charger that reads:
"The AC power adaptor type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and battery will not charge. This problem might be solved by:
- Ensure the plug is inserted completely for best system operation.
- Connect a Dell 130W AC adaptor or higher."

My ID chip inside the DELL AC power adapter (130w) has died - checked. Is possible to switch off in the BIOS power adapter check?

Cheers

 

Got a little problem...Used the disembly video to repase the CPU and GPU Managed to take the laptop apart and put back together without many problems.
When i restarted my laptop the speakers sound a little tinny and had no bass. So i took the service panle off to make sure the connector was okay and it was fine? Anyone know what it could be

 

@mariusB

you can try some hardware hacks

Hacking Dell Laptop Charger Identification | Hackaday

How to solve the problem “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined” | Jack's space

second one looks easier, and since you have the broken charger, it will be easy to have the required electronics from it.

@jacko_oafc

mmm well, if you already checked the connectors and they are fine, then not sure.

maybe you damaged something in the proccess of take the unit appart.

laptop are very delicated pieces of hardware, they are awesome but also very delicated.

if the problem persist, try take appart the unit again and look for any damage or some kind of metallic part wich got into the motherboard and is creating shorts, check also all the connectors are well plugged and clean and there are no broken pins en each of them

 

Ehhh,
The problem is that I have damaged the chip. Thx for answer.

 

Just had another look as i've just got home from work and it's only coming out of the subwoofer! the left and right speakers next to the keyboard aren't working! what have i done lol

 

@MariusB

have no idea yet, I didnt messed with the charger options for now, try the first link I send you on previous post, basically a little electronics is needed, it is way cheaper than get another dell charger.

@jacko_oafc

then it must be an issue from the speakers, double check the speakers connection to the motherboard and also check there is no damage near the connector part.

you can also look for some fuses.

I took appart my machine several times without having any similar issue.

 

There are two files - DellWarningDxe.efi(e.g. messages "The AC power adaptor type cannot be determined...") and IT8518ESioDxe.efi(read DS5201), maybe there is something? Use a disassembler(e.g. ida pro) and check the code?

Download EFI File - DellWarningDxe.bin+ IT8518ESioDxe.bin
Files in the archive are PE32+(amd64) format.

Cheers.

 

I'm trying to boot from hdd caddy swapped for optical drive. I's there any chance to mod a bios to allow booting from 2 hdd (the ODD port in bios).

Thanks in advance.

 

@MariusB

well, to investigate new features I would need help from the rest of the team from bios-mod forums, and since it is a bit dead/quiet in the last weeks there isnt much I can do

@rusek

mmm, there was a way, but I dont remember exactly how

you need the modded bios and uefi boot option enabled then boot the efi shell

then you will need to use bcfgedit to add the hdd from the optical drive.

I think I did it once since I have a hdd caddy too, but I dont remember how I did exactly.

 

WOW, thanks for quick reply.

Do You meant to use bcdedit? I would really appreciate any instructions.

 

Hey, Kasar I've been using 0.83/0.85 GT540M (v5) for more than a year now, you told someone to under clock. Can you tell me which clock should I underclock ?
Also, have you released any new version of BIOS for GT540M version ? is there a version v6 ?
Thanks.

 

@rusek

nope, not the windows tool, it is part from the efi shell wich looks like this



we used something like this to create a boot entry for the integrated efi shell

bcfg boot add a [firmare volume]:\C57[blablabla...].efi "Internal Shell"

something similar would be for the second HDD in the hdd caddy.

https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-UEFI-Dell-XPS-15z-L511z-modded-BIOS-and-HOWTO?page=158

https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-UEFI-Dell-XPS-15z-L511z-modded-BIOS-and-HOWTO?page=162

you can ask Brabbelbla or follow_me into that forum, they are the ones who most tested with adding new boot entries.

@abhizok

thes, there is a new version 6 avalible for your gt540m (I'm also testing the version 7, but I will take some time before relase it because I want to add more changes per relase), you can find it at the first topic, just make sure you pick the one with the same GPU and settings you are using.

about how to underclock, just reduce the core clock by 5 or 10 mhz until it stop crashing.

I use msi afterburner wich usually performs better than nvidia inspector.

I only use nvidia inspector to tweak the GPU drivers for some games, to overclock/underclock I recomend msi afterburner.

 

Thanks, I will check it out. MSI afterburner doesn't seem to work for me, it crashes my games a lot.
Also, my 2 USB 3.0 ports which are located on the left side aren't working after I cleaned my laptop by opening it. First, the notification led for battery and hard disk was not working but then I opened my laptop again and inserted the wire tag thingy properly and notification led started to work but my ports are still not working. Do you know what might be wrong with them ?

 

mmm try checking both sides of the ribbon cable, I remember I had issues once with the usb ports after take appart the machine.

there must be something that you didnt connected properly.

also you made did a short and it got a fuse blowed, not sure.

 

I already checked the both sides of the cable. Also, the front bottom left area ( where the hard disk is ) of my laptop and the area surrounding it seems pretty hot than the rest of the laptop. Even hotter where the fan vent is. I tried cleaning and changing Hard disk but still no luck.
Also, if you could guide me should I go for 0.83/0.85 or 0.83/0.83 ?

 

mmm, maybe it got damaged and some of the chips is fried, that would explain why it is getting so hot.

those symptoms arent good.

as for the gt 540m, I would suggest the 0.83/0.85

 

How could I know if the chips are fried for sure ? If they are damaged how could they be fixed ?
As for the BIOS should I upgrade to V6 ? would there be any improvements over V5 because I still crash using V5.
Also, I can't find core clock in Nvdia inspector. I can tweak shader clock, and voltage but I can't tweak GPU clock. I've attached a screenshot of it in the previous post.