L702x Modded GPU BIOS

you wont dmg/brick your dell that easy , unless you go hardcore ocing ^^;

oh, another question... the usb 3.0 ,when data transfer it still keeps dcing and files are demaged, is that related to some bios setting or is it related to windows/ software or maby hardware, since a dell support told me win7dont fully support usb 3.0 and it can cause conflicts with audio driver exc.... bcuz they use sae irq ?! i was also about this but maby you guys know more about it

 

@WesleyNL
mmm, I think I saw some advanced chipset options at the bios, you may be able to change irqs with this bios.

not sure anyway

 

Update to the Latest Firmware available, it should bring stable functionality if not superior performance not just on windows but also on OS X

Sorry guys i am new to the forum, don't know whether i can post any external links or not.

Anyways check this link RENESAS/NEC Drivers & Firmwares

 

humm so i have to update the chip itself ? and how do i know what chip is inside ?

 

You need the top one:
Version 2.1.39.0 Pour Windows Xp/Vista/7/8 32/64bits

 

NEC/RENESAS USB3 Controller (uPD720200 & uPD720200a) firmwares Version 4.0.2.0/3.0.3.4 worked for me try this or NEC/RENESAS USB3 Controller (uPD720201 & uPD720202) firmware Version 2.0.1.8 either one should work.

Try both one will return no compatible card and other one should install successfully, restart and then install the appropriate latest driver.

 

thx, it worked, now lets test it and see what it does

 

Hi there folks,

This is my first post here on this forum so, please be gentle

I bumped in this forum whilst goggling on how to enable UEFI for my XPS. If I understand correctly, this is something I could do with Capitainkasar's BIOS mods. Is that so?

Is anybody booting with the UEFI so far? I'd really like to see how it looks like!

Cheers,
P.

 

@pmdci

hey

you are correct.

I currently have a xps 15 with modded bios to do uefi boot, and it work fine.

the xps 17 bios mods are based on the mods I made to the xps 15 bios, so I supose it will work fine like the unlocked menus

however after flashing the modded bios, the uefi boot is disabled by default, you will need to go to the bios setup, and enable it under the boot settings.

 

Thanks (gracias) capitankasar!

If I do that flash though, and enable the UEFI

1. Would I have to reinstall my OS (currently Windows 7)

2. Do I get full access to the UEFI (with mouse support, etc)?

3. I just want the option to enable/disable the UEFI. Do I need to consider all the other options that has been unlocked in the bios as well? I am worried about not getting a decent performance after the flash and having to tinker with options I am not familiar with, and possibly making my pc unbootable

4. Is it my understanding that with the default (unmodded) bios, the speedstep is not enabled. is that correct?

Finally, Could anyone that has flashed the bios with the nvidia hack tell me if there are any major improvements? It sounds tempting but last thing I want is to fry the video chipset

Thanks again!

Cheers,
P

 

Hi,

I just wanted to thank you capitankasar for your work. I was curious about the L702x Bios Recovery CD, and the Laptop really turns on, when holding the End Key while pluging back the Powercord, and quickly releasing it. However only the powerbutton begins to flash, the fans are going like wild, but the screen stays black. I believe the CD-Rom starts spinning, but am not absolutely sure, because of the fans being to loud. I was thinking about flashing your BIOS someday (after warranty period ends), but simply wanted to check out the recovery before. Has anyone else tested the recovery-CD?

Cheers,
MikroBoti

 

bios recovery cd ? i didnt got any cds with mines, and asfar as i know, at the netherlands dell xps notebooks are open, as in ,you can attach / change hardware w/o losing waranty , point is they arnt sealed , and mechanics are from hp that come repair them at home/work/any palce so i just flashed since the mechanics are stupid to , when i asked for a palm rest i got an top cover last time , tthing was the prev mechanic demaged mines when changing screen cable so i got a new, here everything was installed on hdd like back-ups and boot cd's so yeah, i never touched uefi since i have no clu

 

@
pmdci





1. no OS reinstallation is required to apply the modded bios , just flash, configure it and run

2.not sure about that

3. at the modded bios, there is an optiuon named uedi boot at the boot unlocked submenu , I think that is what you are looking for ^^

4. mmm, I think it is there, but not native, I got this patch from the bios-mods forums.


@MikroBoti

thanks ^^

yeah, when you do that, the power button led start blinking until it load the backup/temporal bios from the cdrom to the ram, that will allow you to load the OS and tools from the CDrom in order to flash the bios


@WesleyNL

of course no BIOS recovery cdrom came with the l502x or l702x.

that is a feature only dell tech offers, or even not sure if they offer it at all.

the cdrom image is avalible on prevous pages of this post, it allow to recover the machine from a bad flash.

and it isnt from dell, we created it on the bios-mods forums

 

Will there be an option to undervolt the gpu for the 3D non-optimus L702x?
I am looking for this feature because I want to reduce the heat on gaming.

 

I have tried powering my laptop holding the end key and putting the power plug in, but it wont start. Am i doing something wrong.

I hold the end key
pull in the power cord,
and quickly releasing the end key.

its not working

Also captain, can you create a moded bios, for the A-13? If it is not much of a hassle, as i don't want to loose the temps i am getting

 

@martinez

did you tried the bioses I posted and you are sure they didnt worked for you?


@Bubloo

well, I am quite busy with the current L502X new hardware firmware unlocking, so as for the moment I dont have time to mod a entire older version of the bios.

 

I saw your post with really nice settings. But is ther an undervolting option? I just saw overvolting options in this thread.
Does your Bios support undervolting?

 

I posted two version of the bioses, one of them have all the enchancements except for GPU, wich have default values, and the other one have all the enchancements plus the GPUs bioses from sharadeos mods.

 

Yes I know that but sharadeos wrote on his first post

Code:

Changed 3D Voltage Profile 0.8620 -> 0.9120

A16 GF106/GF116 All Models and BIOS Versions
A17 GF106/GF116 All Models and BIOS Versions

Changed 3D Voltage Profile 0.8620 -> 0.8120

Comming soon!

Changed 3D Voltage Profile 0.8620 -> 1.0000

Note: This setting is currently only applicable to the GF106 GT 555m. I have tested the GF106 GT 550m version and it does not have this setting.

So am I correct that there is no undervolting option, because he never finished it?

 

@martinez

yeah, that is true

I also picked the ones from his A17 0.9120 mod.

well, I may take even longer time to be able to mod anything, my xps 15 machine died during advanced bios tests.

hardware got damaged due excesive chip soldering and desoldering to recover bios brick by attaching the bios chip phisically to a hardware programer.

more info at the page 117 of this topic.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ed-bioses-download-gpu-voltages-more-117.html

 

@capitankasar

sorry to hear your hardware got damaged, wish you best luck in fixing it.

As far as testing the recovry-cd: "the power button led start blinking until it load the backup/temporal bios from the cdrom to the ram" -> I left it on for ca. 10 minutes still blinking, seems like nothing happens. If I boot to the cd-rom normally with the powerbutton (using onboard bios) then the BartPE bar finishes, the windows XP logo appears and a bluescreen follows with "STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF78D6528, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)"

(just fyi)

 

@ MikroBoti

thanks for the info, well, there is a issue with the temporal bios capsule, I tried to get it work using another method, but it seems we have to get it directly from a l702x user.

you can help if you want

download this file.
Universal BIOS Backup ToolKit 2.0.rar - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

run the file, click on read and then , on backup, if you can upload the output file, I think I will be able to make the cdrom working

as for my hardware, I am trying to replace a fried chips, ordered some online replacements, but may take a while and I have no guarantees replacing that will fix the computer, but well, I have to try ^^

 

@capitankasar

I yust registered at 4shared.com (which in fact registered me at 4sync.com, which seems to be their new webpage) however every time I try to login on their old page 4shared, they say "Try login to 4sync.com", which I already am, so I'm unable to download your file. Do you have box, dropbox, skydrive etc.? Maybee then it would be easier too download that file.

 

Captain. I have done as asked and uploaded the rom here

DellInc.-A13.rom

 

what software do you use to overclock ?

Because I tried with nvidia inspector but the voltage returned to 0.870

 

Try msi afterburner

 

@MikroBoti

try this one.

Universal BIOS Backup ToolKit 2.0.rar

anyway dont worry, Bubloo already made the bios dump


@Bubloo


thanks

I got it ^^


@all l702x users

oh, I forgot something.

can u guys try something?

- download the file Bubloo uploaded

DellInc.-A13.rom

- rename the DellInc.-A13.rom file to BIOS.cap

- make sure it renamed exactly to BIOS.cap because this method is CASE sensitive.

- pick a usb stick.

- place the BIOS.cap file at the root of the usb stick.

- shutdown the machine and place the usb stick at the usb/esata combo port, it is the one from the right I think.

- disconnect the power cord

- hold END button, plug the powercord and relase the END button very fast (you must relase the end button like 0.5 - 1 sec after you plugged the power plug)

- if you did fine, the machine should be powered on automatically (without need to use the power button)

- the power led will blink, and it will read from the usb stick, after some seconds the power button should stop blinking, and the dell splash screen should apear at the screen.

plz, let me know if you can reach to the dell splash screen by using the BIOS.cap file


this will let me know if I can use this file to create the bios recovery cd-rom for the l702x

thanks

note: after do this, shut down the computer, then start it normally and enter in the bios normally, check your bios settings are correct because this method may reset them to default settings.

 

Hi, I've tried the USB - eSata Port, but the Computer didn't turn on. I used a 4GB FAT32 Stick.

 

place the BIOS.cap file at the root of the usb stick.

a couple of questions, what do you mean by putting the file at the ROOT of the usb stick?

Also, should the usb be fat32 or ntfs?

will it make any difference?

 

@Bubloo

The Root-Directory means the uppermost Directory like F:\ so in short: don't put it in any subdirectory. I tried it with FAT32, because I don't think NTFS is supported by any BIOS

 

afterburner is limited to 780/1560

 

yeah, the usb stick must be fat32 or fat

ntfs isnt suported.

@MikroBoti

what do you mean the computer dont turn on?

you mean you get nothing at the screen? or that it doenst turn on at all?

I remember you posted you was able to power on the machine by the end key using the cdrom method, anyway the bios capsule didnt worked for you.



do the power led keep blinking forever with the usb stick? or do it stop after arround 20 or 30 secs?

 

@capitankasar

Using USB the Powerbutton didn't even start blinking. I'm gonna try it again with a freshly formatted USB stick, once I backed up the files to the computer. I was careful for case-sensitivity like you mentioned, but had other files and directories on the usb-stick.

 

well, I also had other files on the usb sticks I tested, but this method worked fine while I had the l502x

then I noticed it also loaded the file from a cdrom, so I had the idea of making a all in one cdrom (BIOS.cap + bootable cdrom with windows xp live + flashing software + bios to flash)

let me know if you can get the BIOS.cap file working

 

I've tried again, with the same 4GB Stick freshly formatted to FAT32, and now it booted to the Dell Logo screen. I even could enter the Bios, and saw version A.13, so it was really the version from the USB stick. (I have A.19)

Interestingly it asked me for my BIOS password, so it uses my local CMOS settings. I have not tried the other way around (changeing settings while in A13, to see if they stay when using the onboard A.19 again.) Would this be safe to try? Which settings are best for testing?

If this would work, i think maybee there would be a way to change settings from the unlocked menues (like uefi boot) without permanently modding your BIOS.

Also I've tried using the other USB 2.0 Port, not only the e-SATA combo, and I can say, this works from both of them.

 

oh, so it works.

its also nice to know it works with another usb ports, on l502x it just worked on the right usb port (usb/esata port)

try with this cdrom image then

l702x_bios_recovery_by_capitankasar_v2.rar

as for the backup bios, well it is very limited, for example, on our testings it was even unable to boot win 7 installation due the lack of ahci drivers

it also was unable to boot from usb and other stuff, however it was able to read cd-roms, thats why I did the all in one cd-rom method

- you boot the machine using the end key and power cord method.
- the bios load BIOS.cap from cdrom
- backup bios get loaded and then you press f12 to access boot menu
- you select boot from cdrom
- portable windows xp start loading
- you open cmd promot and type repair
- my scripted flasher brings on and then ask you to flash the file
- after confirms the machine reboots, and then it repair/flash the bios.

let me know if ths

 

@capitankasar
I have tried your second boot CD. I have exactly the same problems like with version 1: only the powerbutton starts blinking, but no Dell-logo, nothing. Also booting with the onboard BIOS after the Windows logo, the same bluescreen is coming.

Maybee somebody else could try this CD?

 

mmm, that is weird, it seems it doesnt load the bios capsule from the CDrom, just from the usb stick ...

what about put both things? usb stick + cdrom

usb with BIOS.cap and then the cdrom inside

init the machine with the DEL key way, and then when splash screen appear, press f12, select the cdrom, and check if it still crashing (blue screen) on windows xp portable with the repair tools

 

I have tried combining USB and CD, but it does not work. If I load the BIOS from USB I get for "Fixed HDD", "SATA ODD" and "Second HDD" on the BIOS Main Psgr "None". I tried deactivating all other devices in the BIOS Boot Page, so that only CD-Rom remains, and put it first in order, but this does not help. If I press F12, then only CD-Rom and Diagnostics can be chosen, but chosing CD-Rom does not work, because the BIOS thinksthere is none.

Maybee there would be some possibility to put everythig on a bootable USB Key. Which Program could be used? I've tried Linux Live USB Creator using your iso, but it not only writes the iso, it allways puts GRUB there also, so it's no use. Maybee I will try the windows 7 USB Tool if I have a little time.

 

D:

it seems the l702x isnt like l502x at all.

well, let me know if you can boot anything from the usb.

anyway just lan and hard disk options remaining, and this will make things harder D:

mmm,not sure if I was able to make it boot once with two usb sticks for the l502x, one usb stick with bootable stuff, and ther other one with the BIOS.cap file

 

I tried the usb stick. method it showed the dell xps splash screen and moved forward showed blue screen for less than a second and then some dos commands, which i have no idea about

then i tried it again 2 times, and it didnt go past the dell splash screen. i have yet to hit the f12 and select usb as boot device, will try that one more time but its scary, cause after i tried it the 2nd time, my pc wouldn't start properly and gave me your system needs to be repaired. never seen such an error before..

 

Can we try this with a newer bios and lets see how things work out?

 

well, the system asking to be repaired menu, it happen to me everytime I dont start windows properly, you can ignore that by selecting boot windows normally.

yeah, if someone have the latest latest bios, if posible upload a backup using this app

Universal BIOS Backup ToolKit 2.0.rar

ty

also try backing up a old version of the bios, for example A04

you can download all the existing bios here.

BIOS for Laptops\XPS\XPS 17 (L702X)

 

I have made a Backup of my BIOS with Universal BIOS Backup Toolkit. You can download it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/myfd5wisy2uj5f7/DellInc.-A19.rom

You have to rename it to BIOS.cap and place it into the root directory of a FAT32 USB stick, if you want to try.

I have tried, but also with this A19 Bios loaded from USB I get "Fixed Hdd: None", "SATA ODD: None" and "Second HDD: None" and am not able to boot from CD-Rom, altough it is shown in the F12 menue.

I have also tried the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool to make a bootable USB stick from capitankasar's .iso file, but it says "Invalid .iso file", so it seems it can only put original .iso-s from Microsoft onto usb-sticks. Does anybody have an idea how it would be possible to boot the recovery-cd from usb. Which tool can put any bootable iso onto usb-stick?

 

mmm, to create a bootable usb with windows try this

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives

try using also a BIOS.cap file from a A04 bios, at least on l502x backups, older bioses worked a little better as recovery capsules

 

Would anybody please tell me if I flash my XPS with the modded BIOS, if I need to enable any of the extra unlocked stuff in the BIOS in order to get the same performance I would get from a locked BIOS?

Thing is, all I want is to be able to do UEFI boot and I am worried that this if all I do is enable the UEFI boot without considering other options, I might get a less than expected performance -- and I'm worried about touching options I am nfamiliar with in the BIOS as I could render the laptop unbootable.

Thanks!
P.

 

@pmdci

well, by flashing the unlocked version of the bios you get exactly the same performance by default.

because in locked bios, the locked settings still there and have default values, but obiusly you cant change them

with unlocked bios, you can change the ones you want.

in your case, it seems that you are just interested in uefi boot.

then I should flash the modded bios

and I would change just following options

fast strings -> enable
uefi boot -> enable
diagnosis screen -> enable (this is optional, but I allways preffer the bios shows the devices info instead the crappy dell splash logo ^^)
and you can also change the memory frecuency to match your modules frecuency, I noticed sometimes some users were unable to set the desired speed with locked bios, but with unlocked bioses they were able to boot it

 

So I have made some experiments with USB Sticks. Rufus works good to put the BartPE .iso onto a bootable USB Stick. However, when booting with the onboard bios, the rufus USB Stick crashes with a bluescreen after displaying the Win XP logo. It's exactly the same as booting the CD with the onboard bios. Also I have noticed, that the CD .iso contains bios.cap and not BIOS.cap. However, even after renaming it to uppercase, or even replacing it with other bios backups, that worked previously the XPS 17 does not load the BIOS from the USB.

So I guess I know, why I had problems at first with my USB stick, and booting the BIOS from it only worked, after I removed the other files and reformatted it:
I have used this stick before as a boot-usb, so it still had a bootsector. -> not loading BIOS.cap.
Then it worked after a fresh FAT32 format -> no bootsector - Bios Works
Then I made it bootable with Rufus -> bootsector - not loading BIOS.cap
When reformated again -> USB bios works again

So I tried using a second USB stick, which could boot with rufus, but only using the onboard bios (-> bluescreen). If Two USB-sticks are present when pluging in the powercord and releasing the END-button, then no BIOS is loaded. When plugging in the second USB-stick later, the PC always tries to boot from the first one (containing BIOS.cap, but having no bootsector.)

So I'm sorry, but at the moment I don't really see how it could be done, to boot into a bios flashing environment on the L702x, if your BIOS is corrupted. I'm sure there must be a way, if there is for the L502x, but we would need some professional L702x owner, who can do what capitankasar did for the L502x.

 

to avoid the blue screen, try go to the bios, and set AHCI to ATA

that will simulate the bios capsule with the onboard BIOS (because the bios capsule have the AHCI mode damaged and it just runs on ATA)

well, as for the proffesional tests, you are already doing a nice job, testing and posting your results.

that is erally helpfull, you know

well, you can try create two bootable usb sticks and place the BIOS.cap file


as for the CDrom file in lower case, I was pretty sure I had the correct file name, however I suspect the software I use to edit the Isos is giving issues on there.

anyway, I used the same program to create the iso for the l502x and I had 0 issues.

not sure what can be the cause .o

 

Cant wait to get home from work and try this!! Thats the one thing I hated about this laptop coming from custom built machines, lack of options in the BIOS Well done

One thing, I have a password on my l702x bios at the moment, cant for the life of me remember what it is. Is there any windows flash tool to remove it , or a generator that actually works ?

Cheers