Official Gateway 78xx Series FX BIOS - 9c.05.00 thru 9c.17.00

Agreed the GPU is hotter but figured I'd try something out. With 9c.23.00 now on here I reenabled the proper 1394 drivers and hibernation mode. I can now restart without the legacy drives after hibernation.................

 

Thanks Tan, you answered my question from the other tread, you know when gaming the fans keep the GPU cool anyways with 9c.23

 

TaNWare,
do you know what the stock memory is in the 7805u? it was DDR3 1333, what was the last part? 10600?

 

4gb ddr3 1066MHz memory or PC3 8500, 2x2GB.

 

I am upgrading my M17X R2, I think I will throw my DDR3 1333 in my 7805u, maybe I'll see some improvement

 

it will usually clock the same. The PM45 chipset only supports up to 1066 MHz. Our stock memory run 1066 MHz as cas 7.7.7.20 1T and my new 1333 MHz memory runs it also as 1066 MHz 7.7.7.20 1T but now I have 8 GB 2x4GB.

Edit the only advantage is being newer memory chips, better generationally, they may run cooler and possibly slightly less power draw..........

 

Ok, thank you, I guess, I'll just leave it alone It runs great anyways.

 

thanks for all the help flynnaz, if by chance anyone could upload 9C.23 that would be great so I could give a try

 

Try this thread post: 26

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gat...c-23-9c-25-seems-like-nothings-changed-3.html

From what I have read 9c.25 is not a good one, Gateway pulled it from thier site. I used it for awhile with no issues. I am happy with 9c.23

 

Gateways support site still caries 9c.17.00, 9c.20.00 and 9c.23.00...........

 

Hi all,

I have a P7811FX bought it an August 2008.
I bought an intel core 2 quad q9100 2.26 Ghz (~ 140 punds) before reading this tread (too bad).
First attempt with it brought me to an endless restart cycle, without BIOS, no POST, just a blank screen and endless restarts - it was described here before. I ave to mention that I used an older version of BIOS, can't remeber which exactly, but it was from 2008.

Then, I updated the BIOS to 9c23 and tried again and suprise - it worked (somehow). I had a working BIOS, inside it the processor was seen as intel core 2 extreme 2.26 Ghz with 12MB L2 cache. All nice BUT, it won't boot. It makes all of the POST tests, bypasses the RAID utility screen, then displays the info about CPU, optical drive, RAM, etc and then reboots.
I am unable to boot. Once, during a reboot cycle tried to boot from PXE, and once returned a strange GRUB prompt, but that is it.

PS: I have 2x320GB HDD's configured in RAID 0.
And yes, I tried the following versions of BIOS: 9c.20, 9c.23 and 9c.25.
And I have a dual boot system, Windows & Ubuntu 10.10 -> hence the GRUB prompt from above (maybe)

Here are a few images:
intel core 2 quad q9100 bios 9c25

Does anyone have any idea or suggestion? It will be appreciated.

Thanks,
and feel free to ask any question.

------
Later edit:

Do you think I should try using 9c.17 ?

-----
Even later:

Below is the boot screen, damn strange with 36 processors
q9100 boot screen

• I tried changing the SATA mode to IDE, and I could start booting from a Ubuntu 10.04 LTS live CD, but somewhere in the boot process it hangs.

• Also, I couldn't boot from my bootable USB memory stick

-----
Even more later:

I even tried the BIOS from cn.gateway.com, which is the same BIOS that goes on P-7802c FX laptop that comes with core 2 quad processor installed and nothing, still 36 processors .

Too bad, I will return the q9100 processor for a full refund.

 

I would suggest you return your CPU for now matey and revert to BIOS 9C.17.00, it keeps the GPU cooler, hopefully we will find a solution soon, but it will involve brain surgery to the motherboard for sure, BIOS update is not enough. Just one CPU die is activated at power-up, I am personally putting a lot of hours in this, too bad my friend doesn't want to let me experiment on his laptop. LOL

Check out this thread

 

The 7811FX series does not support quad-cores period. They required a motherboard level hardware change in order to support. So sorry to say no software solution will solve your problems.

 

Thaqnks for the answers, I already let go to the idea of a qua core

 

I won't give up

 

I just got my 7805u today.
It's running Bios 9C11 right now. Should I switch it to 9C17 which looks to be what most people are running?

 

yes, 9c17 works good

 

Cool thanks, btw figured I got a good deal got the 7805u with the 1920x1200 screen and 1gb 9800gts.

Only issues is the - key on the number pad. The one side of the scissor clip was broke the key is still on and works but it's wobbly. Already ordered a replacement from Ebay for $5.

 

Do not sweat not having a quad core. A x9100 99.9% of the time is the better CPU for these machines. I now have the updated P79 board and q9200 running 2.93 Ghz.

The x9100 @ 3.45 and above felt snappier, the q9200 @ 2.93 is just a tad bit smoother. Both game well as I've found for gaming at or after 2.8 GHz the video card is the limit. What the higher end gives you better benchmarks, not real worl usage bennefits.

Now if you are running alot of VM's or something that will take advantage of the quad cores, I would say to go for the upgrade or get another computer. If you are just using it to try and get more from gaming and casual usage just upgrade the C2D......................

 

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING P-7811FX BIOS.
1. Unzip and Run the installer or .Bat file of the BIOS from the WINDOWS FOLDER. If you do not INSTALL from the WINDOWS folder you will most likely get the default error Driver (WDM) Init fail! (0x137) which will prevent you from installing the bios.

If you have a problem with restarting follow these steps.
1. Shut down
2. Remove the battery for 30 seconds
3. Turn the computer on and press F2 for BIOS UTILITY
4. F9 default config
5. F10 Save.

I was getting the Driver (WDM) Init fail! (0x137) error before I remembered how some things can be really sensitive on computers. I started out with 9C.08.00 and after I installed the BIOS 9C.23.00 I clicked on the 9C.23.00 BIOS icon on the desktop and it ACTUALLY ran the install and completed successfully from the desktop. So I was having the Driver (WDM) Init fail! (0x137) error which prevents you from installing from the desktop but after installing the 9C.23.00 drivers I didn't have to run the install from the windows folder, WEIRD.

I'll report back my opinion on this new BIOS, the 9C.08.00 bios would run the fan smoother and would rev the fan up and down. S0 far the 9C.23.00 bios revs the fan right up and will run continuously then stop. I didn't notice any problem with the 9C.08.00 bios but I wanted to try the new one out.

UPDATE:
Casual web surfing = 84 Degrees Fahrenheit or 29 Degrees Celsius with 9C.23.00 Bios so far. I'm also running RMCLOCK voltage utility with 'Power On Demand' and I have all the Multipliers undervolted to 0.9000 volts with super LFM enabled.

 

Also I have an instructional video on how to clean off and reapply Arctic Silver 5 to the chips on the P-7811FX. If you are having heat problems you probably have a fan filled with dust/hair/fur. You can clean the fans by rinsing them in water if you want, as long as you let them dry before you put them back in. I have done this to many laptops, I also have an Instructional video on how to do this to the M-6864FX.

P-7811FX Autopsy (Dis-assembly, Arctic Silver 5/Thermal paste/ internals)
YouTube - ‪P-7811FX AS5 Application‬‏

M-6864FX Same thing as above only easier on this one.
YouTube - ‪ArcolaBridge's Channel‬‏

 

Giggleship, thanks for the BIOS install instructions.

You wouldn't happen to also have the complete disassembly on video too, would you? (Taking apart laptop up to the point of being able to access the fans and chip) If so, please post that on You Tube too.

Also, you said you used 9c.08 and 9c.23. Which one kept the GPU cooler? I've seen a lot of recommendations for using 9c.17, have you tried that one out? I was just about to flash 9c.17 before I read your post about installing from the Windows folder.

 

Sorry I didn't document the disassembly. However if you see in the video I used a piece of notebook paper to write down where the screws came from or what general area they came from. It was a very good procedure for not missing a screw on reassembly. To access the chips on this board you will need to take the entire laptop apart. It took me about 1 leisurely hour to both take apart and put back together, 30 tear down, 30 min assembly. It is quite easy though, there is one hitch that confused me briefly, the CD drive is screwed to the main board so don't pry on it, look for the 3 screws holding it on.

I did not document the 9C.08.00 temps. I believe the 9C.23.00 bios is just fine. Currently my gpu is 143F with bios 23 and the gpu sink fan is blowing cold air so I think it's more than fine. The processor fan sink however does blow heat off and on but that is normal. Bios 08 revved the processor fan up and down and I found that annoying. I have not tried bios 17 out. You should try it out and tell us what it's like then try out bios 23 and compare. I might just do that out of curiosity.

If you plan to use AS5 thermal compound on the chips remember to clean them off with alcohol wipes and blow off with compressed air and polish them clean with a q-tip (same instructions for the heat sinks), you will also want to take apart the fans and rinse them in water until they are clean, allow to dry and put them back in. Then just apply a gob of as5 to the center of the chips (enough to stay on that square piece of the chip, too much and it will run off that square) and put the sink back on screwing it down in a star pattern. DO NOT try to spread the compound on the chips. This will make your notebook better than new.

PS, I am running RIVA Tuner for my Nvidia Card, I am 'forcing Performance 3D' and I have maximum overclock and my GPU fan/sink are still blowing cold air.

 

I am running bios 17 now, since Sunday, and what I've noticed, or at least think I've noticed, is that the GPU fan runs a lot quieter than the 05 bios (that's what was on it from stock), but the CPU fan runs louder.

I still feel heat blowing off of the GPU fan and I'm not doing anything remotely intensive, just web browsing and listening to music. The GPU fan and CPU fan both run constantly it seems, but like I said, the GPU fan is not noisy any more while the CPU fan as become noisy where it was quiet with the 05 bios. I traded one noise for the other. That said though, the CPU fan loudness is still not as annoying as the GPU fan's loudness from the 05 bios.

With the 05 bios, the GPU fan did that annoying rev up and calm down, alternating quickly, similar to if you pat your foot on a car accelerator. Now with the 17 bios, it just runs smoothly and quietly, no revving up and down. Again that is a great thing, but the CPU fan has now become noisy with the 17 bios. I might give 23 bios a shot in an effort to get both fans to STFU. Ha, just kidding, well kinda. I don't mind the fan running, but not so high all the time especially when I'm doing light work tasks like web browsing or listening to music.

On a side note, I've started turning on a ceiling fan because A) I think it might help the ambient air stay cooler and push more through the laptop thus cooling off the chips better and B) The background noise from the ceiling fan covers up the laptop noise while not being as aggravating. When I had the 05 bios, I noticed that cooler ambient air kept the GPU cooler. With this 17 bios, cooler ambient air doesn't seem have any effect on how much or fast the CPU fan runs. Seriously, I traded one annoyance for another, albeit a lesser annoyance.

Trying out 23 bios and will report back at the end of the week...

 

My experience with 23 is that the CPU fan turns on steady and goes off, no revving at all, just on then off. The GPU fan runs almost constantly but it's so quiet it's no issue. After hours of use my GPU fan is staying cold so I'm not sure if it's a bios thing. I just reapplied AS5 to my chips a month ago so I'm probably reaping the benefit of that. But propping up the back of you laptop is huge, you can eliminate all kinds of heat this way. It has air inlets on the bottom so the lower the back bottom is, the less flow it's going to have which means more heat. I like to keep mine on my glass kitchen table. The AS5 makes a huge difference, it makes it run cooler.

 

That's good news about the .23 BIOS. Will post how I fair with it on Fri. or Sat.

I hear you on the reapplying thermal paste, but I am so wary of opening this thing up. I took apart a Thinkpad a while back and didn't put it back together right. Been very apprehensive about doing it again, especially this baby, I love this thing.

I have aluminum foil folded and taped to the rubber legs which raises the whole laptop off the table about an inch. I figured it is easier to have a permanent raise taped to the bottom than to keep putting something under it every time I move it. But, would just raising the back portion create better air flow than having the whole thing elevated off the table/desk?

I so want to go inside this machine and apply some AS5 as you suggest and clean it out thoroughly, but this is my only machine and don't want to risk messing it up. I thought about taking it to a specialist to have them open it, clean it, & apply the paste. They'll probably charge a whole lot though and they might take as much care with it as I would. I wonder if Gateway has a program in which you can send in your laptop to be opened, cleaned, and thermal paste reapplied.

 

Having the back elevated an inch is just fine, this model doesn't really get very hot to begin with, it's just the more flow it gets the cooler it will be. An inch in the back is fine.

It's not as big of a deal as it seems, you just need to keep track of the screws and take a couple ribbon connection apart, but they go back together easy. I'd say as far as paying some one to do it for you, thats like paying some one to cut a tree down, any one can use a chain saw. Not worth having some one else do it. It's a matter of taking screws out and keeping track of them. Every thing comes apart easy enough and over the long haul It's worth it, just not worth paying some one else.

 

Bios .23 seems to be my best option so far.

GPU fan, quiet basically all the time unless I'm actually stressing it. It will spin up fast for a while, cool off gpu, then go back down to quiet. Lots and lots better than the constant high speed spin all the time no matter what and the rev up and rev down.

CPU fan, still that's a different story. It still spins at an audible rate all the time no matter the load. Right now I'm using only Firefox with 2 tabs, including this one I'm typing in, and it's audible spinning. That said, it is still loads and loads better than the noise of the gpu fan. It's more of an ambient background noise that I easily forget about unless puprosefully paying attention.

Thanks for the tips and I'll take into consideration what you said about taking this thing apart not being that big of a deal. If I decide to do it, I definitely have tons of instructions and tips to go by in this thread.

 

Alright just to be sure, the fan on the left side of the machine runs audibly constantly? And the one on the right runs audibly only sometimes? my left side fan kicks up only briefly, my right side fan is quiet all the time. But even if you don't hear it, it's still running. Such a nice lappy, why couldn't hey build quad support...

The only fan I ever hear running is the left side fan which kicks up and goes off. Sounds to me like a classic case of AS5 melt on your gpu, you should open it up, I bet you will find the AS5 melted and displaced around the chip. Both my fans run all the time but there so quiet I can't take issue with it, and I have 2 hard drives.

Did you record temps with these 2 bios?

 

Yes, fan on the left side (gpu) spins up sometimes while the fan on the right side (cpu) spins audibly all the time. Like I said, it's quiet in comparison to when the gpu fan kicks up, but I still hear it.

I realize that you are right. I need to go inside the machine. No telling what I'll find messing up the cooling, from the AS5 as you mentioned to clogged dust on chips and fans. I'll give it a go at some point.

No, did not record the temps. Guess I should've done that while trying each BIOS. I will record temps now with this .23 BIOS, but not going back to re-install the two previous BIOS versions.

With all that said, .23 BIOS is giving a better user experience as far as fan noise is concerned. Although the CPU fan is audible, it is not distractingly so. Now if the temps are fine when I check later, then I may procrastinate even more on going inside the machine. Because if fan noise is alright and temps are alright, then as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

My core temps are 0. 89F and 1. 93F with .23bios. Got 3 tabs open, hwmonitor, rivatuner, peerblock, rmclock and comodo. Both cores max is 95F gpu is 138F minimum and 165 max. But I've never once seen the current gpu temp at 165... It might be erroneous.

 

It seems to follow the pattern of:

CPU fan stays on constant, never turning off, keeping temp around 35C (95F) most of the time, upward to 40C (104F).

GPU fan off as temp gradually increases to 80C (176F) max, then fan spins up fast for a couple seconds and cools it off to around 66C (150F), then fan goes off, heat goes up to 80C (176F), fan spins back up and temp drops, repeated over and over again. Note, once the fan kicks on, the temp drops fast, really fast.

Simple View:
CPU Min: 35C (95F)
CPU Max: 40C (104F)

GPU Min: 66C (150F)
GPU Max: 80C (176F)

Programs Open: Firefox with 3 tabs, Notepad with paragraph of text, Antivirus/Antispyware, Hwmonitor.

System Up Time: 3 hours 45 minutes.

Temps seem to stay in the safe range, but I'm not doing much now either. I will look at CPU & GPU temps again later on while running more intensive apps like unraring or watching HD video and post back results here. Thanks.

 

Also quick question in reference to above info, is it better to have the GPU fan stay off until temp hits 80C (176F) then spin up and cool it down to 66C (150F) only to start rising again immediately to reach 80C again several minutes later OR is it better to have the GPU fan stay on constant and keep the temp consistently around the 66C (150F) to 70C range?

I know for sure which one less aggravating as far as noise. The way it is now is less annoying, but I do not know if it is better for the hardware's longevity. Please school me.

 

Does anyone have a link to the 9c.17.00 bios? I've tried downloading the multi-pack on the first post, but the files in it are 05, 09, 10, and 12.

Thanks!

 

Just flashed to 9c.17.00 Bios to test.

Here are my temps:



Few Minutes After Photo Snap Above:
CPU Min: 36C (96F)
CPU Max: 39C (102F)

GPU Min: 46C (114F)
GPU Max: 50C (122F)



What I noticed:
GPU fan on constant, never stops, but the temp is a lot lower. With the .23 BIOS, temps went up to 80C, basically in the 65C to 80C range, but the fan stayed off more. With the .17 BIOS, fan stays on, temps stay low. So basically, do I want the noise with lower temps, or silence with higher temps. For now, I'm sticking with the .17 BIOS because even though the fan stays on, it is not as loud as with the .05 BIOS that came loaded stock.

The CPU temp seems to run just a tad bit higher with the .17 BIOS, but only by a degree or two.

Harddrive seems to run just a tad bit higher too, but only by a few degrees.

.17 is looking like the best option for me for now.

 

Hello Gents, (and ladies?)
First of all allow me to thank you all for the information in this forum and thread it has been extremely helpful.

Following these guides i was able to flash (Through DOS) the 0.23 and 0.25 Bios on my P7805U (Running Win 7 64 nit ultimate) but have now run into a problem:

I am now trying to reinstall 0.17 as i prefer the fan controlling option (75 degrees is far too hot to be running just surfing the web) and as there does not seem to be a way of installing this bios through DOS, i keep getting the WDM error every time i try to run the installer.
I have tried:

-Extracting the Bios folder in the windows folder
-Installing in safe mode
-Installing without Graphics drivers installed
-Installing with MS WHQL certified Drivers installed from Nvidia
-Installing with MS's own drivers installed


Every time i get the same error "Driver(WDM) Init Fail!(0x137)" which is... Frustrating to say the least.


Any help on the matter is greatly appreciated and thank you once again.

Regards,
Demon

P.S. - If anyone knows a way of installing the 0.17 drivers through DOS please share.

 

Interesting, when it comes to hardware, cooler is better so much as it isn't frozen. The latest poster says the .17 bios has an option to control fan speed? In the bios menu maybe? I'm still running .23... I should try .17

 

You are doing the right thing by extracting the bios to the windows folder, but there is one key step. You must right click the folder and chose 'unblock'
this folder, once you do that go into the folder and right click all the files in the folder and do the same. After you do that it will run without the WDM Error.

 

Hi GiggleShip,

Thank you very much for the reply. I have right-clicked the folder / files but have no option to "Unblock" anything. The option is not there in the drop down menu. Could you expand on this at all please?


Kind regards,
Demon

 

You have to right click on the files and click properties in the general tab there will be an option to unblock the file. You can unblock them all usually by just right clicking the folder and selecting properties and in the general tab select unblock.

If you do not see the option to unblock files when you right click on the folder or the files in the folder then there is something wrong with the way you are extracting the folder. You are so close to installing the bios when you see that error, there is just something really small blocking you. If you have checked all the files by right clicking them and checking them for windows block (it will show it on that first page when you right click something in the properties menu) then there is something wrong with your extraction. It needs to be in the windows folder, try taking the files out of the folder and running them directly from the windows main folder.

 

From what the poster described, I think your first advice to click properties is probably what will bring up the unblock option. It sound like he right clicked and looked for the unblock option without clicking properties beforehand.

 

Yeah that's what I'm guessing.

 

Hello Ratherthan and Giggleship,

Thank you both very much for your efforts. Unfortunately i do not get the option to unblock anything when i have unzipped the files. i will have another go at unzipping in different locations and see if that improves it but for the moment; no joy.

bellow the tick boxes for "read only" and "Hidden" Where the option should be there is just space.... Ahh well, back to the drawing boards.

Thank you both very much again,

Kind regards,
Demon

 

Hmmm... We can figure it out, try putting the bios folder in the windows folder, then take the installer out of the bios folder and put it directly in the windows folder and try that.

 

Hi Giggle,
Thanks for the suggestion bud but once again no joy. Do you know of any way i can install the bios through DOS? There isnt a Batch file included with any version of 0.17 that i have seen so im not sure.


Take care bud,
Demon

 

No, I don't know about dos install. I can tell you that you are close to getting the bios to run when you get that error. Things that cause it are antivirus, fire wall, windows block, wrong unzip, etc.. maybe try turning UAC off. Hmmm.

 

Hi bud,
Windows Defender disabled, UAC disabled, All forms of firewall (that i know of) have been disabled, full admin control and running under administrator, (Still don't see any option to "unblock anything which is a worry) and still getting the same error... It seems a power more powerful than i does not wish for me to downgrade

The hunt continues!

Thank you all for your help so far though, it really is appreciated.

Take care,
Demon

 

UPDATE:

Success! I ended up using Kravis's modified 0.17 Bios which included a DOS installer and it worked a charm!

Thanks to all those who have helped, my system is running cool once more!


Thanks you once again,
Demon

 

.17 has a fan control? Hm.

 

Hey Giggleship,
Not exactly, but it has a much better cooling policy. Rather than waiting for the GPU to hit 80 degree's before cooling it actively cools it and maintains around 50 degrees... The fan does pulse on and off a bit more which annoys most people but, if it stops the GPU getting hot - Im happy.

Best of luck,
Demon