kizwan modded BIOS for P-78 FX laptops with Extreme CPU overclocking support.

One of our fellow users kizwan was nice enough to modify the 9C.17 BIOS to include overclocking support. I'll also be noting that the original BIOS are iaTa's HP SLIC 2.1 modded BIOS.

Here is a link to the post containing the BIOS and to his thread.

Post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=6169714&postcount=103

Thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=465936

This BIOS must be flashed through DOS using a USB flash drive and phlash16. Neither I, kizwan nor any other user of NBR assume responsibility for a bad flash. This said instructions on recovering from a bad flash are included throughout his thread including the Crisis recovery tool.

This is the direct link to his modified BIOS:

http://www.mediafire.com/?mnlnmdfmqdk

Enjoy, hopefully it's found to be fully functional and support OC past 3.0 Ghz. We'll have to see, any volunteers? :3

 

hmmm, temping! i'm glad a bios has been modded

 

Omg Guys Please Try This

 

ah dang it the only time i dont have my notebook with me lol

after i get home and read through the crisis recovery stuff with a magnifying glass ill try it but it might take a few days.(out of town ) unless someone else jumps into the lake first so to speak.

 

If you guys get to OC past 3.0 GHz I will be so jealous.

 

Nose goes

*put thumb to nose*

 

It's so tempting

 

Omg you guys have been crying over this for ages and when it is available.......not going to jump on it?

 

Wait so this works with STOCK cpu's?

 

Nope, unfortunately.

 

then count me out

 

kizwan said there might be a simple way to unlock the multipliers for all cpus, so have faith.

 

I highly doubt so. No bios has ever unlocked multipliers for non extreme CPUs.

 

When did he say that? That was the only string related to overclocking that was in the BIOS, and I happened to find it only in the strings0.rom file of only 9C.17, no other BIOS version. I looked thoroughly. He can only add things to the setup table that are already in the strings file. He followed rbjack's guide which I've looked over pretty well myself, if you're curious about that I'd say look in his thread I believe he links to it. I'd say if you're lucky the only person who could really possibly add something like that is rbjack himself or someone with his skill and from what I've seen he's MIA since 2009 both on mydigitallife and the biosmods forums. Even then it's unlikely he'd unlock the multipliers on a non-extreme CPU, at best there would be the ability to change the FSB, but I don't see that happening.

 

What we need is a Gateway insider.

 

*dies waiting for Gateway insider*

 

i tried to flash the bios in dos but i couldnt do it. i got an error saying checksum wasnt 0 so bios could be corrupted do you wish to proceed. i said yes and it then gave another error about the bios missing something and to push any key to reboot.

so no flash happened at all bios doesnt work. oh and for those wondering my laptop is fine nothing happened phlash16 didnt even want to try.

 

Is it possible to make the computer think that you have a core 2 extreme processor?

Also, has Intel quit on us? Have we seen the last of the core 2 duos and core 2 extremes?

 

Were you using the WPH file, I don't think you can flash the ROM because it's apparently missing some kind of signature that Phoenix puts on the BIOS, it was just used as a reference to change the WPH. This was my summary of how to flash it. "Rename the WPH file to BIOS.wph, and then put it and the phlash16.exe file in the root of your DOS/Windows 98 bootable flash drive and use the command "phlash16 /x /s /mode=3 BIOS.wph" and allow the utility to automatically install the modded BIOS" One of the modders mentioned this slightly different command so it may work better, I don't know though. "phlash16.exe bios.wph /x /s /c /mfg /mode=3" Both commands without quotes of course. You could also try WinPhlash probably if you like.

 

@Ultimate Destruction & @PsychoUsagi,
I don't think both of you have identical notebook(?? correct me if I'm wrong or PsychoUsagi upgrade the CPU to Core Extreme). Ultimate Destruction's notebook have Core 2 Duo while PsychoUsagi's have Extreme CPU.

Ultimate Destruction gave me BIOS image version 9C.20 which have "Frequency Ratio" menu locked. It seems 9C.20 is not an update version of 9C.17 (looks completely different). This is the screenshot of the BIOS menu after "Frequency Ratio" menu unlocked.


I have PMed Ultimate Destruction the modified BIOS image (9C.20). I hope he will test it & report back to me. If anybody who have same notebook as Ultimate Destruction have & want to test it, let me know.

kizwan

 

Ultimate's notebook doesn't have the extreme cpu. So what you meant was asking him to see if he could change the frequency of his stock cpu?

 

No. He request me to unlock the feature & I already done it. I'm hoping he will report back to me after flashing the BIOS with modified one.

Working or not (changing the CPU frequency), depend on his CPU capability.

kizwan

 

I plan to upgrade to Core 2 Extreme if the BIOS overclocking works, I finally got the money together to buy one. =] The 9C.20 BIOS is an update but it's very different. That "extreme CPU overclocking" menu is missing in 9C.20 and it also has a messed up fan management system. Also if you'd note I believe the 9C.17 version has that same "Frequency Ratio" menu in the strings file. I don't think that the P8400 that comes stock in our machine will ever overclock via multiplier though, that menu probably exists to actually lower it or perhaps it would also work with extreme CPUs, the only possible way to overclock the P-series CPUs is via FSB because the multiplier is hardware locked by the CPU itself. Most people prefer 9C.17 because of the poor fan management in the latest version. Also do you have an explanation for the checksum and other errors ryokowashu received?

 

Its clear to me now. Good luck.

The BIOS image is properly build (no warning & error) & I already compare it with original image. I need to know how he flash the BIOS chip. The same error happen on my Acer Aspire 9420 if I try to flash BIOS with .ROM file. Flashing will success if flashing BIOS with .WPH file.

Try this parameter when flashing BIOS:-
PHLASH16.EXE /s /v IMV-035.WPH

OR just rename the IMV-035.WPH to BIOS.WPH & just execute (without parameters):-
PHLASH16.EXE

The second one always works for me.

EDIT: OR grab phlash16.exe file from the original package.

kizwan

 

I see, thanks for the clarification. Hopefully that's all it is and ryokowashu is willing to give it a second go. Also congratulations on your 100th post. =P

 

kizwan, do you mod 9c.17 or 9c.20 bios with setfsb or adjust fan rpm system?

 

He did neither and it probably won't happen unless it come from Gateway.

 

No, I don't. I believe FAN is controlled by DSDT in ACPI table. For example, if FAN behave better with 9C.17 than 9C.20, it is possible to copy the code for FAN from 9C.17's DSDT to 9C.20's DSDT. But first, at least I need to hear from somebody that they have successful flashing their notebook BIOS with the modified BIOS image (the one posted by PsychoUsagi) before moving forward for any additional modification.

kizwan

 

sry its taken this long to respond but i was having a nice long sleep

anyway i did try flashing with the wph file i used these two commands then just gave up. oh i did rename the file to bios.wph

phlash16 /x /s /mode=3 BIOS.wph

i also tried

phlash16 bios.wph

is just typing phlash16 the same as above?
ill give your other commands a try later today but could you guys give me a package and a few links to crisis recovery.

 

From his thread+sig. =P

 

The version (phlash16.exe) I use by default will search for BIOS.WPH file. So, I did not specify the BIOS file name when executing phlash16.exe.

Looks like Gateway notebook BIOS recovery process is similar with Acer notebook ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=312605). Please visit my thread, at post #2, I already explained how to recover corrupted BIOS or failed flash. The Crisis Recovery Disk also included. You only need to put/replace the BIOS.WPH file with yours in Crisis Recovery Disk.

EDIT: You will need to use USB flash drive & the Crisis Recovery Disk maker included already supported both floppy disk & USB flash drive.

The link to my thread is at my signature (Acer Aspire 9420).

EDIT: Thank you PsychoUsagi. I didn't realize you already respond to ryokowashu post.

kizwan

 

i tried all the different parameters you guys suggested but it still fails this time i took pictures of the error message so you can see them. i also redownloaded and made sure that i used the wph file and renamed it to bios.wph. anyway here are the images i took



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

This confirm the BIOS image is indeed corrupted. I wonder why PBE doesn't complain about it. I will rebuild my own BIOS image & flash it to my Acer Aspire 9420. Before this, I use PBE v2.2 to build BIOS images. This is the first time I use newer version which is PBE v2.2.1.3.

@PsychoUsagi, can you tell me where you get the "original" BIOS images, the one you give to me?

kizwan

 

I got it from the stickied BIOS thread on this section of the forum. I've flashed the original 9C.17 I gave you about 3 times on my computer. But I used the executable BIOS installer included with those files, would you like me to upload that? I'll warn you that if it's opened it tried to immediately flash the BIOS with no warning though.

Edit: Here's the installer that came with those BIOS images.
-removed because it doesn't seem to be necessary-

Edit 2: Just to add in I just flashed the original 9C.17 WPH file (IMV-035.wph) with phlash16 no problems.

Edit 3: Okay, the fault is definitely not mine or kizwans, I finally got my X9100 today and went ahead and tried to flash his modded BIOS. The flashing was a success and the menu appeared in the BIOS but overclocking did not take effect after changing the settings. Looks like the strings are a dud anyway. I'd like to test the new 9C.20 BIOS but only to test them, could you PM me them kizwan and if I manage to successfully overclock with it would you mind adding that menu into the 9C.17 BIOS aswell?

 

PsychoUsagi,

Glad to hear you were able to flash BIOS with the modified BIOS image. This is the modified BIOS image ver 9C.20.
EDIT: download link removed. WARNING! Can cause computer unbootable if change the "Frequency Ratio" value. If it happen, reset CMOS to make it bootable again.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to "copy" such functionality from 9C.20 to 9C.17. I will try to confirm, if FAN is controlled by DSDT, it will be easy, just copy ACPI0.AML file from 9C.17 to 9C.20. However, I don't think that unlocking "Frequency Ratio" or "Extreme CPU Speed" will works with your Intel Extreme CPU because the BIOS image is originally build for your stock CPU. Unless there is Gateway notebook with Intel Extreme CPU (stock CPU) which using the same BIOS version as yours.

kizwan

 

There wouldn't be a need to copy it from the 9C.20 version, the strings for the "Frequency Ratio" are also in the Strings0.rom file of the 9C.17 BIOS. I imagine it may be easier to just add those strings to 9C.17 than to try to carry the fan management from 9C.17 to 9C.20. Besides according to Gateway the only major change from 9C.17 to 9C.20 was the fan management itself. Also thanks for the 9C.20, I'll be sure to test it very soon. =] Also there are various models that use this BIOS image, anything that beings with P-78 model number pretty much does, I don't think any of them come stock with an extreme CPU. I do find it odd though that the section of the menu for extreme CPU overclocking was only in 9C.17 and not in earlier or later versions. I suppose it was just a fluke. I think that the Core 2 Extreme technically should be able to OC with anything the stock CPUs can since they're both Core 2 and the Extremes seem to be close to the same the only difference being a higher multiplier and most importantly an unlocked multiplier that is not physically locked by the CPU itself. Oh, also all models from the P-78xx series use the same BIOS image, including P-7805u, P-7811, P-7808u, P-7801u and various other models. Also I noticed the 9C.20 only includes a ROM file and not a WPH. Would I be able to flash the ROM file, I thought the WPH was needed? Edit: It would seem so, I attempted to flash the ROM file and it failed. Would it be better to just add the frequency multiplier menu to the 9C.17? It has a WPH file and I could swear I saw those same "Frequency Ratio" strings.

Edit: And these would be the ones wouldn't they? I found them in 9C.17 =]

 

I'll look into it. I will post the modified BIOS image here.

kizwan

 

Alright. Thank you very much. Sorry for all of the trouble.

 

it mentions in the manual that came with my laptop about an extreme cpu in some models.

 

Where i get the original 9C.17 bios link.

 

PsychoUsagi,

This is the modified BIOS image 9C.17 with Frequency Ratio menu unlocked.


EDIT: download link removed

EDIT: WARNING! Be careful with Frequency Ratio. I tried myself (set the default value to x11 & rebuild the BIOS image - Aspire 9420) & it will not boot anymore. I will need to recover my BIOS....again.

EDIT: If your computer failed to boot (no POST) after changing the Frequency Ratio, you will need to clear the CMOS. To do that, you probably need to open your notebook & disconnect the RTC/CMOS Battery for 30 minit. The same thing happen to me.

My BIOS image (Aspire 9420) also have Frequency Ratio menu hidden. I'm also successfully rebuild my BIOS image with it unlocked. However, after flashing the modified BIOS image, Frequency Ratio menu is not visible in BIOS setup menu. I'm still don't know why it is not visible.

kizwan

 

PsychoUsagi,

Be careful with Frequency Ratio. I tried myself (set the default value to x11 & rebuild the BIOS image - Aspire 9420) & it will not boot anymore. I will need to recover my BIOS....again.

kizwan

 

I've flashed the 9C.17 with Frequency Ratio. It was all a success but will not allow overclocking either. The values only go up to x11 when I actually go into the menu and my CPU already has a x11.5 multiplier. Do you think it would be possible to do it if the default value was x12 or x13? It may lead to the same result you had but I would hope not because the CPU multiplier in Extreme CPUs aren't locked and perhaps the reason your system wouldn't POST was because you set the default as a multiplier the CPU wouldn't accept because it was locked below it and the BIOS was conflicting with it?

 

Probably but Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 have multipliers x6 - x11. I can confirm it with Everest & CPUID. So, i was assuming that if I set to x11, it should not lead to any problem. But, I was wrong. This also means that CPU "internal multiplier" actually means something else because if it is the same as multiplier we know, setting to x11 should not make my computer un-bootable.

I think there is another logic code in the BIOS file that responsible to detect the CPU capability. This explain why you only see up to x11. It actually have choices between x6 to x27. On mine didn't show up at all.

Yes, I can set in the BIOS, e.g. if you want x12, I need to set x12 as default value. However, I'm confident that your computer will not boot after that. Do you still want to try?

kizwan

 

Nope. You're absolutely right. I changed the value to x11 in the menu and my system would not POST either. I reset the CMOS and I'm back on. You should probably just remove the 9C.17 with the "Frequency Multiplier" to be safe. Wouldn't want anyone else doing the same thing. I suppose it's just back to the waiting game for our machines. I thought we might finally be able to overclock, oh well. Thank you for all your effort trying to help though. =)

 

No problem at all. I have removed the download link.

kizwan

 

I was going to just let this thread die but I ran into something someone may find interesting. While the Overclocking menu doesn't seem to overclock, it is still functional if that makes any sense. What I mean to say is the default value is 2.6GHz and if you select this value you will always get a multiplier of x11 but if you select any value higher than 2.6 GHz (2.8~3.6GHz) the multiplier changes to x11.5 but will not go any higher no matter what you pick. This is probably a dead end but maybe someone will find a use for this information.

 

I know this thread is dead but I just found a way to unlock the multiplier on Core 2 Extreme CPUs even when the bios doesn't give you this option. This thread should give you the information that you need. No more risky bios flashing since this can be accomplished in Windows now with ThrottleStop.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/489140-how-unlock-core-2-extreme-multiplier-windows.html

 

If anyone still interested with modified BIOS for P-78xx laptop, please let me know. This is one of the hidden options available:-

Of course there will be risk when dealing with BIOS. This is only for anyone who willing to take the risk (usually that person can recover corrupted BIOS easily).

 

Hello and sorry for my bad English ^^

Please make a bios for my Ipower GX-M003 and co. I have the M003GE, but have zero ahnung from bios modden.

You since really class there and I am on occasion to guest here. I had try to make the biology of the gateway p FX on my notebook (does not go!), but it does not go, although these are basically the same notebooks.

My Specs:

T9400 CPU
4 Gb Ram
9800 M GTS
1 GB GDDR3

my bios is the phoenix G15-D15 and him if I agreed with pleasure moddet. Not G15-D20, because becomes too warm.

If you could be so friendly and make to me a biology which I can use for the OC, it would be a class. If of German is able would help me a lot, because my English is really bad.

thanks

Edit: (German) Kurzgesagt: Ich würde mal wissen ob ihr dieses Spezielle Bios auch für das Ipower GX-M003GE machen könntet. Es ist ja Baugleich wie das Gateway p FX. Ich will meine CPU übertakten auf etwa 2,8-3,06 GHz, aber SetFSB übernimmt keinen Takt (trotz richtiger PLL). Ich habe nur die Hoffnung, das ihr mir helfen könnt ein Bios zu machen oder mir eins macht.
Mein Bios ist das Phoenix G15-D15 und ich würde gerne das bios vom PC Auslesen und bearbeiten, da das G15-D20 schlecht sein soll.

Danke