T61/X61 SATA II 1.5 Gb/s cap - willing to pay for a solution

The Bootable CD boots and begins the flash. If the system is unstable, there is no way to abort. It behaves like a good soldier, and will march into certain death without a second thought.

The first time I tried this bios (read my prior posts here), I used the bootable CDrom and it turned the computer into a brick. Later testing seems to show the optical drive had some "issues", showing random read errors. It only takes one small read error during the flash to destroy your bios, and I'd also prefer to boot up my computer and make sure it looks stable before doing something as serious as a bios flash, with the bootdisc, it will proceed even if the system isn't stable.

Since the last post, I've installed this bios on 11 T61 thinkpads, all installed flawlessly, and all were done using the install program, not the bootable iso.

I would recommend you install this on Vista or Seven (32bit) if possible. Windows XP acts a bit strange, it seems to do the flash, then appears to begin over and redo 2 of the blocks, but out of the 11 systems I tested this on, 4 were windows XP and they all worked fine even though it was a bit scary seeing it repeat the process.

On the 64bit systems I installed it on, I simply installed a 32bit vista harddrive and installed the update from it, but you can do it from a 32bit windows startup disc, then run the bios update from the harddrive.

Also keep in mind that even a confirmed (verified) disc burn could still be sloppy and difficult for your optical drive to read. If the drive cannot read a sector on the disc, it will rescan it and try to correct. Usually it can recover from this, but we've all probably seen the effects of a sloppy burn with video playpack, were the screen pixelates or stutters, which usually easily recovers, but there is no recovery for a halfway burned bios update, so my advice is only attempt it from an optical disc if you are 100% sure you have a good clean burn, and a 100% error free drive.

If your running the update from windows, make sure your system is stable. If you've had any bluescreen crashes at all, then consider your system as less then stable and proceed accordingly.

You might also consider running the program from safe-mode, this will load only the most essential drivers, so should be a much more stable environment.

As for the Bios, I can safely say it's safe to use and if you do have a problem and it ruins your bios, it won't be anything that wouldn't have happened if you used the official Lenovo bios update.

Thank you for your efforts Middleton, nice work.

 

Are there ways to run the flash via 32-bit fedora?
I don't have 32-bit windows.. but i accidentally installed 32-bit fedora instead of 64-bit. So I want to flash it before I revert to 64-bit. I have a X61T so CD is hard to access...

Thanks.

 

You cannot run the 32bit flash program under linux... well, you could try if you had a pile of laptops you were willing to sacrifice if the program crashed, but I'm sure that's not the case.

You can use a 32bit windows bootdisc, then either run it from the harddrive (probably need a ntfs or fat partition) or other medium. Other then that, I'd say your only option would be the .iso installer, just make very sure the drive is good and your system is stable.

Good luck

 

Hi all,

Just put a Crucial m4 128GB in my SO's T61. I have not installed an OS yet, I wished to flash the BIOS (via CD) prior to doing so.

I get partway into the routine and get "Error during flash. Error code = 99 (179). "Flash Over Lan" and all similar features are enabled. I had a BIOS setup password on the system, which I have cleared and disabled in case this was the issue. This did not resolve things. I then erased all fingerprint data, and cleared the security chip. This did resolve my issues and allowed the BIOS to flash; I just wanted to forward this on in case anyone else was experiencing issues.

I'll be booting off USB to install Windows 7 and we'll see how it goes. By the way, did anyone else have issues fitting their 2.5" SSD into the T61? I had to skip using the screws and HDD housing, and just use the rubber rails, or the drive door would not fit back on.

EDIT: One other reminder --flashing the BIOS defaults back to "Compatibility" mode rather than AHCI. (amused, but exasperated sigh)

Off to install Windows 7 a second time.

 

installed the dual ida bios on my x61, tried throttlestop but don't really know how to use it to enable the additional multiplier, can it be done in bios alone?

thx.

 

Click Turn On. Go to Profile 1, check and set the multiplier, click Save. If the multiplier is not set, go back and forth between Profile 1 and 2 several times.

 

tried, but sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't...??? do i have to enable eist or sflw?

btw, is there a way to automate this at every boot? do i have to keep throttlestop running all the time? will it let the cpu slow down or keep it running at top speed?

thx very much.

 

Most, if not all of your questions (and more) are dealt with in http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...arket-upgrades/531329-throttlestop-guide.html

 

let me know if somebody is having wireless problems with the hacked BIOS.

I'm back in the same boat that I was before, and I'm getting bunch of NETw4x32 5002/5005 errors in the event log /system. The model wifi card is in my sig.

I'm trying to find some info before flashing the lenovo BIOS to see if that will fix the problem.

 

I've got the same card in my R61 and it works without any problems @ middleton's BIOS.

 

First, thank you to Middleton for the work put in on this.

Second, I've read darn near every page on this thread over the last couple of days and haven't yet found an answer to my question, so I'll ask in the hopes of not being trolled (I specifically waited to read as much of this thread as I could before registering to ask this):

Third, my next post will be in response to the number of "How do I get this to work from a USB stick?" questions I've found in this thread.

 

These instructions are for those using Windows XP or better.

***********************
​

1. Download the appropriate BIOS file for your particular machine
   • http://forum.notebookreview.com/6501443-post75.html
2. Procure and install WinRar if you do not have it already.
   • WinRAR download and support: Download now
3. Using WinRar, extract the main archive file into a sub-directory, and then extract the appropriate .ISO file into a sub-directory as well.
   
   
   ​
4. Open a Command Window (click the start button and in the search bar type "CMD") as admin (right click the resulting CMD.exe and run as administrator).
   
   ​
5. Type DISKPART [ENTER].
   • If this works, skip the information below and move onto step 6.
   • If this does not work, download and install DISKPART from the following location:
     • Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - DiskPart.exe
   • Once installed, repeat step 5.
6. Plug in your USB Stick and make sure that Windows recognizes it.
   • Note the reported size, this will help identify the right drive to use in the DISKPART utility.
7. In the command window with the DISKPART utility running type LIST DISK [ENTER]
   • Note which disk in the list is your USB based on the reported sizes
8. Now type SELECT DISK *N* [ENTER]
   • *N* being corresponding number of your USB drive noted above during step 7.
9. Now type CLEAN [ENTER].
   • Make absolutely sure that the disk you selected *IS* your USB stick as this essentially removes all partition information from the selected disk!
10. After completion of step 9, type CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY [ENTER].
11. Now make that partition active by typing ACTIVE [ENTER].
12. Now we need need to set up the file system as Fat32: type FORMAT FS=FAT32 QUICK [ENTER] (It should be obvious that "quick" specifies that we want to perform a quick format to speed up the process).
13. Now we need to pick a drive letter to associate with the stick.
    • Open "My Computer" and make sure that the letter you wish to give the stick is not already taken (I typically choose a letter the end of alphabet like "X").
14. Now that you have a letter picked let's assign it: type ASSIGN LETTER=*A* [ENTER] (*A* being the letter that you chose in step 13).
15. Now we can get the thing ready for the actual use. Type EXIT [ENTER] as many times as you need to close the command prompt window(s).
16. In windows open the thumb drive and copy over the files in the sub-directory that you created by extracting the .ISO file (a simple drag and drop will do).
    • Do not copy over the .ISO file itself, copy the extracted files.

***********************
​

Now make sure you can boot off the USB stick in the BIOS and then simply plug the USB stick in and reboot the system. This essentially makes the USB the exact same as the CD but with a more stable interface.

 

I flashed my T61 (8891CTO) 2.29 - 1.08 with CTRL-FN swap, but i don´t like the inverted keys. So after that i flashed the version without CTRL-FN swap but the keys still changed

Please help me.
How can i fix it?

 

The answer is here.

 

Thanks Middleton, works fine

 

Hey guys,

first respect for your work, found a link on another forum while searching for a solution for my question:
i want to buy a t61 (8889) - fed up with hp-stuff - and want to upgrade its cpu (7300) with another cpu that i got from a dell vostro (9300). besides i want to replace the hdd with a sdd (probably a crucial m4 64gb) and upgrade the ram to 8gb.
i think with middletons-solution it should work fine, shouldn't it? or will there be problems with my mobo? will the themal sensing cause problems?

or should i just try?


appreciate every answer

 

Are you aware of the big nVIDIA issue the complete T61 generation is suffering from? Downside of all 8889 models is that they all feature the 99% faulty nVIDIA GPU. There is no 8889 with Intel graphics, and therefore i'd suggest to avoid them. I also had a 8889-ALG which died for this very reason, and i had to replace it's mainboard with an Intel graphics one. Search Google for "nVIDIA Bug T61" for further information.

Better look for an 8895, which all came with the safe and cool running Intel graphics. Following models already have a Penryn CPU and matching mainboard:

8895-A5L: T8100, 8895-A6L: T8300, 8895-A7L: T9300, 8895-A5P: T8100, 8895-A6P: T8300, 8895-A7P: T9300, 8895-A6S: T8300, 8895-A5S: T8100, 8895-A5Y: T8100, 8895-A7S: T9300, 8895-A7Y: T9300, 8895-A6Y: T8300, 8895-A2G: T8100, 8895-A9B: T8100, 8895-A8G: T8300, 8895-ALG: T8300, 8895-AC9: T8100, 8895-WC7: T8100, 8895-AMG: T9300, 8895-WCN: T9500, 8895-AD9: T8300, 8895-WCZ: T9300, 8895-WD7: T8100, 8895-WD1: T9300, 8895-WFJ: T9300, 8895-AE9: T8100, 8895-WF3: T8300, 8895-WFY: T9300

If you buy any other Merom based T61 it will most certainly show the thermal sensing error.

 

hey rumbero,

thx for your answer. i should have thought about it, had a 2133 with the nvidia issue, same on hp tx1000 and the vostro i got the cpu from. then i will look for one of those you mentioned and try to get it as cheap as possible . i don't want another notebook with black screens, had enough now...you really saved me from unnecessary suffering!

edit: will the intel 965 express be right? don't know the exact modelno, ebay-seller doesn't specify.

 

finally got my t61 (7659). flashed bios, replaced the cpu (7300) with the one from the vostro (9300) and everything is working. unfortunately, the ssd hasn't arrived yet.

 

I have registered solely to thank Middleton for his magnificent BIOS work. After upgrading the wireless card in my T61 7659 I hit the famous 1802 error message. So I used the 2.29 - 1.08 BIOS flash from a boot CD and problem solved, I am now upgraded to Wireless N standard.

Can only wish I had the brainpower to perform BIOS mods, bit I haven't, and can only offer my thanks to those who do.

 

Old post I know, but I'm using a Lenovo-branded (bought on Ebay) 4965AGN in my SO's T61 with this BIOS, with no issues.

Is yours just a generic Intel? I know, the BIOS should get you around that, just curious.

 

I use a generic Intel 4965AGN bought through Amazon UK - £9.99 well spent. Of course the original BIOS in my T61 threw up its hands in horror, which was my reason for flashing the hacked BIOS. With the driver Vista installed the card was a bit squiffy, but a visit to the Intel site produced a stable driver.

 

Hello all,

I flashed the 2.29 bios and have no problems at all, thank you very much Middleton. I was wondering if someone could tell me how to check that it is truly enabled on my ubuntu/linux?? I have winDOZE xp installed on an external harddrive but I can't seem to get the Intel Rapid Storage to install on it?? So I would like to check it from Linux to see that the flash worked(I am sure it did but just curious). I am getting a ssd drive next week. Any suggestions on what ssd drive to get?? I only need a 20-30gig for the /root drive and will use my 500gig for /home in the ultra bay of my T61. Sorry if this has been asked before, but this thread is long, and I can't recall if I have seen this question posted. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Cheers,

Singtoh

 

my card is the one that came with the laptop

 

update (hope the last one of this matter)

I've upgraded my Wifi card from 4965agn to 5300agn and may I say it works flawlessly I just put it in and was watching youtube videos for 1 hour already without single disconnect, nor any errors. I'm using the latest 14.2.0.10 drivers from the intel site (not the lenovo version).

so most likely I must have had problems with my old wifi card for some time as I tried 4 or 5 different versions of drivers and still was getting errors in the event log/system. My laptop sat connected with cable most of the time thus I didn't notice that issue earlier. My card was hardware version 1.0.40 and the new one now is 1.1.50

on that note, may I say big THANKS to middleton for this amazing bios as without it I would not be able to upgrade the wifi card as I just did, so the removal of the wifi whitelist works awesome

 

I just signed up to say thanks middleton.

I was a little scared to flash the BIOS as I have heard a lot of horror stories about it bricking laptops.

You wouldn't believe the adrenalin rush I got as it was updating and hearing beeps then the screen go black I didn't know what was going on, I think it flashed it 3 times before I figured I had to take the disc out as well.

Just following the readme was simple, even at the Lenovo website I never updated the BIOS before because they aren't very clear on how to do it and everyone says not to do it if everything is working properly.

In the next week or 2 I will be installing a SSD so I have been looking in to this for a long time before stumbling across this thread on google.

Thanks again, Merry X-mas and Happy New Year.

 

Hello everybody,

Middleton did a great job with his BIOSes for the X6x and T6x generation Thinkpads..... Thank you!

I´m not absolutely sure if this is the correct thread for my question?! But on the other hand it´s the "Middleton thread" and its about Thinkpad BIOS-tweaking.

I´m aware: This ist not a request thread and I just want to ask politely and please don´t be angry.....

I´ve got a Thinkpad X301 which is not covered by Middleton yet. There is no need for SATA-Tweaking for this generation of Thinkpad, but there are some BIOS-related limitations to pass by like Middleton did ins his great work:

The X301 also has a BIOS-Whitelist implemented and no SLIC 2.1 and has EIST-Bit locked, which limitates my happiness with that great notebook a bit. The X301 would greatly take profit on unlocking EIST and using Dual-Ida, as it´s CPU is a lowspeed one, where every improvement on multiplier would have a considerable effect. I´ve seen this on my X300 and its just wunderful......

I would like to ask the master if there would be a small chance if he would have a look at the X301 the same way as he did successfully with the X300?

Thank you in advance.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Jan

 

Hi owner of a T61p here. I followed the instructions in Jabouty's post regarding updating the BIOS via USB and unfortunately it doesn't seem to work. When I restart I go into the boot menu and select USB 2.0. The drive letter for the USB drive I am using does not appear in the boot menu, however, I select USB 2.0. anyway. After I do this A message appears saying "Remove all drive media and disks and press any key to restart" or words to that effect. So I do so, and then windows boots.

I checked the BIOS version, and it hasn't been updated.

Am I going wrong somewhere? Is there another way to update the BIOS via USB?

 

There's no need in such words like "the master". I'll have a look at X301 BIOS but can't exactly tell you when it happens. Send me an empty email with "X301 BIOS mod" header, I gave address on page 7. As soon as the patch is ready you'll receive it.

 

A X200s would also greatly benefit from a dual-IDA bios, gaining a full extra multiplier. Eg: SL9600-2.13@x8 -> 2.4@x9. Is that another you could look at in parallel to the X301 bios mod?

 

Just updated my T61P (6459-CTO) running OpenSuSE 12.1 with the new bios. My recently purchased Crucial M4 64GB SSD is now performing as expected. My unscientific testing using 'hdparm -t' and 'hdparm -T' shows a near doubling of performance. Now my poor Samsung 640GB HDD in the Ultrabay seems so slow. Thanks for the bios. Install was quick and so far, no issues.

 

Hi Middleton,

I just wanted to say with my words that I´m really impressed about yor capabilities in modding.....

I can do a lot myself, but not these things....

Mail sent....

Regards, London_System

 

X200s BIOS is not a special one. It disables the dual-IDA possibility in the same way as other ThinkPads usually do. The problem is that I don't have enough time for BIOS modding now. Don't know when X301 mod will be ready (maybe never) but it won't be public in any case cause I can't support it.

 

@nando4: Don´t forget to mention the X200 Tablet family as they use the same type of low voltage CPUs.

Regards,

London_System

 

middleton, you should find a way to fix your paypal account so that people can send their contribution for your nice work

 

Anyone? I'd really like to get this BIOS flashed.

 

thats sad - i want to use your wonderful Bios on my x200

i've here the newest x200 3.20 BIOS with disabled whitelist and SLIC 2.1 and using IDA would be the Top.

Or is there any way that you could show us how to mod an BIOS your style?

 

I don't have any special BIOS modding style. I make mods with tools from forums.mydigitallife.info. If you need a modified BIOS, then leave your request there. Whitelist and SLIC 2.1 are not a problem for those guys a long time ago. As for dual-IDA support: give them link to kizwan's "EIST Unlocked Example" guide.

 

Thx for that hint, i'll try it.

 

Hi, Last couples of days I've been reading this post, so, I wish to thanks Middleton for this great bios, also I've read that some of you have really seen a difference using SSD's, and have notice different brands, and I wan't to know from the users which one is better.


Thanks

 

Just wanted to post up my results.

I have an 8918-CTO R61 15.4" Widescreen, Penryn T9300, OCZ Octane 120GB SATA III SSD.

My requirement was that this would allow for SATA II speeds. I wasn't concerned with anything else at this time, like swapping Function key, etc.

Since I'm running Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, I had to boot off USB (or CD, though I preferred USB).

1) Created a bootable USB drive with the following files: DOS USB boot drive - Vista Forums

2) Copied over my bios download, version 1.29 for my laptop, and used ISO #1. Extracted the files via Winrar and copyied directly onto the USB drive.

3) Changed my boot priority in BIOS to load the USB drive first.

4) Booted to the DOS prompt.

5) Ran the following command: FLASH2.EXE /U

6) Waited for this process to finish, followed by a long beep, and a reboot.

7) Removed the USB stick and the computer started right up.

BEFORE


AFTER

 

Dual-IDA_SATA-II_Whitelist_SLIC21_ThinkPad_X61_Tablet_BIOS_(1.25-1.02).rar

This looks like my baby but there are 3 ISO files in here and I am a little confused in which order to try these? There are are two in a folder called "BIOS update + CTRL-FN swap" and a third in a "Bios Update" folder. I am running Win 7 64 Bit so have to go the ISO route.. Also, don't have a CD so really hoping I can burn to a stick??

Thanks!

jp

 

First, thanks to middleton for spending his time helping other people.

This is my result:


Compared to the leomas x61s, it appears not to be a good reading result.
Unfortunatelly, I haven't benchmarked before I applied the new BIOS, because I installed the SSD only after I've already flashed the middleton's BIOS.
Furthermore, my SSD is not one of the great ones... its s Kingspec 120GB. Maybe this is the reason because I didn't get excelent results.

How can I check if Sata 2 is active/working?

Edit:
I changed SATA mode from Compatibility to AHCI, and this is the result:


Now I'm sure its working
Thanks again for middleton and everyone who contributed to make it possible.

 

Any love here gang?? I desperately need to squeeze more speed out of my X61 but don't know which of the 3 ISO files to use in the archive for my model.

Thanks!!

 

Have you bothered to read and understand the accompanying "READ_ME!!!.txt" file? It's content is not too hard to understand and should easily answer your question.

 

It would be great if you could post a How To / kinda open source/ it so people can support you or supplement the work you have done and carry it forward, when you dont have time. Maybe, with or without your guidance/ supervision.

 

I flashed bios in my T61 14" bios to ver. 2.29-1.08 (without CTRL-FN swap) with the cd image. I checked with ThrottleStop utility that dual-IDA works. Afetr replacing my T7300 with T8300 my T61 is not working. I press power button, HD is spinning but lcd is black. When I put old T7300 back everything is working. What's wrong?

Is it possible that this new T8300 is dead?

 

Hi group,

Has anybody tried this bios update with a QXGA 15.0" non-widescreen 4:3 ratio display. What I have is a T61p 8891-CTO (14.1" 4:3 motherboard) in a 15.0" thinkpad body. It has a Vertex 3 SSD drive. Any chance the Bios upgrade would impact the higher resolution 2048x1536 capability?

Mark

 

no. You're not changing the video card and/or updating it's bios

 

middleton thank you very much for doing this work. Im getting mad with the FN and Ctrl keys...
recently I'd adquired a Lenovo R61 with windows 7 64 bits installed
Can I put this version of the bios? or I need another one adapted to 64bits?

I've downloaded the last bios for 64 bits but it doesn't solve mi problem!! I don't know what to do