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

We don't need to create ROM file for WinPhlash64. This utility supports absolutely the same BIOS format as 32-bit version.
I didn't include 64-bit version of BIOS update because it's completely unofficial and lenovo doesn't recommend to use it with T61/X61. But if someone want to try it, then just let me know.

 

Did you get the mail with my bios dump? Was the bios flashed correctly?

Would it be enough to install Win 7 32 bit without any extra drivers, do the bios flash and restore an image of the x64 installation?

 

At the moment I have nothing in my mailbox.
You may also try to use a 32-bit Windows bootable CD and flash the BIOS under it. Theoretically it's possible but I never tried it. You can make a try if you wish.

 

Strange, I sent it last night. Now I resent it, hope it's in your mailbox now

If at least the Bios was flashed correctly then I'm pleased for now. Perhaps I'll try flashing under Windows later. But a bootable CD feels even more unsecure for me than flashing under a normal Windows installation.

 

I've done this is in the past. I've swapped in a spare HDD and installed Win 7 32-bit just to do a BIOS update. Once, the update was completed, I swapped back the original HDD.

 

Hah, middleton gave me the advice to reset Embedded Controller and this worked. Now it's all fine

 

unclewebb explains here (duplicated below) what is involved if anyone wants to have a go at modifying the bios to allow dual-IDA mode. This would give anywhere from 8-15% more CPU performance.

 

Hi all,

Just joined the forum as have been following this update for a while but had no reason to apply it.... Now I do! Firstly thanks to Middleton for such a great job and everyone else involved too. I have had a read through again and haven't noticed anyone with this issue.

Now onto a quirk/ problem I have found. It relates to this BIOS and Bitlocker. My first attempt to flash this particular ROM goes the majority of the way but then throws up code 99 (179). This relates to Bitlocker running on a driver which can cause a corrupt/ unuseable drive if I were to progress.

All understood so checked, double checked and tested (disabling bitlockers entirely & also suspending it) to no availl. Luckily I had the change to update my OS from Vista to 7 (64) and again the same issue. Hunting through forums and advice, nothing really answered the question. So the thought was to try an official Lenovo BIOS and a breakthrough occured.

When updating with the official BIOS, the phrase used in Middleton's BIOS error relating to a running version of Bitlocker was the same as Lenovo's BUT on Lenovo's update a Yes/ no to continue box was generated allowing progression rather than just a straight error.

Is it possible to include this within a revision of the BIOS to iron this out?

Sorry to be so longwinded but but it took a while to troubleshoot!

Kolazuk

 

Hi.

Thanks for this chance to update my laptop.
Lenovo T61P 8890Y18 WIn7 64 Bit.

I do not own a ssd disk but a normal drive, and why not give it a go.
My drive is a Momentus 5400.6 SATA 3Gb/s 500-GB Hard Drive. This should be okay to use with sata 2.
Now my problem is, that my bios upgrade worked fine, but Intel Rapid says that its running Sata Gen 1. And this i do not understand.
I updated bios with a cd and the img file, no probs.

CPU-Z say my bios is: 7LETC7WW (2.27)

Thx for any help you can provide me with.

Brian

 

I have the same problem with the same HDD and my T61. I thought the problem was related to the fact that I put the HDD out of an external USB device. Tomorrow I get my SSD, then we'll se if it runs faster than 1,5Gbit/s.

 

Tested with a X61T and Intel X25-M. All works very well in SATA II mode with increased performance. Thank you!

I've donated a few dollars...

Regards!

 

Sorry but my English isn't perfect, could you clarify some moments?

1) What is your laptop model?
2) How did you flash BIOS (using CD or Windows update)?
3) I don't understand: Have you finally flashed the SATA II patch?
4) What do you want me to do? Should I help you to flash the patch or include your information in readme file?

noco has the same problem. He sent me a dump of his BIOS and I found SATA II patch in this dump. It seems the reason of the issue is Seagate HDD.
Anyway let's see what happens when noco will receive his SSD.

 

Today I received my SSD and I think SATA II is working. I deleted the Intel driver so I can't see which SATA Version it states, but the benches of my SSD say SATA II

ATTO Bench was the usual ~250/250 MB/s.


My T9300 Penryn CPU arrived yesterday and is also working without Thermal Sensing Error. So the updated worked very well for me


EDIT: I just remembered that Crystal DiskInfo shows the SATA Mode, too. It states that the SSD is running with 3 Gbit/s while it stated for the Seagate only 150 Gbit/s so I think it must be a "problem" with the Seagate HDD.

Just curious: what seek times do you have with your Seagate? Mine were quite horrible with ~ 25 ms but I don't know if theres some other firmware Seagate flashes onto the drives for external devices.

 

I havent testet seektime, but i have tryed another sata2 drive, SAMSUNG Spinpoint M7E HM321HI 320GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb.
And this is working with sata2gen.
Now i would try to update bios to the lastest Lenovo, so i could see the differens between the two bios, but its says, that i do not need a bios now, so i cannot do that.
It seems to work here now

Brian

 

"Renee, can you check to see if the following is setup on your BIOS?

* On Windows = Bitlocker Encryption = Off

= Config =
- Network - Ethernet LAN Option - Enabled
- Network - Flash Over LAN - Enabled
- Intel AMT - Disabled

= Security =
- Security Chip - Disabled
- BIOS Update Option - Enabled
- I/O Devices - Ultrabay - Enabled"

Hearst, the t61p is back and is fine. You will have to tell me how to get to my bios in order to answer your questions. Remember that I run with 64 bit windows 7. Probably, I'm going to have to make a new bios dvd.
Renee

 

First burn Middleton's modified BIOS using a CD Burning program to create the BIOS CD. Due to the size of the BIOS image you just need a blank CD as a blank DVD would be a waste. Make sure you disable any Bitlocker Encryption if you have this on under Windows. Also make sure the ThinkPad is connected to a power source and has a charged battery as backup.

To access the BIOS, during the ThinkPad logo at startup keep tapping the F1 button until it loads. Now as I listed previously it will come in sections on what you need to check, the ones you need to look at mainly is "Config" and "Security". The particular options you need to look for are:

= Config =
- Network - Ethernet LAN Option - Enabled
- Network - Flash Over LAN - Enabled
- Intel AMT - Disabled

= Security =
- Security Chip - Disabled
- BIOS Update Option - Enabled
- I/O Devices - Ultrabay - Enabled

Make sure each of the following options are set according to above, so for example if you want to check the Ethernet LAN option is enabled, on the BIOS you go to Config > Network > Ethernet LAN Option > Enable. Just do the same for each option to ensure that all is OK. Afterwards, press F10 and save any changes you made to the BIOS.

On restart during the ThinkPad logo again, press the F12 button to list the startup options. Place the CD with the modified BIOS in your system and then select the DVD/CD-ROM drive. If this is not listed, then ensure the BIOS has the DVD/CD-ROM option available in the "Startup" section and is not excluded.

Afterwards your system should be able to flash. I posted some instructions on this previously so I just quote on what happens during the flash process:

 

huge thumbs up for the good work over the SATA 2 issue, hope it will work for me too !! Now I need to get me SSD, finally.

I'm gonna be contributing for sure the moment I flash my BIOS with it, better spent money that way than for 3 burgers with fries, lol.

hell, if somebody washes my car I'll share couple bux too ...

 

Thanks for all your help middleton. I am eagerly awaiting a BIOS for the R61 15-inch model with the thermal sensing fix.
(I have the 8919 model, so I think it needs BIOS 2.29-1.08)

 

Whats wrong with this picture? How do I know if this is working right?

Do I need to install / uninstall some Intel / Lenovo Storage drivers etc?

 

If you install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers it will tell you what mode it is running in: Generation 1 = SATA I, Generation 2 = SATA II. Showing the Generation 2 mode will indicate the SATA II speeds have been unlocked on the system.

 

I have a Seagate Momentus drive too (7200.1 ST910021AS 100GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 1.5Gb/s), and wonder still if there's any drawback to this BIOS upgrade. If the speed will be the same, then it's still worth it for other improvements, but is there any impairment compared to my current transfer speed?

Also, is the "problem" with Seagate insurmountable, or is it possible to get a bit more speed (marginal, I know) as SATA II? (Currently Intel Rapid says that its running Sata Gen 1)

 

Should I install the drivers from Lenovo via System Update or the ones you linked straight from Intel?

 

You can use the SATA drivers from Intel. They should be much newer than the one Lenovo gives you (they offer you the Intel Matrix Storage Drivers which is obsolete and has been superseded by the Rapid Storage Drivers - note). I use the Intel Rapid Storage drivers on my T61 and works very well.

 

Hi, I flashed my bios (x61) yesterday using a bootable stick i created with the HP tool. The process started as desired (flashing in progress may take a minute) followed by a beep. But then a message told me "sTill flashing might take a minute". I was pretty psyched so it took me a while to see an error message on top of the screen (invalid opcode at 0013 0005 0005 8f4d 0206 01eb 04c6 1362 ffff 00d1 0070 0910 1b86).
i waited for a couple of minutes then turned the computer off with a bad feeling. When i turned it back on it bootet just fine (phew).
Is there any way to find out if the bios was flashed correctly?
Should I install a clean XP and run the wndows tool (I did use the stick because my current OS is pretty screwy.)?

Thanks in advance!

 

Anyone having WiFi issues after flashing?

I have a 14" T61 with Intel 4965 abgn Card. My laptop keeps getting disconnected.

 

Installed the drivers. SATA Gen 2.

Is there any other program / app I can use to test this again?

 

> Is there any way to find out if the bios was flashed correctly?

Check SATA II speed and also SLIC version (using, for example, Everest utility) - it should be 2.1.
Actually flashing should be completed without any errors. I don't know what exactly was the cause of the error. You can try to recreate the bootable stick (or burn CD disk) and flash again if you see your BIOS wasn't flashed correctly. But if you have some hardware problems (which caused the error), then every reflashing is a dangerous procedure.

 

thanks for the reply. slic is 2.1. i am pretty relieved. now i only have to build in that ssd waiting for me at the post office. so how can i compensate you? is there a paypal address?

 

You can find the paypal link on page 8. But first make sure that your SSD uses full SATA II speed.

 

middleton, can you address the Seagate issue I mentioned above? What do you think is going on there? (Still listed as Gen 1 etc)

 

Your Seagate HDD doesn't support SATA II (see specs on Seagate's web site). My BIOS patch won't change transfer speed for your drive. But if you need SLIC 2.1 or wireless whitelist or CTRL-FN swap, then you can try to flash the patch.

 

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Still worth a flash for the whitelist or a future SATA II drive upgrade.

 

I installed win7 64bit (do yourself a favour and use and use this guide if you dont own a ultrabay - i was having fits for 4 hours straight trying to boot from an external usb dvd drive) and it works like a charm. donated a little sth. thanks for the great work!

 

I have a X61 tablet with Thinkpad a/b/g wireless card. It now has the same problem as yours, getting disconnected every couple hours, pretty annoying.
I am not sure if it is the BIOS but I never had any issue with the wireless before updating.

Did you put the modedd BIOS in your tablet? Any problem with it?

 

I also use the Intel 4965 abgn Card in my T61. No problems here, works as well as before the mod. I can't belive that this issue is caused by the BIOS update.

Greetz,

XStoneX

 

Had to create a new connection in Access Connections. Doesnt look like the issue has come up again.

 

Any idea if this is/could be in the works? I read through most of this thread hoping it was released, but as I have no Firewire on my motherboard I'm grounded from recess.

As many have said, I don't know who did actually, I am willing to donate.

Thanks!

Dan

 

Dan, please understand me: it's not the matter of donations, it's the matter of my free time. The patch for R61 will be available only if I'll be able to allocate time for making it. T61 and X61 owners were lucky but R61 owners should wait a little. I hope I'll manage before the New Year comes .

 

The Ctrl-Fn swap.. is that something that just 'happens' when the replacement bios is installed or is it optional once it is installed from a menu item within the bios? I want the other features in that BIOS update, like the SATA2 support and ability to upgrade the CPU to a T9300 or T9500, but I quite like the Function key where it is.

 

The CTRL-FN swap is optional. There are two folders in archive:

1. The patched BIOS.
2. The patched BIOS + CTRL-FN swap.

You can choose the folder that suits you.

 

No worries Middleton, it is totally understandable that people have "real lives" outside of Internet message boards.

If this is completed, I do believe I can prolong the life of my sweet R61 a bit longer and maybe even splurge on a SSD

Thanks!
Dan

 

you don't need >150 MB/sec sequential transfer speeds to appreciate an SSD.   an SSD will make your system noticeably faster regardless of being SATA 150 or 300.

 

Cost to benefit ratio is still not high enough without it. In my opinion.

 

that means you've never actually tried an SSD in your system.   i couldn't tell a bit of difference testing my X61s with and without the unlock outside of synthetic benchmarks.   real-world performance (including file copy speeds) were almost identical.

the key is in buying a fast SSD.

once middleton unlocks the R61 then you can enjoy your benchmarks.   in the meantime there's no logical reason to deny yourself of the benefits.

 

Ah, awesome, thank you! Looking forward to trying this out.

 

If I understand this thread correctly, middleton is doing great work, where Lenovo failed.

I have a Z61p with
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)

and am seriously considering to buy a Sandforce-based SSD to give the Notebook another 24months of "contemporary performance". I suppose it would be capped seriously with the 1.5Gbps limit.

Any chance to get the latest Z61p BIOS modified? Would be worth 50 EUR to me.

 

Z61p uses the same intel chipset as T60, X60, R60, which doesn't support SATAII in its native 3.0 Gbps mode.

 

You're correct

Buying a good fast SSD is expensive, not being able to get ALL of the performance out of a piece of hardware that is $0.37/GB or approx. $200 is a bit of a downer.

Now that being said, I was presented with a deal for a X25-M G2 that I couldn't pass up.

 

Oh. It seems ICH7 can support 3GB/s but only the "Desktop Version".

Pitty.

 

So sorry for awful offtopic, but I think it is not a crime
Could you please have a look on T410s firmware in order to enable TRIM support for SSD? Is it at least possible?

Thanks a lot in advance!