Zepto Znote 6625WD - BIOS z15N015

x11 is IDA no?

you should keep the IDA voltage as it is and the SFLM as it is as well (these weren't available in previous version of rmclock)




just change the voltages in between to what they were before, keeping IDA and SLFM voltages to as rmclock sets them


Flipfire has an updated guide for rmclock, it could help

 

Ok tks Blackbird will try your suggestion.
Found on a other site a suggestion just to unmark IDA -have just being trying this and could lower the 11x with 0,0250 V (just done the 1 test sofar).

 

Blackbird, tried your suggestion (just finished a 20 min test in Orthos) and apparently everything is stable with my old values, so tks.
Will now commence a very long test just to be sure

 

no probs,

and yea you can just uncheck IDA if you want..I just leave it enabled at default settings but both work.

 

IDA isnt really anything to use, both for BIOS "incompatibility" and that IDA only steps in when one core is used, wich is about 0.001% of the time ur using your comp

 

well,that's partially wrong
IDA steps in when one core is under heavy load and the second has less to do
So usages of IDA doesn't appear very often but it's there, just try to stress one core, for example with TAT and you will see him mostly running at IDA.

Okay, less applications stress the CPU as hard as TAT but i know this effect also from maple and a few other programms without multicore support

 

IDA almost never work... the other core has to be COMPLETELY idle before it kicks in, and with the latency issues on 6625 it's almost never. So kindda useless...

 

i experienced, that theres no need to be totally(!) idle, 5% is no prob
but well i'm using a 6224W^^

 

Since the new BIOS I've had 4 random shutdowns without warning.

3 have been during a game, upon reboot the cpu temps seemed fine,
around 90C.
1 has been during photo work with Adobe Lightroom.

Using all Zepto's ftp drivers and I've never had a random shut down
like this before. Thoughts welcome but I'm sure at this point it's
just got to go back in (again) for service.

 

Is that when laptop just shutdowns, no warning and when you boot back into windows there is no message saying system has recovered or no event log?

If so I've had one whilst browsing the net..sure hope wont get any more

 

Yes, no warning and you the the "windows has recovered from..." message.

 

i didnt get the recovery message...just hard shutdown and that was it, hasnt happened again

 

I would not be able to do any serious work on a machine that did that! I hope Zepto take your case very very seriously... Why dont they just swap out the entire machine and just keep the hard drive? That should take a whole 30min to do and test if you bring it in (would take me 5 minutes). That should be the least they could do for you since you haven't really had a solid system from the begining!

 

ResonantWorks, we have no pre-assembled machines in stock, we only built-to-order like on the website. If we where to do as you say (even though it sounds easier than just trying to repair), it would in the end take longer. Also BSOD's that is periodic can be a pain to try to find.
I'm not saying it can't be done, but it would not be normal procedure.

 

Hi Rene, I realise that doing this is definitely not standard procedure for anyone, but we all know what Christopher has been through, so he deserves some compensation like replacing his entire rig. The chances of having his problems solved would be greatly enhanced that way. I'm sure you move at least 100k units / year so going all the way with a few machines (some other poor souls here too) would greatly enhance your image which in turn should pay for the new machines soon enough. My opinion is not to offend or stir up trouble - I'm just making a suggestion

 

This sounds similar to the problem with my 6024W. In my case it's as if there was no battery and someone had pulled out the mains plug. No BSOD or anything. Just off, so Windows never had a chance to see an error, never mind report it. Do you get a BIOS message about an unexpected shutdown and a wait while it counts to 100?

For me it happened with two different BIOS versions so my 6024W is in the Zepto workshop (where, so far, it has behaved itself).

John

 

John: Yes, unexpected shutdown then you have to manually turn computer
on which is when you received the count up to 100.

I know I need to turn this computer in for servicing, but we're waiting to
purchase a new laptop first as we need one for work. Can't afford to
(potentially) be without a laptop for over a week. Hopefully this will be
very very soon!

 

Thanks. This is starting to look like a bug which is common to both the 6024W and the 6625WD. For me it happened with both the 005e and 006 BIOS versions of the 6024W but it seems to be a new feature for the 6625WD. This points to something in the BIOS. Whether there are additional factors such a particular hardware configuration remains to be figured out. Can you try disabling the Turbo Memory since that is something which most people don't have?

John

 

I'm always willing to give it a try! I'm knee deep in work at the moment,
but will disable sometime in the next 24 hours and see how I get on over
the next week. Will post again with results.

 

Mines the exact same except upon reboot there is no message / log / count

 

Do you also have Turbo Memory?

John

 

Dont have it, and its support in bios likewise is disabled.

Only had the shut down once since ive had this notebook

 

Happened again, whilst browsing web on battery power.

Could it be that there is something in the BIOS that triggers a shutdown as in previous BIOS versions where pressing volume keys could initiate a shutdown ... ??

I also have these strange error logs:



========================================================================================================

Event Type: Error
Event Source: ACPIEC

\Device\ACPIEC: The embedded controller (EC) hardware didn't respond within the timeout period. This may indicate an error in the EC hardware or firmware, or possibly a poorly designed BIOS which accesses the EC in an unsafe manner. The EC driver will retry the failed transaction if possible.

========================================================================================================

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: NETw4x32

Description:
Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN : The adapter has detected that the Token Ring cable is disconnected from the adapter. Please reconnect the Token Ring cable. The adapter will continue to try to reset until the connection is repaired.

========================================================================================================

Event Type: Error
Event Source: NETw4x32

Description:
Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN : Has encountered an internal error and has failed.

 

Internal error? Sounds like you have a problem with the Intel card :/

Whats EC?

 

I have no idea....

Rene we could do with your input plz..

 

Did the new BIOS fix stuttering for games?

 

not in my case atleast, and for me the standby fix ceased working aswell so its back to 004 for me

 

Any one know what the errors mentioned in my post above mean??

 

My best guess and after having a look around is that the bios has a bug. So the ACPI issues are still pending... Hopefully Rene can give a clearer answer.

 

Btw, Blackbird, I know this a very annoying question, but do you have any "unsual" drivers or software running? When I checked my DPC I found that running CPU-Z at the same time caused my latency to go through the roof - which is unusual to say the least...

 

Ive also noticed this, but when I run DPC, I run it with nothing else going on



yellow spikes every few seconds.

 

@Blackbird, yeah same as mine on the z15N015, but without the reboots/shutdowns and slightly fewer yellow bars. It's worse on Vista64!

Also the fan is NOT better. The algoritm they are using is way to simplistic right now. The fan control in the z15N012 (not publicly available) was the best. With z15N015 my fan keeps switching on and off at a rate of 3..5 sec on, 5..10 sec off during browsing, and worse (shorter periods) when pushing the cpu.

So no I don't feel its fixed. From an embedded progammer's point of view it looks like they are just using a simple 2 or 3 point temperature hysteresis algorithm instead of using something more fuzzy logic based. If they are using a decent algorithm, then it's not good and needs a lot more refinement. Is it because I have a T9300?

 

That is EXACTLY what my fan is like...even if im not using my laptop it behaves as you have described.

Yes its worse on vista, also are you using sp3 in XP?

===========================================================

Someon suggests this for my error log, you reckon I should give it a go?

===========================================================

This is due to the ACPI power feature drivers have been corrupted or damaged.

Lets try this:
Go to your computer manufactures website and check for updates for your model.

Then if still not fixed:
Go to the Device Manager and remove ACPI Fixed Feature Button then restart and let Windows reinstall it from the driver cache.

Device Manager:
Right Click My Computer>Properties>Hardware Tab>Device Manager Button>Click the + by System Devices>Right Click ACPI Fixed Feature Button>Uninstall>Restart Computer

 

@Blackbird, please, for your own sanity, DO NOT switch off ACPI using that method (in device manager)! I tried this a month or two ago and ended up reinstalling from scratch due to much of the hardware not working. They (like about 5+ of them) showed up with the lovely little yellow exclamation marks in in the device manager in XP and there was no way to manually set the IRQs and DMAs either - so I was screwed completely.

You can try updating the drivers, but I doubt this would help...

Maybe also try set the "Power Management" to "Always On" if you haven't already (I'm sure you know all about this!).

Myself, I would go back to the previous bios until Zepto realise that this is not the "final" bios for us...

(Something that bothers me is that rumour that Zepto are releasing an entirely new range across the board - all models... Does this mean that they are fed up with the current range and we might not get a "working" bios?)

 

What previous BIOS will you go to?

Also since the 012 (unreleased) had better fan control, it should be easy to include that code into the 015 BIOS no?

Also that ACPI fixed feature is not the entire ACPI and apparently the person who tried this solution out only had one driver to reinstall (the fixed feature), but dont worry i wont take any steps without caution.

 

@Blackbird, I would recommend z15N004 if you had no issues with it, but I would have gone back to z15N011 myself as z15N004 only showed one of the two cores on my T9300 (ugh!).

On the "disabling/removing ACPI from XP" I would strongly recommend using an image backup app like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost. It would have saved me a few hours if I did! I have to make a billion tweaks, settings, install apps to get my system back to the way I like it!

Added:
About this whole bios issue - if you ask me this looks exactly as if the lead bios engineer quit a few months back and the next-in-line(s) is trying really hard to fix these issues but they just don't have the needed experience. But that's a bit harsh! Sorry Rene, I know we would all like to have this thing fixed ASAP!

Added2:
Yeah the fan control code could easily be copied and pasted from z15N012 to z15N015, but progamming a bios is notoriously difficult. One of the nastiest things to write code for actually. To make things worse/harder to maintain, it's usually written in assembler!
http://www.custompc.co.uk/features/601716/the-life-and-times-of-the-modern-motherboard/page4.html

 

So what now??

Also what type of tweaks do you use in XP and what service pack, I have to tweak my OS as well after fresh install (takes an extra hour)

 

@Blackbird, I would suggest using an older bios - one that doesn't shutdown/reboot your system!

I use XP Pro-32 with SP2 builtin - haven't attempted SP3 yet...

Most of the tweaks are the usual, but my all time fav for XP are:
1. Turn off XP style (I use classic) - although not really needed - just my personal pref
2. Set the paging file to fixed and equal size to installed RAM, so 3G registered mem = 3G,3G fixed size page file.
3. Disable Error Reporting.
4. Turn off System Restore.
5. Set the following Services to Manual:

a) Fast User Switching... (Only do if and after you uncheck "Use Fast User Switching" in Ctrl Panel->User Accts->Change the way...)
b) Indexing Service (Optional)
c) NVIDIA Display Driver Service
d) Security Centre (Just Disable this bastard)
e) Task Scheduler (Optional)
f) Themes (Only do this if you use "Classic Style")
g) Windows Firewall (I use a hardware based one instead)
​

6. Registry:
--- CUT ---

Code:

	Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

	[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
	"NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"=dword:00000001

	[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
	"DisablePagingExecutive"=dword:00000001

	[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
	"EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000002

--- CUT ---

Summary of those settings:
1. Disable the file last access stamp (needed for what exactly in XP - it's not like the built-in defrag actually uses the info does it?!)
2. Keep the whole kernel in memory instead of swapping it out (its only like 30-60Mb so WTF page it out?!).
3. Set the prefetcher to prefetch only services, instead of the default which fetch is services and apps on boot.

And then the usual for the "Folder Options"...

Also, I can't live without these babies:

ClearType Tuner (I use 120dpi so I need this to make the fonts "thicker") : http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
ClipX : http://bluemars.org/clipx/
Gimp : http://www.gimp.org/windows/
TrueCrypt : http://www.truecrypt.org/
Pigin : http://www.pidgin.im/download/
Process Explorer : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
ZoomIt : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx​

It usually takes me about 2-3 hours to get all my settings right and all my usual apps installed
Cheers,
Matthew

 

LOL @ Just disable this bastard, cant stop laughing.

Thanks for taking the time to write those out, I can see were in the same boat. I too perform the majority of the ones you've stated.

Keeping the whole kernel in memory, I understand why but does it help in performance or in any other way.

Cheers

 

@Blackbird, I just added (edited) some apps to the prev post. Keeping the kernal in mem just makes sense to me even if it doesn't make a big difference. I remember when I had a Tosh Sat Pro A15 with max 1Gb RAM (oh the pain!) and had to use vmware workstation - the constant disk thrash was just too much so I tried the kernel tweak and it really helped improve the "speed" of switching between apps. So now I just keep it that way

 

Nice list of software,

May I recommend the following as well;

CCleaner
Auslogics Disk Defrag
Ultra Edit
Md5Checker

==========================================

Pidgin is great on linux, dont like it in windows. It would be much better in both if it had voice and webcam support, more so voice support.

 

No, it does not mean that we are fed up with the current range. We release a new range of models every year when a new chipset technology is out, that's how it's been almost since Zepto was founded. It's called new technology and product development We are working hard to get a "working" BIOS, as you call it.

 

Wait, so a new bios is in the works?

Do you have any input on the error logs I posted on page 8 of this thread ?

Thanks in advance

 

@Blackbird, I try to use apps that are the same on all three of my OSes so when I reboot into a different OS I can keep my prefs and data in sync. I keep a shared "partition" so that it doesnt matter which OS I boot into, my bookmarks, email and msg setup is always in sync at all times
For the cross OS apps I use: Firefox, Thunderbird and Pidgin.

Yeah - how could I forget - CCleaner! The best!

And ones I use instead of yours:

jkDefrag (a bit hardcore, but fantastic results)
Notepad++ (used to use Notepad2, but since I'm a developer NP++ is just fantastic!)
SlavaSoft HashCalc
​

 

@Rene, thanks for confirming that! And thanks for taking part in the forums!

 

How does that cross os work with linux, in windows they are all .exe's. You use wine?

Notepad++ is good, but I also like Dev++. Its easy on the noob with error detection and its nice and colourful

 

Well I just set up a small NTFS partition (about 1Gb) and then edit the Firefox and Thunderbird "Profiles" to point to that area in all OSes. (I forgot, Pidgin still doesn't allow doing this, so skip that one!). On linux you need to install the ntfs-fuse module and set it for RW access.

So only the data is shared not the actual binaries.

Here's a good starter (wish I saw this at the time!):
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8761

 

Right thanks, also have you tried launcy for XP.

Brilliant software, lightweight, well integrated and useful. Its like vista's start search and much more for XP

 

@Blackbird, yeah used it for a bit and love the same Vista functionality, but I still seem to use a combo of shortcut keys and a huge Quick Launch menu I need to look at that one again though - thanks for reminding me!
Attached is my list all time fav stuff...
(not the best thread to post this, but what the hell )

NB:Open with "Notepad" or set the TAB spacing to 8 spaces.

 

ResonantWorks - I have a T7500, previously had BIOS revision 012, and the fan control seemed better on that for me too.

Like the little discussion of tweaks and apps, might come back and join in when I have time to think about it.