NP9377 Vbios Update + DisplayPort Issues

Is there an updated Vbios for the 980m cards that ship with the NP9377?

I ask because I have issues connecting my Sager to my new Acer gsync monitor and based on my research the Vbios in older versions is the source of some of these issues.

Basically when I connect the monitor to the thunderbolt port everything just goes black. No signal to the monitor. I use the same monitor with a different laptop, same port, same cable and it's fine. Apparently this is separate from the driver updates.

Any advice?

 

Bump

 

Have you contacted your reseller for help on this? They should be able to source the latest files for you.

 

Not a lot of other users that have a thunderbolt monitor to check, at least for a quick answer. Hopefully someone comes along that has one.

 

I haven't yet no, I wasn't even sure if there was such a thing as this is a bit new to me.

 

Most resellers won't give you those files because you can soft brick your machine with a bad flash, maybe @Prema has a newer version of the stock vbios, its worth asking him.

 

Thanks I thought about that but this whole Vbios stuff is a bit new to me. This is totally separate from the latest nvidia drivers right? Do those drivers matter?

Premas site was very clear about making sure to pair thing together but it was s little confusing to me. If it matters, it's two 980m cards and LPC was the original reseller (I'm the second owner of the machine),

The issue may not even be Vbios related / that's jut based on what I saw in the nvidia forums. I will say this is the second external monitor I've tried to connect via the thunderbolt port with the exact same issue so it definitely seems to be s computer not monitor issue. The first was a Benq, this the new Acer.

 

Nm

 

Sager confirms there is NO Vbios update for this model, the NP9377, for any NVIDIA card. Sorry.

 

Ok thanks for checking Larry, appreciate it.

 

As a continuation of this and to really break this down:

From a hardware standpoint I have not read anything that would prevent this laptop from running a Monitor - even a 1440p one with gsync built in - from a hardware standpoint. Everything I have read seems to support that the Thunderbolt port is capable of doing it so the only conclusion I can see here is that it is a software issue in some form. Something isn't playing together nicely and having tried two monitors from different manufacturers the conclusion I reach is that it is either all laptops of this model or my own. I hope some sort of fix comes out for this - I really want to take advantage of this machines capabilities.

 

I wonder if the thunderbolt port can't support that monitor. Did you check to see if there are updated thunderbolt drivers? Also I read that the thunderbolt port is not hot pluggable in the 9377. Try plugging in the monitor with the machine powered off and turn it on if you have been just plugging in the monitor.

Last resort would be to try the modded vbios by Prema but just be aware that the risk of doing so is that you can void your warranty.

 

The version of the TB does support up to 4k, it's still TB1 but supports DP1.4.

 

Intel says that TB1 only supports 1.1a though?

It's in the brief here on the second to last page - http://www.intel.com/content/dam/doc/technology-brief/thunderbolt-technology-brief.pdf

 

The original chipset did, clevo are using the revised version which added DP1.2 (sorry not 1.4 I was thinking HDMI revisions). A quote from anandtech:

If you look at the service manual it shows a redwood ridge part on the SM series at least.

 

What do they mean by that? Seems confusing. If the chip supports displayport 1.2 though this monitor should work. I'm kind of stumped.

 

Have you tried a different lower spec monitor on that port on the notebook? Maybe your specific motherboard has an issue.

 

What's your systems BIOS, its EC and vBIOS version?
(BIOS & EC in F2 BIOS menu/ vBIOS in GPU-Z)

 

Good to see you around Prema

 

System Bios: 1.03..04LS1
KBC/EC Firmware Revision: 1.03.05
VBIOS Revision: 84.04.22.00.12
VBIOS Build Date: 09/05/14

All of the above I took from the main Bios (F2).

 

Update your BIOS and EC to version 7:

https://biosmods.wordpress.com/stock/

(NP9377 = P377SM-A)

If that doesn't help PM me for even newer versions...

 

Appreciate your help - just to be clear this is the specific file you are referencing - not the 980m link at the top? Pretty sure but just wanted to make sure before I start. Thanks.

———————————————————————
P377SM-A BIOS 307 EC 307: Mirror I / Mirror II
MD5: b75e11f015fb2b37d6b812889da6f0e7
—————————————

 

Yes indeed.. the 980M is vBIOS file link...

 

Ok, and I assume the main bios one first then the 980m one second? Sorry for all the questions - never done this before and am scared of bricking my machine.

 

Ignore the VBIOS... You have to flash the latest Bios and EC.. The EC is like a engine controller.. Follow the video on the top page and flash each accordingly..

 

Ok and for Uefi boot I want to disable this if I'm reading correctly? Same with network stack, IPV4 and IPV6 support? Think that is referenced readme file just not sure if same thing

 

Ok now I have a question... if I'm in the middle of a BIOS flash and I lose power to the AC adapter (blackout) would it complete on battery? Or would it corrupt the process?

 

if your worried about having a blackout as I suppose you my have often as you have said you live in a 3rd world country, I guess you could try doing it by using the battery as for your question exactly I don't really know the answer if it would just continue or if it would mess up or what...gl

 

Yes the battery can keep the machine going, this is why many bios flashing tools require a certain battery percentage so it has more than enough to finish the process if AC is cut.

 

Any thoughts on this? I'm afraid of proceeding till I know for sure.

 

Just disable UEFI boot and select your USB drive from the boot menu. You can't really mess that part up, you can't boot a DOS environment with EFI on.

 

Ok thanks. Will take a look. Just kinda odd to me that a tiny Thinkpad I tried is plug and play with the monitor with zero work, yet this Sager requires all this work.

 

Yeah I hear you. I don't have an explanation at all, I've never used my TB port. Hopefully you get it working.

 

Thunderbolt is apple tech.

Now you understand why it causes so many problems in windows environments.

 

Isn't it Intel tech???

 

I don't know. I just know Apple uses it almost all the time.

 

Not sure but I do know the monitor is literally plug and play on a basic entry level Thinkpad with integrated Intel GPU. But struggles on the Sager with two modern Nvidia cards.

 

The number of cards does not help with the display capabilities since all are routed to the primary card.

I'm still wondering if maybe your DP port is not working due to being physically not quite right. So if you can test it on a lower spec display to check that would help rule that out.

 

Just a follow up on this. Ended up returning the monitor. Will wait for the day I can upgrade the laptop screen itself. Bummer.

 

An upgrade would require the eDP cable and a compatible display, it's not guaranteed there will be a good option.

 

It was originally developed by Intel under a different name. Apple co-developed the copper based version of it and trademarked the technology as Thunderbolt. The intellectual property still belongs to Intel though.

 

Yes the original idea was to make it optical for data and copper for power but the costs of that are obviously a lot higher.

 

Sorry but it maybe obvious to you but not to me lol, why would it obviously cost more ? because it uses copper? lots of parts/wires use copper that doesn't necessarily increase the price tremendously. thanks, love learning new things on here everyday from you guys so thanks

 

Making the cables also carry optical data requires optical encode and decode at all points and the use of high quality optical cables. They are copper now, it's adding in the optical as well that drives up costs.

 

Thanks Meaker I don't really know what all that is lol but it does help me understand why it would cost more

 

Well to use light to transmit data you need a special chip that takes the electrical signal and encodes it into light which it then pulses down to the other end of the cable, the other end also needs a chip that decodes that and turns it back into an electrical signal.

 

Okay wow thanks I understand now....pretty neat....I heard they got fiber optics out of the Roswell crash in new mexico lol who knows

 

Lol, well IBM and Intel have demonstrated some hybrid chips that can produce light from the processing die (using a mix of materials) so hopefully in a few years time it will be light buses on boards.