sager 5760 clock

I was reading some reviews on the sager 5760 and it was said that the clock in the front bezel that displays an aray of info can only display time in military time aka 24 hour mod. There must be a way to change/mod/hack it so it displays normally aka 12 hour. It must be doable because the clock has to be controlled by a firmware or software of some sort. Anybody have any idea on this? I googled it but nothing came up.

 

This has been asked before, and the answer has been the same; you can't change it.

 

I have looked all around in the BIOS (which is probably where it could be changed) and there are no such options.

 

oh come on people, your just not looking hard enough, just wait till i get mine, if its programable then its changable.

 

It's most likely hard coded into a bios ROM... have fun voiding your warranty!

 

It's possible this could be fixed with a future BIOS update.

Speaking of which, I notice that Sager tells you to contact technical support before giving you access to BIOS updates. Why is this? Are they afraid that users will screw up and turn their laptop into a paperweight? Do I have to contact tech support everytime a new BIOS comes out and I want to upgrade?

 

What's BIOS anyway?

 

Yes, and yes.

You have to email [email protected] with your serial number to request a BIOS update.

 

The clock is controlled by the CMOS clock, so it stays in 24 hour mode.

Let us know if you can figure out a hack that works.

 

Basic Input/Output System, essentially its a program stored on a small amount of flash memory on the motherboard that controls the hardware. your OS generally makes requests to the BIOS which in turn talks to the hardware (though certain things go straight to hardware for optimization purposes, ie: video). if you have no operating system on your computer, all you have is a BIOS program (which can allow you to install an operating system). can't remember if the diagram has BIOS at level 1 or level 0 in terms of hardware control abstraction.
CMOS is different from the BIOS tho, but is sorta related. it stands for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor, but essentially its a type of integrated circuit. CMOS refers to the small amount of CMOS-memory on the motherboard that is powered by your motherboard battery to store the date, time, (which is why the front clock is tied to the CMOS) and certain info for starting up your bad boy.

if the front clock is tied straight to the CMOS, then its probably using some small circuitry to get the date and output it in that format, not going thru any memory. you'd probably have to change the circuit.

you could test this by completely erasing the BIOS and see if power is turned on, if the clock is still working. if so, the clock is hardwired. (note, I would not recommend this, and I'm certainly not gonna do it)

 

um alright i did some research on cmos chips in general and i found an example.

http://www.ricoh.com/LSI/product_rtc/3wire/5c317/index.html

and heres the data sheet on it

http://www.ricoh.com/LSI/product_rtc/3wire/5c317/5Cc317-e.pdf

Now thats a cmos chip, course its probably not the one used in the sager but if you look at page 11 of 34 you'll notice that the setting is stored in the chip in the form of either 12 bit or 24 bit.

 

um do you guys know which BIOS the 5760 uses?

Acer BIOS Post Codes
ALR BIOS Post Codes
AMIT/AMI BIOS Post Codes
Arche Legacy BIOS Post Codes
AST BIOS Post Codes
AT&T BIOS Post Codes
Award BIOS Post Codes
Chips & Technologies BIOS Post Codes
Compaq BIOS Post Codes
Dell BIOS Post Codes
DTK BIOS Post Codes
Eurosoft/Mylex BIOS Post Codes
Faraday A-Tease BIOS Post Codes
HP BIOS Post Codes
IBM BIOS Post Codes
Landmark BIOS Post Codes
Microid Research/Mr BIOS Post Codes
NCR BIOS Post Codes
Olivetti BIOS Post Codes
Phillips BIOS Post Codes
Phoenix BIOS Post Codes
Quadtel BIOS Post Codes
Supersoft BIOS Post Codes
Tandon BIOS Post Codes
Zenith BIOS Post Codes

Or whats the model of the motherboard?

CA810E
CC820
SE440BX-2
D810E2CB
D810EMO
D815BN
D815EEA
D815EPEA
D820LP
SE440BX
SR440BX
JN440BX
LB440GX/L440GX
N440BX/NA440BX
OR840
T440BX
RC440BX
VC820

 

It uses the Phoenix BIOS Post Codes, but it is a proprietary motherboard (as all laptop MBs are) so you won't find it on a desktop list.

 

oh haha good point thats a desktop list eh? um so from further research as long as you can access the CMOS chip's hex bit data, then you can change the time setting. I am still looking into that, but i feel iam close, i can almost taste it.

 

w00t

That would be great! You will make a lot of people happy.

 

ladys and gentleman i believe i have found how to do it!!

now dont get too excited yet, bc this requires a little programing knowledge.

This is a typical CMOS RAM memory map for an AT PC. Under a 128 byte ISA compatible CMOS, 16 bytes (00h-0fh) is the real time clock, 32 bytes (10h-2Fh) is the ISA configuration data, 16 bytes (30h-3Fh) is the BIOS specific configuration data and 64 bytes (40h-7Fh) is the ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data).


Offset Offset Field Function
Hex Dec size
00h 0 1 byte RTC seconds. Contains the seconds value of current time. (BCD Format)
01h 1 1 byte RTC seconds alarm. Contains the seconds value for the RTC alarm (BCD Format)
02h 2 1 byte RTC minutes. Contains the minutes value of the current time (BCD Format)
03h 3 1 byte RTC minutes alarm. Contains the minutes value for the RTC alarm ((BCD Format)
04h 4 1 byte RTC hours. Contains the hours value of the current time (BCD Format)
05h 5 1 byte RTC hours alarm. Contains the hours value for the RTC alarm (BCD Format)
06h 6 1 byte RTC day of week. Contains the current day of the week (1 .. 7, sunday=1)
07h 7 1 byte RTC date day. Contains day value of current date (BCD Format)
08h 8 1 byte RTC date month. Contains the month value of current date (BCD Format)
09h 9 1 byte RTC date year. Contains the year value of current date (BCD Format)
0Ah 10 1 byte Status Register A
Bit 7 = Update in progress
(0 = Date and time can be read,
1 = Time update in progress)
Bits 6-4 = Time frequency divider (010 = 32.768KHz)
Bits 3-0 = Rate selection frequency
(0110 = 1.024KHz square wave frequency)

0Bh 11 1 byte Status Register B
Bit 7 = Clock update cycle
(0 = Update normally, 1 = Abort update in progress)
Bit 6 = Periodic interrupt
(0 = Disable interrupt (default), 1 = Enable interrupt)
Bit 5 = Alarm interrupt
(0 = Disable interrupt (default), 1 = Enable interrupt)
Bit 4 = Update ended interrupt
(0 = Disable interrupt (default), 1 = Enable interrupt)
Bit 3 = Status register A square wave frequency
(0 = Disable square wave (default), 1 = Enable square wave)
Bit 2 = 24 hour clock
(0 = 24 hour mode (default), 1 = 12 hour mode)
Bit 1 = Daylight savings time
(0 = Disable daylight savings (default),
1 = Enable daylight savings)

0Ch 12 1 byte Status Register C - Read only flags indicating system
status conditions
Bit 7 = IRQF flag
Bit 6 = PF flag
Bit 5 = AF flag
Bit 4 = UF flag
Bits 3-0 = Reserved

0Dh 13 1 byte Status Register D - Valid CMOS RAM flag on bit 7
(battery condition flag)
Bit 7 = Valid CMOS RAM flag
(0 = CMOS battery dead, 1 = CMOS battery power good)
Bit 6-0 = Reserved

0Eh 14 1 byte Diagnostic Status
Bit 7 = Real time clock power status
(0 = CMOS has not lost power, 1 = CMOS has lost power)
Bit 6 = CMOS checksum status
(0 = Checksum is good, 1 = Checksum is bad)
Bit 5 = POST configuration information status
(0 = Configuration information is valid,
1 = Configuration information in invalid)
Bit 4 = Memory size compare during POST
(0 = POST memory equals configuration,
1 = POST memory not equal to configuration)
Bit 3 = Fixed disk/adapter initialization
(0 = Initialization good, 1 = Initialization bad)
Bit 2 = CMOS time status indicator
(0 = Time is valid, 1 = Time is invalid)
Bit 1-0 = Reserved

0Fh 15 1 byte CMOS Shutdown Status
00h = Power on or soft reset
01h = Memory size pass
02h = Memory test pass
03h = Memory test fail
04h = POST complete; boot system
05h = JMP double word pointer with EOI
06h = Protected mode tests pass
07h = protected mode tests fail
08h = Memory size fail
09h = Int 15h block move
0Ah = JMP double word pointer without EOI
0Bh = Used by 80386

10h 16 1 byte Floppy Disk Drive Types
Bits 7-4 = Drive 0 type
Bits 3-0 = Drive 1 type
0000 = None
0001 = 360KB
0010 = 1.2MB
0011 = 720KB
0100 = 1.44MB

11h 17 1 byte System Configuration Settings
Bit 7 = Mouse support disable/enable
Bit 6 = Memory test above 1MB disable/enable
Bit 5 = Memory test tick sound disable/enable
Bit 4 = Memory parity error check disable/enable
Bit 3 = Setup utility trigger display disable/enable
Bit 2 = Hard disk type 47 RAM area
(0:300h or upper 1KB of DOS area)
Bit 1 = Wait for <F1> if any error message disable/enable
Bit 0 = System boot up with Numlock (off/on)

12h 18 1 byte Hard Disk Types
Bits 7-4 = Hard disk 0 type
Bits 3-0 = Hard disk 1 type
0000 = No drive installed
0001 = Type 1 installed
1110 = Type 14 installed
1111 = Type 16-47 (defined later in 19h)

13h 19 1 byte Typematic Parameters
Bit 7 = typematic rate programming disable/enabled
Bit 6-5 = typematic rate delay
Bit 4-2 = Typematic rate

14h 20 1 byte Installed Equipment
Bits 7-6 = Number of floppy disks
(00 = 1 floppy disk, 01 = 2 floppy disks)
Bits 5-4 = Primary display
(00 = Use display adapter BIOS, 01 = CGA 40 column,
10 = CGA 80 column, 11 = Monochrome Display Adapter)
Bit 3 = Display adapter installed/not installed
Bit 2 = Keyboard installed/not installed
Bit 1 = math coprocessor installed/not installed
Bit 0 = Always set to 1

15h 21 1 byte Base Memory Low Order Byte - Least significant byte
16h 22 1 byte Base Memory High Order Byte - Most significant byte
17h 23 1 byte Extended Memory Low Order Byte - Least significant byte
18h 24 1 byte Extended Memory High Order Byte - Most significant byte

19h 25 1 byte Hard Disk 0 Extended Type -
(10h to 2Eh = Type 16 to 46 respectively)
1Ah 26 1 byte Hard Disk 1 Extended Type -
(10h to 2Eh = Type 16 to 46 respectively)
1Bh 27 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Number of cylinders least significant byte
1Ch 28 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Number of cylinders most significant byte
1Dh 29 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Number of heads
1Eh 30 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Write precomp cylinder least significant byte
1Fh 31 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Write precomp cylinder most significant byte
20h 32 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Control byte
21h 33 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Landing zone least significant byte
22h 34 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Landing zone most significant byte
23h 35 1 byte User Defined Drive C:
Number of sectors

24h 36 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Number of cylinders least significant byte
25h 37 1 byte User defined Drive D:
Number of cylinders most significant byte
26h 38 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Number of heads
27h 39 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Write precomp cylinder least significant byte
28h 40 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Write precomp cylinder most significant byte
29h 41 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Control byte
2Ah 42 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Landing zone least significant byte
2Bh 43 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Landing zone most significant byte
2Ch 44 1 byte User Defined Drive D:
Number of sectors

2Dh 45 1 byte System Operational Flags
Bit 7 = Weitek processor present/absent
Bit 6 = Floppy drive seek at boot enable/disable
Bit 5 = System boot sequence
Bit 4 = System boot CPU speed high/low
Bit 3 = External cache enable/disable
Bit 2 = Internal cache enable/disable
Bit 1 = Fast gate A20 operation enable/disable
Bit 0 = Turbo switch function enable/disable

2Eh 46 1 byte CMOS Checksum High Order Byte - Most significant byte
2Fh 47 1 byte CMOS Checksum Low Order Byte - Least significant byte

30h 48 1 byte Actual Extended Memory Low Order Byte
Least significant byte
31h 49 1 byte Actual Extended Memory High Order Byte
Most significant byte
32h 50 1 byte Century Date BCD - Value for century of current date
33h 51 1 byte POST Information Flags
Bit 7 = BIOS length (64KB/128KB)
Bit 6-1 = reserved
Bit 0 = POST cache test passed/failed

34h 52 1 byte BIOS and Shadow Option Flags
Bit 7 = Boot sector virus protection disabled/enabled
Bit 6 = Password checking option disabled/enabled
Bit 5 = Adapter ROM shadow C800h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 4 = Adapter ROM shadow CC00h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 3 = Adapter ROM shadow D000h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 2 = Adapter ROM shadow D400h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 1 = Adapter ROM shadow D800h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 0 = Adapter ROM shadow DC00h (16KB) disabled/enabled

35h 53 1 byte BIOS and Shadow Option Flags
Bit 7 = Adapter ROM shadow E000h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 6 = Adapter ROM shadow E400h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 5 = Adapter ROM shadow E800h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 4 = Adapter ROM shadow EC00h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 3 = System ROM shadow F000h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 2 = Video ROM shadow C000h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 1 = Video ROM shadow C400h (16KB) disabled/enabled
Bit 0 = Numeric processor test disabled/enabled

36h 54 1 byte Chipset Specific Information

37h 55 1 byte Password Seed and Color Option
Bit 7-4 = Password seed (do not change)
Bit 3-0 = Setup screen color palette
07h = White on black
70h = Black on white
17h = White on blue
20h = Black on green
30h = Black on turquoise
47h = White on red
57h = White on magenta
60h = Black on brown

38h-3d 56-61 6 byte Encrypted Password - (do not change)
3Eh 62 1 byte Extended CMOS Checksum - Most significant byte
3Fh 63 1 byte Extended CMOS Checksum - Least significant byte
40h 64 1 byte Model Number Byte
41h 65 1 byte 1st Serial Number Byte
42h 66 1 byte 2nd Serial Number Byte
43h 67 1 byte 3rd Serial Number Byte
44h 68 1 byte 4th Serial Number Byte
45h 69 1 byte 5th Serial Number Byte
46h 70 1 byte 6th Serial Number Byte
47h 71 1 byte CRC Byte
48h 72 1 byte Century Byte
49h 73 1 byte Date Alarm
4Ah 74 1 byte Extended Control Register 4A
4Bh 75 1 byte Extended Control register 4B
4Ch 76 1 byte Reserved
4Dh 77 1 byte Reserved
4Eh 78 1 byte Real Time Clock - Address 2
4Fh 79 1 byte Real Time Clock - Address 3
50h 80 1 byte Extended RAM Address - Least significant byte
51h 81 1 byte Extended RAM Address - Most significant byte
52h 82 1 byte Reserved
53h 83 1 byte Extended RAM Data Port
54h 84 1 byte Reserved
55h 85 1 byte Reserved
56h 86 1 byte Reserved
57h 87 1 byte Reserved
58h 88 1 byte Reserved
59h 89 1 byte Reserved
5Ah 90 1 byte Reserved
5Bh 91 1 byte Reserved
5Ch 92 1 byte Reserved
5Dh 93 1 byte Reserved




As you can see all we have to do is edit the hex offseet 0Bh or dec offset 11 in Bit 2 = 24 hour clock (0 = 24 hour mode (default), 1 = 12 hour mode) and set it to 1 instead of 0

The CMOS is actually out of range of normal address range and cannot be directly reached. It is accessed through IN and OUT commands which are used at ports 70h and 71h.

Because of the construction of the port 70, the CMOS RAM has an upper limit of 128 bytes. This is because only 7 bits i.e. bits 0-6 are used for addressing and the last bit i.e. bit 7 is used for Enabling or Disabling Non Maskable Interrupts (NMI), bit 7=0 Enable NMI, bit 7=1 Disable NMI

To access CMOS RAM, the index address (0 to 7F H) is output to port 70H, and the data is then read or written at port 71 H. Interrupts should be inhibited while the entire port 70 H /71 H sequence is completed. Alternatively, the port sequence can occur during an interrupt service routine before re-enabling interrupts. If these precautions are not observed, an interrupt service routine could potentially intervene between the output to port 70 H and the subsequent I/O to port 71 H, overwriting the port 70 H value.


What all this means is a little programing/code writing and we are good. Ill get on that as soon as i figure out proper c coding!

 

That's all well and good... but;

How do you know the CMOS in the 5760 matches this? last time i checked, the 5760 isn't an AT pc. And given that motherboards in laptops are all proprietary designs, you have no idea if those addresses match between your chart and the 5760 chip.
The only way you would know how the addressing is set up in the 5760 is to open it up and do a dump from the actual CMOS on the board. IF you could find the correct interfaces, and IF you know the command to cause it to dump and IF you can wire it up to actually output to a device that can read it, provided you even have such a device...

Not trying to rain on your parade, but it sounds like you're going to try and build a program based on what you found. When you don't even know if it matches what you have.
Unless you can find an actual circuit and logic map of the cmos chip in the 5760, you're just guessing.
And the likelyhood of writing something in C that will do this is almost none. ROMs aren't programmed in C... If anything it would be in assembly. And even that may be too high of a prgramming language. Heck, if it's a solid state chip, then the addresses and functions could be HARD stamped into the circuit paths, which means you couldn't change them even if you find them.

Start throwing wrong commands through incorrect interfaces and you're headed for a $2200+ paperweight.

 

alright i give up, well at least for now. I have gotten it to kinda work on my desktop. I found the bit, wrote it over and it works. But i dont know for some reason or another that the cmos seems to clear my changes everytime i restart my computer. Um btw ended up using dos programs. lol

 

darn. good work anyway!