Official x300/x305 Owner's Lounge

There are several ways to boot into DOS. A quick search in Google will reveal the steps to do so, but I'll summarize some methods here.

(1) Bootable Floppy
This is by far the easiest method, but you need an external USB floppy drive to do this. If you have a drive, then you can simply use Windows Explorer to format the disk and select the option to create an MS-DOS Startup disk. At that point, just copy the files from the DMI tool onto the disk.

(2) Bootable CD
You make your own bootable CD and copy the Toshiba DMI tools onto it. One cool bootable CD is "http://www.hirensbootcd.net/". There are other methods of creating a CD, too. Probably easier for you to Google them and decide for yourself what way you'd want to go.

(3) Bootable USB Stick
This is the method I chose. You need to get ahold of MS-DOS startup files in order to do this as Windows will not automatically make a USB memory stick bootable when you format it. I believe the CD in (2) above contains a program to help format a USB stick for you. Otherwise, you can use a program like the "HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool" that will assist you. You still need to get ahold of MS-DOS files though. I don't think I'm allowed to attach any here due to license/legal issues (they are technically copyrighted material). What I did was use an old bootable floppy on my old computer and copy the files to the memory stick through the network. You could also download "bfd107.zip" to help you as well.

Regardless of the method used, when you reboot the laptop, press the F12 key to choose what drive to boot off. Once in DOS, you can run the DMI tool to write the appropriate strings to your EEPROM, including product name (i.e. Qosmio X305), part no/version (i.e. PQX32U-04N01N), and serial number (found on the bottom of your laptop, or on the box). I ran one command at a time, i.e. "DMI /WS serial number [ENTER]", "DMI /WP product name [ENTER]", etc. You generally don't have to recreate the UUID. Manufacturer is "TOSHIBA" (all caps), but that should not have been erased. If you have a refurbished laptop, I think for the part no/version, you're supposed to add a "B" after it, but don't quote me on it. I'm not sure.

Command:
Usage : DMI [/R] [/W] [/F] [/WM] [/WP] [/WV] [/WS] [/WU] [/?:H] [Write data]
[/R] : Read DMI string from BIOS"
[/F] : Read DMI string from BIOS to DMIINFO.TXT file.
[/W] : write DMI string to BIOS follow DMIINFO.TXT.
: If no DMIINFO.TXT file then key in yourself.
[/WM] [Manufacturer string] : write Manufacturer string to BIOS.
[/WP] [Product string] : write Product string to BIOS.
[/WV] [Version string] : write Version string to BIOS.
[/WS] [Serial Number] : write Serial Number to BIOS.
[/WU] [UUID] : write UUID to BIOS(only 32 digital(Hexdecimal) number)
[/?:H] : show usage information

 

Hi there,

I have an x305-q708, and I've just upgraded to Windows 7 x64. Nvidia drivers working fine under x64 Vista, but I did a clean install to 7, and just installed the drivers from the toshiba site. Found that I couldn't put it into 9800gts sli mode, stuck in 9400m mode. Switched to the nvidia drivers, and it runs like . Aero is slightly jerky. Tried dox's 182.46, still ty. Now trying nvidia 186.81, not sure if I've already tried it but giving it a go.

I uninstalled and cleaned the registry before all reinstallations, what might be going on? Apologies if this has already been solved, I couldn't find anything on it specifically.

edit: just tried the 186.81 drivers (which say they have been updated to work with my specific model), but it still runs like on aero. on basic it seems fine.

 

I noticed that my FN keys was not working under Windows7 so I rolled back to Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 and now everything is fine agian.

I will wait bit more for Windows7.

 

Yeah, I have the same problem... But rolling back to Vista just because of the fn keys isn't worth it imo. I'm still waiting for a working Win 7 VAP.

 

FN keys work fine for me in Windows 7. I just installed the Flash Cards utility from the Toshiba site. What doesn't work fully are the application/multimedia keys. Some work (Mute, Dolby, Red LED on/off, Media Player), but the webcam doesn't load the program (it works if I load it manually, though), and the stop/pause/ff/rw buttons. The stop/pause, etc DO work in Windows Media Player, just not in a different default player such as Winamp. Other than that, everything else works in Windows 7. Those of you having trouble installing the drivers and apps manually should download the Toshiba Update program from support.toshiba.com. It finds and downloads the missing files (although since I had them already installed, it just skipped those).

 

It is worth rolling back, I didin't notice a big diffrence with upgrading.

 

Well I suppose it's just a matter of opinions

Anyway, I benched my HDDs, and noticed my D: drive is a bit faster than my C: drive (84mb/s vs 78mb/s max).

Is this a normal condition or should they perform the same?

 

Can it be slowed down by your system since you have windows on C: ? (I guess)

 

That was what I thought as well. That's why I'm asking if anyone else has noticed this "issue". I don't really think one of my HDDs performs better than the other, since they're the same model

 

Hi everybody!
I'm having a Qosmio X305-Q701 and I was just wondering if anyone of you is playing Dragon Age:Origins and what is yours average FPS and temps!
I'm playing at stock with nvidia drivers 186.81 on high details with 4xAA @ 1440x900

Mine are avg FPS ~30 and temp @ 76~81

 

And another thing!
Did anyone install the beta drivers 195.xx from nvidia yet? If so write a line or 2. I intend to test them in the weekend!

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx

 

I'm playing DA: Origins as well.

I have 191.07 desktop drivers on. Average fps is 40 (30 being the minimum, 60 being the maximum with Vsync on) all maxed out, 8x AA @ 1680x1050.

The game gives me a lot of problems... Graphical artifacts, crashes etc. (it happens even at stock frequencies, so overclock is not the problem). This is probably caused by the constant 100% CPU usage bug under Windows 7. I'm still waiting for a patch that will allow me to play without any issue.

 

Dragon Age: Origins is a major CPU hog as of the moment. I think even after patching, it will be CPU resource intensive. Although the glitches/bugs should ideally be dealt with after the update.

Anyway, I have a question for you folks. Exile.90's already given me some solid insight into the X300/305 laptops. . . thanks, and rep! I need first-hand accounts from some QX9300 owners, running the 9800m GTS SLi configuration.

First off:
- Are there any hardware failures with the 9800m GTS SLi configuration? It's been a plague of sorts for us M1730 users. Lots of 8800/9800s dying out.

- What's the performance like in DX10-intensive games? How well does the machine perform in 3dMark06 and Vantage?

- Does using the QX9300 overclocked (extreme cpu), make the on-board fans run on full blast? What are the general temperatures when the machine is running witht he CPU at extreme overlcock?

Any info. would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you

About Dragon Age, the fact that it uses 100% of the CPU is a bug, as stated by people at Bioware. This causes many stability issues on most systems... After a decent patch is released, it shouldn't use more than 60% CPU.

I didn't hear of any hardware failure on x300-x305 series in this thread, nor I did in the Italian thread. Maybe other users may provide better info about this.

3DMark06 score for me is 13.200, and 3DMark Vantage scores 9100 (PhysX enabled) and 7200 (PhysX disabled). The QX9300 should score even higher

Keeping the CPU under high overclock doesn't make the fans run any faster than they do at stock frequencies, and temperatures (for me) are 30-33 at idle, and reach the maximum value of 50-55°C when running CPU intensive games. They are even lower when I use my notebook cooler, but I don't have it at hand so I can't check the exact temps...

 

Yeah, I've been reading through this thread, and I learnt that you guys have the locked multipliers, even for the Quad-Core extreme models?

I am running an M1730 at the moment, with an X9000 upgrade. I run the CPU at 3.4 GHz, and I use this setting to keep the GPU fans running at maximum, constantly. This has been a good cooling solution for me, and I get the benefits of a stable 3.4 GHz CPU. I am also able to overclock the 8800m SLi GPUs to a decent level. I can go upwards of 640/1600/940 for core, shader and memory, respectively. These settings do no burden my system at all, and the machine runs COOL. I don't need or require a cooler, but just a flat firm surface to rest the laptop.

What I am looking to gain from the Qosmio, is a similar performance range, with the added bonus of a Quad Core - it should be at least on par with my M1730 (overclocked), if not a little better with fewer SLi-bottlenecks thanks to the newer motherboard, faster RAM, and CPU. Naturally, I will have to do a modest overclock on the 9800m GTS to just match the 8800m GTX at stock, then I'll have to take it beyond that to make it match my 8800m GTX in its current overclocked state. I would like to know my limits in this area, and that is why I was wondering how things would play out if I were to overclock the QX9300 to a high level and the 9800m GTS to maybe something slightly higher than yours, Exile.90. I don't want to set the dandy machine on fire in the process.

 

The cooling system of the X300-X305 series is really outstanding, so you shouldn't worry about heat issues at all.

The 9800m gts can't go any higher than 700-720 core, at least on my system. Some games are also unstable at those frequencies... I use them mostly in benchmarks.

Also, I'm not able to overclock the GPU memory, since it would cause stability issues from what I've seen. That's why I keep it at default values, and only overclock core and shaders...

So, the chances to "set the machine on fire" are really low

 

That's very useful information, actually. So you are already peaking at your current clocks. I also gather that there aren't many upgrade prospects beyond the 9800m GTS, such as a potential 9800m GTX in SLi, or 260m GTX SLi. I know you guys get the single 9800m GTX, but I am in the market for a solid dual-card rig.

Edit:
An old friend of mine had one of these, and back then, he was running an X9100 (overclocked) with 9800m GTS SLi (overclocked). His benchmark scores were -really good-. I think he got an upgrade to the QX9300, but it hard to get a hold of him to find out more information. I know he did well with CPU-intensive games.

 

Umm I suppose the GPUs are upgradable even to 280m gtx sli. But that configuration would even need more than a QX9300 to run decently without being CPU limited...

 

Indeed, but confirmed knowledge that such upgrades are potentially available in the near-future would be great news!

I mean, with nvidia chipset, fast RAM and CPU, I'd say the system's almost competing against the latest Clevos and Alienwares, with the exception of the GPU.

Does the X300 use the traditional approach to SLI; that is, two separate cards with a cable? Or is this a single board with the two GPU cores?

 

single board with 2 gpu's

 

did you really forget about w7 just because of the fn keys?

my fn keys work fine, you just gotta play around with the drivers and it will work.

 

Why doesn't he want to have the x505? Better machine standard blu ray drive, core i7! One of the reasons why the machine is so popular and always sold out and cmon the price. The graphics card is descent enough.

 

Well, Freedom16, with all due respect, I had a heated argument in the Dell forums when I was bashing the general quality of the M1730 and Dell's attitude. Do you know what one of the marks was saying? "How can you say such things when everyone in my country is buying the M1730." Naturally, whether he was stating truth or not was utterly meaningless, because none of that disproved the staggering list of GPU failures in the M1730 laptops. Point being that while sales show me something, they're not absolute and final word, and one demographic's 'idea' is not always going to confer with my 'idea'.

People these days are in awe of the i7, and there is no doubt that it is the better machine amongst the up and coming competition. Hell, even I am intrigued. However, it's not of much use to me if I can't have a solid VGA solution with the laptop. I recommended an X500 to another ex-Dell user, and even then, we both took note of the limitations. If the hardware is going to be propriety, then I have to know that the company will offer better VGA solutions at a later point in time. As of right now, that i7 is driving a good GPU, but it ain't no SLi rid. If it were pushing even a 9800m GTS SLi, or better yet, a 9800m GTX SLi, I would pick the machine up.

As of right now, not my thing.

Sgilmore62,
You've got good 3dMark06 scores. Is your GPU running at stock clocks?

 

no, they were raised 100mhz across the board--those clocks shown on my futuremark score page are what the 9400m chip runs at stock, not sure why those clocks are shown. Ran 3dmark06 awhile ago and it shows 0 for clocks.

 

I think it is probably the software having a hard time understanding 'hybrid SLi'.

Even then, just 100 MHz across the board. That's a rather modest overclock, and you still score quite well.

Have you given GTA 4 a run?

 

Ok sorry if i offended you. So your about SLI, Well with the current Dispute with Intel and Nvidia no new SLI will be offered to any core i7 machines. Man it sucks. A friend of mine has a M1730 with 8700m GTS, he hardly uses it though. I own three dells, precision m6400, m1530, xps 1340 and now the x505 whenever i get it in the mail soon enough. Dell makes great machines from other manufactures but their service is getting bad, this is what happens when you outsource jobs. Only their business division is still good and have American support! Damn indians they have no compassion at times. I was thinking about getting the m1730 but after reading so many problems nope, but dell should at leasst update their BIOS, see what i hate about old machines with dell is that they just stop updating the bios of machines.

 

Oh, don't worry about the tone. I fully understood what you were saying, but didn't want to offend you by saying 'no' in short. You're clearly an X505 enthusiast, and with good reason. I too was very tempted when I saw the machine, but I need top-tier VGA. It's a shame too, because the powerful i7 would be the perfect force to drive an SLi configuration with minimum bottle-neck.

And you are spot-on about the BIOS and Dell's current state of affairs. Support has gone down the drain! I used to own another M1730 that died, and after almost half-a-year, and numerous levels of corporate-torture, I got a proper refund. I have another unit now, with warranty, but I am keeping it in shape with the x9000. If Dell won't release a BIOS that makes VGA fans kick into full blast earlier, then the extreme overclock is there to do the job.

This is why I was asking X300 users about the general state of affairs with their machines. However, from what I gather, they're generally free of GPU failures and other shoddy-hardware issues. So if I am convinced, and if a decent deal pops up, I might migrate to the X300 with a QX9300 and SLi, of course.

 

How much does sli VGA go down with gamming? In my opininon sli 9800GTX is the last true great Nvidia graphics card and i know i will get a lot of flack for it but on the consumer side it is true. I mainly game with quadro graphics they are great but it is time for sli quadro i can't wait for those. Gddr5 does have a lot of problems due to the memory bandwidth, one person had it for two days and then it died on them. Well if it happens i have a local toshiba authorized repair center. I got mine for only 1,400. Only thing that bothers me is that i wish Toshiba should of put LED in the 18.4 since acer's newest machine has one. Actually can i put the Acer LED 18.4 into the x505 that would be great since i will be watching my blu ray movies on there. My m1530's drive is failing need to get it fixed.

 

Also guys i would like to know can you put the xpress card slot xfi creative in your machine?

 

speakin of bios--dayum. that 1.70 i dl off the uk site was good--havent had any issues runnin intel burn or wprime at 311mhz. thinkin about 315.

 

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=12581374

low cpu score

 

hi guys
i have just bought and install a 128gb kingston ssd i decided to do a full reinstall of windows 7 because i had a lot of stuff i didnt want, any way now when i look at my wei scores the graphics has gone up to 6.6 (which is good) but my ram has gone from 6.2 to 5.8 and my ssd only has a score of 5.9 are there any drivers that i need to get something that i need to do after the reinstall to get the numbers up. plz help!!
i know that this was talked about before but there did really seem to be any answers for me as i have the intel mobo and with the ssd i havent done any thing with the drivers. thanks in advance
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1453/4gbram128gbssd.png

 

Were you in high performance mode when you ran the assessment or powersaver? As far as the SSD goes, it could any one or a number of things causing poor performance starting with it's JMicron controller.

 

Whats the best site to order cpus from besides ebay. Im after a fasters cpu, but have not found a site that has any in stock to ship to the uk

Edit: the reason i ask is im thinking about gettinga x9100 or t9900. I see that shirly has some new cpus in stock.

What is slb48,qjfl etc...

 

HP parts store UK is offering the QX9300 OEM for 353pounds the part # is 507946-001

http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/CountryChoice.aspx

 

many thanks. Did you get your w7 working

 

Yes, I have been using W7 since the RC came out. Got one of those free copies of Ultimate RTM through that houseparty deal.

 

Thats a sweet deal for that QX9300 and it is showing in stock on the UK site, better jump on it if you can.

 

i was in high performance mode so yeh im still not really sure why the drop. And with the SSD i dont think that is uses the JMicron controller even though its a cheaper one, i think it uses a Toshiba one as it is one of the v series Kingston SSD's. or is 5.9 sound about right for a disk that reads @100mb/s and writes @80mb/s, if it does sound right i guess i was just expecting better from an any SSD
bad ram score on an intel mobo is still strange though maybe wei is just a general idea and nothing to get worried about?

 

I'm interested in getting a SSD for my x300-157, but I have never had a SSD even on my desktops, so I'd like some advices here

Are high capacity SSDs (128gb +) reliable? Or should I just get a 60gb one?

I'm not looking for an extremely high end SSD (since they cost way too much), but a good bang for the buck would do

@sgilmore62: how well does your ocz summit perform?

Also, I'd like to upgrade my ram to 8 gigs. I know x300/x305s support 8 gigs, but can this be done by adding other 2 x 2gb sticks? Or should I get 2 x 4gb sticks?

 

no, theres only 2 memory slots. youd have to go with2x4gb, which is pretty expensive still

 

But the question is: Is it worth it?
I can only max my 4GB with GTA IV running in background

 

i got the 2.5' Kingston SSDNow V Series 128GB SSD
its good for what i do but i don't have much experience with SSD's but its definitely faster that's for sure
here is a review if your interested
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1005/13/

And sorry sgilmore my ssd does use the Jmicron controller but it seems that Kingston and Toshiba got there act together and put some good firmware together so Jmicron controller ain't so bad. (see the review above)

 

Umm if I want to upgrade my memory it's for a reason so it's worth it, for me.

I was looking for the "additional" 2 memory slots, but I couldn't see them. That's why I was asking Thank you for the reply ^_^

Thank you Your Kingston SSD performs much better than a normal HDD, and it's also kinda cheap. But I'm looking for performance over capacity tbh, so I'd like to see how smaller but faster SSDs perform


EDIT: also, will changing one of the hard drives with an SSD void my warranty?

 

The Summits with performance restoring firmware VBM18C1Q and later are strong performers in every area except 4k random writes. If you expect to hammer your drive with many sustained 4k random writes then get an Intel. The 120gb Summit would be the best bang for the buck.

 

Hey. Quick question.
if my Fan is making a noice similar to what a fridge sounds like whats most likely the cause?

i have really good insurance which covers practically everything on this so should i just send it in?

 

Hey!
I found this QX9300 CPU.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-OEM-Core2...52QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCPUs?hash=item19b725c794

ES or OEM ?
Seller is listed as TopSeller. What do you guys think ?
/His/Her feedback seems to bee 100% positive

BTW: Is there anyone out there who is interested in my T9600 ?

 

Cool, I'll try and see if I can find a decent price for a 120gb summit then

Anyway, will changing one of my hard drives with an SSD void my warranty? I'm really interested in this... So if anyone could reply that would be great.

 

No, replacing your HDD will not void your warranty as long as you put the original back in if you send it for warranty repair.

 

Alright, thank you very much for the info