How to Enable Intel VT on a Montevina SR,FW,AW Vaio laptop with AMI Aptio BIOS

I used Win98 DOS boot from Flash Drive.

I dont think there was HIMEN.SYS/EMM386.EXE loaded as I dont find AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS

I tried pretend mode first and then use VTPATCH to patch and flash.
I got no error nor problem. All went well straight away.

 

Glad to hear that!

Win98 DOS (safe¹) boot is what I have used as well -- it seems that it is the most reliable way.

¹-no memory managers

 

First of all, thank you so much for your hard work, levicki! I've been wanting VT on my laptop for months!

I encountered a problem similar to daigoro's, after the third flash phase the flasher just quit and said something like "command can't be started." Fortunately, my laptop booted just fine, and VT was enabled.

This was on a FW290 with BIOS R1091Y0. I was also using Win 98 DOS on bootable USB - specifically the one found here:
http://www.dashken.net/index.php?/a...-DOS-Bootable-USB-Key-All-in-One-Package.html

Hope that helps, and once again, thanks!

 

You are welcome. This is my way to shove it to Sony for making it so convoluted to actually use everything you paid for.

Please answer some questions if you don't mind:

1. Can you tell me in more details what was the message text?
2. Has VTPATCH exited or crashed with a register dump?
3. Has AFUDOS mentioned "verification ok" or something similar?
4. Was it perhaps referring to COMMAND.COM?
5. Which version of USBDOS files you used -- internal or external Win98?

I have just noticed that internal files have HIMEM and EMM386 in there and I would really like to get to the bottom of this problem so I can make my patch even safer to use.

 

I have just sucessfully patched my bios, Vaio FW290 Bios R1090Y0.

Using a Kingston 4GB USB drive formatted by the HP utility using Win98 DOS files (just msdos.sys, io.sys and command.com).

Booted to a C:\ prompt, ran VTPATCH.EXE from C:\VTPATCH\

After AFUDOS finishes the final (3rd) Verification and says OK, there is an error message that looks like it comes from the DOS extender, it says something about switching back to real mode [16-bit] then something like "Command failed, system halted"

After that, pulled the power and the battery, restart, happy to see the VAIO logo, reloaded Default Settings in bios, reboot into Vista x64, everything seems to be fine.

(BTW I did not uninstall Sony utilities, is this part of the instructions left over from an older version that used AFUWIN?)

 

Looks like t-bon3 was in the same situation as me.

I also used the same thee files for Win98 DOS: msdos.sys, io.sys and command.com

As for Sony utilities, I uninstalled that, so that can't be the problem.

The exact error message goes:
---
Erasing ECBlock...done
Writing ECBlock...done
Verifying ECBlock...done
DOS/16M error: [0] involuntary switch to real mode
DOS/16M error: [0] involuntary switch to real mode

Memory allocation error
Cannot load COMMAND, system halted
---
After this, the system doesn't respond

 

Aha!

So the problem is due to a conflict between the AFUDOS flash utility and the DOS4GW extender.

What I wanted to know (and you two have now told me) is that the flashing completes successfully:

Code:

Verifying ECBlock...done

ECBlock stands for Embedded Controller block (that is the /E switch in /P /B /N /E options string passed to AFUDOS.EXE).

It means that the flashing process has completed successfully, and only upon return from AFUDOS.EXE to my program DOS4GW extender notices that the AFUDOS has returned the system from protected to real mode (which it had to do) and hangs.

So, even though this error some of you have experienced was completely benign in nature, I have decided to try to improve the overall safety -- I have now updated the patcher to exclude the final call to AFUDOS.EXE.

Furthermore, I have enclosed a PATCH.BAT file which should be executed instead of VTPATCH.EXE. That batch file calls VTPATCH.EXE and depending on the error code returned decides whether to run AFUDOS.EXE to flash the BIOS or not. I hope I got it right. If in doubt, you can always run everything manually.

README.TXT has also been updated, make sure to read it first.

Of course, if you have already used the old patcher and your VT works, you don't need to apply the patch again.

@t-bon3:
The Sony Utilities removal part is only relevant if you want to apply the official BIOS update from Sony in case there is one for your notebook model. It is not neccessary though (at least Sony doesn't say so), but in my opinion better safe than sorry.

 

Oh, I see, I also got that error.

But I didn't assume that as serious problem because after all everything has done patching (ECBlock have been written and verified).

I even though it was what we should expect to see at the end of patching.

 

Hey guys! I am shocked with awe about what you accomplished, levicki! Really, and I mean *really* impressive!

My FW21E has the same BIOS version (R1090Y0) as models mentioned above, but I am not sure whether the same *version* means the exact same file. Anyone know that? If all the R1091Y0's are the same file, that would prove patching that BIOS is working...

(Sorry for asking and being scared, but the nearest Sony Service Center is over 200 km away in another country! ;-))

 

Well the file might as well be the same, but instead of having to build and maintain the collection of patched BIOS files for each model/version, and risking that someone flashes the wrong one I have decided that it was easier to write a tool so that everyone can work with their own BIOS to minimize the chance of screwing up.

I believe that the patch itself (as opposed to the flashing process) is nearly 100% safe -- if the patcher doesn't find the proper byte sequence to patch it will abort, it won't just blindly change some random bytes. It is a hunter patcher because the patch location isn't constant.

I understand your fear, but can you imagine my fear back when I started experimenting with it? I am ~12,000 km away from the place of purchase where I have the warranty.

 

Levicki, you are da man!

I noticed a couple of 'command not found's during the run of the BAT file. I saw them right after the last confirmation question.

You took out the error nicely, btw, but now there is no indication anymore on when the flashing process is done. Luckily someone mentioned the "Verifying ECBlock... done" means the flash is done

I'm really grateful you fixed this, dude. You did a great job reverse engineering this.

So, to make a long story short: works on a FW21E with R1090Y0! Yay!

 

Funny, it should say "Flashing successfull:".

Well if someone can find an error in this batch file:

Code:

@echo off
VTPATCH.EXE
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 (
	ECHO Something has gone wrong while preparing the
        ECHO patch or the user has aborted the process.
	ECHO Flashing has been skipped.
) ELSE (
	IF EXIST VTPATCH.ROM (
		AFUDOS.EXE VTPATCH.ROM /P /B /N /E
		IF ERRORLEVEL 1 (
			ECHO BIOS FLASHING FAILED -- DO NOT POWER OFF!!!
			ECHO Try to reflash manually by typing:
			ECHO AFUDOS ORIGINAL.ROM /P /B /N /E
		) ELSE (
			ECHO Flashing successfull:
			ECHO - Disconnect the AC adapter
			ECHO - Remove notebook battery for a few seconds
			ECHO - Put the battery back in, and power on the notebook
			ECHO Good luck!
		)
	) ELSE (
		ECHO VTPATCH.ROM is missing. Cannot flash.
	)
)

Feel free to fix it for me because I am really tired right now -- I will gladly update the archive on my website.

Btw, the flash is done when the batch file exits and you get a DOS prompt back with one of the above messages printed on the screen.

 

I used vtpatch from Win98SE command prompt, and confirm that R2050Y0 and R1090Y0 can be successfully patched! Levicki, you're THE MAN!!! A kick-@ss job well-done, and on top of that you went the extra trouble of minimizing the chance of of us bricking, that's beyond nice.

A simple thank-you can not express my gratitude enough. So I debug your batch file.

There is nothing wrong with the code in XP and Vista, but the syntax is not supported in Win98 dos. The following will work as you intended:

Code:

@echo off
VTPATCH.EXE
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO VTPATCHERROR
IF EXIST VTPATCH.ROM GOTO ROMFOUND
GOTO THEEND

:ROMFOUND
AFUDOS.EXE VTPATCH.ROM /P /B /N /E
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO FLASHFAILED
ECHO Flashing successfull:
ECHO - Disconnect the AC adapter
ECHO - Remove notebook battery for a few seconds
ECHO - Put the battery back in, and power on the notebook
ECHO Good luck!
GOTO THEEND

:ROMNOTFOUND
ECHO VTPATCH.ROM is missing. Cannot flash.
GOTO THEEND

:VTPATCHERROR
ECHO Something has gone wrong while preparing the
ECHO patch or the user has aborted the process.
ECHO Flashing has been skipped.
GOTO THEEND

:FLASHFAILED
ECHO BIOS FLASHING FAILED -- DO NOT POWER OFF!!!
ECHO Try to reflash manually by typing:
ECHO AFUDOS ORIGINAL.ROM /P /B /N /E
GOTO THEEND

:THEEND

 

Just updated a VGN-SR11M R0300Y1 using pkuok's adapted batch and VPATCH v1.1.
Absolutely perfect: VT enabled on both cores (tested with VMware's vt.iso).
Thanks again.

 

Ok, I haven't tested in Win98 DOS so that is the reason why it didn't work the first time through. Thank you for reminding me of the syntax. But now you have a bug in the script (hint: what happens if the ROM is not found?)

This one should work properly:

Code:

@ECHO OFF
VTPATCH.EXE
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO VTPATCHERROR
IF EXIST VTPATCH.ROM GOTO ROMFOUND
ECHO VTPATCH.ROM is missing. Cannot flash.
GOTO THEEND

:VTPATCHERROR
ECHO Something has gone wrong while preparing the
ECHO patch or the user has aborted the process.
ECHO Flashing has been skipped.
GOTO THEEND

:ROMFOUND
AFUDOS.EXE VTPATCH.ROM /P /B /N /E
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO FLASHFAILED
ECHO Flashing successfull:
ECHO - Disconnect the AC adapter
ECHO - Remove notebook battery for a few seconds
ECHO - Put the battery back in, and power on the notebook
ECHO Good luck!
GOTO THEEND

:FLASHFAILED
ECHO BIOS FLASHING FAILED -- DO NOT POWER OFF!!!
ECHO Try to reflash manually by typing:
ECHO AFUDOS ORIGINAL.ROM /P /B /N /E

:THEEND

I have included this in the archive.

 

Now that this patch is confirmed working on several machines can a Moderator, or the OP, update the 1st post of this thread, so that people can find the download for the patcher on Levicki's site?

http://www.levicki.net/downloads/downloads.php

@Levicki
Maybe you could add a link to this thread and patcher in your sig?

 

I added the link to first page and pointed out that discussion about the fix starts from about page 5 onwards.
It seems like it is just a few Vaio notebooks now that cannot get the VT going on their laptops.

 

You cannot link directly to the downloads page, it won't work due to restriction I put there intentionally (has to do with sessions and php). Link to the website instead and tell people to go to Downloads section.

I would also like you to include the notice that people should not mirror the archive elsewhere. If I need to update the patch they will have the stale version and I can't bother finding all the mirrors and notifying them.

Finally, if you guys really appreciate what I did, you can PM me and I will give you my postal address so you can send me whatever you consider as an appropriate reward for solving your problem. Remember, it doesn't have to be money, nor you should feel obligated to do it -- it can be a simple postcard, or some small gadget you think I might want to have. I hope this won't come across as begging, because I am not that poor -- lets just say that I am simply curious to see how much my effort is worth to you.

Cheers and thanks for your support.

 

Nice work Igor!

I tried your patch on a Sony Vaio VGN-Z11, it didn't work due to an unexpected ROM size:

Code:

VTPATCH 1.1 (C) 2009 by Igor Levicki. All Rights Reserved.

Checking for required hardware and features...

CPUID instruction : supported
CPU made by Intel : yes
      RDMSR/WRMSR : supported
            CPUID : 06 17 6
         CPU type : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     P8600  @ 2.40GHz
         Intel VT : supported, disabled, locked
     SMBIOS Entry : 0x000FE120
   SMBIOS Version : 2.4
        DMI Table : 0x000E8350

ERROR : Unsupported flash ROM size (1572864 bytes).

Any help is appreciated (I'd really would like to have VT enabled).

Thank you,
Kai.

 

Read this post and the following posts:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4586811&postcount=93

Also I stated several times -- this patch is only for AMI Aptio BIOS.

I do not intend to make a patch for InsydeH2O BIOS.

 

Another success story for Sony Vaio VGN-FW140E. I bought this for really cheap at best buy and I almost returned it because it didn't have VT-x enabled until I found Levicki's patch so I decided to give it a try. I used ubcd 4.1.1 ( http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) inside that there is a FreeDOS option. Went there and I noticed that EMM386 got loaded but I decided to give it a try anyways. I copied the patch in a CD and replaced ubcd CD for the patch CD. Copied the patch contents to a RAM disk ubcd created and run the patch.bat.

After all the questions I got this:
--
All done, now exiting VTPATCH.EXE to proceed with flashing...

Something has gone wrong while preparing the patch or the user has
aborted the process.
Flashing has been skipped.
Bad command or filename -")"
Bad command or filename -"("

--
...After I saw that I freaked out... but the patch continued:

Reading file... done.
....
until it got to
ECBlock... done.

After that without saying anything my computer hanged... and me inside was saying CRAP!!!!

Anyways... 10 minutes later I removed the battery, put it back and rebooted. Sony Vaio logo showed up so I knew everything was going to be fine... and here I am typing from a Linux virtual machine inside Windows... VTx extensions enabled. GOOD STUFF!!!

Thanks Levicki!!!

 

Levicki,

Any chance that we might be able to get a similar patching facility for some of the other Vaio's? Specifically the FZ series which have a Phoenix Bios?

Gary

 

Phoenix BIOS doesn't need patching. Use SYMCMOS to dump NVRAM variables, then trial and error to find the right variable to change from 0 to 1 and upload them back using SYMCMOS again.

I have seen that someone has been trying to automate the process of searching for the right NVRAM variable but it seems they gave up. Finding proper variable requires either trial and error (which may be risky sometimes) or disassembling the bios and reading the code to see which one gets checked before VT is configured.

Automating any of those two approaches is next to impossible.

First method may cause laptop to hang or reboot so you have to take out the CMOS battery (which means disassembling the laptop) meaning that it isn't automated anymore.

Second method may be doable but requires dumping a BIOS, searching for the code sequence inside of it, and then dumping and changing variables accordingly.

Since I don't have a laptop with Phoenix BIOS I cannot develop and test such a patch and I also lack proper motivation to do it.

 

Good job Igor!

 

Thanks Master, without your support I would have never tried to flash the BIOS and dared to try my own patch!

 

Thanks a lot levicki. It worked for me!!!. I was crossing all the fingers I could possibly crossed, because the warranty was 11000 Km away like you.

I used
- Win98DOS USB Kingston of 2GB. (made it with the HP utility)
- VTPATCH 1.1

on a VGN-FW290CTO with R1090Y0 Bios

Thanks a lot, it was the he.. of a job. Also, I give you my condolences for your lost.

 

thanks levicki, just downloaded, will try next.. i put dos into my hdd, now it's handy

 

really great job, i can use virtualbox to run 64-bit ubuntu inside vista64
thanks again and sorry for your lost.

one thing for my system is that after verifying boot block, it just hung there, power button not working, have to unplug battery and ac. then just reconnect power and it boots again. my system also fw290cto with r1090y0 bios.

 

Everyone,

I want to express my thanks to the following people:

- pkuok
- t-bon3
- wzzrd
- Rascal

All of them have decided to send me a token of appreciation for my effort in developing and making this patch freely available for everyone to use -- they have contacted me via PM and asked for my postal address.

Thank you folks, I will have to pay more attention to the doorbell in a next few days so I don't miss the mailman. Looking forward to it

 

Really impressive work, levicki. Has anyone with a FW373J/B tried flashing yet?

 

Thanks!

Well, not that I am aware of. What type of BIOS does it have? If it is AMI Aptio you can try my patch. If it is Phoenix, then check out this thread. If InsydeH2O you are out of luck.

 

Thank you, Igor for the hours that you spent crafting the patch.

I've used the patch (v1.1) successfully on VGN-AW190J with R0200Y2 BIOS.

 

You are welcome, glad to know it worked for you.

As for the hours -- well, it was more like days if you count reverse-engineering sessions and flashing of my own BIOS several times.

 

Thanks levicki! I successfully patched my AW190JAH with R1052Y2 bios.

 

You are welcome. Glad that the patch works so nicely.

 

Thanks a lot, you are the best. It works fantastic on VGN-FW11L.

 

Hey, I just patched my vaio sr 19vn !

The process ran fine.

bios: R0300Y1
dos: win98 (installed on an usb flashdrive with the hp util)

Thanks a lot for your work.

 

Great thread Igor, we`re just preparing (sony vgn-fw21m and me) to make some changes .. ;-)
Can somebody describe how to use this HP utility to prepare own bootable usb and where can i find it?
Thx!

 

I have a AW290J running Aptio bios vers. R1052Y2. Is this something I can do?

 

Link to the utility was posted here, look through the thread and you will find it, don't be so helpless. Utility is easy to use, if you can't figure it out maybe the patch isn't for you.

You certainly can but do you dare?

 

lol. I dared. All went smoothly. ;-)

Don't even know why. I've never even used Virturalization. I must be bored.

 

OK, i`ve just overlooked the post about preparing bootable usb stick. The guy did say nothing there about hp utils he used. Besides he got some errors during flashing. I thougt this could be somewhat connected with DOS environment he created on his pendrive. But that`s just ok, now. I managed to flash my Vaio`s bios and everything is as supposed to be.

IGOR DID A GREAT JOB !

The side effect could be rising sales of Sony`s notebooks ;-) This is so opposite to what i was thinking in january this year.

btw. bootable usb -> page 11 (this thread)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=350209&page=11

Once again, best regards to Igor Levicki!

 

Phantastic work! Add an AW11Z/B with Bios version R1052Y2 to the list of successfully patched models (using a win98 dos bootusbdrive).

Next thing would be to enable all settings in the bios... but that would be too much ;-)

I am very sorry reading about your loss! I had to let go of my dog myself, so I know that words won't help much right now!

Thanks again for the great work!

 

Flashed on my FW373J with no problems Downloading VMWare now to double check.

 

Glad to see it working for you.

 

hi, i have a VAIO SR21M/S laptop, and i m not sure if the Intel VT was already enable on this model, here i got a photo:

i added translation to english in red

thx

 

I don't understand your question.

 

i mean, how can i know if the VT is enable on my laptop
i bought this laptop just one month
sorry for my English

 

I just registered to say thank you to Levicki.

Succeeded with model VGN-FW373J/B, BIOS version R2050Y0.

My way to show appreciation: for those who wants more options on screen resolution other than just "1920x1080" and "1024x768", "800x600", just save the following text to a .reg file, and run it. Please do not include the two "=====================" lines.

============================
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000]
"DALNonStandardModesBCD1"=hex:\
19,20,10,80,00,00,00,00,\
16,80,09,45,00,00,00,00,\
14,40,08,10,00,00,00,00,\
12,00,06,75,00,00,00,00

"DALRestrictedModesBCD1"=-
============================

Hope this can help someone.

And you can always try other options beyond what I put here. Any resolutions with vertical number exceeding 1080 will be ignored. Also I found some lower resolutions are not recognized either.

 

PM me. I can help you. I am a real Chinese.