My discoveries on Vaio Z’s Hybrid Graphics

To Sorg:

Thank you very much for what you have done! Now I could see much more features and setting options on my GF9300 and performance get improved as well (it could be told such as quicker response time of right click on the desktiop).

Sorry for asking too much, but I wonder if I could disable the "atuo card-switching" function because it is a little bit annoying to me. Each time I unplug my laptop it will atuomatically switch my power plan and graphic card. Actually I could handle this myself and do not need to leave it like this.

 

Linus, download and run the registry file I have posted here and then reboot to disable the hybrid power stuff.

 

Nautis,
looks like DisableSmartHybrid is not required for manual switch option. Presence of DisableSmartHybrid = 0 removes display control from stanfard windows Display options.

Also, i think that current manual switch dialog is not correct. There is string "nVidia Hybrid SLI" which refers to together using onboard nVidia with add-on nVidia. So, this option is for nVidia Chipsets, not for Intel Chipset.
I think, there is some other combination of registry keys to enable correct dialog for manual swithing without SLI option.

 

Sorg, yeah I noticed that about the hybrid SLI string on the taskbar switch. I am not sure if there is a specific dialog for manual switching using hybrid power with the taskbar. Everything I have seen thus far connects the hybrid power with the automatic switching stuff (configured using power options.) Have you found anything that would lead you to believe otherwise? I somewhat stumbled upon the hybrid power stuff and realized that our notebooks use a variant of it. I haven't seen anywhere where nvidia identifies the intel/nvidia as hybrid power specifically (with the exception of the new drivers help file.) Even the dialog when configuring hybrid power on power options refers to (multiple gpus.)

EDIT: Hmm I have found a section referring to what you are talking about under "FAQ: NVIDIA Hybrid Graphics". Under "How do I enable Save power mode?" it says "Click the Hybrid Graphics icon in the notification area of the Windows Vista taskbar, then click Switch to Save power mode." I will investigate further.

 

Nautis,
there are 2 modes for hybrid graphics:
1) Hybrid SLI. When mother board uses nVidia system chipset with integrated graphics. In this mode integrated and addon cards can be used together in SLI mode.
2) Hybrid Graphics. When motherboard uses non-nVidia chipsets like Intel. In this mode only one car allowed to run.

What i found is that no matter what is displayed (Hybrid SLI or Hybrid Graphics), driver will automatically configure available modes. SLI mode will be mapped to nVidia Video, power save mode will be mapped to Intel Video.
Only difference is that Hybrid SLI mode has manual control, but Hybrid Graphics no.
I've ended by patching nvsvc.dll to enable manual switching for "Hybrid Graphics" mode.

I've attached patched nvsvc.dll with manual control enabled.
It's a little tricky to replace it in system32 folder because it's always is in use.
But replacing in driver set and re-install driver works fine.

 

Yeah this was my assumption also, based on my testing. Edit: Are we sure there is no manual control for hybrid graphics though. As I posted the help file for hybrid graphics does mention something about clicking the task bar and choosing "save power". Edit2: Yeah from what I see referenced there has to be a manual switch for hybrid power somewhere. I have attached an export of the stings table from nvsvc.dll. Technically it can be hacked around further (changing string text and dialog references) but if its there I am determined to find it.

Hehehe you are always a step ahead of me at this point. I was using a resource editor to look at that file just now. Will test. Nice work.

 

No worries I havent forgoten about you. I am trying some things to see if we can get the nvidia part to identify in a way the matrox software will work with it. I cant promise anything though.

Gibbo, yeah I get the same thing. Like you said, it seems the both chipsets are seeing two outputs the lcd and hdmi port. Since the intel chipset is integrated it makes sense it only sees the two. I am guessing the nvidia chipset is basically working in sli mode seeing its two outputs and the intel chipset and its two possible outputs. Was it like this with the original sony drivers? Makes me curious for sure.

We may be able to tackle both of these issues at the same time.

 

Hi Nautis,

No, this is definately a 'new' feature. It makes setting up dual screen a bit trickier, but not impossible. The old screen 1 and screen 2 was easier though. I am also confused that the in-built screen is listed as #3.

Gibbo

 

Thanks bro

 

Nautis,
yeah, i know, there are strings in nvsvc looking like for Hybrid Graphics instead of Hybrid SLI, but i couldn't find how to tell nvsvc to switch to these strings.
Currently, with patched nvsvc.dll (you have to remove HybridPlatformRole and DisableSmartHybrid keys) we have:
1) balloons about using video card - nVidia/Intel - correct
2) dialog to switch between power save and performance - correct.
3) link in that dialog opens correct help option Hybrid Graphics (not SLI)
4) GPU Settings in Power Options have incorrect mentioning about SLI.

so, besides (4), everything else looks ok. (4) can be corrected by editing string. I could made it, but i'm lazy to do this for every language. So i left it as is

 

Thank you very much for your efforts, Nautis. If you can come up with a solution, that will be great. I was thinking that maybe it is easier to cook a driver that completely segregates the video cards (like the XP driver). In this case, we would loose the ability to hot-swap (have to boot to change from one video card to another), but it would be possible to correct both issues, as you mentioned.

Maybe the XP driver for Nvidia is a good starting point. This driver keeps the intel card completely "silent". It doesn't even appear in the device manager. I am not a programmer, but maybe if you can give me a few hints on where to look for this in the XP driver set, I can help.

Anyway, thanks a lot (again).

 

Yeah it looks good and functions exactly the way you say. That is true I forgot about the other languages. I would think its ok as is it. The configurable power options part seems to be an sli only feature. So if it is left the way they want it, the only way to adjust hybrid power is by changing between the different vista power plans (Balanced, Power Saver, High Performance.) We should be able to configure other options for the Sony specific VAIO Optimised and VAIO Maximum Battery also (though these should really just echo the Balanced and Power Saver options.) I don't see any problem leaving it the way it is now with everything configurable through power options with the sli stuff though. IMHO the whole hybrid power feature is a bit quirky to begin with and should really only be used by people who absolutely want or need it.

This is pretty much the option I was looking into, though I am not sure how or if switching would work. Here is the problem as I see it. Matrox only identifies the first video driver on your system. As Gibbo mentioned, if you look a display settings (when switched to nvidia/speed) you will notice it lists display 3 as enabled. In order to get the Matrox stuff working correctly we would have to force the nvidia part to identify as 1 (where the integrated/intel part is.)

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I am going to reinstall the old sony drivers and take another look at the whole display settings thing. If I remember correctly it listed 4 displays but they listed as 1, 2 / 1, 2 when the switch was on nvidia and just 1, 2 when it was on intel. Very curious indeed. Are these new drivers just identifying things differently or are they using both the intel and nvidia parts at the same time (sli?) when it is switched to nvidia? Has anyone noticed a drop in battery life with these new drivers (when switched to speed only) vs before with the sony drivers?

 

I've just noticed that Sony seem to have released an nVidia Graphics Driver update today. I don't know if it's of any use, it might not even actually be a newer nVidia version than the original one at all, and I can't try it myself right now because I'm in the middle of setting up Windows 7 on my Z (I noticed it while looking for the original driver downloads).

All it says on the page is:

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/down.../Updates/EP0000173097.exe&ip=EP0000173097.htm

 

hey Sorg can you make a driver install for Vista 64? I know you mention about sign drivers but you can put Vista 64 into test mode and sign your own drivers. So if you willing to make a Vista64 drivers I can make it work in test mode. My Vista 64 atm is currently running in test mode all the time so I can use unsign drivers that I sign myself without a problem.

By the way test mode is just a mode you put regular Windows Vista 64 (this mode also works in Windows 7) any version into when it boots up. Only thing it changes is it allows you to use drivers by signing them yourself on that machine. Nothing else changes on my machine and it still regular Vista 64 in test mode.

 

The original Z driver is 174.49
Shifting the digits from 6.14.11.7698 gives 176.98, so yeah, it should be newer. But not enough to give CUDA and PhysX.

 

I am now addicted to this upgrade your driver fever. Nautilus/Sorg any new update scheduled for today?

 

Ahh, so that's how you figure out the version number. Thanks

I'm currently wondering which drivers to install for Windows 7... I think I'm gonna go with the original Sony version for now, so I can compare the performance with Vista, but do we know whether the latest version put together in this post should work on Windows 7?

 

i believe that the 6.14.11.7698 update driver is a updated driver for xp for downgrades .the one for vista is at 7.15.11.7449 .

 

I can put together a package for 64bit but I would not be able to test it. I don't know if sorg has access to 64bit either. That is the only difficulty with a 64bit package, for me at least.

I have some things I am working on but nothing major like we have been. I don't personally like the way the drivers are packaged so I am making a new package with the intel and nvidia drivers separate. This will have the added benefit of being able to upgrade the drivers as easily as dropping the new files in the intel or nvidia folder (assuming there are no file name or other major differences.) It also allows for intel to have the proper version in device manager rather than the version number of the nvidia drivers (not a huge deal.) Nice to see others as addicted as we are btw. I am also looking at the display settings issue and if there is a way to make the matrox triple head stuff work. PS. I am sure you know about the updated physx drivers at laptopvideo2go.

That is correct.

I just posted up a Vista 64bit package for testing (since I can not.) I will post it here as soon as I hear word it is working. Vista x64 has the added difficulty of requiring signed drivers so for those of you who know how to get around that we may have updated drivers for you too.

 

Thanks Nautis/Sorg I got the test package for Vista 64 drivers that you sent me.

I got the new drivers working for Vista 64 and so far my stamina\speed switch still works for switching without a reboot. Intel drivers is 1608 and Nvidia drivers is 185.20.

Only problem I had was with the setup.exe you provided it gave a error and didn't work so I end up installing the drivers manually through device manager.

Will do some further testing and will provide you a write up on how to apply these drivers for Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64.

 

If you combine the signed driver it still be signed.

If you want to used x64 unsigned driver in Vista x64 go to the link below:

http://www.start64.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3047&Itemid=104

 

That method requires you turning of the unsigned driver during bootup which is a pain and I beleive you would have to do that every time you boot up to keep the unsign drivers working.

 

Sounds good. I will see if I can fix the setup.exe issue. If I can not I am glad manual installation worked. No need for you 64bit uses to be stuck behind just because I/We don't have Vista x64.

I guess with that said, if you are savvy enough to be able to install them on Vista or W7 x64 I am sure you can do a manual install 64bit users. So here ya go, for people who know how to install them properly: Nvidia Version: 185.20 | Intel Version: 1608 | for Vistax64 | Packaged By: Nautis | Inspired by: Sorg
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! Self Extracting EXE. Unpack to a location of your choosing and do a manual install if you know how. setup.exe is broken in this package! I will post it to the main post once I can either remove the broken setup.exe or fix it.

 

Thanks again Nautis.

Quick note i was able to install the drivers Nautis provided by putting my Vista 64 into test mode and signing the drivers myself.

I am very curious if the drivers can be installed without this step. So please let us know how it goes. If the drivers won't install I will do a quick write up on how to put into test mode and sign the drivers.

Test mode and signing the driver is not a hack but a feature in Vista 64 and Windows 7 64 that is used for developers to test their drivers on thier machine before signing the drivers with Microsoft.

 

Nautis/Sorg: With the latest 32 bit driver set you guys put out ... my WEI in performance mode has dropped from lowest being 4.4 to 3.6 for the graphics... DO you know why ?

 

What´s about the gpu clock settings in the modified drivers? Is there a stepping in the different power settings?

On vaio optimized mode running on ac power, my gpu clock is at 275 MHz, the GPU Memory Clock 301 MHz.

 

The only time I get 3.6 is when I have it set to stamina mode. You may want to double check and make sure it hasn't been inadvertently switched to stamina.

The settings Sorg used were exactly the same as the stock Vaio Z so there should be no difference. Where are you reading the gpu and memory clock speeds?

Are you guys using hybrid power, or is it disabled? (Do you have the taskbar icon?) I haven't experienced either of the problems you guys are reporting but if there is something in the background adjusting things I will try to locate it.

EDIT: Hmm... I think I know what it could be... POWERMIZER!.. If I remember correctly the powermizer settings were missing from sorgs inf. Let me see if I can put a new one together. In the mean time you can download the powermizer switch 1.1 and use it to turn it off without the need to reinstall. Note: you may have to right click and run the exe with admin privileges in order for it to work.

 

I´me reading the gpu clock speed with gpu-z - using the boxed driver.

 

hi, guys, could you post your scores for vista or win7 for this new drivers in both modes, for to be able to compare it with default one which has in speed: 4.4/4.4 (aero/3d) and intel wddm1.1 in win7 default 4.1/4.9 (aero/3d). It is too much interesting to see is there any performance improvement, coz 4.9 3d score for Intel wddm 1.1 in Win 7 is a huge step compared to 4.4 3d for old 9300m gs 174.49 driver

 

I just tried to install these new drivers, however I can't get them to work. Both drivers show up with errors in device manager and the speed / stamina switch doesn't work.

Can you post instructions on how to enable test mode and sign the drivers?

 

Are you sure that the you installed the drivers properly? What I did in device manager was set my notebook to speed mode right click the Nvida card first updated the driver in device manager. Once udpated Nvidia would disapear from device manager then I updated the Intel drivers at which point I rebooted and everything work when machien came up.

Just double checking that this method does not work without signing the dirvers that all. Anyone else tried installing without signing?

 

I don't have Windows 64bit installed, so i doubt i can do it better than Nautis already did.
I've read article about "Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider" and haven't been impressed by that. The key point is you have to press F8 and choose "Test mode" everytime you boot OS, which i can not accept. I hope, in the future there will be some more invisible hack for signature check to be able at least to use own certificates.
I didn't try yet, but what if add Root "hand-made" certificate like Verisign or Microsoft, so every "child" certificate signed by this Root certificate will be trusted automatically and will be useful to sign every driver without problem.
The problem is that i need to find spare computer and time to try this idea.
If it will work, then no any overrides and test mode will be required.
But something tells me that I'm not the first who has this idea.. and since no body came out with such solution, probably Windows prevents such workarounds.

Nautis,
i recommend to remove all setup.exe related files from package. Like i did in my package. I found that install through setup.exe often fails. Manual install using my instructions works in 100% of cases. At least it never failed to me.

 

Nautis,
about separating drivers:
I don't think it's possible because some files from nvidia part used for intel part, and vice versa. You can look in driver properties and will find it.
The main driver is actually nVidia. It loads initial small part of its driver before intel driver. If intel part has been chosen then this initial loader will pass control to Intel driver and turn off nVidia hardware through special GPIO. If nVidia has been chosen then initial loader turns on nVidia hardware and disables Intel adapter. Without intial nVidia loader we see both video adapters because nothing can switch nVidia off.
There is file from intel package used for nvidia part as well. Probably to control Intel adaptor while nVidia is active.
How you will separate them?

 

Actually you don't have to Sorg. My machine is set to boot test mode on every bootup without needing to F8. I will go ahead and do a write up instructions on how to do this then. Since my computer is booting in test mode every time without me doing anything I can just sign any drivers (make my own certificates) myself and install it.

This is how my I got my drivers working that Nautis provded me. So far drivers working perfectly on Vista 64 no errors found yet but really haven't tested it much besides basic tasks.

 

Yeah I do some creative separating to create two infs but keep them in the same location. This way things like driver version apply correctly. Both infs point to the same nvidia file however. I don't think they ever will be able to be seperated out completely (two packages) for the reasons you say. Just something I am playing around with at this point. What I have done is have a main directory "drivers" in this directory I have an intel inf and nvidia inf and I also have three sub directories "intel", "nvidia" and "switch". In the "intel" and "nvidia" directories I have the files that are specific to these drivers (ex. nvidia files in the "nvidia" directory) and in the "switch" directory I have the two files that allow the magic to happen. The infs are of course what work the magic and pull the appropriate files from their correct locations. And as you said Sorg the intel pulls that one file from the nvidia directory. All in all it works well. The reason I have done all of this is that I was playing around with the idea of drag n drop drivers. Drop whatever version drivers you want of the intel and nvidia drivers in their appropriate folders and this package would install them and allow them to switch on the fly. Good idea in theory but of course has its own complications. And I wonder if in the end it won't be even more complicated for people. As for your setup.exe recommendation I somewhat agree at this point, it seems to cause more issues than its worth.

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I have put together a new inf that I am going to be testing and hopefully releasing soon.

 

*WARNING use at your own risk! Putting your computer in test mode will cause a visual annoyance of having the word testmode on each corner of your desktop.

How to put your computer into test mode for Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64

Step 1: Right click command prompt from Start > Accessories > Commnd Prompt and select run as administrator.

Step 2: type this in the command prompt "bcdedit.exe /store C:\Boot\BCD /set testsigning yes" without the quotes.

Step 3: reboot, computer now boots into test mode every time. Now you ready to sign your drivers and install them

How to sign the video drivers provided by Nautis.

Step 1: Download Nautis x64 Nvidia drivers and cert tools.
Download video drivers from post #73 (Thanks Nautis)
Download cert tools from http://nil.rpc1.org/files/SignTools_Vista.zip (Not my link found on internet)

Step2: Extract all files to same directory. I use C:\nvida to make the syntax in the next step easier.

Step3: Launch command prompt again with admin rights and type the following commands. Make Sure you are working in the driver directory C:\nvidia

A. Sign and Cert Nvidia Divers
type: makecert.exe -$ individual -r -pe -ss "nvlddmkm driver" -n CN="nvlddmkm driver" nvlddmkm.cer (Hit Enter)
type: certmgr.exe/add nvlddmkm.cer /s /r localMachine root (Hit Enter)
type: signtool sign /v /s "nvlddmkm driver" /n "nvlddmkm driver" nvlddmkm.sys (Hit Enter)
*Each command will return successful if ran properly*

B. Sign and Cert Intel Drivers
type: makecert.exe -$ individual -r -pe -ss "igdkmd64 driver" -n CN="igdkmd64 driver" igdkmd64.cer (Hit Enter)
type: certmgr.exe/add igdkmd64.cer /s /r localMachine root (Hit Enter)
type: signtool sign /v /s "igdkmd64 driver" /n "igdkmd64 driver" igdkmd64.sys (Hit Enter)
*Each command will return successful if ran properly*

Now you ready to install the drivers via device manager.

Known problems and solutions:

1. Having trouble putting machine in test mode
Try just "bcdedit.exe /set testsigning yes" in command prompt.

2. I sign my drivers once and a new driver came out but cant get it sign or working.
Preform step A and B again but use the following for the last command in each.
type: signtool sign /a /v /s "nvlddmkm driver" /n "nvlddmkm driver" nvlddmkm.sys (Hit Enter)
type: signtool sign /a /v /s "igdkmd64 driver" /n "igdkmd64 driver" igdkmd64.sys (Hit Enter)
* Note the added "/a" in the signtool commmand that allows it to overide the current sign driver.

 

Nautis,
actually, to update drivers in install package in most cases, it's enough to just copy files from both separate original drivers (excluding inf) into common folder of my or your pack replacing similar files. nvBridge_int.kmd and nvtmmhyb.dll are absent in standard nvidia package and thus will not distroy hybrid features.

And, as you know, combining infs into hybrid package is more complicated and can not be done by just combining them. Besides hybrid part, there is Sony Z specific keys which is better don't change or remove.

Anyway, combining new drivers is not so trivial

I'm going to update my package of 32bit drivers. I think, last time, because everything i could tweak/solve i already did.

potpeye,
thanks for instructions! It will be helpful for me. I'm not going to install 64bit OS right away because need to prepare many things. But when i will ready i will use your instructions.
Is this change affects to OS behavior anyhow besides self-signed drivers and text in corners (which is easy to get rid of, according google)?

 

Indeed. Good information. I want to add one thing because this was the key to the hybrid drivers working for myself. Some nvidia drivers have a file nvBridge.kmd this is NOT the same as nvBridge_int.kmd. The combination of nvBridge_int.kmd and nvtmmhyb.dll together is what allows everything to work. I mistakenly assumed those two files were the same which lead to it never working for me. It turns out the _int at the end stands for intel. Isn't hindsight fun!

 

SORG,
thanks for the driver, it works good, but the score in W7 is still the same 4.4 with your new driver, is it possible to try to combine two WDDM 1.1 drivers from MS, which has far better results in score 4.1/4.9! aero/3d for Intel and probably 9300 will show even better result? i mean 179.23 and 8.15.10.1620 Intel.
Thanks once more!

 

Nautis,
you are correct. nvBrige_int.kmd is bridge driver exactly for intel system chipset.
for nVidia chipset nvBrige.kmd (which is included in standard nVidia driver package) used. That's the key point.

Vovus,
i don't think, that taking W7 driver for Vista (OS i'm using) is good idea.
Anyway, i have no much time to experiment with different drivers.
May be Nautis will do this.

 

Vovus,
i don't think, that taking W7 driver for Vista (OS i'm using) is good idea.
Anyway, i have no much time to experiment with different drivers.
May be Nautis will do this.[/QUOTE]
NAUTIS,
Please, try to do this for Win7 users, if you could find some more time for us, i'm not alone we'd appreciate your help so much

 

Well I was already working with the intel drivers from W7. One of the issues I see is that the intel driver 1620 is an extremely basic stripped down version with no control panel or configuration options. Other than that I will see what I can do.

 

If i have windows 7 64 bit on my vaio z, can i safely install ur combo 32bit driver and will it work with the switch as well. Will this have me up and running until mayb you guys figure out the specific 64bit windows 7 combo driver. I dont wanna mess with test mode crap and have that stuff on my screen. If anyone, specifically Nautis and Sorg could help me it would be greatly appreciated.

 

So what´s the rating in vista 32b with your new drivers? Higher than 4.4?

You did a very good job i think, maybe you should work for sony driver team :-D

 

Thanks a lot, Nautis, does wddm 1.1 is something special or why so big difference in windows score, even intel 1620 show 4.9 - 3d?

 

In Win7 on speed: 4.4/4.4 AERO/3D with SORG'S DRIVER VER.3

 

I've tried the x64 package on Windows 2k8.

No luck, setup failed, I did manage to install the drivers manually, however both cards show problems in device manager, I don't remember the problem with the Intel card, but on the Nvidia it was telling me that the driver was corrupted.

I've not signed the drivers yet, however I don't think this is necessary in Windows Server 2008 because you can install unsigned drivers, but i'm not 100% sure.

I was in the process of making an x64 drivers when you guys posted the x64 package, so I stopped, rebuilding the correct inf is a little tricky, I think I'll try to do it again soon.

 

another driver set from me:

http://rapidshare.com/files/188214320/VaioZ_NV185.20_INT1624_by_Sorg.rar

it has Intel version 1624.
May it will give good results under W7.

 

One question, with my work the intel card is useless to me, I need the Nvidia.

Is it possible to completely disable the intel card, and only use the Nvidia ?
I know that I can set it so the speed switch is only on.

But maybe there's a way to just install the nvidia drivers without bothering with the Intel drivers and the stamina/speed switch.

 

Reading this topic from the first post...it was one of mine first thoughts when we discovered Z will have graphic switch...if someone will be able to compile by his own as I know Sony and their updates.

I would be happy to see some final pack with final easy to do install instructions in the updated first post. The first post is nice but starting to be a bit not easy to read and devising to some instructions from Sorg deeper in the thread. I'm not sure if you already compiled package with which you're completely satisfied and would recommend for normal use, not just for testing.

I really appreciate your work, thanks