Sony Z1x Series BIOS Update - R2074C3

Glee! A new BIOS update

BIOS Update version R2074C3 : Sony Australia

EDIT: The BIOS is available via the US site and is identical to the Austrialian version

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VPCZ11FHXXQ&upd_id=5911&os_id=49

I'm trying it now.

EDIT: Finished the update, machine boots fine.

I updated from a modified "advanced options" BIOS as detailed in psyq321's thread. I did not revert to the original before running the update, but this is proably advisable. The additional options are hidden again after the update, which makes sense.

Now, lets see what it fixes. There are two major issues I hope to see addressed:

1. Removal of the "Demo" overlay when applying an Nvidia Optimus driver package
2. Proper CPU power management when running a 4x SSD rig with a HDD instead of the optical drive

Props to tanukichu for finding it first.

 

There is another bug in original BIOS which not many people encounter: you cannot set password on SSD disk(s). This is because Intel RAID BIOS is loaded before main BIOS password entry dialog and Intel cannot read the disk until password is entered. So RAID is not recognized and boot fails. Luckily, one can go back to BIOS and turn off password on SSD to get everything working again.

 

Maybe this makes me a luddite, but attempting to update the BIOS frightens me. I've heard too many horror stories of things being bricked or buggy after an update. Too many cases where people had some vague and unfounded hope that the update would improve performance, and instead they entered a world of pain. By the way, when I say unfounded hope I mean they were hoping for a performance improvement even though the update's documentation did NOT claim any improved performance.

Although if there was a significantly serious problem that the update claims to specifically fix, then I might try it.

And for goodness sake, stay away from any BIOS that's "pre-release" or "beta". That's just asking for trouble.

 

Thanks for the links guys,
Did the update with no issues, this is the easiest bios update i've ever done as it flashes from windows.

For me the best bug it fixes is the failure from Standby. I've had that issue a handful of times.
Thanks!

 

I’m hesitant to install a BIOS update that came from the support site for another country (in this case Australia)… to me, it’s reminiscent of installing a beta driver. Am I wrong in being hesitant? Is there a good reason I can’t find the BIOS update on the support site for my country (United States)?

 

Sony tends to release in local markets first, then roll them to Europe and the US.

It will make it state side at some point.

It is not beta, but is isn't officially supported in the US yet.

 

Actually, I wonder whether my new Z1290 CTO will have this BIOS update already installed when I get it.

My order says the unit is "being built". The expected build complete date is July 20th. If the BIOS update isn't present on my hardware, however, I think I'll just be cautious and wait until the update hits the USA support site.

 

Safe plan. Good luck

 

You're soft man,
It is no biggie.

 

I'm from France and I've installed this BIOS from VAIO Update since a week. Which mean it is already released in Europe.

And everything is fine with it.

 

I got my preconfigured (Dutch / US Int kbd) VPC-Z12Z9E/X today and it already has this BIOS version, so I guess yours will too.

 

Does this make linux run any nicer?

 

I've yet to see any changes, good, bad, nicer or less nice. (minus the removal of the advanced options hack, of course)

Not sure what it fixed yet, but it doesn't seem to break anything either. That's a good thing.

 

Do you mind quoting your exact problem description here (so we have a 'what-it-fixes')?

 

I don't see this update on the website though Only the one which changes the password thing.

 

Installed it on VPCZ1190 (US Z11) from within Windows 7 Pro x64. Interestingly, during reboot (and no software showed any changes in BIOS version until after reboot) I saw BIOS message that it was finishing updating - it was brief, so I could not catch the exact message. Then it shut down and restarted again and the BIOS version was that of a new one. I wonder if this update is not a complete BIOS but rather a "patch" if such thing is possible with EFI.

Upon initial boot with new BIOS I noticed higher fan speed but softer sound and high CPU activity. CPU went down to normal in about a minute. It could be Windows detecting hardware change (BIOS change is equivalent to hardware change) and checking if it needs to update drivers etc.

 

Not sure what you are seeing, Negaiido.

On the update, it could be a patch. On my machine, it updated and shut down like other Sony BIOS updaters I've seen. I didn't see anything special on the first startup, it just booted.

 

My BIOS is in this version when I bought my PC in Sonystyle 1 week ago. I think this is safe.

 

Just an update on the situation.

They've added this same new BIOS version, R2074C3, to the North American esupport.sony.com site.

At least for the Z122GX model.

 

This utility updates the BIOS to version R2074C3 to resolve the following issues:

* The system does not prompt for the BIOS password when resuming from hibernation mode
* The system does not prompt for the BIOS password during boot-up

basically- no performance improvements.
though the bios password not being asked when resuming from hibernate was a blatantly obvious problem

 

This program will update BIOS to version R2074C3 and will resolve the following symptoms:

- NVIDIA Video BIOS issue
- Failure after resuming from Standby mode

I have had this problem a number of times, the computer not waking from standby and having to hold down the power button to shut it off. Since the bios upgrade I have not suffered from this issue.

 

mfpreach, good news

I'd also be interested to see if it fixes the problem where the screen stutters or blinks like crazy when returning from standby.

Anecdotally, there have been reports that the BIOS update helps people with the long boot problem as well (25+ cursor blinks on startup).

 

Oh crap....

I just bricked my Z11 due to this BIOS update. The notebook will not power on at all.

I'm going to create a new thread since I don't want to threadjack this one. Please post any known solutions or advice on the new thread.