Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

The internal graphics card on my m17x R4 is no longer detected in the bios, so I reckon it is dead. Tests show the radeon card is still working, so I want to try disabling onboard graphics in an unlocked BIOS. I joined to forum (payed account). I got the A11 official version on now, prepped a bootable usb pendrive and downloaded the A11 FTP unlocked version.

However, the links in the beginning of this thread to the DOS version of fpt for flashing, and my 'prr tool' don't seem to be working? I get 404 Not Found. Where can I get these files?

 

Thanks in advance

Roog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've set up the unlocked A11 bios, both integrated and and the amd radeon 7970 were detected in the bios and in windows now. However, after installing the AMD drivers and rebooting, windows just would not load. No errors, just windows logo, sometimes black screen after a long while. I tried switching with fn+f7, reinstalled on screen display software to switch, but no go.

So I took a gamble and tried disabling integrated graphics in the bios. I now get beeps and a black screen lol...now I gotta figure out how to fix that. Assuming I can fix bios setting to default, I will see if I can get a cheap replacement for the radeon or just get another laptop alltogether.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I have the 675m and it does not get detected in the BIOS neither in the device manager . Funny part is I made it twice to recognise but at install of nvidia driver reboods and disapears again , This is super odd for me . Could this be a BIOS problem? Went from a12 to a11 , then back to 12 and then to a13 . I have removed the coin battery and power button , power button with coin battery... nothing helps . Anyone has An idea what could be the issue?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, NoRocel said:

I have the 675m and it does not get detected in the BIOS neither in the device manager . Funny part is I made it twice to recognise but at install of nvidia driver reboods and disapears again , This is super odd for me . Could this be a BIOS problem? Went from a12 to a11 , then back to 12 and then to a13 . I have removed the coin battery and power button , power button with coin battery... nothing helps . Anyone has An idea what could be the issue?

It sounds like you may have a dead 675M. The symptoms you describe would suggest it has failed. 

24 minutes ago, jrj21092 said:

i am currently trying to find the unlocked A11 bios files to flash but can not download due to the link being down, is there anyone who can help me?

Hello, and welcome to the community. I think you will find the answer to your question in the thread linked below.

 

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/announcement/4-user-account-promotion-rules-read-before-posting/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the quick reply mr.fox, i upgraded in order to download them and then had a heck of a run around getting ahold of the prr tool and the dos tool but i think im almost ready to flash, in regards to what folder i need to use to for the dos to boot from, does it have to be a windows folder or just any random folder?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/6/2016 at 2:21 PM, atsamman said:

will I be able to overclock the gpu from bios or is it just for the cpu?

CPU only. You need to use something like NVIDIA Inspector, MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X for GPU overclocking. DO NOT use any version of EVGA Precision X released during 2015 or newer or it will corrupt the EDID on your LCD panel and cause the machine to fail to POST with 8 beeps. Only EVGA_PrecisionX_4.21 or older is safe to use on a notebook with LVDS display.

7 minutes ago, jrj21092 said:

thanks for the quick reply mr.fox, i upgraded in order to download them and then had a heck of a run around getting ahold of the prr tool and the dos tool but i think im almost ready to flash, in regards to what folder i need to use to for the dos to boot from, does it have to be a windows folder or just any random folder?

You're welcome.

 

You need to create a bootable USB stick with MS-DOS to do the flash. You do not do it in Windows. See the directions from @svl7 in the opening post. Click the spoiler to open it and see the content.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/18/2016 at 7:22 PM, Mr. Fox said:

It sounds like you may have a dead 675M. The symptoms you describe would suggest it has failed. 

Hello, and welcome to the community. I think you will find the answer to your question in the thread linked below.

 

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/announcement/4-user-account-promotion-rules-read-before-posting/

Thing is also I get errors of my AC not being detected , then when I hold power 30 secs and plug again it gets recognized as 240W. could that have something to do maybe`? it is very strange to me as it pops sometimes and then disapears whenever a driver is about to be installed on it .

Thank you so much for your time though !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're welcome. The pop sound may be a reason for concern. The powering off may also be a major concern. The GPU may have a short. If the pop is coming from the speakers it may just be the GPU powering off or something like that. If the pop is not coming from the speakers, I would encourage you to stop using it immediately with that GPU installed. If you have a normal display (not 120Hz 3D) I would remove the GPU and run on Intel HD Graphics until you can replace it. Otherwise, you might damage the motherboard. Removing the GPU would also give you the opportunity to see if the AC adapter not being detected continues to be a problem running on Intel HD Graphics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

You're welcome. The pop sound may be a reason for concern. The powering off may also be a major concern. The GPU may have a short. If the pop is coming from the speakers it may just be the GPU powering off or something like that. If the pop is not coming from the speakers, I would encourage you to stop using it immediately with that GPU installed. If you have a normal display (not 120Hz 3D) I would remove the GPU and run on Intel HD Graphics until you can replace it. Otherwise, you might damage the motherboard. Removing the GPU would also give you the opportunity to see if the AC adapter not being detected continues to be a problem running on Intel HD Graphics.

Again apreciate you fast reply . By pop I mean "pops in " like it appears or becomes detected . Problem is though that the GPU gets very hot and the fan does not run at all . My brother has a r5 with 780m si I will swap them and try before I commit to invest anymore in this laptop .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/23/2016 at 1:54 AM, dragathar said:

Hopefully as soon as i get promoted that fixes my issue statet in an other thread.
is there something to prepare for trying to flash the unlocked version?

Just be sure your existing stock BIOS version is the same version number as the mod you are flashing. 

22 minutes ago, Flu3rdGen said:

Will this work on the new alienware ?

No, it will not. The new Alienwares use AMI/Aptio BIOS and the pre-BGA models use InsydeH20. The Alienware 17 (Ranger - Haswell) has Insyde H20 but cannot use this BIOS mod. The Ranger and Viking BIOS are flash protected to keep them forever crippled by Dell's cancer firmware.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 10.08.2012 at 6:00 PM, svl7 said:

If you're on A05 or an earlier version, you can flash the modified bios by simply using the InsydeFlash utility provided with the official bios update on the Dell support site.

 

only to replace isflashWin.bin in official A11 bios update? official .bin is 9675kb, unlockedA11 .bin is only 5120kb

 

can i flash this method [FPT]-M17x_R4_BIOS_A11_-_[unlocked]V2 from official Alienware A05, 07.03.2012 or no?

Edited by Siminoll
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hmmm... Too bad all the links in the 2nd method give me "404 Not Found" error. I would try to try this flashing method to stop my 880M from throttling with the newer drivers. Can anyone else supply the flashing tools (DOS version of fpt for flashing, and 'prr tool' to circumvent write protection)???

 

EDIT - Found it.

E.

Edited by Fetaznapleta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 10.8.2012 at 5:00 PM, svl7 said:

Dell has hidden a lot of options in the BIOS of the Alienware M17x R4, the modified BIOS versions here will show you all the hidden menus and allow you to further tweak your system and optimize its performance.

Don't change anything you're not familiar with. There might be functions available which don't work on your system, so use this BIOS with care. It should only be used by advanced users.

In case you mess up and your system refuses to boot after applying the changes you make, remove the AC adapter, battery and coin cell battery in order to clear the non-volatile ram of the BIOS. This should fix most issues.

***********************

Instructions:

 

If you're on A05 or an earlier version, you can flash the modified bios by simply using the InsydeFlash utility provided with the official bios update on the Dell support site.

However, once you're on a version newer than A05, things get a bit more complicated. There are two options then:

 

- Method 1:

Revert to stock A05 or earlier by using the Insyde USB bios recovery method, and then flash the modified bios by using the official tools (InsydeFlash).

 

- Method 2 (recommended):

Flash the modified Bios from DOS by using the FPT tool:

 

NOTE: The flashing from DOS as described above will only update the BIOS, not the rest of the firmware. Therefore I strongly advise you to first flash the stock version of the bios you want by using the official update provided by Dell, and once that's done you can go ahead and flash the modified version of your bios by following the instructions above.

 

Download links to the unlocked M17x R4 BIOS versions:

 

 

  • M17x R4 - BIOS A05 [unlocked]
  • M17x R4 - BIOS A08 [unlocked] - see attachment
  • M17x R4 - BIOS A09 [unlocked] - see attachment
  • M17x R4 - BIOS A10 [unlocked] - see attachment
  • [FPT] M17x R4 - BIOS A10 [unlocked] - see attachment
  • [FPT] M17x R4 - BIOS A11 [unlocked] - see attachment

 

Donation link, in case you want to buy me a beer ;)

Here some pictures of the menus (thanks a lot for the pics @deadbydawn!)

post-80-14494993482878_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993486212_thumb.jpg

I want to thank @widezu69 for testing !!

It's hard to find users who are willing to risk their system in order to test a mod, I greatly appreciate this! Thank you!!

*********

Flash and use at your own risk. I don't take any responsibility for any possible damages on your system.

The software which I provide here ('prr tool') comes with absolutely no warranty to the extent permitted by applicable law.

___

post-80-1449499348059_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993481137_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993481651_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993482315_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993483648_thumb.jpg

post-80-144949934843_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993484934_thumb.jpg

post-80-14494993485529_thumb.jpg

M17x_R4_-_BIOS_A08_[unlocked].zip

M17x_R4_-_BIOS_A09_[unlocked].zip

M17x_R4_BIOS_A10_-_[unlocked].zip

[FPT]-M17x_R4_BIOS_A11_-_[unlocked]V2.zip

[FPT] M17x R4 - BIOS A10 [unlocked].zip

M17x_R4_-_BIOS_A05_[unlocked].zip

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Im new here so hi everybody.

unfortunately Im starting here with big problem :(

I had A12 dell bios on my m17xR4 so changed it to A11 oficial and then flashed with DOS method to  [FPT]-M17x_R4_BIOS_A11_-_[unlocked] .

Everything goes like in instruction without any errors. But after all when im turning my R4 on its try to start (looks normaly) but after 3-4 secound turns off. No beep loud fans like in other posts.

Can anybody help what to try now?

blind flash to A05 ?? and then try again to A11 unlocked?

 

Edited by xPeter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.