Tseng

Based on your BIOS version, looks like you have got an Engineering Sample machine.

If my memory serves me right, you can use the blind flash to force update to production version.

I would suggest to start from an earlier version like A07, then up to A13.

Most likely your memory stick(s) can't sustain the higher speed.

Are you using the stock memory from Dell or after market memory sticks which designed for o/c?

Could someone be so kind to provide the link to non-oc 780m VBIOS?

The version I am looking for specifically is 80.04.B3.00.10

TIA

WEI is removed from Windows 8.1

svl7, hope not bothering you too much regarding the same question.

Will you release A13 unlocked BIOS for M17x R4?

Both A11 & A12 BIOS should have no problem supporting GTX 780m

Upgrade to 780m does not require unlocked BIOS, just do the following:

1. Uninstall nVidia driver

2. Replace MXM module

3. Install new nVidia driver (might need modded INF)

svl7, will you release unlocked version for A13?

Fixes & EnhancementsFixed

-add Win8.1 OS type

-support Fn+F1/F2/Pause function.

Enhancements

-NA

Driver Details | Dell US

Mine is M17x R4 with self upgraded GTX780m,

I got 4521 with 3940XM, no CPU/GPU oc.

svl7, will you release unlocked A12 as usual? TIA

Dell releases A12 BIOS for M17x R4

[h=3]Fixes & Enhancements[/h]Fixes

-Not Applicable

Enhancements

-Enhanced SMBIOS TYPE01 Offset 19h to Product name.

-Enhanced update DIMM isolation protocol.

-Enhanced update ePSA to 4220A10.(4220.11).

Thank you Mr. Fox.

I did the upgrade, took me around 30 minutes or so.

It is very easy to remove the front bezel, put it in M17x R4 takes most of the time.

But it is a smooth job nevertheless.

Panasonic UJ-265 price has dropped to a point I consider affordable.

Has anyone had any experience in upgrading their Alienware laptop to a BluRay/RW?

Is it hard to remove the front bezel of UJ-265?

I am thinking of upgrading to Win8.

If using Win8, I would prefer to change the BIOS from legacy mode to UEFI mode to speed-up booting time.

In UEFI mode, will all the changes I made in BIOS (advance settings) stay active?

ex. disable built-in Intel video, boost turbo setting for 3920XM etc.

eBay is a good place to start. Lots of sections you can compare and choose reliable seller(s)

Depends on how much budget you have allocated for this upgrade.

1. Video card: GTX660M or up

2. Memory: another two more 2G to make the total 8G

3. SSD: 128G SSD as system and move your current 320G as data

4. CPU: 2820QM is fairly cheap now

Just setup ISRT on my M17x R4 yesterday.

SSD: Toshiba mSATA 64G SATA 2.0

HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 750G

It is quite challenging to reach the mSATA slot, took me almost 30 minutes to do it.

Once the mSATA SSD is installed, I change to RAID mode and install Win7 Ultimate from scratch.

After all the drivers are installed, I then go to IRST to enable ISRT.

My setting is to use all 64G and maximize mode.

Booting into Win7 desktop normally less than 60 seconds.

I will have to say the ISRT is quite useful even for 7200rpm HDD.

PS. I got my Toshiba mSATA SSD cheap, around USD$50, which makes this whole upgrade has high C/P ratio.

Possible to update the RAID/AHCI ROM in the BIOS?

Integrate the new ROM into A11 BIOS and flash to get latest version (12.7.0.1910)?

khenglish is right, both 680m and 780m are based on 28nm technology, wonder how nVidia takes care of the heat issue?

My guess is it should work just fine on M17x R3.

Thanks to the improved process of GPU, the power consumption of GTX780m should be very close to 100W, which is same as GTX680m.

Besides physically 2GB vs 4GB difference, rest are almost identical.

I have a msi 4GB version install in my M17x R4, and flash Clevo vBIOS.

With helps from the gurus here in this forum, we do have lots of flexibility with our Alienware machines.<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- google_ad_section_end -->

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Oops!

This is exactly what I have missed.

1. Flash to A11 stock

2. Boot from USB stick

3. Run ppr

4. Run Flash

5. Shut down

6. Reboot and viola!

Michael / svl7, thank you both very much.

Result of fpt -i

Intel ® Flash Programming Tool. Version: 8.1.10.1286

Copyright © 2007 - 2012, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

Platform: Intel® HM77 Express Chipset

Reading HSFSTS register... Flash Descriptor: Valid

--- Flash Devices Found ---

W25Q64BV ID:0xEF4017 Size: 8192KB (65536Kb)

--- Flash Image Information --

Signature: VALID

Number of Flash Components: 1

Component 1 - 8192KB (65536Kb)

Regions:

Descriptor - Base: 0x000000, Limit: 0x000FFF

BIOS - Base: 0x300000, Limit: 0x7FFFFF

ME - Base: 0x001000, Limit: 0x2FFFFF

GbE - Not present

PDR - Not present

Master Region Access:

CPU/BIOS - ID: 0x0000, Read: 0xFF, Write: 0xFF

ME - ID: 0x0000, Read: 0xFF, Write: 0xFF

GbE - ID: 0x0118, Read: 0xFF, Write: 0xFF

Total Accessable SPI Memory: 8192KB, Total Installed SPI Memory : 8192KB

FPT Operation Passed

I follow the instructions to the letters, but got error message.

1. Flash to A11 stock

2. Boot to USB stick

3. Type flash in DOS

Error 28: Protected Range Registers are currently set by BIOS, preventing flash access.

Please contact the target system BIOS vendor for an option to disable Protected Range Registers.