Lenovo Y410p/Y510p BIOS mod to enable Nvidia eGPU support

[HCao]

On 2018/8/16 at 12:54 AM, HCao said:

Thank you for the explanation! Will try it soon.

Quick update:

I have a version/2 adapter. I removed that resistor and tested a GTX 1070 and a GTX 970, both successful.

GTX 970 is pretty straight forward, install the card, boot into system, install the latest driver, disable GT 750M, bingo.

GTX 1070 requires a little more effort as stated in this post before. My experience is to:

1. Remove all Nvidia drivers using DDU

2. Install the older driver (something like 36x.xx)

3. Install the latest driver but don't choose clean install.

Hope it helps! And I want to say thanks to @High_Voltageand all the other guys to make this possible, great work!

[AllanDavidson]

On 8/18/2018 at 10:08 AM, intruder said:

 

From "Device Manager". Yesterday i borrowed my friends 1050 Ti (without power connector) and it worked perfectly with internal screen. 

 

@High_VoltageThanks a lot for the BIOS mod.

 

 

There was another user who reported that 3M riser cable worked fine. Take a look at the ultrabay thread for more info.

You mean, from Windows Device Manager?

 

 

I just plugged the GTX 970, and (looks like) it's working!

 

Thank you @High_Voltage for the BIOS, and Thank you @gerald for the adapter!

 

Edited August 26, 2018 by AllanDavidson
add images

[Andrew54]

Hello all,

 

I use an AMD card with bios 2.07 and an unmodified gen2 adapter (I think, it has Ultrabay/2 written on it).  I want to upgrade the wifi card, and need a whitelisted bios.  Just came across this thread and think the solution may be here.

 

I've flashed the modified 3.08 bios and ec, and the wifi card is now working.  However, I'm getting 'unauthorised slave vga' error upon boot.   

 

I can't quite figure out if I have missed something obvious.  Is what I'm trying to do possible?  Will it be possible if I unsolder the resister, or is this only for NVIDIA gpus?

 

Thanks!

[High_Voltage]

@Andrew54 The version 2 of the adapter only works with v2.07 BIOS. Converting the adapter into version 3 by removing the resistor or cutting the track will solve your issue.

 

Another option for you might be to install the Svl7's modified v2.07 BIOS instead. 

[Andrew54]

Great, thank you for the suggestions! So just to clarify, mine is definitely version 2 right? I did buy it pretty early on, and I wouldn't want to modify version 1 if it doesn't work. Hopefully version 1 would say Ultrabay/1 on it

[Bos Maior]

Yours is almost certainly version 2.

 

Three versions of the Y510P Graphics Adapter exist:

 

* Version 1: this is the experimental version which Gerald originally posted about.

* Version 2: this is the version that Gerald sold in 2016 and part of 2017. It requires BIOS version 2.07 and Windows 10 to function. Earlier BIOS versions may also work.

* Version 3: this is the current version. Thanks to a discovery first posted to the forums by user David 'Soap' Washington, it should work with any BIOS version, as long as one uses an AMD graphics card rather than an NVIDIA one. It may also work Windows 7, 8 and 8.1, in addition to Windows 10.

To use an NVIDIA card you of course need the BIOS mod discussed in this thread.

[HCao]

On 2018/8/28 at 3:51 PM, Andrew54 said:

Great, thank you for the suggestions! So just to clarify, mine is definitely version 2 right? I did buy it pretty early on, and I wouldn't want to modify version 1 if it doesn't work. Hopefully version 1 would say Ultrabay/1 on it

Yeah, yours is version/2, same with mine. It has "version/2" on the board. Since you are using AMD card, why not use modified 2.07?

FYI: To convert version/2 to version/3(ish) is pretty simple. Simply removing that 1k resistor will do the work.

[antistatic85]

Hello I am new to the forum and from Germany.
I am the owner of an EGPU adapter from Gerald for several days now. I have according to the instructions the BIOS Modkit flashed V3.08 with Nvidia support.

The process has worked without problems only my BIOS freezes me constantly after a few seconds. I have already left the EC only on V2.07 which has led to no success. The BIOS freezes me now synonymous if I have no EGPU Adpater installed. Windows can be started but without problems with and without adapter.

A few details about the system:
Y510P with Nvidia 755M
CPU Update to 4940MX
RAM 16GB
Adapter Version 2 (GTX970)

When I install the Stock BIOS 2.07 again, there are no more freezes.

Maybe someone can help?

Edited September 7, 2018 by antistatic85

[Low Beholder]

47 minutes ago, antistatic85 said:

CPU Update to 3940XM
 

 

How did you put 3940XM? It has FCPGA988 socket and 4700mq has FCPGA946 so 988 pins vs 946 pins. I though best you can go is 4910MQ 

[antistatic85]

23 minutes ago, Low Beholder said:

 

How did you put 3940XM? It has FCPGA988 socket and 4700mq has FCPGA946 so 988 pins vs 946 pins. I though best you can go is 4910MQ 

My misstake. It is a 4940MX. Sorry

[Low Beholder]

1 hour ago, antistatic85 said:

 I have already left the EC only on V2.07 which has led to no success. 

 

The EC should also be V3.08 . Different EC version can lead in some cases to no boot at all..

[High_Voltage]

1 hour ago, antistatic85 said:

The process has worked without problems only my BIOS freezes me constantly after a few seconds. I have already left the EC only on V2.07 which has led to no success. The BIOS freezes me now synonymous if I have no EGPU Adpater installed. Windows can be started but without problems with and without adapter.

 

1 hour ago, antistatic85 said:

Adapter Version 2 (GTX970)

 

You need to upgrade your adapter to version 3. In order to do that, you need to either desolder the resistor or cut the track as indicated in this post.

[antistatic85]

1 hour ago, High_Voltage said:

You need to upgrade your adapter to version 3. In order to do that, you need to either desolder the resistor or cut the track as indicated in this po

Same problem. BIOS and EC Updated to v3.08 MOD NVIDIA. BIOS freezes after few seconds. Windows starts normally and the Adapter works fine. I have desolder the resistor.

Edited September 7, 2018 by antistatic85

[antistatic85]

1 hour ago, antistatic85 said:

Same problem. BIOS and EC Updated to v3.08 MOD NVIDIA. BIOS freezes after few seconds. Windows starts normally and the Adapter works fine. I have desolder the resistor.

Problem found. The BIOS must be set under "OS Optimized Defaults" = [Other OS]. BIOS works fine now without freeze.

[just0]

Hi Guys, new to the forum,

 

 I have a y410p and just purchased a Toshiba m.2 SSD RC100, 240GB. I installed it into my laptop but the bios and Windows does not see it. Other forums have noted it's probably due to the whitelist, and lead me here as in an attempt to troubleshoot I updated my bios to v3.08. I have a few questions in regards to the process:

 

- Each time I try to download the Universal BIOS Backup Toolkit, Windows tells me there is a virus in it and deletes the file? It this a legit program and how do I get around this?

 

- Where do I find the 'patchers' needed to create the MDDED308.bin? Is there a specific reason that I have to mod my own bios, or can someone provide me with a copy of the MDDED308.bin

 

- Where do I get v2.07 of the bios?

 

I feel like I am missing alot of details... any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited September 30, 2018 by just0

[High_Voltage]

2 hours ago, just0 said:

Hi Guys, new to the forum,

 

 I have a y410p and just purchased a Toshiba m.2 SSD RC100, 240GB. I installed it into my laptop but the bios and Windows does not see it. Other forums have noted it's probably due to the whitelist, and lead me here as in an attempt to troubleshoot I updated my bios to v3.08. I have a few questions in regards to the process:

 

- Each time I try to download the Universal BIOS Backup Toolkit, Windows tells me there is a virus in it and deletes the file? It this a legit program and how do I get around this?

 

- Where do I find the 'patchers' needed to create the MDDED308.bin? Is there a specific reason that I have to mod my own bios, or can someone provide me with a copy of the MDDED308.bin

 

- Where do I get v2.07 of the bios?

 

I feel like I am missing alot of details... any help would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Hi! 

 

I honestly don't think your issue is caused by the whitelist. Whitelist usually only applies to wireless-capable devices, which an SSD is not. I suspect whitelisting wireless devices simplifies the FCC certification process to Lenovo or something on these lines...

 

Your issue is most likely caused by the fact that you have purchased an NVMe SSD, while these old laptops only support msata in the m.2 port. 

 

This aside, the patchers should be in the same archive everything else is in. The reasons to mod your own BIOS rather than using someone else's are to retain your Windows key and keep original ME region in place (this is something you really don't want to mess with unless you know what you're doing). 

 

The Backup Toolkit should be the real deal unless the link I have provided ages ago now leads to something malicious... 

[roch.mirabeau]

thanks for this guide

[viler80]

Hallo. Desperately need your help.
I flashed the modified 3.08 bios from the head of this thread. My laptop booted up, so I thought it was ok to change graphics memory settings (it was 512, I set to 1024).
and the PC refused to start after reboot : black screen, keyboard highlighted, fans are spinning.
What I tried is :
Kept the power button pressed for more than a minute, didn't work.
(According to the instruction) Tried to re-flash bios by plugging flash drive in and holding down win+r, to no result.
Kept buttons pressed up to 5 minutes, nothing.
Is there something else to be done in this situation? Any help would be much appreciated

[Klem]

40 minutes ago, viler80 said:

Hallo. Desperately need your help.
I flashed the modified 3.08 bios from the head of this thread. My laptop booted up, so I thought it was ok to change graphics memory settings (it was 512, I set to 1024).
and the PC refused to start after reboot : black screen, keyboard highlighted, fans are spinning.
What I tried is :
Kept the power button pressed for more than a minute, didn't work.
(According to the instruction) Tried to re-flash bios by plugging flash drive in and holding down win+r, to no result.
Kept buttons pressed up to 5 minutes, nothing.
Is there something else to be done in this situation? Any help would be much appreciated

Hi!

lets try to reset the BIOS to defaults blindly. Follow the following procedure:
1. Turn laptop on.
2. Immediately keep pressing F2 non-stop for about 4 seconds
3. Press F9. Hit Enter key.
4. Press F10. Hit Enter key.
5. The  laptop restarts and now all should be good. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Klem

[High_Voltage]

38 minutes ago, viler80 said:

Hallo. Desperately need your help.
I flashed the modified 3.08 bios from the head of this thread. My laptop booted up, so I thought it was ok to change graphics memory settings (it was 512, I set to 1024).
and the PC refused to start after reboot : black screen, keyboard highlighted, fans are spinning.
What I tried is :
Kept the power button pressed for more than a minute, didn't work.
(According to the instruction) Tried to re-flash bios by plugging flash drive in and holding down win+r, to no result.
Kept buttons pressed up to 5 minutes, nothing.
Is there something else to be done in this situation? Any help would be much appreciated

 

Do you have access to another computer? Can you make sure the Yx01.bin file is in the root of the flash drive and the flash drive is formatted in FAT32? If these conditions are satisfied and you've performed the procedure described in the original post correctly, the computer should be able to pick the file up and reflash itself. Pay attention that you need to plug the drive into specific USB port. You generally need to hold the buttons for about a minute and then let it sit for about 10 minutes or so to do its thing. If your flash drive has an LED, you'll immediately see whether the computer is reading files or whether it has failed.

 

Anyway, I'd try the @Klem's advice first. This is a more sensible thing to try in this situation.

[viler80]

Many thanks for replying.
Nothing came out of the method proposed by @Klem : the laptop is unresponsive to keys and is not restarting.
@High_Voltage, I've checked my flash drive, everything's fine with it (it's the same drive I used for flashing). it sit for more than 10 minutes, sadly no response. Now I have a suspicion that USB port is not functioning properly, gonna take the thing to a workshop for inspection/repair tomorrow. Perhaps, there's something else to be done right now?

[High_Voltage]

6 hours ago, viler80 said:

Perhaps, there's something else to be done right now?

 

I would strongly recommend trying different flash drive. Preferably with USB2.0, activity LED and small size like 4GB or so.

[Klem]

12 hours ago, viler80 said:

Many thanks for replying.
Nothing came out of the method proposed by @Klem : the laptop is unresponsive to keys and is not restarting.

If you laptop can start's, booting in Windows, but with black/blank display, then it means that you can reset the BIOS to default settings blindly.

Try completely disable laptop with press and hold Power/Start button. Then:

1. Press and hold F2 key
2. Turn laptop on. ( still hold F2 key)

3. Wait 5-7 sec, then release F2 key.

3. Press F9, then press Enter key.
4. Press F10, then press Enter key.
5. The  laptop restarts and now all should be good. 

 

Also 100% worked method:

Pull out all RAM modules, enable laptop without all RAM modules. Then disable laptop. Then temporarily insert only one different RAM module (with another memory size or different manufacturer), and start laptop. After these steps bios should be reset to default settings.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Klem

[High_Voltage]

Speaking of RAM, there should be a pair of pads under the black sticker behind RAM sticks. Shorting these together with tweezers will reset CMOS too.

 

Of course it will be no help if you managed to initiate emergency reflash and interrupted it mid-way, damaging the BIOS flash contents. 

[Yar]

Thank you very much for your hard work.