P150EM upgrade to gtx 980m

[bassistas]

Hi guys, I recently got a gtx 980m (msi version) from ebay to upgrade this old laptop which already has installed the premamod 1.02.17PM V2 bios. After installing the card I got into the bios and I noticed that on VGA card section  it says: N/A and the laptop starts beeping after about 1 minute with fans at full speed and finally it shuts down. So I guess I also need to flash the GPU with the custom vbios from premamod website which unfortunately isn't available anymore as I see. Does anyone have this file to share it? I found this link https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/214971/214971 here which looks to be the bios I'm looking for but I'm not sure and I'm afraid to flash it at the moment , I don't want to take the risk and brick the gpu.

Also is there any way to prevent the laptop from shutting down? as this is going to stop the flashing in the middle of the process and brick the gou.

Edited October 12, 2024 by bassistas

[LindaTheOld]

Hi bassistas,

 

I just joined the forum as I have a similar situation with a P170EMx. I've read up on it and can conclude the following:

 

* The beeping, flashing and shutting down is caused by the BIOS as it can't get a temperature signal from the dGPU (dedicated, second, GPU).

Even if you have a working internal GPU, the system will not let you boot :-( To get around this you could put in any dGPU card in that will give the BIOS a thermal signal. If read well, you could desolder the GPU chip from the MXM card if you wish so... Did not try that myself as I'm not sure if this works when the BIOS says VGA N/A and still hope in vain to fix this with a dGPU one day. And this won't work if it is the motherboard's embedded controller that is broken.

 

However, there have also been discussions that there would be made a BIOS mod which makes it possible to switch this dGPU temperature signal check off.  If this is "P170EM_17_12_PM_v2_2T.rar" I'm not sure. At the moment I can't find a single reliable BIOS mod file, but I've been living under a rock, am old and need glasses. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be pleased and try it out.

 

* Not all types of Clevo supported GPU cards are really working.... I started out with an Nvidia card that worked less or more stable until the beep circus kept the computer from working. Hoping another dGPU card may just be the fix, I ordered an AMD Radeon 9870M from Ebay. Second hand, worth a try I thought. Bit of a thing to get the X bracket/heat spreader/back plate transferred (Nvidia is slightly different in size but with insulation between the bracket and the circuit board it should still be fine). Repasted the dGPU, and why not also the CPU, with fresh cooling paste. Screwed stuff back in place, fingers crossed and.... same beeping situation and in BIOS VGA N/A.

Now reading back on some threads and then it seems AMD cards are only supported by Clevo if they have been shipped within a Clevo build. :-/ if that can be fixed with a vBIOS mod I don't know. I assume not, as I would have expected that would have been said at that time.

 

Ok so, you talk about an MSI Nvidia card and afaik it matters only to AMD cards, but just wanted to share me newfound knowledge.

 

Now I'm new on this forum and it seems all experts from back-in-the-days are retired (and the premamod site just collects email addresses). Except for @Khenglish. Well, in deep sleep since 2021, but hoping  that he pays a visit here and can help us and other bummers that want to revive old P15x and P17x laptops.

 

 

Edit:  I just came across a newer thread with a working link and confirming my findings:

 

 

Going to try this. BUT I DON:T THINK YOU CAN USE A P17x BIOS UPDATE FOR AN P15x... sorry, I feel like hijacking your post

Edited June 11 by LindaTheOld
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