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[revised by svl7, 01/22/12]

Here are some unlocked versions of the M18x BIOS, this means all the hidden BIOS menus are now available.

This allows you to further tweak and overclock your machine, but some settings are very advanced and not meant to be touched by the average user, so use it with care and common sense.

Unfortunately quite some of the links which were previously posted here are now invalid due to what happened with megaupload.

I will try to recollect all the files and get fresh links, so I can provide the complete collection.

Here's what's available for now:

[unlocked] M18x BIOS A03

[unlocked] M18x BIOS A04

both modified and provided by Ahmed from BIOS-Mods, a big thanks to his amazing work!

Consider buying him a drink for all the effort!

[unlocked] M18x BIOS A05

modified by @svl7

After flashing, go to the BIOS menu and load the default settings to prevent possible issues.

As always with such mods, you are responsible for what you do to your system, use at your own risk.

M18x - A05 unlocked.zip

Edited by svl7
Overhaul due to invalid links ("megaupload incident")
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  • 1 month later...
Any new in A04? I'm still using A00.

My system shipped with A02, is pretty important to have but I'm not certain... a03 added cpu support for 2960xm and the new A04 was mostly some adjustments for those with the GT580M. So nothing is a must... but I am on the current A04 unlocked bios with no probs...

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  • 1 month later...

I learned some new stuff... here's BIOS A05 unlocked ...but I haven't got a system to test it... anyone willing to do so?

It's the first time I've done this, but I think it will work ;) In the worst case there's still the well-known recovery method.

If anyone is going to test it, let me know and report back!

EDIT: Tested and confirmed to work, so go ahead and flash :D Thanks @mw86 for testing!!

M18x - A05 unlocked.zip

Edited by svl7
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svl7 said:
I learned some new stuff... here's BIOS A05 unlocked ...but I haven't got a system to test it... anyone willing to do so?

It's the first time I've done this, but I think it will work ;) In the worst case there's still the well-known recovery method.

If anyone is going to test it, let me know and report back!

if you tell me you did it like those like Ahmed did then i will flash and test... but if Ec or certain areas are touched it will cause bigger issues... I trust you SVL7... but any words of of the methodoligy was similar? I'm not new to comps but i've never actually needed the blind recovery.

oh i'm nervous... gonna try it but will need help following how to do blind recovery if it fails... i'll post back here after testing with either good or bad news...

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mw86 said:
if you tell me you did it like those like Ahmed did then i will flash and test... but if Ec or certain areas are touched it will cause bigger issues... I trust you SVL7... but any words of of the methodoligy was similar? I'm not new to comps but i've never actually needed the blind recovery.

It's the same method, I only made the not visible menus available, I didn't touch anything else.

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I learned some new stuff... here's BIOS A05 unlocked ...but I haven't got a system to test it... anyone willing to do so?

It's the first time I've done this, but I think it will work ;) In the worst case there's still the well-known recovery method.

If anyone is going to test it, let me know and report back!

Ehhmm... like i said in the rep phrase - RESPECT!:very_drunk:

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@slv7 great work :) should the multipliers be able to go above 45? Or is that only possible via hex edit

I only changed the available menus, I didn't touch anything else... so it will be just as in the stock A05 BIOS for the multis.

Has there been a modified BIOS which had a higher possible multi setting? I don't even know what the max supported multi of the CPU is...

Edited by svl7
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@slv7 great work :) should the multipliers be able to go above 45? Or is that only possible via hex edit

Use intel XTU bios 45x is limit... set multis in Intel XTU and max is 51x but i have not booted in 51x with all cores on in bios just 2 at 99.5 baseclock for 5080mhz dual core not HT hehehehe. So for all cores and HT enabled max i've booted is 50x and Intell XTU can do it... dont enter the bios menu that has the multis after setting in XTU or it resets to the 45x max of the bios and yes the unlocked bios multi max is also 45x... For 50x try to limit to 1,2,3,active core and 49X max on 4 active core turbo multis as it requires a lot of voltage and may not boot for everyone not all chips are equal... i've seen them max at almost 4.9ghz and mine i've got to 5090mhz. So because of binning it luck of draw so test ranges before jumping large amounts in your overclock. Because of heat and needing to add voltage real world use of higher speeds in 4active core mode with HT may show drops in speed or too much heat you will need to choose what to limit things to for that reason. Let me know if you need additional advice my guide in my sig shows various setups i've done... just click through the "spoilers" i put them there so it was shorter on the page....

btw I added bios link guys to the OP also...

Edited by mw86
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  • 2 weeks later...
Hello

How is possible to mod bios splash screen on M18xR1 with my avatar for example?

best regards

No idea, I once read about how to do this for Phoenix BIOS, but no idea about Insyde. Also I think it's not worth the effort, you see the boot screen for about 2 seconds, then the OS starts to load... you could instead change the animation of your OS loading screen. That's pretty easy and not as likely to brick your system.

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This can be done on the M18x using the unlocked bios. I'll see if I can find those instructions... Something else that I should also add to the unlocked bios guide I posted. I'll dig out that info. BTW @ixbo the max multi now so far is 53x using same method I used of booting with less cores. And no hyperthreading Johnkss has booted and cpuz validated a 53x @ 99.46 on 1 core on via unlocked bios and using the Intel xtu for the multiplier. My system is being repaired but ill try the 53x to when it's back. Mine is the 2920xm... John's is the 2960xm... Could be its more capable but could find a 2920xm binned better than that you never know.

Edited by mw86
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Hi!

Thanks for doing this and posting the files, especially. Now, at the risk of looking clueless, is there a post somewhere that goes into the options that are exposed by the unlocked BIOS? I have been out of this level of fiddling with PCs for about five years and some this stuff just sails over my head, so I am reluctant to start experimenting. However, I would kind of like to tweak my system to my preferences (that's why we all want these images in the first place, right?). Many thanks in advance and I apologize if I missed an already obvious post on this.

P.S. I hope I am not 'necroing' too old a thread but I figure a couple of months is not awful.

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Hi and welcome to T|I!

Don't worry, the thread isn't dead, this is the number one source for modded M18x BIOS ;)

I can't remember whether there have been screenshots of the menus somewhere on the forum, but you can find -2.html#post10874"]screenshots of the unlocked menus of the M17x R3 BIOS here, should be pretty much the same as in the M18x. Of course if you have an XM CPU in the M18x, you'll see the advanced CPU overclocking options in addition to this, but that's independent of whether the BIOS is unlocked or not. Hope this helps.

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Hi!

Thanks for doing this and posting the files, especially. Now, at the risk of looking clueless, is there a post somewhere that goes into the options that are exposed by the unlocked BIOS? I have been out of this level of fiddling with PCs for about five years and some this stuff just sails over my head, so I am reluctant to start experimenting. However, I would kind of like to tweak my system to my preferences (that's why we all want these images in the first place, right?). Many thanks in advance and I apologize if I missed an already obvious post on this.

P.S. I hope I am not 'necroing' too old a thread but I figure a couple of months is not awful.

here you go check this one to get used to the normal bios options and descriptions with pics http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m18x/1054-alienware-m18x-stock-bios-xm-guide.html

after reading that thread go here and read though... ignore anything directly referencing using the hexeditor to mod the bios all other content in this thread is related to our M18x unlocked bios and has pics for you. http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m18x/1125-m18x-a03-bios-modifying-via-da_gs-method-hex-registers-editing.html#post13085 after that please mention or quote me and i'll be more than glad to help you set up from there.

here i have post on common voltages needed for what cpu frequencies. and thats located in this thread here :)http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m18x/1491-2920xm-overclocking-guide-detailed-results.html any questions we will be glad to help. @svl7 thank you for covering that question.

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  • 3 months later...

Here's a slideshow I slapped together for noobs to overclocking. These are the CPU OC settings I use for normal everyday use. Temps stay well controlled and performance is very good.

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UKIGn_V2Cg?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

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