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My Nvidia control panel detects two graphic cards, but there is no 'SLI' option in the settings for me to enable.

Is it more likely that there is a BIOS setting (in the a05 flashed bios for m18x r1) I need to fix, or might there be something wrong with my SLI bridge?

I would say try reseating the SLI cable and not likely bios related. if still fails it could be a break in the SLI cable wires

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  • 2 weeks later...
hey can anyone send me M18x - A05 unlocked.zip this file :) cant download it from here :( i have a05 stock bios now.. thank you

my email: [email protected]

What seems to be the problem? I downloaded the attatchment with no issues. What browser are you using? Do you have enough posts to download from the forum?

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  • 2 months later...

Is it necessary to unlock the bios to upgrade the GPU's in the M18xR1? According to Speccy, my motherboard is version A05 and I'm looking to do a GPU upgrade here soon. I'm toying between trying the new VBIOS released by @svl7 for a GTX 970m or going with the tried and true GTX 780m.

Cheers,

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  • 2 weeks later...
[revised by svl7, 01/22/12]

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

Just remember to change your SATA operation back to AHCI if necessary after resetting to defaults. I just re-flashed my BIOS with the unlocked version of A05, then entered the BIOS setup on reboot to reset to defaults. I had forgot that for my setup I need AHCI selected for SATA operation instead of RAID to make the Vertex 3 boot. So on the initial boot I was a little (ok, a lot) worried when I saw BSOD shortly after the win boot screen. I thought for sure I has messed up the BIOS and was destined to follow the recovery steps (which I had fortunately printed out for such an occasion) to get my machine back.

But the BIOS was fine, just had to change SATA operation back to AHCI and all is well. Advanced overclock options available! Though, I'm not sure how much my i7 2720QM would take.

Thanks @svl7, beers on me.

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  • 1 month later...

I doubt it... you should be good to go. This should work fine with stock BIOS. GPU upgrade problems have never been an issue until Maxwell. Well, if we don't count 880M, since it does not work all that great on any machine.

Only change your BIOS to AHCI if you made the mistake of installing Windows with it set to AHCI instead of RAID in the first place. RAID is the default setting and best choice (even if you are not running drives in RAID at this time) since it includes AHCI, offers everything AHCI does, plus flexibility that AHCI does not. You only need AHCI if you use crapware like Samsung Magician or other OEM SSD toolbox crud because most of them were written by half-assed developers that did not take time to include RAID support. If you set it for something different than the way Windows was installed, Windows will not boot.

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  • 1 month later...

I am interested in trying the unlocked A05 for my R1, but I can't seem to find it here. Where can I find the most current copy? I plan to change out my cards for the 780M SLI this weekend. Just waiting for the x-brackets. Thanks.

Oops. I was looking at the wrong place. Flashing was easy using the first method. Cheers (and beers) to Ahmed and Svl7. Thanks @mw86 for your initial post.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have the A05 stock BIOS (m18x R1) and for some reason the CPU/GPU fans won't turn on until temp reaches 60 C, at that moment they lower the temp down to 45 C and turn off again, repeating the same cycle over and over.

Anybody had that same issue? Is there a chance to fix that with the unlocked BIOS ver?

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The fan tables are controlled in the EC and that is not easily modded. The behavior is intended. Alienware released that BIOS like it is on purpose to stop 6990M CrossFried for burning itself up from the fans not running when they should.

You can read more about why in this thread: AMD 6900M Series - Overheating and Thermal Shutdown (Alienware / NBR Teleconference)

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The fan tables are controlled in the EC and that is not easily modded. The behavior is intended. Alienware released that BIOS like it is on purpose to stop 6990M CrossFried for burning itself up from the fans not running when they should.

You can read more about why in this thread: AMD 6900M Series - Overheating and Thermal Shutdown (Alienware / NBR Teleconference)

Thank you for that link.

So, the fan tables are still the same no matter what video card the system came bundled with? Mine came with a GeForce GTX 460M... I will read all those threads in full.

I am currently using HWiNFO64 to manually control the fans, I thought I might be able to correct such behavior with an unlocked BIOS version. :(

Would anybody still recommend to flash it?

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  • 1 month later...

Hi all,

installed the unlocked bios and found that I can see my integrated card in the bios or fn+f7, any reason why this maybe happen?

Had to revert back to stock.

actually that dont work either.

any suggestions?

regards

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello,

I have been running the unlocked A05 Bios on my R1 and found a sweet overclock and I am happy with the scores. I was trying out different programs, like Afterburner, Throttlestop, Nvidia inspector and HWinfo64. I was happy with how everything was running, but noticed that when I go into the BIOS I can no longer change any of the values that I had set. I tried going back to the stock BIOS and found the same settings, but again I could not change any of the values. I have tried an earlier image of my system, but with the same result. When I flashed back to the Modded Bios, still the same overclocked settings that I am not able to change. Does anyone have an idea what might have happened to my BIOS? My R1 is still running great, but I can't change anything. I have never tried resetting CMOS or the Blind recovery method for the R1; would this be helpful? Do any of these programs (MSI AB, Inspector, etc) affect the control of or change the BIOS permanently?

Thanks@Mr Fox: I saw a post on another site indicating to pick the option under the "Exit" reverting to optimal settings. The Bios works now and I can adjust the settings. Thanks.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

sir, good day.. im having problem on my m18x r1 with bios version a05, kinda unstable, and i notice my 7970m becomes 8970m after my brother updated the bios, intel hd wasnt shown to device manager> display adapters, i cant even install intell hd 3000 driver because it says that my "system doesnt meet the minimum requirements" .... can your m18x r1 a05 can fix those problems.? can you link me bios modded a05... thanks in advance sir..

iCcie21

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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!

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

sir, good day.. im having problem on my m18x r1 with bios version a05, kinda unstable, and i notice my 7970m becomes 8970m after my brother updated the bios, intel hd wasnt shown to device manager> display adapters, i cant even install intell hd 3000 driver because it says that my "system doesnt meet the minimum requirements" .... can your m18x r1 a05 can fix those problems.? can you link me bios modded a05... can you give a guide how to flash my m18x bios..? thanks in advance sir..

iCcie21

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sir, good day.. im having problem on my m18x r1 with bios version a05, kinda unstable, and i notice my 7970m becomes 8970m after my brother updated the bios, intel hd wasnt shown to device manager> display adapters, i cant even install intell hd 3000 driver because it says that my "system doesnt meet the minimum requirements" .... can your m18x r1 a05 can fix those problems.? can you link me bios modded a05... thanks in advance sir..

iCcie21

With the unlocked bios you can manually boot to the intel igpu. I forget the exact location and name but you switch from PEG to IGPU. If you install the original drivers from dell which include Alien OSD and etc it will allow the key combination that allows you to switch to igpu with a reboot from within Windows. Its on like the F5 button, I can't remember was a few year without M18x R1 now. Since these systems don't use optimus or the AMD equivalent the gpu in use must be switched to from bios or windows through a reboot.

The 7970m and 8970m is the same card i think so if it shows that and works it should be no issue.

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With the unlocked bios you can manually boot to the intel igpu. I forget the exact location and name but you switch from PEG to IGPU. If you install the original drivers from dell which include Alien OSD and etc it will allow the key combination that allows you to switch to igpu with a reboot from within Windows. Its on like the F5 button, I can't remember was a few year without M18x R1 now. Since these systems don't use optimus or the AMD equivalent the gpu in use must be switched to from bios or windows through a reboot.

The 7970m and 8970m is the same card i think so if it shows that and works it should be no issue.

sir ... how can i flash my bios ... can you guide me step by step..? i really want to have unlock a05 bios.. because my bios is kinda unstable... help me sir .. thanks ..

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sir ... how can i flash my bios ... can you guide me step by step..? i really want to have unlock a05 bios.. because my bios is kinda unstable... help me sir .. thanks ..

Hi Pixma21 I would be glad to help with the best of my abilities. Download A05 unlocked zip from OP thanks to SVL7 :) and unzip the file into a folder on your pc inside windows. Make sure you are plugged into AC and imho you should disable all overclocking of any sort and use stock aettings while you proceed. Go ahead and open the file InsydeFlashx64.exe and the process will start. The fans should spin up and you should see bios updating with InsydeFlash. Let it finish and it should reboot when it is done or ask to. Once it completes and system reboots enter bios and reset to bios defaults and start putting your settings back. If you used it on Raid mode wether you had a Raid array setup put it back to Raid or if you had installed Windows on AHCI similarly set the same thing there. Get aquainted with the available options. I hope all goes well. I can do my best to answer questions if you have any further inquiry. Happy flashing and cheers!

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Hi Pixma21 I would be glad to help with the best of my abilities. Download A05 unlocked zip from OP thanks to SVL7 :) and unzip the file into a folder on your pc inside windows. Make sure you are plugged into AC and imho you should disable all overclocking of any sort and use stock aettings while you proceed. Go ahead and open the file InsydeFlashx64.exe and the process will start. The fans should spin up and you should see bios updating with InsydeFlash. Let it finish and it should reboot when it is done or ask to. Once it completes and system reboots enter bios and reset to bios defaults and start putting your settings back. If you used it on Raid mode wether you had a Raid array setup put it back to Raid or if you had installed Windows on AHCI similarly set the same thing there. Get aquainted with the available options. I hope all goes well. I can do my best to answer questions if you have any further inquiry. Happy flashing and cheers!

thank you so much for precise answer and help you gave sir.. ^_^.. one more thing bother me.. what is i accidentally brick or fail the bios... .. will the cmos battery option will do.? do you have other alternatives to recover the bios.? hoping for your answer...

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thank you so much for precise answer and help you gave sir.. ^_^.. one more thing bother me.. what is i accidentally brick or fail the bios... .. will the cmos battery option will do.? do you have other alternatives to recover the bios.? hoping for your answer...

http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m14x-aw-14/1330-bios-reset-recovery-possible.html

@Brian was so gracious to post this back in 2011 which serves for M18xR1 generation instructions for blind flash recovery. Use the stock bios from the M18xR1 instead though ;)

I would gather all these ahead of time on a usb prepared and @svl7 has the best advice always in the world to set boot device priority to usb first then your drives before proceeding with the flash in case you need the usb method it boots automatically off usb without seeing anything on screen. I never had issues flashing in ll time I had on my M18xR1 but you never know. Best keep all hardware stock then restore overclocks if any afterwards. Cheers Ill keep an eye out if you have any further questions. Been awhile was a refresher for me lol. On Alien 18 and Eurocom Panther 5 currently :) cheers happy flashing. ~Marc

*added link almost forgot lol :)

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