New BIOS for 15R2/17R3 v1.4.4

Unfortunately I updated on the day the BIOS was released and everything seemed fine but did not use the system for about a week. Blue screens like crazy now.... And I cannot roll back. Thankfully the system is under warranty still. Dell tech support does not have a fix yet and basically told me I need to wait until a new bios/patch is released and will not offer another solution. The Dell rep did not have an ETA for the fix...

 

Try BIOS rollback as per this link *OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R3 Owner's Lounge

 

Dell's hired software engineers is probably in full work creating a new Firmware package with all fixes + something nasty on top. Be careful when it launch

 

I updated BIOS only to fix MEFW but its unfixed. So, if they continue the same thing, I refuse to update the BIOS and I will only update the ucode and nothing else.
Intel didn't even put some beta uCodes to test?

 

The ODM/OEM's is the GP'S this time The opposite of what M$ prefer and HAVE to do. Because Micro$haft haven't own software engineers anymore!!

 

Thanks, but I am a little leery after reading reports of bricked alienwares from BIOS downgrades!

 

I bricked the alienware bios after flashing modded BIOS.

 

Where did their engineers go?

 

Other jobs in other firms. Workers cost money, bruh. The OS users pay for their OS and on top being M$'s unpaid GP's Big win, but not for j00

 

That's the question every Dell and Aliwnware owner asked since 2015.

 

That's the same year I passed my bachelors in engg. and applied for my Master's degree in Computer science. Strange set of coincidences.

 

I never paid anything extra for an OS. When I purchase new hardware W10 and MS Office 20xx comes along with it.

 

And you think Micro$oft give out their work for free?

 

Why not? They'll definitely do it for me. Or I can simply download them and use it for free.
I never paid for Windows SW. I think you know what I mean. These days it doesn't make sense to buy W10 since they release/force nasty builds.
Do you know of a site where I can purchase Geekbench 4?
At official site, the bank simply refuses to accept/make Xacts transaction.

 

When you order a Alienware from Dell... Do you think Dell get free OS licenses from Micro$hity? Aka M$ run Charity?

License refund policy
Microsoft does not provide refunds for Windows licenses sold through an OEM, including licenses that come with the purchase of a computer or are pre-installed on a computer.

"In 2009, Microsoft stated that it has always charged OEMs about $50 for a Windows license on a $1,000 computer. In 2007, Dell stated that its computers with Ubuntu installed would be priced about $50 lower than comparable systems with Windows installed. In a 2010 ZDNet article, Chris Clay wrote that Dell computers with Ubuntu preinstalled were priced higher than identical systems with Windows preinstalled, even though Ubuntu is free and open source. The claimed increase in the price of a computer resulting from the inclusion of a Windows license has been called the "Windows tax" or "Microsoft tax" by opposing computer users.

Some computer purchasers request refunds for Windows licenses included with their purchased computers because they do not want to use Windows, preferring an operating system such as Linux instead. Jeff Walsh of InfoWorld said that businesses with site licenses can save money by requesting refunds of Windows licenses included with purchased computers.

Users can avoid the "Windows tax" altogether by assembling a computer from individually purchased parts or purchasing a computer from an OEM that does not bundle Windows. Some smaller OEMs and larger retail chains such as System76 have taken to specializing in Linux-based systems to their advantage from major suppliers' paucity of non-Windows offerings. Beginning in 2007, Dell offered computers with Ubuntu pre-installed. In 2014, Hewlett-Packard stated that it sells "units bundled with a built-in OS and those without". Some Linux distributors also run 'partnership' programs to endorse suppliers of machines with their system pre-installed. Some vendors purchase computers from major OEMs, install Linux on them, and resell them. Chris Clay of ZDNet wrote that employee discount programs create a financial incentive to purchase computers from a large manufacturer, even if the manufacturer does not offer computers without Windows.


Try it next time you buy from Dell

 

These days OS and MSO license prices are included in Dell laptops in India, so its a win-win situation for Dell and MSFT.

 

But you can't chose what you want. You have to pay for that OS licence, bruh. Nothing is FREE my friend Not even the so called free WinCrap X upgrade from Micro$cam. Was it free? Nope!! You paid a Hell of a price. Your privacy on top and with ads

 

MicroScam got me on FCU. I paid the price with my soul.

 

WIndows 7 almost collects a similar amount of data, it isnt new, it really isnt.

 

I know, and they increased it for older OS after they throw out their newer pastel colored tile OS trash. It's a reason people still want old Win 7. And not only due to old habit.
Windows7/8 - Updates to hide to prevent Windows 10 Upgrade / Disable Telemetry

 

Just wanted to say that I've downgraded my 15R2 to 1.3.12 as well, using c69k's instructions here. Also have a look at this post if you're getting keyboard issues when downgrading.

 

Hey Fe, after downgrading to bios 1.3.12 were the issues solved or not?

 

Actually just tested this and it's still not powering off completely on shutdown (lights and fans remain on), waited for a few minutes before I got fed up and did it manually. No problems in Device manager wrt TPM, though. Also startup is fast again.
So, 2/3 working, not exactly where we want to be, but better than 0/3.

 

YOU can use Dell Gset WinPE too to upgrade/downgrade BIOS instantly.

 

Thanks for the info. Did you clear the CMOS after the downgrade?

 

No... erm, should I?

 

Someone recommended me to do this after the downgrade, but not sure if this helps in some way.

 

@Vasudev @Papusan Have u tried this, i dont have linux tho, intel documentation shows it will leave a log register of PROCHOT or BD PROCHOT.. not so sure, im sick of waiting for new BIOS and NEW ME FW..

https://github.com/opcm/pcm

 

I haven't come across it. I installed DPTF driver on Linux just to get the fans spinning when temps reach 80C, otherwise the fans won't spin until 90-95C.

 

fans wont spin, cause dell told them not to spin, they crippling even the fans.. haha.. i have lost intrest on fixing the throttle.. how do u reach 90C on CPU lol.. gaming on linux ??

 

A simple Blender render using CPU and GPU 980M to render very fast.

 

i dint know u use blender, btw im on latest 1.4.4, i just used TS after a long time, negative -125 on all 5 things, core, cache, ipgu, analog, system.. and i realised inside FIVR panel, there is a option which shows Power cut on IVR box, shows locked on Microcode 0XC2, do u have the same thing on ur TS FIVR panel ?

 

Just cleared the CMOS and it seems that it solved the shutdown issue. So everything's back to normal now as it was in 1.3.12.
(Did scare myself though, didn't reseat the RAM properly so got some unfriendly beeps on startup... sorted it out afterwards so all's good now).

 

Imagine oc'd 4930mx without Liquid metal and no Hwinfo maxed fans in AW17 and 18 running bench They will start run 80% of max speed (can't run 100%. Only when you flash firmware )when the machine have reached thermal shutdown

 

Powercut is present on select Haswell and broadwell chips.

 

I'm glad to hear that. So you have opened the laptop to clear the cmos with a screwdriver or something like that right?

 

Yup.

 

In my case after clearing CMOS the shutdown issue is still there

 

After clearing CMOS, wait for 5-10mins and then start the PC.

 

@ilicitano Just to add about clearing cmos.. It would indicate that the CMOS has been cleared if you first turn on your laptop, the power button will light up but then turn off again which you have to press the power button again to turn the laptop on. Also when you go into bios you have to set the correct time.. hope this helps..

 

@ 0lok thanks. I'm pretty sure I have cleared CMOS because the laptop restarted automatically about 2-3 times before loading windows. It's the second time I have cleared CMOS so looks this issue is not related with it. Maybe is some driver installed or so.

 

@VICKYGAMEBOY @Papusan @HunterZ0 @rinneh @0lok
For those who like to upgrade your MEI_FW to fix Intel SA00086.

1. Uninstall MEI driver completely using revo or similar
2. Reboot
3. I hope everybody downloaded latest MEI SW from Dell, if so, unpack it using 7-zip or winrar and you should get SetupME.exe along with few files
4. Follow this guide https://gist.github.com/CHEF-KOCH/15ef90bb4c7ac7aa7923de625c98cd41
5. Open cmd or powershell in elevated mode and type the first cmd:
   Code:

   SetupME.exe -tcs -nodrv

6. Don't close the cmd prompt window yet since we need to type some cmds to install the driver only version:
   Code:

   SetupME.exe -drvonly

7. After that, download Prema ME11 tool
8. Unpack ME11 tool with Password: premamod.com and open cmd prompt or powershell as admin pointing to ME11 folder location. For example look at the screenie below:
9. Type the cmd:
   Code:

   FWUpdLcl64.exe -f Data.bin -forcereset

10. Make sure you're connected to AC power. This is the final result I got.

Hope this helps everybody.

Note: I observed issues like VICKYGAMEBOY had where, TPm would show Code 10 error after Clearing the TPM via Windows. I had to uninstall the driver and reset the BIOS to default and had to Program Main,Boot and NVRAM using AFUWinx64 just to get TPM device up and running. And one more thing SA0086 Intel's tool was giving a warning saying re-key was needed. Re-key will not be shown if you followed my guide. Hopefully fingers crossed.
@VICKYGAMEBOY Please test it.
If you guys aren't clearing TPM then I feel TPM device will be working perfectly. As always, if you're out of warranty or afraid don't try this.
I leave @VICKYGAMEBOY to become the tester. Even I'm out of warranty and successfully flashed it with zero issues.
Bonus or easter egg: Booting to W10 is slightly faster say 1-3 secs and initialises very quickly. Do note I used Prema's generic MEFW rather than Dell's firmware. By doing this, all future MEFW update can be done locally because it is enabled and not locked by BIOS. Thanks to Chef Koch.
Chef Koch mentioned that this 11.8 solves most issues but one exploit is remaining namely "Pawned by USB exploit" which is fixed in 11.8.

 

i will test it after 15th, im doing some project with my laptop currently, and i dont have another system on standby.. nice post tho..

 

No problem, take your time.

 

@Vasudev @Papusan @judal57 there is a new bios published today, same version number, but marked as urgent, im gonna flash and see how things goes..

 

Why does the BIOS contain the microcode that Intel pulled? Anyway I already have ME and uCode updated in 1.3.12.

 

@Vasudev @Papusan are they fooking kidding me, its the same bios they published again without the ME Firmware updated, at this point im afraid to ask anything from dell, still vulnerable to SA0086, did they publish wrong bios once again, godamn dell

 

Can you try rolling back? Does it still say its protected and cannot roll back?

 

Apply the ME FW yourself, takes a min or two, disable AV before continuing the FW patch. Follow instruction like I mentioned in older posts.
Bootup in 3 sec faster and CPU stutters less when workload is 100%.

 

They re-released it because Microsoft put out a fix to keep the reboots from happening...

As far as they are concerned, they are "following what Intel and Microsoft recommend" which is horsesh*t...

They love the fact is brings systems to their knees because it helps them sell more systems... Unknowing consumers blame the exploits, and the vendors get a chance to sell more products with lies... win-win for the vendors...

Ideally all of this should be put on hold until a real fix is put in place on all levels... But that will require work on everyones part and the vendors really don't care about support at all... They just want to prevent the possibility of consumers getting pissed off and class-action suits because they didn't take any action...