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    M11xR3 A04 BIOS Download?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by monkeeboy_uk, Sep 21, 2011.

  1. monkeeboy_uk

    monkeeboy_uk Newbie

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    Hi all,

    Have searched the forums and couldn't find any posts regarding this.

    Just got my M11xR3 and put Windows 7 Enterprise on it for work...

    When installing all the drivers I accidentally flashed BIOS A02 (downloaded from Dell's site) over A04.

    Is there anywhere to get the A04 BIOS download?

    Thanks...
     
    monkeeboy_uk, Sep 21, 2011
    #1
  2. DeeVu

    DeeVu That Compsci/Psych Major

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    A04? My new r3 only came with A03
     
    DeeVu, Sep 21, 2011
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  3. monkeeboy_uk

    monkeeboy_uk Newbie

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    Wish I took a screenshot but by the time it started flashing it was too late - no roll back either from what I can see. It was definately A04 though...

    Is A03 available to download somewhere in the absence of A04?
     
    monkeeboy_uk, Sep 21, 2011
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  4. CatWare

    CatWare Notebook Enthusiast

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    Are you sure you have an r3? Because the r2 newest bios is A04, r3's one is the A02...

    So if you really have an r3, that is most up-to-date drivers... According to Dell website
     
    CatWare, Sep 21, 2011
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  5. DeeVu

    DeeVu That Compsci/Psych Major

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    A03 has not been posted on their site yet but all new R3s are rolling out with it. This is the first I've heard about the A04 BIOS.
     
    DeeVu, Sep 21, 2011
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  6. tonkatrain

    tonkatrain Notebook Consultant

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    I have a brand new R3 and can confirm it came with A04. Is there any way i can extract it and upload it on here?
     
    tonkatrain, Sep 21, 2011
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  7. monkeeboy_uk

    monkeeboy_uk Newbie

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    Cool - thanks for confirming. If there's a way of dumping tonktrain's BIOS that would be sweet... Looks like Dell are being a bit tardy with their updates.
     
    monkeeboy_uk, Sep 21, 2011
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  8. DeeVu

    DeeVu That Compsci/Psych Major

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    Or they are waiting to see if anyone complains
     
    DeeVu, Sep 21, 2011
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  9. Glzmo

    Glzmo Notebook Deity

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    My M11x-R3 also came with the A04 BIOS pre-installed.
     
    Glzmo, Sep 21, 2011
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  10. gman901

    gman901 Notebook Consultant

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    Mine came with A04 as well! The alienware tech rep was surprised and said it should be A02. She checked and told me the factory has the latest bios and hasn't been added to the website. Maybe a04 is causing my USB 3 failures.
     
    gman901, Sep 21, 2011
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  11. IKAS V

    IKAS V Notebook Prophet

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    See or feel any difference with the new BIOS?
    Some early adopters have said it may effect the fan speed, is it still barely audible when doing basic stuff to full blast when gaming?
    I would have one by know if i wasnt hung up on the very loud fan as stated in the notebook review of the M11x.
    I know its like beating a dead horse but are the fans really that annoying?
    Im trying to convince myself its not as bad as some members have stated.
     
    IKAS V, Sep 22, 2011
    #11
  12. potentiality

    potentiality Notebook Consultant

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    I keep wondering that maybe the computers that came with the a03 had a hardware revision, and that a04 is just the upgrade for the a03..

    In other words.

    Motherboard Rev 1.0
    A01(Initial)
    A02

    Motherboard Rev1.1
    A03 (Initial)
    A04

    So those of us with the initial hardware revision cannot use these bioses as the MB is slightly different. Hence, why they have not posted it. Partly because I think there would be many confusing the two and bricking their original MB versions. While people like me who would ask they get the newer MB since they obviously encountered some issue that needed addressing (like heat).

    My MB was made in like 1st week in Feb or Jan.. I got it in June. Came with a01.

    This is just a theory though.
     
    potentiality, Sep 22, 2011
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  13. monkeeboy_uk

    monkeeboy_uk Newbie

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    Good theory but it allowed me to flash my A04 BIOS to A02 and I haven't had any problems... Just a little annoyed that it didn't give me any warning or prompt prior to flashing. My own fault for not double checking first and assuming the Dell Driver page would be up-to-date with their own BIOSs. :(
     
    monkeeboy_uk, Sep 22, 2011
    #13
  14. gman901

    gman901 Notebook Consultant

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    Fan speed is quiet when not gaming. As far as problems, I have already encountered blue screens and bios beeps pretty much straight out the factory. I am hoping a new bios comes out (AO5?).
     
    gman901, Sep 22, 2011
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  15. MassiveOverkill

    MassiveOverkill Notebook Consultant

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    CPUZ shows my Chipset as Rev.09 and Southbridge as ID1C4D Rev.05.....what are you guys who just bought yours revisions as reported by CPUZ? (assuming CPUZ is accurately reporting it)?
     
    MassiveOverkill, Sep 22, 2011
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  16. monkeeboy_uk

    monkeeboy_uk Newbie

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    Mine is reporting the same...
     
    monkeeboy_uk, Sep 22, 2011
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  17. potentiality

    potentiality Notebook Consultant

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    potentiality, Sep 23, 2011
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  18. potentiality

    potentiality Notebook Consultant

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    Bump. Can any of you A04 people do this? I really would like to try. Encountering an issue where my nvidia card crashes when using max, so I have to reboot system. And them temp was only in 60 Celsius.
     
    potentiality, Sep 26, 2011
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  19. tonkatrain

    tonkatrain Notebook Consultant

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    I will give the toolkit a try right now. I have noticed the above with fan speeds though. When at idle or even gaming on GMA+power saver mode it almost never even comes on. When it does come on it is nearly silent. When gaming on the nvidia GPU it jumps up to full blast and makes alot more noise than my old R2 did. The air coming out is MUCH cooler than the R2 while gaming though.
     
    tonkatrain, Sep 28, 2011
    #19
  20. tonkatrain

    tonkatrain Notebook Consultant

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    tonkatrain, Sep 28, 2011
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  21. potentiality

    potentiality Notebook Consultant

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    Hmm, the file (PAP00MEC) for the bios in the flashing program is 4,325,376 kb.

    I wonder if its not picking up the separate roms for the nvidia and network card.

    Anyone with experience at the modded Rev2 Voltage bios know how they extracted and created the new bios?
     
    potentiality, Sep 29, 2011
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  22. DavyGT

    DavyGT Overclocker

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    All the ROMs are integrated into a single BIOS file. Is stock load voltage for the 540M .98v?
     
    DavyGT, Sep 29, 2011
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  23. potentiality

    potentiality Notebook Consultant

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    I figured it out.

    Willing A04 Bios Holder:

    1. Download the A02 Bios for the r3. (We wont be flashing so don't worry about overwriting).

    Drivers & Downloads

    2. Extract the "phmlka02-W64" executable to a directory. Zzip can do this if not winrar/zip. 7-Zip

    * Right click on the exe and go to the 7zip drop down and choose extract archive to folder.

    3. Inside the phmlka02-W64 directory created. There is a file called platform.ini. I have a attached a modded platform.ini in which I modded the line to backup the bios. Replace the platform.ini with the one extracted from the zip I have included. FWIW if you don't want to download a file from a unknown person, here is what you change in it if you want to do it manually.

    Code: 
    [BackupROM]
Flag=1
FilePath=C:\
FileName=M11xR3.fd

    4. Start the "InsydeFlash" program inside this directory. Ignore the original one you downloaded.

    5. Hit the flash button.. Don't worry, it reads the bios first and writes the backup.

    6. After it does you get the "Are you sure" screen. CANCEL* at this point. Note: though your fan may be stuck on full blast until reboot.

    7. C:\ Main Directory there will be the "M11xr3.fd" and "m11xr3_new.fd". We want the NON new fd file. You will note, its not the same size as the new file as it does not contain the EC (Embedded controller i.e. ALienFX). This file is what we need uploaded from a04 people.


    *If for some reason you forget to hit cancel, follow the below to get your A04 back.





    A02/03 People who want to flash.

    1. Delete the "PAP00MEC" file in the exe folder with the one the a04 person uploads. It doesn't need the same name, just the extension.

    2. Replace the platform.ini in the directory with the one I have attached as it wont attempt to flash the EC area, so you wont encounter an error.

    3. Flash Bios confirm. Reboot.
     

    Attached Files:

    potentiality, Sep 29, 2011
    #23
  24. Rockwell B1

    Rockwell B1 Notebook Evangelist

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    A04 is now downloadable from the Dell Drivers & Downloads site.

    HERE
     
    Rockwell B1, Sep 29, 2011
    #24