M15x BIOS A09 Discussion Thread

yes I did. So now what?

 

Here is the 5870 vbios A01 (700/1000/1.05v) extracted from the Dell M17xR2 update file (R152844) if you want to manually reflash your card. The file is renamed from 13B96101.104 (original file) to Dell5870.txt (rename to Dell5850.rom to use) to make it easier to remember. I don't know how you could hurt a 5870 by flashing it with an unmodified stock 5870 vbios file, but I've never seen it done where the 5870 had been previously flashed with a 5850 vbios, so proceed at your own risk.

View attachment 62377

 

DP- Sorry.

 

Yeah don't know how I did it either but it was running as a 5870 and then I popped the wrong disc in and its now read as a 5850. You say I have to rename? Im a bit of a noob so rename what exactly? The only file I have is (R152844) when it wont even let me extract it, so were would I rename?

 

The file "Dell5870.txt" attached to my previous message is the 5870 vbios file that would be flashed, but should be renamed to Dell5870.rom before use. The.txt extension was substituted to permit uploading (NBR won't allow operations files or executables to be uploaded to its servers). Using that file for a direct flash however requires a certain amount of knowledge that may be beyond your experience at the moment. If the card is operating reasonably well, it might be better to just live it for a while until you find a friendly geek to flash it for you. We have tons of 5850's around here that think they're 5870's; I guess it couldn't hurt to have a 5870 that thinks its a 5850. LOL.

 

What should the clock speeds read for the 5870 Im getting 625/1000. Are those 5850 speeds are 5870 speeds? I dont really care what card it thinks it is as long as Im getting the best performance. The only problem I forsee is when it comes to resale time. I paid $380 for 5870 and now I have to sell it as a 5850. But that wont be for a long while so not an issue right now. Also what software do you run for OC? Thanks for the help by the way.....

 

The stock clocks for the 5870 are 700/1000/1.05v vs 625/1000/1.0v for the 5850. You can increase the clocks to 700/1000 easily using either Overdrive (built-in overclocking utility found in Catalyst Control Center) or third party utilities like Afterburner or AMD GPU Clock Tool, but the only way to increase the voltage is by flashing the card, at which point you may as well flash the 5870 vbios. There is ordinarily no need for increasing voltage unless you get involved in heavy overclocking. You can always flash with the 5870 vbios later, after the M15x is more familiar to you and you've learned more about how it works.

 

Ok thanks. Is there any link here explaining a manual reflash or somewhere with a more info on it? Also what are you using for your cpu OC? Thank you again for your help

 

For the most part, only the 920/940XM CPU's are overclockable in the M15x using the utility ThrottleStop. The other processors are locked, so that neither multipliers nor TDP (power limits) can be changed. A very few M15x's permit the FSB speed to be increased using a utility called SetFSB that manipulates PLL settings in order to overclock non-extreme processors, but the method applies only to a small subset of M15x's and the results are not always stable. There is an extensive thread about the process here, informally moderated by Mr. Pras. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/499768-m15x-fsb-overclocking-not-only-920xm.html

 

Just curious to what OC are people getting on the 5870. I'm maxed out with afterburn @800/1200. Is there a higher limit with the 5870 then the 5850?

 

A09 EC question here. I just burned a CD with A09, booted to it, flashed the BIOS, but I'm not sure if the EC flashed properly. I'm running BIOS A09, and EC 1.16, is that all what it should be, or did the EC not update?

 

The EC Version should be 1.18. It looks like it did not flash the EC board.

Try flashing it again and see if it works.

 

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

Thanks, I'll try again. >_________________<

I'm going to use what Rev said now, since nothing happened differently on that second try. Well, the beeping may have been louder. I hope I don't wake anyone up.

Third try worked. That was the most painful BIOS update I've ever performed. Will there ever be an x64 version of the program to flash within Windows?

 

Yes if you use his method it should work.

I am not sure why, but some M15x's flashed perfectly without the EC flashing error, while others have the error. Maybe it has something to do with the motherboard revision......not really sure. It seems most of the older M15x's are having the issue.

Really an odd problem. Maybe if those who had the EC flash error can get the motherboard revision (part number) from their board through CPUZ or hardware monitor to compare, we might be able to find out what the issue is.

I think it might be tied in with some motherboards having the ability to run FSB to OC while others cant. Just a guess.....

 

My motherboard is revision 12.

 

My mobo is Revision 11.

 

Aha.....I knew there was something there.....

I will check mine when I get home and compare. Is it listed in HWMonitor or CPUZ?

 

I'm assuming this is it in CPU-Z.

​

 

I got the flash error and I'm on rev 12.

 

I just checked mine, and in CPUZ, it has 2 revisions, one after Chipset, and one after Southbridge.

First one says Rev. 11

Second one says Rev. 06

 

Now that I updated CPU-Z (to v1.57), mine says the same thing -- Rev 11/Rev 06.

 

How can I check which BIOS I'm using?

:s

Edit:

Oh lord... I just checked and it says I'm using A03 1.0, this is bad right? Can I update straight to A09? I'm having serious issues reading blank CD's, the laptop flat out refuses to recognize their presence in the drive. Is the flash drive an option? Or is there an automated process to do this whole thing? I've never done it before, and don't really want to mess my system up any more than I have of late...

Re-Edit:

Now it's reading the blank disc but everytime I burn anything it completes the disc, pops it out and when I try using it I find it's still blank... Could this be the quality of the disc? Or is there a more sinister problem here?

 

What optical drive do you have in your system? There might be a firmware update to fix that issue on the Dell Download page for your system.

You should be able to flash straight to A09. but there is always a risk in flashing BIOS no matter what. You can use a memory stick to flash it as well. I would try going to A08 first since you are having trouble with the disc drive, and then update to A09.

Here is the link for A08:

Drivers and Downloads

You need a USB memory stick that is 1GB or smaller though.

 

Is the risk worth taking? What's the success rate? My system is no longer under warranty not to mention the fact that I'm out of Dell-Technician range. From what I've gathered if the update goes wrong I end up with a nice, yet completely useless display piece for my coffee table...

 

Well, I dont think many people have had a failure of the BIOS. Maybe 1% of the users here? Just a guess.....

But if you dont have warranty.....I would not bother. I only attempt a BIOS update if I have warranty. You never know..something may happen (power failure, files flashed incorrectly, etc) and end up with a brick.

Of all the BIOS updates I have performed on my M15x and M17x, I have not had a single one fail on me yet.

Its your call.

 

But... A03... I mean, thats just crap really.

And the updated BIOS is required for GPU upgrades isn't it? Or did I just make that up.

:/

 

Yes it is required to support the HD 5850 and GTX 460M, as well as others.

But like I said, its up to you to flash the BIOS. I dont want to tell you to do it, because if it gets bricked, I dont want you blaming me for it. lol.

If you want to flash, go for it. The newer BIOS fixes a LOT of issues, like the touchpad polling rate, and may other great fixes you can read in all the release notes on the download page for the BIOS.

 

A good rule of thumb is never flash a system bios on a computer that is unstable because if it should freeze or crash during the flash, the bios will be corrupted and the system bricked. You might wait long enough to be certain that your video card related issues are resolved.

The A09 bios itself is fine, except that on some systems you have to manually flash the EC after flashing the system bios. Might not be an issue if you flash from a USB stick. You can go straight from A03 to A09 with no problems.

@M3THOD1C4L -- why limited to a 1GB memory stick?

 

The GPU issues aren't affecting the system as of yet. It's more like a disaster waiting to happen. No unusual behaviour other than extreme heat when the system is under stress. Do you think it's still a bad idea to try and update? Honest answers please! I'm not the sort to blame anyone for giving me advice that I was not forced to take!

 

I flashed mine, it makes a loud beep when its doing it, but dont be afraid. That beep made me jump out of my skin. Most flash will be successful. If reading from disk is not a issue, try burning it at other computers then play it on your laptop.

 

Yeah I think I'm going to go find a nice expensive disc (the ones I'm using are third-world standard and have the word "budget" printed on them... not a good sign imo) and give it a try. Although I'm inclined to try and solve the heat issues with my GPU first... Decisions, decisions... Don't want a brick... Hmmmmm.

 

I have a built in bias in favor of the most recent bios on the theory that if it wasn't necessary or advantageous, it wouldn't have been issued, so I almost compulsively upgrade any time a new version is available. Others operate on the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory. If you're reasonably certain that the video card will not create any shutdowns or crashes, then I'd upgrade.

 

Thanks mate, that's what I wanted to hear!

Out of curiosity... you sound like you've performed this operation many times. Ever been bricked?

:/

 

Never. It really is extremely rare, but it happens just often enough that the dire consequences require a healthy respect for the risks involved.

 

I'm running A07 BIOS should I update to BIOS A09 to fix the throttling issue?

I'm currently using RivaTurner for my CPU

Would I get any performance increase/decrease if I were to upgrade (downgrade) to A09?

 

^ There's no reason to stay at A07. The updates aren't there for nothing... they always fix stuff.

I see you have an extreme processor... I highly recommend checking out Throttlestop, by far the best tool for this CPU. I don't know about RivaTuner, but I guess it can't boost your CPU to 3.2 GHz and more across all cores.

 

Hi guys
I m a newbie to the forum. I have a m15x. Over the last week or so it has been giving me the "plugged in, not charging" issue. I have done the power discharge for 2 mins, updated to a09 bios. But still got the prob. Any help would be appreatiated

 

Did you try to enable the battery charging with the [FN]+[F2] keys?

 

Yup
Have tried different wall sockets too
It also doesnt recognise my original delta ac adaptor

 

I, too have been through multiple bios updates without an issue. There was one early update bios (Ironically, I think it was A03) that produced quite a number of bricks. AFAIK, all the others have been straightforward, including A09.

Joe

 

try this while your lappy is on and also plugged into power, remove the battery and then reinsert the battery and it should be back to normal

 

what exactly does upgrading the bios do? is it necessary if your not experiencing any problems, or is it just recommended.

 

Look at it that way: Why should Dell bother updating the BIOS (there are already nine BIOS revisions for the M15x) when it's actually not necessary?

The updates fixed a lot issues and added support for different hardware (e.g. Nvidia 460m, ATI 5870m).

Most important fix so far is the Throttling Fix, but a lot of other bugs have been eliminated. My opinion is that a BIOS should always be up to date. It improves the system performance and it doesn't hurt anyone to update. The update got really easy and it's almost impossible to mess it up imo.

If you don't have any issues and your happy with your system nobody can say you have to update, but as I said, updates are here for a reason.

 

BIOS = Basic Input Output System. It's basically the system-software that coordinates all the interaction between the base-level hardware that's in your laptop or desktop PC. Keeping it updated ensures that your individual hardware components are able to most effectively & efficiently communicate with one another; eliminating bugs and correcting inconsistencies as Svl7 points out.

 

Thanks for clearing that up, in that case I'm going to update

 

EDIT:

Nevermind, Rev took me through it in babysteps and I'm now wearing a big fat grin!

 

I didn't really start regularly visiting this forum until about a month ago, I started to notice a lot of people saying to update their BIOS from A08 to A09 to increase performance. Well I was getting all the performance I wanted, so I just assumed I was on A08, but that it was working fine for me at the moment. Everything is still running great, but I decided to check what BIOS I was on anyways, turns out I'm still using A05 lol! I figure I should probably update to A09, I've no idea how to do this, so can someone give me instructions, or post a guide. Thanks.

tl;dr Need to update BIOS from A05 to A09, help please.

 

You download the bios from dells site. Then you run the download, and it asks you to burn it onto a disc or move it to a memory stick.
(I prefer cd)

Then you insert the CD and reboot. At the first screen you tap f12 (or f8.. dont remember, but you will have options). This will get you to the biosmenu, and you need to choose to boot from disc.

There are some threads with more detailed descriptions if this isnt enough

Hope it works out

 

Hey bro,

Click on this link http://support.dell.com/support/dow...peid=-1&formatid=-1&impid=-1&checkFormat=true

Assuming you have Win 7 64 bit

Click on the R293649.exe

Then basically follow the instructions on the exe/file that you extracted - its really easy bro.

But REMEMBER to have the AC power connected when you do a BIOS update.

May be a good idea to restart your computer first before you run the BIOS exe

 

Also check here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/549258-m15x-bios-a09-discussion-thread.html