MSI GT 60 OND and Windows 7

Hi there,

Last time I posted here was to ask advice for my vintage MSI gaming laptop - the thing eventually fell to pieces in any case and will be bastardised for a mini arcade cab but the advice was good and helped greatly. I'm hoping the community can offer some guidance on a problem I am experiencing once again with another MSI laptop.

I got an MSI GT 60 OND a while ago which had Windows 10 installed. I removed this and installed Windows 7 (x64 Pro) which took a couple of re-installs before I got things ok - I couldn't get any SCM to work, some versions gave different results but neither fully functional - mainly the radio and airplane mode functions.

There had been no Win7 SCM (x86/x64) for this machine until recently so I was delighted seeing it added on MSI's driver page for my laptop today. I installed it but to my dismay I still have no hot-key functionality for the radio devices. Wi/Fi switch has to be done via the main menu - this is still progress but obviously something still isn't working right.

Couple of points - The machine originally shipped with Windows 8. - I wont use this horror of an OS and neither do I want anything to do with Win10 (which is even worse) but being that the machine is intended for Win8, I'm wondering if it would be wise to install the latest Win7 bios for the machine (?)

The radio switch isn't a deal breaker for Win7 - considering the alternative, its something I can live with but I would like to have this issue resolved if possible, any help would be gratefully appreciated.

T

 

Perhaps some teething problems as it's so new. Originally S-Bar was used for control functions.

 

Hi Zipperi,

I did try the s-bar but apart from not working so great (windows would sometimes report something wrong with it following a restart) I don't like the way it sits on the desktop - if it could stay hidden and only function for hot-keys it would be fine, unfortunately it doesn't seem able to function minus the annoying desktop dock.

After some thought, I think it'd be best installing a Win7 bios for starters - the fact that there are different bios' for win7 and win8 might indicate some sort of OS dependency for a particular bios...tho i haven't a clue really, just guessing but something I'll have to look into doing - now I'm wondering if its ok to update bios on a machine intended for win8 currently running win7 - what's your thoughts on the bios thing?

p.s. Thanks for the reply,



T

 

There are two different kinds of BIOS, one's certified for Win7 while the other is certified for Win8. This could explain why the software might not be compatible with your current BIOS & EC.
Can you post those information so we can see? Thanks.

 

Hi Kevin,

I'm not at home so cannot check the bios version but it ends with '50U' and is a bios intended for a windows 8 machine for sure - I dont remember the exact numbers but from what i remember, only the 3 end numbers/letter differ from the win 8 and win 7 bios files from MSI so it should be safe to update the machine to a Windows 7 bios - well from what i've read so far anyway...

Until reading a bit more about the bios, i wasnt sure about flashing a win8 machine with a win7 bios but will do soon as i have a few hours spare, i'm presumimg i may have to reinstall Win7 after a bios upgrade in order for the OS to see otherwise redundant hardware anyway - but i dont know this for certain.

What a lot of hassle just because i don't want Win8/Win10! But it's really only the SCM functionality thats gone awry, there is an unknown device - i think its the camera - but i'll deal with that later, perhaps it is also related to the machine running Win7 with a bios intended for Win 8 (?)

Many thanks for the help,

T

 

Hello again Kevin,

Right - home and at my laptop - The bios and firmware versions are as follows; Bios version E16F3IMS.50U / EC Version 16F3EMS1 Ver 5.04

Now - I'm thinking that I should download and run the E16F3IMS.10U Win7 bios, I can do that but I didn't think about firmware, I'd best do this too if I'm updating the bios presumably - I'd rather not if truth be told as I hate tinkering with bios fixes - I'd imagine most rational folk do too!

Would I update the firmware after updating the bios, or before?

Head scratching stuff now begins - but think I can manage, I have a much more computer savvy bruth who I'd much rather have flashing bios files but I have to seek as much good advice as poss before i go any further and I look forward to hearing anymore thoughts you might have re this - and thanks again for the advice so far.

T

 

Your unit is specifically built with UEFI in mind, the fact that it had 8 though does not mean you are limited. Of course as you mention above drivers will always be an issue unless you can find generic ones that can handle the firmware/hardware. I honestly wouldn't update the firmware until i did a BIOS update and found that something is not working right, then I would update the firmware. Most of the times you do not have too. Keep in mind that if the flash sequence is not at least 95% correct you are chancing bricking the EEPROM, make sure you can find one on ebay or online before you chance bricking it. If you find one and they are very cheap you should be able to do what you like with the chip currently installed, flash it with the 10U version and see if it makes a difference, I would honestly consider a third party software that controls the hot-buttons (e.g. bluetooth, wifi, brightness..) Do a search on google for desktop shortcut controllers or something to that extent and try few till you find the right one. Look into manipulating the windows 8 driver for the keyboard if you know what you are doing you might luck out by making it work on 7. Best of luck. - Travis

 

BIOS & EC update are usually recommended, as newer releases provide fixes and enhancements that are intended to make your machines to work better.
Cross-flashing to different versions is very risky, but as always, all BIOS updates are risky so proceed with caution.
Svet at MSI forum has developed a way to flash these BIOSes without failures, if you want to give his service a shot you can check with him directly, including some of the questions that we may not be able to answer you.

 

Hi Kevin and Travis,

Pardon the delay in getting back and many thanks for the advice, I didn't want to flash bios, especially if there's a chance of bricking the machine but it looks as though i might have to take the chance. I should add that when I re-installed Win10 (even stupidly purchasing a license for the pro version) whilst experimenting between Win10/Win7 - i found the radio switches worked perfect via hot keys, i cannot remember if i tried an SCM - but Win10 does provide functionality for the hot keys without issue - not sure if it's relevant but thought i should mention that.

UEFI still remains an unknown to me but i'm learning - I did have to alter some boot settings re this to get the machine to boot from a Win7 USB initially but i understand Win7 can also work with a UEFI setup (?) however that's something for another time...

Thankfully the keyboard manager software works fine - In fact almost everything does with the SCM too, its only the radio devices that will not cooperate - the cd eject, screen blank, turbo and fan speed switch all function fine via the Win7 SCM. If i touch the button the graphic even pops up on the screen for bluetooth/wifi but all radio devices remain 'on' regardless. Interestingly the airplane mode does completely nothing - the only time i seen this even being acknowleged was when Win10 was installed.

***Edit - the keyboard manager allows colour functions to be altered and pressing fn/f8 (for example) is acknowleged, so im presuming the KLM (and general keyboard drivers) are functioning ok***

I was thinking about bastardising an existing Win 8xx driver to do as you suggested but that is getting way out of my league tbh - I wouldnt know where to begin but agree that would be the safest option and I have already looked at bios chips too! They're about £5 on ebay..so yes..if all goes horribly wrong then there is a cheap fix - I'm much more at ease replacing an smd eeprom than flashing bios...been a while since using a tiny soldering iron but i have some decent kit if required.

I'll look into Svet as you said - If theres a safer way to attempt this then it is surely for me but i did post on the MSI forum a few days ago and have not had any feedback since - I'll try again though.

Again, big thank you to Travis and Kevin for all the help and advice re this.


Tommy

 

No worries, Tommy. UEFI is only available in the Win8.x version of BIOS so you should be fine, the latest version is E16F4IMS.50Y. This version of BIOS supports both Win7 & Win8.
Also, the new version of SCM should work for you if you are going to use Windows 7, but do you know which version you had used previously?

 

Hi Kevin,

Again - please excuse the time to get back (working weekend on call and been pretty hectic) I tried about 3 SCM's in total - uninstalling and trying others but I suppose there could be some leftovers from these installs hindering the 'proper' win7 SCM running - I have been careful to remove leftover reg keys etc but could be other (problematic) things left - I dont know the versions of SCM but they were mostly for Win8.

The bios you suggest seems to be for a 4th gen intel machine - mines is a 3rd gen i7 machine (3630qm) - thought i'd best mention that in case you're assuming a different machine but apols in advance if you already knew that - i'm just being a bit overly cautious because its bios.

The model number of my machine is GT 60 0ND - 44 UK. It also has a label which states MS16F3

Tommy

 

Hi Tommy,

The last known version of SCM is 13.016.01229. Is this what you tried?
[ Download]

My bad about the wrong BIOS version, the latest one for your system is E16F3IMS.50X.
Changes include Modify radio switch device only present in Windows 8.

 

Hi Kevin,

Yes that is the SCM I have installed currently. It does seem to run fine - just doesn't talk to the radio devices...a pest because of the process req'd if I want to simply disable a radio device, If I wanted to turn them off I have to disable via win device manager...so I'll be very happy seeing this resolved...

Well the weekend is over and a few days away from work now so I'll back up and get things ready as I plan to reinstall win7 if the bios change (inc reinstall of the SCM) doesn't fix the issue immediately. I appreciate there could well be an issue regarding left-over stuff from previous SCM installs.

p.s. The bios you suggest is quite recent, I had the E16F3IMS.10U in mind - purely because it's listed in the Win7 section of the drivers/utilities page but its pretty vintage compared to E16F3IMS.50X - I presume this more recent bios works for all OS then? Please excuse the questions re this - I just want to be absolutely sure before I begin with the bios flash.

***Another edit *** Ok, I get why you suggest that bios..went over my head earlier..so if the machine originally shipped with Win8 then bios can only be updated (safely) with another Win8 bios otherwise it'd be cross-flashing - which is a big no-no from what I've read - but something else learned which is always a bonus.

I'll post back progress in a day or two...

Again, many thanks and I appreciate the time taken to help with this.


Tommy

 

Hi Kevin,

I contacted Svet as you suggested and he made a custom bios which has since been flashed on the machine, this following an EC firmware change too and I am glad (and extremely relieved..) to report all is well and the radio switch functions perfect now!

Quite a process and def not for the faint hearted - but very comprehensive instructions provided and worked to a T - I am happy

Many thanks to yourself and Travis for the help and advice over the past few days.


Best regards,

Tommy

 

Excellent work, I am glad that you got issues resolved, and better yet, performance boost.
Enjoy it!