(UEFI) Dell XPS 15z L511z modded BIOS - and HOWTO

[kasar]

ok, ty, I'll pm him

[Brabbelbla]

Alright, I went ahead with BMP and updated my L702X VBIOS, with the procedure as described earlier by TimeWalker and Ashp. Everything seems to work: brightness controls do, higher resolutions in Clover work, it is running stable. Haven't tested for actual performance differences, [and I don't have an external monitor to test the mDP port]. For everything appears to work, I attached my VBIOS. As the actual trick (pull settings from stock VBIOS, changing 1 line, removing 3 others, apply to new VBIOS) is so little work, and this thread officially is about the L511Z, I did the same with the L502X and L511Z VBIOS'es. I am confident they should work, but I am in no position to test as I do not own those models, so for those: use at your own risk.

The VBIOS is part of the BIOS capsule, and has GUID 29206FC2-9EAB-4612-ACA1-1E3D098FB1B3, and can be integrated using Andy's PhoenixTool. I did the L702X BIOS myself, including unlocked advanced menus and the Power Management fix for Hackintosh. Thanks to those who came up with the knowledge for that, wasn't me.

Still occasionally trying to read up on the other topics now, especially jkbuha's post, I just feel so ignorant

EDIT: Tested the mDP port, it works.

[kasar]

I updated my intel Video BIOS to v2137 and made some small tweaks to keep the mDP port working.

been using it for so long without issues, is there are any advantage of using the v2158 instead the older version?

like more compability or better performance?

just wanted to know to see if it makes sense to update it again or skip all the trouble just for a higher version number with no advantages at all

I wish there were some kind of intel video bios changelog somewhere, but I cant find it at all

[Brabbelbla]

Basically, I don't know. v2137 is already combo SNB/IVB and AFAIK already does what I wanted: native resolution in Clover and pre-boot Hackintosh. Performance, maybe; I do not know how much and if Intel hasn't badly screwed up v2137 it should not be much.

On compatibility: almost all settings from the stock VBIOS have been carried over (one option was replaced by another between v2104 and v2158, three others did not exist anymore), so this probably is the most 'vanilla' update you will ever come across. But if your version already does what it should, there is no real point, I think.

[TimeWalker]

Nicely done, @Brabbelbla!
With v2158 I especially like seeing this bit which in it's nature is a huge controversy

[thorbsd]

just wanted to know to see if it makes sense to update it again or skip all the trouble just for a higher version numer with no advantages at all

I love updates, so I think you should update and integrate all your tweaks into the download that is available here

Basically, I don't know. v2137 is already combo SNB/IVB and AFAIK already does what I wanted: native resolution in Clover and ...

Does v2158 support a mode of 1920x1080?

[kasar]

I love updates, so I think you should update and integrate all your tweaks into the download that is available here

sure

well, I just patched the table of the 2137 with the original vbios settings acording with what jkbuha said

@kasar - I don't have time to do this now (and I dont have a HDMI/DP connector to test at the mo) but if you do, could you try the following:

1) From your original v2104 bios, could you copy range 0xc20-0xd1f into the clipboard
2) Paste it into your new v2130/v2137 bios
3) Reboot & cross fingers.
4) If fail, boot through recovery & flash original bios?

that made the minidisplay port work again with the new vbios.

so I will do it again with the 2158

here is it (untested anyway):

[thorbsd]

here is it (untested anyway):

I just remembered that you are working with the L502x. I confused you with jkbuha. I've got an L511z.

I should take some time over the next couple of weeks to make myself more familiar with some of these tools so I can make these modifications myself.

Is it as straight forward as unpacking the BIOS using the PhoenixTool, modifying the bytes of the appropriate files with a hex editor (and in this case also swapping the vbios ROM file), packing it up again with the PhoenixTool, flashing, then pray it boots?

---

Thank you for modding that file BTW.

[kasar]

hehe, yeah, I am not jkbuha nor have a L511z ^^

I am kasar, the guy of the L502x with some hardware and BIOS mods ^^

yeah, that is correct, phoenixtool and hex editor are the main tools

[Brabbelbla]

@thorbsd
PhoenixTool works pretty much the way you say. One has the .WPH file, unpack, unpack the actual BIOS capsule (F33...). Under advanced options, select 'No SLIC' and something like allow user modification of files, and wait until it prompts for you to do the changes. Modify, repack, flash. And yes, it supports 1920x1080 resolution, but don't expect fireworks. Splash, setup, boot manager, shell and stuffs still stubbornly use 640x480.

@kasar
I might be wrong, but shouldn't it be unnecessary to make those changes now? I will go and see what changed in BMP, but right now my sweet sister keeps my machine occupied