[Unlocked] Acer Aspire Z5801: Advanced and OEM Debug menus and VGA anti-whitelist

[gempul]

thanks, I was thinking of upgrading to ivy bridge but now I'm going to cancel it

[Z5801_Can]

Updated the OP with a new version of the modded BIOS: unlocked the whole advanced menu, and set a new boot logo.

Hi, I have been trying to update my Z5801 so I can update to at least Win 10.  support for so many applications will stop for Win 8.1 in under a year.
I even tried to update bios from Acer website, but I can't seem to update past the 2011 version.  Is there a better way? or will your bios work?

[Toshiba-3]

Hi, I have been trying to update my Z5801 so I can update to at least Win 10.  support for so many applications will stop for Win 8.1 in under a year.
I even tried to update bios from Acer website, but I can't seem to update past the 2011 version.  Is there a better way? or will your bios work?

Hello !

You don't specifically need to update to this BIOS to install Windows 10 on a Z5801. The last BIOS version from Acer should do it. It's a given it might not be hasslefree, IIRC I had to change the disk layout from MBR to GPT (no data loss) in order to update to Windows 10, that was a long time ago now though.
This hacked BIOS is only really needed if you ever want to update your graphics card or tweak some more parameters.

[Andrey2305]

Hello. I flashed your BIOS, but my z5801 won't boot with the GT730 graphics card, only with the included GT520. I set the "fill ssid/svid to vga" parameter to "all," but that didn't help. I only get a black screen and it won't boot. Any idea what this could be?

[Toshiba-3]

Hello. I flashed your BIOS, but my z5801 won't boot with the GT730 graphics card, only with the included GT520. I set the "fill ssid/svid to vga" parameter to "all," but that didn't help. I only get a black screen and it won't boot. Any idea what this could be?

Hello Andrey,
Sadly from the top of my head, your computer entirely not booting doesn't ring a bell to me. Though it's been many years since I last messed around with the graphics card (I'm still using my Z5801 however).
Your GT730 should work, really -- I successfully had a GT640 working and also my current GTX1060.

I don't think the additional power draw from GT730 in comparison to the GT520 could be the culprit, especially not at boot. The base PSU should be enough still.
I do remember though I sometime had to go back to the BIOS and somehow mess with that "Fill SSID/SVID" setting. Setting it to Disabled, rebooting, setting it to Nvidia only, rebooting, trying again All. Etc. Kind of felt like the unlocked bios might not be 100% proper.
Does your setup currently involve a second monitor perhaps? If so, you might have to connect that second monitor directly to the new card via HDMI and it'll become the primary display. I couldn't find a way around that in my setup.
Anyway, none of this should prevent your computer from not booting at all AFAIK. The graphics card should just not initialize.

Would you happen to have other graphics cards lying around to try and test?