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

[Fawar]

@TimeWalker

so, another test, is to buy the BIOS.cap file in the root of a cdrom right?

will I also need to include any other file or folder?

just a normal data cd/dvd, right? ^^


I will try that, plus the hotkeys you already mentionated

oh, if you could upload your edi shell I would be happy, I'm using dells one (the one wich came with the bios, and it seems smaller in size compared with yours ^^)


@Fawar

well. maybe jkbuha is away for a while.

in the first post, all of the bioses are for the 15z, the laptop you have.
however he also overclocked the gpu (525m) to 540m, and also 550m speeds, so dont worry, all of the bioses at the first topic are for the 15z so dont worry , if you flash them properly bricks will be away

edit:

jkbuha seems active at this topic today, try ask in those forums too

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps...ost8877117

lol that is wierd, i learn from those bios mods from that forum and came to here cause of the s ingle post he had made there lol

[jkbuha]

Hey Fawar - apologies but I replied to you earlier on the other forum. Sorry about this
Bottom line is if you want to flash the bios with default settings it will work fine and run with a longer battery life, just don't choose any settings in the BIOS you're not sure of

[TimeWalker]

I guess I will have to get a bios of off some Acer/HP laptop that has Insyde bios and get the CdExpressPei module to check what kind of string it contains. If PhoenixTool just extract the recovery file name from that module it should be there, for most Insyde machines the name matches the board identifier .. so in my case executing an smbiosview command from shell (you can also check this in CPU-Z I believe) it return something like this along the lines of the SMBIOS data:

Code:

Structure Type: Base Board Information
Format part Len : 15
Structure Handle: 2
Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
ProductName: 0YW3P2
Version: A00

So essentially if it was Insyde I would have to call my restore rom as 0YW3P2.fd if I'm not mistaken.
With Phoenix though there are two main problems - (a) we have no idea what is the key combo to initiate the process (b) not we have an idea ho the recovery rom should be called and how it should be originated ... presumably BIOS.cap is the name .. since it appear in the CdExpress module and I was able to somehow initiate the recovery through hibernation having the rom with the same name on my flashdrive..

Oh.. I almost forgot, here is the shell from EDK: http://puu.sh/1bDEZ

P.S. Why was I given that title ? I'm in no way a BIOS guru, I'm a newb rather.. I haven't done anything groundbreaking (unlike jkbuha), just made some observation and pointed them out.. so kind of do not deserve to be called a GURU.

[kasar]

someone else reciving topic activity emails too?

but for some reasons I cant see the new posts >.<

edit: lol after posting I can see them, wtf? I can smell some forum bugs ^^

edit2: thanks for the shell man ^^

well, I think you already deserve that tittle, you helped me and others a lot.

if there is a noob here, thats me

[jkbuha]

P.S. Why was I given that title ? I'm in no way a BIOS guru, I'm a newb rather.. I haven't done anything groundbreaking (unlike jkbuha), just made some observation and pointed them out.. so kind of do not deserve to be called a GURU.

I am no guru either. Just someone with an unhealthy obsession of doing forbidden stuff.

My cable box, phone, ipod and psp all run custom firmware.

It's also the reason why I run OSX but don't use a mac.

It's more fun

[Fawar]

Hey Fawar - apologies but I replied to you earlier on the other forum. Sorry about this
Bottom line is if you want to flash the bios with default settings it will work fine and run with a longer battery life, just don't choose any settings in the BIOS you're not sure of

My bad there, i though you were more of an announcer on the other forum and would only link us here to answer at one common thread XD

So I'm suppose to use which file of the 4 linked in the first post?

Is it BIOS1_A11.zip?

and add this one? since i got a 525m? BIOS1_GT540M_085V.rar

or would the first one be complete?

Out of curiosity, if i were to change settings without really complete what they do
What could happen?

[jkbuha]

The other forum is for casual users so I'd tend to have generic answers to anyone who posts on that forum. This forum is for more advanced users, who are after performance and tuning. Just use BIOS1_A11.zip and you'll be fine. The other BIOSes are old (for now) until I update them.

The worst case with changing BIOS settings is that the machine wouldn't boot. In other normal laptops, just remove the battery, press power, reinsert battery and you'll be fine. With the 15z there is no removable battery - you'd need to dismantle the machine and remove the battery from the motherboard

[Fawar]

The other forum is for casual users so I'd tend to have generic answers to anyone who posts on that forum. This forum is for more advanced users, who are after performance and tuning. Just use BIOS1_A11.zip and you'll be fine. The other BIOSes are old (for now) until I update them.

The worst case with changing BIOS settings is that the machine wouldn't boot. In other normal laptops, just remove the battery, press power, reinsert battery and you'll be fine. With the 15z there is no removable battery - you'd need to dismantle the machine and remove the battery from the motherboard

Well i changed my network card personnaly so i know how to dismantle the battery and open the laptop easily

SO i would be safe from any error?

I'm not quite sure are the instruction in the first post the ''setup steps''?

[jkbuha]

As I said fawar, as you're a bit inexperienced in all of this I wouldn't flash the bios if I were you, just to be on the safe side. As you're not completely sure of the setup steps I'd stay away from flashing as I wouldn't be able to help or support you with this.

So far in this thread there have been at least two bricked laptops due to incorrect flashing (on the L502x to be fair, but there you go) - the road to BIOS unlocking is not an easy road, and I don't want you to corrupt your BIOS because of improper flashing. So I'd rather you have a functional laptop than no laptop at all.

[Fawar]

I think we misunderstood somewhere XD

If i were to flash my motherboard with your ''custome mods'' that you confirmed me to the right one. I would do so by following these guidelines :
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-HO...GINAL-BIOS

Am I right?

I was wondering if the ''steps'' we see in the first post were to install your ''Custom bioses'' not to create some XD