CLEVO BIOS Mods

[curlyboi]

Hi.

I have bought a Clevo P640RE (branded as PC Specialist Defiance II 14").
A very good computer indeed, however, I have a very specific problem.

I have Samsung 850 EVO which has hw-based aes encryption. To enable this encryption, you simply
need to enable HDD password in BIOS, which the drive's firmware interprets as to secure the encryption
keys with this password.

But my BIOS setup has no option to set HDD password.

Naturally, I have created a BIOS backup, enabled the option using AMIBCP and now I am trying to flash it back.
But I have no success. Here is what I tried:
1) Flash from Windows using afuwin - I get the infamous error 18 - secure flash rom verify fail
2) Flash from DOS using afudos - same error
3) Flash from OS/Win using afu 5.05.04 with the /gan command - the update finishes ok but the BIOS doesn't change
4) Using the MESET.EXE tool prior flashing with AFUDOS 5.05.04 with /gan (no /gan = error 18)
5) Name the file P640RE.ROM, put it on flash and hold fn+B and booting - I get to a Recovery menu in BIOS setup and there: rom image signature is invalid

I am starting to get really desperate. Is there no way to flash the P640RE bios?

I have also tried to set the disk password using hdparm linux utility, which worked. Upon restarting,
I get the standard HDD password prompt from BIOS. BUT! Apparently, AMI bios uses some kind of hashing/salting
algorithm on the password you enter unlike hdparm, which just sets the password to exactly what you enter.
So while I am able to enter the password on boot, it won't accept it. There are two ways to make this work:
1) Set the password in BIOS to ensure the algorithm is the same (which I can't because the option is hidden)
2) Reverse-engineer the BIOS to see the algorithm and pipe it before setting the password with hdparm (which I don't have skills to)

Would anyone of you know how can I overcome this? And how about prema mod for P640RE, will it be ever released?
How would I go about flashing it when the secure flash is enabled?

[Nabucco]

Greetings, everyone. A question to Prema or other bios tech savvy forumites.



I've got a Clevo W370SS laptop with a GTX 860M videocard and an i7 4700MQ CPU. It is also known as Sager NP7378, DEXP Ares 101, and DNS Extreme 0802876. The former two brand names are used in the Russian market.

Basically, my problem was the laptop's slight overheating when I played a not so demanding game (PoE) at low-medium video settings.

I wanted to underclock the powerful 860M 60 Watt GPU and perhaps the CPU as well to make it heat less. And yes, I'm all very new to all these vBios mod matters.



So, I decided to explore Prema mod's features and just followed the instructions from his website on wordpress, installing W370SS Prema Mod v1.

Half way through BIOS updating I got these messages and the process froze. The same problem was reported by Nicholas at the Premamod website so I borrowed his shot illustrating the problem.
http://i65.tinypic.com/10wmuyo.jpg


After waiting for some 20 minutes I shut down the laptop and then pulled out the CMOS battery to reset BIOS. I'm not really sure whether the laptop had been temporarily bricked before I reset BIOS.


Then the laptop started no problem and I accessed Prema BIOS mod's settings and modified some of them all right, so the BIOS seems functional.



Now I really wonder

1. What might have caused the freezing during BIOS update? I followed Prema's instructions thoroughly, and Nicholas had had the same problem, too. I'm not sure if it's relevant, but he's also using the Russian version of this laptop.

2. Was the Prema BIOS update actually successful despite the freezing? If it wasn't, how do I complete the update or run a fresh update? Also, is there a newer (v2 or v3) version available that would suit my Clevo?

3. Can I underclock my GPU and/or CPU using Prema's BIOS? I failed to find these features in the mod.

It might have been a silly experiment, but Prema's enthusiastic effort on BIOS modding are very much appreciated, the BIOS offered by DEXP is extremely limited.

Thanks in advance for any help!

---

UPD: Prema's response

1 & 2:

It didn't freeze for Nicholas!
His previous/existing vBIOS already was a brick (which he apparently didn't even notice) and flashing the Mod actually recovered it.

The W370SS series had some factory BIOS problems which lead to the hanging.
Since you are updated now you are on a golden version and it can no longer happen.

3:

You can now e.g disable cores, Turbo, hyper-threading, underclock the CPU in the the 'CPU Configuration' section.
To underclock the GPU you can use the software NVIDIA Inspector.


ENJOY!

[sabrehawk]

Oh lord why is it so hard to get a bios for CLEVO 771 DM that offers basic features such as fan control , logo support and stuff... i dont even want to overclock i just want more control over my system. And their logo is effin horrible STYLE NOTE garbage. Worst laptop manufacturer ever concerning support and customer experience...their machines should be 25% cheaper for what they are saving in providing proper software and bios updates.

[clevis_silva]

Oh lord why is it so hard to get a bios for CLEVO 771 DM that offers basic features such as fan control , logo support and stuff... i dont even want to overclock i just want more control over my system. And their logo is effin horrible STYLE NOTE garbage. Worst laptop manufacturer ever concerning support and customer experience...their machines should be 25% cheaper for what they are saving in providing proper software and bios updates.

Hey guy,

Have a look here, maybe help you!

https://repo.palkeo.com/clevo-mirror/

[avb0012]

Hello,

can anybody help me please.

Have installed into my MSI GT70 0NC video card from Clevo - GTX970m 6 gb.
It is recognized by system, but cannot update drivers... and Optimus is not working.

Heard about Prema Mod, is it possible to get it somehow?

BR
Andrey

[Somik]

Can someone please help me with a modded BIOS for HP laptop DV7t-6c00 with BIOS F.1C. I need to unlock the BIOS to be able to install eGPU device. Thanks in advance for any kind of help.

[twistdshade]

Why are there no modded P650RS?

They are fairly unlocked from the get go, some advanced settings can't be changed from within bios, but overclocking is easy with intel's utility.
I haven't been able to get much stable clock above stock with this laptop. Could just be unlucky. Maybe somebody can offer something worthwhile.

[edneyhelene]

Clevo W650sj bios unlocked please give me the link

[Reaversword]

Hi. I've a question perhaps you people, know the real answer.

Long story short, I have a Clevo P170HM3 from July 2011 (stereoscopic version). After 6 years, my Gtx 485m has died. So looking for ebay this kind of old cards, I afford the cheapest card I could find, a Quadro 4000M (the same as 485m, but in quadro version) for 80$, for Clevo p170/150 hm/em.

So the card arrived, and... it works, I must say, but happens several things: In Bios, where in the past I could read "Geforce Gtx 485m", now I can read "No name". Or in Gpu Caps Viewer software I can see "N.A" in the Gpu field (I guees it should be "GF104"). But one more time, cards works well.

Ok. Additionally, stereoscopic 3d options are not availabe. If I connect an additional tv (I usually don't use several screens), stereoscopic options appears to work with tv throuh 3dtv. But basically, card...? windows...? laptop...? doesn't want to recognize my laptop panel as "stereoscopic ready", nevermind If I put the laptop panel at 120Hz.

In fact, If I execute NVStWiz.exe from C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision (I think is the NVidia 3d Vision Setup Wizard), its says to me "This laptop's panel is not qualified for 3D Vision." (And of course, my answer to that is: WTF!?)

So, where's the real problem?. Quadro in not "branded" by Clevo?. Bios card is not compatible with p170hm3?. Bios from p170hm3 is not compatible with Quadro?.

This is a real pain in the [censored]. Always putting obstacles in the way. A f**ing valor here in the bios, a f***ng string, a f**ing check.... the only thing brands do with this things is to f*ck their own customers. Clevo not even sells this cards now!, if they really expect we buy a new high-end laptop every time things like this happen, they should be friking out...

[Sobe]

Hi to everybody i have a metabox/clevo w370ss and i can't find anywhere a modded bios. Is there anyone who can help me, i need it to add an egpu. Thanks in advance