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

[Toshiba-3]

Hello,

This is a BIOS mod for Acer's 2011 All-in-One Aspire Z5801: 
keywords: MB.SGB06.00x 001 002 - P01-A2



2022/10/30 "Halloween" Update:
I decided to dig some more into this BIOS and unlocked the whole advanced menu (see attached picture).
Also took the opportunity to replace the previous WFW3.11 boot logo with a more generic retro Windows logo boot (see second attached picture).
Anyone can obviously use AMI's CHANGELOGO to set another custom boot image.
The attached BIOS and mirror download link below have been updated.

Check my Frankenstein's Z5801 in this little Twitter thread :) : https://twitter.com/toshiba_3/status/148...7053435905

The original post:

---

Some words:
If I'm not mistaken, it is one of the beefiest AIO they ever did (recent Aspire U5-710 coming close but no graphics card).
Mine has an i7 2600S @ 2.8GHz-3.1GHz, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 2TB HDD and... is was locked on a nVidia GeForce GT530 2GB.
I bought a low profile GT640 4GB fitting the power consumption a couple years ago hoping to give my buddy a bit more juice but soon learned that Z5801 models have a VGA whitelist that autorizes only GT520 and GT530..!
I recently stumbled upon this site and as it provided great guides and tools I took the chance to beat the VGA limitation.

The mod:
I simply enabled the OEM Debug menu (lots of options. Can be useful for overclocking I guess? not my thing) and set the "Fill SSD/SVID to VGA" to ALL... ...Ok, I also changed the boot logo to the WFW3.11 splashscreen, sorry about that (I did this mod for me, eh!). You can either disable the quiet boot or change the boot logo with tools provided by this very site.
Once flashed, just go double-check that "Fill SSD/SVID to VGA" to ALL as I suppose not clearing CMOS might keep the previous "disabled" setting. This is the option that lets you use whatever card you want.

Pay attention that if you decide to flash this mod, you'll be responsible if it bricks your Z5801. I flashed my BIOS several times without problem using the tool provided by ACER with their latest P01-A2 BIOS from their website. I tried to make sure it was possible to use the BIOS recovery method with this computer, however I couldn't trigger it no matter what I tried. Maybe it only works when the BIOS is already corrupted?
Anyway as I said, you can just use Acer's little BIOS update package to flash it and simply swap the original BIOS image with the one I provide:

  P01A2U.ZIP (Size: 1.37 MB / Downloads: 15)
And here's a mirror just in case.


Many thanks to this site/forum and its contributors. Following guides and using tools were pretty straightforward. My AIO is now properly upgradable and is worth maxing its RAM out and changing PSU to use a more recent low profile GPU. Gonna keep it some more years :)

Tosh

[jcgob_9]

Will it work for my model as well? I was looking to change the boot mode from UEFI BOOT to CSM Boot. But the original P01-A2 AMI update does not provide said feature. Does this modified version support that as well?

I am uploading my system's specifications. I also installed a msata 128 GB SSD on the provided slot as well as a PCI-E adapter with a 128 GB NVMe SSD. I am also sharing the photo. At the bottom left you can see the MSATA SSD and on the upper center tje PCI-E adapter

Windows 11 did not recognize the Msata SSD module, but the NVMe PCI-e did. Will this BIOS firmware detect the MSATA SSD?

Thank you for your help.

Best regards.

[Toshiba-3]

Hello there, it's nice to meet another Z5801 user ! ?

I will have to check once I'm back home whether the unlocked features allow for the legacy boot mode. Also I do think this BIOS mod is compatible with your model as it seems to be exactly the same motherboard but you really should do a backup first just in case.

About mSATA, I'm not sure the motherboard supports that interface. IIRC it's all mini-PCIe V2 x1. Connectors do look the same. I think I did try with a mSATA first only to realize it wasn't supported, then went the M.2 NVMe SSD + mPCIe adapter way instead. Speaking of which, I don't think the BIOS sees that NVMe SSD anyway but Windows 10 does. I also added a Samsung T7 via the USB 3.0 port. And swapped the main HDD for a Firecuda SSHD.

In the meantime, I guess my changes might be interesting to you :

Code:

i7-2600S 2.8GHz (3.4GHz turbo) 65W    ->    i7-2700K 3.5GHz (3.9GHz turbo) 95W
Intel HD Graphics 2000                ->    Intel HD Graphics 3000
8GB RAM DDR3 1333                    ->    20GB RAM DDR3 1333
GT530 2GB VRAM                        ->    GTX1060 6GB VRAM
2TB HDD 3Gbps WD                    ->    2TB SSHD 7200rpm 6Gbps FireCuda
250W Flex PSU                        ->    500W Flex PSU

As you can see in this twitter thread: https://twitter.com/toshiba_3/status/148...7053435905, the AIO isn't that much of an AIO anymore. ? I'd have to properly fit the new PSU into the case, and somehow mount the graphics card to the rear panel while cutting a hole for the riser cable to pass.
Upgrading to the 2700K processor did a surprising difference (even coming from a 2600S) performance-wise. It also upgraded the internal graphics chipset. Maybe this is somehting you could also consider? I could max out the RAM to 32GB but don't really need it so far.

[jcgob_9]

I have it running at 32 GB indeed, but with the i5 processor as you can at the picture I Added. Even have it running with windows 11, but can not update because it gives the blue screen of death. I thinj this particular motherboard is more or less faulty.

[Toshiba-3]

I had a quick look in the OEM Debug menus but couldn't find anything in particular related to UEFI/Legacy boot modes besides for PCI. Adding photos anyway just in case. I imagine you're sure that the normal boot options don't let you achieve what you want. But again, I do think the mSATA interface (especially mSATA SSD) aren't supported by these models. I imagine the motherboard might have been designed just before mSATA was an industry standard.

[Toshiba-3]

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

[helphelp911]

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

WOW. Awesome!!

There still new update!!

I can't believe it.

I though i am the ONE who using this acer all in one as daily driver

Thanks OP for new update

BTW, any guide for replacing HDD? i like to replace my HD to SSD but i can't find a way to remove it.

The center bottom connection block the HD acess

Thanks

[Toshiba-3]

Yay another Z5801 fellow !

About the SSD, IMO it must be doable. You mean you can't physically access the HDD though? If so, it's just a matter of unscrewing more bits. Maybe the stand and the central back panel. Personaly I went with an SSHD instead.

[gempul]

This bios suport ivy bridge?

[DeathBringer]

This bios suport ivy bridge?

No.