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

[TimeWalker]

So .. here is my little research regarding sleep issues for OSX in later BIOS releases... as an example I'm looking at my vostro's bios changes.
First of all the VBIOS for HD 3000 is updated..

Code:

A04: Intel(R)Sandybridge Mobile PCI Accelerated SVGA BIOS Build Number: 2098 PC 14.34
A13: Intel(R)Sandybridge Mobile PCI Accelerated SVGA BIOS Build Number: 2104 PC 14.34

but swapping out newer version for the older one didn't do the justice.

Then I dug deeper, I went ahead and looked at all the modules related to sleep state (S3).. here's the result from A04 to A13:

Code:

SystemS3ResumePei.efi - 8BCEDDD7-E285-4168-9B3F-09AF66C93FFE - Identical
SystemAcpiS3SaveDxe.efi - 2BDED685-F733-455F-A840-43A22B791FB3 - Identical
PchS3Support.efi - C7EA9787-CA0A-43B4-B1E5-25EF87391F8D - Identical
PchS3Peim.efi - 271DD6F2-54CB-45E6-8585-8C923C1AC706 - Identical
PlatformS3Save.efi - F5AC7057-5650-466E-B692-76A47223EFB0 - Identical
PlatformS3SaveDxe.efi - 51D4BACC-E70A-4136-9426-546973ED938C - Not identical! 89 diffs fount ..

I will try to backport the module from A04 into A13 to see if it would resolve the issue.

UPD:

Didn't help a bit ..
.. the only way we can trace this is by taking two versions .. one which hadn't the problem and the followup incremental version which has the issue (just to make sure changes to the modules are the least possible across these versions .. for me it would be comparing A04 and A07) and comparing all the modules against each other to see what has changed and what hasn't .. to determine what could impact the wake functionality in the later versions. It's [censored] of a job .. and most users here wouldn't need it anyway, but it'd be nice to trace the roots of this ...

[jkbuha]

I won't be near my laptop for the rest of the day, but here's what I have found so far...

1) iRST is activated through the all options enabled bios (ie removing the suppress instruction from all modules in the bios)

2) I mistakenly thought I had used the 18h truncation bios - not the case. I used the universal bios backup (2560k) on my fully modded a11 bios.

3) interesting - saving options from the recovery bios persist into the stored bios so it could be that we can modify some iRST options that persist as well.

4) rebooting the recovery bios goes back to the stored bios(if working)

5) ME region is still locked in recovery mode

Guys has anyone managed to bring up the iRST menu as I have as well?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[TimeWalker]

1. By *all* modules you mean what exactly ? We've been removing the suppress instruction (setting the if check to true) in PlatformSetupAdvancedDxe and SetupSecurityDxe modules.
Are there any other modules I and kasar had missed ?
2. There shouldn't be any difference between the truncated capsule and the on-chip contents.
3. It saves to CMOS presumably, hence it remember what you've set.. however upon loading the recovery capsule again the CMOS will reset to stock settings (leaving out boot order and such.. which get stored to NVRAM runtime variables)
4. It has been known, because the capsule is only loaded in memory .. as soon as you reboot the memory gets emptied.
5. Checked and confirmed that already .. the only possible way to unlock it for writing would be passing the /ME argument to WinFlash and having it to flash the fw .. but we have no idea how this firmware should be called or even where it has to be put.
By the way there is an interesting argument which can be passed to WF .. /mfg Manufacturing mode. Automatically reboots without the need to press a key

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I have grabbed the 2104 VBIOS from A13 and backported it to A04 and so far I still have yet to get a freeze on Windows 8, so it may be the VBIOS for HD 3000 that was old (build 2098 .. from the year 2010) and was therefore causing instability with new drivers. I know that there is a 2124 VBIOS for HD 3000 out there but I've still yet to find it ..
Also SATA/RAID firmware is worth upgrading .. I bet you Dell is not doing a thing to it.

VBIOS version 2130 from Inspiron 17R-SE is the following:

Code:

Intel(R) Sandybridge/Ivybridge PCI Accelerated SVGA BIOS Build Number: 2130 PC 14.34  12/23/2011  01:15:27

The older one from my Vostro is:

Code:

Intel(R)Sandybridge Mobile PCI Accelerated SVGA BIOS Build Number: 2104 PC 14.34  01/18/2011  17:46:59

So the 64Kb VBIOS fro SNB/IVB (same size as older version just for SNB) can be fitted in our BIOSes just fine. But .. Lenovo changelog says there is a version 2137 out there .. now I'm eager to get this one lol

[jkbuha]

Thanks for the update TimeWalker

In response to your queries:

1) Yes those two modules contain all the necessary suppress instructions required. I still can't understand why the iRST menu is not showing up on the L502x machines. Maybe a different southbridge variant?

2) The Intel vbios is very interesting. Previously I was reluctant to play with it because it would have compromised the whole bios but now we have recovery working things should get moving petty quickly...

3) The 15z was never plagued by any sleep issues on osx. I use DoiX's L502x DSDT and it has worked fine on all versions of the bios. Maybe you could have a look at my sleep modules to see if you can unearth any clues?

4) The winflash command line is the same as phlash16. Maybe we can find some clues there?



from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

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Oh and what is the Intel vbios module called? I'd like to check what the bios version is on the a12 when I get back to my machine....

Thanks and great work so far!

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[TimeWalker]

Oh I didn't know that, so it's a good idea to compare 15z modules to 15(r?) modules to determine the sleep/wake cycle issue.
The module's GUID is 29206FC2-9EAB-4612-ACA1-1E3D098FB1B3 and it doesn't have any names as it's a plain FW file.

I'm currently tampering with Intel VBIOS .. trying to get the one from Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72z.

[humanitybg]

Guys I have a quick question that might be dumb as sh*t but I have to ask it. I'm not that deep into the flashing business but if I just add the supplied BIOS1_A12_SPEEDSTEP_UV_FULLMENUS.WPH to the default Dell Flashing Utility will I be able to use it or am I just going to mess the crap out of it?

I've attached a screenshot for you guys to see what I mean. =)
   

Cheers!

[TimeWalker]

Guys ... i'm happy to report something. VBIOS 2130 from 17R-SE due to the screen's size has an extra VESA resolution which just happens to be 1366x768x32 .. finally native VESA resolution:

Code:

Available graphics modes for refit.conf screen_resolution:
Curr. Mode = 3, MaxMode = 4, FB = C0000000, FB size=0x3FF0000
- Mode 0: 1024x768 PixFmt = 8bit BGR, PixPerScanLine = 1024
- Mode 1: 640x480 PixFmt = 8bit BGR, PixPerScanLine = 640
- Mode 2: 800x600 PixFmt = 8bit BGR, PixPerScanLine = 800
- Mode 3: 1366x768 PixFmt = 8bit BGR, PixPerScanLine = 1376

As a result XPC and UEFI Clover are no longer squashed ..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfkr4bz4u9zrtl....27.26.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0m6o6jtu8axy80....45.05.jpg

[jkbuha]

Nice work TimeWalker!

Is it a case of directly replacing the current Intel vbios with this newer one same as we did for the Nvidia?
Do you have the module so I'll give it a try?

[TimeWalker]

Yup, straight forward direct replacement .. no tinkering required.
I must thank @Paralel for providing the bios fro 17R-SE originally.

The module is there for you to download ...

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@humanitybg
You are good unless you are already on A12, then it won't let you flash. You need to use the override flag to skip the versioning checks.
he original post of this thread tells you which flags are required for WinFlash. It's just a matter of using two command prompt commands:
cd to the folder where winflash is at
execute winflash.exe with a required command (argument) set.

P.S.
I'm actually eager to find this one
Build Number: 2137 PC 14.34 03/14/2012 20:08:25 ... which is fairly recent, really. Anyone willing to combine forces & look around ?

[kasar]

thanks for the module timewalker ^^

so as far I understood, it is as easy as replacing l502x intel hd vbios module with the one you provided, right?

will this allow to visualize the boot screen and setup configuration on 1366x768x32 resolution?



edit: my l502x bios came with 2104 intel vbios.

edit2: how did you know there is a newer version (2137)?

in that case where I should start looking for it? ^^