Hi all, I’m new. Firstly sorry for my (very) bad english. I’ve bought an SPI R/W to dump my laptop’s BIOS, because there’s no one online and I’m afraid to brick it. I’ve unsoldered it and made a full dump. I’ve just updated uCode, unlocked menus, etc… (I’ve haven’t flashed it yet) But… My VAIO doesn’t have the Intel GPU (I know, it have, but doesn’t appear in Windows Device Manager, neither in any Linux distro) and I’ve searched for some info… I know (and I have) that there’s the Intel BMP tool to do this things, but I don’t have the scripting file (is it dumpable from the BIOS? I have a FULL image dump!)
The strange thing is that meanwhile other laptop have an o-rom VBIOS module like “8086, 46” (Found with MMTool Aptio), mine have two Intel VBIOS modules that are “8086, fff” and “8086, ffe” that let’s me think that are dummy VBIOSes. There’s a way to check if I’m right? There’s a way to activate the Intel GPU and have a switching graphic system? I would unlock this function to maximize my battery life, if possible…
These are my PC Specs: Sony VAIO VPCEB4C5E Intel i5 480M (Arrandale/Ironlake) + HM55 (Ibex Peak) Ati Mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB
Attached a screenshot of MMTool and the two zipped o-rom.
Your’s is IRONLAKE-MOBILE. Your extracted vbios doesn’t have the usual OEM header that signifies the rom version but I think it’s version 2009 (03/2010) with the latest being 2120 (08/2011).
Since you have an SPI programmer you could mess around if you want and see what you can update. Usually you need to move settings from your vBIOS to the stock one provided at the package with Intel BMP and then replace it. It’s a tedious procedure and something I don’t know how to do properly.
Thank you all! I’ve just used the 2009 script to copy the settings from 8086,fff/ffe (parameters are the same!) to the 2120… Woah! So many parameters! Just one question. I’ll replace the 8086,fff/ffe o-rom or I should add the new as another (8086,46) o-rom? Thank you!
/OutTopic: I need to change the actual ATI VBios (v12.019) because mine is old and have a bug regarding newer driver. I’ve found a more recent one (v12.020, same clocks!), for the same VGA, from another Vaio. Do I need to modify something like this? I think not, because is on PEG, am I right? Thanks!
In theory the correct way to do the vBIOS settings is to go from version to version because some settings are removed or new added between different roms. You need to replace the oROM, not add a new one. You do have a programmer though so even if you mess something up you can restore your bios dump. Be careful not to lose that, these is no stock BIOS from VAIO for that laptop and other dumps are not “compatible” with your specific system.
I have no experience with ATI vBIOS but if it’s from the exact same card (same clocks, same VRAM) you should be just fine. I know that this is true for Nvidia vBIOS so there shouldn’t be any procedure difference. Still, that programmer will save your laptop in case of misfortunes.
Thank you! Oh is not a problem, I’m planning to do a dual-bios (first BIOS will have the original image, second the modded one; selectable by a switch) solution to avoid any inconvenience! I’m waiting the new flash to test all. I’ll post here results!
Dual BIOS on a laptop? You mean adding a second chip + switch? How is that possible, never heard of that before. There has to be motherboard wiring for a second chip.
I’ll put a new one over the original one and select the one I need by driving the VCC with a switch (and adding two 10k pull-down resistor on both VCC of two chips). It should work, it worked on a Dreamcast! (Some months ago I found a guide to have a Dual-BIOS on a Dreamcast with the same method. I’ve tested it on a 10€ DC and it worked!). It require soldering/desoldering (eventually to correctly FULL dump the original BIOS that will be reflashed on the second one, like a clone) and an SPI R/W device.
Very cool. Really impressive. I’ll check the page you linked at some point just for the fun of it. It’s quite a lot of work. Dual BIOS on a laptop…that’s a first. Let us know how it goes.
Sorry I would mean CS pin (in this case with a pull-up resistor and the switch on the GND), not VCC (but could work anyway). I found the same chip used in my laptop on eBay/AliExpress, so I shouldn’t have any problem. I’ll post results here when they’ll arrive!
Hi all, guys! Sorry for the delay but the flash shipment was really slow. As said I was planning a dual-bios mod, and it works! There are some pics and the schematic. Of course the mod in the picture is only for Research & Development. Final product will be done BETTER. The schematic was done by standing on the flash chip datasheet instructions: "4.1 Chip Select (/CS) The SPI Chip Select (/CS) pin enables and disables device operation. When /CS is high the device is deselected and the Serial Data Output (DO, or IO0, IO1, IO2, IO3) pins are at high impedance. After power-up, /CS must transition from high to low before a new instruction will be accepted."
Changes made: - Updated ATI VBIOS from v12.019.000.016 to v12.020.000.013 (grabbed from an older VAIO, must do some stability & performance test) - Updated Intel VBIOS from v2009 to v2120 - Updated Intel ME Firmware from v6.0.31.1208 to v6.1.20.1059 - Updated i5 480M CPU Microcodes from revision 02 (2010) to revision 04 (2013) - Updated Marvell 88E8059 O-ROM from v6.65.1.1 (alpha) to v6.68.1.3 - Unlocked advanced BIOS submenus and options (But they not show into the BIOS menu ) - New bootlogo B-) (But I’m planning a more cute one )
Changes planned: - Increase ATI VBIOS frequencies from 450/790MHz (0.95V) to 550/800MHz (1.00V) (Done, but doesn’t work well. Frequencies are stuck to the maximum) - Enable Switchable Graphic (Don’t know how to :/)
Changelog: - Rolled back to ATI VBIOS v12.019.000.016 (peoples told me that I could have wrong VRAM timing and other stuff like this. Version does not really impact on performance. Tested) - Increased ATI VBIOS frequencies from 450/790MHz (0.95V) to 550/800MHz (1.00V) (Finally fixed!) - New, more beautiful, bootlogo.
Unabled to enable the switchable graphic, because Intel HD integrated graphic is permanently disabled by Sony via hardware. Seen on laptop diagrams, pretty impossible to enable it. Attached the final work. Unfortunately there’s no space to put the BIOS switch in a more accessible way. Not a problem overall, who would turn back to the original BIOS?
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