M5750 Bios upgrade to 1.19w?

I recently purchased an Alienware m5750 on craigslist, and am loving it.

Only thing, is it won't currently take more than 2Gb of Ram. I am looking to upgrade to 4Gb.

I have both the original Windows XP Media edition installed, as well as Ubuntu's 64 bit OS.

So, I'm a bit leery of bricking my system, and am looking for advice, as well as where on Alienware's FTP site I can download the Bios flash from. (I am not the authorized first purchaser, so I can not access Hive, but have found a link to their FTP site.)

I have downloaded it from a few sources so that I can compare sizes and whatnot to make sure I have legitimate ones, but again... am proceeding with caution.

Below are my stats from Everest... so, what do you guys think?

And ooh yea, looking to upgrade the ram (DDR2 667) for my Final Scratch II hardware and Traktor DJ Studio software so that it has room to run smoother, especially when I do internal recordings of the sets I'm spinning.

Thanks in advance


- Pixel -


INFO ON MY SYSTEM:

EVEREST Ultimate Edition




Version EVEREST v5.00.1650

Benchmark Module 2.4.258.0

Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/

Report Type Report Wizard

Computer SYNERGY-289A8A5 (Synergy)

Generator Synergy

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)

Date 2009-05-06

Time 04:22

Summary





Computer:


Computer Type ACPI Multiprocessor PC (Mobile)


Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition


OS Service Pack Service Pack 2


Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.2180 (IE 6.0 SP2)


DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)


Computer Name SYNERGY-289A8A5 (Synergy)


User Name Synergy


Logon Domain SYNERGY-289A8A5


Date / Time 2009-05-06 / 04:22

Motherboard:


CPU Type Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T5500, 1666 MHz (10 x 167)


Motherboard Name ALIENWARE M5700I-R2


Motherboard Chipset Mobile Intel Calistoga-PM i945PM


System Memory 2048 MB (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)


DIMM1: Corsair Value Select VS1GSDS667D2 1 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)


DIMM3: Corsair Value Select VS1GSDS667D2 1 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)


BIOS Type Phoenix (08/09/06)

Display:


Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 (256 MB)


Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 (256 MB)


3D Accelerator ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 (M58)


Monitor Generic Television


Monitor Quanta QD17TL022 [17" LCD]

Multimedia:


Audio Adapter Realtek ALC880(D) @ Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - High Definition Audio Controller [B-0]

Storage:


IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF


IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C4


Storage Controller VIA VT6421 RAID Controller


Disk Drive WDC WD32 00BEKT-00F3T0 SCSI Disk Device (298 GB)


Optical Drive Slimtype COMBO SSC-2485K (DVD:8x, CD:24x/24x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW)


SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:


C: (NTFS) 195.6 GB (112.6 GB free)


Total Size 195.6 GB (112.6 GB free)

Input:


Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard


Mouse Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad

Network:


Primary IP Address xxxxxxxxxxx


Primary MAC Address xxxxxxxxxxx


Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (192.168.0.75)


Modem Motorola SM56 Data Fax Modem

Peripherals:


FireWire Controller Texas Instruments TSB43AB22 1394A-2000 OHCI PHY/Link-Layer Controller (PHY: TI TSB41AB1/2)


USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]


USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]


USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]


USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]


USB2 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - Enhanced USB2 Controller [B-0]


Battery Microsoft AC Adapter


Battery Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

DMI:


DMI BIOS Vendor ALIENWARE


DMI BIOS Version 1.15


DMI System Manufacturer ALIENWARE


DMI System Product M5700I-R2


DMI System Version Not Applicable


DMI System Serial Number 1234Aa782e


DMI System UUID 8078341E-5A650010-955A3DB1-CF1266C9


DMI Motherboard Manufacturer ALIENWARE


DMI Motherboard Product M5700I-R2


DMI Motherboard Version Not Applicable


DMI Motherboard Serial Number Not Applicable


DMI Chassis Manufacturer ALIENWARE


DMI Chassis Version Not Applicable


DMI Chassis Serial Number Not Applicable


DMI Chassis Asset Tag Not Applicable


DMI Chassis Type Notebook

Sweet. I was sketched out there for a minute lol. I got it to work!

Ok, after a few days hyping myself up, this is what I did to prepare for the bios flash.

I found 2 different copies of the bios flash on a couple random links... that's the sketchy part lol...

I compared the files and found them to be the same.

The information I was having a hard time finding, was how to turn off the stupid "bios password enabled" bit.

That was enabled, but both the supervisor and user passwords were not set. Because of this, I did not have an option to disable the bios password on boot.

I went into the bios, and set a supervisor password (I type in dvorak, so I set it to "AAAAA" as that and the "M" key are the only 2 letters the same from Qwerty and Dvorak)

After I had the supervisor password set, I was able to scroll down and disable the boot password. This is where I think a lot of people run into problems in doing the flash on the Alienware. If it glitches you're screwed.

So, I checked the stability of the system 1 more time, and threw in the bios flash CD I burned in Nero.

I then had to peck out the keys "runme" which sounds easy enough, unless you type in dvorak and have the keys rearranged such as I do lol.

5:30 press return: .....

The BIOS CD ran, and went thru the process with no obvious glitches. It then prompted to restart which I did. Since I had to manually tell the cd to run, I left it in thru the reboot cycle which I didn't NEED to do, but didn't want to take any chances. Once I saw the BIOS flash cd bring me back to the "hey.... type in runme" I had the option to CTRL Alt Del out which I did... taking a moment to remove the disk.

Then... as I feared, the bios password screen came up (the one I had JUST turned off... note to self), so I entered in all these A's... and voila! New splash screen!

Set up the bios again, and turned the bios password thing off again (I think it's default is enabled?) Went in, checked my everest log, and logged back out, back in, and back out again to make sure there were no glitches before I tried the RAM... the whole point of doing all this.

Well... My ubuntu is fine... my windows is fine... and I now sit here happily typing away with my 4 GB of RAM =]

There ya go. Hopefully someone some time from now will come across this and get an answer they were looking for.

Here is my updated Everest report after the update and putting the sticks in:

- Pixel -

Report of <SYNERGY-289A8A5> A { text-decoration: none } A:hover { text-decoration: underline } TD { font: 80% verdana, tahoma, ms sans serif, arial; color: #000000; vertical-align: text-center; text-align: left } TD.cr { font: 80% verdana, tahoma, ms sans serif, arial; color: #000000; vertical-align: text-center; text-align: right } TD.cc { font: 80% verdana, tahoma, ms sans serif, arial; color: #000000; vertical-align: text-center; text-align: center } TD.pt { font: bold 140% verdana, tahoma, ms sans serif, arial; color: #000080; vertical-align: text-center } TD.dt { font: bold 110% verdana, tahoma, ms sans serif, arial; color: #000080; vertical-align: text-center } EVEREST Ultimate Edition Version EVEREST v5.00.1650 Benchmark Module 2.4.258.0 Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/ Report Type Report Wizard Computer SYNERGY-289A8A5 (Synergy) Generator Synergy Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail) Date 2009-05-11 Time 06:26

Summary
Computer:
. Computer Type ACPI Multiprocessor PC (Mobile)
. Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
. OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
. Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.2180 (IE 6.0 SP2)
. DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
. Computer Name SYNERGY-289A8A5 (Synergy)
. User Name Synergy
. Logon Domain SYNERGY-289A8A5 Date / Time 2009-05-11 / 06:26

Motherboard:
. CPU Type Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T5500, 1666 MHz (10 x 167)
. Motherboard Name ALIENWARE M5700I-R2
. Motherboard Chipset Mobile Intel Calistoga-PM i945PM
. System Memory 3328 MB (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)
- DIMM1: Corsair Value Select VS2GSDS667D2 2 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
- DIMM3: Corsair Value Select VS2GSDS667D2 2 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
. BIOS Type Phoenix (01/08/07)

Display:
. Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 (256 MB)
. Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 (256 MB)
. 3D Accelerator ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 (M58)
. Monitor Generic Television
. Monitor Quanta QD17TL022 [17" LCD]

Multimedia:
. Audio Adapter Realtek ALC880(D) @ Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - High Definition Audio Controller [B-0]

Storage:
. IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
. IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family)
. Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C4
. Storage Controller VIA VT6421 RAID Controller
. Disk Drive WDC WD32 00BEKT-00F3T0 SCSI Disk Device (298 GB)
. Optical Drive Slimtype COMBO SSC-2485K (DVD:8x, CD:24x/24x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
. SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
. C: (NTFS) 195.6 GB (101.3 GB free) Total Size 195.6 GB (101.3 GB free)

Input:
. Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
. Mouse Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad

Network:
. Primary IP Address 192.168.0.75
. Primary MAC Address 00-18-DE-36-03-13
. Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (192.168.0.75)
. Modem Motorola SM56 Data Fax Modem #2

Peripherals:
. FireWire Controller Texas Instruments TSB43AB22 1394A-2000 OHCI PHY/Link-Layer Controller (PHY: TI TSB41AB1/2)
. USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]
. USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]
. USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]
. USB1 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - USB Universal Host Controller [B-0]
. USB2 Controller Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - Enhanced USB2 Controller [B-0]
. USB Device USB Receiver
. Battery Microsoft AC Adapter Battery Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

DMI:
. DMI BIOS Vendor ALIENWARE DMI BIOS Version 1.19
. DMI System Manufacturer ALIENWARE
. DMI System Product M5700I-R2
. DMI System Version Not Applicable DMI System Serial Number 1234Aa782e
. DMI System UUID 8078341E-5A650010-955A3DB1-CF1266C9
. DMI Motherboard Manufacturer ALIENWARE
. DMI Motherboard Product M5700I-R2
. DMI Motherboard Version Not Applicable
. DMI Motherboard Serial Number Not Applicable
. DMI Chassis Manufacturer ALIENWARE
. DMI Chassis Version Not Applicable
. DMI Chassis Serial Number Not Applicable
. DMI Chassis Asset Tag Not Applicable
. DMI Chassis Type Notebook

Ugh. that came out scrambled... my bad.

As far as the Alienware reps helping... NO GO.

I tried them on the phone, but because I'm the second user of this system, the amount of help they were willing to offer was thin at best.

I e-mailed them a few days ago with all the pertinant info, but they never e-mailed me back.

I don't fault them, they have their system in a place for a reason I'm sure. I was just surprised at how hard it was to find some very basic information. Dell direct was way easier to deal with... service tag, and BAM! Here's every driver you need... including BIOS.

=]

At this point I'm just happy I didn't cookie dough my laptop lol. Yay Alienware!

- Pixel -

Yea... I'm not lacking in courage today lol. But seriously what Steve said... The route I took to get my ram upgraded was not the best of ones. Just what I had available to me.

If you bought directly from Alienware, and can use the hive thingy... by all means do it that way.

I just saw that in my circumstance, I had no outs, so took the risk. Which looks like it's panned out. But as I've read up on... I think I'm one of the few success stories.

Still smiling though =]

- Pixel -

Woah woah... wait a minute... My laptop can take 2 hard drives?! RAID?!!! WTF, why doesn't anyone tell me these things!?

Lol. Just found this out. So... can anyone get me a link to information on how to set this up? And how to get the most out of it?

I've never had a laptop with 2 hard drives... so bear with the nooby questions =]

As I understand, a RAID assembly uses both drives to work together... so I'd end up with faster read / write times? (saw that SSD Awesome video on youtube) =P

I have a:
Western Digital Black - 320GB - 7200 rpm sata (Installed) Dual Partition
Fujitsu mhw2160bj - 160GB - 7200 rpm sata (Not Installed)

Now... I have both XP and Ubuntu (jaunty) on the WD... If I want to set up the Raid thing, will I have to reinstall these OS's? Wipe my drives?! (please say no... it took almost a week for my traktor program to scan my music files and get stable...) Christ... and I'm tired of tweaking my Ubuntu... finall got everything but my subs to work!

Would I expect to need any updates, drivers, or anything of the sort? Again, sorry, but I've never set up 2 before but this seems RAD!

Does it matter that the drives are not the same size or manufacturer?

Hmm. What else... Temperature issues with running 2 drives?

Ooh... should I install say Windows on one drive, and Ubuntu on the other?

And are they like set up as 1 has the OS and the other just works with it? Or is it like a master / slave kinda thing.

Omg... somebody get back to me soon. I'll wait to even put the 2nd drive in until I hear back.

QHN! You look smart! Help! lol

Ok, 9 am.. time for sleep.

Get back to me!

- Pixel -

Cool. Got all the info I need to get RAID setup... will be using 2 Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200RPM 320GB Drives.

Only problem, is I need the SATA cable that goes from the motherboard to the hard drive. I'll give Alienware a call today about picking one up. Chances are I will be unsuccessful as I'm not the original purchaser.

I called the guy I bought it from though, and he said he could order it for me if I need him to, which is sweet.

So now I wait!

- Pixel -

Hard to find the part number for this cable...

Here's a pic of someone's 5750... the 2nd hard drive is on the right, and the sata cable goes from there to the motherboard via a dongle. Does the one I found on line look right? It's super similar, but it doesn't have the white part on the right. Think this is the one?

- Pixel -

(You can see bigger pics by going to the links...)

http://www.argemmios.com/FS/fs10.jpg (the link)



http://www.siemens-notebook-zubehoer...13176377485216 (the link)

So, did the 3-way call to Alienware... but they not only didn't have the part, but they couldn't find the part number! Lol. Brilliant.

I did found the part on a website Alienware suggested. 75 bucks for that cable. Highway robbery, but I want to do the dual setup so looks like I'm biting the bullet.

They were closing as I called em, so looks like I'll order it tomorrow.

Yay.

- Pixel -

anyone think they can find me a part number for this cable?

I've bee pulling my hair out all day...

I've come up with this:
29GP72082-10


but I'm not sure if it's the right one.

So... anyone?

- Pixel -

Ordered the one from cali... now i just need to wait.

Questions on upgrading more though...

What's the fastest processor this model will support? and...

What's the best and/or coolest running video card I can use?

Thanks.

- Pixel -

Sweet. Thanks for the info. I managed to come across both of those sites. I actually ordered my SATA cable from Ztronics.

So think I should upgrade my processor to the 2.33? My god... cue music...

*** That's no laptop.... that's a battle station! ***

- Pixel -