I took the liberty of modifying the iso, heres what I changed:

1. Boot up process is automatic, you don't need to choose anything, it will boot straight to an R: prompt.
2. I updated the version of NvFlash from 5.13 to 5.25, the old version on the iso didn't officially support the 6800 or 7800 adapters, if you tried to do a nvflash --display you would get an "Unknown Adapter" error. New version is up to date as of October.
3. I added the NvBiTor bios mod program for those that want to modify their bios, this is a windows program, you must run it in windows, you can't save the new bios back to the CD but you can save it to something like a floppy or a usb flash drive and load the bios that way. For you tweakers you'll know how to do this.


You can download the new ISO directly off my webspace, at this link:

http://www.ldb4.com/7800BIOS.ISO

If the original poster wants to modify the link to use this new download thats fine as its a benefit for anyone wanting to do this mod on the bios speeds.

Any questions feel free to ask me.

Thank you for a GREAT package !

7362 @ 420c1200m

7471 @ 440c1250m

Got artifacts in AtiTool @ 450c1250m so that looks like my limit. Going to probably run mine at 430/1200 just to be safe.

This might be an excessively idiotic question, but is there an advantage to this method over a modded driver that gives you access to the overclocking panel? I use the LaptopVideo2Go drivers and overclock through the Display Properties panel, so I'm curious.

Are you sure your settings are actually taking effect? And are you using "auto overclocking" or manually setting your clock speeds? The reason everyone else is using these BIOS's is because the 6800U and 7800's clock speeds are locked by the BIOS and the only way to change them is to change the BIOS itself.

Now I understand. I had set them manually and they remain in the panel (in other words, they are still set after reboot), but I guess that's no guarantee. Thanks. This makes much more sense now.

Hi,

I had the 7800 GTX working OK at 440/1100 and tried the 450/1100 combination from the ISO on the first post.

It stopped while flashing the ROM and now my new laptop won't even boot !

I'm currently waiting to talk to Dell about a replacement card...

Is there ANY way to bring the laptop back to life ?

I guess it's my bad.

Thanks for any idea !

7800GTX overrides the soft overclock, resets back to stock no matter what you do. Only way to force it is the bios flashing.

Wow yeah interrupting a bios flash is the worst thing you can do to a system, if you can't even get it to post to the bios screen when you turn the system on then its dead, nothing you can do.

Yikes (throws out disc), sounds like a bad BIOS made it onto the CD. Or some freak electrical surge happened during the BIOS flash... I don't have any suggestions as to what to do next... maybe with some electrical engineering knowledge you could repgrogram the BIOS using another computer, but I doubt it.

Well the way he described it, it sounds like it stopped by itself, I think it's universally understood that interrupting a BIOS flash = dead computer. Though, considering it's on battery backup a power fluctuation seems unlikely the fault. Anyone successfully flashed to 450/1100 using the ISO from the first post? -- for god's sake don't try it now, but if anyone has, that might rule out a problem with the ISO file.

Also, yboivin, which ISO did you use? hammermd's (with the loading prompts) or striph's (with no loading prompts)?

My ISO is HammerD's exact copy but I removed the timer on the bootup and updated the flash utility, other than that they're identical. I've used the CD a few dozen times now, although I haven't used the 450/1100 rom I have used the 450/1300 and the 440/1250, I'm using the latter of the two.

Hi,

I used the hammermd ISO. I did NOT interrupt the flashing myself !

The laptop was on AC power so there might have had a fluctuation but I doubt it...

No one should try 450/1100 on the original ISO. I know for a fact that 440/1250 and 440/1100 worked fine.

What happend ? I'll never know.

The important thing now is to get a new card !

Thanks !

Hi,

Well, happy ending after all. A Dell technician is on it's way with a new motherboard and video card to be replaced tomorrow.

Lesson learned: I will NEVER EVER again try to overclock. The 10% I got from overclocking (7335 vs 6600 in 3DMark05) is not worth the trouble of going through Dell Support.

Peace of mind has it's benefits !

Thanks for all the help !

I'm having a little trouble understanding this. The System BIOS and VGA BIOS are on separate ROMs. If you have a bad VGA BIOS flash you should end up with a blank screen. However, you should still be able to blindly type the command to flash the VGA BIOS again. Did the computer really do nothing when you pressed the power button, or do you say it failed to boot because you didn't see anything appear on the screen?