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[Guide] Dell XPS 15 L502X (Early 2011) Snow Leopard Install (possibly L702x too)

wen1

By wen1,
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Air
Air
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@DawTaylor, I can confirm that the BIOS mod is safe (for me at least, using a 15z) as long as you follow the instructions, which are not difficult if you look back at TimeWalker's post.

 

I'm also trying to get Clover set up to boot from GPT, but a quick question for the modded BIOS guys first...is getting native speedstep working as easy as replacing the stock AICPUPM and ACPIPlatform kexts, removing nullcpu, and then adding the enableCstates/enablePstates flag to the chameleon plist?

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TimeWalker75a
TimeWalker75a
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You don't replace anything. What Chameleon plist? I thought I made it clear that the only thing that can boot from GPT /EFI is UEFI Clover.

You just add/set the appropriate keys in your Clover config:

 

<key>ACPI</key>
<dict>
<key>DropOemSSDT</key>
<true/>
<key>GenerateCStates</key>
<true/>
<key>GeneratePStates</key>
<true/>
</dict>
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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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@Air, which one are you using? Do you know if with this modded bioses the max ram limit is increased? I wish to upgrade my system do 16gb do ram.

 

I'm using MBR, I'm trying to get Clover to work because I'm having KP when using patched AICPUPM, and DoiX said he gets KP when using AICPUPM with Chameleon. So I'll give clover a try.

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TimeWalker75a
TimeWalker75a
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@Air, which one are you using? Do you know if with this modded bioses the max ram limit is increased? I wish to upgrade my system do 16gb do ram.

 

I'm using MBR, I'm trying to get Clover to work because I'm having KP when using patched AICPUPM, and DoiX said he gets KP when using AICPUPM with Chameleon. So I'll give clover a try.

He has a 15z, so be aware of the fact that these BIOSes are not compatible with each other. But the flashing procedure is the same.

XPS 15 (and other HM67 machines) can take 16Gb even though Dell may suggest you otherwise...

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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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He has a 15z, so be aware of the fact that these BIOSes are not compatible with each other. But the flashing procedure is the same.

XPS 15 (and other HM67 machines) can take 16Gb even though Dell may suggest you otherwise...

Didn't noticed the Z, my bad.

 

So I may update my system to 16gb even with stock bios?

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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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This is where I've been looking for bioses.

 

I'm planing to flash this one on my system.

Custom voltage moded A12 bios mod for gt525m with advanced menus for L502X DOWNLOAD from mediafire /// MIRROR by ximinez

MD5 checksum: 1A3430CDB34FCD5DBBEED6CCCA8A15DE

BIOS version used: A12

this bios mod has been tested by Mang0

2D PROFILE: 0.83v

3D PROFILE: 0.98v

notes: Voltage modded A12 BIOS for gt525m with a nice set of extra options,plus native speedstep and updated CPU microcode,intel vbios update to v2137 and sleep FIX for OSX, handle the new options carefully!

How do I flash it without windows?

 

Edit: Does the Intel ME update affect system performance? Have anyone here tried it?

Edited by DawTaylor
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TimeWalker75a
TimeWalker75a
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ME doesn't affect anything. I have flashed it and I tell you there is no way of going back. So if your laptop is still under warranty I wouldn't suggest you doing this, as they can tell that this version was never included in the OEM BIOS that Dell provides (in fact, Dell never included any ME updates in their BIOSes for this entire generation of laptops, which is sad when you look at Lenovo, who provide OptionROM and ME updates on regular basis) in case you have to send it in for a repair.

 

For flashing download this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fkz7va7f4om58i1/BARTPE.zip  (there, this one should do)

 

Burn the image (which is a copy build as Bart PE) to a CD using Disco http://discoapp.com/ or any other free software of your choice and boot from it, once booted you will see some network message, close it with "No". Then press the GO button and click "Command Prompt (CMD)" which will open elevated command prompt. Type "flash" without the quotes and it will say that it's loading the capsule in memory and will reboot and flash your BIOS.

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TimeWalker75a
TimeWalker75a
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It's already there. I've included the one you had quoted. ;)

Also keep this CD (labeled, preferably) as this can be used as BIOS recovery CD in case you mess things up at some point. Not that it's a common practice, especially considering that Dell has abandoned these machines and no new BIOSes are expected to be released.

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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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It's already there. I've included the one you had quoted. ;)

Also keep this CD (labeled, preferably) as this can be used as BIOS recovery CD in case you mess things up at some point. Not that it's a common practice, especially considering that Dell has abandoned these machines and no new BIOSes are expected to be released.

Wow, thanks!

 

Anyway, how do I add files to it, in case I want to flash any other file in future?

 

Does flash drives works on it?

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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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@TimeWalker75a, that's not good, did you recover it?

 

I'll flash it when I get home.

 

@DoiX, I did everything as you said, but when I try to boot I get a "BOOT1:Error" . Hoppefully I've created a chameleon usb stick, I booted from it and reinstalled chameleon.

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TimeWalker75a
TimeWalker75a
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Yeah, I happened to have proper Vostro BIOS on the SSD... if it wasn't there (and if I ended up emptying the trash yesterday) it would have been an undead laptop (with functioning keyboard, trackpad and screen .. nothing else) with no way of recovering. I guess I could have disassembled it, taken out the SSD and copied over WinFlash, but first thing that came to my mind was "if it bricks for good I'm getting rid of it right away, no matter how much I end up being offered".

 

I'm actually fed up with Dell crippling their units from the factory. How hard was it to implement a basic check into the updater to see if the model from SMBIOS corresponds to the firmware being flashed ? I mean, even Dell support center reads that DMI string ...

3V8Ft.png

It's clearly not an XPS, so why the heck does it even load the update capsule .. Dell is ridiculous. 

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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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They don't do anything to prevent user mistakes, such as updating (flashing) bioses, assuming that everybody will do everything under the rules.

Point is that unskilled users may download incorrect files, even in their support site. If even skilled users can do some mistakes.

My service tag, for example, is not recognized if I try to contact Dell through chat service. To use the chat service I must go to the driver download page, enter my service tag, then go to the chat page.

 

I have no knowledge about bios structure, but I guess that if they can detect a non-Dell system when someone tries to install Dell dock on it, they can detect if the bios being flashed match (or not) the system.

Edited by DawTaylor
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DoiX
DoiX
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My system isn't a clean one, i've reinstalled different bootloaders countless times so my recommendations we're probably not suited for a clean install.

 

If "Bootloader > Don't update MBR and PBR sectors" didn't work, try this: "Bootloader > Install boot0af in MBR".

 

@TW How "specific" is the L502x BIOS to the laptop? I'm starting to think i could flash a L702x bios and still be okay. Also, shouldn't the lack of checking function allow modders to experiment?

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DawTaylor
DawTaylor
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@DoiX, I've installed Clover with bootaf option, now it's working, no more boot1:error. Unfortunatelly, installing AICPUPM 10.8.0 and removing NCPUPM still leads me to the same KPs I had before.

@Tw, I've just flashed my bios and everything went as good as expected.

The iso file you provided me didn't work, I got BoD (I've almost feel nostalgic for a moment) when trying to boot from it. I had to build my own PE to flash my system. I used the following webupd8 tutorial to build/add bios files, under ubuntu. http://goo.gl/HD5ADR . Then I used multisystem (www.liveusb.info) to create a bootable usb stick.

After flashing the bios I entered setup to see the new stuff, I still hadn't change anything, except that I enabled UEFI Boot. Is there anything else I should consider tweaking?

Edited by DawTaylor
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TimeWalker75a
TimeWalker75a
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@Tw, I've just flashed my bios and everything went as good as expected.

 

The iso file you provided me didn't work, I got BoD (I've almost feel nostalgic for a moment) when trying to boot from it.

After flashing the bios I entered setup to see the new stuff, I still hadn't change anything, except that I enabled UEFI Boot. Is there anything else I should consider tweaking?

It BSODed because it's meant to be booted with SATA-IDE mode, not AHCI.. forgot to mention that. But glad that you have figured an alternative.

To see info on the new stuff - read here: http://www.bios-mods.com/reviews/unlocked-motherboards/2012/12/bios-spotlight-uefi-dell-xps-15z-l511z/ (it's a little dated, but still correct).

 

Re: Keyboard. On a real mac keyboard Command key is located where the Alt key is on standard PC keyboard, hence on a USB keyboard it'll be the case. Windows key will become Alt and Alt will become Command. On laptop's keyboard however people tweak it from PS/2 drivers (VoodooPS2 or ApplePS2) and usually map Command to Windows and and Alt to Alt to eliminate confusion. Usually there is a flag somewhere in the info.plist of th ekext to revert this. Also you can revert it from the Keyboard preference pane in System Preferences. I personally prefer having Alt for Command on my laptop since my fingers are already accustomed to such a layout on my Apple Wireless keyboard.

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