SATA-II BIOS patch for T61/T61p and X61/X61s (X61t coming)

[AvalonXIII]

Refer to here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... ost6501443

Tested by various people that the patch works, with no handicap of functionality whatsoever.

Note: Patch not made by me, just want to spread the word.

Note2: As advised by the mod, please flash this at your own risk, and only if you know how to. There's also detailed instruction on flashing T61 here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... ost6510253
Should be the same for the X61 series.

[bill bolton]

Tested by various people that the patch works, with no handicap of functionality whatsoever.

Not so. From that thread.....

• "I flashed my T61P with this bios. Now the ultrabay hd is in PIO mode and I cannot enable dma."

Caution is VERY definitely advised.

[spacejunk]

Holy cow, sequential Read/Write went from 134.9/126.5 to 255.6/191 Mbps after the BIOS change. SSD performance in Ultrabay unaffected. Been waiting years for this hack.

[nando4]

Not so. From that thread.....

• "I flashed my T61P with this bios. Now the ultrabay hd is in PIO mode and I cannot enable dma."

Caution is VERY definitely advised.

OP advised solved his/her issue a few posts later:

Now it works. First I installed Intel Rapid Storage Tech driver. It didn't help.
I tried a quick solution from this site, and it works!
DMA reverts to PIO | Windows Problem Solver

Thanks!

[AvalonXIII]

Not so. From that thread.....

• "I flashed my T61P with this bios. Now the ultrabay hd is in PIO mode and I cannot enable dma."

Caution is VERY definitely advised.

As nando has said, the issue was not due to the BIOS patch. Please don't jump to conclusion so quickly.

[bill bolton]

As nando has said, the issue was not due to the BIOS patch. Please don't jump to conclusion so quickly.

My advice stands

[aceo07]

Seems interesting. Though I'll have to wait until it's stable and tested for the x61t.

[AvalonXIII]

My advice stands

Of course, just don't take a quote out of context. That's what I mean by jumping to conclusion.

[bill bolton]

That's what I mean by jumping to conclusion.

That cuts lots of ways.... there is no evidence in that thread that the modified BIOS flash did not trigger the reported problem, even though there was a way to resolve it

[AvalonXIII]

Just as an update, he will release a new BIOS with white list, SLIC 2.1, and SATA-II patch. According to the beta tester, it also removes the thermal sensing error when upgrading T61 series with Penryn CPU. Definitely good news.

That cuts lots of ways.... there is no evidence in that thread that the modified BIOS flash did not trigger the reported problem, even though there was a way to resolve it

Well, he advises that people flash at their own discretion and assume all responsibility, so for people that feel comfortable, then flash the BIOS, otherwise don't.

[Kamika007z]

Does this work on the SXGA+ 4:3 14.1" screen models?

I have an 8891-CTO model.

[spacejunk]

Does this work on the SXGA+ 4:3 14.1" screen models?

I have an 8891-CTO model.

Yes it will. Definitely do it if you have a recent SSD that's rated 130 Mbps or above read/write speed.

[Kamika007z]

Thanks for the response spacejunk.

Also, I agree with Bill, there should be a cautionary warning on the OP's thread.

Any flashing of firmware can be hazardous to the unit and can deem it unusable.

[jketzetera]

I have been trialling a new T61 BIOS from Middleton on my Frankenpad, featuring

- SATA-II patch
- WWAN whitelist
- removal of the Thermal Sensing Error message at POST (requiring you to press ESC)

All modifications have been tested to work!

No adverse effects from the BIOS flash except that my hamster exploded ..... no wait, the hamster is fine.

[mrybczyn]

Hrrrrm. Tempting. This might sway me to frankenstein my T60p/flexview/SSD with a T61 board.

[geohsia]

Wow! I never though this would be possible either. If this works, I'll gladly donate! Woohoo! My current T61 is my only system otherwise I'd download and test. I'm so excited!

[Kamika007z]

The patched BIOS is out now and can be found on page 8 of the thread.

Read all warnings carefully before flashing.

[aceo07]

Doesn't seem like there's one for x61 to support sata2 and sxga+. I was hoping to pick up a x61 and use those 2 features.

[Kamika007z]

Doesn't seem like there's one for x61 to support sata2 and sxga+. I was hoping to pick up a x61 and use those 2 features.

Yes they do, check page 8, its listed on there.

[aceo07]

Yes they do, check page 8, its listed on there.

There is an x61 version that supports sata2, but it doesn't seem to support sxga+ as well. Seems like the x61s is the only one that has sxga+.

[jketzetera]

The X61 and X61s have the same BIOS.

[geohsia]

Sorry for the noob question. But does this mean ANY T61 can use Penryn? Any problems with undervolting and overclocking? I have a 7662 T61 (14" wide). Thanks.

[aceo07]

The X61 and X61s have the same BIOS.

There is a separate entry for "X61s SXGA+", while there is another line with "X61, X61s" that does not include 'SXGA+'.

Otherwise I'd think that it would be something like 'X61(s) SXGA+', right?

edit: I just read the last comment on that thread by zephir. I'd like middleton to confirm just to be safe. Though if I get a x61, it'll be expensive to upgrade my x61t AND x61 both to ssd...

[loyukfai]

Wondering, for spindling HDD users, is this recommended...?

Already using Zender's BIOS.

Cheers.

[geohsia]

Wondering, for spindling HDD users, is this recommended...?

Already using Zender's BIOS.

Cheers.

Unless you can saturate SATA 1.5GB/s I don't think spinning platters need this update. SSD's can easily saturate 1.5Gb/s so they need this update. Don't know if my rough calculation is right but 1.5Gb/s is 187.5 Megabytes per second so that's the threshold.

[AIX]

It seems to be less.

[AvalonXIII]

I provided middleton with leokim's original SXGA+ BIOS, which leokim claims to support X61 and X61s. As such, I'm 99% sure that the BIOS will work with X61.

There is a separate entry for "X61s SXGA+", while there is another line with "X61, X61s" that does not include 'SXGA+'.

Otherwise I'd think that it would be something like 'X61(s) SXGA+', right?

edit: I just read the last comment on that thread by zephir. I'd like middleton to confirm just to be safe. Though if I get a x61, it'll be expensive to upgrade my x61t AND x61 both to ssd...

[AvalonXIII]

The X61 and X61s have the same BIOS.

Not originally, of course since the X61 BIOS supports NV processors, while X61s BIOS supports LV processors. But yes, leokim's modified BIOS supports both.

[koray]

I've been using an Intel X25-M G2 80GB on my Thinkpad X61T for about 8 months now (Win 7 PRO). It's been frustrating to know that I couldn't get most of it. Not any more! See the CrystalDisk 2.2 results before and after my BIOS update:

Before SATA II BIOS Update
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
--------------------------------------------------

Sequential Read : 134.843 MB/s
Sequential Write : 83.194 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 124.686 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 82.524 MB/s
Random Read 4KB : 14.332 MB/s
Random Write 4KB : 25.861 MB/s

Test Size : 100 MB
Date : 2010/08/07 22:57:50


After SATA II BIOS Update
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
--------------------------------------------------

Sequential Read : 240.420 MB/s
Sequential Write : 89.878 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 198.140 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 89.681 MB/s
Random Read 4KB : 15.606 MB/s
Random Write 4KB : 30.829 MB/s

Test Size : 100 MB
Date : 2010/08/07 23:14:52


My OS start-up is snappier, also overall time for opening applications. Incredible that Lenovo didn't release something that simple. I will be testing this machine and add to the topic if something strange happens.

My only concern now is the slightly increased running temperature of my X61T with the new update. I've been using Thinkpad Fan Control software for a quiet computing experience, but current values indicate about 5'C increase in overall CPU/GPU temperature.

Cheers,

K.

[aceo07]

Now to look for a cheap and good SSD for my X61t. Unfortunately I missed a few good deals for a X61.