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T61p with BIOS 2.30 - still worth going Middleton?

T60/T61 Series
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HDRW
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T61p with BIOS 2.30 - still worth going Middleton?

#1 Post by HDRW » Fri Oct 28, 2022 5:43 am

Topic says it really - I have a T61p which reports its BIOS version as 2.30, which is also the latest (last!) on Lenovo's site.

Should I "downgrade" to Middleton 2.29?

Cheers,
Howard
T61p running ArcaOS
T61 Windows 7
T61p unused as it runs HOT! (80C while idling)
A dead T23, T42, a 380Z, a couple of 760s and a 370C that are collecting dust
A multitude of homebuilt machines, some of them working!

theterminator93
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Re: T61p with BIOS 2.30 - still worth going Middleton?

#2 Post by theterminator93 » Fri Oct 28, 2022 7:12 am

I would still use Middleton's BIOS. The only change in Lenovo's code between 2.29 and 2.30 is "Added support for the new Conexant audio chip."

Middleton's BIOS adds:
SATA-II speeds
No Wi-fi whitelist
SLIC 2.1 (for activating Windows 7 OEM)
IDA support
Fixes "Thermal Sensing Error" when installing Penryn CPUs on older boards

None of the Lenovo BIOSes do that.
The recovery sets guy

X13Y G3 | T480 with T25 keyboard | T25 | W520 | T601F | T420 | X220
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HDRW
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Location: St.Albans, England
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Re: T61p with BIOS 2.30 - still worth going Middleton?

#3 Post by HDRW » Fri Oct 28, 2022 11:00 am

Thanks, I'll give it a go (while making sure I have 2.30 downloaded in case I have to go back! :-)

Cheers,
Howard
T61p running ArcaOS
T61 Windows 7
T61p unused as it runs HOT! (80C while idling)
A dead T23, T42, a 380Z, a couple of 760s and a 370C that are collecting dust
A multitude of homebuilt machines, some of them working!

Kamika007z
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Re: T61p with BIOS 2.30 - still worth going Middleton?

#4 Post by Kamika007z » Sun Aug 20, 2023 10:18 am

So thankful for these modified BIOSes. I always remembered how incredible this feat was when they came out.

I just opened up both my X61 and my modified T61p from storage and man what a dream that generation's of keyboards were!! They also run Windows 10 like a champ and 11 (you can bypass the TPM check per MS's site) *should* run just fine.

While BIOS 2.22 was the last one for the X61 and it runs like a dream with Middleton's modified BIOS, I often wondered if the T61 2.30 BIOS, that was never modified (I had asked Middleton at the time, but he didn't want to), ever fixed the DPC latency issues that the T61's were plagued with...

That said, if anyone know of a modded 2.30 BIOS that someone picked up and modded, I'd be interested to give it a go and see if it's related at all or just the modem-related shenanigans we spoke of in the past...
T61p [8891-CTO]: Intel X9000 (2.8GHz) CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD, 14.1in 1400x1050 (4:3) Modified Symmetrical LCD cover & bezel, nVidia FX 570M, DVDRW, Intel 6300 WiFi, BT, FR, Windows 7, SLIC2.1, Unlocked SATA II middleton BIOS, WLAN Whitelist Modified. Mint Condition.

unixed
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Re: T61p with BIOS 2.30 - still worth going Middleton?

#5 Post by unixed » Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:32 pm

First convince yourself you can flash just the BIOS (*.fl1 file) using phlash16 for the middleton 2.29 BIOS. Then flash the 2.30 BIOS, check your issues, then revert to the middleton BIOS. If it does fix what you want, you can induce someone to mod the 2.30 BIOS for you.

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