VOGONS


First post, by amigopi

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Hi! Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this, I'm new here.

To the point. I'm looking for BIOS updates for the Alienware m5750/m5790 laptop. I'm especially interested in the 2.06 version but the 1.19 and 2.07 would also be good. Dell doesn't seem to offer any BIOSes for these laptops anymore and all the links I've managed to find have been dead.

The purpose is to get my first ever laptop, a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pi 1556, to accept more than 2 GB of RAM and I've come to understand that the Alienware BIOSes are the way to make that happen. 2.06 apparently allows 2.5 GB with nVidia cards (good for me, since I have a Geforce Go 7700 7600), while the other two would allow even 3+ GB but only work with ATI cards.

Thanks in advance!

Last edited by amigopi on 2020-12-10, 18:37. Edited 2 times in total.

Into the eyes of nature, into the arms of God, into the mouth of indifference, into the eyes of nature...

Reply 1 of 8, by Horun

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I found 1.19 but nothing on any 2.0x version except old posts.
Attached it below but use at your own risk !
Be sure to read the included PDF on how to use the file.

Attachments

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 2 of 8, by cyclone3d

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The problem is that those old Alienware laptops are from before Dell purchased them and Alienware were really jerks about requiring you to have a login on their site to be able to download anything.

Here is the archive for the 5750/5790. Only the 1.19 BIOS was archived... or I am looking in the wrong place:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://aliendl.a … /Mobile/m5750/*

There was a 5790 1.20 BIOS. The file name was:
m5790_Bios_1.20N.zip

Attached it the Alienware BIOS file from here:
https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-REQUES … =87547#pid87547

Filename
Alienware_BIOS_support_4GB_RAM.zip
File size
486.73 KiB
Downloads
159 downloads
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
Last edited by cyclone3d on 2020-12-10, 04:37. Edited 1 time in total.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
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Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 3 of 8, by Horun

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That archive http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m5750/BIO … 0_Bios1.19W.zip is same I grabbed and attached.
From everything I looked thru the 2.0x versions were not for the 5750/5790 but for 5550 and a few others iirc (will check my search history but am fairly sure found nothing else)
Alienware was just as bad+worse on their desktops too but at least if an Asus or Asrock board you could look up the board but you have to force a flash or use an external programmer as they modded some parts so genuine Asus or Asrock bios will not flash using standard methods.

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 4 of 8, by PC Hoarder Patrol

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If I'm reading this right

https://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/22155 … and-video-card/

the 2.06 from the m5550 is being used on the m57xx / fs models for increased ram + nvidia support?

Here's v2.06 if you want to risk it.

Filename
m5550_BIOS_2.06w.zip
File size
964.13 KiB
Downloads
123 downloads
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Reply 5 of 8, by cyclone3d

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Here is some consolidated info about the M5750/M5790 and M5550 BIOS interchangeablility:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090329005937/htt … showtopic=14069

Altough Alienware doesn't provide BIOSes for everyone, there's a method to get them.
First, you should google to know which is the latest bios version. (Yes, this is a lil' research, but worth it)

Apply the following syntax:
http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/[model]/BIOS/[Model]_Bios[version].zip

Working examples:
http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m5750/...0_Bios1.19W.zip
http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m5750/..._BIOS_1.15W.zip
http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m5550/..._BIOS_2.07w.zip

(notice: the m5790 1.19W is

And an off-topic remark: m5550 is based on Uniwill P53, m57x0 on P72, and the Uniwill P53/P72 generally shares the same bios code, so they're interchangeable. (A living example: I'm using the m5790 1.19W on my Amilo Pi 1536)

P53 based notebooks are (known by me so far):
FuSi Amilo Pi 1536/1556
Alienware Area-51 m5550
Vega P53
Rock Pegasus P660/665

P72 based:
FuSi Amilo Xi 1526/1554
Alienware Area-51 m5750/m5790

Important notice: Remove any BIOS passwords before upgrading and rebranding, or else you may get locked out from your own notebook.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 6 of 8, by amigopi

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Horun wrote on 2020-12-10, 01:24:

I found 1.19 but nothing on any 2.0x version except old posts.
Attached it below but use at your own risk !
Be sure to read the included PDF on how to use the file.

Thank you! Downloaded & will strive to keep safe.

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-12-10, 04:08:
The problem is that those old Alienware laptops are from before Dell purchased them and Alienware were really jerks about requir […]
Show full quote

The problem is that those old Alienware laptops are from before Dell purchased them and Alienware were really jerks about requiring you to have a login on their site to be able to download anything.

Here is the archive for the 5750/5790. Only the 1.19 BIOS was archived... or I am looking in the wrong place:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://aliendl.a … /Mobile/m5750/*

There was a 5790 1.20 BIOS. The file name was:
m5790_Bios_1.20N.zip

Attached it the Alienware BIOS file from here:
https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-REQUES … =87547#pid87547
Alienware_BIOS_support_4GB_RAM.zip

Thank you for the link and the BIOS, downloaded!

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2020-12-10, 04:30:
If I'm reading this right […]
Show full quote

If I'm reading this right

https://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/22155 … and-video-card/

the 2.06 from the m5550 is being used on the m57xx / fs models for increased ram + nvidia support?

Here's v2.06 if you want to risk it.

m5550_BIOS_2.06w.zip

Thanks! Yes, that's the thread I originally got my information from. I must've gotten confused with the whole m5550/m5750/m5790 thing. It's not exactly the easiest to read thread in the history of the internet... Anyway, this is exactly the BIOS I was most after, awesome.

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-12-10, 05:07:

Here is some consolidated info about the M5750/M5790 and M5550 BIOS interchangeablility:
(snip)

Thanks, seems to also confirm that the 2.06 should work on my laptop.


I'm in awe of how fast you guys delivered and how much interest this gathered. I'm in your debt. I'll edit the thread title to also include the m5500 to help people also looking for the BIOSes to find their way here.

Sadly the original Geforce on my laptop has died and I'm waiting for a replacement, and I don't have the sticks for more than 2 GB of memory yet either, so I can't really test any of this at the moment... 😀 I'll be back to let you know how it turns out once I start receiving my parts in the mail.

Into the eyes of nature, into the arms of God, into the mouth of indifference, into the eyes of nature...

Reply 7 of 8, by amigopi

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amigopi wrote on 2020-12-10, 18:36:

I'll be back to let you know how it turns out once I start receiving my parts in the mail.

Yeah, so I haven't been able to test any of the BIOSes yet. I got the replacement graphics card I'd been waiting for some days ago and just installed it. No luck, didn't fix my original issue: the screen goes black after about 1 minute of using the laptop, no matter if I'm in BIOS or Windows or wherever; I'll have to try it with an external display, and if that doesn't work, then I guess it might be the motherboard that's busted... Sigh. 😒

Into the eyes of nature, into the arms of God, into the mouth of indifference, into the eyes of nature...