T61/X61 SATA II 1.5 Gb/s cap - willing to pay for a solution

[erikgoranzon]

TPFanControl.com

Thanks so much

[YumeD]

Dear Middleton,

I flashed my T61(6458-CTO) with your 2.29/1.08 BIOS and nearly everything works fine, except that i must tape my Ericsson F3507g pin 20 down, to get it recognized under misc. opsystems(Ubuntu 11.10, win7x64). HW switch does not works with it(altrough it works with my Intel Wifi-Link 1000 in wlan slot, that's originally not on the "factory whitelist").
Searched throu' the forum, i found some similar problems(another user with a Gobi2000 card), looks like the bios skips the whitelist checks, but still disables the WWAN unathorized cards. Already tried to add the cards VID/PID to bios(into bioscode5.rom, replacing the supported Sierra Wireless 8775), but still no luck
Any idea? I can help you with the debugging, if you think.

[luckymouse]

Ultimate R61/T61/X61/X300 BIOS (inc SATA-II)

DISCLAIMER: Use these modified bios at your own risk!!

These modified bios have been beta tested to confirm they do not brick the system after flash. However data integrity tests take time and it's up to the user to confirm there is no data loss due to the increased SATA-II interface speed. You will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from flashing or using of the patched BIOS.

Lenovo have never tested or approved these patched bios and doesn't support them. They are provided "as is" without any warranties from Lenovo. These bios-es are completely unofficial releases.

ThinkPad model : machine type	modified BIOS file	SATA-II 3 Gb/s	SLIC 2.1	whitelist removed	Thermal sensing	CTRL-FN swap	Dual-IDA support
X61, X61s	2.22-1.03	+	+	+	n/a	+	+
X61/X61s SXGA+	2.22-1.03	+	+	+	n/a	+	+
X61 Tablet	1.25-1.02	+	+	+	n/a	+	+
X300	1.10-1.01	+	+	+	n/a	+	+
T61, T61p R61 (14.1" widescreen with IEEE 1394): 7732, 7733, 7734, 7735, 7738, 7742, 7744, 7751, 7753, 7754, 7755 R61i (14.1" widescreen with IEEE 1394): 7732, 7742	2.29-1.08	+	+	+	+	+	+
R61 (15" normal screen): 8942, 8943, 8944, 8945, 8947, 8948, 8949 R61i (15" normal screen): 8943	1.24-1.00	+	+	+	n/a	+	+
R61e R61i (15.4" widescreen without IEEE 1394): 7650	2.23-1.08	+	+	+	+	+	+
R61 (15.4" widescreen): 8930, 8932, 8933, 8934, 8935, 8936, 8937 R61i (15.4" widescreen with IEEE 1394): 8932	2.24-1.08	+	+	+	+	+	+
R61 (14.1" widescreen without IEEE 1394): 7732, 7733, 7734, 7735, 7736, 7737, 7738 R61 (15.4" widescreen): 8914, 8918, 8919, 8920, 8927, 8928, 8929 R61i (15.4" widescreen): 8918	2.29-1.08	+	+	+	+	+	+

Note: CTRL-FN swap is optional. Each BIOS package contains two versions of the patch. You can select the version without CTRL-FN swap.

Acknowledgments:

• nando4 for providing all needed information on SATA-II mod. I knew nothing about this issue in 2010 and didn't plan to make any ThinkPad BIOS mods (except for CTRL-FN swap). It was him who convinced me to solve SATA-II problem. Also he literally forced me to add dual-IDA support (he knows what I'm talking about ).
  
• andyp for his BIOS modding tools and other guys from forums.mydigitallife.info for making SLIC 2.1 integration possible.
  
• Zender for finding the way of disabling wireless whitelist on ThinkPads. This significantly accelerated the work on the patch (otherwise I would have had to do it myself and it would have taken additional time).
  
• Leokim for X61/X61s SXGA+ BIOS.
  
• XStoneX for informing me about "Thermal Sensing Error".
  
• unclewebb for the ThrottleStop utility which makes dual-IDA possible and kizwan for the "EIST Unlocked Example" guide.
  
• Brave ThinkPad owners for readiness to test intermediate BIOS versions.

Hi Middleton,
Thank you for such a cool bios!
I just want to know if I can install Intel 6300 wifi card on my x61t laptop with your latest bios?
thank you in advance!!!

[middleton]

YumeD
Try to ask here. I can't support this thread anymore.

luckymouse
In theory, Intel 6300 wifi should work fine with the modded BIOS.

[eyeland]

Just noticed that a new T61 bios was released recently - highly unexpected
Anyone tried it?

[Hearst]

Just noticed that a new T61 bios was released recently - highly unexpected
Anyone tried it?

I don't see how useful it is as it mentions...

Version 2.30-1.08
BIOS: 2.30 / ECP: 1.08

(New) Added support for the new Conexant audio chip.

Even though the T61 uses an integrated SoundMax audio chip instead. :s

[eyeland]

I agree, just thought that there could be changes that weren't mentioned

[junkrig]

Thanks middleton! Just installed your bios on my thinkpad x61 tablet. Ran the CD version using the ultrabay drive. Only thing I had to do was disable security in the bios to get it to run. Holy wow. Read times went from average of 36 mb/s with my oem drive to 273 mb/s with my new sataIII samsung ssd.

I'm running the ubuntu 12.04 beta and from the time I hit the power button to desktop is 15 seconds, without any additional software tweaks. Very nice. Thanks!

[pipapaule]

Hey, first of all, thanks for making this BIOS! I got one question. I flashed my X300 today using a CD. I guess everything went smooth (said flashing 'done' etc, long beep yada yada yada). Now how do i see if everything is in order?

The numbers in my BIOS havent changed. So is the BIOS sucessfully flashed, or did i miss anything?

(before and after flash)
BIOS Version 1.10 (7TET36WW)
Embedded COntroller Version 1.01

Greetings
Paul

[luffliffloaf]

Most Thinkpad X61 tablets are 1024x768, but they made a few that are 1400x1050 SXGA+.

There is a Middleton bios for "X61/X61s SXGA+" and a Middleton bios for "X61 Tablet"

I have an X61 that is both a tablet *and* is SXGA+. Which bios do I use?

I don't want to use the wrong bios!

Also, is it best to flash from the CD drive in the Ultrabay, or use a flash drive?

I have no idea how to create a bootable flash bios usb drive under Ubuntu... Is it hard?

Thanks

PS how does the Middleton donation system work?