[sev24sev]

Hello,
I have a Dell Mini 10v (1011) that I purchased new a month ago and currently triple boots Win7, OSX & Linux. It currently has BIOS version A06 on it (after a flash to A05 then back to A06). I am having the same issues as the users of the following threads. The 'problem' being that the only options that are changeable are "Intel (R) SpeedStep(TM) Technology", "On Board Lan Control", ""Set HDD Password", and "Computrace":

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell...s-ver-a05.html

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell...ions-bios.html

I've seen members on here mention that they have turned off USB Legacy Support or Bluetooth from the BIOS menu and I am not able to do that. I've also seen mention that if you can't change these settings that it means that your BIOS is faulty, possibly from the flash.

I called Dell and asked about this but they are saying that on this netbook, only a couple options are user changeable, the rest are factory set. Is this correct? I don't understand how users of the same model computer as me are able to adjust items that I'm not and I can't remember whether or not I was able to change these before the modifications.

Also, does this affect anything other than not being able to disable these things? I discovered this when I was trying to disable USB Legacy Support in an attempt to fix the OSX not waking from sleep issue.

Thanks in advance!

[eroku]

Just as a follow up note..

I had A04 when I noticed I could no longer make any changes to most of the bios options that I could previously change. I was however able to upgrade the bios from A06 and downgrade back down to A04 without any problems. I still am unable to change the options though.

The fact that we can write changes to the bios eeprom indicates that the BIOS is still valid and in fact, does not need to be replaced. In my experience, this means that there is probably a register that has been set somewhere which makes portions of the Bios ReadOnly. The fact that bios says User password set, is indicative that the bios thinks this.

The real question is, where was this set or how did it happen. The most common element I can envision here is something in NBI...

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

[holmes4]

I assume you did a "reset to defaults" after the BIOS install...

[sev24sev]

Originally Posted by holmes4

I assume you did a "reset to defaults" after the BIOS install...

If you mean 'F9 Setup Defaults' in the BIOS Setup Utility then yes, but all it does is beep loudly and not do anything.

[eroku]

The reset to default does not do anything in this case.

I have booted off the dell utilities cd and ran all of the hardware testing tools and there are no problems detected with anything.

So again, I am leaning back towards something has inadvertently set a register that makes the bios think there is a password. The common element here is probably netbook installer..

Another question for the more versed.. with the a06 bios upgrader, are there any flags to reset the bios to defaults as opposed to upgrade? Running with a /? or -? doesn't produce much...

I have read a little bit about people using ee-value.exe and asset.com from dell to list and reset bios options, anyone here done this?

[eroku]

Ok I have a solution to this now, if you guys want to verify on yours..


Remove the bios battery, which is (un)conveniently located next to the ram module. You can follow RAM upgrade HOWTOs to get access to the battery.

Power the laptop up once with the battery disconnected, you should receive a "Invalid" cmos message. From here go into Bios, all options should now be availble. Save and exit. (You do not need to fully reassemble the laptop.. just reconnect the keyboard, power button and battery. This should be sufficient to get into bios..)

From here reconnect the battery, boot again and verify settings are available and that you are able to save. Re-assemble laptop and enjoy.

No need to send back to Dell.

Thanks to Meklort for the advice. It seems that this can be caused by the DSDT creation corrupting the bios..

[sev24sev]

Originally Posted by eroku

Ok I have a solution to this now, if you guys want to verify on yours..

Worked. Thanks!

[iorikun]

I just fixed mine last night while installing 2GB RAM. Now I don't have to send it back to Dell. Thanks eroku!

[Ray]

Have also had too many problems accessing & changing bios settings, but haven't had to completely disassemble yet. So far, have just removed the internal drive and after a reboot have been successful in getting bios to let me in and change stuff. Sure would be nice to be able to screw the keyboard down permanently. heh..

As much as I like the hackintosh there's just too much voodoo.
The NBI scheme seems to need a level of refinement not yet reached.

Probably time to get back to a real mac soon.

[Montala]

Hopefully it isn't anything to do with NBI as the option to switch USB Legacy Support (and Bluetooth) 'on' and 'off' from the BIOS are obviously important to anyone who is thinking of 'hackintoshing' his (or her!) Mini and possibly reverting back to Windows 7 again at a later date.

Has anyone who has stayed with A06 (say?) had problems?

Do Mechdrew or Meklort have any thoughts on this subject, and does it only seem to happen when a BIOS has been reflashed, either 'up' or 'down'?