T42 driver for 32MB ATI Radeon 7500 WIN7

[rwilcher]

Hi all. Just loaded Windows7 on my T42 laptop. Works really well except
theres no Radeon 7500 vidio driver available for it. Anyone got a clue
about this ? I am quite happy with the performance of the box running
Win7 with 160gb samsung drive in it. Loaded windows in 15 minutes.
I thought something went wrong because it went so quick.
Thanks

[Harryc]

It's been discussed many times. Check out these threads ---
http://www.google.com/search?q=t42+wind ... 3Alang_1en

...and this one - http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85792

[GACrabill]

Search for driver version "6.14.10.6606"

Some folks have recommended using the XP version of the driver from IBM ... but that one will give you BSOD sooner or later.

The "6.14.10.6606" version of the driver has not caused any BSOD problems for me and others.

[rwilcher]

Thanks for the links. Downloaded and installed one from one of the
links. Works pretty good

[rwilcher]

Spoke too soon. Evidently got the wrong driver and it
blue screened on me. Dang. Went to some other sites and they
had no .inf file in the drivers zip file. Any help appreciated. I
been riding this dead horse for a long time.
(t42/160g HDD/2G ram/WIN7) just installed 7
Works good except for the video driver thing.
Thanks.

[GACrabill]

... Evidently got the wrong driver and it blue screened on me ...

The first link in this Harryc post will get you driver version "6.14.10.6606" :
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 96#p539496

If it doesn't successfully download all 2.59MB at first, try again.

[rwilcher]

I go to the harryc driver post http://mysite.verizon.net/hjc56/files/ati_7500.zip
and it says locked and wont let me get the bloody
thing. How do I get around that ?
Thanks.

[Neil]

How do I get around that?[hanks.

Use the links Harryc provided farther down in the thread.

[Harryc]

http://k1dugar.110mb.com/~downloads/atiixpag.zip

[rwilcher]

Got the harryc driver installed and it's working like a charm. Thanks guys!! you ROCK!!
Thanks for helping an old Unix weenie out

[ganon11000]

please re-upload URGENTLY NEEDED!!

[GACrabill]

please re-upload URGENTLY NEEDED!!

Did you try this one :
http://www.mediafire.com/?5tieomimroy#!

It's the correct "6.14.10.6606" version for Vista/Win7 for ATI7500 and ATI9000.

[dandreye]

Hi All,

As advised in several threads on this topic, until recently I used driver pack 6.14.10.6606 for the ATI 7500 graphics on my T42 running W7, although the lack of an exact driver match among those offered made me choose "RADEON 7500 Family (Microsoft Corporation - XDDM)" one back then. I've had no BSODs or any other major issues ever since, although the screen won't turn off upon inactivity timeout for some reason (to be exact it'd start turning off and at the very next moment would return back to normal) - not sure if it's caused by the wrong driver (desktop 7500 version I suppose?) or something else.

After recent W7 reinstall I decided to try "ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (Microsoft Corporation - XDDM)" for a change, which IIRC is another well tested safe choice. So far so good (the screen turn off issue went away) although one thing was hurting my perfectionist's eye: adapter name mismatch in Device Manager > Display Adapters view; besides that, some (not all) system info applications display 9000 as my graphics adapter, apparently just following "wrong" name w/o checking the actual HW.

So I've cloned the 9000's entry in atiixpag.inf:
"ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (Microsoft Corporation - XDDM)" = ati2mtag_M9, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4C66&SUBSYS_011D1028

and changed the name and HW IDs in it to my 7500's ones while keeping it pointed at the same driver ati2mtag_M9:
"ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 (Microsoft Corporation - XDDM)" = ati2mtag_M9, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4C57&SUBSYS_05301014

Now during manual driver installation/update W7 finds the "right" driver straight away and displays it as a compatible one:
https://s23.postimg.org/d2c1ox0d7/AMD_A ... _Added.png

End result:
https://s28.postimg.org/o63h5kagt/Devic ... etails.png

Still no issues so far, which is not surprising as it's the very same driver as for 9000.

Feel free to comment, e.g. if there are any risks in doing it this way or if something else is also worth amending besides the name and HW IDs, etc.


Thanks in advance!

[kfzhu1229]

I use that driver for my A30p, A31p, T42 and Dell Inspiron 600m and yes it is safe - except the fact that you have to stay away from SXGA+ LCDs as I don't think you can set that resolution with that driver. A newer 9600's Windows XP driver solves that problem but is notably not as efficient (Vista/7 driver will throw you an error message of inability to start as 7000 (in my A30p), 7500 (T42), FireGL V7800 (A31p) and 9000 (Inspiron 600m) are NOT DX9 capable unlike 9600).
FYI, if you use 7500's driver, things start to get messy. In my case, it appears that it works and the second you throw in some intense GUI stuff with shadows, blue screen appears.
7000's driver under W7 is just unusable. As soon as you turn the machine into sleep mode and resumes, the screen resolution revert to 640*480*16color and won't return to normal without several tries of Fnf7. Also if you somehow use lock function or logoff and log back on, it will throw you another bluescreen after a matter of time.

[dandreye]

kfzhu1229:

Just checked resolution options in my T42: "List All Modes > List of valid modes" has no 1400x1050 among those displayed although it might not be listed 'cos the LCD in my T42 is ordinary XGA. Worth noting that it feels a bit difficult to look at SXGA+ LCD in my T43 at 1400x1050 compared to 1024x768 on T42 although so much more fits into the screen.

Update: 1400x1050 appears to be supported as per one of the T42 Hardware Annoucement letters:

ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 (32 MB) with 1400 x 1050 resolution TFT

TFT LCD
Resolution Color depth

...
1400 x 1050 256, 64K, 16M
...

External monitor
Resolution Color Refresh rate (Hz)
...
1400 x 1050 256 60
1400 x 1050 64K 60
1400 x 1050 16M 60
...
http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/6/ ... 05-006.PDF

> FYI, if you use 7500's driver, things start to get messy. In my case, it appears that it works and the second you throw in some intense GUI stuff with shadows, blue screen appears.

The "RADEON 7500 Family (Microsoft Corporation - XDDM)" one implied, right? If so I must have never tried intense enough stuff at mine to trigger BSOD. The screen not turning off upon inactivity was the only nuisance.


Now wondering if it's worth an effort to try merging this 9000 driver ati2mtag_M9 into 10-2-legacy-vista32-64-dd-ccc.exe somehow in an attempt to get ATI CCC.

[kfzhu1229]

I don't think merging these two would work at all because 10-2-legacy-vista32-64-dd-ccc.exe should be the one with WDDM and Dx9 which anything before 9500 would NOT work with?

[dandreye]

I don't think merging these two would work at all because 10-2-legacy-vista32-64-dd-ccc.exe should be the one with WDDM and Dx9 which anything before 9500 would NOT work with?

Good point actually... just asked a better one to fiddle with at AMD Support forum, fingers crossed.

Update: meanwhile I tried the following: installed "ATI Display Driver" version 8.133.2.1.1.1-070206a-043154C for Win2000/XP from package 1rd637ww (in compatibility mode) and then installed driver 6.14.10.6606. It gave me a nice red ATI icon in the bottom right corner, right clicking on which results in this:


Some of the features work while some other trigger an error that my screen doesn't support it. Besides that I didn't find ATI Catalyst Control Center (or Panel) application anywhere. Can't see any extra tabs added into adapter properties either. Assuming 1rd637ww called "ATI Display Driver" comes w/o that software could anyone please point me to the latter, even one designed for 2000/XP? I'd like to verify if it can interop with 6.14.10.6606 somehow.

I've also tried installing 10-2-legacy-vista32-64-dd-ccc.exe (modded for mobility) and then installing driver 6.14.10.6606. This time I did get several ATI CCC apps installed but neither of them starts.

No BSODs have been observed during these tests even when I tried starting Lenovo System Update, which would always trigger a crash in ati3duag.dll with the W2k/WXP driver before.

[dandreye]

May I ask if anyone has had or at least heard of fully functional ATI CCC software (with all graphics settings supported by 7500) and a driver from a package officially targeted for anything below W7 working OOTB on a T4[0-2] with 7500 under W7 w/o any crashes or other issues? If so which particular ATI CCC and driver versions are those resp.?

Here's how far I got with mine so far:
https://s27.postimg.org/9o14pky6r/About.png
https://s30.postimg.org/saly1r1pd/CCC.png
https://s28.postimg.org/ym85eyzml/Driver_Details.png

I suspect I've invented the bicycle but who knows. Any help testing this particular driver/software package on a T4x with 7500 would be very welcome as I have no idea how to stress it properly. Even 3DMark 99 won't run on this ancient platform: it requires DX6.1 or above. Starting Lenovo System Update, one sure way I've always used to verify famous crash in ati3duag.dll doesn't trigger it this time, which is very encouraging.

[s07h]

May I ask if anyone has had or at least heard of fully functional ATI CCC software (with all graphics settings supported by 7500) and a driver from a package officially targeted for anything below W7 working OOTB on a T4[0-2] with 7500 under W7 w/o any crashes or other issues? If so which particular ATI CCC and driver versions are those resp.?

Here's how far I got with mine so far:
https://s27.postimg.org/9o14pky6r/About.png
https://s30.postimg.org/saly1r1pd/CCC.png
https://s28.postimg.org/ym85eyzml/Driver_Details.png

I suspect I've invented the bicycle but who knows. Any help testing this particular driver/software package on a T4x with 7500 would be very welcome as I have no idea how to stress it properly. Even 3DMark 99 won't run on this ancient platform: it requires DX6.1 or above. Starting Lenovo System Update, one sure way I've always used to verify famous crash in ati3duag.dll doesn't trigger it this time, which is very encouraging.

Hi @dandreye,

I would be glad to help testing this. I managed to locate the CCC version you are using, but I'm having trouble finding the driver you mention in your post.
Could you please post a link to this driver?

Thanks

[kfzhu1229]

Again, I'd rather use Radeon 9000 driver. Tested that same driver under 7000 from A30/p, 7500 under T42, V7800 under A31p, and 9000 under Inspiron 600m, they all work right out of the box! Sure the driver's control center is a bit problematic, but at least something like DVI can work with 1080p (yes it is 1920*1080) just fine even with Radeon 7000 which does not officially support that resolution

[s07h]

Again, I'd rather use Radeon 9000 driver. Tested that same driver under 7000 from A30/p, 7500 under T42, V7800 under A31p, and 9000 under Inspiron 600m, they all work right out of the box! Sure the driver's control center is a bit problematic, but at least something like DVI can work with 1080p (yes it is 1920*1080) just fine even with Radeon 7000 which does not officially support that resolution

Hi kfzhu1229,

Which Radeon 9000 driver you talking about? I tried like 10-15 different drivers in the last couple days, if you could point me to the exact Radeon 9000 version that would be great. (OS, Driver version and date please or a link).

All these drivers were problematic somewhat, either resulting in BSODs or performace issues and power management issues. I'm on a T41 Thinkpad with ATI mobility Radeon 7500.

Thanks

[kfzhu1229]

Hi kfzhu1229,

Which Radeon 9000 driver you talking about? I tried like 10-15 different drivers in the last couple days, if you could point me to the exact Radeon 9000 version that would be great. (OS, Driver version and date please or a link).

All these drivers were problematic somewhat, either resulting in BSODs or performace issues and power management issues. I'm on a T41 Thinkpad with ATI mobility Radeon 7500.

Thanks

Okay a bonus right here!
https://1drv.ms/f/s!At7-rt1KJ7WviMxKfMW7QYevhAeMKA
Those are the two versions I have tested stable under Windows 7.
The one in folder 1 is the driver downloaded from http://think.lenovo.com.cn/support/driv ... e=ThinkPad A31p&SearchType=0&wherePage=2&osid=234
That website is full of Chinese so either prepare Google translator, or use the number 1 folder
This version works with V7800 from A31p and Windows 7 right out of the box, in your case you can choose Radeon 9000 option instead of 7500 (The configuration in the inf is different)
The advantage with this version is that it is more official than the version below, and supports SXGA+ resolution which I simply CANNOT get the other driver version to display.

The one in folder 2 is the version I am using and tested under 7000, 7500, V7800 and 9000. It has nothing else than the inf and critical driver files (no execution utility and no catalyst manager), very compact and this version exerts better performance
The downside is no support for SXGA+ resolution
Choose Radeon 9000 option to install

Choose a version and install it.
For each version I have included a preview picture for the inf file for you to have an idea which version that is.
It should work just fine. Good luck!

[s07h]

Hi kfzhu1229,

Thanks for the upload. Out of the two drivers I could only try the second one, since the 1st choice was removed by OneDrive's anti-virus protection. I'm guessing it's a false positive.

We detected that some files contain a virus that could harm your computer, and stopped the download.

Radeon 7000, 7500, FGL7800, 9000.zip - https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=afb5274a ... 0GHr4QHjCg

You can get around this by re-archiving it using encryption. Onedrive won't be able to peek into the contents of the zip if it's password protected.


As for the second package:
I managed to install it, but it gave me constant BSODs complaining about ati2dvag.dll

I also got weird power management and performance issues initially. These were the following:

- changing to battery only state triggered a black screen, then finally resulting in a freeze and a reboot
- triggering sleep mode and/or hybernate resulted in a performance drop, visual artefacts and super-slow screen repaint


By investigating further I managed to fix both issues. The tricks were:

- installing power management driver from lenovo
https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles/n1mku58w.exe

- replacing the driver for the CPU to AGP controller
http://www.computerforums.org/forums/ar ... 12312.html

-Change a hardware setting. Right click "My Computer" and select Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Click [+] next to System devices > right-mouse on CPU to AGP Controller > Update Driver. Select Install from a list or specific location > Next > Select Don't search. I will choose the driver to install > Next > Select PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge > Next > Finish > Reboot your system.

On my system the original device driver name was: "Intel(R) 82855PM Processor to AGP controller"
I replaced this with the "PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge"


This change fixed all the aforementioned issues and the system works absolutely fine with your 2nd driver.

Thank you for your help, I hope others will find this post useful and more legacy Thinkpads can be invigorated this way.

[kfzhu1229]

well yea I think I've used the blocked driver for my T42 and A30 and didn't have to go through all this

[dandreye]

Hi s07h,

Sorry just noticed the recent updates. I did some further research back then and it turned out that that CCC+driver pack is in no way official 10.2 version for mobility graphics as I initially thought: it's nothing more than official version 10.2 for desktop graphics still published at AMD website modded for mobility graphics (before installation) using the ATI Mobility Modder tool aka "DH Mobility Modder.NET". I verified it by means of making the same pack on my own and it's been working perfectly well on my T42 with the same graphics as yours: no signs of it being any worse than the 9000 one I was using earlier (version 6.14.10.6607 as in kfzhu1229's folder #2 @ OneDrive). So I believe I now have the most recent CCC+driver version supported - dated 2010, i.e. much more recent than 2006; Device Manager now reports ATI Mobility RADEON 7500, exactly matching my graphics.

Looks like you've already fitted the 9000's driver alone w/o CCC by now. Here's mine anyway:

- to find official desktop 10.2 version using driver search at AMD site (direct DL links don't work for some reason):
https://s16.postimg.org/qx144oc9h/Radeo ... r_7500.png
(NB: if instead of 9xxx > 9800 you select 7xxx > 7500 you'll get a much older version 6.11)

- the modder tool is here:
http://dh-mobility-modder-net.software.informer.com/
The modding is really straightforward: download and install the tool, launch it, enter the path to the unpacked desktop 10.2 version, click a button and wait up to 3min.

- once the modding is over, if you have any troubles running Setup.exe as is try running it as Administrator