T43 - Windows 7 32bit or 64bit

[CeeBee]

IBM ThinkPad T43 will run Windows 7 32bit or 64bit. If you have 1GB of RAM or more. You should install two 1GB RAM modules.

I'm planning to install W7 Pro on my wife's T43, which I thought could only handle 32-bit software. But, after I came across the above statement in another forum, I need someone to reconfirm this. Thanks.

And, if the T43 can handle W7 64-bit, how about installing 2x2GB memory instead of the 2x1GB I have now? I know that the 2GB is the official limit, however, there may be an unofficial limit I don't know of. Besides, also with a 32-bit W7, bumping the memory to 4GB would be nice even if I can only utilize 3+GB...

Any thoughts? Best.

[Medessec]

The T43 cannot run 64-bit Windows at all, because all processors that the T43 supports are not capable of Intel's x86-64 Instruction set(There are no 64-bit processors for the T43.)

Windows 7 32-bit works just fine on the T43, although it'd be hard for me to recommend it, because it can run pretty sluggish depending on the task, even T43p laptops. I wouldn't recommend running Windows 7 on an Intel-graphics T43.

If you plan on using the T43 for typing up documents, holding data and web browsing, then at least 1GB of RAM will work fine.

[CeeBee]

Thanks. That's what I thought. I'll go for W7 Pro 32bit then (I have 2GB memory) even though I think my type T43 has the Intel Graphics. Must be W7 as the setup should 'mirror' what's on another W7 laptop.

As for sluggish, I'm running XP Pro on a vintage 11/1999 TP600X (576MB memory) quite happily. And the T43 W7 I'm sure will be a bit faster than that. Any thoughts on the unofficial installable memory limit on the T43? Best.

[Neil]

Any thoughts on the unofficial installable memory limit on the T43?

The official and unofficial maximums are the same, due to the Intel 915 chipset limitation, addressable memory is 2GB

[CeeBee]

Thanks Neil,

With my 2GB already installed .. I'm memory maxed-out then. Best.

[Medessec]

Alright, good to hear you've got a plan setup.

The reason I wouldn't recommend Windows 7 for Intel-based T43s is because I'm pretty sure the Intel 915 integrated graphics are incapable of running the Aero effects, and other visual effects.

It should still run alright, especially since you have the maxed 2GB RAM.

[CeeBee]

Medessec, thanks for the follow-up.

Regardless of the graphics, one of the first things I'll do is to disable Aero and other Visual fluff/effects. I'll go Classic as far as I can .. on the basis of the less is more 'maxim'. Best.

[ajkula66]

Aero or no Aero is not the key issue here.

There is no official video driver in Vista/W7 for these machines, and the generic one that MS provides makes the experience rather sluggish.

There is a modded driver that I picked up somewhere once, no Aero there either, but at least the machine was moving as it should and had no sleep/hibernate issues that are common if the graphics driver is missing. Can't remember where it came from though whatsoever.

[CeeBee]

ajkula66, thanks!

An interesting twist to my plans. Have to look into this later, but, it seems many have the same problem out there. Maybe the below driver works. As I said, Aero is of no interest .. so the fact that the T43 graphics can't handle Aero is okay:

http://laptop-driver.blogspot.de/2009/1 ... 6692320921

This guy below apparently installed an XP driver (I found it on Intel's download site: win2k_xp142550.zip) with okay results:

http://www.sevenforums.com/drivers/7969 ... d-t43.html

At any rate, good to know about this issue ahead of time. Best

[Medessec]

Yeah... that's what I was thinking when I mentioned the above, that you'd just end up installing the XP driver. It works for most odd situations when your GPU is that old. But ajkula is right-it really won't help your experience compared to having a proper Windows 7 driver. But it's still better to have an XP driver than the VGA driver Windows provides, because then you'll still have Hardware acceleration and 3D.

My G41's Windows 7 installation runs the XP driver for the GeForce Go5200, and it does alright. It's also worked alright on ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 on other Thinkpads, but I haven't tried this method on the T43's Intel 915, or heard from anyone that has, so I can't tell you for sure how things will end up.

Good luck!

[CeeBee]

I finally got around to installing Windows 7 Pro on my T43 1871-4BU. A bit of a struggle, but, I'm up running .. with the help of various threads here and elsewhere on the web.

This is (a partial list of) what I finally installed of the IBM/Lenovo stuff:

Intel Display Driver - 6.14.10.4764 (downloaded from Intel)
Winbond (National Semiconductor) TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Device - 5.1.47.2011
Lenovo System Update - 5.03.0008
Lenovo Power Management Driver - 1.67.04.04
Lenovo Power Manager - 6.64.2
ThinkPad UltraNav Driver - 16.2.19.13
ThinkPad UltraNav Utility - 2.13.0
Hotkey Features Integration - 3.81.01 (later versions won't install)
Intel PRO Wireless 2915ABG Driver - 9.1.2.10
ThinkVantage Access Connection - 6.11
ThinkVantage Active Protection System - 1.78.0.11
ThinkVantage Fingerprint Software - 5.9.9.7282

So far, so good .. and the T43 seems to work fine with W7, albeit a bit sluggish! Any comments on the above which may improve the performance would be welcome.

Now, one question: after installing the display driver I ended up with five displays. Why and how can I correct this? I have made a print-screen of the device manager showing the setup I have, however, I can't figure out how to attach (or insert) the JPG to this message.

Best

[Neil]

I can't figure out how to attach (or insert) the JPG to this message.

You'll need to upload the image to one of those image hosting web sites, and then link to it here.

[CeeBee]

You'll need to upload the image to one of those image hosting web sites, and then link to it here.

Thanks Neil. Too complicated .. as I don't have one established right now. Oh well, maybe I get some feedback on the five 5 'extra' monitors regardless. This what device manager shows:

Generic Non-PnP Monitor
Generic Non-PnP Monitor
Generic Non-PnP Monitor
Generic Television
Generic Television
ThinkPad Display 1024x768
ThinkPad Display 1024x768

Best

Note: discussion moved here: http://www.forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopi ... 2&t=113110