Thinkpads Forum

Hello, I am new here! Also sorry for my weak english.
Just bought T61 few weeks ago. Decided to make it kinda "Retro station" for my old games. So far it was going good, but some games had problems with graphics. My pc:
Win XP Proffesional 32bit
Motherboard 42W7867
Intel Core 2 T8100
RAM 2GB
Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M (according to MB number. Also other than nvidia drivers dont work. Instaled from Lenovo site. Graphic card visible after instalation. Also windows explorer is smooth so i guess it is ok. Newest version of driver checked by driver updates)
DirectX9.0

Few games work well, some are weird others cant start:
Starcraft at 1440x900 driver resolution
http://imgur.com/gallery/M4RnAaq
At 800x600 (minimum)
http://imgur.com/gallery/5P90z10

Need for speed hp2
http://imgur.com/gallery/hvW74KE

Dune 2000
http://imgur.com/gallery/GhDIFUU

I am guessing these are some problems with resolution, but these are games (even original cds) that i played on old win xp pc when i was kid. Max Payne, warcraft 3, cod2 and few others work good.

Thanks for any advice

Also I forgot to mention- i had problem with Max Payne. Installed game - couldnt start - switched to low resolution - started game, setup resolution in game launcher - works in high resolution every time now

I should mention that i installed directx 8.0 and later 9.0. Should I install older versions or is 9.0 enough?

//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202105 ... 12f8df.jpg

Welcome to the Forum.
If you haven't done so, check your BIOS version.
If you have 2.30/1.08 you need to go back to 2.29/1.08.
If you have 2.28/1.08 or older, you need to update to 2.29/1.08.
For both cases use: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/downlo ... d-t61-t61p
The download is an ISO file (for making a self-booting CD), to be burned onto a CD/DVD using e.g. https://www.imgburn.com/

Reboot and now install the Middleton BIOS, also version 2.29/1.08 for T61, T61p (all) from https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Middleton%27s_BIOS
Use the ISO that is included in the download for a self-booting CD.
When done, reboot and remove the CD.
You will now have SATA-II speed and a few other goodies.

Also, try and increase RAM to 2x2GB.

Hello RBS!
Thank you for your reply.
BIOS version is 2.12 so that may be it. I have burned CD ready. Sadly setup requires fully charged battery and my piece is dead. I have ordered new one and 2x2GB RAM and it should come next week so I guess i have to wait..
Will come with an update soon

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Hello. Battery arrived today. Updated BIOS to newer version. No change. Than I installed Middleton BIOS. Still no change.
Soon, 2x 2GB ram will arrive, so maybe that helps..

If you have any other ideas I am really thankfull. Games that dont work: Dune2000, Commandos, NFS Hot Pursuit 2, Desperados. All unknown graphics problems

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

The graphics chip can dynamically vary the voltage and vram, shader and core frequencies as a power-saving feature which would probably affect your gaming. Select something like "Maximum Performance" in some tab in the driver to prevent this. I'm not running Windows so I can't be more specific.

Hello guys. Little bit of update:
Installed 4GB of RAM
Got Intel Core 2 duo T7800 from other laptop so that was a nice upgrade
Checked power management in windows and bios. Tried all possibilities without change.
Multiple reinstalls of Windows XP pro 32 bit. Only working graphic driver is from https://download.lenovo.com/eol/index.html (thinkpads.com link). Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M for win xp 32 bit. Seems to be working as it changes resolution, smoothes window movement and I can see it in device manager.
Next I reinstalled win xp pro 64bit. Here a problems began because I cant find working driver for 64bit xp. On site there is only one driver for xp/2000 and it says I dont have xp/2000 ??? drivers for Vista and higher didnt work ofc
Driver for win xp 64 from nvidia site doesnt work either...
Im pretty sure something is off with this graphic card but cant figure out what. Heard about nvidia problems on t61 but i thought it was more of a hardware problems..

Any advice is welcome. Thank you


Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Yours is a 14.1" widescreen T61, what TYPE is it (on a sticker at the bottom)?
And what date is after the S/N? (YY/MM)
Sticker looks looks like: TYPE 6379-1XK S/N R5-12345 08/06

You'll also need to check the production date on the nVidia GPU.
On this picture you'll see details of it (inset).
Under the name nvidia you see 21N3DT 1021A2.
We're interested in the 1021, which means: year 2010 / week 21
What does it say there on yours?
If it is less than 0830 (year 2008 / week 30) you have a bad nVidia GPU.

So the back sticker was gone. Probably someone was looking for a srew...
On NVidia chip it says 0801 so it is older one. Is there something I can do with it? Or just sell it and move on

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=124261

Bad GPU, up to you if you want to spend any money on it.

Thank you for your help. I guess i will have to look for a new one. I will ask sellers for photo of bottom sticker. Newer is better right?

RBS correctly identifies your graphics chip as one which possibly is constructed with failure-prone material. However it is not the problem (at the moment) -- it works properly for some games and not for others. When the chip fails usually the computer can't boot because the BIOS can't initialize the chip and there is a typical beep code.
If you don't understand what I posted earlier then post a screenshot of the windows XP 32bit driver (it has a GUI) and I'll tell you which tab to click on and which mode to select. I can't see the linked pictures, but the inline ones are fine.
If you can get it to work under 32-bit XP then search the forum for the PAE version which can use the full 8GB of RAM.