Thinkpads Forum

I managed to get Windows XP X64 to install on the Thinkpad X61. Unfortunately, Lenovo doesn't seem to have any of the relevant drivers. Any ideas where I'd go looking? Mainly I need:
Ethernet - Intel Pro/1000
Wireless - Atheros a/b/g
Graphics - Intel GMA 3100

Thanks,

MFBernstein

windows update may be your best bet if you can figure out a way to get your X61 online.   very few drivers were written for XP x64 and lenovo doesn't support it whatsoever.   i hate to say it but you're fighting an uphill battle.

Well, I've made some progress.

For both graphics and ethernet, I went to Intel's 'download center'. Searched for `gma 3100` and `82566` respectively. Each has links to drivers with an option for X64 versions.

Now I'm using Windows Update, as Erik suggested, to hopefully get most of the rest of the drivers.

Any particular reason why you need XP x64 instead of XP x86? I see that you have less than 4GB of memory.

I tried installing XP 64 on my 4GB X61s, in the hope that I could avoid the sluggishness of Vista...

I managed to get it mostly working (and it felt like greased lightning!) but several key parts, including (if I recall correectly) the ACPI driver and the power management simply aren't provided for XP 64. Given that they're a fundamental part of a functional laptop (i.e. sleep support) I am now back with Vista 64.

I did wonder if perhaps accepting 3GB of usable RAM in XP 32 would be a better experience than having all 4GB within Vista 64, but having installed about 100 times in the last week, I couldn't be bothered finding out (and I don't like the thought of a wasted 1GB RAM!)

I would go here and download the relevant drivers for the components of your TP. Lenovo may not officially offer drivers for 64 bit on a X61, but it's good that other TPs have the same components.

steve-oo wrote:I tried installing XP 64 on my 4GB X61s, in the hope that I could avoid the sluggishness of Vista...

I managed to get it mostly working (and it felt like greased lightning!) but several key parts, including (if I recall correectly) the ACPI driver and the power management simply aren't provided for XP 64. Given that they're a fundamental part of a functional laptop (i.e. sleep support) I am now back with Vista 64.

I did wonder if perhaps accepting 3GB of usable RAM in XP 32 would be a better experience than having all 4GB within Vista 64, but having installed about 100 times in the last week, I couldn't be bothered finding out (and I don't like the thought of a wasted 1GB RAM!)

vista 64 isn't sluggish whatsoever if set up properly.   it's extremely fast on my T61p and noticeably faster than server 2003 or XP.

here's the lenovo software i'm using:
- system update (because it makes driver installation easier)
- all registry patches and vista updates from lenovo
- lenovo system interface driver
- thinkpad power management driver
- thinkvantage power manager software
- lenovo wireless USB
- thinkpad easyeject
- thinkvantage fingerprint software 64-bit
- thinkpad hotkey features
- thinkpad ultranav driver
- thinkpad ultranav software
- thinkvantage active protection system
- intel pro/1000 LAN software
- ibm thinkpad audio features XII for vista
- ricoh 4-in-1 driver
- thinkpad video features (or use windows update for the video driver)
- thinkpad modem software

thinkvantage client security solution can slow your system down considerably.   do not install it or any other extras not listed above unless absolutely necessary.

steps i recommend:
1. clean install
2. install system update (download beforehand)
3. plug an ethernet cable into your router and get online via hard connection
4. run system update and grab drivers/software above at your discression
5. run windows update
6. reboot if windows update hasn't already
7. run cmd.exe as an admin and perform a full defrag on c: (type "defrag c: -w -v")
8. defrag c: from windows (from explorer right-click c:, go to properties > tools tab > defragment now) -- this will take a while
9. optimize background services including defragmentation schedule (see #8 and go to 'modify schedule...' instead of 'defragement now'), modify windows defender schedule to a weekly schedule (it's in the control panels), change 'indexing options' control panel to only include your start menu, and disable unnecessary services via services.msc (search google for "vista services" for more info).

the above is a quick-and-dirty list of what i did to make sure vista runs as fast as possible on my T61p.   i plan to do the same when my X61 shows up.

andyP wrote:I would go here and download the relevant drivers for the components of your TP. Lenovo may not officially offer drivers for 64 bit on a X61, but it's good that other TPs have the same components.

No, they don't have 64-bit XP drivers for any of their machines. Makes sense, since they never shipped XP X64 on any of 'em, but it's still a bit annoying.

Vista 64 isn't really an option for me, given its incompatibilities and gratuitous changes. Doesn't help that it feels slower than my X40 did running XP.

I managed to get a clean install of XP x64 on my x61.
But I had to slipstream the AHCI driver in order to get the 200gb hd working at full speed.

To install XP x64 on your thinkpad, get the latest drivers from intel (Chipset, Storage, Video). For the other drivers, you can take the ones designed for Vista x64 and they will install smoothly.

The only thing I wasn't able to install is the Atmel TPM driver.
But since I have absolutely no use for that, I just deactivated the device in the Hardware manager.

Thanks, vieux! Didn't realize that the Vista drivers were also compatible with XP. X64 seems to work pretty well now. I'll have to do some tests against regular XP to decide whether to use it full-time!

Okay, well I just realized that wireless doesn't work (Atheros a/b/g). Thoughts? Thanks.

mfbernstein wrote:Okay, well I just realized that wireless doesn't work (Atheros a/b/g). Thoughts? Thanks.

the atheros a/b/g card doesn't work under server 2003, either, so you might need an intel card instead.

since you're only using 2GB i have no idea why you want to run XP x64.   you'd be much better off with XP x86 or vista x64 if you absolutely have to have a 64-bit OS -- which i highly doubt you do .

the only reason i'm running vista x64 is because i use 4GB and autocad 2008 64-bit.   if it wasn't for those then i'd probably still be using 2003.

I cannot contribute anything to the XP x64 driver availability but in my experience XP x64 feels much faster as XP x86 or Vista.
XP x64, in contrast to x86, is based on the 2003 server codebase.