Thinkpads Forum

I have successfully installed windows 7. however i cannot get the switchable graphics option to work. i have downladed the ati catalyst manager but nothing shows up when i right click on the desktop. nothing to access the graphics interface or w/e . The only thing in the installed program part of control panel is ATI Catalyst Install manager. not sure what to install to get the switchable graphics/ my discrete graphics card to work. links would help


On a side note, how do you turn off your touch pad... its really quite annoying sometimes when im typing and using a mouse. Should i install some lenovo driver or something???? like how to turn off the double tap = click option?

Thank you very much in advance!

Switchable graphics is controlled by using the correct Lenovo video driver plus power manager. To switch you left click on the power management icon.

What are the requirements to use Switchable Graphics?
To use Switchable Graphics requires the following:

* Windows Vista (or Windows 7)
* ThinkVantage Power Manager version 2.31 (build ID 7VU426WW), or newer
* Video driver version 8.52.4.3-080821b-068591C-Lenovo (build ID 7VD532WW), or newer
* Lenovo ThinkPad with Switchable Graphics hardware (certain models of R400, T400, T500, and W500).

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 70495.html

thank you. i was able to get it to work

actually i have one more question, dont want to make another topic, hoping to get it answered in this one.

since it is a fresh install, i dont really want to install the unncessary drivers they give me on the cd. what else should i update to maximize my battery life? i was thinking of turning off the cd rom but am unable to do so. is there a a driver for that?

thanks

If you select Maximum Battery Life as a power plan in power management that should save battery power. I don't know of a power saving setting specifically for an optical drive. You can also disable all non-used devices in BIOS....like Infrared. Bluetooth can be disabled using FN-F5.

ok, how can i check that the blue tooth and infrared devices are being used? also i just want to turn off the optical drive. how would i go about doing that?

Well, if you don't use any bluetooth or infrared external devices (like mice or keyboards) then they are not in use and can be disabled.

ah cool. about the cd rom, before i upgraded to windows 7, i was able to disable the cd rom like a usb drive, it would then turn on whenever i opened the cd rom and i could turn it off easily. any way i could do this now?

There is a 'Safely remove Hardware and Eject Media' icon in the system tray. Disable the CDRom drive there.

yes, i cant see that however, it is there when i put in a cd, but that only helps me eject the cd.

Thnkpdrox,

Are you using an Aero enabled theme? To ensure that your settings are not set to Windows 7 Basic, right click on your desktop and select "Personalize." From there you will be able to select an Aero theme.

Also, it would be advisable to check that you are using the latest drivers for Windows 7 directly from ATI.

Should you require additional assistance and feedback, Microsoft does have an official Windows 7 Support Forum located here http://tinyurl.com/9fhdl5 . It is supported by product specialists as well as engineers and support teams.

Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team