Power Manager and Fn+F3 functionality for T42 running W7

[dandreye]

Hi All,

Raising it as a new thread after asking the question below in a few years old thread:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 25#p781625

So I've followed dr_st's advice in that thread (given with Windows XP in mind) and installed Power Manager v1.54 on my T42 running Windows 7. Unfortunately some of the features don't work. For instance, predefined power schemes in Settings > Power Scheme tab have all dots gray while some of them should be green representing parameter value set. Selecting any of them and pressing Apply or OK doesn't have any effect at all. I can go through the 2-page dialogue when adding a new scheme but no scheme is created when I press Finish. When I press Fn+F3 I get a black window with all those predefined schemes displayed but clicking any of them doesn't have any effect either (the window doesn't even go away upon that, as if their clicking calls no routine whatsoever). My PM driver is the latest one to my knowledge, v1.67.11.8 dated 20/01/2016. Both PM and PM Driver were installed by putting their respective Setup file into WXPSP3 compatibility mode first, and then running it from under Administrator.

Just tried downgrating PM to v1.48. Now I do see green bars representing parameter values set for every predefined scheme, however the OK button is grayed out this time. Fn+F3 displays the very same black window with all those predefined schemes, which does disappear upon clicking any of them but that still doesn't seem to have any effect, at least screen brightness remains unchanged.

Has anyone got any of these, or in fact any PM versions working 100% correctly on their T40-T42 running Windows 7? (not sure whether to mention T43 here as it's kinda special)


Many thanks in advance!

[dr_st]

For Win7 on my X32 (which is like the T42 in many ways, but not in all of them), I use Power Manager version 3.25, and PM Driver version 1.65.05.21 ( g1ku20ww ). It appears there is a newer version (1.67.03.13, grku10ww ), which I from some reason don't use. Your version is newer still, but I doubt they fixed anything specific to the X32 in it.

Most of the features work. I can edit the power schemes and they apply successfully, and I see their effect on the CPU speed behavior. What does not work is automatic LCD brightness control when switching schemes. However, it does not bother me much, since I can control it just fine with Fn+Home and Fn+End.

[dandreye]

Hi dr_st - thank you,

I've just tried installing PM v3.25 and all dots in all predefined plans are still grey. How can I check whether applying any of them works? (perhaps no green dots is just a cosmetic issue) I must admit I was using LCD brightness change as successful plan switch criteria, which I understand doesn't work, at least for you.

Next I dared trying PM v6.68.10 (the most recent one: it installed OK to my surprise) and all dots in all predefined plans are still grey, so it looks no different. What I noticed with it though is if I press Fn+F3 and select "Power off display (keep current power plan)" option in the Additional Power Controls section, the LCD starts dimming briefly and then returns to its original brightness: exactly that I've already seen occur before when leaving Windows idle. Do you happen to know which particular setting(s) could possibly prevent it from dimming normally?

Meanwhile does it look like I need a different PM Driver to get the green dots in predefined plans? I understand you do have them in yours, can create and save your own plan etc?

Update: with PM v6.68.10 the new plan I create does stay, however it still doesn't display any green dots despite them being present during plan creation, and I had to delete it using powercfg -delete as Delete button was greyed out. Also I've just tried both PM Driver versions you mentioned (btw the link to the former one of them seems broken: got it elsewhere), still no green dots with either of them. Finally, switching plans doesn't work for sure as powercfg -list keeps showing * (Active) next to Balanced at all times.

[dr_st]

Yes, on my X32 the dots are green. I can create, apply (either through Fn+F3 or through the PMGR GUI), edit and delete power plans. Everything seems to work, except the LCD brightness thing. The dots are green. Turning off LCD through Fn+F3 also works.

The easiest way I used to check that the plans actually apply (besides the fact that the active plan changes) is the CPU speed. I run CPUZ, and change between "maximum battery life" (which locks CPU to lowest speed) and "maximum performance" (which locks it to highest). CPUZ shows me in real-time whether the CPU speed adjusted.

The inability to switch plans is something I experienced with new PMGR on old Thinkpads (or was it old PMGR on new Thinkpads?) One of the two, don't remember anymore.

Generally I do try to complement each system with contemporary software versions. On average it seems to work better.

In your case, perhaps I would try to fully uninstall both the PM driver and the Power Manager, and try from scratch. Perhaps also add the video driver to the mix. It tends to be very important when it comes to actually being able to switch power schemes.

[dandreye]

dr_st:

Thank you: will try reinstalling both PM and PM Driver from scratch then.

A few months ago I had to install the following driver for my ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 video card to ensure BSOD-free operation - hope it's not the one that's causing my power plan switching issues:

Video Card RADEON 7500 Family (Microsoft Corporation - XDDM)
Video Card Chip Type ATI display adapter AGP (0x4C57)
Video Card Memory 32.00 MB Video Card BIOSBK5.0.0 VR006.010.007.007.002.001.001.001 j
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\ati2mtag.sys
Driver Version 6.14.10.6606, 8-15-2006