Beware: Faulty Video Driver from IBM

[markwang]

I just got my T43 back from EasyServ. They replaced the system board for me and re-imaged my hard drive. The system failed a few weeks ago and the computer went dead.

The repair is very prompt and I am generally happy about it.

Found a few problems:

Weak Bluetooth reception after repair

50% chance of getting a blank screen after suspension . the machine gets completely locked and need a reboot.

Solution:
1. The service people forgot to plug in my bluetooth antenna to the daughter board. I had to take off the keyboard to do it myself.

2. The new BIOS of the video card (X300) (2006-1-20) is not compatible with the current IBM video driver (March 2006 version). PowerPlay causes the deadlock after suspension. I disabled PowerPlay manually. Hopefully IBM would roll out the new driver soon.

[markwang]

Coutinued Story:

I have to put my power scheme to maximum performace to keep the T43 from crashing. Other setting seems to put the video card onto power saving scheme and causes deadlock when I switch from AC to battery.