Unable to update IBM sw & drivers after X31's reinstall

[AdamDobay]

Hello everyone, I'm Adam Dobay and I'm writing from the distant lands of Hungary. I would like to share with you a number of problems that I have encoutered since reinstalling the system my IBM X31 laptop (type 2673-N7G, 1.6Ghz processor, no tweaks except for a +1 gig RAM upgrade, which has been serving me well for more than a year now), in hopes of some of you being able to help me out.

After three years of using my system without restoring the factory defaults or reinstalling Windows XP, obviously it has gotten slow and full of problems, so I decided to load everything off the hidden partition and start from scratch (how that went would be another story in itself, for I had to spend quite a few hours before I could even get to the predesktop area as it disappeared from the bootup menu). It proved to be a wise decision since the system is now whopping fast and efficient again (not to mention lot of freed up space on the hard drive previously swarming with unnecessary stuff).

However.

With the preinstalled Windows XP back (quite quickly renewed with SP2 and all the subsequent security updates), I'm also stuck with my preinstalled IBM software back from 2004. Since these are all outdated programs, of course I want to replace them with their newer counterparts (in cases that it's actually useful). Especially for drivers for specific hardware (this will be another question below) because the thing keeps heating up and I suppose it's because of the outdated drivers. Notebook Hardware Control, the software I have been using to monitor CPU and HDD temperature, now reports that my CPU temperature keeps running up above 80 Celsius, from simple things like a couple of open Firefox tabs. (Previously it only went above highs like 75 Celsius if workload was very large).

Now. My problem is, I can't get the IBM Update Connector Version 5.3 to do anything because I guess the IBM HelpCenter it is trying to connect to to get updates has long since ceased to exist. However, I also cannot install the new System Update because its installer tells me that I have to uninstall the Update Connector program, something that I cannot achieve since it does not have an entry in Add/Remove Programs or anywhere else. System Update says that it could install itself over the old one but it could break the system, something I would not like to risk.

I have made backups of everything on my old system, including the DRIVERS and IBMTOOLS directories, but I am reluctant to use the current version of IBM Software Installer (which probably does work) to update anything because there have been drivers that simply wrecked the system last time around. First, an update to the Trackpoint mouse kept preventing me from going into standby (Windows stated the Trackpoint Driver simply doesn't let it go into standby - I had this problem from the first year until it reinstalled), and the most recent Trackpoint driver update made the system die after booting up. Then, I remember an update to the processor from I think 2005 cause a problem with the whole system dying from another sort of blue screen (I think it was the Intel GV3 processor update, but I keep forgetting). And so on. I like my new clean system and I don't want to wreck it.

So I'm now asking for your advice.
1. What should I do to get my updates that I need? How should I get around to installing System Update properly? Should I install anything from the IBMTOOLS or DRIVERS folders I backed up?
2. What should I do not to get my system wrecked with faulty drivers? I can't remember all these things so how do I know which driver updates I should be avoiding?
3. What IBM programs should I be updating and what should I not be updating? (I haven't been using any of them really, except for the System Update of course and Rescue and Recovery to get into the predesktop area to reinstall the machine)
4. How do I make the IBM Message Center that pops up from the system tray all the time go away? (It's not in the startup folder and it's not in the Add/Remove Programs area either)
5. What could be causing the machine's heating up? (My guess it's some driver that's been replaced since 2004) What's a normal temperature for my system? (I never really got under 50 Celsius for the CPU temperature in the 2 months I've been monitoring temperature except for the few minutes after booting up, and it's mostly in the 60 Celsius region, often going above 70 Celsius)

I think that is all, although I'm sure I will have other questions since the Lenovo website has not been very helpful in finding answers for my specific questions. (And the Hungarian IBM repair service is not really tops, either.)

Thank you for your help in advance.

Cheers,
Adam

[mpcook]

I have had 2 X31's and an X32 with the latest drivers and have had none of the problems you mentioned. I would suggest you go to the Lenovo site and enter your model (or let it autodetect) and it will give you a list of drivers/software to download to get latest versions. Once you have latest versions of everything, you can always roll back a driver if needed, althugh I don't think you will need to. My X31's always ran hot, but rarely went over 68 or 70. Maybe you need to blow out dust from the insides, they can get dirty.
MIke

[AdamDobay]

Hey Mike, thank you for the input, I guess that's the way to go. I contacted both Lenovo and IBM with the problem and waiting for their reply at the moment. Well we'll see what happens.