"New" T60P: All Is Not Good

[ArtShapiro]

While dealing with the water-damaged T61 that is mentioned in another thread, I purchased a T60P and it arrived yesterday. It is pretty good looking and had XP SP2 with SP3 already on the disk ready to install. I let the brand new System Update run, and it updated 26 items. I then manually downloaded and installed a couple things such as on-screen display; I've always found it curious that System Update doesn't even suggest downloading stuff that isn't already on the machine in the first place. I put on SP3, taking two attempts due to the issue I'll present in a minute. And I updated the video driver (after experiencing the problems I'll describe) to 6.14.10.6860 ati2dvag.dll from the drivers matrix.

The 15" 2007-94U is supposed to be 1600x1200, but just as the seller advertised it showed as 1400x1050. I figured the slider was simply wrong in the video properties, but no. The ATI Mobility FireGL 5200 shows a max of 1400 x 1050. It also claims to be feeding multiple monitors, a "Plug and Play" monitor and a "Default" monitor. I'm baffled.

The big problem: this guy is blue-screening every few minutes, even if nothing is being done. It's a problem I'm seeing as mentioned frequently on the web and in these forums: the infinite loop detected in ati2dvag.dll. Some people have cured it with a variety of diddling in the device properties; others have never cured it, and still others think it can be a hardware issue. I'd welcome any thoughts.

Secondary questions: I show two wireless connections, the Intel (which is working fine) and a "Sierra" adaptor. Could that be the Wimax connection that is of no use to me? And I haven't figured out a protrusion along the right exterior edge of the lid - could that be the cellular antenna?

Anyway, given the inability to run more than a few minutes without blue-screening, this machine is not going to be very useful. It's still under warranty for a couple more months, but I don't know if that's relevant here.

Art

[Ursus]

The video card is dual-head, meaning that it can display on the interior panel and the external source simultaneously. It uses "plug and play" monitor as a placeholder until something is plugged in. If you poke around in the video driver, you can look at disabling the "clone" feature in the card which will let you mess with the internal panel resolution only. Make sure you have confirmation enabled for resolution changes or you will find yourself screwed.

As for blue-screen, Google the STOP code, that can often turn up the answer or at least a hint

[richk]

If the screen was changed, it isn't clear what else was. The warranty status is "not clear"

REgarding the blue screen, make sure you have the latest version of Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver

[craigmontHunter]

All that I know is that the protusion along the right edge of the lid is a cellular antenna, no idea about wimax or anything else

Jack

[ArtShapiro]

Appreciate the input so far - I'll check the Matrix driver.

I turned off video hardware acceleration - full off. I've run for an hour and a half with no failure while heavily installing programs. This is a good sign. There's no way it would have run even remotely this long with the default setting of full-on.

The weird thing about this screen size discrepancy: I know this is a Flexview screen, because Windows Update updated a Flexscreen driver that specifically mentioned 1400x1050 as the download was in progress. I didn't know "they" made 15" 1400x1050 screens. The icons on my XP screen seem relatively small, with smallish letters, but I don't really know how to tell what this screen really might be.

Art

[Troels]

Hmm, how are the viewing angles of the LCD and colors in general? If they are narrow or invert and the colors are washed out, the seller apparently replaced it with a TN panel.
Could the seller tell you anything more about it's history - why does it have a 1400x1050 LCD?

About the blue-screening; what i usually do to get maximum grpahics performance, and the fewst amount of problems is ironically actually by installing ATi's own driver.

To do that: Boot into safe mode and uninstall everything relating to ATI video drivers and Catalyst Control Center from "Add and Remove".
Afterwards use Driver Cleaner http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745
and ket it clean up anything in the list regarding ATi.

Now, start with a NEW driver from ATi themselves.
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/f ... ng=English

If it refuses to install, you'll need to modify the driver with MobilityModder:
http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

When this is done, install the drivers again, and it SHOULD not complain. It never failed on me atleast.

The Sierra adaptor is the the WWAN card from. Not sure what Wimax is really, but the WWAN card is HSDPA.

[RealBlackStuff]

The weird thing about this screen size discrepancy: I know this is a Flexview screen, because Windows Update updated a Flexscreen driver that specifically mentioned 1400x1050 as the download was in progress. I didn't know "they" made 15" 1400x1050 screens.

I just got an R52 (1860-4QU) with a 15" Flexview IPS 1400x1050 screen, running off an Intel GPU. Great combination!
I thought it was ordinary SXGA+, but Ajkula66/George saw it and immediately said: "Flexview!"

[ArtShapiro]

I never have dealt with FlexView before, but I can clearly read this guy WAY off axis, so I'm willing to accept that we're talking a FlexView screen here. And the fact that Windows downloaded some FlexView software is just further proof.

One think I'd like to mention is that I tried to install the ATI Catalyst Control Center, and it repetitively refused to install, insisting that no compatible device driver was found. This doesn't seem to make much sense here.

I'll try a total uninstall in safe mode as suggested; it didn't seem to accomplish much when I tried that earlier in normal mode.

I might also try bumping up the hardware acceleration to see how much I can get away with. Given the fact that I paid a whopping $550 for this machine, way under market, I'm not going to be particularly hot-and-bothered by either the hardware acceleration kludge or by the non-1600x1200 resolution. SXGA+ really is pretty nice. Does this seem reasonable?

Art

[Ursus]

I would stick with the IBM drivers for the ATI card until things settle down. There is also an ATI deinstaller on the ATI site somewhere that will nuke everything.

[dsvochak]

According to this thread you can check for "flexview" in Device Manager-->Monitor:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76823

[ajkula66]

Sierra is a Verizon WWAN. That's also "the thing" on the RH side of the lid.

[Troels]

According to this thread you can check for "flexview" in Device Manager-->Monitor:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76823

Unfortunately, by modifying one line in the tplcd.inf file in the Lenovo monitor zip package that anyone can download, the monitor can be renamed into anything one would like. If the thinkpad originally came with an UXGA display, the .inf file will always determine the monitor type from a copy of the EDID which resides in the registry of Windows. For UXGA, the EDID would contain the name LEN4046 somewhere. Swapping the display will not generate a new EDID in the registry for some odd reason - unfortunately. Not until a complete re-install of windows

SXGA+ really is pretty nice. Does this seem reasonable?

It sure does.

When the ATI driver says that there are no compatible device available for the driver, and ou are sure you have downloaded a compatible driver - then you can use mobility modder.

[dr_st]

I just got an R52 (1860-4QU) with a 15" Flexview IPS 1400x1050 screen, running off an Intel GPU. Great combination!
I thought it was ordinary SXGA+, but Ajkula66/George saw it and immediately said: "Flexview!"

That would mean that your laptop has also been "tampered" with, i.e. the owner replaced the original TN SXGA+ panel with an IPS SXGA+. Indeed a great thing to do.

[bhtooefr]

Look up the parts that shipped with the system (it's available from the warranty lookup.)

This will tell you what panel part number originally shipped. Sometimes the type-model lookup is wrong about the specs of the model. (2007-WLY doesn't necessarily come with XP Pro, as I found out the hard way.)