Windows 7 Upgrade

[ranjit]

Hi All,

I have an IBM ThinkPad T42 laptop. It is exactly 5 yeard old. I would like to know before I decide to purchase a new laptop with Windows 7, if it is possible to upgrade this laptop to Windows 7. The brief specifications of my laptop are as follows:

Operating System: Windows XP Professional
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.60GHz
Memory: 1.5 GB
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 7500 32MB
Wireless Adapter: Intel (R) PRO/Wireless 3100 3b Mini PCI Adapter

Is it possible to upgrade the graphics card to 128MB? And are there specific drivers for my wireless card?

Thank you.
Ranjit

[ZaZ]

I haven't run W7 on a T4x machine, but I'd say W7 tends to run better on older machines than Vista. Worst case is Aero won't work due to the GPU, but I've seen some older machines with pretty crappy GPUs that run Aero fine. You can't swap the GPU, you'd have to do the whole board. My guess would be W7 will already have the wifi driver.

[ranjit]

Hi FredGarvin,

Thank you for that info. Do you know if I can refit my old T42 with a new GPU card with higher memory to handle Aero?

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

The T42 will run Windows 7, but the onboard ATI 7500 GPU will not run Aero effects. Also, there is no official Windows 7 driver for that graphics processor. You can't upgrade the memory on the GPU. It is soldered to the systemboard. I doubt there are Lenovo Windows 7 drivers for your WiFi card, but you could run Intel drivers either from Intel or from Windows update.

[ranjit]

Hi Harryc

Thank you for that info.

Are you saying that I am stuck with the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 card, and there is no way to refit the laptop with another card with more memory? How come some members have been able to upgrade their T42 to run Windows 7 with Aero?

What do you mean by "run Intel drivers either from Intel or from Windows update". My Windows updae is up-to-date.

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

You are not stuck with anything if you have enough money. You could upgrade the systemboard to a T42P or a T43 board. There are other hardware considerations for both. If you are running Windows 7, and Windows updates are all done, and your WiFi adapter works, then you are already running an Intel driver.

[ranjit]

Hi harryc,

Are these T42/p and T43 system board still available? How much graphics memory do these boards have?

My current ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU only has 32MB onboard which is insufficient for Windows 7 Upgrade.

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

I think you misunderstood. I am not selling any systemboards. You'd have to find them yourself. Try the Marketplace forum here or EBay.

T42 - ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 / AGP 4X / 64MB DDR1

T42P - ATI® MOBILITY™ FireGL™ T2 / AGP 4X / 128MB DDR1

T43 - ATI® MOBILITY™ RADEON® X300 / PCI Express x16 / 64MB GDDR1

T43P - ATI MOBILITY FireGL™ V3200 / PCI Express x16 / 128MB GDDR1

Any of those boards/GPU's will run W7 w/ Aero. If you get a T43 board, you'd also have to replace your RAM and CPU...possibly an Ultrabay cage.

[ranjit]

Hi Harryc,

The boards that you mention are system mother boards together with integrated ATI GPU's, right?

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

Not integrated...discrete. Doesn't matter about the terminology though. They are all soldered to the systemboard.

[ranjit]

Hi Harryc,

Is it as simple as unplugging the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU from the mother board, and refitting the mother board with, say the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 card? Generally, who would do the soldering? Is it difficult to do?

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

No. Get a new motherboard.

[ranjit]

Hi Harryc,

You mean replace my existing mother board with a new mother board that has a ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 GPU?

I am so sorry to ask you such basic questions. I just want to be absolutely clear so that I do not encounter problems during the upgrade. I hope you don't mind.

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

Yes, that is what I am saying.

[ranjit]

Thank you for the clarification, Harryc.

Do you you if the Intel (R) PRO/Wireless 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter is compatible with Windows 7? Intel says that it is a "End of Life" product and no further updates are available. I currently have the latest driver (version 1.2.4.41) from Lenovo website.

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

I do not know, but those adapters are very inexpensive. I'd go for an IPW 2915abg or 2200bg mPCI adapter for your machine.

[ranjit]

Hi Harryc,

Can these adapters be retrofitted easily?

Cheers,
Ranjit

[Harryc]

Yes, it's simple screw removal..keyboard and Palm rest. The mPCI slot is under the Palm rest.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-46464

[ranjit]

Hi Harryc,

Intel says that they will no longer provide any future software updates and support for Windows 7 for IPW 2220 BG and 2915 ABG adapters. Can the IPW 3945 ABG adapter be used on the T42?

Cheers,
Ranjit

[GomJabbar]

I have the Intel 2200BG card in my T42, and it works fine in Windows 7. If I recall correctly, I had to get the driver from Windows Update though.

[Harryc]

The IPW3945abg uses a different connecting architecture than an IPW2200bg. It uses PCI-E vs. mPCI. So, the answer to your question is no, an IPW3945abg adapter will not work in a T42.

[greeman]

I have a T42 with the ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 graphics card. I am presently running Windows 7 and all is running great!. Of course this card does not run the Aero, but all graphics (including video streaming) work fine. I had to look quite a bit to find the Windows 7 driver for this card. I did see the driver for the Radeon 7500 when I was looking for a driver for mine. I do not remember where I found it though....... I have the Intel 2200b/g wireless card and had to use the intel driver for it. I did notice that connections worked better with this driver and Windows 7 than it did with XP and the Levono drivers. Anyway, running Windows 7 can be done on these machines if you are willing to invest the time to find drivers that work properly. The video was the hardest to find, and had to look some for the wireless card. all the other needed drivers were installed by Windows 7. So far, a happy camper with Windows 7 32 bit on the T42. Also, I do have 2gb ram.