R400/T400/T500/W500 - Issue with Intel GPU 8.752.4 with Win 7 SP1 [ Edited ]

[Edbert]

Windows 7 SP1 has been released to TechNet/MSDN subscribers (which includes the dreaded KB2028560 update)... Hope Lenovo gets a hold of it and start working on new drivers.

[LoneWolf]

After having Visual C++ issues with the switchable graphics driver causing BSOD's if I had switchable graphics enabled in the BIOS, I installed Windows 7 from scratch, and SP1 immediately after (I am a Technet subscriber).

With the current switchable graphics driver, Windows Live Mail 2011 crashes if set to Intel (Energy Saving).  It does not if set to ATI (High Performance).

[Edbert]

It's the KB2028560 update, included in SP1. The Intel driver included in the 8.752.4 conflicts with this update. In my case, Windows Live Messenger 2011, Skype and Outlook 2007 crashed when that update was installed. After I uninstalled it, the crashes were gone. The problem is that the update is included in SP1, and unless Lenovo releases a new driver, the crashes are not going away with W7 SP1.

[LoneWolf]

Correct, Edbert.

Now that SP1 is official, I just wanted to confirm what you and others had been saying.  I actually have no reason to use Windows Live Mail, but wished to confirm what you and others have already been saying.

I hope now that Service Pack 1 is completely official, Lenovo Engineering will be listening to what people in this thread have been saying all along.  With any luck, we will get both updated Intel and ATI drivers in a new switchable graphics driver release.

[Edbert]

Thank you for pointing it out, LoneWolf!

[JameZ]

@LoneWolf,

Thanks for the update on the SP1. Am not sure if it is considered "officially" released as it is only available for TechNet and MSDN only. No worries, I will still check with engineering about your findings.

//JameZ

[lenardg]

Well it might not be "official" for everyone, but Microsoft did say they will release it for everyone in less than a week (22.2). It should appear on Windows Update and on separate download pages next tuesday. So people will start getting it then, and probably many will bump into the issue when running on the Intel card. 

When Windows 7 was coming out, Lenovo had updates tools and drivers available before the final version hit stores. I remember downloading a lot of them while they were still in beta, to test them out. How come this time the release of the SP1 package "surprises" Lenovo, and you are not prepared with proper updates? When you had to make updates to the drivers and software, Windows 7 was still BETA software, yet you still managed to work with it, and fix problems. It wasn't an excuse then (that it is BETA), so it seems strange this time around your engineers try to cover themselves with this (SP is beta/not released).

It would have looked rather ugly, if when Windows 7 was released there would not have been working drivers and software. Granted, a Service Pack release is not the same scale as an operating system release, but it can be no excuse to not test it beforehand and making sure everything works and possibly releasing updates as needed. Especially because the issue discussed in this thread has been known and pointed out to you well in advance!

As Edbert said, the SP1 packages includes the update that causes problems. The list of updates included in SP1 is here: List of updates included in Windows 7 SP1 (I posted a link previously to the list that was in the Beta version of the SP1 package, which should not have changed, but still, here is the "final list").

I also had a SP1 integrated Windows 7 installer disc image downloaded from MSDN yesterday, I might try to install it onto my T500 today.

[Izmi]

JameZ. Skip the corporate limbo, escalate two levels up, and get things going. This is getting extremely frustrating. The whole management of the switchable graphics driver issue since the release of the R400/T400/T500/W500 models is beyond belief.

Moderator Note: Part(s) of the post that didn't conform to lenovo community's participation rules has been removed. Kindly adhere to community rules and keep it civilized!

[JameZ]

@LoneWolf,

Appreciate if you could PM me the following so I may raise this to engineering.

Name:
Mobile:
Email:
Serial Number:
Model Type:

I assume your drivers are at it's latest. Do let me know if its different.

BIOS: 3.21/3.19
OS: Win 7 Pro x64 ?
GPU: 8.752.4-101022a-107489C
Power Manager: 3.31
Power Management Driver: 1.60

//JameZ

[LoneWolf]

Am not sure if it is considered "officially" released as it is only available for TechNet and MSDN only. No worries, I will still check with engineering about your findings.

JameZ,

While I know once again that it is not your decision what is official and what is not, I'd like to mention something, hopefully in the interest of passing it on.

ThinkPads are often chosen by IT professionals, and developers.  To these people, SP1 is very "official" at this point.

IT Professionals, developers, and other techies are the types relied upon by businesses, friends, and relatives to make computer purchasing decisions.  If these key people feel they aren't t well-supported, or taken seriously, they will not only consider taking their own business somewhere else --but their recommendations will shift away as well.

If your engineering department were more proactive in a process like this, or those who control this type of decision were, it would be seen as offering the kind of support that would make it far easier to recommend a ThinkPad over another vendor's product.  The process that has currently been ongoing is the type of process that has caused me to not recommend a ThinkPad to anyone unless they're a competent IT person themself, or unless I'm direct support for them.  Since I've owned my first ThinkPad (A T61, three years ago), I've helped dozens of colleagues buy laptops for personal use; exactly one of those was a ThinkPad.

Once again, I thank you for your excellent support JameZ, just like I'm grateful for Mark's.  This is just something meant as an FYI to those who make decisions regarding what is "official".

P.S.  I'm PM-ing you the information you have requested.