Re: T61 Upgrade From Windows XP to Windows 7

Dekryptor · ‎09-07-2010

Estimated time remaining for backup: 570 minutes! are you kidding me? skipped.

Dekryptor · ‎09-07-2010

windows 7 64 is already installed. currently downloading drivers via system update. but i installed it with the bios set to compatibility and not AHCI. will try to switch to AHCI after the updates

Dekryptor · ‎09-07-2010

I cant get AHCI to work with windows 7 64 bit. anybody has a solution?

goretsky · ‎12-01-2007

Hello,

Have you first tried manually installing the device drivers for AHCI and SATA, and then booting the computer up with AHCI enabled in the BIOS? If so, did that make any difference?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

I am a volunteer and neither a Lenovo nor a Microsoft employee. • Dexter is a good dog • Dexter je dobrý pes
X220 (4286-CTO) • W510 (4318-CTO) • X120e (0596-CTO) • T61p (6459-CTO) • T43p (2678-H7U) • T42 (2378-R4U) • T23 (2648-LU7)

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Dekryptor · ‎09-07-2010

Update. the system is running fine using windows 7 64 as of last week before I updated to SP1. After that had a problem with fingerprints, solved, then the display had problems, tried upgrading the driver to the latest version from nvidia, did not worked.. It even gave me a BSOD. Then I sent the laptop to the service center they replaced the system board and still have freezes. tried disabling ready boost.. nothing. now am running 32 bit.

dgrigg · ‎07-30-2012

You guys seem to be very knoledgable.

I have an older T61 that I am sure has not been modified at all.

I am about to start grad school and I need this to be my primary machine.

I have a few gig that needs to be backed up off of this machine, but not too much.

I want to update this laptop to be as good as it can be. My understanding is that means that I should have 4G of ram, Windows 7 (64), and a new hard drive. Does this sound right?

If anyone has the part numbers or links to the best hardware/softwar to purchase, that would be great!

I suspect that, at this late date, this upgrade has been done many times. I am hoping that this can go smoothly (fingers crossed).

hausman · ‎12-22-2008

dgrigg wrote:

I have an older T61 that I am sure has not been modified at all.

I want to update this laptop to be as good as it can be. My understanding is that means that I should have 4G of ram, Windows 7 (64), and a new hard drive. Does this sound right?

First, make sure your system isn't one of those described in T61p exhibiting 1 long and 2 short beep and black screen.

Why do you need to upgrade the HDD? Is it out of space? Is it only a 5,400rpm drive?

Perhaps the drive is fine physically but due to years of updates the data on it has become very fragmented, resulting in slow performance. If so this will resolve itself when you upgrade to Win7 because you'll do a fresh install and your data will automatically be defragmented when you restore it from backup. A fresh install will also address some other performance issues.

But if you're determined to upgrade the hardware, some general comments:

HDD: Make sure the HDD spins at 7,200, not 5,400, rpm. (Better still if you can afford it, consider a SSD. If you go that route you can save some money by looking for an older SATA-II drive.)

RAM: If at all possible try to upgrade to the maximum 8GB, i.e. 2x4GB SODIMMs. The main issue here is that DDR2 RAM has become relatively difficult to find and thus expensive now that DDR3 has supplanted it. If you already have 2GB in a single SODIMM, try to add a 4GB SODIMM (for 6GB total.)

Win7: Win8 is coming out in a couple of months. Upgrades from XP on will sell for $40. Unless you already have the Win7 license you may want to wait for Win8.

__________________________________________________
Cheers... Dorian Hausman
TPT2, T430s, SL500, X61s, T60p, A21p, 770, 760ED... 5160, 5150... S360/30

dgrigg · ‎07-30-2012

Wow, hausman! I appriciate the quick response.

I have been running this system with XP for the last few years with no problems; so, I assume that I don't have one of the lemons. The guy I bought this from said that the OS, and all the software, were inclueded in the sale; however, he never transferred any of the licenses to me. So; I am looking at a complete and total wipe and load for this system. I currently have the standared 2 gig of ram and the default WD 80 gig 5,400 HD. I want to end up with 8 gig and at least a 1TS 7,200 drive with windows 8 when this is over. I just need some help to get from here to there. If you can help - it would be very appriciated.

goretsky · ‎12-01-2007

Hello,

Have you checked with your school to see if they have any specific requirements/recommendations about processor type, amount of RAM, operating system or storage capacity for a computer? With that information at hand, it might be easier to determine what needs to be upgraded on the T61.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

I am a volunteer and neither a Lenovo nor a Microsoft employee. • Dexter is a good dog • Dexter je dobrý pes
X220 (4286-CTO) • W510 (4318-CTO) • X120e (0596-CTO) • T61p (6459-CTO) • T43p (2678-H7U) • T42 (2378-R4U) • T23 (2648-LU7)

Deutsche Community

Comunidad en Español

dgrigg · ‎07-30-2012

Hi Aryeh,
I really don't need a super powerhouse computer. I will mostly just be using it to write papers and access the library database. The issue now is that the guy I bought it from partitioned the HD it an a very silly way - a 15G C: drive and the rest as E: I get what he was trying to do; however; it is just too big a pain trying to keep the system files separate from the data files. I want to reformat and reload. He was also suppose to provide all the software licenses for this machine; but he never did so I need to purchase the OS and a new copy of MS Office. I just figured that while I was at it, I would beef up the hardware.
-David