Dim, dark screen on T60p after convert to Win 7

[cyberchuck]

I had to wipe Vista off and do a clean install of the retail release of Win7. Since then, my screen is won't come back to the same brightness I had before with Vista. The Fn brightness up/down controls work, but just take the screen from dim to REALLY dim.

I have all the latest BIOS updates from Lenovo and Windows updates. I've drilled down into Control Panel to get to the gamma adjustments. I can make adjustments there, but every variation makes things worse instead of better.

Since the Win7 conversion, I've lost the ATI Catalyst utiities. I've tried installing the ATI drivers from http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=WIN7-BETA#m8xdiscret... . That item says it installs successfully, but there's nothing on the start menu, nothing loaded to the system tray, nothing different, no improvement.

This is killing me. I'm a photographer, this machine is my digital darkroom and I have to teach a photo class tomorrow, and my photos all look like they're from inside a coal mine. Any suggestions?

[cbreitenstrom]

same problem on T61p after new install of Win7.... Screen is much darker then before on XP, the controls are working but the maximal brightness is limited.

[cbreitenstrom]

Ok, workaround found:

go to your desktop, mouse right click, NVIDIA Control Panel/Display/Adjust desktop color settings

and choose radio button

"Use NVIDIA settings".

Yep!

[cyberchuck]

Well, I'm glad that fixed your problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't help me: I guess your T61p has NVDIA graphics, but my T60p has ATI Mobility FireGL V5250. When I right-click the desktop, I don't get an option for NVDIA, ATI, or anything else.

I think that's my problem: No video driver other than some generic thing that came with Win7, and though I've tried many options, I'm unable to get any of the ATI drivers to install and run. The ATI Installation Manager installs, but after that... nothing. No actual drivers ever get loaded. See the last post at http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Windows-7-Discussion/ATI-Mobility-FireGL-V5700-on-windows-7/m-p/162739 for details.

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.

[ajkula66 Guru · Accepted solution]

Have you tried installing the Vista driver from Lenovo's site? It worked well on my (at the time) T60p...under W7 RC1...

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-66884

[cyberchuck]

George, thank very much for the tip. I had tried installing 4 different drivers from IBM/Lenovo before, and none would install correctly. The one you linked to was the first to install and actually load ATI drivers.

Unfortunately, none of the adjustments available in the Catalyst Control Panel will get my screen back to its prior brightness, so I think i must have some kind of hardware problem, since nobody else seems to be reporting this issue with Win7 on a T60p. It's weird, the problem didn't start until the first time I booted under Win7. I can't believe that Win7 would trigger a hardware problem, so it must be a coincidence.

I'm going to consider this closed and just buy an external monitor so i can see what's going on.

Thanks again.

[edwardj]

Hey Cyberchuck,

I just got a refurbished T60p (same specs as yours) and I installed Windows 7 on it immediately and am running into the same exact problem you were.  I found a driver for this video card @ http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Home.aspx

I thought it was OK ... but I notice the screen isn't as bright as my T61.  I when through every single control panel control and am running at maximum brightness, even in Bios I have it set to "high"

I'm thinking of installing Windows XP on this laptop to see if it is a hardware issue ...

I do connect it to an external monitor and it is very bright ... (samsung 24" hdtv) ...

Wondering if you ever found a solution to your problem or if maybe it is a hardware problem.