T400 new Switchable Graphics drivers for Windows 7 issue

It installed fine, and by default, it always shows the "Energy Saving" graphics option selected in power manager. When I try to select "High Performance" it does nothing. Neither does it show up in device manager.

Any clues?

 

so I've tried updating power manager to version 3.25 and the latest bios version and checked the display options in the bios to make sure switchable graphics was enabled

still the same problem. Power Manager doesn't let me select High Performance graphics and it's stuck at "energy saving" mode with the Intel integrated graphics.

 

Have you made sure the Ati driver is installed.

 

This looks like my problem too! I've been talking about it in the thread right near this one (...Please Help). I should have made the title more descriptive - I'm running vista and still I can't figure out how to tell if High Performance GRAPHICS is running.

May I ask please how do you confirm if the Ati driver is installed? If pk_volt's problem gets solved it might help me too!

 

Can you explain where you found this "new" driver?

 

Lenovo Support & downloads - ThinkPad Switchable Graphics Driver for Windows 7 - ThinkPad R400, T400, T500, W500

this is where i downloaded and installed.

 

Can anyone please confirm if they got switchable graphics to work under windows 7? I did some searching on google and it's suggesting that switchable graphics is not supported under Windows 7

Where are all the t400 users?

 

I have had my switchable graphics work without any glitches since day 1 (laptop is from back when Win 7 was first released).

Went through many updates, currently running ATI drivers version 8.641.1.1000 dated 8/24/2009 (per Device Manager), Power Manager 3.25 and BIOS 3.18 (5/27/2010).

I only install drivers from the Lenovo TVSU program. You may try uninstalling everything video card related and then run the update software...

 

Switchable Graphics has worked fine for me in Win 7 32 and 64bit.

Did you just do a fresh install or has this problem just now krept up?

If you just installed Win 7, I suggest rolling back back to the earliest System Restore point you have. First install Windows updates, then like garga suggested use System Update to get all the T400 specific ones. Power Manager and Power Mgmt Driver may have to be manually installed at the end.

 

I had an issue with my switchable graphics and reinstalled the same driver from your link and works fine now.

In your add/remove programs do you have the ATI catalyst Install Manager? Uninstall that and then reinstall the driver.

When you right click the battery bar then you should have option of high performance or energy saving .

 

I had switchable graphics working, but suffered from increased power battery drainage when resuming from standby/sleep mode. I recall that this was due to the issue that both integrated and discrete graphics were activated when resuming from sleep mode.

I get around low to mid 3 hours with switchable graphics. But when I only enable integrated graphics in bios, i get around 4 hours with wifi on.

Is this typical for you guys? Keeping in mind that my battery is one year old. When I first got my T400 with Vista, I was able to get 5 hours and 40 minutes

 

@pk_volt: The increased power drain is a known issue with the T400/500's switchable graphics in Windows 7. Lenovo, however, is working on the issue, as stated in this thread: R400/T400/T500/W500: Switchable graphics issues wi... - lenovo community

According to the Lenovo staff member working on the issue, a BIOS and driver fix is in the works, and will likely be released end of August (see page 13).

 

Excellent news! Thank you for linking us to it, MidnightSun! I need to say though that the fix has taken far far too long - Lenovo clearly lost the ball with these drivers - those in Vista were so much better. We at least should be able to expect drivers for Win7 at that same standard.

I am hoping the fix will also make the Win 7 64bit gpu drivers also, which I have found sub-par. If they were as able as the 32bit gpu drivers (apart from their above-referred-to defects!) I could then switch my primary OS to Win7 64bit. Again, Lenovo should improve their game.

 

This would be a great announcement. Hopefully it would include a feature that allows automatic switching according to power source that is used. It should also update with the fixes and improvements that have been released BOTH by ATI and Intel for their respective cards.

This thread is confusing as it refers to a one year old driver, which I would consider ancient rather than "new".

 

It was stated by Lenovo previously that automatic switching will not be implemented, I really doubt they would do it now, as that would be a new feature, and not a fix for current issues. But you never know.

Here are the sources for this information:

• Lenovo Support & downloads - Switchable Graphics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - ThinkPad R400, T400, T500, W500
• Lenovo Support & downloads - Switchable Graphics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - ThinkPad R400, T400, T500, W500

 

Wow, Lenovo released a new driver about 14 months after the last release:

CHANGES IN THIS RELEASE
Version 8.752.4-101022a-107489C-Lenovo

[Important updates]
Nothing.

[New functions or enhancements]
Nothing.

[Problem fixes]
- Fixed an issue where the power consumption increased after resuming normal
operation from sleep state.
- Fixed an issue where the LCD had blank screen after resuming normal operation
from sleep state by opening the lid.