T61 Bizarre Behaviour - Any ideas?

I got a T61. It seems slower than my old T43. Using Microsoft applications like Word and Excel, you can type and it works fine. Then all of a sudden the display stops adding the new characters. After a moment all the missing characters appears in one shot.

Also, when using the Alt-Tab it is frequently slow to refresh the app on the screen.

I noticed that if I extend my desktop onto a second monitor it performs better but still not as well as the T43.

It's like the there's a bottle neck.

I do not run games, so I'm not concerned about 3D performance. But I thought the NVidia cards was worth the extra $ for the increased performance.

I thought it was all the preinstalled junk so I removed it all from memory.

I thought it was the drivers/BIOS so I updated them.

I thought it might be the virus scanner, so I disabled it.

I thought it might be the NVidia 140 graphics so I checked the settings.

I have the 7200RPM drive, 1 Gig RAM, 2.4 Ghz Centrino vpro. 15.4 XVGA 1680x1050 res.

Needless to say I cannot find out what the problem is. Lenovo came to exchange the MB but the one they brought was a dud. Is it the HD or the Grapics card? I don't know... Maybe it is a simple confuration setting, that noone seems to know about. When I demo'd the problems to the Lenovo tech guy he said "I don't know what software you have installed"...

I am hesitant ot say I am disappointed. We have great experience with IBM and Lenovo thinkpads.... But I am seriously considering asking for a refund!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Terry

 

I have the same problems somethings, but only when im running a lot of stuff. If you are on vista, upgrade your RAM. 1gig is probably bottlenecking your system.

 

sorry windows XP

 

what antivirus software are you using?

 

Try to get rid of the bloatware most of the pre loaded Lenovo software isn't useful and just slows down the computer.

 

I'm using Kaspersky V6. As I said I tried disabling it.

I also got rid of the bloatware from Lenovo as I said. I used Startup inspector and ProcessViewer to assist. Both excellent tools I might add!

But still it's a dual core with nvidia ?!?! All things considered, Alt-tab between 3-4 apps (outlook, word, excel, and a couple of open emails) should fly in the blink of an eye! No fancy software calculating when the next rock from space will hit.

 

Make sure the graphics drivers are installed properly.

 

Everything checks out ok. All the screws are tight

 

I have just founbd something on another site. There is something called GPU clockdown. This is supposed to save power in battery mode (only??). Maybe it does not work properly when plugged in and not necessary.

Anyways you can try turning it off and see how the machine performs. In Win XP goto to control planel - Nvidia control panel - Mobile - power mizer settings - click not manage.

Of course when on battery it will use it up faster... No clue as to how much - but worth a test!! But so far alt-tabbing ***seems*** faster on my machine.

 

Some people have issues with Active Protection System (APS). When it's too sensitive it stops your hard drive if it senses movement or vibrations.