Correct order of driver updates installation

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rgbrgb

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My Lenovo T61 ThinkPad needs a solution to audio problems, and elsewhere I was advised to install/reinstall/update most of the drivers: one solution said in this order:
- the support chips for the motherboard.
- the video driver for the built-in video.
- the network card.
- the Ethernet adapter chip driver. (Often not in the chip set.)
- the sound card. (may not be in the chip set.)

Advice about this order? and the need for all these?

Also, do PC manufacturers driver updates pages include all drivers for the specific machine, or just the drivers that have updates?

-------------------------

Have XP now, soon to update to Win7 when the current problems are fixed.
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7500 @ 2.20GHz, x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11
Processor Count: 2. RAM: 3070 Mb
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M, 512 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 145744 MB, Free - 65360 MB;
Motherboard: LENOVO, 889279G
Antivirus: avast! Antivirus, Updated: Yes, On-Demand Scanner: Enabled
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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You may as well install all the latest drivers. The order after the chipset does not matter much, it's really what you want working first.

The downloads section often has the latest driver linked first with secondary links to older drivers. Some do list a bunch of old drivers in the same section though.

For Lenovo, all you need to do is download the System Update Utility and run it. Will update your drivers automatically. Get the optional ones as well.
 
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rgbrgb

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Thanks. Is Lenovo System Update Utility:
Home > Support > Drivers & Software (http://support.lenovo.com/en_CA/downloads/default.page?)
on which I enter the details of my T61 and get the list of driver updates, refining it further to: Category - All, OS - XP?
If so, on this list it's hard to identify what drivers are for the motherboard. The ones in the category Chipset are only support for moving to a new OS, and others not to do with the motherboard, like AMT which I don't use.
The SoundMax program fails to update due to a missing file on my machine, but after installing chipset updates should do so.


 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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No, that is the regular web site for driver download. The update utility is software you install on the laptop.
 
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rgbrgb

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Do you mean ThinkVantage?

I went to Device manager > System devices, and for most of the items I used the driver update function: nearly all had no updates, but a handful did. Nearly all were MS drivers. Rebooted and everything is fine. Is this a good way to start? Is there a reason I should not do this?
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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Yes, it's the thinkvantage system update. The driver update function is not the best thing to do, but if there are no errors and it shows up OK in device manager, you can leave things alone. The Windows driver check is not as good as the ones from the computer vendor, but will work if there are no missing drivers.
 
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rgbrgb

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I was able to access Thinkvantage System Update before. Today all that's on the list is:
- a Windows XP Update module; a Rescue and recovery patch to fix the blue screen issue when booting from USB device, (both of these never install); and
- Lenovo Power management driver; a Lenovo rescue and recovery cumulative WER fix package for XP; and
a patch module for 32 bit lenovo patch utility.
Other updates I've installed before,various types. Wish I could copy the list but cannot.
 
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rgbrgb

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OK thanks for the link. Unfortunately the video sound is not available to me.
After I updated the drivers yesterday as I said in the previous post, I today checked if I could start SoundMax, and finally was able to. Previously there was a missing file, so it appears that the updated drivers for the motherboard allowed the missing file to be installed or be available for the SoundMax program. I still don't have sound, but SoundMax is one of the audio programs on the machine.

Too bad that the Thinkvantage System update utility is not working like you said it should.

Instead maybe I should go back to http://support.lenovo.com/en_CA/downloads/default.page? on which I enter the details of my T61 and get the list of driver updates, refining it further to: Category - All, OS - XP. A very long page of updates.
Or use device manager and manually update the drivers like I already started.

Or as you say, just install Win7. What about installing it on a different partition first? Or on a second HDD (I can remove the optical drive and put in a new HDD.)
There are so many programs on my machine I'll probably not copy and transfer all of them. Probably don't have the setup files for them all anyway. It would be nice to have the XP still there.

New problem today: Normal startup > sign in, leads only to the desktop with no icons, and no further. Have to do hard shutdown, then restart, same issue over and over. Only option is Safe mode startup, with networking, like I am using now.
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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The system update did work, it just did not find anything needing updating. The drivers it downloads are the same ones you would get on the Lenovo web page. Also the device manager updates are useless unless you download the drivers from the Lenovo site, which is the same thing as doing the updates though the automatic utility and the support web site. The "look for new drivers" option only searches the Microsoft driver store, it often does not find anything newer.

You can get a new hard drive and install Windows 7 on that, will be the best solution. You'll need to re-install all the programs, you can't just move them over.
 
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rgbrgb

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Like I wrote, the ThinkVantage site does not work for at least 2 drivers which never install.
And considering the problems on my machine I'd think there would be more updates. One I know of is the BIOS update, which I've been advised elsewhere not to install unless everything else on the machine is up to date and working properly. If I go to the Lenovo web page for my machine, there are dozens of other updates for it. Why don't these come up in the system update? Maybe some are already installed, as I have done.

I don't understand "the device manager updates are useless unless you download the drivers from the Lenovo site, which is the same thing as doing the updates though the automatic utility and the support web site."
Or it may be to do with my previous question, "do PC manufacturers driver updates pages include all drivers for the specific machine, or just the drivers that have updates?"

Many of the drivers I updated from Device manager were labeled Microsoft drivers. Others were Intel and a few other manufacturers.

If I can get an inexpensive HDD that's what I'll do.

Still have to use safe mode.
 
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rgbrgb

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At least I solved the problem of having to use safe mode. I was checking the drivers on my T61 and comparing them to the list for my machine (T61) on the Lenovo updates site. I noticed on the updates site that the driver for NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M ended with 7874, but the current one on my machine was a higher number, being a later driver.
So I tried rolling back the driver to the previous, which was in fact 7874.
Restarted the machine and no need for safe mode. Display is fine.
But still no sound.
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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The System Update program only shows you what need to update, not what is already installed. On the Lenovo site, it shows every driver for the T61, including ones that don't apply to you. For example there are probably several different WiFi card drivers listed on there for different models.

You did not say you could only start in Safe Mode in your post, with Safe Mode not all the drivers would load properly, it's done that way for troubleshooting purposes. If you are checking for updates you need from Safe Mode, that is the wrong way of going about it.

The "check for updated drivers" option in Device Manager only checks for drivers that Microsoft has in Windows, or in Windows Update. If the best drivers to use are on the vendor's support page, those do not get checked.

What exactly caused the system to only run in Safe Mode? The video driver update you did? If you loaded one from nVidia, that can cause issues as the video cards are almost always only supported by the computer vendor.
 
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rgbrgb

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Not sure if you read my message dated April 27. If not, please read it.
I don't know what caused the block that resulted in having to use safe mode.
Safe mode is for diagnosing problems like mine, and there was no other way but to try a few things like checking the drivers. Fortunately I checked the nVidia like I wrote above, and it appeared to solve the problem.
The driver is the same number as here:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS003605
To see the list of drivers for the T61 go to the http://support.lenovo.com page and select laptops, T61, and eventually end up with its drivers page, and select Category: All, and OS: XP, which narrows it down, but there are dozens of drivers listed just for XP.
Only one modem driver; several LAN and WAN drivers(have to select the correct one).
Odd how there are very few drivers if I change the OS to Win8. Maybe its because this machine is not supposed to be upgradeable beyond Win7.
 
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rgbrgb

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I have Spybot S&D and ran its advanced tool Inconsistency check (which offers to repair selected broken system entries, which I have not done).
"The System Repair module is a registry repair tool to repair or delete registry entries that are corrupt and thus not functioning. This tool is not intended to replace 'registry cleaners' that automatically try to repair bad entries. To use this tool some technical expertise is required."

Here's a summary:

- Broken Application Paths:
C:\ Program files\Analog devices\Core
C:\ Program files\Analog devices\Soundmax

-Missing shared DLLs:
A large number of entries beginning with:
c:\Program files\Common files\Ole Db\Resources\...

A very very large group beginning with:
C:\Program files\ThinkVantage\SMA\...

Broken uninstall information:
Large group beginning with:
msiexec /package - ...

Should I allow Spybot to repair any of these? I can select to create a backup of fixed items.
Note the first two entries have to do with sound.
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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I have never used the spybot utility and don't like registry cleanes/fixers myself. If you can make a backup, you can try, but keep in mind that I've seen systems not be bootable or other issues like no programs will run after a registry utility is run.
 
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rgbrgb

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OK what I'll do is contact Spybot and see if they can give me more info on this report. And what to do.

I looked up Thinkvantage SMA: "The ThinkVantage System Migration Assistant (SMA) application is a system manageability tool that runs on ThinkPad and ThinkCentre computers. System Migration Assistant reduces the time and effort that is needed to migrate end users to a new system by capturing settings and data files from the source computer so that they can be applied to the target computer."
I want to get this working properly to use it to upgrade to Win7. I read that most of the users of it have done this upgrade. What do you think?
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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Make sure it can move settings over from XP to Win 7 and not just between the same operating systems. Just don't wipe your disk, keep your original disk and install Windows 7 on a new one. That way you won't end up with losing your files if something goes wrong.

Why are you bothering fixing the XP setup if you are just going to wipe it to install Windows 7? Just a waste of time. Like painting a house the week before it's getting demolished.
 
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rgbrgb

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I'd like to continue using the old HDD as backup and for the programs on it I can't move.
And I cannot find a low price on a new HDD. Has to be 7200rpm if it's for Win7.

I had a chance to review some other ways to see what's wrong with the audio. One is Windows Help and Support using XP Sound troubleshooter. if only to check if devices are on and configured, etc.
- First page of the troubleshooter: I check the box for: "I do not hear sound from my computer's speakers or headphones."
- Page 2: No sounds from any source can be played. I tried all the options here, incl. system speakers and external speakers. I check "I do not hear sound from my computer's speakers or headphones."
- Page 3: Volume control is fine. No mute except for Mic. I check "No, there is still no sound coming from my speakers. Or, my volume settings were already correct."
- Page 4: External speakers are connected properly. Internal ones used to work. I check "No, I still cannot hear sounds from my speakers."
- Page 5: Step 1: Soundmax is listed as enabled. Step 2: Soundmax is enabled also in Sound Playback and Recording. Step 3: Soundmax is not listed in Audio devices. Only ADI UAA Function driver for HD Audio is there.
I'm guessing this is the issue. How do I get Soundmax to be listed here?

 
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