Windows 7: Windows Aero Support on Lenovo X61

Hi, This is my current configuration. I bought this Laptop in Aug 2008.
LENOVO X61 3GB RAM INTEL CORE 2 DUO 2.10 GHZ

My Graphics card details are below
Chip Type - Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family
DAC Type - Internal
Memory Size - 384 MB
BIOS info - Intel Video BIOS

I bought the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and was running the Windows upgrade Advisor. It says your current graphics adapter wont support Windows Aero user interface. If you want to experience the benefits of Aero contact your PC Manufacturer or retailer to see if Upgrade is available.

I've attached the graphics properties as a image.



What should i do here ? I understand just 128 MB is more than enough for Aero. I dont why im getting this problem ?

Should i go ahead and clean install Windows 7 and is there is updated driver for this ?

Please assist.

Hello Kary10 ... Welcome to the forums..

in order to run aero you need to meet the following requirements:

Minimum Hardware Requirements for running Windows 7 Aero:
# 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
# 1 GB of RAM
# 128 MB graphics card

Aero also requires a DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a Windows Display Driver Model Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware, and 32 bits per pixel.

In addition to what TEWS said, I'd add that what you should do is get the latest drivers from the manufacturer - do not rely on the ones that Windows 7 loads in. There have been some reports that thrie drivers for various components are either not the latest or don't work quite right.

The IBM site - Lenovo Support & downloads - Drivers and software - ThinkPad X61, X61s has video drivers for Vista that should work. If they don't run right "out of the box", do the following:

•Unzip the software
•Right click properties on the “setup.exe”
•Click on the Compatibility tab and select mode to “Windows Vista Service Pack 2″ and select “run this program as an administrator” at “privilege level”
•Click “Ok”
•Run the setup and reboot

Hope this helps. If you still have problems, we'll all be here...

HI Tews.. Doesnt the specification i gave meet the reqs for win aero ?

Where you fall short is probably the WDDM/Pixel Shader requirement ... I have the same chipset as you and cant run aero either .... there are registry hacks to force transparency, but I dont recommend it... Hope this helps.

Tews, thanks for your comment. If I go ahead and install windows 7 without aero will I face any other issues related to display if aero is turned off

No issues that Im aware of ... You can dress up your desktop very nicely without aero.... This is my current desktop -=> Here