Thinkpad T540p hissing noise in windows 8.1 64bit

Lenovo Thinkpad T540p/T440s/W540 loudspeaker constant hissing noise in Windows 8.1 64bit

last update 2015.feb.24

I recently got a Lenovo Thinkpad T540p to replace my old Lenovo Thinkpad T510 that after 5 years of service, was starting to be too old and slowish.

It is always the case, when we need to get used to new tools, that in the first period we still love more the old and worn out ones. It was indeed. Now, after a few weeks, it is getting better. My T510 was really well engineered.

Yesterday I solved an issue that was quite annoying.

My Thinkpad laptop T540p, in Windows 8.1 64 bits, produced a constant hiss from the right side loudspeaker. This sound was not loud, but very clearly audible when I use the notebook in my bedroom desk, in the evening silence.

There is a thread on the Lenovo thinkpad forum where many people complain about this problem, impacting at least Thinkpad T440s, Thinkpad T540p, Thinkpad W540

My understanding is that it affects all owners of these machines.
Lenovo, despite some declarations, was not releasing any official statement, and some people were very disappointed, because these laptops are quite expensive (my one was costing about 1700euros) and such problems are not to be expected on high end products.

I did my personal analysis, and noticed that I dont suffer the problem when booting in Ubuntu Linux.
Also I noticed that the hissing sound became louder and lasted for about 5 seconds just after any short sound was played thru the loudspeakers (like windows error sound).
Unwanted noise was there all the time, independently from loudspeakers volume, and always disappeared only when muting audio thru the Fn/F1 key.
Noise was also independent from power cord connected or not, and from battery power level.
Fiddling with advanced sound properties, like equalizer, dolby, etc did not produce any effect.

The Windows 8.1 OS that was available on the accompanying CDs was installing some Realtek High Definition Audio drivers that in my case were (maybe after some updates) at the 6.0.7188 level (mar 4, 2014)
Release check can be done via device manager, then selecting audio devices, then Realtek.

The main component of the Realtek audio driver is the file  RTKWHDA.SYS The release number shown in audio properties windows comes from this file.

Despite Lenovo update tool is not offering any new related download, but on Realtek website ( http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false#High%20Definition%20Audio%20Codecs ), an update is available, bringing RTKWHDA.SYS to 6.0.1.7246 (did this on feb 22.2015 - check the readme pdf)

After downloading and updating the driver for my Windows 8.1 x64 operating system, and going thru a couple of reboot, the problem disappeared.

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Edit feb 23 2015: the problem is greatly reduced but did not disappear completely:
Play some sound (a song) with windows media player. Stop the playback, the noise can now be heard. Close media player: the noise goes away after about 6 seconds.




@mgua


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Windows 8.1 laptop based Hyper-V virtual machine with internet access thru WiFi

Laptop based Hyper-V virtual machine with internet access thru WiFi

I have a laptop (Lenovo T540p) with Windows 8.1 64 bit, which has wifi and ethernet connectivity
I want to run a Windows XP pro 32bit virtual machine inside a local Hyper-V
I want the XP virtual machine to be able to access the internet, both when laptop is connected to wired ethernet, and when it is on wifi

The request is a bit tricky because a simply bridged connection is not going to work, since link establishment over WiFi requires a pre-connection protocol negotiation, with encryption etc.



Here are the steps I made:

1. Enable Hardware virtualization support in laptop BIOS (it was off by default)

2. Enable MS Windows Hyper-V support, activating the corresponding windows feature (Ctrl Panel/ Programs/Program&Features)

3. Create a virtual machine profile, with a network legacy adapter, connected to a bridged type virtual switch, with type external network, which goes on the laptop ethernet adapter (cable)

4. From the ISO image mounted as optical drive, perform the guest OS setup (key combination for unlocking mouse from within the VM window is CTRL-ALT-LEFTARROW)

5. after installation and reboot, from the virtual machine window action menu, perform integration service setup (this brings in drivers for the more advanced non-legacy network interface support)

6. perform service pack and patching installations, downloading whatever is needed from within the VM

7. shutdown vm, switch to wifi connectivity and detach wired ethernet from the laptop

8. from hyperv manager, create another virtual switch, type INTERNAL. I called mine "WIFIvSwitch". Since this is internal type, it must not be bound to any physical interface

9. create a new network adapter in the virtual machine, and associate it with the newly created vSwitch

10. from host windows control panel, go to Network and Internet, Network connections. You will see a new vEthernet (wifivswitch) adapter, on unidentified network, with no internet access, with Public Network category. Double click on it, and make sure that you have the following checks: Client for MS networks, File and print sharing for MS networks, internet protocol version 4. No sharing settings, and no specific selection in home networking connection. Confirm.

11. now double click your wifi connection (should be green and active) that should have Internet access. Choose properties, then click sharing tab and check "allow other network users to connect thru this computer's internet connection", selecting the vEthernet (wifiswitch) in Home Ethernet connection. (sometimes this selection is not available. In my case it was showing up after a reboot). Let the default check on "Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection". Confirm

12. now turn on the virtual machine, and it should detect the new adapter, install and activate the drivers, request and get an IP address on a private autoselected range (i get 192.168.137.40/24, with gateway on .1), and then you should be able to have internet access thru the host wifi link.


Happy Networking!


@mgua

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Aging Privileges

Aging Privileges

Aging gives you privileges too:

You are not the first who talks,
usually you like to be the last
and try to wrap up and decide
peppering with some grains of wisdom.

You need less to hurry
nor to work at night that much
You take more time
for what really matters

Your words come slower,
sometimes memory fails.
Shorter sight
is balanced by wider views

You want simpler things
and cleaner
transparent designs
working hard to remove whats not needed


Because in the end YOU are not
that important anymore.


And there are many
better causes to fight for.


Life matters.


@mgua


(crossposted from ebmb )

proud of our differences

A thing that constantly amazes me... (03/06/14 22:58:06)

... is how proud we are of who we are.

This is an exquisite character of humans,
which is built in,
and works cross culture,
cross country, cross time.

we have a story behind us.
our story. unique and only.
our path that led to who we are,
that built up us as we are.
the only story we were truly living, experiencing it directly.

we would not exchange that story with anyone else's,
because it would be terryfing
to transplant our memories,
our terabytes,
our inner colors.
thats me. my stuff.
my self.

so we build some legends,
with knights and dragons and dames,
and pour color on our grey days sequences,
on our dark moments and pains.
we build our life novel.
resumes.
memories shinier than facts.

hairs and beards get white, but the picture remain fresh.
old tools become rusty,
our hands get slower
on keyboards that do not just click the same.

we grow philosophers,
speak about old times,
bark at politics,
find new interests in cooking or gardening,
or find warm tears in old rock songs.

our old kernel beating inside
allows us to see
similarities in differences
collisions of extremes.

that's just a part of the beauty
of this wonderful life.

love,

m


check this song: the Story, by Brandi Carlile: http://youtu.be/P0jiALPCtH8

mgua