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Michael McNulty Posted on Jan 21, 2015
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I have an IBM ThinkCenter 8143-28U (M51). It is running WinXP. I am having video problems with it. The screen randomly breaks up into columns of railroad-track like static and doesn't respond so I have to reboot. I would also like to upgrade it to Win7 but I can't because of it doesn't have the graphic capabilities. I would like to know what type of graphics card I should get that is compatible with this system to solve these problems.

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  • Posted on Jan 21, 2015
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What doesn't respond ? the pc or the monitor ? either could be caused by overheating - an idea of whether this might be happening can be got by installing a temperature monitoring program (mbm5, speedfan) or a system status program (sandra, speccy). have you cleaned out any dust build up inside your pc, heatsink, fan ? do so using an air duster (can). use of a vacuum cleaner is not recommended.
if you think it's the pc. which it may be, that could be any of many faults. look on the internet - most likely in the many forums (toms hardware, computerhope, majorgeeks).

if you have checked the obvious things like the video cable and monitor, i would suggest that your video system on your m/b (if you're using the on board system) has gone wrong, but i'm no expert. i would buy a cheap 2nd card to check this by bypassing the on-board chip. when you install the video card (there internet resources to show you how to do this as well as the hwmm - an invaluable resource http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/thinkcentre_pdf/19r0486.pdf )
(http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/thinkcentre_pdf/19r0486.pdf)
remember to look in the bios an change the video selector if necessary from internal to external)

any graphics card that has a pci-e connector (x16, which they all do) should be compatible. you also need to check the power requirements for it (new ones have the recommended psu power on them / in the box somewhere) against your computer's psu capabilities. your computer's psu is possibly not very powerful. a useful tool is extreme power supply calculator lite of course you will need to verify that any card will physically fit in your case. ask yourself what you want to use computer for to need a graphics card before deciding which to buy, read some reviews. there are many cheap working ones (perfectly good) available 2nd hand.

once your computer is working under xp you may think about w7. i am unable to tell you where w7 drivers for your m/b might be found, if they are necessary (the xp drivers night support w7). i suggest that you ask on lenovo community forum about this. you will need at keast 2gb of ram to run w7, and preferably the maximum (4gb for your model i think)

21.january.2015

naren renz

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  • Posted on Jan 21, 2015
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Personally,i wouldn't install windows 7 on that computer. i've done that with a pentium 4 machine in the past, and it doesn't really run windows 7 all that well, even with 4 gb of ram.

it does sound like your video card may be dying, though. or, it could be a virus, not entirely sure. that computer supports pci-express video cards, but it's so old i really wouldn't spend any more money on it.

i upgraded a private school's entire school system with the machines in the link here, and they've been working fine - http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16883265705

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0helpful
1answer

Need ethernet and mobo drivers

The i in i915p, and i915g, stands for Intel.

It is a motherboard chipset made BY Intel, for IBM/Lenovo.
HOWEVER, just as you suspected, the drivers are proprietary from Lenovo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intel_chipsets#Pentium_4.2FPentium_D.2FPentium_EE_chipsets

Research has led me to conclude the Lenovo 29r8260 motherboard, was used in the IBM/Lenovo ThinkCentre M51; series of Desktop PC's.

Let's go see if this holds true, using the information we have.......

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/lenovo-thinkcentre-m51/4507-3118_7-31000439.html

Intel 915G motherboard chipset

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-ThinkCentre-M51-Motherboard-3-4GHz-P4-HT-29R8260-8143-WMG-/360578959486?pt=US_Motherboard_CPU_Combos&hash=item53f42e487e

So far everything looks good.
One more thing to check.........
Go to Device Manager, and see if Broadcom is listed; under -
Network adapters.

(Using WinXP as an example,
Start > Right-click on My Computer > Left-click on Properties at the bottom of the list.
Left-click on the Hardware tab > Left-click on Device Manager.
Left-click on the + sign next to - Network adapter)

Conclusion?
If Broadcom is the name of the ethernet chipset, it will be in the Network adapter list.
If this holds true, then the following Lenovo Support website, for the ThinkCentre M51 is the one you want,

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/default.page?selector=expand

Using the Ethernet driver as an example;

1) Click on - Networking: LAN (Ethernet)
2) Click on the blue - [+] Click for files

3) Click on the blue - Broadcom Ethernet driver and software.
(Or Download, to the right)
4) A small window will come up -
Opening q3etn12us13.exe
Click on Save File.

5) A small download window will come up.
Allow the file to download all the way, then DOUBLE-click right on the file name.

At the bottom of the next 3 small windows, click on -
Next, Next, and Finish.

If you are not asked to restart your computer, do so.
Close all windows, go back to your desktop screen.
WinXP: Click on Start > Turn Off Computer > Restart.

I'm sure you didn't need all that, but included just in case.

For additional questions please post in a Comment, or on Reply at the end of the solution.

Regards,
joecoolvette
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Go to IBM website and check for updates.
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