Windows 7 Audio/Sound Driver for IBM ThinkPad R51e

I have a (slightly) older IBM ThinkPad R51e laptop that still has a ton of life in it. I once tried installing Windows 7 on it, and it ran wonderfully with Aero turned off. The only problem was that a driver for the sound device was impossible to find. Windows update didn’t have one, and a tried dozens of SoundMax drivers across the interwebz in vain.

Then, via my MSDN subscription I obtained a copy of the Windows 8 Developer Preview. Much to my surprise, the sound worked when I tried it out on the ThinkPad! I extracted the driver from the system hoping that it would be backwards compatible with Windows 7.

Success! Sound now works in Windows 7 on my Thinkpad R51e! Which is great, because honestly Windows 7 runs better than XP or Ubuntu on this laptop, but without sound, it wasn’t an option. Thanks Windows 8 Developer Preview!

Since I am such a nice guy, I’m going to share it with anyone who wants it:

Download ZIP (105 KB)

To Install:

1. Make a folder on your desktop called “audiodriver”
2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file to the audiodriver folder.
3. In the start menu, right-click on “Computer”, and click “Properties”. [pic]
4. When the system properties window appears, there will be a link in the left pane labeled “Device Manager”. Click it. [pic]
5. Find the audio device in the list. It will have a yellow exclamation mark on it, since it has no driver. [pic]
6. Right click the audio device, and select “Update Driver Software…” [pic]
7. When the Update Driver Software window appears, select “Browse my computer for driver software” [pic], and navigate to the audiodriver folder on your desktop.
8. Select “smwdmat4.inf”, and proceed. The rest of the process should be automated.