Tecra M3 + Windows 7: My recent run-in with the unsupported

Question

Been a long time since I've had anything to do with Toshiba boards..in fact I haven't been on CompuServe where these boards once stood in some four years.  But anyhow, I thought I might share my recent experience with a Tecra M3 and Windows 7. 
Now, before I get into too much detail, YES, I'm well aware that Toshiba itself does not support Windows 7 on the M3; it's older than 2007, and TAIS didn't like Vista on the thing either--who would? After all, Vista was just one more in a long line of flubs Microsoft would sooner forget.
In my nonprofit, we're lucky if we can pulll 2005-vintage hardware from an electronic haystack full of early Pentium 4-based hardware that in itself is worth more dead than alive, with notebooks being as rare as hens' teeth since the economy turned sour.  The Tecra M3, recovered by management yesterday from a pile of donated scrap, was no exception.  It was the only machine from among three like units that was still functional.
One of our student techs, volunteering for the day, powered the unit up to find a locked-out Windows 7 install aboard this M3.  The BIOS of this machine was also outdated, which I confirmed after explaining how he would be able to enter the BIOS for hardware info.  Not much there, so we settle on booting more fully into the system to get where we need to go. 
Turns out that the lock on the unit is a simple Windows password.  We have our ways around this.  I set up the "lockpick" and work some magic.  A reboot later, we're into an expired RC held by the prior owner. We examine the system parameters with success.  I then make the call to scrub the system, an overnight job since I wanted the donor's data dead and the expired OS buried with it.  This, too, meets with success.
Since the RC seemed OK when we ran it, I figured the next logical step would be to run the real thing after the scrub.  I brought in the Win7 Pro 32-bit  DVD this morning to complete this step. Of course, I also updated the BIOS to 1.50 before even starting with Win7.
For the most part, Windows 7 was able to manage most of its initial setup, picking up core drivers for video, sound, and wireless along the way--almost as soon as I jacked into our LAN, in  fact.  But two drivers were still MIA.  I ran the device IDs throgh Bing, which led me back to Toshiba and more targeted searches, but as it happened, Ask Iris kept dropping out to "no connection" pages for some strange reason.  I did manage to find current TPM software in my searches, but not much more.  Fortunately, Win7's Action Center picked up on the missing devices and offered links to pull the drivers down.  Gotta give MS credit--Win7 actually gave me a couple things that worked smoothly.  It also warned me about "power management drivers". The fix it offered, however, didn't seem to work so well; it just wouldn't load.  I search again manually, and come up with a TVAP bundle from a newer model line that has a few cosmetic quirks, but it works all the same.
I'm not here to ask why Toshiba chose not to include models earlier than '07; most are out of warranty and so TAIS isn't obligated to offer extended support.  I'm not saying that they should offer as much.  I just wanted to document this case and let brave souls know that if they don't mind working without a net, here's one model of Tecra that may work with Win7.  I've yet to work out some quibbles with Aero not being activated despite the GPU and driver meeting the requirements for it, but these are ultimately unimportant against all the other positive things Windows 7 has to offer.
--Nathan Alden

Answer 1

Been a long time since I've had anything to do with Toshiba boards..in fact I haven't been on CompuServe where these boards once stood in some four years. 
Hi, Nate. Good to hear from you again! Thanks for chiming in with that info.
CompuServe's Laptop Computing Forum is still alive - but barely populated these days.
For old times sake, I've attached a couple of messages from many years ago.
-Jerry
Attachments:
OldMsg.txt ‏1 KB