*HP EliteBook 2530p Owners Lounge*

If you flash the standard HP F.13 2530P bios and enable VT, does vmware/virtualbox say it's enabled? Just making sure the bios mod doesn't have a side-effect.

 

I'm using the whitelisted bios and installed both virtualbox and vmware player, neither of them complained about missing VT at start with sl9400 cpu.

 

I needed a small laptop to take on computer repair site visits, so I bought a used 2530p off Craig's List for $350! It has an ODD, 128GB HDD, WebCam, FPR, 9 cell Batt, WiFi N, BlueTooth and WWAN. It came running Win 7-64 and Office 2010. The only flaw was a broken battery clip that required a part from a used bottom I got for $30, see profile pic. Only upgrade so far is 6GB of memory.

I really enjoy the resources in this forum, especially the SSD advice. Much of this is over my head, but I would like to share my solution to a problem. When plugging my AC jack in, while the bedroom is dark (wife asleep), I often hit the modem port rather than the DC jack hole. Only to find a low battery the next morning. So I pulled an RJ11 tip off an old phone cord, being sure no wires remained inside to short, then plugged it in the modem port. Now I find the right hole each time - no pun intended.

07-04-2012

I found a 256GB 1.8" SSD on eBay for $269 + $14 shipping. Not a terrible price at about $1.10 per GB. Now the great part is it ships still inside a SL9600 2530p that works! Now I can combine the two machines saving the best for me and sell the 2nd one to recoupe my investment. Thank you Nando for your SSD advice tables, etc.

Thank you to Mumak for HWiNFO32, it has solved my fan idle to Zero problem that was allowing my 2530p to get hot enough to trigger a much higher fan speed that I could hear. The silent idle speed keeps the heat in check for quite computing.

 

Well been away for a while. My 2530p died on me a couple of months ago. It was not my main machine so was not a major concern. Last week I thought I should either get it working or scrap it for parts. So I went to the HP website to double check the warranty on it. It expires in Sep 2012! Gave a call to HP. The next day I have a technician at my work place replace the system board *thumbs up* Also checked the BIOS and new board has F12 *double thumbs up*

HP business warranty is great!

Original over and under clocks are working but I will reset that and stress test it to ensure new cpu can hold it.

I’m also planning to reinstall everything, is there a Win7 with SSD guide that’s recommend for the 2530p? or any of the general guides are fine?

Next step after this is to get my eGPU working again.

 

(Lenovo OEM) SSD MMCRE28G8MXP works for me well with HP 2530p. I flashed TRIM BIOS (from OCZ) to it.
MMRCE is cheap in Ebay.

After BIOS FLLASH

 

I just got a used 2530p and have a few questions.

First, I don't have the recovery discs - anyone know where I can pick up the vista business x64 disc, and if possible the driver disc as well? Would anyone be willing to make me a copy of their disc?

Second, I press the mute button, but whenever I restart, the computer unmutes itself when it gets to the login screen. Anyone know what's going on?

Thanks!

 

cheers Kenand, i actaully already have a SSD an 80gb Intel x18m (first version) is fast enough for my use.

was actually after any general guides to for a win7 reinstall.

 

I have a Samsung MMCQE28G8MUP-0VA which is a Lenovo OEM drive. Its working fine in my 2530p but doesn't have the TRIM firmware, I tried updating this with the ISO image from here but it fails (see my post a while back).

Any idea how I can get the latest firmware on the drive without involving an IBM/Lenovo laptop? I know this firmware update is destructive so I will need to reinstall Windows etc but this isn't a problem.

Cheers
Andy

 

The first post in this thread, but I couldn't find the answer... I have a 2530p with smart card now too, and I want to use the expresscard slot now. So anyone knows the answer to this question?

 

INFO: Differences b/w the smartcard reader and expresscard slot[/URL]

I looked at one of those 2530P's with a smart card reader. What I discovered was the smart carder itself was an expresscard but what HP did was remove the eject control arm as it impeded on the readers external housing.

So the way to get expresscard functionality without spending any money is simply to remove the smart card reader and it's plastic housing. The result would be an expresscard slot which would require either crafty work with nose pliers or disassembly to remove any inserted card.

The cleaner solution is simply to order the expresscard assembly and install it in place of the smart card reader. They are two different parts:

You can then once again insert the smart card reader expresscard into the expresscard slot but it's plastic housing won't be afixed on with the same rigidity.

 

Hello to everybody,
I've just upgraded from 2510p to 2530p to get native SATA interface for 2.5" HDD and to get rid of that troublemaking x3100 and 15MB/s Toshiba.
Of course the CPU is a bit faster and dual-channel ram makes it even more perfect.

Keyboard from older 2510p fits well. However I couldn't get rid of that annoying fan noise coming from CPU area

2510p used to have modded bios with DSDT table "fan_40pct" which I was pretty satisfied with, however I didn't find anything like that for 2530p. I really don't want to start HWiNFO every time just to set fan speeds.

Is there any way how to make the fan behave just like on my 2510p?
OS - Windows XP on both machines
Thanks

 

2530P improves on a 2510P with it's faster CPU+iGPU, dual RAM slots, webcam/nightlight, tougher LCD cover, expresscard slot, SATA storage subsystem and noticeably better battery life.

Suggest use setPLL's hpfan utility to load a quieter fan profile to your 2530P. There's a link for setPLL in my sig.

 

Thanks, but I was looking for something else.

I want to rewrite original values in BIOS (same as with 2510p) to make the fan DSDT table OS independent and to avoid running something each time when OS starts. Is it possible or do I have to start something every time to temporarily modify the DSDT values?

 

Well, I guess it's either impossible or too difficult if no-one answering. Never mind, I'll figure out myself...

 

The 2530P DSDT table and bios is completely different to a 2510P. I could find no fan LUT table entries in either so resorted to using hwinfo32 and setPLL's hpfan to quieten down the fan.

If you do find a place where fan values can be hardcoded (DSDT/bios) then please do share. That would benefit users of the C2D and 1st gen i-core Elitebooks.

 

OK, I'd do then the HWiNFO/setpll mod. Nevertheless I'm curious Nando4, how did you do 266x7 (1.86GHz) running on 0.925V. My system BSODed at 0.9625V on 1.86GHz and resets on 0.925V/1.6GHz. I've read everything on this thread, but this wasn't explained. Someone also reported running SL9400 on 0.900V with multipliers 6x,7x

I'm running XP on SL9400 (same CPU) and minimum consumption is 5.8W idle (6.2W typical) which is a little worse than yours 4.6-5W, however that might be the 1.8" HDD, second 2gb RAM module or lack of AHCI Link power management (which is only for W7).

Also great "mod" for better heat disipassion is installing 9-cell battery as it elevates the cpu area about 1cm higher, so my fan problem almost disappeared, maybe installing Arcticstorm paste would also improve it.

Anyway, I'm working on a way how to charge the laptop from 12V car adapter, since HP invented some kind of protection for genuine AC adapters. I believe adding 47kOhm resistor between +19.5V and 3rd pin should unlock this protection, however I didn't test it yet. I'll let you know...

 

L9400 CPUs will vary. Some may be able to do [email protected], others may need to go to [email protected]. You'll just have to test to find out.

I've never installed XP on a 2530P so can't say how low I could get idle. Other than the important configuration items to disable/set are covered in the 2530P undervolting post.

Would welcome comments about your own 2530P PLL overclocking experience. The 2530P is certainly capable to go quite a bit faster than when it left the factory.

Resetting a forgotten 2530P bios entry (F10) password

Just in case it gets lost in the mix, a new and important update on the first page.

I can confirm that the F10 bios entry password can be cleared on a 2530P without resorting to swapping/reflashing the bios chip or replacing the systemboard. New entry as duplicated below and *probably* applies to all the core2duo and 1st gen i-core Elitebooks.

 

I'm quite satisfied with the speed. 1.83GHz or 2.16GHz is OK for my usage. What I want is underclock/undervolt in certain situations. Going under 0.9V in SuperLFM would be great

Here's my experience with L9400:

SuperLFM capable with steps 800 or 933MHz.
Running 1.60GHz (266x6) on 0.925V IS possible, but it's unstable (after 5 mins of moderate CPU usage, reset happens), 0.9375V is OK
Running 1.83GHz on 0.975V - stable
Running 2.16GHz on 1.0625V - possible, 1.075V is stable

My 3DMark03 score - 2528 (1.6GHz, dual-channel RAM 3GB, graphics set to Balanced profile)

However I don't think the CPU is the problem. Maybe your TME-unlock work even for proper undervolting, because I'm getting the same BSOD on 266x8 (2.16GHz) 1.050V when running on single core which should give it more headroom but apparently not. Interesting thing is that my desktop is running 3.0GHz on 1.050V stable (also C2D)

 

Hey,

i have 2 systemboards here. First one (SL9400)with the modded whitelist-BIOS and the other one with (SL9600)F.20. Ist it possbile to switch the BIOS ROM or sth like that? I really need the whitelist BIOS for the SL9600

 

Yours is the first coreduo (L9400, L9600, P8400, P9300, P9400) that I've seen that could not reliably run [email protected]. Yes, TME-unlocking the PLL would then give you underclocking ability to be able to run say [email protected] reliably. 0.925V is generally the SuperLFM floor on 17W/25W core2duo CPUs.

Still, if your aim is to undervolt as much as possible then other possibilities exist. Eg:

- alter the PLL BSEL signals (FSLx) so it boots up with 200Mhz timing just like a SU9400 (1.4Ghz/1.6Ghz dual-IDA). Core2Duos do not lock the multiplier if using it with a lower-than-specced BSEL signal. REF: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...intel-gl960-gl40-useful-info-pll-modders.html

-Alter the Kevin Sense signals on the voltage regulator like described at http://forums.overclockzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=583730 to decrease voltage by 8% or more across the board. Then you'd get a 0.85V SuperLFM floor. Could try even further. The m11xR1 folks being able to get overclock a SU4100-1.3/SU7300-1.3 to 2.0Ghz on 0.85V so appears Intel ran their ULV CPUs with quite a voltage margin.

*some* 2530P systems have a socketted bios chip in the 1.8" drive bay. It looks exactly like the socket used in a 2510P shown below (bottom right corner). The bios is a 8pin SPI type. So if it's socketted then yes, you can easily just swap the chips between the two systems just by unfastening the clip and removing the chip. If it's soldered then it's still possible but only if you disassemble and use a soldering iron to remove the chip. In both cases ensure you note the pin positions. If you reverse the positions then say goodbye to your bios chip.

 

There is something weird with those voltages. My old 2530p used to have 8x266 @ .925v but then the motherboard died. After the motherboard swap I could only do 266x7 @ .925v but 266x8 @ .950 was perfectly stable.

My current 2730p and Thinkpad T400 can do 266x7 @ .925v and 266x8 @ .950v

Note: Turbo (IDA) is disabled in ThrottleStop for all modes

 

I'm going to install 2.5" HDD replacement in upgrade bay and throw away that 1.8" Toshiba with typical temperatures around 64°C. That should bring more stability, less consumption and maybe even 266x6 on 0.925V (that is more likely motherboard issue than the CPU so it may be indirectly connected with the faulty HDD). Another thing which may causing this are the RAM modules. There are two installed, both Hynix 'approved by HP', however Corsair may perform better.
I've ordered 492574-001 and expecting it at Friday.

Nevertheless I've finished the car adapter for charging HP notebooks.
I'll let you know as soon as possible.

 

Good luck with your machine. I believe that part number is not enough to get the caddy working. If I recall correctly you need 3 different parts to get the complete setup and you can search this forum for the answer or wait until nando saves you (as he always does).

 

Yes - HP has 3 parts to make up the caddy which are listed in http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...ddrive-via-optical-drive-bay.html#post4881621 . Ends up being pretty pricey from HP. So I'd suggest ask newmodeus to order more of their 2530P 'clone' caddies or grab a HP one off ebay:

NEW HP 2530p hard drive cage caddy with USB 492574-001 | eBay
USB port + 2nd HDD/SSD caddy for HP EliteBook 2530p 492574-001 495027 495028 | eBay

 

I bought exactly this thing, it should be 3 in 1 and genuine HP part

 

Added to the first page:

 

Today after another unsuccessful undervolt 266x7 to 0.9625V I've got interesting BSOD with the following error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL . I'm pretty familiar with this error on IRQ conflicting hardware, but never encountered it during undervolting. Any idea where is the problem (if it's not CPU)? Removed both RAM modules, replaced them by Patriot memory and removed the Toshiba HDD. Still the same thing. Maybe the PLL is not outputting the correct voltage and the real voltage is lower.

BTW, Throttlestop does not allow me to go under 1.000V when not in SuperLFM, so I'm doing everything through RMClock.

 

That's correct. To undervolt with Throttlestop check SuperLFM to extend the voltage floor down to 0.925V. It's only if you check the 'Power Saver' option that it actually initiates SuperLFM in the sense of cutting the FSB by half (266->133) during idle times. A good option to maximise battery life.

One minor correction.. I did use a P9400 CPU that wouldn't undervolt all the way down to [email protected]. I could only get it to run it [email protected] with full stability. So there is some variation in Intel CPUs with newer steppings appearing to run more efficiently.

 

Well I got the new systemboard installed but at every startup I have to hit ctrl+alt+del, because the hd (1,8" Toshiba)doesn't start the OS. But I can see that he hdd gets initilazied and I can see it in the BIOS.
So I can see the hp logo and right after that the hdd status led switches off and I have to restart and usually the 2nd start works fine.
Had anybody the same problem? I dont have a second hd here now to test.

 

Can anyone share his/her experience with the screen of this laptop? How dim can it get without losing contrast, how's the ag coating, if it's easy on the eyes for prolonged use, how does the text look, etc.
I'm looking to buy a refurbished one, but I want to make sure it's right for me in terms of the screen.

Oh, and if someone could report how many hours the 6-cell battery gives you, I would also appreciate it.

 

I had no problems with the screen. Can dim it down to 1 bar though 3 bars gives decent contrast in dark conditions to prevent eyes tiring.

A DC optimized 2530P can expect it's Wh rating / 10 for battery life doing web surfing or admin work as a minimum. So 55Whr 6-cell will get 5.5hrs. A 62Whr 6-cell will get 6.2hrs, 83Whr 9-cell will get 8.3hrs and a 93Whr 9-cell will get 9.3hrs. Having 4GB RAM installed and a energy efficient SSD will extend that further.

 

Ok, my new systemboard seems to have some major problem with the Intel AMT/TMP Device. I can't activate Intel AMT in BIOS, just sometimes it's not grey. In Windows it's not possible to install the intel heci/mei drivers so, Intel ME can't really work. Sometimes it tries to reset the AMT device after the boot screen, but this fails, because it can't connect. So I have to reboot several times to get the system started. If I disable all tpm/amt functions the system doesn't boot correctly either
Sounds much like this:
HP Communities - What drivers should I use when installing Windows ... - Enterprise Business Community

Anyone knows if I flash some old BIOS like F.05 that the Intel TPM/AMT Firmware gets overwritten?

I just need the F.06 or F.05 BIOS though ...

 

Need to HDDerase Kingston V180+ 64gb.Used diskpart for bootable USB and tried 3.3 and 4 HDDerase. IDE in BIOS boot to USB. No Joy! HELP!

 

F.05/F.06 is available for download from HP EliteBook 2530p Notebook PC- HPQFlash for HP Notebook System BIOS (68PSU) - Microsoft Windows Based - HP Business Support Center .

You still have two other things you could try:

1. Reset the bios defaults using ' CPQTAG write defaults' . That needs to be done in a DOS booted environment.

2. If your 2530P has a socketted bios chip, then can remove it and using a SPI USB eeprom burner flash the F.12 4MB 2530P bios dump to it. I'm not sure if that bios image will be better or worse than you currently have.

I use hdparm in Linux to do a secure erase, successfully performed on a Renice X3 (SF1222). Important point is the drive needed to be unfrozen for it to work. The way to do that was to boot Linux on a USB stick or DVD, and *carefully* unplug the 1.8" SSD and replug it while the system is on. Then I could secure erase without issue. You'll need to do the same hotplugging if using HDDerase.

 

Well I tried flashing the F.05 -> F.06 and then the F.13 but nothing improved. Then I used CPQTAG and it didnt improve either. So I think this AMT device is just defective, I read about this failure several times in help-Boards. Seems I have to send it back, because those boot problems are really annoying, it only starts correctly every 2nd or 3rd boot. All other things work perfectly, even DUAL-IDA, etc.
Damn, this sl9600 really makes the difference in playing 1080p movies and now I have to switch back to sl9400 again.


I will try to sitch 2 BIOS Chips, but I think the TPM-Chip is faulty. It's an Infineon SB9635TT12 btw. located at U24

 

Ok, heres the funny part.
I switched back to my old board which was working perfectly. But now I have the same problems with the boot/TPM-Device as with the 'new' ? Is it possible thatI damaged both BIOS-chips by switching them into a defective board? Is it some BIOS-virus that damages the tpm device intentionally? memtest says my Sodimm passes 100%. Well, now I have 2 defective Boards ...

I don't think it's a software problem either, because even when I just start with an usb-linux device these errors occure.

 

well, if you started with win+power+left arrow +right arrow, then the descriptor should be unlocked.
Then type:
1.cpqamt write reset
2.cpqamt write off
3.cpqamt reboot

this was the only way I could disable Intel AMT. At least both boards work now again. I still don't know how a BIOS-Chip can get infected by defective amt-settings ...

 

Hello,
so I've tried HPFan, however it's not 100% working. My DC table has starting entry that is 1800rpm, however I cannot override the HP's default fan setting downwards. Only if I recall AC profile with 4000rpm, the fan increases speed (as the default is 3400rpm), however it cannot decrease speed under HP's default LUT.

Only when I just start and close HWiNFO (with previously loaded DC profile through HPfan), the fan slows down to 1800rpm as it's set in DC profile.
Any idea what am I doing wrong?

 

I had some issues getting HPfan DC profiles working reliably. My solution was also to load a few AC and DC fan profiles in succession until the fan quietened down. A better solution would be to ask the author of hwinfo32/64 to investigate what the difference b/w what he is doing and HPfan. HPfan was originally written upon advice from the author of hwinfo.

 

Hello,
can I use PCIe card Atheros AR5008 in 2530p? Most listing on ebay says it's incompatible with HP, but since I've applied the 'no-whitelist' bios, it should fit any kind of wireless card, right?

 

Thank you to nando4 for his support and feedback. This thread is a life line for the tireless geek!!!

I have long postponed the upgrade from HDD to SSD but with dropping prices, I think suffering from long boot times is a crime. Could you guys recommend a good SSD to buy off the bay? Anything bigger than 32GB will do, I have a 750GB in place of my optical drive, so space is not an issue, rather solid speed for the OS drive.

Cheers!

 

same problem almost a year....and now the problem solved..thanks guys...

 

yeah, I spent several hours to solve this problem until I saw that nando linked the solution on page 1. Btw. I think you dont have to deactivate tpm, a cpqamt reset should work. But I won't try that

 

A belated thanks nando4. Impatience rules here tho! I went to diskpart and ran CLEAN ALL, then win 7 64bit fresh install. All seems well (tad slow for a few days) but I am curious as to any damage I might have done.

 

Yes, all links of 2530p Laptop are down!, Please Nando reup!!!

 

Is someone using a msata ssd like the CT128M4SSD3 in the 1,8" port? The only adapter I could find was this one:
mSATA to Micro SATA Adapter 794504826029 | eBay

But I don't know if such an adapter would affect trim or energy drain.

 

This fw worked for me,
https://www.box.com/s/oezujoqxgiq6ua2wuv8w

 

2530P is a great small machine. I've got 2 at employee sale for 50EUR/each (WiFi+Bt, 120GB HDD, 2GB RAM, Webcam, Dock). Amazing for this money.

 

but display is weaker than I expected. Drop from 40cm on a wooden floor, taking a hit on the back of the display panel resulted in cracked LCD. I though that hinges and protected backpanel would absorb such minor hits...

 

Do not need Lenovo laptop.
I use my HP 2530p to flash new SSD firmware (fom OCZ)