*HP EliteBook 8730w Owners Lounge*

Actually he was interested in both laptops and I believe he had both at the time, I just can't find it now. Maybe a member post search will turn up the posts on the subject; I just dont have the time at present.

Great idea using the DVD caddy! As for soldering to the board, I'm not afraid of it, I'd just need to borrow the soldering tool from a buddy but most importantly, find the part. I'll see when I get the thing, hopefully the part has an identification on it. We'll see how it goes. I paid pretty good money fro that wreck mainly because it was exactly the same model as mine, so I should be guaranteed a fit as far as internal components are concerned and I know that at least the screen, video card, sensor, cable, touchpad and keyboard are good. If the motherboard is salvageable that'll be a bonus.

 

just check out the Maintenance and Service Guide.pdf (on the HP site where the drivers can be downloaded) and what part do you need. Use the part number to try ebay or the hp part store.

 

Unfortunately it doesn't show a separate part; it's soldered onto the motherboard (page 19, part 17, bottom right corner). I wood need the OEM component manufacturer part number...

 

maybe you can try to get a whole motherboard or are they too expensive?

Or get a hard disk adapter for the optical bay and don't use the slot at all?

 

Meh... Too expensive (around USD150 plus shipping to Canada and taxes, or about CAD260), I got the whole thing for that amount when I could have gotten a pristine 8730w (except for the WSXGA standard screen) for CAD200 a few weeks ago (but conversion would have been definitely trickier).

Anyway for now it's academic, as I don't have the wreck yet and don't know what exactly is wrong with my machine, in other words, how many parts I will have to replace before I getting a normal screen again.

The idea was, if after I get into it, it turns out to be just the screen and the motherboard of the parts machine can be salvaged, I'd get a new screen for $100 and install my spare battery, power supply and hard drive into the wreck, that way I'd have an identical machine as a backup and will have gained some valuable experience servicing it without fear of damaging my good one so that I may be ready the next time something fails, as the downtime I suffered following this mishap has cost me way more in lost revenue that the price of a spare machine.

Is it cost effective? Not if you look just at time and parts involved compared to street value, but considering what I need to run my software and the disaster that is Windows 7 and 8 (can't run the abandonware for which I have built extensive Visual Basic macros and CAD libraries), it in fact is for me. I also have a collection of identical 10 year old digicams that that have the unique ability to automatically record 30 second audio comments after each picture taken and which I use every day in my line of work and has become invaluable as the perfect audiovisual notepad and is superior to video because it can included in paper documents or built into interactive slideshows, something impossible to do with videos, and something no camera does anymore (comment recording with each picture).

If there is one thing you learn when getting old, it is that newer isn't always better!

 

So here's an update on my 8730w screen problem... IT'S FINALLY FIXED!!!

After 6 full months not knowing exactly what was wrong with it and balking at purchasing a screen, an ambient light sensor, cables, video card or perhaps even a motherboard and having to return them should they be good (especially considering how horribly expensive shipping is in Canada), after receiving my parts 8730w today and installing its screen in my machine, it turns out it was the screen after all!!!

Was it a good deal for about $200 shipped? You betcha, because it is EXACTLY the same model as mine and therefore I was sure the screen would be a direct, exact replacement to mine and if it wasn't the screen, I would still be able to try the video card, the cables and motherboard

What shocked me most is how beat up the machine was... The hard drive looks like it had been literally ripped out (parts of the cover were still attached!), the DVD drive had been ripped out without unscrewing and they were scrapes on the bottom of the case so bad that the metal had worn off, as if it had fallen off a moving vehicle! And although the cover had dings and scrapes, even on the bezel, the screen has not a scratch and even more surprising... It has almost ZERO RED TINGE in the corner and is definitely the best of all four screens I have had on this machine (the original one and its replacement were both replaced under warranty and the third one failed after a couple of years)!!!

So I'm a happy puppy, I CAN SEE AGAIN!!! And with a spare video card, cables and motherboard, a pristine keyboard AND touchpad (seriously, they look like they were never used), if I can locate a proper SATA connector to repair the broken one on the motherboard, I'll be hopefully good to go for many years to come

Or maybe I'll get myself a good low end model for the case, a new screen, transplant the motherboard, video card, cable sensor and have a twin machine for backup purposes

 

nice

how complicated is it to exchange the panel? Did you just remove the bezel or did you exchange the whole assembly?

 

I replaced just the LCD, because the cover was seriously damaged. I don't have the donor computer here with me to show you how bad it was, perhaps I'll post pictures some other time. On the other hand because it's you, I'm posting this small photo essay of the job

The job is actually very simple, but you need steady hands, common sense and to be installed on a brightly lit table with a smooth tablecloth or the like. You don't want to be loosing teeny parts on the floor or dusty carpet! You'll also need a set of small computer repair screwdrivers with flat, torx and Phillips bits, a razor blade for removing tape and an old credit card or guitar pick for lifting the front bezel.

This is delicate work, as plastic or the LCD is unforgiving if you slip your screwdriver across it!

First, remove the rubber plugs that hide the cover screws. Not all plugs need to be removed, picture 1: .

As they tend to separate from their glue backing, it's best to be very gently yet firm and lift the plugs in one shot using a small screwdriver like in picture 2: . I managed to salvage all except for one. These rubber plugs also serve as spacers for the screen to the keyboard so try to salvage them all.

Under the plugs you will find the torx screws holding the cover, bezel and screen together. Remove all the screws. Be careful not to slip off the screw heads and or mar the bezel and or LCD!

Using an old credit card or a guitar pick, gently insert it between screen and bezel then slide it and gently lift bezel off, refer to picture 3: ). It's clipped and if you do it right you should be able to prevent tab breakage (I managed to break one out of 15 or so). As it comes off, you will notice the back cover will also start to come loose so hold it. Remove the screw securing the ambient light sensor, then gently let the cover down on the table, taking care not to rip the cables to the webcam, microphones and wifi antennas as you do. The screen is still held by the hinges.

On the back of the screen picture 4: , gently lift the aluminum foil under which are the screen connectors. There is tape securing the connectors, it's pretty stiff, I used a razor blade to lift them off as in picture 5: . The LCD connector (wide one) has clips, you'll need to gently press them in to remove it. The LED connector just uses tape.

You'll also need to gently lift the cables glued to the LCD backing foil at the bottom of the screen, using your old credit card or guitar pick. Now the cables will fall off.

The screen is held by 8 very small philips screws like on picture 6: . hold the screen while doing this, you don't want the screen to get damaged when it comes loose. The hinges are very stiff, but the screen frame is just very thin metal. Don't worry about putting your fingers on the LCD; the front polarizer is fairly durable, you can clean it with alcohol or even windex after you've finished.

Once the screen is off, reverse the procedure with the new screen. When putting the cover back on be careful with the cables so they don't get snagged.
Good Luck, happy Dreamcoloring

Next project : finding a way to repair the motherboard HD sata conector and reusing the mobo, cable and vodeo card in a donor bottom grade donor 8730 to make a fully functional clone of my Dreamcolor 8730w ;-)

 

thank you, it seems possible for me to do it, however, if something goes wrong the damage could be expensive (but first I have to find the parts not too expensive...)

 

Depending on where you are, you can find a replacement Dreamcolor screen for about $100 so that's not a big problem.

However, the patient would have to have an nVidia Quadro F2700m video card and you would have to locate the LCD and LED cables, which is another matter entirely. As for the Ambient light sensor, I've managed to locate a source, they go for about $20.

Should you start from a non Dreamcolor laptop, it's a whole different ball game, as HP states the motherboards are different, possibly to accomodate the extra power required for the LED screen and the only successful transplant we've read about was done by rcboyit, perhaps with an early motherboard run. So, guaranteed success would require you locate a motherboard, the nVidia F2700M (or F3700M) video card and heatsink... Good luck with that! Although the nVidia F2700M can be found for around $50 used and about the same for the heat sink, so far I haven't been able to find a compatible motherboard online (never mind one with a working CPU!) and it was pure luck that I found this replacement wreck on ebay with the exact same model number.

As for the screen, even with the exact same screen number, LP171WU5 (TL)(B1), there are both Matte and Glossy variants and from my experience with the replacement screen after a day, I can confirm there are differences in grain (that one is both grainier and sharper - annoying for pictures, but easier on the eyes for text, had to readjust cleartype to accommodate for this difference) and it also presents slight differences in the back: although my replacement includes the aluminum foil RF PCB shielding, the frame is slightly different, using 8 screws versus my old one using 6 and when running without the bezel, the red LED shows noticeable bleed from bottom left of the frame, suggesting the frame has been tweaked to reduce internal reflection that is probably the cause of the famous 'red tinge' seen in the corner of early variants.

Bottom line is:

- Screen: not too difficult to find for around $100, but ask first for what variant they sell and make sure to have pictures sent to you before proceeding.
- Cables: I have found no source tor them, presumably because they get damaged upon removal and or wear out in use.
- Ambient light sensor: Can be found used for around $20 (I know there are different revisions floating around, mine uses 1.40).
- Top Cover: the existing one is reported to be compatible but I can't confirm it. I suppose if you already have the webcam variant you should be OK, but it's just a guess.
- Hinge: I think you should be OK, mine accommodated both the 6 and 8 screw variant of the screen. I doubt HP would willingly have two or more types built, it's easier to pre-drill all holes than to stock different versions.
- Video card: can be found for around $50 as they are notorious for failing under heat stress and refurbishers 'reball' or cook them and they're good to go after that. Just make sure you get the best heat sink you can find, dual pipe is preferred.
- Motherboard: haven't be able to locate Dreamcolor compatible motherboards. You'd have to take a chance with your existing one.

Conclusion: Replacing a defective Dreamcolor panel is easy to do if you're starting from an existing Dreamcolor laptop and know it's the screen, otherwise locate an identical wreck like I did. Conversion is another matter as it requires you locate the parts or a parts machine with known good screen, cables, ambient light sensor, video card, heat sink and possibly motherboard and you're into a complete laptop overhaul. My project cost me around US$200 for the donor laptop including shipping, the screen by itelf would have cost me around $140 including taxes and shipping and if the parts are bought separately (used except for the screen), you'll probably pay around $350 plus shipping, not counting quite a bit of time (and nerve) for the overhaul .

 

thanks for this important information. I can confirm that the video cards die fast (already two failures, 2700 and 3700)

I have also seen glare and non glare Dreamcolor panels on ebay but thought it was the lightning during the photo was taken. But, ok, I was wrong

 

I am glad I now have a spare. I just got the bizarre red pixels on black for a second after wake up and as far as I know weird colored pixels are video card related. Did you upgrade the heat sink when you replaced the 2700M for the 3700M?

I think the difference is mostly the top polarizer. Changing it will make it look different and although it doesn't look very different on the surface (it's not glossy) it is noticeably sharper and I now can see the minutest pixel level defects on my pictures, something I could not detect before. It's as if I suddenly got 20/20 vision

Oh and BTW, I had to adjust my Powerstrip Color profile. This panel apparently requires slightly less tweaking than the original panel did.

 

no, the replacement was done by HP (2700 to 3700) and strangely they did not use the recommended new double heat pipe. However, I did not waste the new 3700, as far as I think, so temperatures kept most of the time low and only a few times up to 85 to 90 degree celsius. Didn't help in the end

The 2700 died during intensive gaming with of course high temperatures which I didn't control very much at that time. No warning before (dead pixel) and after it was frozen all was bad, not much could be seen and the card wasn't recognized at all.

The 3700 has frozen two times the screen after a few days between after working without freezes a long time and then worked for a few months again without freezes. The third time it has frozen fatal, now only the safe mode works, strangely with a normal screen.

Before the final freeze the only strange thing was that since the beginning as I remember I had problems here and then during video playback with VLC video player and adaptive power consumption settings of the 3700. Only running the video card on high performance helped. This may had led to a sooner death, so.

 

Hey, Sotton, Old Man! I thought you would be the perfect person to make my latest announcement to concerning what has now more or less become an antique... The level of activity of this thread pretty much confirms it ;-)

So after having just replaced the dying Dreamcolor on my 8730w and after looking every single day on kijiji for the past 6 months I found an 8730w with an FX3700M video card but regular panel, that I got for what would be considered here in Montreal a pittance, $160! It is in pristine cosmetic condition, its power supply is a cheap aftermarket jobbie and the battery is dead (The cells were so bad when I took the battery apart that I couldn't charge half of them at all and the other half just can't hold a charge), but the machine works surprisingly well even though the screen is a big let down compared to the Dreamcolor.

However, after tweaking it I was able to get the colors close to those on my Dreamcolor. As you can see from the pictures the results are quite close...

Here is a picture with the desktops

That one is of the screensaver

But what the pictures don''t show is the extra dynamic range , richer blacks and more detailed highlights that it gives compared to the duller CCFL technology... Just like the Dreamcolor LED has in fact been surpassed by the latest AMOLEDs ;-)

So if you ever though of upgrading... If you already have the video card, you need to get yourself the screen (I have as source in Canada) and the cable (there is a source in the UK) as this is exactly what I intend to do...

As a matter of fact, I just need to fix the wreck's motherboard HDD connector and should be able to transplant it and its FX2700M video card into the case of this machine and with a new Dreamcolor screen I should be able to make a perfect clone of my machine as the perfect backup in case of failure. After having lost a lot last summer in potential revenue due to loss of productivity when my screen problem happened last summer, considering all the time I have invested in a custom software setup that will only run under XP, I never want to be out of an identical machine ever again!!!

I'll keep you guys in touch with developments as they happen.

 

You know what the problem was? HP Tech Repairs!!! When I took my machine apart after it had gone TWICE to the HP repair shop to replace the screen, not only were they not able to even SEE what the problem was, but they first managed to damage the switch cover but they also routed the LCD cables quite poorly... I wouldn't be surprised if they had just not bothered to replace the heatsink compound at all! Leaving the old FX2700M heatsink is by itself enough to tell me their tech support contractors suck!

You know, I wonder if your heatsink itself wasn't the problem. Like refrigerators, they have fluids in them. I shudder thinking what would happen if one ran out of fluid or that it had evaporated...

What did you do in the end? What video card did you replace your FX3700M with? Another one? And the heatsink?

 

Nice pictures.

Currently I am still looking for parts. I may also fail to repair it and so I don't want to spend too much money. Yeah, FX3700 would be nice but is still expensive and rare. Heat pipe I would order from HP, seems not more than used ones. Further I need a top cover, mine is worn.

So, maybe it is cheaper to look out for a whole unit but is not that easy, too. There are a lot of leasing units available which are not in great shape.

I will see in the next months if I can get parts or a new used 8730w. So currently I have no fully working 8730w

 

The photograph, or the nice group of people on my desktop? There is such a rich story to that picture... It's a guiding light to me
As for the picture taking it wasn't easy with the cell phone; it would overexpose the screen so I had to dim them enough to compensate for the dim room (took it last night), so the image ended up quite grainy. But the effect is there...

If you were in Canada I would offer you my FX3700M, as I am looking at transplanting the FX2700M and motherboard from the wreck (once it's been repaired! Check the hard drive connector situation... Check it out what I have to deal with on the wreck and how it looks like on my good one) to the non Dreamcolor one so as to make an exact clone of my laptop. I know how incredibly expensive shipping is from the UK (I presume you're from Europe? The 8740w I got last summer cost me ONE HUNDRED POUNDS to ship, PLUS taxes AND tax collecting fee, for a total of CAD370 extra!) and although I have a cousin and aunt in the UK and another one in Germany I don't have anyone going there for a while...

For the top cover I can't help... Here's a few pictures of the wreck I recently got from the US... See for yourself, it probably fell off a moving vehicle (see bottom - sure wish there was an EASY way to attach images INLINE and AT FULL SIZE!!! What I did last night took forever... Couldn't get them full size either, but at least the reference was working well enough - Sorry don't have the time to do it now...

You can say that again!!! You really do have to be on top of your game searching... I searched the kijiji local ads several times a day every day for the past 6 months before I found this one... The previous one I had found got sold within 3 hours, as soon as I emailed the guy and asked for pictures he came back to me saying it was already sold, and it had been posted only 30 minutes before I found it!!!

The other ones I saw online are mostly ex-corporate machines that get banged up (a quick look at the pictures tell the story!), and those that are in pristine condition sell for at least twice as much... The one I got Wednesday was apparently, previous to the guy who I bought it from and owned it only for a very short time (he needed a gaming machine and found out too late he needed to replace the motherboard and CPU to get decent performance), owned by an anal retentive owner, I mean, not even the touchpad is worn... I wear touchpads and keyboards down within a year...

I would gladly make one for you if you were nearby, but like you I have had a hard time finding parts, you're much better off if you're in the US! In any case if you do find parts and find yourself traveling to the Montreal area just let me know, once I finish my project I should have enough experience to help with yours, I just live north of there in a little village with less than 100 souls in winter (see picture at the bottom)

 

That is a nice landscape in your village. I live in Germany, BTW, but thank you anyway for your help.

Your motherboard repair seems not that easy to me, but I see, it is a project.

Have you tried W7 64 Ultimate because of your XP software you want to use? Since I switched to W7 I cannot think of using XP any longer but of course I have all applications running and so I am not in your situation

 

Ich habe Familie in Deutshland, mein Großeltern waren aus Frankfurt am Main... Aber ich sehe Sie sehr Selten...

Delicate is the word, but I looked at the connector, it's only one row of connectors in line, a simple bar attachment on the soldering gun should do it. I have experience soldering on very small items, I just don't have a professional table, but the connector is fairly large and I only need to get a new silicone solder pump... As for the connector, I already found and purchased a couple, one of them I will simply try to remove its connectors and slip the existing ones into the shell, if that doesn't work I will use the other one and only then attempt to solder it onto the motherboard. That should cover it...

Yes, I have, both on the 8740w and the 'new' 8730w, they just don't work at all, even in 32 bit version. These are 16 bit programs from the early 90s, originally designed to run on Windows 3.11. I have an EXCELLENT File Manager, an INDISPENSIBLE 2D CAD for which I have built an extensive library of objects and an extremely powerful photo presentation app that only runs on single core CPUs, but that I have managed to patch for use with more recent machines, but I still can't run the build under anything more recent than XP. However, I have been lucky enough to be given the source code to it by its developer (!) and I may have a peek at that to see if that can be corrected. As for the other two... I haven't managed to find the developer for the old CAD program that I use, and as for the File Manager, it's owned by a large company who has been sold several times since and trying to get anything from them is probably going to be more difficult than reverse engineering it.

In other words... I'm much better off, for my work machine, to be able to run these programs under 32 bit XP. On Vista you already need to run some processes in a virtual machine, but it's a klutz and a hassle I could really do without. And don't get me started on MS's aggravating insistence on imposing a new user interface every time they change their OS. It's aggravating and insulting to those who have worked a lot to make it work for their own use instead of the present trend to obfuscate essential features under the pretense that users are dumb and should be prevented from accessing them 'for their own good', features that are essential to my workflow and for which I have had to constantly find new and more complicated workarounds over the years. It's basically the paradigm shift from the Personal Computer to the Dumb Client that I abhor.

If there is anything I have learned in my 35 years using computers... Although hardware does improve by leaps and bounds, as for software it's another matter entirely as users become victims of corporate schemes and political manipulation. For example, I have an extremely tweaked Microsoft Word 2000 installation. I have looked at Office 2010 and it's a total, utter disaster. Never even mind 2013! Simply put, I will NEVER use it, and Windows 8 is even worse, as if it had been designed by aliens for the very purpose of dumbing users down. Very scary, actually. I don't intend to let Microsoft lobotomize me, I'm not going back to kindergarten. Ain't gonna happen.

Bottom line, I need my workhorse to run XP (tweaked to emulate Windows 98SE!), even if I can tolerate windows 7 for other stuff. I may end up doing a dual boot machine, XP and 7, on the 8740w. But In any case, the XP will have to be 32 bit.

I am just not willing to abandon the extensive workflow technique I have refined over the past two decades, especially since I have built such an extensive library of objects and procedures for them. Furthermore, these programs truly empower the user. Try to find that in nowadays' bloatware. Once you have run small, efficient code that does exactly what it's supposed to do you become contemptuous of the bloatware and spyware that passes for 'latest and best' nowadays. Heck, I use Metapad for most of my word processing and practically only use Word for formatting, because that small efficient app never crashes whereas Word, of course, does all the time.

Anyway I better stop babbling, must be getting annoying. I'm out on my snowshoes for the rest of the afternoon
If you've made is so far... Thanks for listening

 

snowshoes, nice, how cold is it in your area anyway at the moment? Currently we have 4 degree Celsius (about 100 F) but last week it was really cold here, about 60 F.

I have not much experience with virtual machines but a friend of mine uses it in his company very often and with success. However, I think the operating system in the virtual machine he is running is at least Vista. And I changed to Open Office after upgrading to W7. As I remember, I had a few problems with my older Office (2008, I think), which works fine with XP but not with W7.

Do you have other documents for disassembly than the Maintenance and Service Guide? Or is it just already experience

If I get the money I would buy a 8740w, too (the last of the 16:10 machines) but theses are still expensive and very rare with Dreamcolor. Last time, a Dreamcolor Quad goes for about 1300 EU (1950 CAD) here in Germany (but only a FX2800) and this was the only offer in months.

 

It's been fortunately warming up and getting balmy, earlier this week we had -20C, now it's close to the melting point and as we've just had another 20cm of snow I'll be out snowblowing shortly ;-)

Yes, virtual machines machines work but it's like having to go wait in line at the government office for a document then being told we have to go in another building apply there and come back with another document so we can get back in line to continue the process... Just like for getting a passport!

Fortunately, I don't have to use that process often, but under Vista two of my most used program just constantly bug with memory errors and no amount of tweaking has helped. They of course work perfectly under XP, and not at all under W7 (TopDraw and Norton File Manager).

I actually only referred to the manual for the parts number. The HDD connector isn't listed at all; I had to look for the part visually using an image search. As for soldering... I've been using a soldering gun since my teenage years...

As for experience, last summer I took apart my wife's laptop that was experiencing severe overheating issues, all the way down to the motherboard, removed a ton of cat hair, put it back together along with a new keyboard and voilà... Then I overhauled my old Toshiba P205, replacing the case entirely and the keyboard, no problems either, then the screen on the 8730w. I just like to fix things ;-)

I got lucky on that one - a fellow forum visitor mentioned one for sale in the UK, got it for 500UK pounds (850CAD), it's a quad as well, with a 5000M on top of that, but it cost me more than 300CAD to bring it 'over the pond' thanks to our horrendously expensive shipping (100 pounds just for that) and great tax system... I had to have something! BUT and you may find that a waste... I haven't used it much at all, I am still in the process looking up for a way to use all 8GB or memory with a 32 bit XP install, and I haven't been able to figure it out so far (I need to be able to hibernate, and I can't when using the excess RAM as a virtual disk). Anyway - that machine is a true speed demon - about 45 seconds from cold start to the desktop... The quad core is overkill as far as I'm concerned, since the old programs I use only need (and some even crash) one core... But I got it for the screen... The Dreamcolor2 is MAGNIFICENT... Significantly better than the old DreamColor1

That being said - You'd be surprised how nice some of the newer laptops are; screen technology has significantly improved to the point where the old 8730W CCFL looks horrible compared to new iterations of low end screens... BUT they're not 19200x1200! I still mourn the loss of 2048x1536... In a few years if the 'retina' display becomes popular maybe we'll see that high resolution technology in what's left of the PC market as well...

Gotto go get a quick coffee and blow some snow now

 

Hi, guys!

Does anyone know about the keyboard compatibility between HP 8740w & 8730w?
I would really like to have a backlit keyboard on my 8730w and it seems like 8740w has such option

Thanks, Hank

 

Sorry, my man, can't be done! It's not at all the same, different screw locations and most likely different cable and motherboard location altogether, no use wasting your time, as even so-called 'compatible' keyboards can be anything but, purchased one for my old Toshiba, cable was completely different, ended up removing every single key from the new one and installing it on my old keyboard shell.

As for the backlit KB of the 8740w... I have it on the 8740w and I thought it was great when I got it but it's not nearly as nice to use as the KB on the 8730w (soft and springy versus solid and responsive). So should you consider upgrading to the 8740w just for it, don't do it unless you are frequently in situations where you MUST work in the dark, such as on transcontinental flights. If you google around, you'll see that lack of feel is a common complaint with this KB variant on the 8740w. If you type a lot like me it will get to you in no time.

 

I still think you got a great price on the 8740w.

My 8730w has the worst WUXGA screen available (the Samsung). I think the best are the Dreamcolor versions of course, then there are LG with CCFL and last is the Samsung CCFL.

Never seen a Dreamcolor in real life... So, good I really don't know what I am missing

17" screens are still not higher in pixel resolution than FHD (1920x1080) at the moment. There is simply no manufacturer. Maybe this changes this year. I hope so, since there are higher resolutions available for 13" to 15" already. So, it is about time.

 

Yes, and it pains me to see it sitting while I decide what to do with it!!! The problem is to find a way to use all its installed memory on Windows XP 32 bit and it has been a challenge, because hacks using the Windows Server Enterprise 2003 kernel apparently don't work anymore :-(. Anyway, as my main machine now has a fully functional screen I now have more freedom to explore Windows 7 64 bit on the 'new' 8730w and see whether I can live 1) with the UI changes and 2) with a virtual machine, or whether I will continue with the XP route with its less efficient memory handling. The problem would not even exist if Microsoft had kept concentrating on what it does best, the Operating System, and stop meddling in people's personal affairs and try to impose it's 'vision' and micromanage everyone through its constantly changing UI!

I have the LGD3A01 LP171WU3-TLB1 on the new 8730w and I can tell you one thing... It's NOT great!!! The screen has been difficult to color balance, probably because its CRI is just too low, and it's got dark splotches at the lower bottom corners, probably caused by aging of the bulb and evenness is problematic; In comparison, my 7 years old Toshiba CCFL is much more even...

Surprisingly, once you get used to the inferior kind and concentrate on your work, you quickly forget, but I do fatigue more on the CCFL with its glare (typically after 2 to 3 hours) than on the Dreamcolor (on whcih I can work on without fatigue all day long). In the end however, it's mostly when doing presentations with pictures that the Wow factor really matters, as the brightness, fidelity, dynamic range, viewing angle and uniformity are much better and even more so on the Dreamcolor2
Have you seen this video on the 8740w? The Dreamcolor1 on the 8730w is admitedly not as nice, but there is a visible difference with the CCFL version...

Yes, I would say we've got our 1920x1200 laptops at the hight of their development and should do all it takes to keep them running, even though I do miss the 4/3 format and the magnificent 2048x1536 format that was so great for letter sized documents. But I've considered starting to produce documents in 16/10 format (2 pages side by side)and stop struggling with the classic vertical format that no equipment is designed for anymore, and that comes from the time that stuff was written on animal skins

Although I expect resolution to jump to the 'Retina' level I don't see a return of tall and squarish laptops, nor that of large screens for laptops. As a matter of fact, I believe now that they will largely be gone in a decade as tablets, glasses and other super compact devices take over our daily computing needs. People are already giving me a weird look when I come along with my 'Brontosaurus' of a laptop and see me schlep all that stuff whose function could be fitted in much smaller devices (but aren't yet), like what happened to calculators, agendas, thesauruses, pagers and the like as everything has been condensed into the modern smartphone

 

Thanks, man!

 

I have exactly the same here and i notice problem is when the system is managing backlight of the screen by himself. You dont need to put the system sleep/wake up or even timeout. Just run program what requies apply account control (always turning off screen for a moment in win7) or just dont touch anything and wait until system change backlight to for example 30% and thats it. If system change backlight by himself You may not see color bugs immediately, but after some time, few minutes, hours? Its annoying change color plan to fix that. Wonder someone find other solution :/

I dont understand what You mean. If You have a problem with the moving files between different virtual systems, You can use shared folders for example in the virtualbox. Its simple and much better than multibot because You can use many different systems in the same time.

i guess 32bit os support only up to 4gb memory

Its definitely for aging. This screen is first DC model! Consider DC makea and seeling already 5th gen of this screen

My question is an anybody try some stronger power supply? My 150W putted to the docking station start making some strange noises. Im worried about it. Ill just check the market and found original new hp 180w hstnn-la03 for a good price. You think it will fit?

 

power supply could be everything higher or equal what you have in Watts (HP only of course). The difference in output voltage of 0.5V is within the tolerance I have a few 230W power supplies (for use with the docking stations) and is no problem of course, it never runs hot. The 180W power supply is fine, too, even with an advanced docking station.

Add 30 extra Watts if you use a docking station to what your power supply has which came with your 8730w (hopefully it was the one meant for it). That is the reason why there are two different power supplies for usage with docking stations (120W and 150W for the basic and 150W and 180W for the advanced) sold by HP in the past.

The strange noises are very common with the 150W power supplies, during charging I have them, too, cannot say if they are the same noises of course...

 

yeah, the viewing angles of the DC2 a very impressive. I want one

 

This may only be of theoretical interest to you since you are looking for a solution to the 8730w, but when I get into my cloning project I'll take a good look at the keyboard to see what makes it so nice and stiff, compared to that on the 8740w, which I have to take apart anyway for cleaning.

I am hoping that a simple mod on the 8740w backlit keyboard, such as installing a backing plate or a couple of central stiffeners can fix its springiness / mushiness. As the problem is mainly with the alphabetic keys and it is much less on the numeric keypad I believe it could be resolved by adding a stiffener or two under its span

 

The problems you guys are experiencing, which I was experiencing before I replaced the screen point to a screen and/or a cable issue. My screen has been working great since replacing it except for one brief time just after I replaced it. In my case uninstalling the driver and reinstalling it solved it.

It is still a klutz and an aggravation. I would much prefer to have a seamless, free flowing procedure rather than to have to load a virtual machine. Although I admit it's mostly a pet peeve, I profoundly dislike being forced into a new UI paradigm every time MS sees it fit, because it is always a hassle to customize any new OS and find new and usually more complicated workarounds to do things that most of the time used to be straighforward and efficient. As a matter of fact, because of it my productivity has DECREASED since moving on from Windows 98 even as equipment has improved in speed.

That being said, one of my acquaintances who's been working with computers just about as long as I am has told me it's no wonder, because of the fact I've been using MS VirtualPC and should have been using VMware instead ;-)... Care to comment?

Not using PAE, which can be done using Vista and 7.

In XP there used to be a way by installing the Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition kernel and some other procedures, but no one's talking about it anymore as it is considered 'politically incorrect' because it essentially breaks the kernel authentication process, can cause severe bluescreens and the fact that workaround has since been patched by MS in further iterations of Server 2003. In other words, I'd have to get my hands on an unauthorized version of Server 2003 Enterprise and run the kernel in diagnostic mode, a no-no in these politically paranoid, lawsuit happy times.

Furthermore, even if I were to use PAE with 32 bit Vista or 7, are that there are still irreconcilable incompatibilities whereas there are none in XP, and it's been a real challenge to figure out exactly what causes theses. In Vista, I can use these programs with reduced functionality with lots of workarounds, and they will crash if I work for more than a few minutes at a time with them (MEM_BAD_POINTER), in Windows 7 they just don't work at all.

Actually, this is the CCFL version, and let me point out my Toshiba is older and doesn't show this blackening, and I had been using it for 6 years between 12 and 18 hours a day. This defect points to poor quality in my opinion. My wife's 2008 Compaq OTOH, which she's been using for 12 hours a day for the past 5 years now, shows none of these dark splotches. I sincerely believe that the problem is HP has serious QC issues. Just a quick look at repair and reliability data should convince anyone of that. Just like Italian sports cars of old, they're great... When they actually run, and that are expensive to maintain. The number of times I've had to call warranty service is a proof of it. And BTW... It's still a problem, as my 8730w HDD is steadily getting worse over the years, the fact I've had to replace the HDD in the 8740w before the end of the warranty while the HDD in my Toshiba still shows NO SMART errors after 6 years of constant use and has only had one soft error, fixed using Spinrite and has never made any funny noises like the HDD in my 8730w makes from time to time.

These laptops may be physically sturdy with their magnesium case, but component wise on the reliability front they have been a disappointment. The reason I am now building a clone is precisely to protect me from the consequences of a failure that seems more and more likely to reoccur.

It will - I have one and it works just as well as the 150W. I suspect your original power supply wires are string to short out. They're a bear to take apart, basically you need a Dremel and to be EXTREMELY careful when opening the welded case, as there are components very close to the inside edges, other than that you can get spare cables online, just need to unsolder and replace the existing one that is usually the culprit.

One other thing... Be EXTREMELY careful with the opened power supply if you test it before closing it up again... There's live high voltage on some of the heatsinks, ask me how I know

OTOH, the HSTLN-LA03 is in a much nicer case that can be taken apart (security torx screws behind the rubber bumpers), so I recommend it wholeheartedly because it's going to be much easier to repair should you want to replace the cable down the road :thumbsup:

How much are you paying for it?

 

An 8730w with Dreamcolor1, 3.06GHz dual core extreme and FX3700M I was watching just sold for USD393.00 plus shipping, which in Canada means CAD565. So definitely, they are still fetching top dollar OTOH the 8730 I just got with that same video card but no Dreamcolor and slower 2.53GHz processor cost me almost one quarter of that I should still be ahead once I install a new DC1 in it...

 

I sometimes check US-offers but it is still the problem with shipping and taxes for me... UK would be tax-free and cheaper shipping costs (only the keyboard has still to be exchanged of course) but offers are rare.

And yes, VMware is the one you should try. Like with hibernation you can just save the current state or pick up from an older state and don't need hibernation any longer (which I think causes always a few problems). I don't use hibernation any longer because if you have to save the whole RAM to the SSD it could wear out the SSD sooner... And the SSD was the best upgrade I did so far so I want to cherish it (however, with my broken FX3700 hibernation wouldn't work anyway)

 

That is definitely a problem here as well, as besides customs fees (fortunately there are none for computers), we are taxed 15% on total cost including shipping beyond the paltry sum of $20, and shipping rates to and from Canada are one of the highest in the world. As an example, that 8740W I got from the UK last summer cost me GBP100 for shipping instead of GBP10 for Europe, plus 15% taxes on the total AND our insulting "Tax Collecting Fee" on top of that!!!... So a GPB500 item (approximately EUR615) ended up costing me the equivalent of EUR838!

Bottom line, you do have to keep your eyes peeled and ask friends to get them for you and bring them back, otherwise shipping is just a killer.

The problem I have with hibernation is that when you use a virtual drive to be able to use the RAM that is not accesible by the OS for your paging file and temp folder, it crashes the computer upon restoring from hibernation precisely because hibernation only backs up the allocated memory and virtual drive is wiped out.

However, now that mention it, come to think of it, considering how fast the 8740w it is to start from a cold boot and the fact that I always have to find a power source for my presentations anyway, I might as well simply use sleep.

Hey, it might just get me restarted on the 8740w It's really not such a big deal after all... Just use sleep, it only uses 1% per hour, if I want to forego finding a power supply I'll simply get myself a secondary battery

Yeah, SSDs... Fast but what really bothers me is the wear factor... Data is just too precious to me, I have backups of backups I guess I'd have to look into it a bit more

 

I have not that experience with SSDs and of course they do fail. However, I have had already a broken hard disk, SMART didn't show anything, but part of the data was lost. So you cannot be sure. Backups are the only solution.

And as I understand it the wear level is only for writing data, reading should be no problem at all.

So far, just checked my SSD, almost 10.000 GByte written, still shows no wear level. Hope this does not change too soon...

 

And, with W7 64, I can recommend to get as much RAM as possible because W7 caches a lot (I think it uses all space possible). So, it may not be necessary for all, but if you handle big files a lot you notice.

 

Thank You. Voltage is exactly the same so im buying this stuff and hope it works

Please explain me what You mean by replace screen point / cable issue. I must buy new screen cable to fix this?

thanks, it will cost me about 25$

 

I meant in my case replacing the screen fixed all my issues. Bad cables can also cause this.

You must be in the US. .. That's what it costs just for shipping from the US to Canada and that's the cheapest rate :-(



Sent from my Note 2 - Text mostly by Google Voice, May Contain Weirdness ;-)

 

I was just thinking about your SMART issue - what HDD monitoring software do you use? You DO use HDD monitoring software, don't you? I have been using Hard Disk Sentinel ever since the HDD in my Toshiba gave me a scare 6 years ago - it turned out to be nothing but a corrupted sector which I was able to salvage using spinrite (it took TWO DAYS for the utility to actually read and repolarize the defective zone on the hard disk, but it was well worth it!)

On my 8730W, the disk is down to 75% health, mostly because of Spin Retry. I have also had the first sector reallocation happen a few weeks ago so I assume I will have to look into using spinrite on it (if I can - I'm not sure it works on SATA drives). Kind of normal after 557 days power on time... HDDs don't last much longer than 3 years without errors creeping up anyway... Comparatively my circa 2000 80GB HD in the old Windows 98SE desktoop I still keep still runs without issues and the old hard drive in my mother's windows 3.1 machine lasted more than 15 years!!!

 

Hey Folks,

So I was wondering if any of you has ever considered comparing usage between the HP TouchStyk and the IBM Trackpoint...

Why, do you say? After years using just a touchpad after having had one of the very first IBM Thinkpads with its wonderful Trackpoint, I eventually got used to the touchpad after several years being forced to use one, almost at the same time I finally got my 8730w, which I got precisely because it had a pointing stick (besides the Dreamcolor screen)!

But you know what? After trying it on the HP, I've been mostly disappointed with its performance and after spending quite a lot of time calibrating the pointer acceleration curves in the registry and getting good performance with the touchpad, I still can't get the pointing stick to respond in a fast an effeicient manner like I was able to do on the old Thinkpad!

So my question is to those who have had both types of laptop: could you care to comment? I have installed the same nib on my HP (the original gitty surface eraserhead), if that makes any difference, so we can move on from the nib itself into true pointer behaviour.

Is it just me, or is the HP TouchStyk sluggish to start and to stop? It always seems I need a good push to get it going, and that it tends to overshoot its destination. I don't recall this behaviour when I had the Thinkpad. Does anyone know of a hack to force a kind of reverse inertia on this device as we can with the Trackpoint?

 

I never use the pointing stick but moving and acceleration works quite nice (just playing with it). Not much to adjust in the control panel (only sensitivity). And mine does not need much push and it stops immediately, BTW. Do you use v17.0.19 of the driver software?

 

I had problems waking from hibernation, so it started with my hard disk fail. Then strange error messages from Windows XP

Checking SMART of course but it was still all fine, I guess it was a level beyond SMART. It was a Seagate (IDE) which failed, still within 5 year warranty, so I got a refurbished one.

What bothers me with one of my newer disks (Samsung) are these recalibration retries (no spin retries) which are already increased once a month. But I hope these means nothing...

 

15.0.24... I can't understand how it could have escaped me... Perhaps a problem I experienced with the latest driver, come to think of it... Will try the latest driver, thanks for reminding me!

Hey, looked at the driver page and it lists my driver version as the latest, where did you get yours???

Never mind, found the direct link on Google. Will check back after installing it later. Thanks, Man!

 

How did you get Seagate to return you a disk beyond HP's 3 year warranty?

As for the Retry Spin count... I've had had 8 so far since I first got the computer in March 2010... It already had 3 in its 8 month life, got nothing until the next year then 3 in a row then noting again for 2 years... I'm not too worried about these. The bad sector (which could be read BTW) is the first defect in its life as I am pretty much working at the disk's maximum capacity (basically 297GB used out of 300), so I'm not tha worried. A consistent increase in problems would be much more troublesome.

Oddly, the HDD in my Toshiba shows no errors after I've treated it with SpinRite several years ago. And it's now 7 years old and was used constantly for many years... Amazing...

 

Well, the 17.xx driver won't install. Does any one have a direct link to a version that works on 32 bit that won't alert all my security systems and will actually install?

I rechecked with the HP site, and it lists my driver as the latest, and the Synaptics driver 17.x simply won't install

 

I downloaded it here (I think)

Drivers | Synaptics


My Seagate was an upgrade, so no OEM, I got the full 5 year warranty. However, Seagate has not any longer such long warranty, I guess, they are not that confident any longer

 

Hmmm.... Same place I got mine...


Sent from my Note 2 - Text mostly by Google Voice, May Contain Weirdness ;-)

 

When I had my 8510w, I also used rubber tip from a Thinkpad. I was under impression that (at least back then) the Synaptics hardware was pretty much same and difference came from the software: middle click/scroll for Lenovo while HP stick would be 1st mouse button when tapped. This was purely driver thing, since in Linux they could be configured as used wanted.

Kingdom for a generic driver!

Anyways I usually use touchpad. I never seem to get stick working just quite right for me, not in my current 8560w nor my employer provided t410. Yet I wouldn't want laptop without one because there are times when it's easier to use.

 

Funny you should mention the T410, as I have a T510 for a week or so to setup for my mother and I find its Trackpoint much easier to use than the Touchstyk from the HP.

That being said, I believe we could be comparing apples to oranges there as the 8730w has 1920x1200 resolution, while the T510 has 1366x768, and this affects mouse speed. At this time I am running a special SmoothMouseXCurve and SmoothMouseYCurve acceleration curve for the pointer on the 8730w and it's improved pointer behaviour considerably, the problem is there is no separate speed setting for the touchstyk so when the touchpad is setup in the most efficient way, it's way too touchy for the Touchstyk, I'm at maximum Heavy Touch already and it still tends to overshoot and generally lacks precision when slowing down (too wobbly), whereas I can select things quite accurately using the touchpad.

On the T510, the Trackpoint seems much more effective and more direct. As you said, there are not many adjustments possible on windows mouse drivers.

 

So as I was trying to figure out whether I could improve the TouchStyk by replacing its nib with another one and the square peg that holds it in place came off with the nib, exposing the central brass shaft of the pointer. Removing the square peg I then realized there was a small crack in it, no wonder it came off so easily, it was loose against the TouchStyk shaft... No wonder I had such poor response from it!

And the cat hair under the keys... Unbelievable how much of it can hide there... After removing a few keys fighting with it I remembered I had a nice keyboard in the wreck and decided to replace it and as I was inside, decided I might as well clean the heat sink exhaust port... There was so much cat hair matted against the heat sink exhaust port it's a wonder the machine didn't overheat and it's no wonder it was sometimes so hot I could not stand having it on my lap ;-)

As I had the keyboard out I decided I might as well get rid of the the worn spot on the touchpad that had become so slick and grabby and try to get some texture back using some sandpaper (I had replaced the worn out mouse buttons earlier)... Wow, what an improvement, I got the glide back That and the tweaking I've been doing to the SmoothMouseXCurve and SmoothMouseYCurve Pointer Acceleration parameters in the registry has turned my touchpad use into pure joy in terms of speed and accuracy...

And the new keyboard? What a difference! After typing perhaps 4-6 million words or so on the old one and after checking how soft the rubber membrane domes had become especially those of the most commonly used keys, you can understand what a difference it is now Not only is it more responsive, but it's much smoother as well, I am almost enjoying typing now

Moral of the story: if your laptop is your main machine and you type a lot like I do... Do yourself a favour and get at least one spare keyboard and touchpad, because they are going to wear off faster that the rest of the computer will!!!