*HP ZBook 14 Owners Lounge*

i Just received my zbook 14, it looks great... but ....

it come with the 750gb harddisk, wich i replaced with a samsung 256ssd , i can boot from USB with windows 8 , but i can not install it !! , it say,s not compatible drive or controller
i already tried to set the bios to boot in Legacy mode , and AHCI , i also tried to remove the 32gb msata. but no luck

can someone post for me the good Bios settings, or say what i,m doing wrong !!!

 

I may have just missed it, but is there a way to change it so that the function and esc keys work as regular keys first and as the special keys when the fn is pressed and not the other way around? I am getting tired of accidentally hibernating my machine with F3 and having the ESC not work.

-Yeah, should have double checked again - it was in the bios. I've never seen such a confusing array of menus before.

 

Did you see this? :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/749863-zbook-windows-7-windows-8-a.html

 

So, on this subject, if the notebook comes shipped factory with 8.0 pro, do you have the same things to consider for an 8.1 upgrade? What about an SSD swap? I'm kind of curious, I have my zbook 14 now, I'm looking to do the SSD install and 8.1. Any considerations as to which to do first? Anything I need to worry about beforehand with the SSD?

Also, has anyone purchased the 60wh battery after buying the laptop? Just seeing if anyone has a recommended place to pick one up, as the add on battery would be very useful for travel.

I already added my second 8gb module. I may buy one more 8gb module to match my ballistic one just to have 2 matched vs 2 mismatched 8gb modules. I am contemplating an Msata drive as well. I also noted there are two small cables seemingly for a wan adapter right next to my wan adapter, wondering what these may be fore (3g/4g card that I don't have?)

All in all, the Core i5 4300u is proving plenty potent so far, just downloading apps, installing from dvd, and web surfing all simultaneously. Basically as much as I can do as fast as possible. Which is nice, to say the least.

Also, on the subject of the keyboard ergonomics issue, which is the main complaint I saw when researching this keyboard, other than the light tactile response, this keyboard is flawless. I'm more than pleased with it. Really, really well put together machine.

 

If you swap a HDD for a SSD, you can do a clean install of Win 8.0 on the SSD from the HP DVD (using an external DVD reader, or plug you SSD into a PC tower and do the installation until the first reboot (don't let Windows starts). You may need to put the 8.0 network drivers on an usb stick (WiFi and/or wired card).

You might want to swap to UEFI in the BIOS to get the fast boot, even if this doesn't lead to a major performance improvement during the boot process.

You will be able to do the 8.1 upgrade after some updates for 8.0, using Windows Store (should be displayed on the main page). Get the 8.1 drivers from the HP website. The DVDs seems to be clean versions with only the HP logo instead of the Windows one.

Be careful, this is a (half) M.2 slot, not a mSATA. Right now, they are still a bit hard to find, and there is not enough brands. Should be better at the end of this year.

Yes, the antennas are pre-cabled even if you don't have the 3/4G module.

 

Thanks for the tips. I re-read some of the articles last night on it and most applied to windows 7->8->8.1, and mine was factory 8, so It was a bit easier. Firstly, I did a factory backup on my external HDD, and transferred the factory recovery partition as well. Then, I swapped in my SSD, and booted from the external disk, all you have to do is hit ESC in the bios startup screen and select your boot device. Go to recovery --> reset, and you recover windows 8 that way. It brought back all my factory applications, but you will have to redo any you downloaded, and all your settings are back to default in windows.

Worked out like I hoped, very simply. UEFI, is this something I need for my SSD, or is it an option, or could you explain it a bit more? I'll check my bios to see if its selected.

I figured they were for the 3/4g card. I noted the M.2 drive size later on, but thanks for pointing this out, big difference. It looks like we need 42mm length, right? Since the blank SSD slot and blank 4g card slot are both the M.2 format, could you run 2 ssd's in these spots do you suppose? Not sure why you would, but it seems it could be done.

 

UEFI is optional, but it does improve the Windows 8 experience. You will get a faster bootup, and the bootup will be "native screen resolution" rather than a scaled lower resolution as it does without it. I think you need to choose if you are going to use it when you first install if you want it. The installer needs to find or create a special boot partition for it to work.

As far as the M.2 42mm SSD's go, there are only two options. The 120GB Intel SSD Pro 1500, which is only available directly from HP, or the MyDigitalSSD 128GB drive, which costs around $100. These drives are smaller in size than mSATA and we don't have any larger options for probably another year or so. I don't think these notebooks will boot a SSD in the 4G slot. I would suggest just getting a 1TB M500/M550/EVO and just using that as a single SSD drive.

Enjoy your new computer!

 

Hello It's Diego,
I'd like to know if the touch version of zbook 14 can be used also with a stylus or graphic pen. and if it has pressure sensivity
Thank you very much fon any answer and help.
Happy time everyone.
Diego

 

I just got my ZBook 14 and I'm very impressed with it. I travel a lot, spend time in hotels and installation sites and because of this I need power, portability, WWAN connections, good matte screen, keyboard light and good battery life. My previous laptop was Thinkpad W520 and I have been using mostly ThinkPad laptops since 90's. To be honest I have never really liked HP computers as they felt too "plastic" into my taste, but now some recent Lenovo made decisions with their ThinkPad product line have made me look another way.

Model that I ordered was the one with i7-4600U CPU, 1080p matte screen (non-touch), 256GB SSD, 16GB RAM and LTE/3G WWAN connections. I don't need touch screen, so I wasn't even considering those models which had it from various reasons. My unit came preloaded with Windows 7 and with BIOS 1.10 (which doesn't even seem to be available for download via HP). Also included was Windows 8 Pro license, installation media and driver disc. I didn't even finish installing Windows 7, but made a clean installation from Windows 8 Pro media using USB DVD and after installation I loaded only hardware enabling drivers (not any apps) from supplied driver disc. After I had Windows 8 up and running, I loaded all stuff from Windows update and then applied Windows 8.1 Pro update. After this I had Windows 8.1 Pro running with all drivers present, but there was some issues with graphics switching (AMD Catalyst crashing on every startup). So I re-installed Intel and AMD GPU drivers and Windows 8.1 Pro essential system updates. After this I had graphics switching working too. I uninstalled HP DriveGuard, as there is no use for it with SSD. Also I installed HP Client Security to get fingerprint detection working. There was some issues when installing HP Client Security, as installer crashed multiple times. After looking for a while I manager to find later version than what HP was listing on ZBook 14 download page and by installing that version I got rid of the problem that installer was crashing. I hope this information helps somebody else in the future. With the laptop I also ordered docking station, into which I will connect my existing HP ZR2740w 27" 2560x1440 display + other accessories when I get back to the office tomorrow.

When choosing ZBook I was comparing it to Lenovo ThinkPads W540, T440s and X1.Carbon. All current ThinkPads are supplied with their new pointing device, which doesn't have dedicated buttons anymore and whole touchpad surface works as a button. This wasn't into my liking as I really like dedicated buttons when using pointing stick, but also T440s doesn't have discrete graphics and it can only manage 12GB RAM. X1 Carbon only manages 8GB RAM, doesn't have discrete graphics, lacks proper function keys from the keyboard and doesn't even have SD card slot or real docking station that can handle 2560x1440 resolution display. W540 only had the problem with touchpad + pointing stick, but also weight and size were too big as I expect computers these days to be a bit slimmer. So I really felt that Lenovo had nothing to offer me this time. I do real work in critical environments, so I really want the tools for the job be well suited for it.

Only thing that I'm missing from my ZBook is the ability to use fingerprint reader as vertical scroll wheel. Does anybody have info how to enable it? Fingerprint sensor in ZBook is the same as latest generation ThinkPads and for example with X240 and X1 Carbon you can use it to scroll documents / web pages, so it definitely should be possible.

 

That would be awesome ! I hope someone figures it out, that would be great.

 

You might try this version of the driver software direct from Validity. If the scroll feature is something they added, it should be somewhere in the configuration software they include.

 

just jumped on the bandwagon. I have no Idea if has touch screen. but does any one have one and how well is it. I never bothered about it but I can see the pro for me. finger print marks aren't really a great concern as I have a kid that touches the screen to point at what he wants me to to click on but was keen on the idea of changing the screen. is it a full screen change including the lid or can I just change the inner display? I will hjave to reread this thread for any useful insights. also whats the actual difference between the zbook 14 and elitebook 840 with 8750m graphics. because its exactly same chassis and only thing I can see is the colour and the graphics are the same but ones firepro vs radeon (same card). so is the laptop worth paying say $300 more for a zbook vs an 840 with exact hardware?

thanks

 

ok got the laptop with 1080p. but how do I access 1366x768 and 1600x900 resolution? it just goes from 1920x1080 to 1280x1024 and 1024x768 and 800x600.
whats that all about? its nothing to do with it being a firepro card because my 8690m is like this too. how can I access all possible resolutions anybody?

 

I agree wholeheartedly!! I can't even figure out how to get it to work! Total bullsh*t. I feel like an idiot. Fn+PrtScr doesn't seem to work nor combos of Fn Alt PrtScr..... Working on a project for work and this is screwing me up in a big way. if anyone can clue me in I'd appreciate it.

Love the Zbook in many ways.....HATE it in many others - but that's a story for a different post. Need to get back to work.....

***EDIT - nevermind....Fn+PrtScr works fine w/ Paint....just not InfranView - which is bizarre, but at least I can get back to work****

 

Hey guys, I am thinking of the Zbook 14 as a potential portable workstation for me, but have a small question. I see that the CPU isn't exactly a workstation horse level, while the graphics card still is a pro card. Does anyone see any bottlenecking issues with the CPU?

Thanks!

 

I'm considering moving to one of these from a T530, mainly because the T530 is kind of heavy and the screen (FHD) isn't great. I use my T530 docked with three external monitors connected to the dock - two to the DVI outputs and one to the VGA. It appears the ZBook could do this via the '2013 HP UltraSlim Docking Station'. Has anyone tried the daisy-chaining displays via the DP outputs on this dock? Ideally, I'd like to connected 3 1920x1200 displays when docked - it would be nice to not have to plug anything directly into the ZBook (except for the dock).

 

Hopping over from the ZBook 15 Owners Lounge.. did anyone find a solution for this yet?

 

What exactly controls the fan speed? My laptop all of a sudden now has it's fan on way more than before and I can't figure it out. CPU and performance monitor using task manager are no different. I changed up some of the battery power saving modes but can't get it to be like before. Any ideas?

 

Has anyone had any luck finding SSDs for this weird slot they chose for the m2 / NGFF whatever slot ?

 

You can use this M.2 SSD
http://mydigitalssd.com/sata-m2-ngff-ssd.php

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

Hi guys,

I'm planning on purchasing a Zbook 14, but I will need to install the SSD myself. I was wondering if this will be difficult? I plan on buying a 2.5 inch Samsung Evo and replacing the mechanical drive with it.

After doing this, will I be able to simply boot up and install windows onto the SSD, or do I need to install windows onto the SSD before I install it?

I have never installed an SSD before so thanks for any help

 

Hi guys, I noticed something weird and I need some help from fellow owners. I got an LG panel and I noticed some temporary burn-in/ghosting on it.


Can people with LG and AUO panels check this out:

Retina MBP (rMBP) image-retention test


You don't need to wait 10 minutes like it says, just have it on checkerboard for 1 minute and then switch to grey, do you see the squares persist?

The GPU maybe? I did find an app which lets you manually control the fan called notebookfancontrol. But if the laptop is running the fan at a certain speed it probably knows best. See if your GPU is being utilized.

The manual installation is pretty simple, as far as installing windows I never tried from scratch, but I did re-install windows from scratch and it was simple enough. I used an external DVD drive to do it.

 

Installing the SSD will be easy, as this laptop is made to have all its components very accessible.

About Windows, three way to do it:

• Fastest: Use a USB stick where the installer is located. But beware that this method does not always work because it might fail on the disk format window (buggy installer from Microsoft which is sometime disturbed when another partition is writable on a stick...)
• Slower/Easiest: Use a portable USB DVD-reader to install Windows. Always works. You can turn on UEFI in BIOS before installing Windows if you want the stuff related to the fastboot (even if you won't gain too much on wake ups)
• Intermediate: Could be useful if you don't have an USB DVD-reader. Plug the SSD alone in a computer which have a DVD reader. Start the installation, but shutdown the computer on the first reboot. Take back the SSD and put it in the laptop. If your computer have UEFI turned on, you will have to do the same on your laptop

 

Did you made the test at max screen luminosity?

 

Yes, it is on max screen luminosity.

 

I did this exact thing, But the easiest way is to copy your hard drive using the SSD manufacturers software to backup / image / copy your hard drive over. Much easier than installing windows from scratch! You will need a usb to SATA adapter which is a good thing to always have around. then after copying turn the machine off and install new SSD.

 

[Clonezilla is a wonderful tool. I think nowadays everyone should own a 2.5" SATA USB enclosure.

 

I bought this laptop a couple weeks ago and loving it. I bought the model with the 750 GB hard drive because their SSD options were overpriced. Does anyone know if the M.2 slot is PCI-Express based or SATA based?

 

Hello everyone,

I am considering the HP Zbook 14 for the following: (After Effects CC, other Adobe CC programs, Sony Vegas Pro, and Fraps Recording Software) as well as ultra-portability (college student).

However, like many, I have a few questions:

1. Is the fan loud? Anything other than a silent-quiet fan is a deal breaker.
2. How is build quality, in other words, can it last 5+ years under daily use?
3. Can it run Adobe CC programs like After Effects?
4. Can it be upgraded? If so, please help me out here - I'm planning to get the cheapest model (due to a tight budget) and upgrading it to something with more storage and SSD. (links would be appreciated)
5. Can it handle light gaming?

Extra brownie points to the person that helps me!

 

Can't help with the fan, as that's subjective . What I would suggest with what you're planning on running is to not go bottom end on the processor and graphics card; I would suggest the I7-4700 , and the K2100M at a minimum for the graphics options . The build quality is very sturdy and solid . Upgrading for the 14 would probably require losing the optical drive; I'm not familiar with the possibility of an extra M- factor SSD for the 14" . With the K3100M graphics , the benchmarks score OK ( equivalent to a mid-level gaming card) on Heaven and very good/excellent on Cinebench ..

 

I don't think the k2100m is offered for the Zbook 14.

 

IMHO, if you're going to be running After Effects, Vegas Pro, etc , you should be looking at a minimum of 2 G of Video/ Graphics Memory .. You're correct in the options available for the 14 ..you might need to consider the 15 for what you want to do . I'm not sure of the thermals on the 14 w/ respect to long rendering processes that could run petal to the metal for hours, either ..

 

Thank you for the help!

I have decided to go with this option...it's roughly $1,700, not as portable, but definitely more powerful and cost effective. The same option would be $400-500 more if I went with HP.

the Sager NP8268-S (Clevo P150SM-A)

Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial
4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4810MQ (2.8GHz - 3.8GHz, 6MB)
NVIDIA® Quadro™ K1100M (2.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11
16GB DDR3 1600MHz [2x8GB] Dual Channel Memory
1TB 7200RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s]
120GB Crucial M5 mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1202 + Bluetooth 4.0
Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)

 

I'm currently looking at few different notebooks (HP ZB 14, lenovo T440s) but need since clarification on the display.

It appears they both use either the AUO123D (B140HAN01.2) and also sometimes the lesser LG panel (LGD040A).

Notebook check reviews the AUO panel on the T440s and the Elitebook 1040 G1 and says that they cover the sRGB >97% and 81% respectively. (The ZB 14 review is of the. Lg panel and around 80% coverage)

Also a review on a different site of the 840G1 with AUO panel that was linked earlier in this thread says it had 97% sRGB coverage.

What I dont quite understand is, if these are the same panels, why such a significant difference?

Is it:
-sample variation
-calibration (does calibrating a screen even change the % covered?)
-did they actually have an LG panel in the 1040 G1
-or something else (perhaps different hardware)

Sorry if this is a rather simple explanation that I've missed, but I can't find any reviews of the ZB 14 that state the sRGB coverage for the AUO.

 

Hi everybody,

A few weeks ago, HP announced Zbook 15 and 17 G2. Has someone some informations about the next Zbook 14 ? Specifications ? Release date ?

Another question, can someone tell me if it possible to use 4 screens under Linux (with the docking station) ? Hp reclaims that it work, but what about the support under Linux ? I am afraid that the 4 screens support of the Zbook 14 are supported by the use of the two internals GPU, which seems to be a big problem to configure under Linux.

Many thanks for your details,

Regards

 

I have my zbook set up using 2 extra monitors, along with the laptop screen via the docking station. Sometimes when waking the laptop up after it goes to sleep, the dual monitors dont work correctly. symptoms are:

-one of the screens constantly flickering.
-little horizontal lines appearing and dissappearing
-windows not rendering correctly, with app taskbars getting mixed up and confused ( big issue with browsers that have a few tabs open).


Any ideas?

 

I don't have the docking station, but if this works before putting the laptop into sleep, then it's probably a driver issue.

I already seen other cases where waking up triggers a BSoD and reboot. But that's again a driver issue (works under Linux...)

 

guys i need a urgent info,i have been offered to buy a hp zbook 14 with

i7 4600u
8gb ram
HDD 1: 500GB HDD
HDD 2: 120GB SSD
AMD FirePro M4100

only info i need it is it 1600x900 or is it ips fhd screen,laptop is not activated there is no box so i cant read info there,i have a serial number,product id and pcid but hp site doeset help me at all with the specs of the notebook only warranty i can see
so if anyone know how i can check the screen resolution please share

Nvm i found it in parts replacement,its fhd for 700euros brand new )

 

I have a docking station and with all the latest drivers my external monitor is blank when it resumes from sleep about 1/3 of the time. It's a known problem and the latest drivers and bios all claim to have a fix but it doesn't fix the problem for me. I can usually (not always) use the fn-F4 button a few times to cycle back to the main screen then back to the external monitor. Would love to find a fix.

 

Have you contacted hp support? I did that on my last reawaken from sleep issue and they solved it pretty quickly. I believe updating the bios was the trick, it was either that or drivers. Best bet is to either run the HP utility to check for driver updates, or go to their support website and look for newer drivers for your machine.

Cheers,

Nick

 

Hi,

I have a issue regarding the dedicated VGA card.


- can't seem to be able to switch to the ATI card. This means the intel via card is being used. underperforming the notebook.
- First the screen did not want to go to 4K and would stay at WQHD.
- login screen will be shown for 50% the rest remains black.

Drivers
- Installing the monitor driver is done based on the intel VGA chip. Monitor

Hardware
- Samsung U32D970Q.

HP Support.
Called to HP about it, but they state that they can only test this in there lab as this is not HP Hardware, meaning i will have to let HP pick up my notebook and Screen. Playing 4K video on youtube is painfull to watch.

Question
Anybody else have this, and hopefully have a solution.

 

Hi,

Do you use the provided ATI driver from HP or the one from AMD?

The driver should switch automatically to the ATI card depending on the load, but playing 4k videos may not trigger it. Not sure if you can force it.

If the issue come from the fact that you need a driver to use the 4k display, maybe you can try to contact Samsung. I don't know if with this panel they still trick the system using two channels to get up to 4k, but if this is the case, it doesn't really surprise me that it tends to fail on notebooks with dual GPUs...

 

Hello Zbook 14 experts,

Question, does the 2nd firepro graphics card reduce the usable battery life of the Zbook 14?

How exactly does the switchable graphics mechanism work?

 

Hi, just got the Zbook 14.

I want to replace the 500 GB HDD with an SSD, but not sure about the requirement of physical for the SSD? (I just know it's 2.5', but not sure about whether it's 7mm or 9mm). Can someone instruct me on this?

By the way, I would also like to ask whether special attention (like SSD aligning?) needs to be paid during the copy process if there is only data on the HDD and no operating system.

 

Get yourself this:
MyDigitalSSD Super Boot Drive 42mm SATA III (6G) M.2 2242 NGFF SSD (64GB (60GB)):Amazon:Computers & Accessories

Then you can still use the 500gb for your data.

 

The machine came with a 120 GB M2 SSD. What i want is to replace the HDD with SSD. So, can you give some advice in terms of that?

 

Forget old tech like the pokey 840 Pro. Consider either the Samsung 850 Pro or the SanDisk Extreme Pro, both available at ~1TB capacities.

 

Most SSD nowadays are 7mm and this fit perfectly with the HP ZBook 14.

 

SSD aligning can improve read and write speeds drastically as well as extend the life of your SSD. If you format your HDD using partition tools such as MiniTool Partition Wizard, you will not have a problem with SSD Alignment.

 

What about Crucial MX100?

I checked amazon.de and Samsung 850 Pro 500GB is 337 euro while MX100 at the same space is 187 euro, which is 55% of the previous.

I think the Crucial MX100 has a higher performance/price ratio. Moreover, I need to upgrade the RAM as well. It would be good to save a few bucks for the RAM.
SAMSUNG 8GB 204 pin DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM - Apple ID: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör
By the way, I found that there is no 1TB option for MX100. But I did find 1TB option for Crucial MX550. So, what about MX550?