The HP ProBook 5310m Owners' Club

Okay, so I have a bunch of tidbit information so I'll make several posts to try and keep it organized?

First in reply to Charles: yeah, the front corners (where they meet the palmrest) are slightly misaligned. On the replacement machine the left corner makes a slight "ledge" over the palmrest while the right side is the opposite with the palmrest corner extending out a bit. I can rest my finger nail on the right side that sticks out. On my old machine it was the opposite with the hanging ledge on the right side.

The differences from my replacement machine to the original (I have attached pictures):

For some reason the "Energy Star" sticker is on the lid instead of palmrest. There is also a plastic protective cover over the entire back hinge.

On the palmrest I have a "Core 2 Duo" sticker instead of "Centrino". From opening up the laptop I know I have an Intel CPU and Wireless, but I'm not sure about the chipset although I don't see why it wouldn't be intel. Also just because I'm OCD I noticed that my stickers on the palmrest were placed on sloppily and misaligned.

Cosmetically that's about it. Someone mentioned the bezel on the bottom of the screen sticking out. On my old unit it did that, on the replacement it barely does.

Now, internally everything seems to be the same except that the new unit has Micron memory instead of Samsung. Also the HDD is Toshiba instead of Seagate. Anyone think one is better than the other? Noise-wise they seem to be similar enough.

I've also discovered what HP's spacebar fix was. I will post it in the following post. Also there was a long black hair stuck to the sticker of my Micron memory. It kind of freaked me out when I pulled the RAM out.

 

Spacebar fix

So for those still needing a spacebar fix. NOTE: you will need a Torx screwdriver (the star shaped one) for this, and also if you plan on removing your keyboard. You'll need a size T8 Torx screwdriver. I picked up a bit for my typical universal screwdriver handle at Ace for 2 bucks.

Flip the laptop over and remove the accessory cover (two screws, then slide the cover out, then lift off). Now look at the Torx screw (black) that is just to the left of your RAM. Basically right next to where the middle screw on your accessory cover would screw into.

All you have to do to fix the spacebar is remove that screw. That's what HP did, and they just put a piece of sticky pastic over the screw hole to cover it. It seems the reason this works is probably because that is one of the screws that holds the keyboard to the bottom chasis. So it probably pulls on the keyboard making the spacebar contact less sensitive or something. Either way I tested it and it works. Screw in: spacebar is bad, screw out: all good.

 

Okay, I will post the keyboard how-to tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime here are links to the service manual (someone else posted this earlier in the thread). Also here is a video that HP kindly provided of how to remove the keyboard. There is also videos of other maintenance if you click on the left of the page. I will tell you popping out the keyboard is not as easy as the video makes it seem (if you don't want to break anything).


Service manual:
http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01888801/c01888801.pdf

Video of keyboard removal:
http://h20464.www2.hp.com/resultsCS...356&MEID=BAFF5CC4-7685-4C14-9E6C-FC7073194EFB

I have a very IMPORTANT question for everyone:
Does anyone know how to remove a broken screw?? When putting my laptop back together one of the Torx screw heads broke off, leaving the threaded screw part still screwed in. I guess it was really cheaply made and I might have tried tightening it too much. The screwhole I'm taking about is the one right next to the HDD in the left corner (if the laptop is flipped over and accessory cover removed). The screw is still sticking out a bit but since it's in a recessed hole I can't easily get a grip on it.

Anyone know a way of getting it out besides trying to cut a slot into the screw? Is there some kind of puddy or something I could put in that will harden around it so I can twist it out?

It's not a big deal if I never plan on removing the palmrest/trackpad or never want to get to the motherboard again. But yeah, I would like it out. Thanks guys!

 

So you wasted your time and had to educate them on what a battery means in the context of a laptop - don't you just love sale reps...not!

Very interested to see how the new 6-cell will look for the 5310m given the new battery style for this laptop. Would it be like the 12 cells for the Elitebook series?

 

They have some kits at Lowes or Home Depot that are for removing broken screws, although I don't know if they have any applications for small screws. Worth a shot though.

Frys might have one as well.

 

I stripped the head of a screw in my Thinkpad about a year and a half ago, and looked for solutions to remove it. Since mine was near circuitry, I didn't try any sort of putty, but I can tell you the screw-removing drill bits are all far to big.

I ended up finding a privately owned computer repair shop in town and giving it to them and they pulled it out -- I don't know how.

 

I finally sold the piece of crap this morning and I ordered my probook last night with 2day air express shipping!! The total came out to $825 including the expedited shipping, and I'm about to order a 128gb SSD for $250 putting my grand total at $1075! I'll post links to where I bought them upon request

 

Behold! The much longed for USB laptop battery enters the market!

 

Any news on the dimensions/battery life?

 

I've emailed the Swedish branch of HP. Monday will be an interesting day..

As for battery life.. the six-cell has 51% higher capacity. Assuming all other properties are equal - internal resistance, tolerance to heat, and so on - those five hours should be stretched to 7½ hours. In theory.

 

Could anyone help me figure out how to set up a power-on/pre-boot password for the 5310m? In the review of the computer on Cnet this is one of the features but I can't seem to find a setting for it in the bios.

Perhaps it's only available with some of the bundled HP software? I've uninstalled most of it.

 

HP claim in an email reply that a decision has not been made to bring the 6-cell onto the European market but that it might become available during 2010.

 

That's quite weird for them to say but in any event it would be good to know what this 6 cell looks like

 

The first reply I received stated that the 5310m will not ship with a six cell battery - full stop. I suspect theDan8 might be right in that information does not seem to trickle out to customers as it should at HP..

 

EDIT: NVM I got it installed.

Is anyone else having this weird glitch with the screen brightness adjustment? Everytime I hit the short key to dim thescreen (fn+f7) the calculator pops up... kinda weird

 

That means you may have uninstalled or disabled hp quick launch buttons.

 

Is there solution for this that doesnt require a cd drive? Does HP have the software available for download somewhere on their site? Oh and just for clarification the screen DOES dim when i hit fn+f7, its just that a calculator window will also pop up.

 

I received my 5310m with 6-cell battery last night. Basically, there is a small, half-cylinder protrusion from the bottom of the back half of the battery, so it's a similar effect to many wedge batteries. It actually creates a nice angle for typing, but certainly impacts the dimensions of the laptop.

I also received my SSD from NewEgg on the same day, but they sent me a 1.8" instead of 2.5" drive ::sigh::

 

Picture, picture, picture. ( sorry ;-) ).

Could you please make a picture so every one can see the dimensions of the battery.

 

If your laptop came preinstalled with Win 7, then the HP software and drivers 'application' should be on the computer (look for it in the start menu). From there you just find select the HP Quick Launch Buttons and install. If you upgraded from XP to win7, you can just download it from the HP website.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...Id=4021356&swLang=13&taskId=135&swEnvOID=4053

This will rid the calculator from poping up.

 

I too would like to see a picture very much if you would supply one!

Sorry about that SSD; Newegg's usually pretty nice about returning/replacing things though, at least in my experience.

 

I'll post a picture this evening. Based on the reviews of the X-25M on newegg, it sounds like I wasn't the only one who was sent the wrong drive in the last few days.

 

Thanks man I appreciate it

 

Here are 6-cell battery photos

 

thanks for the pictures!!

unfortunately whatever battery improvement it gets isn't worth the hump for me

 

I wonder how much extra weight it will add.

 

Just buy a second 4 cell, the 4 cell is incredibly thin you have to admit. Sticking that in my backpack would be no problem for me.

 

My admittedly low-precision measurement indicates that it's about .35 lb (.16kg) of additional weight. I had ordered it with a spare 4-cell battery as well, which I think I will use most of the time. That said, a combined battery life approaching 10 hours is attractive considering that the extra cost at config is not too much ($20 extra, + spare 4-cell).

The other potential benefit to the 6-cell is that it creates an improved keyboard angle, which I think would be nice if you had work at the computer for a prolonged period of time.

That said, the 5310m definitely loses some sleekness with the 6-cell.

 

Thanks for the pics! Good thing to know it's not a mythical item anymore (not that I didn't trust you when you told us you bought it), though I don't think I could justify spending $129 on a spare 4-cell, much less even more for a 6-cell. Had it been a $20 option when I ordered my laptop, I probably would have sprung for it... oh well. I can't complain about the 4-cell battery life!

 

very interesting 6 cell.

Is it stable when pressing on the left side of the laptop? I presume only when you do this intentionally rather than normal operation?

 

Yeah, the battery stand, so to speak, is pretty well centered, and wide enough that there aren't any stability problems. One would have to push really hard on one of the top corners to get it to tilt on its stand.

 

Fan noise - again

I have a 5310m and love it except for the fan noise. As far as I can tell the fan is always on (i've changed the bias so it should not be always on when charging).

Is there anything I can do? I'd be grateful for any advice.

 

i returned it to hp and asked for a new one

 

I followed the undervolting guide here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

with great results. Now I have way, way less heat, hardly any fan noise and although I havent tested properly, anecdotally it seems like longer battery (4-5 hrs every time).

 

I have to agree unfortuantly. Fan noise is starting to bug me a bit again. I was seriously considering unvolting myself, but its not really something I want to attempt with a new laptop especially since I've never underclocked or overclocked before, but now I'm reconsidering it.

My temp solution was to install ubuntu and see if that fixed the issue to some degree. Orginally I wasnt planning to dual boot my 5310m but when I noticed that when using Quickboot(linux), the fan and harddrive(?) would completely shutoff from time to time. NO sound. So far I find that ubuntu is alittle quieter but I'm have some difficulties.

My sound works thanks to a tip from a post in this thread but the quality is awful(but loud). This is disppointing because I actually find the sound quality in windows very good (but tiny) using IDT and winamp.

The other issue seems to be the graphics driver but Im really not sure. In windows I can run a bunch of videos at the same time with no lag or stutters. In ubuntu, I'm better off only running 1 video at a time. note: Im also tried flash 10.1, and the results were the same.

Anyone have any tips?

 

Could it be the hard drive that you are hearing? I remember reading that Charles replaced his Seagate hard drive for the Hitachi 7K500 and it was noticeable quieter.

 

Hi guys, debating between the ul30vt and the 5310m and i have a couple question for you guys.

1. In case I upgrade the ram to 4 gb, would HP or microsoft send me a 64-bit version of win 7 or would I have to go out a buy a 64-bit version?

2. I'm not a gamer by any means but I read some comments about how the 5310 would get pretty hot running starcraft--this kinda worries me since I don't consider starcraft as being a demanding program. Even worse, if I were to play a game I would play warcraft 3 which I'm not sure the probook could handle.

3. Finally--just to make things extra clear--the 5310 displayport can output audio through a displayport--hdmi cable/adapter right? I read conflicting stories where it would work for some but not others.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

Anyone know if you can use the hotkeys on the right side of the 5310m for starting other applications than the default browser and default email client?

Best case scenario it would let me toggle bluetooth, wifi and wwan independently. Is this possible with any of the HP software?

 

In my search for an undervolting guide, I came across this which may interest some of you (possibly already mentioned in this thread, but just in case)...

Using the CyrstalCPUID program, and about as simple as checking and unchecking a couple of boxes, battery life on my 5310m appears to have increased by about 1-2 hours.

Im a little baffled by it all, and although I wasn't carefully be looking at the battery life, Ive been using my laptop most of yesterday and today without recharging. I have the su2300, and although there is no real speedstep on the processor (you cant downclock in anyway but it has a low and high frequency according the intel), somehow the CyrstalCPUID makes the cpu use frequencies as low as 120mhz when idling or wordprocesing/light browsing.
I started with a battery life of around 4.5hrs with an 80% charge, but a couple minutes after running the program, battery life went up to 6hrs 15min. Now if your watching alot of videos, and load heavy process, you probably wont see much difference in battery life.

One downside is the battery life times qouted become a little wonky because of the different frequency jumps, but the % changes seem consistent. So for those interested, check the link.
note: you should also download the patch so that CyrstalCPUID loads up automatically on starts and from sleep.

http://scottiestech.info/2010/02/05...laptops-battery-life-a-lot-with-crystalcpuid/

last note: Performance has not changed at all for me. Excatly like before.

 

It could be - the Seagate 7200.4 hard drives have a high ambient noise level, which I finally had enough of and got rid of it for a Hitachi 7K500. I have found the performance difference between the 7K500 and the 7200.4 to be unnoticeable (less than 10%) but the noise difference is significant.

2. The 5310m can handle a full load for extended periods but for best results, get a cooling pad like the Zalman NC-1000.

3. Members have verified the 5310m's DisplayPort can output audio, however we have had mixed results. I have yet to be able to get audio to pass through using my HDMI adapter.

Most interesting - I will need to try this! The C2D does have SpeedStep though it still does not match the battery life of the Celeron-equipped model.

What boxes did you uncheck, by any chance?
--------
In other news, I bought this DisplayPort -> VGA adapter:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042801&p_id=5135&seq=1&format=2
I went to use it the other day with a projector and it didn't work.

 

Yeah, I'm still searching for a better solution to the sound problem. Only one of the mic's work, and sound from the speakers is less than ideal (though I wouldn't say awful). If you're having trouble, in Jaunty they allowed individual control of Master, PCM, headphones, and speakers, but took the GUI out of Karmic. To get into these settings, go to terminal and type "alsamixer" and you should get a semi-graphical interface. Bumping down the PCM should increase sound quality while decreasing maximum volume. Try messing with those controls and see if you can improve the sound quality.

As far as Flash goes, I think it's just that Flash in general is TERRIBLE in Ubuntu. I usually stick with one video at a time, though I seem to be able to load a couple and play one without any hiccups. Playing more than one at a time starts giving me some trouble though. Just for reference, I believe I'm using an official Adobe Flash plugin straight from the default repositories.

1) I don't think they would send you 64-bit Windows, but I could be totally wrong. I would call or shoot them an email (I don't know how effective either of those are though...) and ask directly.

2) I was the one who said it got hot running SC; while I stand by that comment, I don't think it gets hot enough to really be a concern as far as damaging the computer. I think the comment mostly speaks from my experience with a ThinkPad, which rarely got any hotter than warm to the touch. I have played Heroes of Newerth a couple times (based on WC3) and while it gets warm or hot, it hasn't been a concern to me. I just wouldn't put it on my lap while I play or anything like that.

3) I can confirm that the DisplayPort on my machine does indeed output audio. I've gotten audio on my TV using the following cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024607&p_id=6011&seq=1&format=2

It's a nice cheap cable, definitely cheaper than an adapter-HDMI cable combination. I'm not sure why Charles' doesn't work?

 

1) Go to File/Customize, select 'No Load (QTC + MMT) for change system clock' in the real time section. Uncheck the 'Top Most' box. Close the window.
2)Under Function Menu, select Multiplier Mangement. Done.
3)To see if it worked, in the Function Menu, select REal time clock. At first you should see your normal cpu freq., wait 5-10 secs and it should change to some real low freq.
4) If that worked, wait a few minutes in a idle state and check if your estimated battery life jumps.
5) Download the patch on from the link and follow the readme file to get CyrstalCPUID to auto load in startups and wakeups.

note: If it didnt work, try selecting the 'With Load for change multiplier' in the customize section.
Good luck

Thanks for the tip chaosrl. I forgot about Alsa-Mixer, which does help sound quality sometimes from what I remember. Ill try it out.

 

No problem. I actually had to look up if it was still in Karmic; I hadn't messed with it and I think it improved my own sound quality as well.

 

Have a quick question. I have seen some comment on the HD's being loud in the 5130m - but has anyone experienced odd "screeching" sounds from the drive? Every-once-in-awhile, mine seems to do this - to me, sounds like I have a drive that is about to fail. Any thoughts? Occasionally, I also hear the drive spinning - but it sounds as if it is warped (like an old record - yes, i am dating myself).

Known issue or just a bad drive?

 

Bad drive I think. I have no scratching sounds, just a constant fan like sound.

 

For those of you who have put Ubuntu on your machines, did you wipe your drives, or do you dualboot? I understand you lose the Quickweb function without Windows installed, right?

 

Dual boot for me. There are some programs I need to have for classes that requires it, and sometimes Linux programs just don't cut it. My QuickWeb/QuickLaunch functions are fully intact.

 

if you wipe windows i dont see how quickweb could work. You could try dualbooting with XPud if you want a similar experience to quickweb (supposedly 10sec boots).

http://xpud.org/

 

FYI - HP today updated its ProBook line with Core i3/i5/i7 CPUs, but there was no upgrade for the 5310m:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5553

I do not expect an upgrade for a 5310m anytime in the near future; the 5310m is based on the Intel CULV platform, which is totally separate from other Intel platforms. One of the biggest advantages of the CULV platform is its low cost - it is the reason we see legitimate ultraportable notebooks for less than $1,000 (the ultraportable market used to be $1,500+). So, it will be some time before the CULV platform is updated with newer Intel Arrandale chips (i3/i5/i7).