[Drivers] HP dv6-2XXX / dv7-3XXX / dv8 / HDX16 / HDX18 (INTEL)

Ouch! ... Condolences!


My v5.1 is working fine so I never even considered installing the v6.5 from a different company (Egis not Digital Persona). I'm sure glad I stay away from such things unless there's clearly a benefit I can confirm before I go to the effort.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Yep, no problem! (I don't know about Java though as I haven't paid any attention to it)

I installed 64-bit Minefield last November and the 64-bit Flash almost immediately. 32-bit FF with Flash was working fine beforehand and still works great! They seem to coexist and share the bookmarks and saved tabs. Love them both! I just use the 32-bit for secure sites for the convenience of using the DP fingerprint reader add-on for logins etc. I use the 64-bit (Minefield and Chrome) for web surfing where speed is more important than security.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Strange, I've never had such issue when updating BT driver ontop of existing driver. Though Broadcom driver installation always gives me the creeps It once rendered my system unbootable.

I have thought about upgrading my laptop with 4 GB DDR3 and SSD drive. Any suggestions for SSD drive? What brands - models to avoid? Would it be a good idea to do a clean Windows install on new drive? My computer still feels fast and snappy after year of use.

 

You should be able to ghost your C drive over to your SSD, then pop the SSD in the place of the C and reboot.

Just get an SSD that has "trim" enabled and/or abilities.

 

With tools like BIOS Backup ToolKit V2.0.

 

Here you go: http://rapidshare.com/files/448283760/Hewlett-Packard-F.34.rom

Mark

 

Couldn't get the bluetooth driver to install on my system. It would get about 90% of the way done and then generate an error message and roll back the install.

Will try to uninstall prior version first.

 

I would recommend the Samsung PM800 256gb SSD. I have used mine for nearly a year with great satisfaction. It tripled the speed of starting up and loading programs on the DV8...

Definitely don't go to the trouble of a clean install!!! Nothing but grief to be gained by that.

I agree with Alan's recommendation of Ghost (I use the v.11.5 that is on the free Hirens BootCD) but there are a couple of other issues that always come up that require further thought and planning.

One reason I chose the 256gb Samsung PM800 was because my DV8 came with two HDDs and I wanted to never use over half of the SSD space when I cloned the partitions from my primary HDD over to it. How much space is used on your primary HDD now?

You should compare that amount to 85% of the space on the 356gb SSD available after formatting. If it's larger than 230gb, you may need to move or "prune" some items from your HDD till it fits with some space to spare. Without making this post too large, I'll pause now and let you reply.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I advice a clean install to let Windows know it runs on a SSD. If you clone it with your current HDD take care of the alignment. After install/cloning do the recommended SSD tweaks.

 

Good point... I wonder if windows would automatically recognize the change and make the needed tweaks?... apparently not....
something I didn't think of!

 

Thanks , but could you please just do us one more favor by generating two reports with RW Everything so we can make sure that this BIOS is really compatible? (also this shows already if changes to certain areas have been made)

• One by using the menu "Access" → "SMBIOS Structures" → left tab "[BIOS Information] (Type 0)" → 2nd row toolbar button "Save (F2)" (no unique identifiers, ie. serial numbers or such are included by just saving the information in the "BIOS Information" tab)
• and the second report through "Access" → "ACPI Tables" → 2nd row toolbar button "Save all (Ctrl+F2)" (should be about the same for all HDX X16/X18 users, still just to play safe)

Let's see if this BIOS fixes the occasional GPU hick-ups and Linux power management issues I keep having.

 

Not necessary, Alan. Windows 7 is SSD aware in its ATA driver.

No need for a clean install. Just clone the old HDD drive to the SSD (after being sure its contents will fit) and you'd be all set.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Kikoo: Here you go, I'll delete these files shortly.

http://rapidshare.com/files/448754532/AcpiTbls.rw
http://rapidshare.com/files/448754537/SMBIOS.rw

 

Thanks, got them!

Had a quick look at them and now I am pretty certain that this image won't brick my HP, will flash and report once I find some time and feel like rebooting .
BTW, no change to the EC bios (controller for all that mostly Laptop-specific low-level stuff), but to an ACPI table that has to do with fan control and some other I am still figuring out to understand.

 

Good to know and makes sense that it should be so.
tweaking a few settings should not have to take a whole reinstall in a practical sense....
good news!

 

F.34 BIOS update successful!

Apparent changes from F.32:

• fixed some bug where the battery would be detected as the wrong type
• changed something in an area I don't quite understand (DMA Remapping Table), might have to do with hardware compatibility/blacklisting
• an additional "brightness control layer" has been added (different dimming for a certain monitor type?)

Certainly, no changes to

• GPU Bios
• EC Bios

I am not sure how to detect whether there was a microcode update.

There quite some room for things I might have missed.

 

Very interesting.

 

Always good, Alan, when that huge job is unnecessary and can be avoided.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Wow! you have a lot of cajones to do that update! So glad it all worked out for you! Hope you'll report back on any benefits from the upgrade that you see in operating your laptop.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Realtek PCI-E LAN driver 7.041.0216.2011 available from MSI.

http://download2.msi.com/files/downloads/dvr_exe/realtek_pcielan_7_mb.zip

 

I wonder whether HP will continue to issue occasional BIOS updates for the DV8 now that the DV8 has been "discontinued?"

 

I would doubt it since the DV8 has been largely successful and has no major issues that I think could be addressed in a BIOS. Do other current HP products use the same BIOS as the latest one for the DV8?

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Phil, if you don't mind me asking, what version of wifi driver are you using?.... thought I have nothing to lose to try an older driver.

While I'm sure some folks run the latest driver and don't have wifi issues, I"m willing to try an older driver for fun just to see what happens.

I just remember that originally I never had issues... somewhere along the line something changed.

Looks like the oldest posted here are "13.3.0.24", I"m going to try them.
It wouldn't be the first time, things got worse the more the drivers are updated!

 

Thanks guys for your suggestions. Good pointers there. I'm still undecided which way to go.

 

I certainly don't mind but I'm using my Thinkpad as I'm away from home and it's lightweight for when I need the PC on the road. I'll check when I get home and PM it to you.

You're preaching to my choir, now! :Biggrin:

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Humm.... for what its worth... I"m still good.
I hate to give a blow by blow account... I've done that before just to have it mess up again... but this driver certainly is more stable than the latest I was running.

It could be an issue with the firmware of the wifi card "if they have that" verses the driver.

My older card may work better with the older driver.

Seems they make drivers to meet the demands of new products, then drop the ball on keeping things compatible with the old and have little motivation to do so since there is no new money in old products.

 

Glad it's still behaving itself, Alan.

I agree that drivers are written for the needs of the current products. Unless I see a problem with current drivers, I advise against updating them for older hardware (of for demonstrated performance improvements). (But I'm sure you've heard that from me before )

Regards,
- - Phil

 

JMicron JMB38X Card Reader driver updated to version 1.00.57

ftp://driver.jmicron.com.tw/CardReader/Windows/JMB38X_WinDrv_R1.00.57_WHQL.zip

and JMicron JMB38X 1394 Filter driver to version 1.00.21

ftp://driver.jmicron.com.tw/1394/Windows/JMB38X_WinDrv_R1.00.21_WHQL.zip

 

Does it do anything new or better in our DV8 machines?

Regards,
- - Phil

 

If, in fact, you really want to know the answer, why don't you simply look at the change log instead of repeating this question when updates are posted at almost every opportunity. It gets tiresome. It's sufficient for most people that someone takes the trouble to post the update with a link, for yours and our convenience. Isn't that enough? Do you need them to spoon feed you the changelog as well? Or is there some other agenda here?

 

Common kids... beeee goood!

At one time it was indeed asked to please put a comment as to whether the update is worthy of risking new bugs when existing drivers may be working perfectly fine.

While the changelog can get very tedious, involved and bogged down with numerous updates thats far too troublesome to post separately, it is good to know if this is an update to do just for the sake of updating or if its worthy of the trouble and risks.

Its become obvious this request is not practical to fulfill else it would have been done.

I see two classes "if you will" of folks seeking to keep their systems running top notch.
1. Those who want the absolute latest and greatest drivers and are willing to risk new bugs for the benefit of fine tuned and tweaked settings that make the overall big picture better. They even get a thrill of being teased with death as those are the beta testers.
2. Those that appreciate a system that simply works without trouble and while better is always desirable, its not worth the risk when many updates do absolutely nothing for our particular system and their time is tied up using their computer for productive means rather than fixing it all the time.

I personally like both but can't have them.

I have discovered that updated drivers often are created to accommodate later firmware, and introductions of same hardware into newer machine configurations.

I personally have been pulling my hair out with this wifi thing and can't put my finger on whether its driver related or not.

One thing is for sure, we "must" be tolerate of each other or this wonderful thread that's like no other "will" be shut down.

If points are truly considered valid, they must be carried on thru PM's and if there is still no satisfaction, those PM's can be copied and pasted to a moderator that will look into it.
BUT they cannot be openly posted so as to expose, ridicule, or embarrass someone openly on the forum.

While in the interest of serving the public community, we can actually sabotage the very thing we are attempting to protect.

This is "Justins" thread and we all are deeply indebted to him for his hard work to maintain and create this helpful thread and we should respect it.

All those who contribute are not doing it in the interest of causing trouble but rather the contrary, to help Justin with the hard work of tracking these drivers down.

I'm obviously not a moderator and I too get bent from time to time with personality clashes but regardless of what we think or feel, public reprimands and such must be carried on behind closed doors as it only chases people away from the thread to see the main characters in the household of this forum to fight and disagree.

I've seem fussing and fighting raise the ratings in many forums as everyone likes to watch a good fight.

But gentlemen, I believe we have all grown so close as friends, its no fun to anyone to see each other fight.

I pray no one see's me as a self proclaimed moderator and I expect someone to jump in between the next time I go for my friends jugular too.

None of use are perfect at communicating face to face, let alone through texting via these forums as so much is lost in the translation.

Lets please try to forgive each other and start over and be kind to each other!

thanks for your understanding!

 

I just figure they may know whether it does anything good for a DV8. Isn't that useful to know? That's all... (no agenda, here, Peter! You?)

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I just like to know if there's a benefit to a DV8 before I consider the risks of updating. I don't know why anyone would object to asking about it ...

Remember all the problems some of us had when the update posted didn't even apply to a DV8???

Q.E.D.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

While I like the best, leanest, and most efficient driver like the next guy, it is good to know if there is anything pertinent worth upgrading for.

Only problem is...... they don't always list "everything" they really upgraded in the upgrade... .so in upgrading you often get stability and added goodies you didn't expect.

By the same token, they also don't "most always don't" list the things they changed that "worked"... so you get bad things you didn't expect too.

I've been pretty brave updating knowing worst case scenario, I have the old drivers "I usually keep the last two or three backed up"... as well as Justin does the same thing on this site for I expect the same reasons.

Nothing wrong in updating as long as you have a good reliable way to reverse it.

But as mentioned... many folks actually "use" their computers for productive projects and business and have no interest whatsoever in taking the time to update and risk aberrations unless there is good reason documented to do so.

I don't really see an argument here as both viewpoints are valid determined by the value system each party holds.

 

New BIOS F.34 A for HDX 18 coming soon...

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp51501-52000/sp51618.html
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp51501-52000/sp51618.cva
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp51501-52000/sp51618.exe

 

Exactly, Alan. So what's wrong with asking "what's the benefit to a DV8 owner?"

Seems like that let's the most experienced and most knowledgeable respond (with information) before I have to put my machine at risk for what may turn out to be nothing of value.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

New update to the Realtek PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Family Controller

v7.040

it's located at the link you provided

 

I"m amazed that realtek Ethernet driver gets updated so often?
Must be issues with new routers coming out or what?

Thats the one driver thats a bit of a hassle to update cause I have to take my laptop and go hook it up to a wired Ethernet connection before it will update.

 

I'd guess it reflects continuing adjustments for transition to IP6?

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I already posted a newer version few days ago...

 

Huh? I don't.

 

Me neither.

New unofficial Intel RST 10.1.2.1004 and Chipset 9.2.2.1015 out in the wild... Both WHQL.

 

I just have to plug an unconnected ethernet cable into my DV8 to upgrade that driver. It is a hassle though because my cable is hard to extract/remove from the DV8's ethernet port.

 

Mine is easy to remove if I remember to squeeze the latching clip.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Rst installed and working fine

 

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19596&lang=eng
Official 9.2.0.1025 Intel Chipset

 

I think i saw 9.2.3.1003 somewhere too... But that was not official.

 

I'm a little gun-shy about upgrading the Chipset and RST after the hassle I had with it last time. I think I'll wait until some more reports of success and proper functioning after installation come in before I try them.

 

Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility 9.2.0.1025
http://downloadmirror.intel.com/19596/eng/infinst_autol.exe

 

Yea, definitely nice to have "system restore" handy for the mess a bad driver install can do when it digs do deep into the system as this driver.

I've never had a problem but I've also never witnessed any improvement in speed or other by installing it.... so I'm not thrilled about this driver update just for the sake of doing it.

Had " anybody" witnessed a benefit from installing this risky driver?