*HP ENVY 14 & ENVY 14 Beats (1XXX series) Owners Lounge, Part III*

@strada, try downloading the wifi drivers off of HP's driver site. They're newer and should work, but they're not the latest from intel.

@seth, HP provides a data backup service, but if you want to be careful, you can always stick the drive in a spare SATA port or a USB hard drive box to transfer your files.

 

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of a problem with my graphics card, I'll upload a screen shot in a bit. Its been fine recently, been playing Monday Night Combat, TF2, and most recently Trine. After playing Trine for a couple of hours, I decide to play Serious Sam HD, which looks like this screenshot. At first I thought it might be a problem with the download, so I verified the game cache on steam, restarted and it had the same problem. The 2nd Serious Sam HD was working fine last night and I've run the demo with no problems, so system requirements shouldn't be a problem. Tried a couple of other games and they all had the same problem. The temps while I was playing Trine earlier were in the 60's, so I don't think I've been overheating it.
Here's two screenshots from the same session of Serious Sam, it just keeps flickering black in this and any other game, but only in certain areas, in this case the skybox is fine but everything else is wacky.

Edit:2nd question, does anybody have a squaretrade warranty? I just logged in to check on it and my status now says cancelled...
Edit2: Just tried out Crysis and Monday Night Combat and both worked fine, but both Serious Sam games and now Tropico 3 have this problem, both of which ran fine before today, so it might be a driver/DX problem, but I dont know why it would work on a intensive game like Crysis, but not run stuff that's much less intensive.

 

Either your GPU is bad or your driver has problems.

Try uninstalling your drivers then reinstalling them. If it doesn't go away, then it's probably your GPU.

Did this happen before?

 

I'll try reinstalling the drivers and this is the first time this has happened

Edit:Installed the 11.5b drivers and everything works, so I guess something in the driver that was being used in those games got corrupted somehow. Had some problems trying to go from stock (i think, pretty sure I tried to update before, but the driver date was still 9/9/2010 so I guess it failed) to 11.6 where it only installed CCC, but 11.5b worked fine even though it said the driver installation failed and had reverted back. Hopefully the gpu won't really be going out anytime soon, I don't want this roughly 30+ gb of games I've gotten of steam this week to be in vain...especially with a 50 gb monthly cap,lol.

 

I am looking at getting a ENVY 14 and putting an i5 processor in. Am I correct that most people are getting 3-4 hours per battery charge with this?

 

Up to 6 with some power plan tweaking.

Do you plan on getting the first gen or the second gen?

The 2XXX series with the SB procs are likely to get better battery life.

 

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I couldn't find too much through some forum searching. Is there a thread or how-to guide on how to clean dust out of the Envy 14?

Thanks

 

Anyone know how to fix the issue where on intel graphics, your screen turns like whitish (high contrast kinda thing)?

 

@eafd- Thank you so much for your suggestions- it worked out in the end.

FYI for anyone else that encounters something similar---- I did try to update the drivers as eafd suggested. When I clicked on either file (the one I d/l from Intel or from HP) there was no dialog box, pop-up or instruction window that indicated anything had happened. And when I checked the driver it still showed version 13.xxx. However I had to reboot for an unrelated reason and as I was going to try again to update the driver, I rechecked the version and saw it was v14.xx So although there was no prompt or window to suggest next steps, all I had to do was reboot after clicking on the new driver file and the driver was updated.

 

hey guys, need to use my recovery disks to MIR to my ssd, does anyone remember how to flash an old bios onto the envy?

 

First of all for those about to 'light-me-up' for asking; I did try to search both Google and this forum thoroughly before asking. . .yet it's probably out there; if so, I apologize. . .

I have a 55" DLP SAMSUNG, when I connect my Envy 14 with the 'duplicate' option the picture fits perfectly. . .

I would rather use the 'projector only' option, but when I do, the desktop does not fit on the television and the edges seem cut off. . .it uses the entire screen, but it's just cut off around the edges like the image is stretched or something. . .but once I switch it back to 'duplicate' the desktop fits the television perfectly. . .

I've tried changing the resolution, but it doesn't help.

It's set on 1920x1080. . .and this fits perfectly as long as I select 'duplicate'.

Another issue: the audio is distorted a little under 'projector only', but again, sounds perfect using 'duplicate'.

Thanks. . .

 

Hey all,

I'm looking for a new laptop going into professional school and this laptop strikes my fancy on a lot of things so its a tossup between this or the XPS 15z or Portege r835. My main question is i've noticed that there has been a refreshed version of the Envy 14 but I see no option of the better Radiance screen. Is that pretty much out of the question for me if I were to purchase this laptop within the next few days? Is the higher resolution a big difference than the brightview? My current laptop (dv5) has a higher resolution than the brightview display so i'm not liking that very much. Also is there a huge difference between 7200 and 5400 rpm? I'm more of a regular laptop user so I don't play games or power editing and such. Thank you for the help!

 

Is there a hdd caddy available that takes away the dvd drive?

 

Pretty sure the Radiance is out of the question unless you get a refurb (if you can even find one) or swap it yourself with the part from the parts store (if it's even available there). I think the 7200 rpm HDDs seem a lot faster that the 5400 rpm drives, but maybe it's just me. Oh yeah, people said the brightview is garbage for the most part. It's really up to the person, some have liked it, others said it was garbage. If you're picky, you probably won't like it.

 

NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 9.5mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM - eBay (item 140412101084 end time Jul-23-11 19:24:55 PDT)

This one's been confirmed to work. There's also one on newmodeus, but it costs 42$.

Pretty much any standard SATA 9.5mm hard drive caddy will work. You do have to remove the black thing on the end, because the envy is slot-load and thus the extra end piece will be too large for the computer.

 

Does anybody have Hwmonitor installed on their envy 14? I've noticed that under ACPI TZ02 there is an initial reading, but it eventually goes to 0, which would be nice, but considering everything else is idling at 35-40 its not right. Is this just some kind of glitch in hwmonitor/the bios? Also, I'm planning on cleaning out the fans soon, since I've neglected to do that so far since launch, are there any cables/connectors that I need to watch out for or is it just removing the screws on the battery side of the panel? Also, would I need to get any sort of antistatic strap or would it be safe to clean it out with canned air and a paintbrush without one? Sorry about all the questions lately, my gpu scare has got me noticing every little thing lately.

 

Mine only goes to 0 if I turn my dedicated video card off. I've always thought that was funny as the GPU would still be reading a temperature but taken it as nothing to worry about.

 

Yeah that would make sense, now that I think about it I usually turn it on in the morning while its still plugged in from charging overnight, so the 5650 would be active until I unplugged it and it autoswitched.

 

So I just got my computer back from HP for repairs, and I'd just like to say that I'm (so far) loving them.

They completely replaced my mobo, and gave me the new touchpad and the new keyboard.

They both feel amazing, and the service was super quick. (I sent it in last Thursday)

They didn't have to wipe my HDD either, which was nice.

 

The new audio drivers that were posted last month helped me so much with the low volume. Just installed it and now my speakers are actually loud enough to watch a movie on. Quality is still a meh though.

Go install them!

 

Were they louder than JJB's tweaks?

 

The JJB annoyed me as it distorted the sound too much for my liking but yes they are louder. EQ settings are at default (flat straight through) and the sound output is much better. I can actually put music on max and people cant talk over it anymore.

 

i checked the hp website and the most recent audio driver is 2010 october?

 

Yeah, same here o_o

 

Driver thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...xxx-dv5-2xxx-g32-cq32-envy-14-1xxx-intel.html

June 15th release.

 

THanks!!!!!!!!

 

I found little or no changes with the audio driver upgrade.....

 

Question. How do I know which GPU drivers to install to keep my GPU drivers up to date?

I've been perusing this thread and I don't know if I'm misreading things, but apparently there's a specific driver among 11.4-11.6 that tends to be for my specific Envy. Is it safe for me to install 11.6 on top of my current HP 8.771.1.0 drivers?

 

@zeth006: on this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...xxx-dv5-2xxx-g32-cq32-envy-14-1xxx-intel.html Install the ATI Mobility Radeon ones. Those drivers also update the Intel one for soft-switching.

 

I have a question. My stereo mix under the recording devices is unavailable. I have updated my drivers, and still the stereo mix is unavailable. Has anyone been able to use it, and if so, how?

Edit: I just noticed that it does this when I have my headset in, but when it is unplugged it is available. Does this mean I have to use the integrated mic, and can't use my headset for this to work?

 

What's soft-switching? I used the drivers in my thread and they seem newer.

 

English is not my first language, so, apologies if the term is confusing. I mean the ability to switch cards without a reboot. If you update Intel's drivers, you miss the "switcheable graphics" option (thats the name, sorry again). You must update using the Radeon drivers that have the Intel ones embedded.

 

Hey,

I'm in a bit of a mess.

I ordered an HP Envy 14 Beats Edition from the US online store it was working fine until I shifted to India!!

Major screen flickering occurs continually and especially when there are heavy graphics on screen. Since I am in India, I contacted HP India and they claim the Beats edition is launched here but since mine is a CTO model, they dont support it here are advised me to send it back Stateside. Problem is, I'm moving to London in 15 days :S Screen flicker is major enough to make me stop using the laptop.

HELP PLEASE!

More specs:

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 Graphics [HDMI] - For Quad Core Processors
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• No Additional Office Software
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
• 14.5" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support (Slot Load)
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Red Backlit Keyboard

 

I'm really sorry if this has been covered before but I have a question about the RAM. You see I was going to build a computer for myself but have decided that I won't be gaming a lot as I grow older and I would just be wasting money. So I'm thinking of just upgrading my envy as best I can. I want to add a HDD in place of the optical drive (to go with my SSD).
Now, to get to the point, I currently have 4GB DDR3 (obviously) RAM in my envy, however on some occasions I find myself needing more. But because I have the 2 dimm 4GB I would need to buy brand new 8GB RAM. I was just wondering, would this RAM be any better than the RAM in my laptop? From what I can tell it is same speed (1066MHz, I have i5-450m so I can't run it any faster anyway) and it has the same timing, 7-7-7-20. But would it in any way be any faster than the current RAM?

Also, because it is different RAM bought separately do you think I would be able to tighten the latency down to at least 6-7-6-20, or is it got to do with the BIOS being locked and the mobo?

any information would be greatly appreciated

 

The BIOS will run the RAM per SPD specifications. So if it is spec'd at 7-7-7-20, it will run as such. There is no way to manipulate timings.

The new RAM will not run an faster, sorry.
But you will benefit from having the available space as the OS will load/cache much more into that space. Plus, with 8GB RAM you can do things like disable the page file safely, run a RAM disk to store temp files for IE or Chrome, set firefox to cache all files in RAM or even run %TEMP%. Not much of a performance gain (and may be more trouble than its worth -- subjective), but saves your SSD and keeps the system clean.

 

Thanks, that sounds alright.

I have another question on a completely different matter. I recently noticed the mute button on the keyboard was always staying orange. So I went to download the IDT Audio driver (which I have installed before). Anyway, I opened it to install, it said files already on computer which is ok, I just clicked overwrite but then I got a strange message saying "Access is denied".

I have never previously gotten this message, what the hell does it mean? How do I fix it?

 

you may have to run the installer as an administrator (right click on file and "Run as Administrator")

It should fix that problem.

 

I'm on the admin account, I tried right clicking and running as admin but the same thing happened. I don't have any sound now, there's a red cross in the the task bar next to the sound icon.

EDIT: Ok never mind I got it working. All I did was go into the SP48435 folder in SwSetup and ran the setup, it installed, restarted and now I have a functional mute button, all sound is working and I have the beats software back.

strange stuff but I'm happy it works

 

so whats best for surface cleaning... microfibre tissue ? and I supose some kind of very soft brush for clenanig between the keys...

 

Any of you guys got opinion on this?

I have the following choices for my next notebook:

HP ENVY 14-1008tx
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5-520M Processor
- 36.8 cm (14.5") diagonal HD+ High-Definition LED HP Radiance Infinity Display (1600 x 900)

HP ENVY 14-1009tx
- 1.60 GHz Intel Core i7-720QM Processor
- 36.8 cm (14.5") diagonal HD+ High-Definition LED HP Radiance Infinity Display (1600 x 900)

Other than the processor, the main difference is that the i5 is a display model (last they have, I have searched the whole Singapore for a non-display model, but with no luck). The i7 is still sealed in the box.

The store is selling the display i5 for S$1699 (about 1400 USD), while the i7 is for S$2499 (about 2000 USD). Possibly the i7 price can be lowered if I talk to the store manager.

Which would you guys take?

 

I use this 3m microfibre cloth for all of my notebooks, and it serves me well.

 

Mhm. I recommend 3M's or this Monster kit here. I'm currently using a $2 microfiber cloth I got from DealExtreme, but just am not thrilled that it's not as soft and able to clean away dust and gunk as well as the Monster cloth which I lent to people in the family, only to have it disappear.

 

tbh, the i7 isn't enough of an increase in performance to warrant spending 600 (800 for you) dollars for it. i'd just be happy to get the radiance screen

 

Does anyone know how to enable alt-code symbols on the envy 14 keyboard? I tried searching around google without any success..

 

I wasn't able to find a solution on this on my envy beats before. I ended up having to copy and paste alt characters.

 

Hello! I'm new to envy beat edition and window 7, please tell me

on desktop: how disable borders on hover icons ? 8(

in taskbar: how disable previews on hover opening programs in taskbar?

thank you!

 

Okay thanks

 

If I were you and forced to choose between those two laptops, I would choose the i5 for the better battery life and lower heat generation. Of course, I'd prefer a SB CPU over the prior generations but then again, Radiance displays are in short supply. You also want to check the i5 for any problems, scratches etc since it was a store model.

 

Hey guys, I apologize in advance for the redundancy, but I'm getting my old envy replaced with one of the sandy bridge laptops and I'm stuck between getting the regular envy and the beats edition. All I really want to know is were there any improvements between the old models and the newest one (besides the actual components). Also, are there any differences between the regular envy and the beats?

THANKS SO MUCH for any help. I'm going to place my order as soon as I get an answer.

 

The only differences I can think of between the regular and beats Envy are purely aesthetics. White vs. Red backlighting. Black color scheme vs. silver/gray. As for differences between the old and new models - there is a USB 3.0 port now, the screen is not as good (Brightview) and the touchpad is improved.

Oh and the "B" key on the Beats edition is the Beats logo whereas its normal on the regular Envy.