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

Did anybody update new BIOS? I wonder what they fixed...

 

Any point in keeping the Swsetup folder after installing drivers and whatnot?

 

Dang, I guess I'm doing a clean install. Have to find some CDs somewhere.

BTW, does anyone know what I have to do to go to FedEx on Saturday to pick up my Envy as it probably wont arrive tomorrow? I know this was discussed in the first owners lounge, but I can't find it.

 

No you can delete it. Softpak driver always create/recreate it when installed. Just keep the actual drivers... or not since you can get them online anytime.

 

Thanks 2.0

And to those people who clean installed. did your HP tools partition free up? Currently it's only using like 6-7mbs...

 

Aware me on what I have to disable for the SSD after clean install.

 

*finishes ripping some hour long show he recorded off of his cable with his dvd recorder*

whelp.

that's one hell of an improvement.

normally takes 2 hours and 30+ minutes.

1 hour and 16 minutes. a Core2Duo T7200 this ain't. (i5 520m is nice).

 

Returned my Envy 14 today. I have owned 25 laptops and the Envy had the worst trackpad I have ever used. Just ordered another Sony Vaio Z.

 

;]
Returned mine today too. But my replacement unit came so I'm satisfied as hell

 

Cool, keep posting this in every envy 14 thread so you feel better.

 

hey guys im curious if anyone has bought the envy from opal_cadet on ebay? I saw in the previous thread that some had ordered off her and i was just wondering about the warranty, quality etc. of her models.

 

"Fixes a smart-adapter detection issue where users observe that the battery
cannot be fully charged. "

Think it also fixed some compatibility problems w/ universal ac-adapters at the same time.

 

As 2.0 pointed out to me with other key issues I had and worked: shut down, unplug power, remove battery, hold down power button for 30 seconds.

And then of course, install battery again, plug in power (or not), and power up. Fixed it for me.

 

Has anyone found a way to force the 5650 to be used when on battery?
EDIT

disregard just found the control center

 

Anyone know?

 

good call. What's he doing in this forum?

On a different topic- After a clean install, what happens if you remove the HP Tools partition and the System partition (theyre <200mb each, it doesnt really matter- just curious)

 

Try calling them- they'll figure out a location near you and make sure the package stays off the trucks


(sorry for the doublepost?)

 

Definitely disable defragment, and consider disabling pagefile+superfetch. Note that if pagefile is completely disabled, and you max out your ram usage, you could have issues. Superfetch doesn't need to be on because the SSD basically negates whatever performance boost it would offer when using a slow HDD.

EDIT: Disable indexing as well...there are guides out there just look for one on google to see all the options in detail

I actually LOVE this trackpad...so yeah

 

Personally, while I struggled with that choice too, I'm happy with the larger screen, and can deal with the heavier machine. 13" is just to small for me to use on a daily basis, as much as I'd like the 3 lbs.

My Envy cost ~$1350 after BCB for an ~ $1900 laptop. If it had significant issues where I had to return it, I probably would have bought the Vaio Z in a heartbeat. If I had another old clunker laptop in hand that I could trade-in for a sure $300 I'd really have to jump on it, but who knows if/when I can find something suitable for that trade-in too, and $1575 is too much personally for me, $1300 was my budget and I already exceeded it.

So personally, you have to weigh the significant differences between the two:

Sony vs Envy 14

(1) 3lbs vs 5lbs
(2) 13.1" 1600x900 screen vs 14.5" 1600x900 radiance
(3) 128GB SSD proprietary (no upgrade path really) vs standard 2.5" HDD or SSD
(4) GT 330m DirectX 10 GPU with likely no Sony driver update support vs HD 5650 DirectX 11 GPU with marginal driver support and slightly better performance
(5) 5 hrs battery life vs 4 hrs (possibly less) battery life

The Vaio Z is a very elegant well thought out design though, and seems overall better build quality than the Envy 14.

 

Can anyone get volume leveling to show up in Windows Media Player?

 

Is it possible to use the envy without its battery (just plugged into ac power)?

 

Why would it disable superfetch? RAM is still worlds quicker than any SSD. And afaik superfetch only reads from the storage drive and stores most common used files in RAM.

 

My bios won't update
:[
I tried the insydeflash thing but nothing happens
Both just running the program and running insydeflash make the fan go on high, then the laptop just shuts off
:|
any solutions?

 

I've been trying to switch this to dedicated power when on battery and selected that in the control center but it wont change. Is there any other setting I am not doing.

 

ya, if its safe or not I'm not sure. any electrician wanna verify?

 

yes you can use it without the battery. yes it is safe to do, but be warned that your system will shut off instant should its power source be cut (tripped over wire, blackout).

 

Hi All, Ive seen that we should disable some things when we do a clean install and have an SSD. Can you guys give us SSD users a guide on what should be disabled and how to disable these things please?

 

Would it be possible to convert the slot-loading ODD to a floppy drive?


/retro

 

Really only scheduled defrag should be disabled, but I put together a little guide to help free up some space on your SSD, plus turning off defrag.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6454980-post6010.html

 

IIRC, there is nothing you "disable" you just don't install the driver for the HP HDD protection. That only works if you're using a HDD.

 

Uhh... Is that in the Drivers of Swsetup? I kinda installed everything in the SWSetup...

Also, I saw that we should disable indexing on some other threads, do you guys advice against this?

 

I don't know cause I installed from the Envy14 drivers linked on page 1

 

I duplicated your link in the first post from SSD discussion to a link under the guides box.

 

Does anyone know how disable automatic disk defragmentation?

 

Too retro mate. So I gotta toss out an obligatory "no."

 

Type services in start menu search box. Scroll down to disk defragmenter and disable it.

 

Don't worry about the HDD protection. If it's not in use (i.e., no HDD) it will have no effect.

You can do it if you have an SSD. It's an advanced tweak, not necessary though. You simply uncheck indexing in properties for the drive in explorer.

 

Thanks 2.0 and HTWingnut! I did both just to be sure (Disabled Defrag via services and also turned off disc defrag scheduler).

What about the indexing stuff? Would it actually slow down some access stuff in the SSD?

Edit: Just saw 2.0s reply. Ignore the indexing question.

 

BTW - If I wasnt reading through this Forum Threads, I wouldnt have done a clean install, disabled defrag, and all of those things that was really helpful. This thread ROCKS!!!

 

My friends estimated build date of aug. 2nd has already been shipped and is in Alaska. A little something to give the rest of you [false?] hope!!

 

And lots of them too!

 

!!!!

Dell has 25% bing cashback, Im picking up a router and maybe a sleeve for my envy. this one will fit right? CASE LOGIC Laptop Sleeve - Fits laptops of Screen Sizes Up to 16" - Black : Laptop Accessories | Dell

they have a bunch of other stuff on the site too, ps3's, external hard drives, monitors, etc etc

 

Where does it say 25%? Is it off of everything on their site?

 

search "vostro" in bing

can someone find a nice sleeve on there?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A3800459

?

 

Oh, it's only 25% off of their Vostro laptops. >.> I don't think any of us are looking for a Dell.

 

I think its on all of dell home

Dell Home Bing Cashback 25% ending soon - SlickDeals.net Forums

 

25% BCB @ Dell applies to everything. Vostro is just one search term to get the BCB link

 

Oh, ok. Everything on their website applies for BCB?

 

Yup, as long as you get the link and confirmation via bing.

 

sorry if this is getting repetitive, but i dont see anything pointing to the dell website on the vostro bcb search page