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

Anyone having trouble getting their webcam to work in low lighting? My webcam wont go into any sort of night mode.

 

Yeah, that is irritating. Before I ordered I asked, on two occasions, what the brand of 256GB SSD was. Both times the answer was "I don't know". I had to prod them to look it up. And then they said it was Western Digital. Well it turns out it is a Samsung. How can they not know or have proper documentation on a $565 add-on?

And no problem about SSD models / makes. We have been instructed to point everyone there in case their question is already answered there, and then they realize there's tons of good info there that may help them with other items as well.

 

Minimum Recovery will be just like a fresh install. Everything on the drive is deleted, blown away, adios muchachos, hasta luego, sianara, au revoir, zài jiàn.

You will have to reinstall any apps you want on there and then copy/pasted saved data back to where you want it.

 

I complained to HP and they upgraded my system for free.

core i5 450 to 520
4gb ram to 6gb ram
500 gb HDD to 256 SSD
free battery slice

all I had to do was answer 5 questions lol

 

Why me? I spent $1900+ on this damn thing and I complain and I just get thrown around like a fluffy rag doll. Still waiting on my replacement SSD that was supposed to be here ten days ago, but is on back order until 8/19.

 

guys is it possible to make another set of recovery disk? i messed up my disk 1! pls help!

 

sorry to hear that man, I would just keep complaining. All I did was talk to a representative online and he said they would fix the problem if I send it in, then the next day I receive a call saying that they are going to give me all those upgrades for free if i just answer a few questions. They sent the new computer within 4 days and I had no downtime since I have to send them the old computer back to them still.

 

Yeah, I think I will give them hell on Monday, end of my 21 day return, and see if they can reimburse me at least the $100 they promised before, but I refused because I wanted my SSD replaced, and maybe push for $200 for all the time I've spent with them on the damn phone and online. Seriously, I've probably logged a good 5-6 hours on the phone with them.

 

Okay, I hate to bring this up but i sent my Envy in for repair on the 28th of July and was supposed to receive it Aug. 4th. Well it got delayed. I leave for college the day of the 18th, exactly when I'm supposed to get my Envy back. I was worried about this and was assured I was going to be fine. So I should be able to request the money that I will have to use to ship my Envy to my school since their incompetent customer support didn't recognize my school address and I would like something back for the extreme inconvenience they caused me. What number will help me achieve this. Please help me.

 

1-888-227-8451
Don't offer to take the survey, they won't be able to redirect you since you called the resolution line directly.

 

I'll try this number thanks. I would also like to see other numbers thanks.

 

So I remember someone posting about how their envy popped up with a notification saying that they were needed to use a higher power capacity AC adapter in order to maximize performance...That the current AC adapter supplied by HP was ok, but in order to maximize performance they should switch to a more powerful one.

Was wondering what ever happened with that because I just got that notification myself.

Edit: Found the post in the other New Owners (Paradise Lost) thread. Rapidly rereading entire thread to see what happened...

 

ATI likes to hide things.

go to the catalyst control center.

go to desktops and displays.

right click on the TV picture if it's an hdtv/monitor display/whatever that's not the laptop.

go to configure.

in there somewhere will be (if this is through hdmi) a screen with various HD resolutions on the top and more stuff on the bottom.

click on the top resolutions to add 'em to the bottom (might be right click I forget, haven't done it in awhile). Then choose the resolution on the bottom and turn it on and apply it, etc.

there will probably be 2 1080i options (50 and 60) 50hz is pal, 60hz is NTSC. you probably are gonna be using 60hz.

if you use 1080p they'll be 3 options, 50, 60, and 24. 24hz is for those super HDTVs that can do 120hz or whatever.

 

You will only output 1080p if you use the "projector display" setting. Once you use that, it should automatically switch to 1080. If not, then follow MagusDraco instructions.

 

Done! just finish the first set of DVD/Flash Recovery disc and a file named hpdrcu.prc will appear from this 2 locations: C:/ProgramData/Hewlett-Packard/Recovery/ and D:/. Delete both files and you're ready to make another set of recovery disc. I guess its handy to have more than 1 set of recovery disk.

Note: to see the files set your folder option to:
show hidden files, folders, and drives and deselect "hide protected operating system files". Be sure to reselect it after deleting that file because it will expose EVERY file and can be dangerous if you delete the wrong files.

 

Nice one! Your newbie status doesn't seem to match up with your knowledge.

 

finally, a keyboard protector for the envy 14! if you don't want to get hairs, dust, etc in key openings or don't want greasy shiny spots on your keys then you should grab a keyboard protector. link here

 

Cheers! just trying to help out.

 

Awesome, thanks! This needs to be added to page 1. You also have to deselect "hide protected operating system files". Be sure to reselect it after deleting that file because it will expose EVERY file and can be dangerous if you delete the wrong files.

+rep. I figured it must have been something silly like that. I was wondering how it knew I made the backup media after doing a minimal reinstall after blowing away all partitions then... duh... it probably just added that file to the restore file because it was being restored FROM A BACKUP!

That file didn't exist on my HP_TOOLS partition either, probably because it was recreated.

 

Well, I had this happen a few times and called HP about it. The rep said they were aware of this problem but had no solution for it. As long as it was the power supply that came with the Envy and the battery was charging OK then it was good to go. Said they would notify if some fix was found.

I did have the Power setting on High Performance at some point so don't know if that caused the pop-up. I did read on another HP forum the suggestion to unplug the power supply from the laptop, then unplug the wire from the brick then replug everything back in. The "smart" power supply maybe needs a reboot or something to reset its memory. I did that and haven't had the pop-up again but also have reset Power to HP Recommended.

Some of these "smart" things aren't always so smart. Have to do the same unplug, reboot thing with my "smart" router sometimes when it forgets its settings. Odd that nobody seems to mention the power supply pop-up much anymore--maybe it just goes away with time.

 

This could possibly cause the e14 to run hotter because I think it's designed to intake air through the keyboard.

 

I thought there were intakes at the bottom. Of course a lot of keyboards have holes in them and probably contributes to the cooling. I might pick one up because as much as I try not to eat around my laptop, it's eventually inevitable. I hate to muck up this awesome keyboard. Wonder what a replacement costs?

 

like $114 i tink


On an i5-430 or i5-450, can you still use virtualization software e.g. virtualbox/vmware to run linux flavours and such?

 

What do you guys recommand to do with the E14 when I recive it?
Minimal, Clean or just uninstall the bloatware?
Either way, I need a "guide" thats tells me what to take backup of and which of the HP programs that are useless. Also need to learn how to make recovery discs... Have taken a clean install on my dell many times, so the "install windows" part i no problem, is just need to know what drivers to take backup off and which one to not reinstall after clean install.

UPS is delivering my E14 tomorrow, can't wait

 

eh.

minimal's probably your best bet since clean installs have been iffy at times (I'm looking at you bluetooth and realtek ethernet cards)

one or both like to stay asleep and not realize they have drivers to install...least on the original bios (f.02)

once they have drivers they work fine, but it took some luck and/or sleeping and waking your computer and then turning it off and on and whatever to make the things realize "oh crap, I have drivers now" so they would get outta deep sleep mode.

 

My english is not very good so im sorry but I didnt understand what you ment with this line:
one or both like to stay asleep and not realize they have drivers to install...least on the original bios (f.02)

Anyway, thanks for the tip! Will probably go for the minimal then

PS: Is it hard to update the BIOS? I've never played with the BIOS before, all I know is that if I do anything wrong, im in some deep..

 

Yes you can still use virtualization. The 520m just supports VT-d which is direct hardware acces through the virtual software instead of software emulation.

I'm not 100% sure what that means, but I'd love to be able to run a mock Envy 14 windows install so I can screw around with settings and drivers and such before I have to reinstall windows 20 times getting things worked out.

 

For Recovery Media:

Start/All Programs/HP/Recovery Manager/Recovery Media Creation

Backup your C:\SWSetup folder to a couple DVD's or external hard drive. It contains all the drivers and HP apps.

Although once you do a minimal install the drivers should all be installed properly, there may be an app or two you want to install. Those will be in the SWSetup folder.

I can let MagusDraco speak for himself, but I believe he just meant that the bluetooth and ethernet can go into a deep sleep, which means they are not visible to the operating system. You have to do some funny stuff to get them to "wake up" for the drivers to install properly.

Regarding the BIOS, it's pretty straight forwards. Just download the BIOS program, close ALL programs running in Windows (basically programs on taskbar and any in system tray that aren't normal, even close your antivirus), run the BIOS program, it will run and reboot your machine. Just follow the prompts. Your machine will shut down when its done. Let it sit for a minute and then turn it back on.

 

Guys so my new NV14 is making a very annoying static sound...I just tested it and when I'm in the bios, it doesn't make the noise. It seems to start right when I get to the login screen...before that it just makes a few high pitch squeals lol. Anybody know what could be causing this? Frankly it's kind of annoying...I would hate to have to return another one of these cuz i really do like the laptop a lot.

 

Okey, so the only thing I need to do is to take backup of the Swsetup folder and make recovery discs for Win 7 then.

Thanks

 

Yes, and of course any personal files you may have stored on there. Just saying it for disclaimer purposes.

 

Hahaha, I will keep that in mind!

But is it just under a clean install that the bluetooth and ethernet can get messed up or is it both under minimal recovery and clean install?

Thanks for all the help! Took a quick look at your video driver guide, looked great.

 

Guys i need recommendations for a mouse for envy 14 primarily for gaming purposes.. i need something within $30..

Logitech MX1100 seems to be the best option available on best buy at $30.. has anybody here used that mouse? or any other recommendation?

 

Seriously? They must have had one just lying around or something...

 

So I dont own an HP envy 14 yet, but would very much like to.
Does anyone know why the option for the radiant display isnt available any more?
Hope its nothing big, but thought one of you guys might know.

 

thats weird...
its not woth buying without the 1600x900

 

See here, response from HP rep:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...play-no-longer-option-envy-4.html#post6597363

 

The area around the keyboard is a smudge magnet. I am constantly wiping it off b/c I'm obssessive that way. The etched parts don't show fingerprints too bad though.

 

So what is everyone using to keep their screen clean from smudges, fingerprints, & lint/dust? Is there some type of cleaner that is recommended, or some type of anti-static wipe, that is okay to use on this screen? Mine seems to attract dust like a magnet.

 

If you go to Costco or Sam's Club buy their lens cleaner which, for $5, comes with two microfiber cloths and an unlimited supply of lens cleaner.

 

Can't speak as to the quality of either mice, but there's another one on Woot just to keep your options open: Deals.Woot : One Community, Every Deal (SM)

 

how do you remove the hp volume control osd??

 

get rid of the media smart smart menu stuff I think.

 

Razer mice are some of the best gaming mice out there. I have a razer orochi and I love it.

 

How bad is the brightview screen? Radiance is gone

 

DRCOOL, I just canceled my order because I thought the brightview wasn't an option and it came with the Radiance like it did initially.

Guess it's time to start shopping...

 

Is that that bad though?

 

I don't know, but from what I read here, it isn't worth it without the screen.

 

Honestly, without the Radiance screen, you might as well get a dv6t:se. Everything else is basically the same, although I guess the dv6t has more plastic than the Envy and is a little bigger.

 

The Radiance Infinity screen is one of the best screen I've ever seen.
I'd have paid an extra $250 to get it over the 720p screen.


...Problem is- I like matte even though shiny looks, well, shinier. Anybody know of a <s>decent</s> exceptional matte/antiglare screen protector?

EDIT: Can't have anything less than exceptional on this beautiful screen

Has anyone tried replacing their dvd drive with a HDD yet?
I hate optical media and would love to be able to add more storage.