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

hey guys.

who do I contact at HP to get a new hard-drive.


'cause my hard-drive is apparently screwed up.

I ran the hard disk test in the bios and got an error.

Might explain why I'm getting hard freezes. It said Hard Disk Error #3F81 (or #3F1, don't remember...shoulda wrote it down)

 

I don't think the error code really matters. Fact is that its faulty.

Call 1-888-999-4747

 

yeah. Guess the error code dun really matter. Faulty HDD does.

glad it's not something that requires me to send the computer in like the processor.

 

Yeah, exactly. I always keep a spare hard drive and RAM module handy, it's a 320GB 5400RPM HDD and a 1GB stick, but at least I can keep my machine up and running if I have to.

Hopefully they'll send you a replacement hard drive without an issue.

 

I heard someone did successfully implement a second HDD. Don't know who though.

 

mx518 is a cheap, well-known, durable, great gaming mouse. I highly recommend it if you want an awesome cheap gaming mouse that is comfortable and accurate.

Cons: it's wired

 

I just did a clean install, and was wondering, which things from the SWSETUP should I install(i did all the drivers already)

 

hp protshd or something is one of your missing devices in the device manager (it's the hp hard-drive guard stuff)

well, assuming you got a hdd not a sdd

 

Did a minimal recovery and then took a image of the partition so that i can restore it using that image instead of HP recovery. After that deleted the recovery partition but retained HP Tools partition. I heard HP Tools partition is used for Bios update though i read about the workaround in the first page. Since i live in India, if i brick my laptop while flashing the bios, its difficult for me to ship it to US and thats why retained that partition.

As of now, laptop is working great. No issues. No whine, no OS crashes, webcam is too good. only thing am worried about is the sound from envy speakers. I haven't tweaked the settings as per JJB's suggestion. Will do that later.

Thanks guys for all your feedbacks, suggestions. You guys rock. Because of you guys i was able to decide and buy this laptop and am loving it.

 

I read that the HP Envy 14's webcam can support 720p resolutions. HP's default webcam software won't let me go above 640x480. Has anyone figured out a way to record at 720p?

 

Crap, my 5650 just started artifacting for a while on my desktop until I rebooted, guessing this is bad sign especially since I've never overclocked it. Bad timing as I move in tomorrow, but at least if it gets worse I really don't start classes until next week.

 

Is the HPTools partition useful for anything else besides updating the BIOS? I'm doing a clean install onto a 64GB SSD that I bought. And if I clone the partition from hard drive, will that be enough?

 

I think HP Tools might be used for the bios diagnostics.


not sure.

 

I don't get it. I updated my BIOS a while ago but let me give you the details. I clean installed my system, but I kept the HP_TOOLS partition. I tried updating the BIOS, but it didn't work until I tried the method posted by a user here at NBR.

Basically, my HP_TOOLS is just sitting there, doing nothing. Think I should delete it to reclaim 100MB of space?

 

Interesting.. if that is the case, then we don't need that partition. Did u delete system partition as well?

 

Yep, I deleted every single partition except the HP_TOOLS partition, because I thought that partition was necessary for BIOS updates. Currently, I only have 2 partitions- my OS partition, and HP_TOOLS partition.

 

For eliminating the noise, would disabling the drive in the device manager do the trick?

 

Does system partition has anything to do with HP_TOOLS and bios? I have system partition and HP_TOOLS, so let me try to update the bios.. Currently my envy's bios version is F.05.

Guys is there any advantage to update the bios to F.06?

 

If your Envy is running fine, don't update. It won't do anything.

 

Yes, someone successfully implemented a second HDD with Optical Bay HDD Caddy to replace Slot-Loading Optical,9.5,SATA [OBHD9-SATA-SATA-NF] - $42.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

but like you, I forgot who... I'm planning to follow suite but I'm wondering how raid works. If I purchase another intel 160gb ssd, would it automatically be set in raid? also, do I need to purchase one directly from hp since the model number of my current ssd is listed as "SSDSA2M160G2HP" or would any 2nd gen intel ssd will work?

 

ninja2000 has done it, ask him

 

I personally think it is convienient to have system diagnostics built in. Not very useful if the HDD completely fails, but you can check your battery and memory and HDD as long as it's still functioning so I'm just going to leave it. Probably more of a personal preference either way. Is the 200 MB "system" partition an EFI partition?

To delete or not to delete... that is the question.

 

Thanks L3vi. One more silly doubt, if i flash to a latest bios, can i re-flash the laptop with old bios later?

 

Yes, you can. I recommend users to keep everything as is, unless there is a problem to be dealt with.

 

so guys about to recieve my envy 14, what should i do when i first get it?

plan:
1. recovery disks
2. minimal image recovery
3. any drivers that need to be updated

anything else i should do?

 

Page 1 has most everything covered, but it looks like you may have read up. I applied the audio tweak by JJB to get the speakers sounding louder. You seem to have a good plan of action! I hope you enjoy your computer as much as I am right now.

 

thank you very much, i am so excited for this XD just went around and got the newer version exe files for all my programs that I use and a decent rocketdock skin and wall XD Can't wait to try Ubuntu on this lappy!!!

Hope I don't get any defects

 

Hp is no longer offering the upgraded screen resolution? Naturally right when I was looking to order one...time to restart the laptop hunt.

 

It's temporary. They'll resume offering soon.

See this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/509589-radiance-display-no-longer-option-envy.html

 

Whoa, your avatar got a haircut...

 

Nah, just getting old and going bald.

 

Is it worth getting the Care Pack/ADP? So much jibber jabber in the terms and conditions, I'm not sure I understand it...

 

That's because the government is sapping and impurifying our precious bodily fluids.

 

Hey, that's me!

 

Anyone know why my fn button is always pressed ? I can just press any of the F1-F9 buttons to get the quick button access such as the volume or brightness. i tried Alt F4 to close my internet explorer but it doesn't work. tried F4 to shutdown my laptop and that doesn't work.

It seems to me that the FN button is always pressed down but in my view, it isn't. Hardware malfunction or is there a driver fix ?

 

It's an option in the BIOS. System Configuration / Active Keys Mode - Disable.

 

Its defaulted to not needing Fn for the hotkeys. You can reverse this in BIOS and get the normal Windows need for Fn+Hotkey

 

thank you very much for the quick answer.

 

Nothing in that thread offers evidence they will resume offering it ever, let alone soon. Dell still doesn't offer the RGBLED screen with the XPS 16 and it's been months since that option was taken off the build screen. Sony's F series has crap screens now too after previous models all featured top notch displays.

With no official word from HP, there is no way to know what's going on. And I fear we won't get any official word either, because right now HP is making a ton of money off idiots who read the glowing reviews of the Envy 14 and have no idea they are going to be shipped a crap product. Why would they draw attention to the fact their high priced "MacBook Pro" alternative is now just an overpriced Dv6? We know, but the 99% of consumers that just aren't that computer savvy and are still ordering don't, and why would HP want to alert them?

 

Read carefully:

Patience young padawan.

 

If the HDD fails, then neither partition is accessible. Kinda defeats the purpose of having that diagnostics partition if the HDD fails first.

Windows 7 by default creates a 200MB "system" partition. This partition is hidden in explorer and it contains boot files. You can avoid this partition and put your boot files on your main OS partition by setting it an active partition.

make a backup of SwSetup folder found in your main OS partition.

 

Random quote from a guy claiming to be a HP Sales Rep (who are completely unreliable sources of information in the first place) that he has no idea what is going on does not exactly inspire confidence.

 

I agree, I'm a bit suspicious as well, but we'll see what we hear back later today. Innocent until proven guilty. Otherwise the dude is toast. Ban hammer is sitting on his shoulder.

 

guys, playing around with my envy. I havn't recieved the box and the documents except for the little black envelope with the warranty and sd card. Where can i find my product & serial number?

 

Hmm? How'd you get your envy without a box?

Go to Start Menu/All Programs/HP/HP Support Assistant

 

Just to be clear, I'm not attacking this Jason guy. He basically admits he has no clue what's going on, which makes him better than a lot of the other sales reps people in that thread talked to, who either obliviously insisted the Radiance Display was still being offered or more ridiculously claimed it was never an option to begin with. Right now all we know is HP removed the option without any announcement and that as of now, the HP Envy 14 is no longer an attractive purchase at all.

 

It's under the battery.

 

thanks for the quick reply.

it was a present from abroad

btw, any drivers i should update straight away? it's the stock canadian version, all stock drivers at the mo

 

been out of the loop for a min. Anyways, i was wondering if anyone was able to find an anti-glare screen for this beast of a machine? Thanks..

 

can i delete the recovery partition after making the recovery disks?

also, how can i setup the touchpad to work better? bit iffy at the mo imo