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

I notice that happens if I plug/unplug while asleep. Then I need to restart to get it to change. havent found a solution

 

Yep, that seems to be when it happens. I had not thought of that as being the only situation when it happens. Hopefully someone knows of a solution.

 

What the hell? You guys buy up all the good displays?

Bronsky

 

I spoke to Hp Canada and they seemed pretty serious when they told me you can order custom laptops from the HP shopping Canada phone number...has anyone done this?...I ask because im looking for a better processor than the i5 430m

 

I think sometimes switchable gets bugged and you can't switch.

Had it happen to me once or so. Usually it works fine though for me.

 

Yeah, I noticed that switchable graphics doesnt work if I don't shut it down for a long time. I tried putting my computer to hibernate rather than shut down for several days, then switchable graphics stops working until I restart the computer.

 

To anyone thinking of running backtrack 4 r1 (kernel 2.6.34): the wifi actually runs out of the box, but that driver is not able to packet inject.

BT4R1 actually includes compat-wireless (driver: iwlagn), but it's not installed. It's located at /usr/src/drivers/compat-wireless-2010-07-10. After make && make install && make load, it's capable of injecting without further patching.

One problem I ran into though, the virtual adapter that airmon creates is "stuck" on channel -1 (negative 1). A lot of googling (not an easy feat when you're searching for '-1' with a boolean search engine), led to the solution: apply the patch http://blog.rootshell.be/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/chan.patch. Thanks to the following site ( http://blog.rootshell.be/2010/08/09/backtrack4-r1-awus036nh-win/).

Hopefully that helps somebody.

 

Ok I just happened across what seems to be a very annoying problem when trying to connect my e14 to my 720p hdtv via hdmi.

First of all, when im on integrated graphics the computer doesnt detect the tv.

2nd, when im on dedicated graphics it detects the tv but wont output at 1366x720!

Is this a ati driver issue? hdmi issue? anyone fixes? Im currently using the official ati drivers for the e14

 

Would it be possible for someone to upload the recovery disk to the internet. I keep trying to restore from the drive and it says that theres an error and it cant recover from the partition. I really cant wait three weeks for a replacement cause im going to college, so it's either this or i'm returning this for a mac, at least they dont break after 4 days. (I'm writing this on my 4 year old macbook, never had a single problem

 

That would be unethical.

Call HP up, describe your problem, and see if they will send you a set free as a courtesy. If not, they can be obtained for a fee from HP.

 

Unethical is HP charging me $1500 for a laptop that dies after 4 days

 

I am actually going to snap. Here is my story:

Ordered laptop on July 12
ETA July 22
DELAY # 1
ETA is now July 30th
Arrived
CPU WHINE
Called to setup a service order on August 2rd
received box August 4th
Packed up laptop, UPS picks up laptop August 5th.
ETA for repair is August 10th
DELAY#2
ETA is now August 17th
Today is the 17th
I do not see my laptop
I get a call from HP
DELAY#3
ETA is now AUGUST 31ST!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?

They say they are waiting on a part. but how long does it take to receive parts. It has been delayed for parts for a week, now another 2 weeks, totaling 3 weeks waiting for parts.

It was supposed to take less than 1 week for me to receive my laptop back. So far, I have been delayed 3 times, totaling 4 weeks.

May god have mercy on HP's soul if my laptop comes back with that god awful whine.

 

It might have been that they ran out of Radiance displays and had to wait for a manufacturer to build more. If you read some of the posts in this forum someone mentioned something to the effect that the Radiance display was sort of a test to see whether people would buy a high quality display like that. It turned out we did, but the manufacturer didn't make enough or something and maybe also decided to stop making them, which sucks.

 

Has anyone else noticed how perfect this laptop is for using the W7 Snap (side-by-side) feature?

I sure haz! Grooveshark on one side, NBR on the other; life is good.

On a related note, without CPU whine this is the perfect laptop. I do have a little lip between the casing and the paisley aluminum below the touchpad....but I honestly couldnt give a ...

/rant over

 

If there was no recourse, then yes you would be right. But since there are several avenues for recourse...

 

I hope one of them involves a humvee with lots of big guns and an A-10 warthog?

 

hdmi only works when outputting thru the ati card. about outputting to 720p, try opening catalyst control center, go to Desktop & Displays, right click on the TV>Configure. you should be able to find a bunch of resolutions for hdtv's in one of the tabs. if you get any black areas around your picture try scaling it under another tab.

 

hello there..just want to ask what's the difference on the chasis besides the etching on the dv6z se or the dm4t? all of them are brushed aluminum right?

 

I'm sure someone would know, but why are you asking on a thread for the Envy, located in a forum for the Envys and HDXs?

 

The internals of the Envys are uhm I think Magnesium. IDK what the DV6Z or DM4T have but the Envys are made out of full metal. Most laptops are plastic or at least partially or mostly plastic.

 

hi new envy 14 owner. i bought an envy 14 with windows 7 home premium but then i upgraded it to windows 7 ultimate manually. of course every hp feature was erased but i managed to recover most of the drivers and that stuff from hp support group. but then i dont know if i was able to recover the beats audio system. i downloaded the audio driver off hp support site but i remember i used to be able to turn on/off beats with fn and b but i can't do it anymore. can anyone help? is the audio driver i downloaded beats? o also i troubleshooted the computer in the devices section in control panel but it keeps saying the driver for pci simple communications controller fails to install. anyone got a solution for that?? thanks

 

how about the display, internet/wireless/bluetooth, sound, and other drivers? do i needa reinstall/save the swsetup beforehand?

 

sorry for that...I mean what is the difference on the chasis of the envy compared to that of the dv6z se and dm4t..I just want to know..normally to command a high price for a laptop..chasis have difference specially in build and quality material..

 

well. i'm pretty sure the dm4t and the dv6z are identical in materials....some metals (aluminum), some plastics..i think the design/pattern is also the same. the only diff is configurations/size.

the envy 14 is more of a "premium" laptop that offers a better screen, slightly diff configs, and all metal/aluminum/magnesium chasis.

correct me if i'm wrong.

 

Got my E14...what's the difference between an Envy 14 and Envy 14t?

My only gripe is that the hard drive light is on the side! I like to see the hard drive light (so I know that I've properly double clicked icons, etc.) Also there is a power light on the side, which seems somewhat redundant to the power light on the actual power button.

Other than that, I love it!

 

I believe a minimal clean install puts the sw setup folder on there, but I'm not positive.


it installs all the drivers for you.

 

It installs all of that. No need to even touch the swsetup folder after a MIR.

 

Yes it restores the SWSetup. I did a minimal recovery and i have the swsetup folder in c drive.

 

There's an Envy 14t? Where?

 

thanks! d^^b

 

That's what page one of this forum says, also underneath the battery it says envy 14t-1000

 

Seems like that's just a CTO designation.

 

Can anyone give me the potential thought process for the design of the ODD and the vent? In every other laptop I've seen, the vent is placed on the right hand side while the ODD is on the left. But not so here. Whenever I use a mouse I feel a constant stream of warm/hot air being blown over my hand.

Is the Envy team completely made up of left-handed people?

 

Yes, and the iPhone4 team was completely made up of right-handed people.

 

you should note that the internals are literally hanging upside down. i'm guessing most laptops are right side up (like all the slots face up and you push down to put them in. in this case, you flip the laptop upside down to push parts into their respective slots), compared to the e14. the flipping probably put the fan on the right side.

just my guess.

 

There is another download on HP's website under utilities for the (UEFI) BIOS update
"This package provides the HP BIOS Update Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) for the supported notebook models and operating systems. HP BIOS Update (UEFI) provides support for safe and secure BIOS updates from HP."
If anybody is interested... I think this might help clean installs to be able to properly update the BIOS, and I believe it means the HP tools partition can be gotten rid of. It allows installation to a USB drive or to HDD, BUT it must be on a FAT or FAT32 partition.

 

Still cant update my BIOS

 

Argh. Just got my envy 14 and I have to say, it's perfect EXCEPT for one thing.

I ordered the 1600x900 radiance display and I checked the confirmation emails, I did order it.

What I got was the 1366x768 display.

While I have it I figure I might as well have my say about the brightview screen

Brightview leaks light like there's no tomorrow at higher brightness levels. It's not the worst I've seen but it's pretty bad. It also happens to attract fingerprints and retain them like a magnet which I assume also happens with the radiance display.

I'm uploaded a video to youtube
YouTube - HP envy 14 Brightview screen
that shows how the screen looks on maximum brightness in a completely black room. It does overcompensate for the black room but that problem doesn't exhibit itself on lower brightness settings. To contrast, my LED monitor(might or might not be better than radiance) has a consistent black all the way through although it isn't pitch black.

Also, my brother is annoyed at the envy since he got a (cheaper) laptop with glossy plastic all round and has fingerprints everywhere INCLUDING the screen =)

 

+rep for the vid! i've been wanting one showing the noob screen...
and wow, the screen is really crappy. i hope mine doesn't get the same error =[. i don't want to get a crappy screen instead of the radiance i ordered.

hope you get through the return process quickly and easily...

 

I wish HP would do like Toshiba and give us a bootable cd version that just automatically updates bios by booting from it. I have heard nothing but bad things about WinFlash utilities bricking motherboards. Not to mention the people on here who have tried to update their BIOS's with clean installs and it not working. A bootable CD would be ideal. Did you download the system diagnostics tools? They have that for download now too, along with specific instructions about the partition

 

So now my spacebar is creaking if I push it in or apply pressure. Annoying. Anyone else notice this? first Ive noticed it, but Id like ot be able to fix it because its kind of annoying.

 

Mine's not doing this so far...

 

thanks for the reply..I want to see an envy personally first before I take the plunge .

 

Heres an audio file of my spacebar creaking. Annoying??

zSHARE - Untitled.wma

 

Also for gamers, the most common keys used are WSAD, which so happen to be on the left hand side. By switching the exhaust to the right hand side when you game your left hand palm rest and area both stay cool. Before the heat spreads along the all metal chassis... . But in all seriousness, I have noticed the left hand side to be decent cool as a bonus when I game.

Could they have planned that?

Edit: Oh and I just move my mouse a few inches further away to avoid hot air over my hand.

 

sounds more like a click to me, remember the old clackety clack keyboards of yore? Those were crazy annoying.

I took the plunge on my envy 14 and am glad I did so after reading about the Radiance display manufacturer problem HP seems to be having. taichicali posted something to the effect of there may not be any being made at least for awhile, that these were just a test to see if users would actually buy higher end screens. Call me crazy, but our main experience with a computer is visuals so I call it a no brainer that people would be willing to pay extra for better visuals. Hopefully they will get their act together I mean the Radiance display was one thing in particular that was mentioned during their internet hype campaign. Has anyone watched our computer's commercial on television? Compared to Sony's commercial with Justin Timberlake, our spokesman Dr. Dre kicks rear.

 

guys how can i check what bios i am running?

 

fn+esc when in Windows, esc and then select system info at computer startup.

Speaking of BIOS, have any of you guys with fresh installs been on with tech support about not being able to update? Maybe if enough of you get on the phone/email/support forums you guys can get them to come up with a better BIOS flasher than WinFlash. I cringe whenever I have to use WinFlash as many users of many different motherboards have bricked their motherboard with WinFlash.

 

Having them to a service on the keyboard. They say 7-9 days.

 

thanks for the reply mike, also guys i'm not getting the hp splash screen on boot up anymore any ideas? still goes to windows startup screen and then windows

also in catalyst control, do we do the installs it recommends? like hydravision and display setup?

thanks in advance