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

Ok... uber annoying. Found a speck of dust trapped under the plastic in front of the screen. ANNOYING!!!!!! Any one know how I could get it out easily without damaging the screen?

 

I have a little problem with my E14. I got a Benq E2420HD which is a 24" with HDMI. I use a HDMI cable to use it with my Envy 14 but the picture dosent look great at all. Im using both the displays at the same time. I got 2 options, have nice and sharp windows on both screens, but then its a black frame around the picture on the Benq. Or I can go into the menu on the screen and set "overscan" On and then it's a much smaller black frame (almost the whole screen is used) but then its a little bit unsharp. Whats the problem? Its a pain to buy a expensive laptop like this when my old many-years-old dell 6400 pulled it off way better with the Benq with VGA cable. Please help! Could it be something about the Aspect ratio? Is just the text that is unsharp on the Benq I think.

 

I really feel your pain, I am on my second Envy for that exact same reason. You can probably take the plastic edge-2-edge cover off, but getting it back on and on good will be a pain in the a$$.

Good luck on it though...

 

Shot in the dark from a non-external-monitor user: is it possible that there's some issue with different aspect ratios between the two screens?

 

This CPU whine is quite annoying in the morning after a long night of drinking... it was ringing in my ears -_-

 

@soopervoo

Try THESE tweaks for your CPU whine. It seems to work in most cases or at least makes it quieter.

 

I tried these tweaks and they got rid of the whine, at least for the time being.

Thanks for the tip.

EDIT: It came back but it's not as prominent.

 

I've got a weird problem with my Envy 14 that has cropped up. When I switch GPU's my screen will occasionally go black and stay black until I do a reboot. My screen will also at random not turn on when I fire up my computer forcing me to do a restart. Any ideas as to what is causing this annoying behavior?

 

This may have already been asked, but is it possible to use the Envy 14 as a desktop when needed? For example, if I want to plug my laptop into a monitor and use a keyboard and mouse in order to game/write... is that handled reasonably easily?

 

^^I do it all the time when at home in my office. I plug the laptop into my 24" samsung with an HDMI cable and have a wireless keyboard an mouse.

 

That sounds driver related. What are you currently using?

I sometimes get a blank screen when resuming from sleep. I just put it back to sleep and then wake and it usually comes back

 

Again, this may be a dumb question... but I am about to buy my first laptop, and I want to make sure I know what I am getting into. If I have my desktop plugged into the monitor via the VGA cable, can I simply plug in the laptop with a HDMI and change the input settings on teh monitor in order to use the laptop as a desktop? That may be a monitor specific question... I have a "family PC" and I am hoping to be able to sit down at the computer desk and work/game on my laptop while using the family PC monitor. I am willing to buy a new monitor if it would make things simple =)

 

I have a very similar setup with my Samsung 22" monitor. I regularly switch between my desktop and laptop by changing the input on the monitor...

 

can anyone give me any suggestions?

 

Thanks for all the advice =)

 

Hello,

I am a college student so this laptop is pretty valuable for me especially since school has started already.

My laptop is under a bunk bed and one of the boards fell and dented my new envy 14 last night!

I am afraid of what to do...
I'm concerned with:

1) They will accept damages like this to laptops and repair them. The laptop is fully functional...just a dent on the cover is very digusting.

2) Will I have to ship my laptop away?

3) What if they have to send me a replacement laptop...can I still get my radiance screen ? (I got it when I ordered)

4) How long will it take?

I just need to be sure I have a laptop here at all times...please help!

 

If you bought accidental insurance, then yes they will fix it. It can take a few weeks which includes shipping both ways.

Otherwise, you will have to pay for repair.

No, they typically won't send you a replacement notebook.

Call HP and talk to a rep, explain your situation and try to work something out. You won't lose anything by calling. (Unless you were trying to get them to fix it as if it was a warranty issue instead of user inflicted damage.)

 

So last night it said shipping estimated delivery date 9/24/10
Now I look and the estimated shipping date is 9/28/10

What gives?
Did this happen to you guys as well?
I was so excited to get it this Friday

 

I have the latest drivers from HP's site.

 

Are dent's hard to fix? I mean can they just fix it or do they typically have to repair the entire top cover of the laptop?

Is this something I can do myself?

Thanks so much!
I bought the 2 year accidentally warranty from costo for my envy 14...I don't know if that is any different from yours

 

They would replace the panel part. It might be possible to have them just send you the panel part that needs replacement for you to do yourself. Familiarize yourself with the service manual (link on page 1). This way you will know what you are talking about down to the part number when you speak with them.

Is it something you can fix? I don't know. Is it something you can fix?

Look at the service manual to decide.

In any event, it is covered under the accidental warranty. But in all probability, you will have to send it in to be repaired. Take pictures if you do to document the before condition. Many an HP notebook has come back unlike how it was sent in.

 

Are you fellas disabling services and stuff? Are you keeping all the Intel related services running or...?

 

Using this app with the "Tweaked Settings" button.
Download SMART 1.2a Free - A tweaking tool for your Win 7. - Softpedia

 

Does anyone know the difference between the 2 two year warranties on this laptop. They both have accidental damage coverage. The lower costing one seems like a no-brainer....So why buy one over the other??

 

One is in-home service (I guess for the smaller problems) and the other is strictly mail-in.

 

Guys i placed my order on amazon for this envy: Envy 14.

it lists a i5-460m as the processor, is the "2nd gen" envy 14 some people have mentioned?. If so, are there any other changes?

 

That's probably it. I wouldn't expect much different though other than the processor. I kinda doubt they put the new touchpad in there yet.

 

As some are aware, my Envy 14 wouldn't boot up, so it's at the repair depot with an estimated return delivery date of 09/28. The wifi LED, power button LED, and the lid LED all blink occasionally, but nothing I did including switching outlets got it to come back to life. It's almost like it's in a perpetual sleep state.


So my question is this: Am I right to fear that the HP repair techs handling my Envy may mess it up by leaving new scratches/dents and misaligning the lid LED as has been seen in other reported horror stories? If such an incident occurs, should I call HP to get my case elevated to the case manager?

 

Did you make sure you set the resolution on the external to the highest possible resolution (i.e. its native resolution)? That's what sounds like the problem.

By the way, the thing where the audio sometimes buzzes and slightly pauses the computer for a little while, is that a common issue? I thought I had seen it before in this thread but I never noticed if there was a fix. I'm on a clean install but I did install the audio drivers from SwSetup. I'm not sure if Beats audio is on because the taskbar icon does have the beats icon, but there's nothing that says enable Beats and fn+b doesn't work.

 

Weird question. There is of course the probability that this might occur.

You'll just have to wait and see. And should it occur, you're in for a headache... as described by some of the horror stories you've read.

And yes, the first step is always to have your case elevated if you can't reach a satisfactory resolution with the run-of-the-mill rep.

 

So much for reading what you typed before posting, eh?


I'm just really anxious and was hoping someone could convince me that the cases of HP techs doing a poor job in the care and handling department are few and far between. Crossing my fingers!

 

I don't actually have an Envy 14, but I have a brand new dm4-1160us with a CPU whine issue... I've been researching this problem all week, and this is the first "fix" I've come across that had any impact on the problem without causing excessive heat/fan noise. The whine is almost completely inaudible now. THANK YOU!

 

You wouldn't want your anxiety soothed with false hope. Always better to swig it straight, no chaser. This way you're prepared for any eventuality.

 

Some new stuff on the hp website: beats edition dropped to 900, doesn't show solo headphones in the list of accessories, still doesn't have the radiance screen.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...pid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY

 

Does this new hp envy 14 beats edition has a mayor difference or improvement on hardware? as I understand this edition has 0.07" more height and 0.49lb more weight. I'll will be buying this laptop soon but haven't decide if getting the beats edition or the original one, is there one better than the other? apart from the screen resolution.

 

yah, i noticed this too. also new processor selections, including the i5-560m and i5-580m (these weren't available before, previously)

any word whether the 580 is going to be available for the standard envy?

 

Idk but I want the 580 in my envy

 

I'm guessing those processors are the same chipset as the other i5's offered in the non-Beats Envy 14?

I was planning to swap out for the i5-540m once I had the extra cash, but maybe I'll be on the lookout for the i5-580m instead.

 

The new i5-580M for $150 seems like a good deal, but the Radiance screen is the reason I bought the ENVY. All the upgraded hardware in the world without that screen wouldn't be enough of a reason for me to justify buying it. The Radiance is amazing!

 

I kinda have a feeling that they may try to faze out the original envy 14. They haven't offered the new processors with that version, and I keep reading that the radiance screen could be gone anytime now.

 

I doubt they're gonna kill the Radiance screen. If you ask most buyers here, the screen is why they have the ENVY. At $1100 with the Radiance, the ENVY 14 obliterated the Macbook 13 and was easily upgraded to destroy the Macbook 15 performance wise at a $500 cost savings. That was a bargain most couldn't pass up. Now that the ENVY has gone mainstream HP is trying to milk every penny they can get out of the ENVY. If you eliminate the Radiance screen, you can get a much more powerful machine at the price-points we're starting to see from HP.

 

Yes, if this laptop did not have the radiance, I would have saved myself alot of trouble and would have jut gotten an asus for the same price.

Not to say the metal body, slice battery, slot load drive and backlit keyboard wasn't important, but the screen was the selling point.

 

I agree with both of you, if it weren't for the radiance screen I doubt I would have given up so much money on a laptop from HP otherwise

 

Im in the process of buying an pre-specced Envy 14 and I’m thinking of upgrading it with a WWAN module. When I look in the service manual, it consists of three parts: Antennas that runs through the screen and two circuit boards.
One of the circuit boards are easily accessible below the HDD, the other is tucked a bit further away, as its necessary to remove the top cover.
My question is how many of these components are preinstalled in every Envy 14?
As I see it, the antennas are a part of every screen spare part kit, so they should be installed. But what about the circuit board below the top cover?


As I don't live in the US and therefore the only option is to choose from pre-specced models which doesn't have the WWAN module, the only option is to do it myself.
I have some experience with disassembling laptops, but if I remove the top cover the laptop is no longer under warranty. So it would be nice if someone could check this. It should be possible without removing the top cover

 

Radiance is the Envy 14's ace card. No sense in spending the R&D and other pre-production costs just to get it out the door only to kill it off unless it's proving to be prohibitively expensive to produce or the Envy 14 is sucking.

 

The radiance screen is the only reason I got the envy 14. You don't see many laptops with resolutions above 1366x768 anymore unless you shell out for a 15" monster laptop which is a real shame.

 

Using my monster desktop replacement for now and I can tell you that as a student who's developing back pains from carrying a ton of books/folders daily that I'm really missing my Envy. The screen resolution combined with the thinness are really nice to have.


One of these days when I have time, I'm going to stop by a department store and pick up a roller to save my back. I don't care if people laugh at me!

 

Hey my man! This question seemed to universal to relegate to a PM (also saves me going through the last 100 pages of the thread!):

Is it fair to say that hP has gotten the quality control act together sufficiently that one has a 2/3 chance of getting a non-lemon on the first try? Possibly even better than that? (heaven forbid a $2000 computer (as I would spec it) would be likely to arrive sans defects

I can't see nearly the number of complaints that were posted in the first two months after it was released. What would you say are the most trouble-prone spots at this point?

My intended config would be:

1) Core i5-450/520
2) switchable ATI 5650
3) radiance display
4) 4GB Ram on 1 dimm
5) 500 GB HDD (upgrade to SDD later; I've learned 256 GB is not enough; is there any way to add a second HD to this?

This specs out at around $1,400, without any promos or coupons. As you, and you alone know, I am considering keeping a "specialized" ultraportable*, with some features this will never have and generally similar components expect - "except!" the radiance display, the excellent discrete GPU and the exceptional sound. Believe it or not, the weight of it is within ounces of the "other" ultraportable I have on trial, and the ENVY onlly adds about an inch each to L+W. Leaving the one "special feature"* aside , the ENVY 14 has everything the ultraspeedy tablet, except the tablet format, note taking and easy finger browsing and components equal or better to the ENVY I have specd except for the display and discrete video card, the latter being less important cuz I do no gaming.

*(ok, so as to not let this be an "inside baseball" posting, I need a business travel ultraportable, and I am in heavy like with an HP Elitebook 2740p convertible; tablet PC; probably the only human alive considering these two as either/or, but have my reasons! I consider the 14" form factor the absolute maximum size/weight category to qualify as thin/light for traveling purposes - only about 0.8 lbs more, and 1"X1" bigger lXw. The kicker is, the ENVY prices out some $200 lower apples-to-apples in terms of cpu, ram - but ENVY has that unprecedented "steal" on 1 4g SODIMM - and, as a very, very smart person once mentioned: "there is always pads and pens for note taking!)

Bottom line: the last 50 pgs make it look like, espcecially for non-gamers/overclockers, the E14 has become stable and arrives a-ok in the vast majority of cases. Have I got that right? Many thanks!

 

This pegs my opinion on the machine to a T. Without the radiance screen, there is literally no reason to go for this notebook considering it's competitors.

 

Sounds like a hoot of a deal, but query me this: unless your budget is really tight, isn't an E14 without the radiance screen kinda like a 6 cyl. automatic BMW M-5? Still, $944 is very tempting